Black Magic Sanction

dollars.'

The last bit was a sudden inspiration on my part as I tried to find a way to get Oliver interested. As expected, the man's eyebrows rose, whereas Trent just frowned at Oliver's greed. A million dollars was nothing to Trent.

'You, being smart,' I said to Oliver, fluffing his ego, 'knew that black witches were the bigger threat. Going all out, you decided to drum up a false charge and get me shunned in order to encourage me to use the strongest means available to see if I could break in. Black magic. And now that I've proved I can, you can rescind the shunning.'

Both men were silent. A pang of worry lifted through me. Maybe I'd misjudged Oliver's greed. 'Uh, maybe the reward was two million,' I added, and Trent blinked.

Beside him, Oliver said, 'You want us to lie for you.'

I had a brief memory of asking Minias the same thing, and I shoved it away. 'Yeah,' I said with forced casualness. 'But it's not hurting anyone's reputation, property, or business. It's a big, freaking white lie, the same one we've been telling ourselves for the last five thousand years. Is that okay with you, or do you tell your wife she looks fat in her favorite dress, too?'

The man made a soft noise of negation, but Trent's nod was even more positive. 'What about Brooke?' Oliver asked, and my mood was tarnished.

Eyes down, I said, 'I can't get her back. She was sold three seconds after hitting the ever-after. I'm sorry. I really did try, but she did summon him.'

'I can't do this!' Oliver said, unable to let it go, and Trent seemed to collapse in on himself in exasperation. 'I can't allow it! Reverse her shunning? Let her run around capable of twisting curses and setting demons loose on the world? It's insane!'

'Oliver!' I shouted, seeing Jenks's wings silhouetted against the thick glass in the door. He was hearing all of this, I was sure. 'I'm not a black witch. I just twist curses instead of stirring spells. There are a hundred mundane ways to kill a person, and you dont put people in jail just because they could do a crime.' He was listening, and I gestured, pleading, 'You're going to have to trust me. But if you think I'm bad now, just keep this crap up. I don't have to stay here. If you make me leave, you can bet I'll be back, and I'll still be pissed.'

Oliver leaned over the table, not cowed at all. 'We can find you anywhere.'

'Yeah, but you can't follow me everywhere,' I said, and a flicker of doubt crossed his mind.

'Find a way to work the deal, Oliver,' Trent said. 'You're letting pride get in your way. She keeps her word. I doubt that Ms. Morgan will have children anyway. If she does, they will be kidnapped by demons. Not your problem anymore.'

It was sad but true. Watching Oliver, I held my breath and scooted to the back of my chair, waiting as thoughts flitted across his face. I thought he was almost going to say yes, but what came out of his mouth was a flat 'I can't.'

Trent sighed, and Oliver turned to him. 'I can't!' he said louder. 'I am one of six, and I'm not going to sit here and tell you I can grant you a pardon when I can't. You're going to have to stand before the coven and beg for leniency.'

'What?' I yelped, sitting up fast.

'On your knees,' he said, finding his courage as mine evaporated. 'Even if I go out and give the press that cock-and-bull story, the coven will know the truth, and the fact remains that you performed black magic and you consort with demons.'

'That's not fair!' I said, infuriated.

'If you want your shunning removed, that's what you're going to have to do. You don't think we can simply let you admit you did black magic, then let you walk because we say it was a test? No. You re going to have to beg for our pardon.'

I inhaled deeply to let him have it, then hesitated. Slowly my breath slipped out. 'Fine,' I said sullenly. 'I'll come to the next witches' meeting, but I'm not going to get on my knees. I'll say I'm sorry, and you can wave your wand and say I'm really a good witch. Shunning rescinded. Okay? But until then, you back off or these papers get filed.'

Oliver smiled in a not-nice way, and I wondered if they would kill me between now and then. 'Double-blind study?' he said and I quivered. 'Will they really go for that?'

The air shook in my lungs. 'Oh, yeah. The news loves making me look like a fool.'

I jerked as Trent stood up, his chair loud against the tile. His hand was out, extended to me. Slowly I stood and took it. His hand was cool, fitting nicely in mine with the perfect amount of pressure. 'Congratulations, Ms. Morgan,' he said, his voice rising and falling like water, not a hint of anything but honest pleasure. 'Come and see me before the annual meeting. I'd like to talk to you when you have a moment.'

There was a strip of paper in my hand when he pulled away, and I palmed it. 'I'd like that, Mr. Kalamack.' Maybe he had some idea of where Nick had gone.

Oliver had stood as well, but his hands were behind his back. 'You're really going to go out there and say it was all a test of your security system?'

'That's exactly what I'm going to do, Oliver. And if you were smart, you'd back off and give her everything she wants.' Smiling cockily, Trent inclined his head to me. 'Good evening, Ms. Morgan.'

My lips curved up, but inside I was shaking. Yd done it. Holy crap on toast. I wish they'd hurry up and leave. I was going to pass out. Trent opened the door, and the sounds of the FIB spilled in to replace him.

'See you around, Trent,' I whispered, falling back in my chair. My attention dropped to the little slip of paper. 'See you tonight... ,' I murmured, reading, TONIGHT. STABLES. WEAR YOUR BOOTS.

Jenks buzzed in, and I crumpled it.

Thirty-six

The slamming of my mom's car door was loud, echoing in the moist, sunset-gloomed air from the distant forest. My gaze lifted across the pastures, and I pulled my jacket tighter around my shoulders. The dogs on the hill were silent, and I shivered when I realized they weren't in their kennel.

Okay, I didn't have a valid driver's license anymore, but no one had stopped me, and I wasn't about to ask Ivy to drive me out here to Trent's stables. It had been hard enough slipping out of the church without Jenks knowing. Trent's note hadn't said to come alone, but the fact that he'd written it down, not said it where Jenks could hear, was telling.

Arms swinging, I walked silently across the sawdust parking lot to the stables. Ivy would say I was a fool for coming out here. Jenks would have a fit. Pierce... I smiled as I fingered the contraception amulet around my neck in case shifting twice in quick succession hadn't prevented pregnancy. Pierce would have wanted to come with me, and he had a grudge against the man. I was trying to see Trent as an adult, and for some reason, it was easier now that I remembered him as a kid.

Hoping I wasn't being more of an idiot than Ivy would say I was, I pushed open the stable's door. The scent of clean hay and oiled leather spilled out, and my shoulders relaxed. I couldn't help but wonder what Trent wanted. Band together to get Nick, maybe?

'Hello?' I called, seeing the stables dim but for the usual security lights.

'Back here,' Trent's voice rose softly, and my gaze shifted to midway down the long stables where a lanternlike flashlight hung in the aisle.

We're alone? I could tell just from his voice that we were. Unsure, I stepped inside and shut the door. The air in here was warm, a sharp contrast to the cool, damp air rising into fog in the pastures. My boots clunked as I walked past the empty stalls, and I felt a flush of embarrassment when I found Trent in with Tulpa over the trapdoor to his tunnel. He was brushing the horse down, and Tulpa shuffled forward, hanging his head over the side and shoving me. 'Hey, big guy,' I said, rubbing his neck in self-defense,