Chapters (42)
- Title Page
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Acknowledgements
- Also by Kim Harrison
- Copyright
- About the Publisher
- Cover
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 Shunning rescinded.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.”