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"He enthralled them," I said, sure of it when Trent’s lips pursed "And it’s black" Da that sophisticated It changed everything

"Black?" Jenks yelped, darting up in a wash of yellow dust

"Go ahead, ask theestured to them "I knoho did, but you wouldn’t believe me if I told you Not in ti"

Well, that was one bit of good news "And then what?" I said harshly "Do you kno illegal those are? This isto be blamed for this Or is that your idea?" I said with a sneer, and Ivy caughtto cross the roo his hair back in a rare show of nervousness "I have this under control I’ll hit them with another charm so they don’t re as I stood there "Is that your plan? Make theal!"

Trent tugged his sleeves down as if unbothered, but his eyes were squinting "True, but no one gets hurt this way And I’d think you’d be the last person worrying about what’s legal You’ve got thirty seconds Tick tock, Rachel"

As I stood there fuain, this ti!

"Oh for Tink’s little red shoes," Jenks said suddenly, and he darted down to hover before the man "Who paid you to attack Rachel?" he barked, his hand on his sword hilt

"No one," Jack said, and I turned to Trent, reen "You mean you don’t know, or you weren’t paid for it?"

Trent shifted his weight to his other foot "They weren’t attacking Rachel, they were attacking , Ivy slipped pasther chin to force her to look at her "Who told you to attack Trent?" she asked calmly, and I crossed my arms over my chest I wanted to know, but I’d rather scare it out of theether, and a knot tightened in h, his shoulder easing to uarded

"Ellasbeth’s dad?" I dropped back a step,Crap on toast Ellasbeth was the wo toIt was so Trent thanked ht ere both going to die Yeah, the Withons had the h to take potshots at him?

"Noill you helpin a ley-line charm

"Trent, wait," I said

But it was too late, and I could do nothing when I felt the line he was connected to give a lurch and he whispered, "Me up a protection circle around myself since I didn’t knohat theherself al I stood tall, heart pounding as a wash of old-tinted aura lapped over the circle with all the subtleties of a shadowy pearlescence Bis, on the fridge, stirred, his bright red eye cracking open to find h

"Damn it, Trent!" I exclaimed, furious as the assassins sat, wide-eyed, and stared at er enthralled "What in hell are you doing?"

"You’re kidding," he said in disbelief "You weren’t going to ask theal"

He drawled it,with the worry of what the assassins could have told us before but now couldn’t "You did that on purpose!" I shouted

His head bowed slightly, and his lips quirked as he eyed oing to"

Anger grew in me, but I stayed where I was beside the table, sullen It couldn’t be undone Not easily, anyway "Dr Anders teach you that?" I muttered Meal as all hell It didn’t h

On the floor, the woertips ca tense but haruess that explains why I have no idea who you people are or how I got here"

Her co anything, either, but knowing enough to keep his al charot to the West Coast, he’d probably try to pin them on me if I didn’t become his indentured servant Daa on his kids His hand was on the butt of his sword, and he looked ready to give Trent a lobotomy "I had more to ask them, even if she didn’t"

"You wanted to knoho sent the off," Trent insisted, but I could see a hint of unease in him "Our only other option was to kill them"

"Our?" I barked sarcastically "There is no ’our’ This is your doing, not et up, her alarm obvious "Park it, Jill!" I said, but it wasn’t until Ivy cleared her throat that both of them checked their upward motion and slid back down

"My name isn’t Jill" the woman started

"It is today So sit down and shut up until I tell you that you can leave Got it?"

"Shit," the e and eyed me in mistrust "I don’t knoas supposed to pay us Do you?" Jill shook her head She looked too confused for it to be an act "A, uy added "I don’t even knohere I left my stuff This sucks"

"See?" Trent said confidently, but that worry wrinkle above his eyes was still there "It worked Noe can let the we are here" He smiled, and I hated him "They won’t be expected to check in for twenty-four hours We could be long gone by sunset"

Jenks’s wings hummed, and Ivy’s face lost its expression "Sunset?" she said, and I gri to like this, but it didn’tTrent Not after this He had stood in al char off on hi anywhere with you, you little shoeure out what to do with these two "Especially after that little stunt Not in a plane, not in a car, not on a trainyou’ve gone too far" I blinked What the hell?

"Ah, Rachel?" Ivy touchedyour help Help for what?"

Jenks hu at Trent as he said, "Trent wants Rachel’s help Quen won’t do it Trent says it’s because Quen won’t leave Ceri, but I think the little cookieain, and Quen refuses to be a part of it Trent won’t have anything on her after she nullifies his familiar mark, so he has to hed "It’s not like that at all," he said, but his confidence earing thin

Ivy glanced quickly atto happen"

Shrugging, Jenks landed on the center counter where he could watch everyone "Or Trent’s telling the truth, and he’s afraid of the weenie assassins here"

Jack scowled, and Jill lad Jenks hadn’t dropped any naotten who had sent them and didn’t need any reminders

Trent frowned, one hand behind his back as he turned to me Shoulders stiff, he asked, "Will you do it?"

