Bewildered, I glanced at Jenks. The pixy shrugged, then turned the volume down on the TV. I followed his gaze to Nick. His expression was positively vindictive. My eyes narrowed and I leaned back, crossing my arms. “What was that all about?” I asked.

“Ooooh, I forgot,” he said, lightly snapping his healing fingers. “Vampires are sensitive to the scent of cloves. Golly, the smell must have woken her up.”

My jaw tightened. I hadn’t known that. Apparently neither had Jenks, since he was the one who had gone shopping. Nick turned to the sink a little too slowly to hide his smile.

I took a breath, deciding he was lucky Ivy hadn’t smacked him hard enough to knock him out. In the shape he was in, it wouldn’t take much. My eyes fell on the pain amulet he was wearing, thinking the entire situation was stupid. Jenks told me earlier that Ivy had been on the Internet all last night as Nick tried to sleep. Payback?

My fingers tapped the laminated table. Standing, I closed the lid on my laptop, then slid my demon curse book off the table and into my arms. “I’ll be in the van,” I said blandly.

“Rachel—” Nick started, but I snatched up my list and pencil and walked out of the kitchen, the heavy book making me awkward and unbalanced. It kind of went with my mood.

“Whatever, Nick…” I said tiredly, not turning around.

Jenks was a mix of wary alertness. The paper on the table before him was strewn with Jax’s work. He was getting better.

“I’ll be in the van, if you need me,” I said in passing.

“Sure.” His eyes went from me to Jax trying to coax Rex out from under the bed. The sight of a pixy holding up a bedspread calling “Kitty, kitty, kitty” looked risky even to me.

“Rachel,” Nick protested when I opened the door, but I didn’t turn. Reversing my steps, I snatched up my bag with the focus in it. No need to leave that sitting around.

“You stupid lunker,” Jenks said as I left. “Don’t you know she always sides with—”

The door clicked closed, cutting off his words. “The underdog,” I finished. Depressed, I leaned against the door, the focus tucked between me and my demon book, my head bowed. Not this time. I wouldn’t side with Nick, and despite the cookie incident, Nick was the underdog.

Birdsong and the chill of morning pulled my head up. It was quiet and damp, the rush-hour traffic nonexistent. The sun was trying to break through the light fog, giving everything a golden sheen. The nearby straits were probably beautiful, not that I could see them from where I stood.

Gathering my resolve, I shifted the weight of the demon book and dug in my pocket for the van’s keys. We’d parked in the shade of a huge white pine between the road and the motel so I could set a circle without people running into it. The new hundred-dollar running shoes that Ivy had bought me were silent on the pavement, and it felt odd being up this early. Creepy. Habit made me shift through the keys so they didn’t clink, and only the muffled thunk of the van unlocking broke the stillness until I lugged the side door open in a sound of sliding metal and rolling rubber. Still peeved, I stepped up and in, and slammed the door shut in frustration.