Black Magic Sanction

I breathed easier when Ivy subtly shifted out of an attack position. Down the hall, I could hear doors opening and shouts of a negative nature. Jaw tight, I silently walked into the elevator. Riding would be easier, but frankly, I didn't think it would be stopping on our floor. We'd have to get out another way, not through the stables.

As I stood pensively next to the security officer who had accompanied me in, I motioned with my eyes for Nick and Ivy to join me. See you up top, Jenks, I thought, wishing him luck. I knew he and Jax would make it okay, but my gut still tightened. How were we going to ditch these guys without knocking them out and giving it away that we were the ones they were after?

"I want an office-by-office search," Nick said as he joined me, and Ivy gave him a nudge to keep his mouth shut.

The officer seemed to be waiting for something, and Nick started patting his pockets as if for a key card. "Allow me," the man finally said, ru

R? I thought. R for residence? Not good.

My stomach churned as the lift rose. Silence grew heavy, and I started to sweat as I noticed the officer looking at my slightly too-large middle, then the card and wire thing still in Nick's grip. Oh God. I smelled.

"Thank you... Marvin, for accompanying us," Nick said, bringing the man's attention back to him.

Ivy stood stock-still in the corner, eyes down as she filled the car with the spicy scent of vampire. Damn, damn, damn! Stinky vampire, stinky witch, and stinky sneakers. Okay, they looked like dress shoes, but Nick's boots smelled like leather soaked in salt water and left for a year in the back of a closet. This guy had to be on some major allergy medicine to not notice the stink of burnt amber. And how were we going to get out of the residence wing? If we didn't run into Trent, we'd run into someone who'd just seen him. Maybe we should have hit the man, but then we'd have to run out of here over the pastures. This way, we might get a car.

Looking at the array of buttons, I leaned into Nick. "I don't feel well," I whispered, trying to make my voice wispy. "Trenton, I need some, ah, feverfew."

Ivy stiffened, and Nick turned to me.

"Feverfew?" he echoed as the doors opened to the familiar low-ceilinged, brown-and-gold opulence of Trent's bar, his living room and wide windows looking out onto the landscaped pool spread out before us. Into the lion's den. This was not going well, but I lurched out, at least knowing where we were. Ivy came with me, and Nick. And the security guy, of course. Damn it.

"I saw some from the car the other day as we drove into Cinci

"The baby!" Nick exclaimed, his pale eyebrows raised, taking my elbow as he paced beside me. "You there," he said to the faltering officer. "Call ahead for a car!"

Jeez, he was doing it wrong. Trent never demanded anything, unless it was for someone to kill me. Hunching close, Nick curved an arm around my waist, looking like he was leading as he followed my subtle motions, telling him which way to go. My face scrunched up in an ugly mask, and I would have slugged him if I could have gotten away with it. He was being too strong with the staff, thinking power and money meant you had to be a hard-ass.

Ivy stood beside us, blocking us from view from the main room. It was unlikely anyone would notice us under the bar's low ceiling, but the security officer had paused to talk to someone. I caught, "I thought he was in his office," and I moved faster.

Voices were echoing down from the unseen open walkways two stories above us. They were growing tense, and I silently prayed I wouldn't hear Trent's. "Just keep moving," Ivy said, her hand on my back, and I shivered. The twin doors to the kitchen were a relief, the empty stainless-steel counters even more so. Just fifteen more feet, and we'd be in the garage. I'd be willing to bet Nick could hotwire a car if it didn't have the keys in it.

I'm going to steal another one of Trent's cars. What is wrong with me? But really, compared to what was strapped to my back, I didn't think he'd care about the car.

"Sir?" a voice queried behind us, and Nick reached for the big door to the garage. It didn't move. Damn, damn, damn!

"Shit," he said as he tugged, his worry looking wrong on Trent's face.

"It's locked?" I hissed, and Ivy's hand left me as she tried the door.

"Sir!" the voice came again, closer, and I stiffened. "Let me get that for you. We went into lockdown. That's why your card isn't working. I've got a car coming up right now."

I turned, and his face mirrored my relief. "You're a blessing," I whispered, holding my fake middle. Ivy and Nick went one way, and I went the other, allowing the security guard to run his card in the almost invisible card reader. Nothing happened. The little light stayed red, and looking nervous, he ran it again.

This time, it turned green with a friendly little beep, and Ivy pushed the door open. The scent of cold, dark garage and the sound of a ru

I held my middle and ran forward, not waiting for anyone to open the door for me. I dove in, yanking Nick after me when I thought he was moving too slowly. God, he was taking this Trent thing too seriously. He slid in with a show of irritation, and I leaned past him to grab the door and slam it shut.

"Get out, or I'm going to break your arm," Ivy said, discussing things with the driver. "Ceri needs feverfew, and as her doctor, I'm going to see she gets it." Too stu

"Before the sun goes nova?" I said, and two streaks of silver zipped into the car.

"Go, go, go!" Jenks shrilled, darting from the front to the back of the car like he was on steroids. "Communication is down, but they know what they're doing, and it will be up in three minutes! You gotta get through the gate by then!"

The security guy was fumbling with his radio, and Ivy hit the gas, maneuvering the big car in a tight circle to head for the faint patch of lighter dark that was the exit. Jax landed on Nick's shoulder, the winded pixy breathing hard and his wings drooping. Keeping up with his dad was harder than it looked. We were going to do this, and I started to laugh, taking the canvas off my back and laying it across my knees so I wouldn't squish it.

"We're not out yet," Ivy said as Nick braced himself to keep from hitting the roof when we bounced out of the underground garage and into the dark. "We have the gate to get through."

"Piece of cake," I said, remembering the flimsy gate I'd busted through the last time.

"Rachel, that was fantastic!" Nick was saying, his image blurring as the car's jostling made his aura shift. "The stuff you could do. My God, you went right through that wall!"

Sobering, I pushed back to a corner. "Yeah," I said, looking at the bump in his pocket, and his expression looked wondering at my less-than-enthusiastic response. "The stuff I can do. Is that all you see? How to use magic to steal stuff? I'm doing this to save my life. And I'm giving the picture back." My eyes went to his pocket. "I'm not a thief."

The car grew quiet. Nick's pensive features made him look even less like Trent. Jax was on his knee, the pixy with his head between his knees as he tried to get his sugar levels back where they belonged until his dad threw a ball of something at him and he ate it.