Club Nexus (Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective) Read Free

At the bottom, I could hear movement and
the dry, hacking sound of a laughing vampire.  Beneath it all ran a soundtrack
of agony: moans, cries, and shrieks of pain or terror.  I swallowed hard and
pulled myself up to my full seven foot height.
    Soon I would be free of this prison and though the roads to
the Winter Court were sealed, I’d find a new place to live where the ones
crying out in agony were Seelie fae, as it should be.  I imagined Puck chained
in iron and strung from one of the court’s elaborately carved balconies.  How
Mab would have laughed at such a sight.  She always did love the sweet taste of
revenge.
    I blinked back icy tears at the memory of my lost queen—if
only she’d return to us!—and pulled the dagger from my apron.  Strangely, the
weapon made me feel closer to my liege.
    I moved forward, but as I was about to turn the corner into
the wine cellar, I heard the faint scuff of a boot on the stairs.  I ducked
into deeper darkness behind a rack of wine bottles, embracing the shadows as I
held my breath.
    Seconds later, a man in an old-fashioned waistcoat came into
view.  I frowned, studying the man as he descended the stairs.  How had he
opened the locked door above?  The ice I’d frozen the lock shut with shouldn’t
have melted so quickly.
    Flame flickered in the man’s eyes, providing my answer.  The
dapper gentleman was a demon.
    After surveying the room and tugging at his gloves, the
demon continued on.  I listened, wondering if I should make my escape before
more partygoers made their way through the door and down the stairs.  I dug my
fingernails into my palm, trying to stem the wave of dizziness that threatened
to overwhelm me.  If I was discovered, Puck would take great pleasure in my
punishment.
    The sound of an argument and Puck’s strained voice convinced
me to stay.  For once, the trickster sounded worried.  Plus, I couldn’t shake
the feeling that I had a duty to fulfill.
    I pressed my lips together and crept out from behind the
racks of wine, inching my way along the demon’s trail.  At the first open
doorway, I could hear the demon and Puck arguing.  I stole a glance into the
room, and jerked my head back.
    A slow smile spread across my face, the upturned curve of my
lips feeling odd after so many years of enslavement.  The demon was circling
Puck, keeping him distracted and off balance.  I had no idea what their
argument was about—money, a girl, a drug deal gone wrong—and I didn’t care.  What
I saw in that room was an opportunity.
    I slipped a hand into my apron, gripping the jeweled
dagger.  This was my chance.
    With a wild yell and bark of laughter, I rushed into the
room.  I raised my arm, thrusting the dagger toward Puck’s heart—if the bastard
even had one—but was wrenched to the side as a vampire appeared before me.
    The southern vamp from the bar , I thought as my
vision tunneled, shadows racing in from the periphery.  I tried to move again
toward Puck, but pain slammed into me.  I gagged and slid to my knees.
    The vampire snarled, holding a bloody, lifeless arm in his
grasp.  Confused, I looked down to see my own arm missing, blood oozing from my
shoulder.  Understanding dawned and I smiled.  I’d be out from under Puck’s
thumb no matter what happened now.
    I fumbled at my apron with the fingers of my remaining hand,
muscles already growing slow and weak.  The demon continued his argument with
Puck and the vampire was babbling about the need to protect Bite Club or some
such nonsense.  My head buzzed and my vision blurred.
    I didn’t have much time.
    I extracted the ice pick from the torn seam where I’d kept
it, longing for the day I’d win my freedom.  It wasn’t as elegant as the
jeweled dagger, but it would have to do.
    I managed to get a foot under me and lunged, jamming the ice
pick upward.  I felt the silver punch through muscle and slip beneath the ribs
and into Puck’s heart.  His eyes widened in surprise and I