"I want a favor."
"It depends," I said cautiously. "Some things are off-limits."
"To be decided upon on a future date," she said.
I stilled and watched her carefully. Morgana was not a woman you wanted to be indebted to. "Absolutely not," I said.
She inclined her head. "Then I bid you all adieu. Mr. Barkwood, my sincerest condolences on the future loss of your dwelling."
"Morgana," I said through clenched teeth.
"We can work out the details of it, but I need it to be quite open-ended. You can rest assured I will not ask you to kill anyone, nor will I ask you to risk your lives."
Shaw finally spoke up from the back. "And who are you asking the favor of?"
Morgana eyes sparkled. "Oh, you clever boy. From all of you."
"Three favors?" I asked, balking at the request. "For a protective charm?"
She scoffed at me. "It's not a charm," she said. "A charm isn't going to do anything to protect Jeremy from the hellstorm he has about to rain down on top of his head. It's a spell, and one I will personally cast. Jeremy will be safe and so will his dwelling.Ifthis bargain is struck."
I turned to my friends. "We should go somewhere else."
"No one else has the juice to do what you need me to do." Morgana sounded almost desperate, though her insolent tone hadn't changed. She needed something from us. But she was right. There wasn't a more powerful witch in this town and I probably couldn't even find one within the human population.
From the looks on Jeremy and Shaw's faces, they both agreed.
"One year," I said. "You have one year to use all of your favors."
She shook her head. "That isn't enough time."
"We are not giving you an open-ended deal and having your shadow hang over our heads forever."
"Five years," she countered back.
"Eighteen months," I said. "That's our final offer."
She sucked on her teeth for a moment. "You didn't consult with your friends."
I crossed my arms against my chest. "I don't need to."
Her eyes flashed with anger. "Eighteen months. Done." She held out her hand. I took it and a zing of painful magic rushed down my arm. "The bargain is struck," she said, even as she reached out to Jeremy and Shaw to do the same.
"The bargain is struck," we repeated.
We walked out of her office subdued and silent, none of us knowing what the hell to make of what just happened. Morgana never dealt in favors and it was nerve-racking for her to start.
She told us she would be by before the end of the day to cast the spell Jeremy needed to protect his dwelling. We only had her word on it, but Morgana had never broken a promise to anyone in this town. Not that anyone knew about, anyhow. But this time, Jeremy's life depended on it.
