NAME: Kirk Baldridge

EMAIL:

TITLE: Soul Provider

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, names, places, etc. They all belong to Kim Harrison, and I would just like to take this opportunity to thank her for creating them.

FANDOM: The Hollows

PAIRING: Rachel / Ivy

RATING: M

SUMMARY: Rachel's may have found a way to save Ivy's soul, but will she ever get to use it?

SPOILER: None. Set some time after Black Magic Sanction if that makes a difference.

Rachel woke to a throbbing neck and a mouth full of cookie crumbs.

'She must have forced them down my throat while I was out.' Theoretically, the vampire could keep this up for days, but she had no intention of letting that happen. 'I've got to get this damn thing off!' She began frantically jerking her hand inside the manacle. Unless the silver charm had been specially prepared it was merely metal, and she just needed to break a single link to free herself. 'Come on!'

"Hey!" Skimmer appeared in the doorway. "What the hell are you doing?"

As the vampire came at her, Rachel heard the welcome sound of breaking metal. An instant later her chi began thrumming as it sensed the presence of a ley line nearby, and she instinctively began spindling it. Skimmer grabbed her by the throat and jerked her to her feet, fangs bared as she snarled.

"I said…what the hell were you doing?"

Rachel smiled. "I heard you the first time, bitch!" She unleashed a blast of line energy that hit Skimmer in the face like a sledgehammer and knocked her head over heels. Then she used a lesser, more focused amount to force the manacles open. She stood up, rubbing her wrists. "Okay, ready for round two?"

Skimmer lurched unsteadily to her feet. Blood poured from her nose. Her eyes were pure black. "I'm going to fucking kill you!" She charged blindly at Rachel, who nimbly sidestepped out of the way, and had to put her hands out to stop herself from running face first into the wall. "How did you…"

"Ivy taught me. She's a lot better at this than you." Rachel rested her hands on her hips. "Give it up, Dorothy. You already know from experience you can't beat me. The only chance you had was when I was chained to the wall. So here's the deal. Leave now, and we can forget this ever happened."

Skimmer rushed at the witch again, arms outstretched, spittle and blood flying from her mouth.

"I'll take that as a no." Rachel dropped into a crouch and swung her legs around, in an effort to sweep Skimmer's legs out from under her, but the vampire surprised her by jumping right over her. Skimmer twisted in midair and kicked the redhead in the chest, knocking the air out of her.

Skimmer sneered. "You'd be amazed what you pick up in prison."

"I'm done…playing around…Dorothy." Rachel could barely catch her breath. It felt like one of her ribs had been cracked, but she tried not to show the pain as she backed away. "Leave. Now!"

"I can smell your fear, witch." Skimmer licked her lips. "You're not as confident as you were a second ago."

Rachel put a hand to her chest, where the cracked rib made it hard for her to concentrate. She wasn't sure she could physically take Skimmer like this, so magic was all she had. "Skim…no!" The vampire was coming at her again, and the witch stumbled in her effort to get out of the way. As Skimmer's fingernails grazed her throat, she unleashed every bit of the ley line energy still within her in one tremendous blast. Skimmer was swept up in an irresistible tidal wave of invisible power that sent her crashing right through the filthy plate glass window. She screamed in wide-eyed terror as she dropped out of sight. "Oh no."

She hadn't meant to throw Skimmer out the window. It hadn't dawned on her they were so close to it. Worse, from the near dusk view of Cincinnati, they were also a lot higher than she expected. She went to the window and looked down, her heart in her throat. It appeared they had been on the top level of one of the abandoned, four story warehouses on the docks. Skimmer lay in the middle of the street, in a pool of her own blood. 'Oh God. I think I killed her.' She headed for the door. 'Now she's really going to be pissed.'

Rachel was vaguely aware of an approaching engine as she got down to street level. She was more focused on Skimmer. Living vampires were much stronger and tougher than Humans, or Witches, or Weres, but there was a limit to what even they could survive, and she was pretty sure a four-story fall went beyond it. "Oh Skimmer. I'm sorry. I swear, I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry."

"Rachel!" Ivy swept the Witch up in a hug that caused instant agony to her cracked rib. When Rachel screamed in pain she released her. "I'm sorry. Are you okay? What happened?"

"Tinks' little red thong!" Jenks landed beside Skimmer. "You sure showed the bitch who's boss."

"Not now, Jenks." Rachel turned. "Ivy? Is she going to die?"

Ivy's tears told the story. "The trauma is too much. Her body is already shutting down." She stroked the blonde's cheek. "I'm sorry. When you wake up, you're not going to be you anymore."

"Umm, actually…" Rachel bit her lip as Ivy and Jenks looked at her. "…that may not be true."

Rachel knew she didn't have long, so she summarized.

"I had a dream last night. A spell I did with Al in the ever after, which was supposed to involve an aura but was actually someone's soul. It got into me, and I needed Al and Newt to get it out. So when I woke from the dream it occurred to me that, with a little modification, that same spell might be able to help save your soul." She saw Ivy's eyes widen but continued. "I got Al to send me the scroll and spent last night and this morning researching. I was on my way home to tell you about it when Skimmer grabbed me."

Jenks' wings rained blue and gold dust. "Tinks' titties! Are you saying you can do it?"

