Trent ran his fingers over his carefully styled hair to flatten a few floating strands as Sylvia approached. Shifting my shoulder bag forward, I said loudly, That suit would look better with a burping pad.
Trent stiffened. His eyes flicking to the mirror, he searched the shadows for me. At his side, Jon pulled himself upright, the distasteful man holding a thin hand to his eyes to see through the glare. The witch at his feet fell back, and Sylvia murmured an apology, flustered, as her most valuable client and the daughter of one of her suppliers glared at each other.
Quen, Trent finally said, his voice now hard but no less beautiful. I dont doubt you have an explanation for this.
Quen took a slow breath before he started forward. You werent listening, Sahan. I had to try another method to bring you to see reason.
Trent waved the clerk away, and Jon strode across the room to flick on the main lights. I squinted as light blossomed, then smiled cattily at Trent. He had regained his composure remarkably fast, with only the slight tightening of the skin around his eyes giving away his annoyance. I was listening, he said, turning. I choose to think other than you.
Stepping from the stage, the multimillionaire shook his sleeves down. It was a nervous reaction he had yet to break himself of. Or maybe his jacket was too tight. Ms. Morgan, he said lightly, not meeting my gaze. Your services are not required. You have my apologies for my security officer wasting your time. Tell me what I owe you, and Jon will draft you a check.
That was kind of insulting, and I couldnt help my snort. I dont charge if I dont do the run, I said. Unlike some people. I held my arms over my chest as a flicker of annoyance crossed Trents face and vanished. And I didnt come here to work for you, I added. I came because I wanted to tell you to your face that youre a lowlife, manipulative bastard. I told you if you hurt Ceri that Id be ticked. Consider yourself warned. Angry was good. The pain from losing Kisten disappeared when I was angry, and right now, I was pissed.
The witch who had been helping him gasped, and Sylvia started for me, rocking to a halt when Trent lifted his hand to stop her. God, I hated thatas if he had given me permission to call him names. Ticked, I tilted my head, waiting for his response.
Is that a threat? Trent asked softly.
My gaze went to Jon, who was grinning as if my saying yes would please him immensely. Quens expression had gone dark. He was mad, but what had he really expected me to do? Still, I did want to get out of here on my own power and not at the end of an I.S. leash, arrested for harassmentor whatever Trent wanted. He might own the I.S. now that Piscary was gone.
Take it any way you want, I said. You are scum. Absolute scum, and the world would be better without you. I wasnt sure I truly believed that, but it felt good saying it.
Trent thought for all of three seconds. Sylvia, if we might have the room?
I stood, smug, as the room emptied with soft murmurs of apologies given and reassurances offered.
Jon, he added as Sylvia headed out, see that we are not disturbed.
Sylvia hesitated by the open door, then vanished into the hallway to leave the door open. The older mans craggy face went pale. He was being gotten rid of, and he knew it.
Sahan, he started, cutting it short when Trents eyes narrowed. What a sissy-pants.
Jons thin, long hands clenched as he shot me a look and left. The door shut softly behind him, and I turned to Trent, ready to blast him. I wasnt about to air Ceris dirty laundry where it might get into the tabloids, but now, I could really say what I thought.
I cant believe you knocked Ceri up. God, Trent! You are unbelievable! I said, gesturing. She is just starting to rebuild herself. She doesnt need this emotional crap!
Trent glanced at Quen. The security officer had taken a wide-footed stance before the closed door, his arms loose at his sides and his face lacking emotion. Seeing his nonchalance, Trent stepped back onto the stage and began sifting through the charms. None of this is your business, Morgan.
It became my business when you romanced information from my friend, knocked her up, then asked me to do something youre afraid to, I said, taking offense at his cavalier attitude.
Trent bent over the metallic ley line charms as he watched me through the mirror. And what have I asked you to do? he said, his voice rising and falling like a gust of rain.
