White Witch, Black Curse

My mom made flustered waving motions, and I turned my back on them for some privacy. A ping of adrenaline pulsed through me. I didn't think this was about Glenn, but I didn't want to tell them I was working on bringing in a banshee. Robbie thought I was irresponsible enough already.

My mom and Robbie's excited conversation retreated to background noise when I flipped the top open and put it to my ear. "Hi, Edden," I said in greeting, immediately recognizing that he was in the office by the faint chatter. "What's up?"

"Don't have your TV on, do you," he said, and a second flush of adrenaline built on the first.

"What is it?" I said, looking for my boots. My first thought was Glenn, but Edden sounded excited, not upset.

"Mia is at Circle Mall," he said, and my eyes darted to my bag, glad now I'd brought the charm. I didn't need it, but I'd know for sure if I'd done it right or not. "She was in the food court," Edden was saying, "her and her baby soaking up the ambient emotions. I'm guessing it wasn't enough because a fight broke out and turned into a riot. Never would have found her otherwise."

"Holy shit," I breathed, then covered my mouth. My eyes went to my mom's, and she sighed when I leaned against the wall to put on my boots. "Is Remus there?"

"Ye-e-ep," Edden said dryly. "We've got most of the bystanders out and the mall locked down. It's a mess. I'm on my way there now, and I'd like you there to help bring her in. She being an Inderlander and all. I don't have many of them on my payroll."

He didn't have any on his permanent payroll for legal reasons. My hands were shaking as I shrugged into my coat, but it was excitement. "I can be there in ten minutes. Five if I don't have to park my car."

"I'll tell them you're on the way," he said, and I made a noise so he wouldn't hang up.

"Wait. I'm going to be a while. I need to go back and get Jenks." If I was bringing in a banshee, I needed him. I'd like to have Ivy, too, but she was out.

"Alex is on his way to get Jenks already," Edden said, and I zipped my coat closed and dug out my keys, smacking the bad-mojo amulet with my knuckles. "I called the church first, and he wanted in on it."

"Thanks, Edden," I said, truly pleased that he was sending someone for Jenks not only because now I didn't have to, but that he'd thought of Jenks at all. "You're a peach."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said, and I could hear his smile. "I bet you say that to all the captains."

"Just the ones who let me kick ass," I said, then broke the connection.

Excited, I turned to the living room. I froze, seeing Mom, Robbie, and Marshal sitting on the couch together, all staring at me. I looked at myself, already dressed for the cold, and I warmed. My keys jingled as I shifted, and I gave them a sick smile. Damn it, I was ready to walk out the door, and I had forgotten all about them. Oh crap. We'd driven Marshal's car.

"Uh, I have to go," I said as I put my keys away. "There's a problem at the mall. Uh, Marshal?"

Marshal stood, smiling in a rather fond way that I wasn't sure how to take. "I'll get the car warmed up while you say good-bye."

Robbie's expression was dark, like I should sit and have coffee with them instead of going to do my job, but damn it, runs happened when runs happened, and I couldn't live up to his ideas of what my life should be. "Rachel—" he started, and my mother put a hand on his knee.

"Robbie. Shut the hell up."

Marshal made a guffaw he quickly shifted into a cough, but I felt miserable. "Don't worry about it," the tall man muttered from beside me, then purposely bumped into me as he put on his shoes. "It's not a problem."

"Mom," Robbie protested.

My blood pressure spiked. Maybe we should have brought two cars, but then I'd be leaving Marshal alone here, and that wasn't any better.

Putting her hand heavily on Robbie's shoulder, my mother stood. "Marshal, I'll pack your pie up for you. It was nice to see you again. Thank you for coming over."

Marshal looked up from tying his boots and smiled. "It was a real pleasure, Mrs. Morgan. Thanks for having me. I enjoyed the pictures."

She hesitated, a hint of her worry showing, then she nodded and hustled into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry," I said to Marshal.

Marshal touched my shoulder through my coat. "It's okay. Just bring the pie out with you, okay? Your mom makes great pie."

"Okay," I whispered, and he turned and left. A brief gust of cold air blew in. It was snowing again. I still felt bad, and when I turned from shutting the door behind Marshal, I almost ran into Robbie. My head snapped up, and immediately my worry turned to anger. He was staring at me, and I stared right back, eye to eye, me in my boots and him still in socks.

"Rachel, you are such an ass sometimes. I can't believe you're walking out of here."

My eyes narrowed. "This is my job, Bert," I said, hitting the nickname hard. "Mom doesn't have a problem with it. You aren't around enough to have a say, so get out of my face."