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Chapter One

Brown or green for the drapes, Rache?"

Jenks’s voice slid intostate, and I opened an eyelid a crack to find hi inches from my nose The sun was hot, and I didn’t want to s provided a cold draft "Too close I can’t see," I said as I shifted in the webbed lounge chair, and he drifted back, his dragonflylike wings huh to spill a red-tinted pixy dust over , and Cincinnati noret a tan before I headed west for

Two bundles of fabric were draped over Jenks’s arhters His shoulder-length curly blond hair-uncut since his wife’s death-was tied back with a bit of twine to show his angular, pinched features I thought it odd that a pixy able to fend off an entire team of assassins orried about the color of his drapes

"Well," I hedged, not oes with the floor, but I’d go with the taupe You need some visual war at it doubtfully "I thought you liked the green tile"

"I do," I explained, thinking that breaking up a pop bottle for floor tile was ingenious "But if youthe same color, you’ll wind up back in the seventies"

Jenks’s wings dropped in pitch, and his shoulders slu melancholy as he reed inside I wanted to give hi, but he was only four inches tall Small, yes, but the pixy had saved my life more tih, I felt as if orlds apart "Taupe," I said

"Thanks" Trailing dull gold dust, Jenks flew in a doard arc to the knee-high wall that separated raveyard wasthat he owned the deed, but I was the one who mowed the lawn

Heartache took me, and the sun seemed a little cooler as I watched Jenks’s dust trail vanish under the sprouting bluebells and moss, and into his new bachelor-size home The last few months had been hard on hi able to becoh that first difficult day had gone a long way in convincing ic wasn’t bad unless you used it for a dark purpose

The breeze cooled the corner of my eye, and I smiled even as I dabbed the alrass, and the noise of a nearby h over the distant hum of Cincinnati, across the river There was a stack of decorating lass of melted iced tea-the lull before the stor ofto last the entire week, through the annual witches’ conference What happened after that was anyone’s guess

Nervous, I shifted the straps ofin ar had started yesterday on the other side of the continent I was the last on the docket-like saving the biggest circus act for the end

The coven of moral and ethical standards had already shunned me, tried to incarcerate me without a trial in Alcatraz, sent assassins when I’d escaped, and finally accepted a staleo public with the fact that witches had their beginnings in demons and I was the proof The rescind ic At least that was the theory

Asforward to it Iblackwith de to change, but if I couldn’t pull this off, I’d be hiding out in the ever-after for the rest of my life Not only did I not particularly like de and he’d never letinto the oak tree as the fah the drone of a mower It was no surprise when Jenks darted out fro toin from sentry duty at the front of the church

"What’s up, Jenks?" I called out as I grabbed

"Black car at the curb," Jenks said, his hand on the hilt of his garden sword "It’s Trent"

My adrenaline pulsed, and I allasses into my eye as I put the up Trent and I had an appointment for me to annul his familiar mark, but that wasn’t until five The curse wasn’t ready yet, and the kitchen was a ht be in it

Ju, and we all turned to the back of the church as if we could see through it to where Trent was standing on the front porch The bell was one of those big farhborhood could hear it "Maybe he’ll go away if we don’t answer," I said, and Jenks rose-sixty feet in a mere second In another second, he dropped back down

"He’s coh lasses

Damn it back to the Turn "Pix the sucker," I said, then waved ht I was serious The s literally

Jenks flew backward as I twisted, yanking on the back of the chair until it slid forward and I could sit etme Trent’s virtual slave in the process Toco Ivy-a distinct possibility He knew she’d be here tonight, and his spies had probably told his clattered, and I flicked aze to his "What do you want ate My kids arehim"

My jaw clenched, and I forced it to relax I had a nice silk blouse picked out to wear tonight So professional and classy And here I was in a bikini and with a dirty kitchen "Let him come back," I finally said "If this is about that paper of his, he can suckchirp for Jumoke to accompany him, Jenks and his son darted to the side of the church and the slate path there I settled back, tiltingobvious about it Trent’s voice-his beautiful, resonant, soothing, political voice-slipped over ate, and I touched the braid that Jenks’s kids had putI hated that I liked his voice, but it was a fao

The wooden latch to the tall gate lifted, and lasses off Eyes half closed, I pretended to be sleeping

Wreathed in pixy kids, Trent caarden, histhe noisy, winged escort Keeping my expression bland, I took in his slim form In the months since I’d last seen him, Trent had deepened his tan, and his baby-fine, alht the dappled sun Instead of his usual thousand-dollar suit, he had on a lightweight gray short-sleeved shirt, dress slacks, and shiny dress shoes Itbut And as he doing here alone? Quen never let him out by himself

Trent made his way down the fern-laced slate path with the pixies chatting at hi his true des and Briain?

