Suddenly I felt a hundred times filthier, but then my eyes widened at my sudden urge to sneeze. Shit, not again, I thought when it ripped through me to clear out my lungs and send a stab of pain through my knees. But it was different. There was no accompanying pull. It was just Al trying to contact me, and I looked at Pierce sourly. Al had sent Pierce to watch me, eh? Yeah. We’d just see about that.

“Tink’s a Disney whore!” Jenks swore, darting down to the center counter and the open bookshelf under it. “Ivy, quick! Get her calling mirror out. It’s Al.”

“Rachel, no!” Nick exclaimed, eyes wide as he realized what was going on.

Jenks flew up, his sword bared to make Jax dart back. “Shut the hell up!” he shouted in frustration. “Open your mouth again, and I’ll jam a spider’s nest in your ear so they can eat that crap you have for brains! You don’t know shit. You don’t know shit!”

“Al will kill you, Rachel!” Nick insisted as Ivy silently moved to get the mirror.

“It’s a little late to be afraid of Al, Nick,” I muttered when Ivy slid the smooth, plate-size scrying mirror onto my lap and backed up, wiping her fingers nervously on her pants. She didn’t like my magic—didn’t understand it—even as she respected it. My knees hurt under the mirror’s weight, even with the pain amulet. “What they didn’t say was that I am his student,” I said bitterly as I put my hand on the mirror in the cave of the pentagram. “I’m not saying I know what I’m doing, but I know who I can trust. And you’re not on the list, so shut up! I want to talk to Al. See what’s going on.” Get my summoning name back. I am not going to do this again.

I glanced at Pierce as I said the last, seeing no fear, just a confident satisfaction. I knew I should be glad he was free of Al, but it hinged on my not being able to take care of myself. Sighing, I looked at my swollen knees and my orange jumpsuit. Maybe they were right.

“I’d be of a mind not to tell Al you were in prison,” Pierce said as he leaned into the wall and crossed his arms. He was smug, and I didn’t like it.

“Why?” I said, immediately wanting to do the exact opposite. “You afraid it might make you look bad?”

Pierce shifted his weight to one foot and balanced his free foot on a toe. “If you get into too much trouble, Newt might revoke your reality privileges, me here or not.”

“Oh, and you’d love that, wouldn’t you,” Jenks exclaimed, wings humming.