Demons of Good and Evil by Kim Harrison

            “She’s in Hodin’s room.” I stood. My knee hit the table and it jumped. Pearls went everywhere. “She went right under the door.”

            “Yeah?” Jenks rose up, clearly not impressed. “She’s been doing that for months.”

            “Yeah, but how come she can go under it and we can’t even touch the door? What’s the difference? It’s not her size. You can’t touch the door, either.”

            Jenks’s next words faltered, and his eyebrows went high in thought. Two pearls slowly rolled out from Hodin’s room, and then Constance followed, squeezing out and sitting up beside them to arrange her fur. “Her aura,” he said, and I nodded. Her aura. The undead never had much of one, and when they did, it was borrowed from whoever they had fed on. Maybe . . .

            “Hey, fang girl!” the pixy shouted. “How long has it been since you ate? You don’t have much of an aura.”

            Constance flipped him off, then gathered her pearls and scampered into the kitchen.

            “It doesn’t cost anything to be kind,” Getty said in rebuke as she swooped down to take up two more pearls from the floor.

            “Where are you going?” Jenks said brusquely.

            “To help Constance,” the pixy said. “She can’t carry all of these by herself.” Rising high, she flew into the hall. “Constance? Let me help.”

            “Outside? Getty, it’s too cold out there!” Jenks shouted, stymied as the sound of her wings faded. “She’s going to throw herself into hibernation if she’s not careful,” he added as he hovered in the middle of the sanctuary.

            “Her pixy winter wear is better than yours,” I said idly, and Jenks rasped his wings. Motions slow in thought, I gathered the pearls on the table and dropped them in the bowl again before setting the bowl on the floor. “If the door lock is triggered by auras, maybe I can get around it by pushing my aura off my hand.”

            “I thought removing your aura was a bad thing.” Jenks fingered his jacket, frowning in thought.

            “It is. But temporarily peeling it away from my hand long enough to touch something is okay. I’ve done it before.” But never when I was trying to get around a warded lock. “I’m going to try it,” I said as I got to my feet and strode to Hodin’s door. Easy-peasy, I thought, nervous as I forced myself to completely let go of the ley line in the garden. My head began to hurt, and I ignored it. Concentrating, I set my left hand over my right. All I had to do was pull my aura up to my elbow, but to do that, I had to put a thin layer of nothing between me and my aura, sort of puff it up. “Tell me the instant you sense anything coming from the door, okay?”

            “That’s why I’m here,” Jenks said, hovering at the ceiling and out of the way.

            I slowly exhaled, left hand atop the right. Using only the power in my chi, I forced a wad of energy into my right hand, letting it simmer for a moment, thickening it until my hand began to cramp as my aura lifted free. Dizzy, I stroked my right hand to peel the aura away. I couldn’t see it, but Jenks could, and at his nod, I reached for the door, fighting to keep my aura from flowing back into place. Breath held, inch by inch . . .

            “Rache!” Jenks shrilled, and I yanked my hand back, yelping at the flash of pain cramping up my elbow.

            “Crap on toast, I’m never going to get past this door!” I shouted, more angry than hurt.

            “Rachel?” Getty called from the kitchen. “You okay?”

            I flushed, embarrassed. “Fine!” I shouted, and then softer, “Son of a moss wipe.” I wrung my stinging hand, Constance’s rebuke soaking in to knot my gut. But if she could get into Hodin’s room, so could I. I just needed to find out how.





CHAPTER


            12

            “Quen isn’t here,” Jenks said, plastered against the window of Trent’s big-ass SUV parked in front of Junior’s coffee shop. “He always has the seat pushed back.”

            “Maybe he went ahead.” I shut the door to my red MINI. Leaning against it, I checked my bag to make sure I had everything—phone, splat gun, pain amulets, Walter’s finding amulet, gummy bears. I lurched forward, yawning.

            Last night had left me tired, like walking-in-to-take-a-test-after-cramming-all-night tired, and the sun hurt my eyes. At least I’d found a parking spot right beside Trent’s SUV. Moving the car seats would be easier.