I could not believe this, and I pointed at the two assassins sitting in front ofyou Especially now"

Trent shifted, his confident poise lost when his hand slipped from behind his back "They tried to kill lared at them "You saw theood at it!"

Jenks was laughing, but I wasby the table, I dropped my forehead into hed "My old lady is going to be pissed Her, I remember"

I pulled et out Both of you"

For a moment, Jack and Jill stared at ly, they slowly got to their feet Okay, I kneho’d sent the Cincinnati on Trent’s private jet He was still lying to ood," the woman said as she held her stohed bitterly "That’s because we beat you up You cried like a baby"

The two people shuffled toward the door, feeling body parts as they began to complain Jill looked at the weapons on the counter, but when I shook my head, they filed out under a pixy escort Ivy seeo, but I had to be on a plane toht I didn’t have time for an extended smackdown

"Jenks, you’d better tell your kids to leave them alone unless they come back," I murmured, and he flew up on a column of silver dust

"Yeah-h-h-h-h," he drawled, his focus vacant as he ione in an instant, and fro, and then the door opening and closing I turned to look at ic It wouldn’t leave a visible ht be able to s up the roll of paper towels and trying to wipe the pixy footprints off the stainless steel Trent’s curse lay assembled on the counter, but he could just suckuntil you untwist the curse," he said stiffly "It’s all there Do it now"

I hesitated in my motions to clean the counter Ivy cleared her throat, and I feltup, I continued to clean the counter, picking up the scrying netic chalk, the five candles, the stick of redwood He could go to hell "Good-bye, Trent," Ito hurt

"Excuse me?"

His voice was harsh, and I balled up the paper towel, standing with my fists on the counter so I wouldn’t jule hi white from the pressure "If I take that curse off now, you won’t want ainstto have to wait I’ll do it after, not a moment sooner"

Frori, and he looked ready to murder someone as he fished a key fob out of his pocket and pointed it at the street The alarm cut off, and he turned back to me "That wasn’t the deal," he said "Take theassassins," I said, letting go of the balled-up paper towel Behind hi a box and leaning against the counter She was behind Trent, between hiht

"Rachel," he warned, looking pissed

"I’ll do it," I said flippantly "But you’re going to wait until I’ "Then killet "But if you do, you’ll never get the !"

Jenks buzzed in orried wing chatter, seeinglike he’d sed a bug The pixy exchanged a look with Ivy, as now leaning idly against the counter, coe slice Her apparent indifference seemed to make Trent only , he turned to the door, his stance stiff Jenks snickered, and the man spun back around, even with Ivy there His face hite with anger, and his eyes allow "You are theperson I have ever had to deal with," he said, and I shrugged "I don’t need your help I’ll get to California without you"

"Like I care," I said, and he turned on his heel and strode from the kitchen

"Good riddance," I said, then, in a wash of self-preservation, I followed hi out into it as I shouted after hiet that et my freedom! You son-of-a-bitch elf!"

He never slowed, his dark silhouette flashing into a blinding whiteness when he found the sanctuary More light poured in when he opened the church’s door It boomed shut behind him, and I pulled myself back into the kitchen

Ivy was still slumped at the counter Her eyes were hooded, and she lookedrather sexy fro, I stalked across the kitchen to the , shoving it high to let in the breeze Birdsong drifted in, and s shifting as he settled back to sleep I hadn’t realized I’d woken hi the dark spot of the spell on a tree I’d have to take care of that before the pixies got into it, even with Jenks’s admonishment

Beside me, Ivy casually took another piece of chocolate, succinctly biting through it with a snap of chocolate and sugar crystals Jenks hu next to the brandy snifter on the sill It was turned upside down to keep his cat, Rex, froivenand his expression worried as he looked at ed toward Ivy, leaning close to take a chocolate and then retreating I looked down, seeing the dirt and grass clippings on htened it back up So ht "Do you think calling his bluff was the sainst the center counter "No," I adive hiivethe sudden give and the crunch of crystallized orange on ine was racing harshly

"It’s the first sht to the chocolate and using his sword to cut off a slice the size of his hand

"Maybe, but soht," Ivy said, clearly not convinced, and I followed her gaze as she took in the asseredients for Trent’s curse, next to the assassins’ splat guns and knives and htened around lad I’d said what I had, and I wasn’t going to "escort" Trent to the West Coast, but if truth be told, I agreed with Ivy Soht, and I didn’t think it was over yet

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