“Rix? No, he’s very well-behaved,” Morgan said. Buying time only helped if you used it to come up with a plan. She was not coming up with a plan. This was bad. So bad. Rix, unaware of the badness of the situation, tried to lick Murder in the completely unsupported belief that one could lick someone into friendship. Murder hopped back, looking offended.
Fiona narrowed her eyes. Then she grabbed something out of her pocket and tossed it to Morgan. Morgan caught it automatically and then wished she’d let it fall. The milky stone warmed in her palms, ready to turn blue at the hint of a lie.
“Do you just carry these around?” she deflected.
“You’d be amazed how useful they are,” Fiona said dryly.
“You still don’t trust me,” Morgan countered. “I’m a grown-up now, you know.”
“Pretty sure most adults don’t call themselves grownups,” Fiona said. “Or keep hellhounds in the house. Where did it come from, Morgan?”
“His name is Rix,” Morgan said. “He followed me home.”
It was close enough to the truth that the stone stayed white. She’d always been good at lying, and being around Lucareoth had only increased her skill at obfuscation. But she could feel it continuing to heat in her hands.
“From where?”
Morgan thought frantically. “I… don’t know where he originally came from?”
“That was a very obvious dodge, Morgana. What aren’t you telling me?”
Morgan sighed and tugged at Rix’s leash. This wasn’t a conversation to have standing in one place. Walking, no one would catch enough of it to realize they were talking about anything besides the latest fantasy movie.
“Keep that rock in my sight, young lady,” Fiona said, although she followed Morgan’s lead. She’d taught her, after all. Murder flew up to her mother’s shoulder to ride along.
Her mother gave her time to think about her answer. Which was what she had wanted, although she didn’t like her conclusions. Who was she to wrestle with world-altering ethics? This was a problem for the grown-ups. She ate cereal for dinner at least once a week: she shouldn’t be the one making these decisions.
But she was a grown-up. And that meant owning up to what her actions had helped set in motion. The deeply jaded Council seers wouldn’t freak out about nothing. If Brad’s plan was going to lead to the kind of disaster that would get their attention, then she had help stop it. Even if that meant giving up everything she wanted. She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat.
“GreenField isn’t the only one,” she said, finally.
That got her mother’s attention. “Not the only one making Infernal Deals, you mean?”
“No,” she said. She looked around at the bustling neighborhood of the Heights, full of people going about their lives. Lucareoth was right, they didn’t deserve this. Once again, the demon had better morals than she did. “My CEO is, too.”
She didn’t miss the quick glance Fiona took at the crystal in her hand. It stung. Not physically, just her emotions.
“All right,” her mother said. “That’s worse than I’dfeared, but it explains a lot. If it’s spreading among the tech companies…”
“The tech CEOs, they talk to each other. They’re always copying each other when they can.” It was absolutely true. She didn’t have to tell her mother that she was personally responsible. The crystal stayed white. “But it gets worse.”
Her mother gave a quiet, drawn-out sigh. “It always does.”
Morgan explained Brad’s plan. The crystal stayed white. Her mother’s lips, pressed tightly together, grew white as well. It didn’t make her feel better, per se, although there was a certain relief in knowing that her mother didn’t think Morgan was overreacting. Fiona had faced down vampire cartels, rogue Inquisitors, and a haunted cruise ship bent on dominating the Caribbean resort network, and those were the ones she knew about. That Fiona thought this was a terrible idea at least helped her feel like she was making the right decision.
Her mother walked quietly for a bit. Rix seemed oblivious to the tension between the women, his eyes repeatedly straying back up to Murder, his tail wagging hopefully. Murder ignored him with the aplomb of a middle school queen bee, preening his feathers. Her mother ignored them both. Finally, she said, “That’s not all of it, is it.”
Morgan glanced at the crystal in her hand, still white. Reluctantly, she admitted, “We got the Ravenfell investment.”
That definitely caught her mother’s attention. “Interesting. I assume they realize Brad’s got a Deal? They’ve gone up against the Infernal before.”
Morgan nodded. “I remember you complaining.”
Fiona looked mildly surprised. “I hadn’t thought you were paying attention.”
“I always paid attention,” Morgan protested. “Just because I can’t see what you see doesn’t mean I wasn’t listening.”
Her mother looked a little stricken. “That’s not—I meant that most teenagers have more important things to listen to than their parents’ work.”
