Albert ruled his mages with an iron fist, and he occasionally liked to confiscate weapons and spells he didn’t approve of. If they were deemed to potentially be dangerous to a human bystander, they ended up in his office.

As a contractor, my weapons had always been safe. But I bet if I could peer inside that trunk, I’d find plenty of goodies from his mages.

Albert slammed the lid down on the trunk, threw a dark cloak over it, and closed the door. Then he turned to me, red slowly creeping up his cheeks. I’d pissed off the man who would decide whether I could pay my rent. Awesome.

“Sorry, Albert,” I smiled sunnily. “Your receptionist wasn’t around so I figured you’d have a few moments free.”

He stared at me, his eyes piercing. “Take a seat.”

I did, but my mind was on the trunk. What was in it? Why would Albert be so worried about me seeing inside it?

“Charles just told me he couldn’t give me my next bounty. Apparently, I’m on leave.”

Albert sat behind his desk, his face still red. “I think we’re both well aware of why that is.”

“Why don’t you spell it out for me?” I’d never liked Albert, but up until now, I’d respected him. I had a feeling that was about to change.

“The recording, Danica.”

My hands wanted to fist, but I forced them to lay on my lap. Four weeks ago, Samael had been betrayed by a demon he’d trusted for centuries. A coven of insane witches had planned to kill him. They wouldn’t have stood a chance against a high demon, except that they’d been harnessing power from each demon they’d killed. After Samael had been betrayed and taken unaware, they’d clamped him into Naud Chains.

I hadn’t forgotten that those chains were only accessible by the Mage Council.

One of the witches had been recording the entire exchange. She’d died when Samael turned the coven to ash, but her phone had continued to capture the video, and Vas had missed it when he’d searched for any tech. That recording had fallen into the hands of the Mage Council. Samael had assured me that Albert would be keeping the recording locked up and hidden from prying eyes.

But obviously I would still be dealing with the consequences.

“I saved Durham– and the world– from a coven of witches who were about to be bloated with demon power. You’re welcome.”

“You saved the most powerful demon in this country from certain death.”

I gave him squinty eyes. “Samael was approximately three seconds away from saving himself. The power he had gathered was… indescribable.”

“Regardless, I found it necessary to take the recording to the other members of the council.”

Oh yeah, this was bad.

“And?”

“And saving a demon from humans is not in your job description.”