Erica was standing by the foot of the stairs, her eyes wide and her mouth open. Skimmer looked distressed as she tried to cover her error, smoothing her hands on her pants and touching her hair. She took a deep breath. Still flushed, she stiffly extended her hand in an obvious show of intent and stepped forward. “I’m sorry,” she said as she halted before me. “My name is Dorothy Claymor. You can call me that if you want to. I probably deserve it.”

I managed to dredge up a stilted smile. “Rachel Morgan,” I said, shaking her hand.

The woman froze, and I pulled away. She looked at Ivy, the pieces falling into place.

“The one who put Piscary in prison,” I added, just to be sure she knew where I stood.

A sick smile came over Ivy. Dropping back a step, Skimmer’s gaze went between us. Confusion made her cheeks bright red. This was a mess. This was a sticky, stinking mess of crap, and the levels were steadily rising.

Skimmer swallowed hard. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Hesitating, she added, “Boy, this is awkward.”

I felt my shoulders ease at her admission. She was going to do what she had to do, and I was going to do what I had to do. And Ivy? Ivy was going to go insane.

Erica moved forward, the jingling of her jewelry sounding loud. “Hey, ah, does anyone want a cookie or something?”

Oh yeah. A cookie. That would make everything better. Dunked in a shot of tequila, maybe? Or better yet, just the bottle? Yeah, that ought to do it.

Skimmer forced a smile. Her crisp mien was wearing thin, but she was holding up well considering she had left her home and master to rekindle a relationship with her high school girlfriend who was rooming with the woman who had put her new boss behind bars. Join us next time for Days of the Undead when Rachel learns her long lost brother is really a crown prince from outer space. My life was so screwed up.

Skimmer glanced at her watch—I couldn’t help but notice it had diamonds on it in place of numbers. “I’ve got to go. I’m meeting with—someone in about an hour.”

She was going to meet someone in about an hour. Just after the sun went down. Why didn’t she just say Piscary?

“You need a ride?” Ivy said, sounding almost wistful, if she would ever let that particular emotion come from her.

Skimmer looked from Ivy to me and back to Ivy, hurt and disappointment flickering in the back of her eyes. “No,” she said softly. “I’ve got a cab coming.” She swallowed, trying to scrape herself back together. “Actually, I think that’s it now.”

I didn’t hear anything, but I didn’t have a living vampire’s hearing.

Skimmer shifted awkwardly forward. “It was nice meeting you,” she said to me, then turned to Ivy. “I’ll talk to you later, sweets,” she said, eyes closed as she gave her a long hug.