Pulse pounding, I stopped before Ivy’s door. I felt hot, then cold. Hesitating, I tapped the thick wood. “Ivy?” No answer. I took a deep breath, knocked again, and turned the handle. “Ivy? Are you awake?”

Heart in my throat, I looked in. Her bed was made and her room looked normal. But then I saw that her book was gone from her night-stand and the closet was empty.

“Oh…crap,” I breathed. My eyes darted to the wall with her informal collage of pictures. They were all there from what I could tell, but then I wondered. The picture of Jenks and me standing before the Mackinac Bridge. Had there been an empty spot on the fridge?

Feeling unreal, I paced to the kitchen, my stomach caving as I entered. It was gone.

“Ah…shit,” I swore, and a tiny harrumph pulled my attention to the sink.

“Shit?” Jenks said, standing on the windowsill between his sea monkeys and Mr. Fish. “Shit!” he shrilled, coming to hover before me. His face was tight in anger, and black pixy dust spilled from him. “Is that all you have to say? What did you do, Rachel?”

Mouth open, I took a stumbling step back. “Jenks…”

“She’s gone!” he said, hands clenching. “Packed up and left. What did you do!”

“Jenks, I was—”

“She leaves, and you come home with bribes. Where were you?”

“I was with Kisten!” I shouted, then fell back two steps when he flew at me.

“I can smell him in you, Rachel!” the pixy shouted. “He bit you! You let him bite you when you knew Ivy couldn’t! What the hell is wrong with you!”

“Jenks. It’s not like that—”

“You stupid witch! If it’s not one of you, it’s the other. You women are all damned fools. She makes a pass at you, and you screw everything up by letting Kisten bite you so you can feel secure in your own sexual drives?” He darted at me, and I put the center island counter between us, but seeing as he could fly over it, that was kind of useless. “And then you try to buy me off with fudge and honey? You can stick my dragonfly’s turds on a stick and roast them, because I can’t take you two women screwing my life up anymore!”

“Hey!” I shouted, hands on my hips and leaning to put my nose inches from him. “He didn’t bite me! She never said I couldn’t bite him. She only said he couldn’t bite me!”

Jenks pointed a finger at me. He took a breath, then hesitated. “He didn’t bite you?”

“No!” I shouted, burning off some adrenaline. “You think I’m stupid?” He raised a hand, and I added, “Don’t answer that.”