Page 18 of Scout’s Honor

“He says Vernon got a lawyer to challenge the case, but the judge can be swayed.”

Vizier frowned. “I don’t want to wait for a court case to play out. It could take weeks.”

“We could charm the lawyer. She could get the key from Bunn and hand it over.”

“But every time we go into town another shifter sees us, or another switch chases us down,” Vizier whined.

Vasyl thought about it. His brother had a good point.

“We’ll find some big guy to charm and have him bring her to us,” he said.

“Good plan.”

Vasyl held a hand to his head, feeling uneasy. Vizier crouched and looked ready to bolt again. Magenta light fell all around, and a glowing woman appeared where the cabin had been.

They backpedaled away from her, saying, “Warrior Woman.”

“I thought she was killed in the Reckoning,” Vizier snarled.

Vasyl only stared, thinking maybe she was a ghost, but she looked real enough.

Vizier pulled a bloodblade out of his inner coat pocket. A bloodblade was a knife infused with the blood of a little switch witch, which was spectacularly hard to come by.

“Put that away,” Vasyl snarled. “Those are only to be used on shifters.”

He reached into his own pocket and pulled out an ordinary switchblade, handing it to his brother. “Go get her.”

A blast of pink light erupted, throwing them both back. Vasyl hit his head on a tree, while his brother somersaulted past him.

Vizier got up, clutching his knife. “We’ll be back,” he snarled angrily, “And we’ll bring an army.” Black, oily magic swirled around him, and he disappeared.

Vasyl made no speeches, he only followed his brother.

He needed to feed.

11—Sturn and Burn

Bonhi strode into court and put her attaché case on the counsel table. She pulled out a sheet and quickly wrote down her court outfit: navy-blue pencil skirt with matching blouse, and red heels. She took a moment to study the column to see if she’d worn the outfit before and what Judge Sturn’s reaction was, discovering the judge hadn’t seen this outfit yet. Bonhi hoped it was acceptable. Judge Sturn was hard to please, and she tried to control everything in her courtroom, including what the lawyers wore.

Bonhi greeted the bailiff and the court reporter and a few people she knew in the gallery, which was where the public sat, then she unpacked her things and reviewed the case, waiting for her client to arrive. Vernon’s case was first on the docket that afternoon.

Judge Sturn was grumpy sometimes, but she was always fair, so Bonhi thought they had a good shot at stopping the government from stealing the land under Vernon’s family cabin.

“Ms. Candor?” the bailiff called.

Bonhi looked up. “Yes?”

“The judge would like to see you in her chambers.”

Strange. Bonhi gathered her things and hurried to Judge Sturn’s office and knocked.

“Come in.”

Bonhi went in, holding her case in front of her. She stood next to the chair and waited. Judge Sturn, sitting behind her desk, first examined Bonhi’s outfit, then nodded and said, “Your client might be crazy.”

Bonhi shook her head, still standing, clutching her case in front of her. “What?”

“The cabin. It doesn’t exist. Vernon Bunn is wasting the court’s time with a cabin that doesn’t exist.”