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Tarquin frowned and held up his index finger ‘First of all, I don’t talk to the applicants themselves My task is far more important than that I talk to their faet to the heart of the h talent to join the Hallowed Order of Magical Enlightenment’

I pressed ether Don’t smirk Don’t smirk Don’t smirk

‘Secondly,’ he said, ‘the notes I pass on are taken very seriously I have been told that, if it were not for my recommendations, Human Resources would not have the faintest idea whether to allow entrance or not’

Tarquin had never really understood sarcasht face if the situation demanded it ‘So you visited the Rees family in Weymouth in Dorset to find out about Clare and whether she had the ability to become an Order witch?’

‘Yep Her and the other es but,’ he said with a sidelong look at Winter, ‘when it co I’m not prepared to do I am now, and will for ever be, fully motivated and dedicated to the Order’s cause Only the worthiest andwitches are like that’

‘Indeed,’ Winterwitches avoid pointless self-aggrandisement’

Tarquin frowned ‘Self what?’

I interrupted hastily ‘Never ht,’ I said, ‘Clare Rees and the rest of her coven applied to become Order witches and it was your job to vet them’

‘Yes’

‘And,’ I pressed, ‘if your recommendation is positive, what happens next? What’s the next step?’

‘They enter the Order, of course’

Winter’s lip curled ‘Just like that?’

‘Yes’

‘The applicants aren’t interviewed or tested or anything?’

‘Oh Sure, yeah, that happens’

I could hear Winter’s teeth grinding from a foot away He obviously never worked anywhere near HR when he was in the Order ‘Go on Explain how that works’

Tarquin looked confused ‘I don’t know That’s not my remit’

‘You have no interest in or curiosity about the rest of the process?’ Winter’s voice dripped with disdain

Tarquin leaned over ‘Not My Job’

I put a hand on Winter’s ar about the Order Departments he’d been in didn’t mean everyone was like that

‘Anyway,’ Tarquin continued, ‘I should get on I’m a very busy and iht me, to be honest I don’t always have tilanced at Winter, his i he could to bow and scrape and get into Winter’s good books, now that Winter wasn’t in the Order Tarquin couldn’t care less what he thought

Because I could, I repeated my earlier rune and this time I put a little more effort into it Tarquin’s eyes widened and his hands dropped, scrabbling at his trousers His cheeks began to turn red ‘I have to go,’ he said in a high-pitched rush He spun round and headed back into his flat as if hell itself were after him

As soon as Tarquin’s door closed, Winter turned to me ‘What exactly did you do to him?’

I shrugged ‘Nothing’

‘Ivy’

I grinned ‘Okay, I may have perforropey taxi customers’

Winter’s eyes darkened at the idea that I’d been forced to drive around rief ‘What’s the spell?’ he asked, his jaw tight

My srew ‘Let’s just say that it can roin area’ Winter frowned so I elaborated ‘It constricts your underwear until…’

He held up his hands and winced ‘I get the picture’ He glanced at me ‘Don’t ever do that to me’

‘I won’t But I’ve developed other spells that are less uncomfortable and more – pleasurable I’ve never really had cause to practise the?’