Free Club Nexus (Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective) by E.J. Stevens Page B

can’t say the same for her.  We need to get
her to a hospital.”
    The faerie woman was beyond the services of any medical
institution, I’d noted the moment when her heart had ceased to beat, but I made
a show of checking her pulse.  No sense reminding Jinx of how very different we
were from each other.  I could share my ability to feel the transcendence of a
soul from the flesh in a later conversation—if there was a later.  I just hoped
that she had come to the realization that I’d had no part in Puck’s blood
sport.
    “I’m sorry, my dear,” I said.  “She’s dead.”
    Jinx flashed a pained look, but covered it quickly.  She
nodded and continued to take in the grisly scene.
    “And him?” she asked, pointing toward the vampire, my
walking stick holding him immobile.
    “Oh, he is still very much alive…as alive as any undead
creature ever really is,” I said, moving toward the vampire.
    I smelt the layers of death on him.  This one had taken
hundreds of lives, and reveled in it.
    “You’ve been a very naughty boy,” I said, staring down at
the vampire.  “I’m sure the Vampire Council will be interested to learn of your
arrogant disregard for the law.”
    His eyes flicked toward an open door and I turned to see a young
girl hanging from the wall, her wrists shackled to the stone.  Ribbons of flesh
dangled from her naked body where it hung beside a table of sharp instruments. 
The girl had been tortured and then drained of blood.
    I grimaced, walked stiffly to the room, and closed the
door.  The girl was beyond saving, her life already expired, but perhaps I
could shield Jinx from witnessing such horror.
    “Yes, the council will be very interested indeed,” I said. 
“Too bad they won’t have a chance to punish you for your crimes.”
    Flame danced along my fingers as I walked back to where the
vampire lay impaled by my walking stick.
    “Say hello to Lucifer for me,” I said, letting my lips curl
in a grin.  “I’m sure the two of you will soon be well acquainted.”
    I pulled my walking stick from his heart and placed a fiery
hand on his chest.  The vampire immediately caught fire, burning to ash within
seconds.
    I stood and brushed dust and ash from my hand, slipped the
glove from my waistcoat pocket, and tugged it on.  I took my time, afraid to
see the judgment waiting in Jinx’s eyes.  I’d made my decision to terminate the
vampire when I smelt his ecstasy in the room where the tortured girl still
hung.  A rogue vampire would never change, only becoming more twisted over
time, but Jinx may not know that.  All she’d seen was a demon burn a man alive.
    How could she possibly accept me after witnessing such a
gruesome sight?
    I sighed, raking a hand through my hair.  Might as well get
on with it, I noted grimly.  I pasted a smile on my face and spun around,
hoping to make light of the situation, but Jinx wasn’t scowling in disgust or
wringing her hands.  I relaxed as a slow smile spread across her face.
     “Thank you,” she said.
    Jinx stepped into my arms and tilted her head back to look
me in the eye.
    “For what?” I asked, dumbfounded.  For once, I, the great
Forneus, Great Marquis of Hell, was at a loss for words.
    “For killing that creature, for looking out for me, for saving
my life,” she said.
    Jinx reached up to touch my face, her fingers tracing my
lips, my jaw, and down my neck.  Her lingering touch was excruciatingly tender. 
I sucked in a breath, afraid to move for fear of breaking the spell that
granted me my innermost desire.
    She raised an eyebrow and I struggled to think of an
appropriate response.  But my body didn’t want to reply with words.
    “I am always at your service,” I said softly, leaning
closer.  “If you will have me.”
    Jinx lifted herself onto tiptoe, closing the distance
between us.
    “Yes, Forneus, I will,” she said, lips brushing mine.
    I groaned as she tilted her head, slanting her mouth across
my own.  I ran