My blood pressure spiked, and I stepped forward, halting when Quen cleared his throat. You are despicable, I said. You know the chances that Id go into the ever-after to help Ceri are a hundred times better than me going to help you. Id hate you for that if nothing else. How cowardly is that? Manipulating someone into doing something youre afraid to do yourself. A stinking coward, not willing to help your kin except for when youre safe and secure in your little underground labs. Youre a mouse burger.
Trent straightened, surprised. Mouse burger?
Mouse burger, I stated again, arms crossed and hip cocked. A weenie little man with the courage of a mouse.
A faint smile quirked the corner of his lips. That sounds funny coming from a woman who dated a rat.
He wasnt a rat when we dated, I shot back, face flaming.
Trents attention went to his image in the mirror, and he pulled the pin on the ley line charm to invoke it. A shimmer flared through his aura, making it visible for an instant as the illusion took over. I snorted; Trent now looked like he had gained twenty pounds of muscle, his coat seeming to bulge with the illusion. I didnt ask for your help with retrieving a sample of elven tissue, he said, turning sideways to see himself and frowning at the result.
Behind me, Quen shifted uneasily. It was a small motion, but it rang through me like a gunshot. The request for help could have been Quen acting on his own. Hed done so before.
Well, Quen did, then, I said, knowing I was right when Trents attention flicked to the security officer through the mirror.
Apparently, Trent said dryly. But I didnt. Grimacing, he felt his face. It looked like hed been pumping iron, bulgy and ugly. I dont need your help. I will go into the ever-after myself and retrieve the sample. Ceris child will be healthy.
I couldnt stop my laugh at the mental image of Trent standing in the ever-after, and the man reddened. Relaxing, I slumped into one of the cushy chairs by the wine and cheese and sat with my feet spread wide. I can see why you came to me, I said to Quen. You think you can handle the ever-after? This was directed at Trent. You wouldnt last a minute. Not a freaking minute. I eyed the cheese. I hadnt eaten anything since this morning, and my mouth started to water at the sharp scent. The wind might muss up your hair, I said lightly.
Quen stepped from the door. So youll go in his stead?
Reaching for a cracker, I hesitated until Trent grimaced. But he hadnt said I couldnt have it, so I snapped the cracker in two and ate half. No.
Looking like a steroid poster boy, Trent frowned at Quen. Morgan doesnt need to be involved in this. His gaze went to me. Rachel. Leave.
As if I ever do anything he tells me to do?
Trents fingers sifted through a display of amulets, choosing one that added eight inches to his height. The fake bulk thinned a little, but not much. I could feel the tension rise as I stayed where I was. Quen would have to work to get me out of here, and I knew hed rather wait until I was ready. Lowlife Romeo, I said, taking another cracker and adding a piece of cheese. Slime of the earth. I knew you were a murderer, but knocking up Ceri and abandoning her? Thats pathetic, Trent. Even for you.
At that, Trent turned. I did nothing of the kind, he said, his voice rising. She is getting the finest care. Her child will have every opportunity.
I smiled. It wasnt often I could get him to lose his professional edge and act his age. He wasnt much older than me, but he got precious little chance to enjoy his wealthy youth.
Ill bet, I said, egging him on. Who are you trying to be here? I asked, gesturing to the charms. Frankensteins monster?
His neck went red, and Trent took off the height and weight charms. Youre embarrassing yourself, not me, he said, once again his usual size and shape. I offered to move her into my compound. I offered to put her anywhere she liked from the Alps to Zimbabwe. She chose to stay with Mr. Bairn, and whereas I might object
Bairn? I gasped, jerking upright, my fake indolence vanishing. You mean Keasley? I stared into Trents mocking green eyes. Leon Bairn? But hes dead!
Trent was positively smug. Showing me his back, he rifled through a rack of earth charms and watched his hair shift color. And whereas I might otherwise object
Bairn did the investigation on your parents deaths, I interrupted, thoughts scrambling. And my dads. Bairn is supposed to be dead. Why is he across the road pretending to be a kind old man named Keasley? And how did Trent know who he was?
