Demons of Good and Evil by Kim Harrison

            Eyebrows high, he smirked at the noise coming from the back room. “No. I got it. It’s mostly ley line manipulations and some chalk. See you later,” he said as he adjusted his scarf around his neck. “Madam Coven Leader,” he added formally to Vivian. Scarf furling, he headed through the stacks to the door. “Thanks, Patricia!” he shouted, and then he was gone, the door chimes clinking merrily.

            “I should probably go, too,” I said, glancing at the thick book Vivian had on the table. I wasn’t sure I liked that Lee and Patricia were on a first-name basis.

            “I’m glad I ran into you,” Vivian said, and I slumped. “I’m beginning to think you’re avoiding me,” she added, her voice a mix of mocking accusation.

            I had been, but I wasn’t about to admit it, and I reached for her book. “What are you working on?” I asked. I’d found that the coven of moral and ethical standards had no qualms about using white spells in ways that would land anyone else in Alcatraz. So unfair, but I was curious.

            “Ah.” Her voice shifted, and she seemed almost embarrassed as she moved the book out of my reach. Not before I caught the title, though. Ley Line Regression Studies. Wow. “The I.S. gave me the invocation phrase for the curse that brought down David, and Cassie’s employees,” she said. “Asked me to find the countercurse.”

            “That’s what I’m doing,” I said, feeling the hit. “And you thought Patricia might know? Why didn’t you come to me?”

            Again she hesitated, the confident woman actually wincing. “I was talking to Lee, actually. This was merely a convenient place to meet.”

            Not to mention Patricia’s was the one place I wasn’t likely to be. Upset, I scooted farther down the couch—away from her. “Which still begs the question of why you didn’t come to me. I’m the one with the demon books, and it is a curse.”

            Her gaze darted to mine, a pinch of apology in it.

            “You think I did it?” I said, aghast, and she reached out, touching my hand for a second.

            “No, of course not,” she said. “But I’m not the only voice in the coven.”

            My mouth was open, but I was too stunned to say anything. “David is my friend,” I finally got out, and the polished woman had the decency to look embarrassed.

            “Yes, but David is not the first person to be hit by this,” she said. “Cassie’s employees were holding Pike hostage when they were struck down. As you say, it’s a curse. If you can untwist it, there’s a chance that you were the one who cursed them.”

            The I.S. thought I had cursed David?

            “It is in your best interest if I don’t involve you. Rachel, please,” she begged, brow furrowed. “Don’t take this personally. I’ve been working with Lee since Cassie’s employees were brought in. He came in early for Trent’s party so we could move faster on it.”

            She can work with Lee, but not me? The reason was obvious. He was a witch-born demon, too. If he could do the curse, I could, as well.

            I sat stiffly at the far end of the couch. It had gotten quiet in the back room. “Am I a person of interest?”

            Vivian slumped. “I would appreciate it if you would stay out of this and let me handle it.”

            My chest hurt. “That’s not going to happen. David is my friend. If it takes a curse to fix them, look the other way and I’ll do it. I don’t want any credit for it, and your aura stays nice and white.” Okay. Maybe that last had been a little bitter, but I was tired of the coven doing things that I couldn’t get away with.

            “Don’t get pissy with me,” Vivian said, her own anger beginning to show. “This is your fault. If you were transparent about what you cursed Brad with, I could foster a feeling of trust with the rest of the coven. You’re asking me to convince them with no proof that you cursed Brad by accident. That you trusted the wrong person. How can I do that when you won’t share what you did?”

            I suddenly realized where her suspicion was coming from, and I felt my face go cold. Brad? This wasn’t about the chakra curse that had downed David. It was about Brad? I couldn’t show Vivian the curse that I’d used on him. At least, not until I found the cure. It was a memory curse, one of Newt’s old ones, and it was bad. Even Newt hadn’t used it. The monstrosity was progressively eating away at Brad’s memory like a disease, and it would land me in Alcaraz.