"It really still needs research, to work out the specifics, before I'd feel confident trying it on you Ivy, but under the circumstances…" Rachel glanced down at Skimmer. "Yes. I think so."

"What would you need to do it?" Ivy asked. "We don't have time to get to a magic shop."

Rachel shook her head. "It shouldn't be that complicated. I was refining this thing to be as simple as possible. All I have to do it act as a conduit for her soul, holding on to it just long enough for her body to repair itself." She looked to Ivy. "And before you ask, it was based on a demon curse but it isn't one, but I am altering natural order of things so there will probably be smut. If there is, don't worry. I'll take it all."

"Is it dangerous?" Jenks asked. "For you, I mean." He flew closer, his wings flashing red. "Crap on toast! Your aura is all messed up, Rache. You're hurt."

Rachel nodded. "I think she cracked one of my ribs when we were fighting. I'll be fine, Jenks. Skimmer's the one who's suffering now. Ivy, I can't make this decision for her."

"I know." Ivy knelt beside the blonde, who was coughing up blood. "Skimmer? Can you hear me?"

"Guess she wins, V." Skimmer's eyelids fluttered open. "Make sure…she treats you…right."

Ivy cupped the other living vampire's cheek. "Skim? Listen. You're going to die. I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do about that, but Rachel may have a way to save your soul. Do you understand me? She knows a spell. If you'll allow it, she wants to cast it, to try and keep you the woman you are."

"Soul? Who gives a…shit?" Skimmer's eyes were black. "You don't want me. I don't need…to feel this way…anymore." She lay her head back. "Let it go."

"Skimmer." Ivy took a deep breath. "I can't. I do still love you. Please."

Rachel closed her eyes and shifted to her second sight. She and Jenks could both see how weak Skimmer's aura was becoming. She wouldn't last much longer. "Ivy…"

"I know." Ivy was crying now. " Skimmer, please. I don't want to lose you."

'And I don't want to lose you.' Rachel was praying this worked. Not so much for Skimmer's sake, though she really had nothing against the woman, but for Ivy's. Losing her soul was Ivy's greatest fear, and if this even the slightest potential for success they might actually have a future together. 'If Skimmer just dies though, Ivy will always blame me. Sooner or later, that resentment turns to anger.'

Skimmer opened her eyes again. "Crying?" With what little strength she had left, she reached up and touched Ivy's face. "Don't cry. I never wanted…to make you…cry." Her back arched violently as a wave of pain went through her and she vomited blood. "I can't, V. I don't trust the witch."

"Then trust me. Rachel can't hurt you. Your life is over. If this works though, you'll still be you. Isn't that better than being a soulless monster?" Ivy took a deep breath. "Like Piscary?"

Rachel's eyes widened. 'Ouch.'

"Crap!" Skimmer jerked her head up, sin black eyes focusing on Rachel. "You better be right about this!" That was all she had left, and the energy just seeped from her body. "Do it."

Rachel dropped to her knees near Skimmer's head. "Ivy, Jenks, back away. Once I start, make sure neither of you touches us. I don't want to risk interrupting the ritual. I can't say for sure it would have any affect but I really don't want to take the chance, okay?" They both nodded. "Okay. Skimmer, I have no idea how this is going to feel like on either end, so for whatever it's worth, brace yourself."

"Just shut up and get on with it." Skimmer groaned in pain and stopped moving.

Rachel took the scroll and spread it out on the vampire's chest, then put one of her hands on either side of Skimmer's head. "Here we go." She took a deep breath, centered herself, then shifted to her second sight, and began to chant in a language Jenks and Ivy could not understand.

Through her second sight, Rachel saw an ephemeral, vaguely human shape rising from Skimmer's body. She imagined reaching for it, taking its hands, and nearly lost herself in its sad, bright eyes. The warmth radiating from it made her chi hum even more than when she was connected to a line, and she realized if this was the soul, she could understand why Ivy was so desperate to hold on to hers.

Ivy and Jenks, meanwhile, could hear Skimmer's heartbeat slowing. Her breath was coming in short, ragged gasps. They both knew she wouldn't last much longer.

'Goodbye, Dorothy.' Ivy wiped her eyes. 'I'm really going to miss you.' Even if Rachel were successful, she knew things just wouldn't be the same. 'And be careful Rachel. Sometimes you forget how dangerous magic can be. I don't want to lose you too.' She glanced at Jenks, who was wide-eyed.

"Tinks' little red thong! Can you see that?"

Ivy looked, but all she saw was Rachel and Skimmer. "What?"

"Their auras are almost merging, like when you bit Rache. Crap on toast! I can barely tell them apart!"

"Really?" Ivy remembered Rachel mentioning, with what happened underground after Art, she thought their auras were the key to saving her soul. Perhaps she had been more right than she knew. "I wonder what it's going to look like when Skimmer's soul is actually inside of Rachel?"

Rachel's chi pulsed, reflexively discharging the ley line energy she had been spindling in order to make room for Skimmer's soul. The ghostly image, which was beginning to look more and more like the vampire, had almost completely separated from Skimmer's body. It floated silently toward her.

Skimmer's body convulsed. She gave one last, languid gasp, and then her heart stopped.

Rachel gasped as everything unbearably bright and her brain felt like it was collapsing in on itself. An invisible force flung her and Skimmer apart, but by then the witch was blissfully unconscious.