“He’ll notice this,” Pierce said, and then, pulling on the line so heavily even Ku’Sox felt it, he threw a spell. Vivian gasped as it flew the distance, burning the very air as it passed. Ku’Sox spun, bouncing it back at us with a quickly instigated bubble.

“Down!” I shouted, and I dropped to the floor. The curse hit the stage, and the amp exploded, sending sparkles of ozone over us. “Damn it, Pierce! Watch what you’re doing!”

“Mmmm,” Ku’Sox said as he started back in our direction. “Curious accent to your spell work. Not at all like hers. Who taught you?”

“We can’t stop him!” Vivian exclaimed.

“Duh,” I said, trying to decide if Vivian was scared enough yet. If I could convince her that someone needed to know black magic, they might let me keep my mind when they shoved me back in Alcatraz. Sort of a plan B in case demons came visiting again.

Pierce jumped onto a table, shouting Latin, and seeing that he had Ku’Sox’s attention, I pulled Ivy and Vivian to me. “I have an idea,” I said, silently thanking God that Pierce was here—even if he was a black witch. I needed him. Al was right.

Vivian hesitated, but it was Ivy who said, “Like the fairies?”

I nodded, even as my heart seemed to clench. I was going to burn Ku’Sox—and I wasn’t going to stop the curse. “Vivian, we need your help.” Her face became more frightened, and I looked at Pierce, winding up and throwing another curse at Ku’Sox. Okay, the man not only knew what he was doing, but he looked good doing it.

Pierce followed the first charm with a second, scoring on the demon when Ku’Sox didn’t see the one hidden behind it. A black sticky something coated Ku’Sox, and the demon dropped the dead woman to claw his way out of the green aura covering him.

“A casting,” I said, watching Pierce flick his hair back as he caught his breath. “We have to do a casting. I doubt it will kill him, but he might go somewhere else to lick his wounds. Pierce?”

His gaze never leaving the demon, Pierce raised his hand in acknowledgment.

My heart gave a hard pound. Ivy. She’d be safe, but she’d have to stay with me.

“That’s—” Vivian began to say, starting to look aghast again, and I wondered what it was going to take to convince her.

“Casting isn’t illegal,” I interrupted her. “Just the curse. And I’ll twist it, not you.”

“Down!” Pierce yelled, and I dropped, yanking Vivian with me and snapping a protection circle over us. A red-tinted ball of death exploded behind us, and the smoke alarm started going off. Outside, I could hear sirens. “We need a decision here!” Ivy said, looking shaken.

“I can’t do a black curse!” Vivian babbled, the last of the professional young woman dropping away as she pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I’m coven!”

“Bloody hell paste!” Ku’Sox was shouting, still not altogether out of Pierce’s last spell.