Nick’s eyes began to water at the strength of my perfume, and he backed off. We had driven over with the windows down. Now I knew why he hadn’t said anything about it.

“You haven’t lived with Ivy very long, have you?” he asked. I looked up from the index, surprised, and his long face went slack. “I, uh, sorta got the idea that you and she weren’t …”

I flushed, dropping my eyes. “We aren’t,” I said. “Not if we can help it. We’re just roommates. I’m on the right side of the hall, she’s on the left.”

He hesitated. “Do you mind if I make a suggestion, then?”

Mystified, I stared at him, and he went to sit on the corner of the table. “You might want to try a perfume with a citrus base instead of a flower.”

My eyes widened. This was not what I had been expecting, and my hand crept up to cover my neck where I had dumped a splash of that awful perfume. “Jenks helped me pick it out,” I said in explanation. “He said it covered Ivy’s smell pretty good.”

“I’m sure it does.” Nick winced apologetically. “But it has to be strong to work. The ones based on citrus neutralize a vamp’s odor, not just cover it up.”

“Oh …” I breathed, recalling Ivy’s fondness for orange juice.

“A pixy’s nose is good, but a vamp’s is specialized. Go shopping with Ivy next time. She’ll help you pick out something that works.”

“I’ll do that,” I said, thinking I could have avoided offending everyone if I had just asked for her help the first time. Feeling stupid, I closed the unnamed book and rose to get another.

I pulled the next book off the shelf, tensing when it was heavier than I thought it should be. It hit the table with a thump and Nick cringed. “Sorry,” I said, pushing the cover straight to hide that I had torn the rotting binding. Sitting down, I opened the book.

My heart gave a thump and I froze, feeling the hair on my neck stand on end. It wasn’t my imagination. Worried, I looked up to see if Nick had noticed it, too. He was staring over my shoulder at one of the aisles the book racks made. The eerie feeling wasn’t coming from the book. It was coming from behind me. Damn.

“Rachel!” came a tiny call from the hall. “Your amulet went red, but no one’s out here!”

I shut the book and stood. There was a flickering in the air. My heart pounded when half a dozen books in the aisle pushed themselves to the back of the shelves. “Uh, Nick?” I questioned. “Is there a history of ghosts in the library?”

“Not that I know of.”

Double damn. I moved to stand beside him. “Then what the hell is that?”

He gave me a wary look. “I don’t know.”

Jenks flitted in. “There’s nothing in the hallway, Rache. You sure that charm you gave me is working?” he asked, and I pointed at the disturbance in the aisle.