The Deaths of Me (NEW ADULT REWORK)

14. Ivy's Charred Apartment

Dying ought to be done in black and white. It is simply not a colorful activity.

--Russell Baker

This was, hands down, the most annoying assignment Ivy had ever been put on. Suddenly, she was in some sort of high school drama with crushes and rumors and ex-loves. It was ridiculous and unnecessary. But now that it was her shift, Ivy fully intended on locking the little fireball up in her unused bedroom and keeping her there until it was time to hand her back over to the dog. There would be no danger from other Underdwellers if she never left Ivy's loft. It would give her enough time to look into some possible leads for the cult that took her in the first place.

A cult smart enough, dangerous enough, and rich enough to find the phoenix, murder the ogre that protected her, and keep her hidden for almost two weeks despite the Covenant scouring every inch of the entire southeast quadrant was something to be wary of.

But from Rory's terrified expression, Ivy could tell that the cult wasn't even a blip on the girl's radar. Personally, Ivy found the news of Rory's no-touch-rule to be of the pleasant variety. That solved the slow kindle of the almost romance of the bird and the dog. Now, she figured, the lycan would concentrate on keeping Rory safe. And if miracles existed, the phoenix would make Ivy's job easy and obey her suggestions.

Rory sat on a pile of Ivy's clothes that slumped on top of a hunk of furniture that was once used as a couch. She looked like someone had just given her a puppy and then swiftly taken it from her arms and put it into a burning fireplace.

"Seriously. You have to stop with that pitiful look," Ivy said.

"I can't," Rory said.

Ivy forced a sigh and put her hands on her hips. She had to manage not to rip the bird's head off for the next three days, so it seemed she would have to talk the poor thing down. "Better to choke the weed before it grows, right? It's not like you were soul mates or anything."

"How can you know that?" Rory's cheeks were littered with blotches of red from her obvious distress. "Even if I leave Dane alone, what does that mean for the rest of my life? I can never get married to anyone. I can never have children without leaving them orphans." Ivy watched the phoenix stand and shakily make her way over to her. She was nearly drowning in whatever long clothes the wolves had donated to her. Ivy looked away from her because it made no sense to look at pathetic things.

"If you think I'm crying over a boy I never had, then you should get to know me better."

Ivy threw her a sidelong glance and struggled to hold back her smirk. "You don't cry."

"Well, this is as close as I get." The girl was unflinching in her stare.

Something swelled in Ivy's chest, but it wasn't anything that she could identify. It didn't feel like the wrath or the annoyance she was accustomed to. In fact, it felt warm. Ivy frowned and pressed her palm to her chest. Had she overfed? She looked at the bird who looked as prettily confused as ever. Before either of them could say anything, there was a loud banging on the door.

"Rory! Rory, let me talk to ye!"

Great.

"I can't talk to him now," Rory pleaded. She backed up into the kitchen, clanging against something that sounded like pots when she disappeared from view.

"Oh, calm down. You're being dramatic." Ivy started off for the door.

"Don't! You heard what Queen Cayleigh said. I'll kill him."

"Only if you have feelings for him."

The kitchen was silent.

Ivy trotted over to her front door and leaned against it. Idly, she crossed her arms and cleared her throat. With a last glance to the kitchen entrance, the vampire prepared to speak.