Alex must have sensed my seething emotions from across the line. “I’m sorry, Mack.”

“Alex, I’ve come to you for help. To help her. There must be something.”

“She’s beyond help now, Mack. The only people who can remove the spell are from the Ministry’s Council. You need to get out of there before they decide that you’re mixed up in this somehow too.”

But I was already mixed up in it. In fact, I was IT. I exploded at him, instead. “For fuck’s sake, Alex! She’s just a harmless old lady!”

“Who you yourself admitted to having serious suspicions about! There’s no other way. You have to see how dangerous this is.”

“She’s not dangerous. And I like her.” I was aware how stupid that sounded, and how true it was. I was going to have to do something.

Alex, for his part, was silent.

I took in a deep breath. “I have to go, Alex.”

“Wait, Mack, you can’t do anything stupid.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I understand that my friend has been put into this trance by some fucking jumped up mage. Because she’s dangerous. Except I know that she’s no danger to anyone. And I also know that the Ministry is going to hurt her to find out just what kind of threat she actually is. Which will also probably reveal in the meantime what I am too. What stupid thing would I do?”

“You can’t save her. You’re strong, Mack Attack, and god alone knows what powers all that Draco Wyr blood has, but you can’t fight the Ministry. It’s too dangerous, and not just for you. And they’ll focus on the threat of her, anyway, not some harmless employee she happened to have.”

Except this harmless employee was the reason she was in this state in the first place. “I completely understand, Alex. “ My voice was distant and I started to hung up.

“Mack!” His voice burst through the phone. It was too late though – I slammed it down on the counter and moved to Plan B.

Chapter Ten

As soon as I put the phone down, I took a deep shaky breath. Things were most definitely not particularly hunky dory in the land of Mackenzie Smith. My mind raced, considering the options. There was absolutely no way that I was going to leave Mrs Alcoon to be dealt with by the Ministry – and hurt, or worse, in the process. I briefly wondered if I could get hold of Maggie and convince her to call off the dogs. After all, I could leave right now if I so chose. It was Mrs Alcoon – June, her friend – who was going to end up getting hurt. I quickly discarded that idea, however. Maggie must have known what implications calling the Ministry in the first place would have, which meant that she put the threat that I posed higher than the relative safety of her friend. Besides, I figured, with a quick glance down at my fingers, Maggie clearly had some power at her disposal that I would probably be wise to stay away from.

What I had to do was to get Mrs Alcoon somewhere safe, somewhere no mage hell bent on terrorising and torturing a harmless old lady could get to her. That meant that pretty much anywhere in the UK was out. From what I little I knew from my time with the Pack, the tentacles of the Ministry of Mages were far reaching. Let’s face it, I’d seen the evidence of their locator spells in action myself. They’d find her wherever I put her.

So I’d have to look further afield. Going abroad might be a possibility, but it was an international organisation. I doubted there were many places in the world I could take a prone body to where they wouldn’t be able to reach us. I didn’t have to stay on this plane, however. I thought of the demesnes that I’d visited when I’d been tracking Iabartu. Somewhere like that would work perfectly. I just had to work out how to get there.

I scooted quickly round to take another quick peek at Mrs Alcoon. Unsurprisingly she hadn’t moved so much as a muscle. Fuck it. I closed my eyes briefly, then spoke.

“Solus?”

The empty shop echoed silence back at me.

I tried again. “Solus? If you want to know what I really am and you’re listening right now, then I’ll tell you. Just do me one small favour first.”

I knew it was madness getting a Fae to do me a favour. I’d end up owing him my first twelve children or something equally stupid. I couldn’t see that I had any other choice though. I just had to hope that, wherever he was, he could hear me calling his name.

“Sol..”

The air crackled and he appeared in front of me. Disturbingly, he was wearing some kind of diaphanous white shirt and ridiculously tight leather trousers, although I still felt a wave of relief that he’d elected to appear in the first place. “Well, well, well. I didn’t think that the big and tough Mackenzie Smith would ever be calling little old me. Have you finally realised that you can’t escape me and that it’s better to just give in?” He grinned with the leer of a predator. “You could have chosen your moment better, I must admit. I was somewhat….tied up.”

