13. Ivy

13

IVY

"This day is never-ending," I groan as I head out of my last lecture for the day, glad to be going home to do precisely nothing. Except maybe think of ways to infiltrate the Ainsley Coven. A month sounds like a long time, but it's not really when you think about it.

"Agreed," Ramsey says, falling into step beside me. "I'm ready to crash in front of the TV with Josh and eat pizza."

"Is he okay after earlier?" I ask.

"Yeah, he's fine. That was pretty wild, what you did. But handy…" He gives me a penetrating stare. "You have active abilities."

"Yeah…" I blink at him and then turn my gaze away. I haven't been able to get it out of my head all day. Active abilities. I have the ability to actively defend myself, or attack someone. I've never had that power of my own before. It opens up a whole world of possibilities .

Ramsey and I go quiet as we cross over the grass and then the road that leads to our house. Josh isn't far behind us, and I leave the guys to it as I head upstairs and dump my bag on the bed. I roll my shoulders and pull out my laptop. I need to learn all I can on this Ainsley Coven. Knowledge is power and all that.

I flip it open, and I jump a mile when the screen flickers to life and Professor Swann's ugly face fills the space. "Miss Hammond. We heard about your new abilities. This is something you should've reported to us yourself. This will change the assignments you are handed."

"I literally just got in. I haven't had time to do anything yet."

He acknowledges that with an incline of his head. "We have a job for you."

"I know. I'm working on it."

He frowns. "It's tonight."

"What?" I stare at him as my blood runs cold. "You told me I had a month."

He smirks. "No, no child. This is a separate assignment. You will still get assignments while you work on the special task."

"Oh, great," I mutter. Well, that smashed the hope that I didn't have to do anything else in the meantime so I could focus my energies on Walcott Ashford. "Speaking of that special task, I didn't get my half up front yet. "

His eyes narrow. "This is a special circumstance. You will receive full payment once it is complete."

"What?" I snap. "That's not in the contract."

"Actually, it is for those assignments we deem… special."

I silently fume, knowing I have no comeback on that. Arguing the contract is a pointless waste of time. "Who's the target tonight?"

Swann's lipless mouth curls into a cruel smile. "A vampire named Marcus Crowberry. He's been causing trouble for some of our more influential clients. You'll find him at Club Nox tonight."

I suppress a groan. Club Nox is one of the most exclusive supernatural nightclubs in town. Getting in won't be easy.

"And how exactly am I supposed to get close to him?" I ask, even though I won't get an answer.

"That's for you to figure out," Swann says dismissively. "Use those new abilities of yours if you have to. Just get it done."

"Fine," I grit out. "Anything else I should know?"

"Yes. He'll be heavily guarded. And he has a fondness for pretty young things. Use that to your advantage."

Great. So not only do I have to figure out how to get into an exclusive club and take out a well-protected vampire, but I also have to play the seduction game two nights in a row. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"I'll take care of it," I say flatly.

Swann nods. "See that you do. We'll be watching. "

The screen goes black, and I slam the laptop shut with more force than necessary. "Fucking hell," I mutter, running a hand through my hair as my phone pings. I pick it up and see twenty-five grand has been deposited into my account.

I glance at the clock. It's five o'clock. Nox opens at nine. I've got four hours to kill.

Crossing over to the window, I fold my arms and glower out of it. Movement catches my eye, and I frown as a shadowy figure strolls past the house in a black hoodie, pulled over their head. I shake my head and turn away from the window, crouching and feeling around under the bed for the box of weapons I keep stashed. It's a wooden box about as big as a shoe box and holds everything from a common stake to the holy water I used last night. I can't get away with that trick this time. So how am I going to kill a vampire in front of his guards in a crowded nightclub? I'm sure that I'll be patted down if I want to get up close and personal with him, so nothing I have will work unless I can separate him from his cronies. Then, things could get interesting. But how do I do that? I know nothing about this guy. Sitting back down, I tap into the search engine: ‘Marcus Crowberry' and hit enter.

Ramsey knocks on the door and pushes it open. "A job?—"

"Yeah, I know. I'm on it. Got any ways to take down a vamp with high security in the middle of a club? I'm all ears. "

"Hate to say it, but nothing you've got will work. You need magick," he says, sitting down on the bed.

"What kind of magick?"

"The kind Vex likes to mess around with."

I groan. "Oh, you have got to be fucking with me!"

"Wish I was, Ives. He has a spell that can burn him from the inside out, half an hour after you've already left. I wouldn't suggest it, you know I wouldn't if there was another way, but as your Handler, I have to."

"Fuck."

He eyes me up. "What?"

"Things didn't end well earlier when he removed the rune from me. There was a thing, and now he is probably not going to help me."

"He works for the same people we do. He has to help you if you have nowhere else to go."

"Not helping! Fuck!"

"Sorry, babes. This was passed along from Vera. She knows you can't do this without help."

"Vera? Why would she help me?"

His gaze turns serious. "I don't know. But if she is giving you a way to complete this job, then you need to take it."

"Vex. Fuck." I close my eyes and breathe out heavily. This is going to be a fucking disaster.