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was wrong.
Just this once,echoed in my thoughts, and I frowned, thinking of Nick. Telling Al about me had probably
started with just one harmless piece of information.
Ceri sighed. All you need for the joke curse is dust from inside a clock and black candles made from
the fat of the unborn. The rest is incantation and ritual.
The unborn? I said in a horrified, hushed whisper. Ceri, you said it wasn t that bad.
The fat of an unborn pig, she reiterated, sounding angry. Honestly, Rachel.
My brow furrowed. Okay, it was a fetal pig, the same thing biology students dissect, but it sounded
close to the slaughtering-goats-in-your-basement kind of magic. The transference curse looked harmless
apart from the black it would put on my soul, and the disguise charm was white illegal, but white. The
inertia-dampening curse was the worst of the lot and it was the one that would keep Jenks alive a
joke curse.Just this once.
I was so stupid.
Stomach roiling, my thoughts flicked to Trent and his illegal labs, which saved people so he could
blackmail them into seeing things his way. He, at least, didn t pretend to be anything other than what he
was. Things had been a lot easier when I didn t have to think. But what was I supposed to do? Walk
away and let the world fall apart? Telling the I.S. would make matters worse, and giving the statue to the
FIB was a joke.
Angry and sick inside, I sidestepped Ivy to get to the candles. I d already been there to pick out my
colored candles for the transference curse. Behind the carved castles and colorful dragon eggs were
the real goods, arranged by color and size, branded at the bottom with either what the fat had been
rendered from or where they had first been lit. The woman s selection was surprisingly good, but why
they were hidden behind such crap was beyond me.
Taper or barrel? I asked Ceri, crouching to reach one with PIG scratched on it. You can t light a
candle in a pig, so it was a good bet that s where the fat had come from. I d never been in a ley line
charm shop other than the university s, and that didn t count since they only carried what the classes
needed. Maybe there was a spell that used dragon eggs, but I thought they looked lame.
Doesn t matter, Ceri answered, and with the smallest taper in hand, I turned and rose, almost running
into Ivy. She winced and backed up.
I m fine, I muttered, setting the candle in the basket. Did you see any packaged dust?
Ivy shook her head, the tips of her black hair shifting about the bottom of her ears. There was a rack of
pixy dust by the register that was just glitter. Jenks would laugh his ass off. Maybe the real stuff was
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behind it, like the candles.
You sound tired, Rachel, Ceri said, question high in her voice as I moved to the rack.
I m fine. Ceri said nothing, and I added, It s stress. Just this once.
I want you to talk to Kisten, she said firmly, as if she was doing me a favor.
Oh God. Kisten.What would he say if he knew Ivy had bitten me? I told you so, or maybe My turn ?
Ceri, I protested, but it was too late, and as Ivy fingered a display of amber bottles that were good to
store oil-based potions in, Kisten s masculine voice came to me.
Rachel& How s my girl?
I blinked rapidly, the threatened tears shocking me.Where had they come from? Ah, I m fine, I said,
missing him terribly. Bad things had happened, and I d been carrying the pain since. I needed to talk to
him, but not standing in a charm shop with Ivy listening.
Ivy had stiffened at the sudden emotion in my voice, and I turned my back on her, wondering if I should
tell her that the glass container shaped like a full moon in her grip was generally used to store aphrodisiac
potions.
Good, he said, his voice going right through me. Can I talk to Ivy?
Surprised, I turned to her, but she had heard him and shook her head. Uh& I stammered, wondering if
she was afraid of what he d say to her if he knew what had happened. We were both chickenshit, but we
would be chickenshit together.
Ivy, I know you can hear me, Kisten said loudly. You have a big problem waiting for you when you
get back from yourvacation. Everyone knows you re out of the city. You re his scion, not me. I can t go
up against even the youngest undead. The only thing keeping a lid on this is that most of them are my
patrons and they know if they act up, I ll ban them.
Ivy walked off, her boots loud against the hardwood floor. Her passive response surprised me.
Something was really bothering her.
She walked away, I said, feeling guilty Ivy had come up there to help me.
Kisten s sigh was heavy. Will you tell her that there was a riot in the mall downtown last night? It was at
four in the morning so it was mostly living vampires, thank God, and some Weres. The I.S. handled it,
but it s going to get worse. I don t want a new master vampire in the city, and neither does anyone else.
I stood before the rack of pixy dust and rifled through the hanging vials, reading the tiny cards attached
to each. If Piscary lost control of Cincinnati, Trent would have free rein. But I didn t think it was a power
play by the undead vampiresor Trent. It was more likely that the riot had been the Mackinaw Weres
looking for me. No wonder Walter had agreed to a thirty-six-hour truce. He had to get his pack
together.
Tired, I let the vials slip through my fingers. I m sorry, Kisten. We have a couple of days before we can
call this done. It depends on how fast I can do the prep work.
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