David made a soft whistle. “No tag is worth that.”

My eyes flicked to his. “Ordinarily I’d agree with you, but at the time, Piscary was trying to kill me and it seemed like a good idea.”

“Good idea, hell. It was damn stupid,” Jenks muttered, clearly of the belief that if he had been there, things never would have degraded that far. He might have been right.

Feeling as if I had a hangover, I took a bite of cookie. The dry things made me hungry and nauseated at the same time. “Thank you for helping me,” I said, brushing the crumbs away. “He would have had me if you hadn’t done something. Are you going to be okay? I’ve never seen anyone Were that fast before.”

Leaning forward, he shifted his backpack to rest between his feet. I watched his eyes stray to the door, and I knew he wanted to leave. “My shoulder hurts, but I’ll be all right.”

“I’m sorry.” I finished the first cookie and started on another. It seemed as if I could feel it starting to hum through me. “You ever need anything, you tell me. I owe you big. I know how bad it hurts. Last year I went from witch to mink in three seconds. Twice in one week.”

His breath hissed and lines appeared in his brow. “Ouch,” he said, respect in his eyes.

I smiled, a new warmth growing in me. “You aren’t kidding. But you know, it’s likely going to be the only time I’ll ever be that skinny and have a fur coat.”

A faint smile came over him. “Where does the extra mass go, anyway?”

There was only one cookie left, and I forced myself to eat it slowly. “Back to a ley line.”

His head bobbed. “We can’t do that.”

“I noticed. You make one hell of a big wolf, David.”

His smile widened. “You know what? I changed my mind. Even if you ever want to go into insurance, don’t call me.”

Jenks dropped to the empty plate so I wouldn’t have to keep shifting my head to see both of them. “That will be the day,” he snickered. “I can just see Rachel in a gray business suit with a briefcase, her hair in a bun and glasses on her nose.”

I laughed, immediately falling into a coughing jag. Arms clasped about me, I hunched into myself, shaking with rough, hacking coughs. My throat felt like it was on fire, but that paled next to the throbbing ache in my head that exploded at the sudden movement. That pain amulet bumping about my neck wasn’t doing much good.

David patted my back in concern. The hurt from my shoulder broke through the amulet, and my stomach roiled. Eyes watering, I fended him off. Ceri came in, making soft admonishments as she set a mug of tea down and put a hand on my shoulder. Her touch seemed to calm the spasm, and gasping, I let her ease me back into the pillows she propped up behind me. Finally I stopped and met her gaze.