Black Magic Sanction

you don't have one.'

Eyes fixed on me and Pierce, Vivian stood, drew a coin with a hole in it from her pocket, and handed it to the leprechaun. It looked exactly like Ivy's. The small woman slid from the oversize chair and took it. 'You're welcome, chump,' she said loudly, then walked to the front with her coffee, smiling beautifully up at the man who held the door for her as he came in.

Nick was sitting at his table. My heart beat faster. Adrenaline washed into me like a drug, and I felt the tingle of anticipation. Pierce eyed me, waiting for direction.

'Go,' Vivian said as she gestured to the door, my bag tight in her grip and faded strawberry smears marring the once-perfection of her coat. Her neck was swollen and red, and there were circles under her eyes, making her a far cry from the self-assured, posh, professional coven member I'd first seen in the grocery store. Now she was dirty, tired, and determined. Nice to know I wasn't the only one having a bad week.

'You can't hold me, Vivian,' I said with deceptive calm as my foot jiggled out of sight under the table. 'You just can't. Soon as I get a good nap in, I'm gone. I don't care what you do to Tom here. He's not my favorite person.'

A sifting of pixy dust landed on the table, and I wiped it away. Pierce noticed, and his expression changed as his eyes slowly went from the ceiling to the front of the shop. His breathing became paced and regular. Lovely, lovely adrenaline poured into me. When it wore off, I was going to hurt, but if I was lucky, Vivian would be hurting more.

'I said, get up,' Vivian repeated, her hand again in the front pocket of her coat, and together Pierce and I stood. 'There's a white van in the lot. Get into it. Leave your coffee here,' she added, and Pierce bumped me as he set his down.

'Do you trust him?' Pierce whispered, his breath soft against my ear.

Nick? 'No. But look at my choices.' I swallowed hard. 'Be prepared. He's inventive.'

'He is a thief,' Pierce said indignantly.

'Yep. He's a slimy little thief who knows how to survive.'

I stumbled when Vivian gave me a shove. 'Stop talking,' she muttered. 'Tom, you first through the door. Then her.' But true to his nature, Pierce held the door for me when we reached it, glaring stiffly at Vivian from under the brim of his hat, daring her to protest.

'Bug! In my coffee!' exploded a high-pitched, disgusted voice.

I smiled, stopping in the threshold and turning in time to see Nick trip on nothing in his rush to show the clerk his coffee. The cup went flying, hitting Vivian's face in a black wash.

'Out,' Pierce hissed, pushing me, but I half-turned, wanting to stay and see the show.

People had looked up, and everyone watched in noisy, shocked concern as Vivian pawed at her face. Nick was there, patting it as he apologized, but things got worse when a shimmer of pixy dust sifted down and Vivian suddenly couldn't open her eyes.

'Ooooh, that's going to hurt,' I said, stumbling as Pierce snatched my bag from where Vivian had dropped it and pushed me out the door.

I jerked to a halt at the harsh-winged clatter of an excited pixy. 'There's a bus leaving,' Jax said breathlessly, inches from my nose. 'Don't get on it.'

'Get off me!' Vivian shouted, shoving Nick. Nick flew backward into the cold shelves with their cakes and imported waters, but his foot hooked Vivian's, and they both went down.

Pierce pulled me the rest of the way out the door. The cold sunshine hit me. There was the bus, and Pierce ran for it. 'Stop the carriage!' he shouted as he waved my bag and ran. 'Stop the bus!' he amended, and the bus's brakes hissed as the sliding door opened. They never stopped for me. How come they stopped for him?

I looked behind me at the uproar, then to my mom's car. There was a white van across the lot, and a beat-up Impala that I'd be willing to bet was Nick's. God, my knees hurt.

'Rachel!' Pierce demanded, one foot on the bus's stairs. 'On the bus!'

His eyes were wild and beautiful, and though he looked like Tom, he was Pierce. 'No,' I said as I stumbled to him. 'We're going with Nick.'

In a flash, Pierce's brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed. 'I say we're getting on the bus. Don't be difficult. Get on the bus.'

I jerked out of his grip, pissed. 'Don't tell me what to do!' I shouted, pulling a strand of hair out of my mouth. 'I'm going with Nick!'

The driver sighed heavily. 'On or off, lady.'

I gave him a nasty look. 'Off,' I said. 'Get the hell out of here.'

That did it. Pierce barely got out before the man slammed the door in our faces and gunned the big engine. 'This is a mistake,' Pierce groused loudly as I dragged him to the nearby Dumpster. 'No wonder Al agreed to send me to watch you.'

'Hey,' I said hotly, 'I got through my first twenty-six years without you. My life may be messed up, but I am alive. You died, remember?' But I jerked to a stop when we nearly ran into the leprechaun, a long-stemmed pipe in her teeth as she leaned against a pollution-stunted maple and waited for her ride.

Shit. Pleading for mercy with my eyes, I shoved a self-congratulatory Pierce in front of me to slip in the small space between the Dumpster and the privacy wall. Please, please, please.

'Shut up,' I whispered as I snatched my bag back. Crap. Could I look any more stupid?

'She's going to tell her where we are,' he whispered back, his breath on my neck warm. 'Damn fool woman. I told you to get on the bus.'

'And I told you to shut up!' Damn fool woman, indeed. But I hadn't seen the leprechaun there when I'd pulled Pierce off the bus.

The door to the coffee shop jingled, and I heard Vivian's heels clack on the pavement. Peeved, I pushed Pierce's cautioning hand off me and went on tiptoe to peek over the top, hiding behind an empty box smelling of coffee beans. Looking haggard, Vivian ran to my car, peeked in at the empty seats, then turned to the bus just now turning the corner.

'Is she on the bus?' she shouted at the leprechaun, and I pulled my head down, pressing my forehead against the cold metal. Not like this.

We were so close, I could hear the leprechaun suck on the wooden stem. 'I saw her friend get on the bus,' she said casually, and my eyes closed in relief.

Vivian swore, and I heard her run to her van. There was a harsh revving of the engine, a short squeak of tires, and she was gone. From the coffee shop, the door jingled, and two people came out, laughing at the excitement.

Pierce and I slowly edged out from around the Dumpster. Exhaling, I took my disguise amulet off, fluffing my hair as I tucked the amulet away. I looked at the small woman, now smiling at me as she smoked. 'Thank you,' I said earnestly, reaching forward and shaking her hand. It felt really small in mine, but strong. 'If you ever need anything. Anything at all.'

'Ah, it wasn't nothing,' she said, nodding to Pierce's wonder. 'You look like you need a break is all.' She wedged open a pocket to show a handful of bills. 'You dunna owe me anything. Once a leprechaun is given money, it's hers. All she got was some dried oak leaves.' She laughed then, sounding like a delighted child. I found myself smiling, not begrudging her all three thousand. Ivy had deep pockets.

My head came up fast when the door to the coffeehouse jingled and Nick stumbled out. He had a wad of environmentally conscious brown napkins against his nose and Mark at his side. The kid was apologizing profusely, shoving a bag of something at him as Nick tried to get away. He never even looked at us as he wedged Mark's hand off him and staggered to his car.

Mark gave up, standing forlornly in his apron as Nick started his car and tilted his head back against the headrest to wait. Mark went back inside, his steps slow.

'I be thinking that's your ride,' the leprechaun said, indicating Nick's rusty car with her pipe.

'Only because the fool woman wouldn't get on the bus,' Pierce grumbled, and I gave him a dark look. Seeing it, Pierce took a loud, slow breath, then started across the lot to Nick, his head down and his hands in the pockets