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Contents (114)
  1. THE HOLLOW SERIES BOOKS 1–4
  2. Contents
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Thirty-Three
  38. Thirty-Four
  39. Acknowledgements
  40. THE GOOD, THE BAD,
  41. AND THE UNDEAD
  42. Dedication
  43. Contents
  44. One
  45. Two
  46. Three
  47. Four
  48. Five
  49. Six
  50. Seven
  51. Eight
  52. Nine
  53. Ten
  54. Eleven
  55. Twelve
  56. Thirteen
  57. Fourteen
  58. Fifteen
  59. Sixteen
  60. Seventeen
  61. Eighteen
  62. Nineteen
  63. Twenty
  64. Twenty-One
  65. Twenty-Two
  66. Twenty-Three
  67. Twenty-Four
  68. Twenty-Five
  69. Twenty-Six
  70. Twenty-Seven
  71. Twenty-Eight
  72. Twenty-Nine
  73. Acknowledgements
  74. Dedication
  75. Contents
  76. One
  77. Two
  78. Three
  79. Four
  80. Five
  81. Six
  82. Seven
  83. Eight
  84. Nine
  85. Ten
  86. Eleven
  87. Twelve
  88. Thirteen
  89. Fourteen
  90. Fifteen
  91. Sixteen
  92. Seventeen
  93. Eighteen
  94. Nineteen
  95. Twenty
  96. Twenty-One
  97. Twenty-Two
  98. Twenty-Three
  99. Twenty-Four
  100. Twenty-Five
  101. Twenty-Six
  102. Twenty-Seven
  103. Twenty-Eight
  104. Twenty-Nine
  105. Thirty
  106. Thirty-One
  107. Thirty-Two
  108. Thirty-Three
  109. Acknowledgements
  110. A FISTFUL OF CHARMS
  111. Also by the Author
  112. About the Author
  113. Copyright
  114. About the Publisher

“Hello,” Nick said, his voice dropping and taking on a surprisingly professional tone. “You’ve reached Morgan, Tamwood, and Jenks. Vampiric Charms Runner Service.”

Vampiric Charms Runner Service? I thought. A little of Ivy, a little of me. It was as good as anything else, I suppose. I blew on a spoonful, thinking his cooking wasn’t bad, either.

“Jenks?” Nick said, and I hesitated, looking up as Nick appeared in the hallway with the phone. “She’s eating. You’re at the airport already?”

There was a long pause, and I sighed. The FIB was more open-minded and eager for Trent than I had anticipated.

“The FIB?” Nick’s tone had shifted to concern, and I stiffened as he added, “She did what? Is anyone dead?”

My eyes closed in a long blink and I set my spoon aside. Nick’s concoction went sour in my stomach, and I swallowed hard.

“Um, sure,” Nick said, the skin around his expressive eyes crinkling as he met my gaze. “Give us a half hour.” The beep of the phone as he turned it off was loud. He turned to me and blew out his breath. “We have a problem.”

Twenty-Nine

I fell against the side of the cab as it made a tight turn. Pain broke past my amulets, and I clutched one-handed at my bag in misery. The driver was human, and he had made it painfully clear he didn’t like driving out to the Hollows after dark. His constant muttering hadn’t abated until he crossed the Ohio River and was back where “decent people kept themselves.” In his eyes, my and Nick’s only saving grace was that he had picked us up at a church and that we were going to the FIB, “A fine and decent establishment upholding the right side of the law.”

“Okay,” I said as Nick helped ease me upright. “So those fine and decent people at the FIB were harassing Ivy, playing good-cop/bad-cop. Someone touched her and—”

“She exploded,” Nick finished. “It took eight officers to bring her down. Jenks says three are in the hospital for observation. Four more were treated and released.”

“Idiots,” I muttered. “What about Jenks?”

Nick put an arm out, bracing himself as we lurched to a stop before a tall stone and glass building. “They’ll release him to a responsible person.” His grin looked a tad nervous. “And in the absence of one, they said you would do.”

“Ha ha,” I said dryly. Peering up through the dirty glass of the cab, I read FEDERAL INDERLANDER BUREAU engraved deeply over the two sets of doors. Nick sidled out to the sidewalk first and extended a hand to help me. I slowly worked my way out and tried to find my bearings as he paid the cabbie with the money I slipped him. It was bright under the streetlights, and the streets themselves had remarkably light traffic for that hour. Clearly we were deep into the human district of Cincinnati. Looking up to find the top of the imposing building, I felt very much the minority and on edge.