I didn’t want to imagine what the truth behind that statement actually was. I could feel a hot white band of heat squeeze my heart, but did my best to ignore it and instead looked at him with a far steadier gaze than my inner churning emotions should have allowed. “You want to know what I am? “

Solus took a step towards me. “Oh, there are so many things that I want, my little prickly ginger one.” He reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair away from my cheek. I had to fight not to flinch.

“Well, then,” I said, all business-like, “I will tell you if you do me one favour.”

The Fae threw back his head and laughed. “Favour? You don’t demand favours from me. You’re just a…”

He didn’t finish his statement. I used the moment to take control of the situation and folded my arms. “Exactly. You don’t know what I am. I could be a thousand times more powerful than you. I could use the strength I have to bend you to my will. Until you know what I am, you can’t control me.”

“You actually think that you could use your strength to make me do something?” The disbelief dripped from his voice.

“I broke your sister’s cruinne, remember?” This time I was the one taking a step forward. “Who knows what I can do?” I hoped that my bravado was working. I was pretty sure that there was nothing I could do to control any Fae; even the weakest of their species could probably grind me to a dusty pulp if they so desired. I tried to remember that I had bested a demi-goddess, even though that had been with the help of Anton and Corrigan. Okay, Anton and Corrigan had bested a demi-goddess and I’d been the warm up crew.

Solus regarded me with a mixture of wariness and amusement, then airily flicked his hand through the air. “Fine. Tell me what you want and I’ll consider it.”

“No. Either you grant me this boon, or all deals are off. I don’t have time for you to go away and consider anything.”

“You demand a lot.”

I stayed silent and just waited, trying not to let the desperation show on my face. It couldn’t be long until the mages showed up.

He sighed expressively and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. Tell me what you are.”

“Do you really think I’m that stupid? First the favour, then I’ll tell you.”

“A Fae’s word is his bond. You should not dare to question my integrity.”

“Oh puhleeeze,” I drawled sarcastically. “How many double-edged promises have your kind made? Eternal life but in a decaying body? Or how about granting perfect beauty and yet leaving no soul? Or aiding childless couples and then demanding the longed for baby as payment?”

Solus scowled. “You read too many fairy tales, shrew.”

I ignored the unpleasant nickname. “The favour first, Solus.”

“Fine. What is it?”

I gestured to the office door. “I need you to take her to your…wherever it is that you live, and keep her safe until I can work out how to sort all this out.”

Solus stared at me silently for a moment and then stalked over to the office. He stepped inside and then almost immediately sprang back out. “The mages,” he hissed.

I shrugged. “You promised. All I need you to do is keep her safe.”

“Why would you do this for her? You barely know her. She has no power to speak of.”

“She’s in trouble because of me. This is my responsibility.”

He glared at me. “I have no desire to get mixed up with the human wizards. They can be...tricky.” He blinked slowly. I had no idea whether it was in exasperation or acquiescence and didn’t realise that I was holding my breath to hear his answer until he spoke again. “But I did promise. I will take her to Tir-na-nog.”

“And you won’t harm a hair on her head.”

“What do you take me for? You should learn some manners, shrew.”

“Stop calling me that and take her now.”

“I…,” Solus began before looking up at the exit to the shop. “You’re out of time, I think. The mages are here already.”

Before he’d even finished speaking, the dark shape of three cars drew up outside. “Then go now, Solus.”

“I cannot get my answer if you are taken by them.”

“I can handle myself,” I stated, more calmly than I felt. I gave the Fae a little shove. “I will keep my side of the bargain but you must get her to safety.”

He gazed at me expressionlessly for a heartbeat and then walked over to Mrs Alcoon and scooped her up effortlessly into his arms. Her body sagged like a rag doll’s. “I will find you and get my answer.”

“I’d expect nothing less.”

The doorknob of the glass entrance began to turn. Solus stared at me solemnly for a moment and then with a brief shimmer in the air suddenly both he and Mrs Alcoon were gone.

Chapter Eleven

I wasn’t quite sure what I’d been expecting. I think a part of me had had visions of a Gestapo style entrance, complete with clicking heels and straight armed salutes. There would be a commandant of some kind trailing behind the main group, black leather gloves tugging at a lit cigarette. My experiences with Alex , the ‘surfer dude’ magician, should probably have prepared me for the opposite.