surprised the dogs aren't baying already." I shivered as I remembered the sound. "They'll be following my scent, not yours. You should be fine."
Looking calm, Pierce cleared his throat. "I know of a place this side of the lines."
Ivy gave him the once-over, her hip cocked. "You know of a place. Why didn't you mention this before?"
"Because it was abundantly clear that you didn't want my help," he said dryly, hands clasped behind his back and coat shifting in the wind off the water.
"You're not going to take Rachel alone to your place" Jenks threatened.
I shifted nervously, thinking that standing on a riverbank with dogs coming for me wasn't the best time to be eating crow, but I would. "Pierce, you're my freaking hero for driving out here and saving my ass, but this is Trent we're talking about. The ever-after is the only place I'll be safe. If I run, his dogs will find me." I stifled a shiver, but he saw, and I crossed my arms over my chest, pretending to be cold. I hated Trent's dogs. I really did.
Pierce raised his hand in disagreement even as he pulled a pair of heavy-duty clippers from a back pocket and cut the zip strip off me. "I'm not an innocent in evading dogs," he said, eyes meeting mine from under his loose curls. "I know a spot nigh close to here. An almighty safe place this side of the lines." His eyes went to me, black in the solid darkness of a night with no moon. "There will be no black magic. You have my word."
No black magic. Again I shivered as I remembered the awful sound of animals singing for my blood. We had left Trent's woods, but he'd ride for me anyway. He was probably saddling Tulpa right now, cleaning his hooves with his daddy's hoof pick.
Pierce took my hands. Ivy cleared her throat and Jenks clattered his wings. "I can offer you nothing but a hole in the ground," he said. "But it is a hole never found by dogs or men with rifles. It was used to hide men and women on their way to freedom and is deeply spelled for safety." He looked over the river as if looking into the past. "I used to be a conductor on the underground railroad, or did that not find its way into Ivy's computer?" he said dryly.
I bit my lip, and Jenks's sour look eased. "It's better than the ever-after and Al," he said to Ivy, and the vampire grimaced.
Go with Pierce? Alone? Was he kidding? Ivy clearly wasn't happy with this either, but she finally nodded. "I'd rather have you on this side of the lines," she said sourly.
Pierce frowned at her mistrust as Jenks dusted a bright silver. Standing beside the river, the witch seemed to change. His mood darkened, and his gaze lingered on the moving water as if testing it. Hands in the pockets of his coat, he asked me, "Can you swim?"
Suddenly the ever-after was looking a whole lot better. "You want me to get in the water?" I asked. "It's freezing!"
Ivy's steps were loud on the gravel as she came up to us, but any hope that she was going to side with me died when she took my elbow and started walking to the river. "Rachel, Pierce is right this time," she said, and I made a noise of disbelief. "Trent owns Cincinnati. It's a death trap. The ever-after is just as bad. Go with Pierce."
"Ivy!" I protested. My feet splashed into the water, and I jerked out. "It's cold!" I said, pulling out of their reach and staring at the fast-moving water.
"Don't be a girl, Rache," Jenks said, hovering over the water and jerking up three more feet when something jumped at him.
"Look!" I said, pointing and backing out completely. "There are fish in there!"
Pierce ducked his head, muttering, "I think she's afraid."
I huffed, but Jenks came to my rescue. "She doesn't need to be. I'm going with her."
Ivy's eyes, black and glinting in the starlight, widened. "You are not leaving me alone with your kids and that gargoyle."
"I can't bring my kids with me!" he protested. "Come on, Ivy, give me a break!"
I jerked when Pierce pulled me off balance and into the water a step. "Hey!" I shouted, hearing it echo on the flat water. "I said I'm not getting in the water! I almost died the last time." Memories of ice and Trent surfaced, and