Pale Demon (The Hollows #9)(134)
Author: Kim Harrison

Across the kitchen, Trent’s posture seemed to relax, which only tightened mine. He wanted to talk to me alone. Great. We had just spent five hours in a little tin can flying through the air. Couldn’t he have brought it up then?

"Go." I wiggled my fingers for the pizza coupons stuck to the fridge, and she handed them to me.

"If you’re sure," she prompted, and my eyes met hers, sending a shock of realization through me. We were home, and though everything had changed, we were still solid. Better, even.

"You really want to stay for pizza?" I asked, and she took a backward step to the hallway, smiling as well to tell me she knew it too.

"No. See you after sunup. Bye, Trent," she called over her shoulder when she reached the hallway, then louder, "Jenks! Can I talk to you for a moment about our security?"

A knot in me unraveled. We were okay. Grinning at me, Jenks rose up. "Coming, Mother!" he mocked.

Her boots clunked into the sanctuary, and I watched Belle snake down to the floor, sword ready as she braved Jenks’s cat to go outside.

"I’m glad you’re home, Ms. Rachel," Bis said shyly, taking his shirt off and leaving it on top of the fridge before he jumped to the ceiling and crawled out after Belle. There was a faint scrape of nail on stone, and I figured he’d slithered out through the flue in the back living room instead of using the smaller cat door.

Yes, it was a weird life, but it was mine, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Trent scuffed his foot cast against the floor, and my anxiety came flowing back. Ignoring him, I wiped the dust from the phone and scooted up onto the counter as I tried to remember what he liked on his pizza. Just in case he was staying.

The bracelet on my wrist jingled, and I breathed deeply for the faint scent of burnt amber still clinging to me. The band of silver around my wrist seemed to send sparkles into me, and I shivered. I could hear the pixies playing in the night, the near and far-off sounds of life in motion. Exhaling, I remembered the glory of the collective rolling through my mind, the power at my fingertips, and the knowledge that I could create something from nothing. It was gone. Forever.

"You could have all this, too, Trent," I said, hearing the dissatisfaction in my voice. "All you have to do is quit your job, piss off the vampires, the Weres, a stupid human who knows black magic, and let a demon loose on a major metropolitan area. Oh wait, you did that."

He laughed, but his smile faded fast. "You don’t have to keep it," Trent said suddenly, his gaze going to my wrist. "I gave it to you so you’d have a choice, not to hide from them."

I cringed inside, not liking that I’d telegraphed so much. "I already made my choice," I said, but I couldn’t meet his eyes.

He was silent, buying time by tucking Lucy’s blanket up as she willfully kicked it off. "It was an awful lot of power to give up," he said, and a flash of anger lit and died in me.

"It was an awful lot of trouble it caused," I answered, uncomfortable as I looked over the coupons. They were expired, but the delivery guys didn’t care if you tipped them enough.

"I don’t know if I could make myself that vulnerable after making so many enemies," he said, his gaze on the smudged counter where we’d cut out cookies.

I looked up, wondering if he was going to offer me protection, and if I could get Lucy away from him before I smacked him in the bahoogies. "Enemies are nothing new," I said calmly. "At least no one is gunning for me. And I can still do earth magic." He looked to the dusty bowls overhead. "Maybe I can relax for a while. Rescue some familiars out of trees for a change."

His expression smoothed, almost becoming a smile. "I do believe that’s why you quit the I.S., remember? Boring runs?"

I snorted, nodding as I scanned the coupons. Everything was for Alfredo pizza as they tried to curry the favor of humans. "Be careful what you wish for."

"Because you might get it." Trent gazed at the dark square of night past the window.

The memory of that kiss we shared rose up in my thoughts, and I grimaced. "I’ll be fine," I said softly.

"I’m not so confident," Trent said, and he raised a hand. It was the one with the missing fingers, and I hesitated. "You’re not helpless," he added, "but I’ve had my lawyers look into your situation, and it’s not as clear cut as you want it to be."

"My situation," I scoffed. Agitated, I slid from the counter to throw the coupons away. Pizza had the appeal of cardboard right now. "There aren’t any laws for demons," I said, fidgeting. "And if there aren’t any laws for demons, I can’t break them. I don’t need a license to practice magic. I’m not shunned. I can sell stuff now. People can sell to me."

"But will they?" he asked, his brow furrowed as he gave voice to my real worry.

Probably not. "The I.S. is off my case, and the vamps. Jeez, Trent. For the first time, there is no one gunning for me, including you!" I protested.

"I’ll give you that." Trent was smiling, Lucy drowsing on his lap. "But along with no legislation on the books for demons and their magic, there are no laws protecting you, either. If Rynn Cormel wanted, he could drive over here, shove you in his trunk, and drive away."

I leaned back against the counter and crossed my arms over my middle. "That’s the last thing he is going to do," I said, not sure I believed it.

"Probably, but he could." Trent was looking at Lucy, but talking to me. "Anyone could. A stray dog has more legal protection than you." His eyes met mine, and I stifled a shiver, knowing he was right. "That band of silver around your wrist makes you almost helpless, and anyone with enough smarts will know it. There are no laws that pertain directly to demons, and until there are, you are vulnerable."

"Vulnerable." There was that word again, and it rang through me like a warning bell. The stronger I got, the more vulnerable I was.

"You take favors from me," he said, "but you are not on my payroll. You claim to be protected by a master vampire, but you have no ties of blood, and you saw how deep Cormel’s word went when he was confronted by the coven. Ivy can’t protect you from everything, either. You’re the alpha female of a Were pack, but you don’t live with David and refuse to take a tattoo to show affiliation."

"What if I get the tattoo?" I said, hearing the truth in his words. "I didn’t before because it wouldn’t last through a transformation curse, but I don’t have to worry about that now."

"A tattoo isn’t going to fix this," he said, his eyes intently on mine. "You are a demon, but you can’t perform the magic to back yourself up. I’m not telling you that you need to take that charmed silver off to survive, but I’m asking you to stay out of trouble for a while. Lay low for about six months. I’m trying to get some legislation protecting you pushed through, but it’s going to take a while."