Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder

sleazy thing, and it’s not! We’re partners, and we love each other.”
    “You say you’re partners, but you’ve already admitted to me that he has you doing mundane work to support his interests. Any ethical master would have enabled you to leave the mundane world behind by now.”
    “That’s not fair. . . I mean, look at you, wearing that lawyer suit and tie. You spend most of your life in the mundane world. How is your life as a lawyer so much more magically worthy than my little office job? Is it just because you make loads more money than I do? You governing circle wizards keep telling the rest of us how money is this lousy, no-good distraction from all the crap we’re supposed to focus on —“,
    I realized I’d gone too far, and quickly shut up.
    Mr. Jordan frowned at me. “The difference is that I do not rely on mundanes for my survival. They rely on me for theirs. And the work I do is crucial to our community’s continued harmonious existence with the mundane world.
    “For instance, that disastrous little stunt you and Cooper pulled the other night caused nearly half a billion dollars in damage and crippled the city’s downtown. And I am the one responsible for cleaning up your mess. My company will have the city back in working order before the week is over. We will restore commerce and harmony, and soon everyone but the families of the dead night workers will forget about the whole ugly incident.
    “You, on the other hand, waste your time and Talent in front of a computer. The worst part is that you still rely on the outside world for survival. That kind of reliance is the very definition of a mundane.”
    He paused, staring at me. “You need to decide which world you belong to.”
    “I belong in this world,” I replied. “I’m completely dedicated to my magical studies.”
    “Completely dedicated. Mm-hm. A dedicated student is a respectful student, wouldn’t you say?”
    Where was he going with this? “Yes, I suppose so...”
    “No. There’s no ‘suppose’ here. Any serious student wants to be a respected member of the magical community, and one has to give respect to get it. Ignoring and disobeying the laws and rules of a community disrespects that community.”
    “But—”
    “Cooper Marron has a long history of scorning the laws of our world. And you, young lady, disrespected our rules when you let yourself become involved with him as his lover. Both of you have disrespected our world with your casual use of magic, and the incident downtown is a direct consequence of your sloppy behavior.
    “Your family has a history of violence and destructiveness, and at this point I’m not at all convinced that you won’t follow in your mother’s and father’s footsteps and become an outlaw even worse than Cooper Marron. How can I trust that you’ll be a responsible, productive member of our society? How can I let you remain part of our world?”
    Is he talking about banishing me? I asked Pal.
    Yes, he is, the ferret replied.
    “I never meant any disrespect to you or anyone else by seeing Cooper,” I said. “I never wanted to do anything but be with the man I love. I am really sorry for what happened the other night; I tried as hard as I could to make things right and I just couldn’t.”
    “You did do surprisingly well, all things considered.” Jordan’s tone was grudging. “Nobody who was aware of the situation expected you to survive. Clearly you’re a strong Talent. It would be a pity if you had to be banned from continuing your studies.”
    “What do you want me to do?”
    A parchment and black quill pen made from a raven’s feather appeared on the chessboard in front of me.
    “I want you to sign this agreement that states that you will not, upon pain of banishment and two years’ incarceration, attempt to find Cooper Marron or bring him back to this plane of existence.”
    I stared at the parchment. “I. . . I can’t sign this.”
    “You must. These are the terms of