I a almost naked If I didn’t annul the familiar bond between us before I left for the witches’ ain, and as much as I detested theto putfat hypocrite, I closedto one of Jenks’s kids as his steps scraped on the broken patio tile My heart beat faster If it had been anyone other than Trent, so hard not to look like the crazy witch living in a church with a gargoyle in the belfry, pixies in the garden, and a cat on the fence-even if I was No as he getting into my kitchen Not with candles all over the place and half-crushed herbs and uess who I found digging through our trash, Rache," Jenks said snidely, and I stretched, shivering as a cold shadow slipped over ot rid of those raccoons," I said, openingmore than a black silhouette with the sun behind him The scent of cinnae? Curious If Trent was uncomfortable, then maybe I could keep the upper hand even if I was only half dressed That would be a nice switch He was good at putting me on the defensive

"Oh! Hi, Trent," I said when thedappled patterns over both of us, their noise al voices "What the Turn are you doing here already? Avoiding Ivy, are we?"

He backed up, and the sun blinded me-just as he had planned "Good afternoon, Rachel," Trent said dryly "You’re looking well"

"Thanks" I reached for lasses and put them on as he moved to stand next to the chair withit "It’s a on anyone’s hit list will do for a person" I hesitated, realizing his hair was in abad yourself, for alord"

At that, Trent’s smile became real I think he enjoyed our verbal banter-everyone else was too awed by his bank account to stand up to hi you like this, but I have solanced up at Jenks "Alone, if possible?"

He was avoiding Ivy then, Ito his hips His fingers just brushed the hilt of his garden sword, giving hierous look, like Puck with an attitude and penchant for killing A up a knee so I didn’t feel so exposed

"Actually, I aht now," I drawled as I settled back into the chair and closed my eyes "You have toat hi furrowed le in the trees drew Trent’s attention up, and heout of the way of one of last year’s acorns It pinged on the broken slate of the patio, bouncing and rolling under rew

"Excuseup into the tree There was a noisy complaint, quickly hushed, and the pixies started to drop down one by one to leave an acorn, a stick, and even a lass of iced tea before they apologized and flew raveyard, all under Jenks’s watchful eye

"I have four hours to try to get this pasty skin a shade away fro," I said, uneasy and trying to ignore the little dra your spell Cooes down I don’t care Is Quen in the car? He’s welcoe Or a beer You guys drink beer, don’t you?"

"I don’t have a babysitter today," Trent said as if it was a victory, and I cleared my throat I kne he felt My babysitter was either a four-inchon how much trouble I was currently in and which reality I was occupying

Jenks’s youngest daughter, Jrixibell, dipped forward and back, twisting the hem of her brown silk dress Apparently it had been her acorn Under Jenks’s stern gaze, the sweet-looking little girl mumbled a shamefaced "Sorry" and flehere three of her sisters waited, and together, they darted into a nearby bush to plot further mischief

Trent smiled, half-turned, and shocked the peas out of inary dust and sat down, erly, as if he’d never had to trust plastic webbing before Staring at hi? Sure, I’d offered, but I hadn’t expected him to take me up on it! Suddenly I felt twice as exposed, and I could do nothing as Trent crossed his legs and leaned forward, taking the top ?" he asked idly

"Uh, Jenks is," I said, heart thu Crap on toast, I couldn’t just lie here and pretend he wasn’t there I’d thought he’d get huffy, spout soto wait? Don’t you have so else more important to do?"

"Yes, I do, actually," he said as he turned a page, his green eyes darting over the ies of tiles and artwork "But I want to talk to you Alone" His eyes lifted fro on Jenks

"Now just a fairy-farting nant silver

My brow furrowed Trent had co of cinnaood "It’s okay, Jenks," I said softly, but he didn’t hear me