Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder Page A

your remaining in the community, as decided by the governing circle. We think this is in the community’s best interests as well as your own.”
    “But earlier…”
    Don’t make him angry, Pal warned. heaping lot of trouble as it stands.
    “...earlier you blamed me for not living up to my responsibilities to Aunt Vicky. For turning my back on her when she needed help most. And now you want me to turn my back on the man I love, right when he needs help most? How is this supposed to make me a more responsible member of the community?”
    “Wherever he is, Cooper is lying in a bed he made a long time ago.” His voice held the snap of a coffin closing.
    “Cooper’s helped plenty of other people in this city when they’ve been in trouble. Why won’t you help him?”
    “Cooper is a bad influence. I can’t risk any more death and destruction because of him. I particularly can’t risk him returning to this city insane and out of control. No. He stays where he is. And you sign this agreement that you’ll leave well enough alone. After you do that, I’ll make sure you get assigned to a new, more suitable master.”
    “And if I don’t sign?” I asked.
    “I can’t prevent you from working what magic you know how to use, but you will be anathema. No member of this community may assist you in any fashion until you sign. Most major cities in North America have courtesy agreements with us, so you’d be excluded most anyplace you might wish to move to.”
    “I. . . I have to think about this.”
    Mr. Jordan nodded. “You have an hour. After that, the anathema decree will take effect, and Mother Karen will have to remove you from her home.”
    Mr. Jordan nodded toward the front of the house. “Cooper’s car is outside. Aside from some body damage it appears to still be in working order. We’ve taken the liberty of removing the weapons from the trunk. We can fix the car, and your hand and your eye, after you sign. It’s up to you.”
    Mt Jordan got up and left the room, left me staring down at the parchment. A few moments later I distantly heard him speak a few curt words to Mother Karen, and then the slam of the front door echoed down the hallway. Pal crawled out of the fern pot and onto my shoulder. My blind eye socket ached, and my missing hand felt like it was on fire.
    “You should sign that so we can get Mother Karen to take care of your arm,” Pal said.
    “No. I can’t. It’s not right.” I shook my head, trying to clear the cloud of regret and anxiety Jordan had stirred up. “I can’t believe the nerve of that guy, making me feel all guilty about letting Vicky down and then telling me I should abandon Cooper. And he comes in here acting like this bullshit is for my own good—does he really think I’ve forgotten he left me out there to die? Damn him to hell if he thinks I’m going to sign this.”
    I grabbed the parchment and tried to tear it in half with my teeth. It wouldn’t rip. Swearing, I balled it up in my hand and threw it behind the fern.
    “You do realize that signing that agreement is in your best interests right now?” Pal said, shifting his paws nervously.
    “You don’t actually think that jerk’s right, do you?”
    “No. I think he’s railroading you,” Pal replied. “It’s clear he’s going to do anything he can to keep you from even starting to look for Cooper. Which, considering you lack the experience to successfully find your master on your own in the first place, much less do battle with the horrors that surely lie wherever he’s gone, strikes me as a very suspicious kind of overkill.
    “But I think things will go badly for you if you don’t bow to Mr. Jordan’s wishes. And we have at best a slim chance of getting Cooper back in one piece. So I’d be derelict in my duties if I didn’t tell you that for your own sake you should sign the paper, find a new master with whom you are not likely to become romantically involved, and get on with your life.”
    “You said