A Fistful of Charms (55 page)

Authors: Kim Harrison

BOOK: A Fistful of Charms

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Nick.

Jenks jerked three feet into the air. I was sure my eyes were full of pity, but Jenks shook his head, not wanting to talk to his son. That Nick had romanced his son from him for a life of crime was far worse than anything Nick had ever done to me.

Not knowing what I was feeling, I held my hand out. Ivy hesitated, and my eyes narrowed. Grimacing, she slapped the phone into my palm. “If he comes here, I'll kill him,” she muttered. “I mean it. I'll drive him up to Mackinaw and throw him over for real.”

“Take a number,” I said when she sat in her spot before her computer. Clearing my throat, I put the receiver to my ear. “Hello-o-o-o-o, Nick,” I said, hitting the
k
hard. “You're the
world's biggest jerk for what you did to Jax. You ever show your scrawny face in Cincinnati again, and I'm going to shove a broomstick up your ass and set it on fire. You got that?”

“Rachel,” he said, sounding frantic. “It's not real!”

I glanced at the fridge, putting my hand over the receiver. “He says he's got the fake one,” I said, simpering. Kisten snorted, and suddenly smug, I turned back to Nick. “What?” I said, my voice light and flowery. “Didn't your statue go silvery, Nickie da-a-a-a-arling?”

“You know damn well it didn't,” he said, voice harsh. “Don't mess with me, Rachel. I need it. I
earned
it. I promisedâ”

“Nick,” I soothed, but he was still talking. “Nick!” I said louder. “Listen to me.”

Finally there was silence but for the hiss and buzz of the line. I looked over the kitchen, warm with the scent of pizza and the companionship of my friends. The new picture of Jenks and me that I'd stuck to the fridge caught my eye. His arm was over my shoulder, and we were both squinting from the sun. Ivy wasn't in it, but she had taken it, and her presence was as strong as the bridge behind us. The picture seemed to say it all.

So I lived in a church with pixies and a vampire who wanted to bite me but was afraid to. So I dated her old boyfriend who was likely going to spend his free time convincing me he was a better choice, when he wasn't angling for a threesome. And yeah, I was alpha of a pack and the only curse I could Were with was black, but that didn't mean I was going to. No one
knew
I had a Were artifact in my freezer that could set off a vamp/Were power struggle. My soul was coated with darkness from saving the world, but I had a hundred years to get rid of it. And so what if Nick might be smarter than me? I had friends. Good ones.

“Tag, darling,” I said into the receiver. “You lose.”

I hit the off button mid-protest. Tossing the phone to Ivy, I smiled.

Acknowledgments

I'd like to thank Gwen Hunter for helping me with the med stuff on the bridge, and TB, who read through my diving sequences. If anything doesn't jive, it wasn't from these two ladies but me pushing the envelope. And of course, a very large thank you to my agent, Richard Curtis, and to my editor, Diana Gill, without whom the Hollows would have stayed in my imagination alone.

About the Author

Born and raised in Tornado Alley, Kim Harrison now resides in more sultry climates. The New York Times bestselling author of
Dead Witch Walking
,
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
, and
Every Which Way But Dead
, she rolls a very good game of dice, hangs out with a guy in leather, and is hard at work on the next novel of the Hollows.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

Frightfully good
praise
for
KIM HARRISON's
previous
Rachel Morgan
novels

“F
or a good scareâ¦enter [these] pages.”

Syracuse Post-Standard

“A
fun-fair ride through a fascinating version of our worldâ¦You'll love this bounty hunter.”

Charlaine Harris, bestselling author of
Dead to the World

“A
spellbinding blend of sharp wit and vivid imagination.”

Kelley Armstrong

“F
ast-paced and loads of funâthe perfect read when you just want to get away from things.”

Fantasy & Science Fiction

“F
ascinating concept, great setup, believable setting, gripping charactersâ¦For those who like urban fantasy, for fans of Hamilton, Butcher, Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse novels, and for those who like a good blend of magic and action.”

SF Site

“F
illed with magical mayhemâ¦A protagonist that blends the best qualities of Anita Blake and Stephanie Plumâ¦A fascinating and unique story worldâ¦Kim Harrison carries it off with style.”

Jim Butcher, author of
Death Masks

Books by Kim Harrison

A F
ISTFUL OF
C
HARMS

E
VERY
W
HICH
W
AY BUT
D
EAD

T
HE
G
OOD, THE
B
AD, AND THE
U
NDEAD

D
EAD
W
ITCH
W
ALKING

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A FISTFUL OF CHARMS
. Copyright Â© 2006 by Kim Harrison. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

ePub edition July 2006 ISBN 9780061743672

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