Breath held, I reached from behind, gripping under her arms to try to get her to her feet. She flinched at my touch. Coherency flickered over her. Focus wavering, she angled her feet under her to help. “I told him no,” she said, her voice cracking. “I said no.”

My stomach clenched at the sound of her voice, bewildered and confused. The acidic smell of vomit caught in my throat. Under it was a rich scent of well-turned earth, mixing with her burnt ash smell.

Jenks flitted around us as I got her to her feet. Pixy dust sifted from him to make a glowing cloud. “Careful,” he whispered, first on my left side, then my right. “Be careful. I can’t stop her if she attacks you.”

“She’s not going to attack me,” I said, anger joining my fear to make a nauseating mix. “She didn’t fall off the wagon. Listen to her. Someone pushed her.”

Ivy shuddered as we reached the top step. Her hand touched the door for support, and she jerked as if burned. Like an animal, she clawed her way from me. Gasping, I fell back, wide-eyed. Her crucifix was gone.

She stood before me on the church’s landing, tension pulling her tall. Her gaze took me in, and I went cold. There was nothing in Ivy’s black eyes. Then they flashed into a ravenous hunger, and she lunged.

I had not a chance.

Ivy grabbed me by my neck, pinning me to the door of the church. Adrenaline surged, flashed through me in a pained assault. Her hand was like warm stone under my chin. My last breath made an ugly sound. Toes brushing the stone landing, I hung. Terrified, I tried to kick out, but she pressed into me, heat going through my robe. Eyes bulging, I pried at her fingers about my throat.

Struggling to breathe, I watched her eyes. They were utterly black in the streetlight. Fear, despair, hunger all mixed. Nothing there was her. Nothing at all.

“He told me to do it,” she said, her feather-light voice a shocking contrast to her twisted face, terrifying in its absolute hunger. “I told him I wouldn’t.”

“Ivy,” I rasped, managing a breath. “Put me down.” Again I made that ugly noise as her grip tightened.

“Not this way!” Jenks shrilled. “Ivy! It’s not what you want!”

The fingers on my neck clenched. My lungs struggled, a fire burning as they tried to fill. The black of Ivy’s eyes grew as my body started to shut down. Panicking, I stretched for my ley line. The disorientation of connection flashed through the chaos almost unnoticed. Reeling from the lack of oxygen, I let the surge of power explode from me, uncontrolled.