30. Ivy

30

IVY

I stare at the small stone in my hand, feeling the slight buzz from the magick running through it. What the hell is this?

"Everything okay?" Josh asks, coming up behind me.

I quickly close my fist around the stone, hiding it from view. "Yeah, fine. Just trying to keep away from the drama."

"Fuck, yeah. Your new beau has decided he doesn't like Vex's face the way it is, so he's going to rearrange it." Josh snickers and throws an arm over my shoulder as he guides me towards our next class. "Do I have to go all big brother on you and tell you that Tate Blackwell is a bad boy? Because I'm an only child, and I'd like to keep it that way."

I snort as I grin at him. "No, you don't need to do that. I know who he is. "

"Sure?"

"Positive. And he's not my boyfriend," I lie, feeling the flare of the inscription on my lower back protest my words.

"Whatever, bitch, just be careful."

I force a smile. "I'm good. Promise. We should get to the lecture."

As we walk to our hall, my mind goes back to the stone in my fist. I need to figure out what it means and why Tate gave it to me so secretively. But I can't exactly examine it with Josh right next to me.

Halfway to the lecture hall, my phone buzzes. I drag it out and see it's a text from Ramsey: Target located. Sending details now. Clock starts when you receive coordinates.

My heart rate spikes. This is it. I have twenty-four hours to eliminate Walcott Ashford, and I still have no idea how I'm going to pull it off.

Slamming my hand to my head, I feign a headache and, make an excuse to Josh and hurry off, hoping he will one day forgive me for all this lying. Once I'm clear, I sprint over the quad towards the grassy area before I hit the pavement and cross the road to my house. When I'm inside, I pull out the stone Tate gave me and examine it closely.

Intricate runes are carved into its surface, glowing faintly with magical energy. I recognise some of the symbols from my studies of runic magick, but others are completely unfamiliar. Whatever message Tate was trying to send, it was clearly meant to be hidden from prying eyes.

Frustrated, I toss the stone onto my bed and pull out my phone to check Ramsey's message. The coordinates ping through, along with a brief description of the location - an abandoned cottage in the middle of the forest that surrounds Thornfield. Hiding in plain sight, I guess. At least, this should make it fairly easy. No witnesses and all that.

Kneeling down to get the box out from under my bed, my hand brushes against the stone, and suddenly, it starts to glow brighter. Startled, I watch as the rune splits into several smaller ones, and they rearrange themselves before my eyes.

TRAP. T ORDERED THE HIT. BE CAREFUL.

My blood runs cold as I read Tate's warning. Torin put out a hit on his father just to trap Poison? What the fucked-up kind of shit is this? It's not like they couldn't find me without going to such extreme measures. They have before, plenty of times… unless this is less about me and more about Walcott.

"Double fuck," I growl, grabbing the box and standing up, disrupting the runes which drop to the bed and then rejoin to form one stone again.

Torin ordered the hit as a trap, but I still have to carry it out or risk my soul with my bosses. This is a clusterfuck.

But nothing is going to change the facts, so I need to start prepping my gear. If I'm walking into a trap, I need to be ready for anything. I open the box and search through it, knowing that I need way more offensive weapons than usual. I have my poison ivy vines, and whatever Tate gave me, but I'm not trusting my life with that. I need more.

My hand falls on a vial of holy water, and I pause, my eyes narrowed. An idea brews, and I smile before opening my bedroom door and walking down the hallway to the plug-in air freshener at the top of the stairs. I yank it out of the socket and go back to my room, removing the empty refill, I grip the wick and pull it out slowly. It smells strongly of lavender, and I cough, placing it on the desk. I pour the holy water into the empty bottle and refit the wick, then I slot the bottle back into place.

"Voilà," I murmur, pleased with my handiwork. This will work to weaken Walcott if I've got my hands full with Torin and Bram. Mind you, it will also weaken Torin, so bonus points there. Next, I grab a second vial of holy water and a small injection and fill it before putting it in my small bag with the plug-in. It's nearly full, so my next weapons need to be chosen with equal care. Walcott Ashford is not only a very old and powerful vampire, but he is also the head of a vampire-mage coven. So, I've got two vampires and a dark fae to contend with.

