“No. It doesn’t physically act on anything, so you don’t need a gesture or focus object. Do you want me to repeat it?”

“No,” I said, a little sick as I looked at my palm. Did I really want to do this?

“Rachel,” he said, his voice sounding worried through the speaker. “Be careful.”

“Yeah,” I said, my pulse fast in anticipation and worry. “Thanks, Nick.” I bit my lower lip in a sudden thought. “Hey, um, keep my book for me until I talk to you, okay?”

“Ray-ray?” he questioned warily.

“Ask me later,” I said, flicking a glance at Edden, then Trent. I didn’t have to say another word. He was a smart man.

“Wait. Don’t hang up,” he said, the concern in his voice giving me pause. “Keep me on the line. I can’t sit here and feel those tugs on me without knowing if you’re in trouble or not.”

I licked my lips and forced my hand down from where it had been playing with the end of my braid. Using Nick as my familiar went against every moral fiber I had—and I’d like to think I had a lot of them—but I couldn’t walk away. I wouldn’t even try it if I wasn’t sure Nick would be unaffected. “I’ll give you to Captain Edden, okay?”

“Edden?” he said faintly, his worry taking on an edge of self-preservation.

I turned back to the three men. “Captain,” I said, drawing their attention. “I’d like to try a different finding spell before we leave.”

Edden’s round face was pinched with frustration. “We’re done here, Morgan,” he said gruffly. “We’ve taken up more than enough of Mr. Kalamack’s time.”

I swallowed, trying to look like I did this every day. “This one works differently.”

His breath went in and out in a rough sound. “Can I have a word with you in the hallway?” he intoned.

Hallway? I would not be pulled into the hallway like an errant child. I turned to Trent. “Mr. Kalamack won’t mind. He has nothing to hide, yes?”

Trent’s face was a mask of professional politeness. Jonathan stood behind him, his narrow face ugly. “As long as it falls within the parameters of your warrant,” Trent said smoothly.

I felt a jolt hearing the concern he was trying to hide. He was worried. I was, too.

I made my steps slow as I crossed the office and handed Edden the phone. “It’s a finding spell tuned to find unmarked graves. Nick will tell you all about it, Captain, so you can be sure it’s legal. You remember him, don’t you?”

Edden took the phone, the slim pink rectangle looking ridiculous in his thick hands. “If it’s so simple, why didn’t you tell me about it before?”

I gave him a nervous smile. “It uses ley lines.”

Trent’s face froze. His gaze darted to my demon-marked wrist, and he leaned back into his chair and Jonathan’s protection. I arched my eyebrows though my stomach was in knots. If he protested, he would look guilty. His hands moved with a nervous quickness as he reached for his wire-rimmed glasses and tapped them on the desktop. “Please,” he said as if he had any say in the matter. “Invoke your charm. I’d be interested to see how much an earth witch such as yourself knows about ley line magic.”