His hair now an authoritative gray, Trent frowned. And whereas I might otherwise object, he tried again, Quen assures me that between Bairn and two pixies
Two! I blurted. Jih took a husband?
Damn it, Rachel, will you shut up?
My attention fixed on him, and I hesitated. Trents face was longer, kind of creepy. He had the bulking-up charm on again, but with the extra height, the roundness had been lost. I blinked at him, then closed my mouth. Trent was giving me information. That didnt happen very often. Maybe I should shut up.
I forced myself to recline in the chair, pantomiming zipping my mouth shut. But my foot was jiggling. Trent watched it for a moment, then turned to the mirror.
Quen assures me that Ceridwen is as safe in that nasty little hole of a house as she would be with me. Shes agreed to receive medical attention at my expense, and if shes lacking anything, its because she has stubbornly refused to accept it.
The last was said rather dryly, and I couldnt help my rueful smile as Trent studied his reflection, clearly not pleased with what he saw. I understood completely. Though mild mannered most times, when Ceri set her mind to something, she was quietly adamant, then aggressively so if she didnt get her way. She had been born into royalty, and I had a feeling that apart from having to be submissive to Al when she was his familiar, she had pretty much ruled the rest of his household. Until her mind had broken and she lost the will to do anything at all.
Trent was watching me when I met his gaze, clearly bewildered at my fond smile. Shrugging, I ate another cracker. What are her chances for a healthy baby? I asked, wondering how guilty I was going to have to feel about my refusal to go into the ever-after.
A silver-haired Trent went back to the ley line charms. He was silent, and I imagined he was weighing his words carefully. If she had a child with someone from her own period, chances would be good that her child would be healthy with a minimal amount of genetic intervention, he finally said. Choosing another ley line charm, he invoked it. A shimmer cascaded over him, and his height grew by almost three inches. Tossing the invocation pin aside, he kept the charm.
His fingers among the shards of metal, he almost whispered, Having a child with someone of our generation, the chances of a healthy child are only marginally better than anyone elses without intervention. Though some of the repairs my father and I have managed are hooked into mitochondrial DNA and therefore passed from mother to child, most arent, and we are limited by the health of the egg and sperm at the time of conception. Ceris reproductive capabilities are excellent. His eyes met mine, every drop of emotion gone. Its those of us who are left that are failing her.
I wouldnt look away, though guilt smacked me a good one. Trents father had kept me alive by modifying my mitochondria. Even if I conceived a child with a man who carried Rosewood syndrome, our child would survive, free of the genetic aberration that had been killing thousands of witches in infancy for millennia. My attention rose from the half-eaten cracker in my hands. It seemed unfair that elven efforts could save a witch but not the elves themselves.
Trent smiled knowingly, and I dropped my gaze. He had to guess where my thoughts were, and it made me uncomfortable that we were starting to understand what drove each of us, even if we didnt agree on each others methods. Life had been easier when I had been able to pretend I couldnt see shades of gray.
Who are you trying to be? I said suddenly, trying to change the subject and gesturing at the amulets so he knew what I was talking about.
Quen shifted into a more comfortable position, and Trent sighed, going from successful business executive to embarrassed young man in an instant. Rynn Cormel, he said hesitantly.
Its awful, I said, and Trent nodded as he looked at his reflection.
Yes, it is. I think I should try for someone else. Something lessominous.
He started taking off charms, and gathering myself, I lurched out of the chair and brushed my sweater free of crackers. Leaving my shoulder bag on the table, I headed to the open closets. Here, I said, giving him an oversize black suit coat.
Thats too big, he said, but he took it. The only charm he still had was the earth charm that turned his hair gray, and the silver gave him a more distinguished look.
Its supposed to be big. Just put it on, I griped, watching as he shuffled out of his linen coat and handed it to me. A puff of scent rose as I took it, and I breathed deeply. Sort of a mix of mint and cinnamonwith a little bit of crushed leaves and, oh, was that a hint of leather from the stables? Damn, he smelled good.