"Choose wisely, little mouse," I mutter, digging through the box. I won't have my stiletto blade because I'm not going to be tripping through the forest in heels, so I grab a set of silver throwing stars and stuff them into the bag, plus a vial of powdered rowan into my pocket - it won't kill a fae, but it'll hurt like hell, and lastly, I grab a small pouch of mountain ash. It won't do much against vampires, but it might buy me some time to escape if things go tits up.

They've given me a day to get this done, but no time like the present, the sooner it's done, the better. I shift to Poison and yank open the wardrobe to search for something appropriate to wear for bashing through the forest.

I settle on a pair of black combat boots, dark skinny jeans, and a tight black long-sleeved top. It is practical but still allows for easy movement.

As I gear up, my mind sorts through possible scenarios. If Torin ordered the hit as a trap, he and Bram will likely be there waiting for me. But will Tate be with them? And how much does he actually know about their plan?

I shake my head, pushing those thoughts aside. I can't afford to be distracted right now. I need to focus on the mission at hand - eliminating Walcott Ashford. Everything else is secondary.

Picking up the bag, I tuck it into the waistband at the back of my jeans and pick up my phone, ramming it into the tight back pocket. I need it to give me directions to this cottage out in the middle of nowhere, where, hopefully, I'll still have a signal. Snatching up a vial of liquid silver, I cram that into my front pocket and hope for the best .

Slipping out the backdoor that leads to the garden from the kitchen, I jog to the back fence and haul myself up. Swinging my leg over the top, I turn around and bring my other leg over before jumping down into a crouch. I check the vial, phone, and bag, which are still in place, and then I straighten up, looking left and right down this deserted, overgrown pathway that leads around the houses to the forest. It's the middle of the day, so I doubt I will come across anyone walking their dog or just out for a stroll, but I keep a lookout anyway.

I walk quickly along the brambly path, keeping my senses alert for any sign of movement. The forest looms ahead, dark and foreboding even in the midday sun. As I reach the treeline, I scan the area but see nothing out of the ordinary. I check my phone, confirming the coordinates and see that I have a strong signal right now.

The dense foliage swallows me as I plunge into the woods, leaves rustling under my boots. I move as quietly as possible, hyper-aware of every sound around me. A twig snaps somewhere to my left, and I freeze, holding my breath. After a tense moment, a rabbit darts out from behind a bush, and I exhale slowly.

"Get it together, Poison," I mutter, staying in character when the thought hits my brain, and I giggle. "Poison Ivy. Guess it was fate knocking when I chose the assassin's name off the top of my head a few years ago. "

Feeling somewhat comforted by this, I carry on, following the map on my phone. The cottage should be about a mile in, right in the centre of this crazily deep forest. An owl hoots, making me nearly jump out of my skin as I go deeper and deeper. It gets darker and more spooky as the canopy closes overhead to allow little to no light. As I walk, I run through my plan again. Get in, take out Walcott quickly and cleanly, and get out before Torin and his crew show up. It is simple enough in theory, but I know better than to expect things to go smoothly.

After about thirty minutes of hiking, I spot a break in the trees ahead. Crouching low, I creep forward until I can see the cottage. It's a small, dilapidated structure that looks like it hasn't been inhabited in years. Perfect for a vampire on the run. The bent aerial at the top of the roof is rusted but tells me the place has electricity. Assuming it's switched on. That belated thought pings in my head, and I roll my eyes at myself. Still, the plug-in wasn't my whole plan, just a failsafe. But I'm guessing a vampire like Walcott Ashford wouldn't be hiding out here without at least some creature comforts, so it's worth checking it out.

I scan the area, looking for any sign of Walcott, Torin, Bram or Tate, but the clearing appears empty. Still, I'm not taking any chances.

I circle the cottage slowly, staying hidden in the treeline. There is no movement inside, no signs of life. It's almost too quiet. My instincts are screaming at me to abort, but I can't. That would mean a detailed report to my bosses about why I didn't get the job done.

There is only one thing for it.

I slide the phone into my back pocket and pull out the bag of tricks, ready for action.