This story starts in the middle of Black Magic Sanction, right after the Pandora Charm debacle and the fight with Vivian. From here on out, the story does not follow cannon. I've read Pale Demon (and I LOVED it), but I'm not sure whether I'll be incorporating elements of that story into this one yet. The pairing is Rachel/Al.

I stared warily at Pierce. I wasn't sure how this whole scene would have played out if Pierce hadn't been here. First, he'd saved me from the bad Pandora Charm, and then he'd helped protect us all from Vivian. I would always feel grateful to him for saving Ivy, and that left a bad taste in my mouth. Like Brimstone. A year ago, such behavior, paired with his devil-may-care attitude, would've had me drooling in my raspberry latte. He was one hundred percent Rachel Candy. But, I just couldn't live that way anymore. I wouldn't survive such a naïve outlook; and more importantly, the people I loved that had earned my trust wouldn't survive it either. And there was the rub. It bothered me down to my smut-covered soul to feel indebted to someone that I didn't trust.

Was it Kistin's death that made it easier for me to see Pierce clearly? Or was it Pierce himself that was different? I'd feared Kistin once, too, but that was before I got to know him. Kistin's danger-factor came from what he was, a vampire; something he had no control over. With Pierce it was the opposite. His danger-factor came from the choices he made. The more I knew about Pierce, the more cautious I became. It wasn't like that with Kistin. He trusted me to be able to make my own decisions and fight my own battles, but he always had my back. Despite Pierce's obvious power and magical prowess, I couldn't imagine ever being able to trust him on that level. He might want to protect me for whatever misguided reason, but there was a difference between that and truly having my best interests in mind like my partners do.

I locked gazes with Ivy and then Jenks. Ivy had determined that she only had a hairline fracture in her arm, so we had wrapped it up tightly and put it in a sling from our medical kit. We were very prepared for emergencies around here. She raided her stash of heavy duty painkillers, and was currently munching a brimstone cookie. I knew better than to push.

"The last thing I want to do is leave the church," I said softly, "but something has to change. This isn't a fair fight. I can't let you two die fighting this hopeless war just because I can't own up to what I really am."

Ivy looked torn in that special, heart-breaking way she has when she wants to touch me and show her support but her damned instincts won't allow it. "Rachel," she said softly, and I smiled gently at her.

"We're not strong enough to fight off the Coven ourselves," I told her, needing her to realize how true it was. They'd obliterate our haven and everyone in it. I didn't have the pull among witches that Ivy did among vamps to keep them off our backs. Especially once the witch community started seeing evidence of me dealing with demons. Shunning was a powerful enough sentence that no one, of any species, would fight it, and there was no coming back from it. My guess was, even Rynn Cormel would revoke his dubious protection once the Coven put the pressure on. No one had ever been un-shunned. Or de-shunned? Whatever.

"Tink's titties, Rache! We held off all of those I.S. assassins, we can hold off the Coven," Jenks protested, wings going red with anger.

I looked at Ivy, and her head drooped in defeat as she remembered how quickly she'd been taken out of the fight by Vivian. "That was just one Coven member," I continued, turning my attention back to Jenks. "I'm not strong enough to fight them, especially if they team up. If Pierce hadn't been here, Ivy would be undead and I would be missing an ovary by now."

Jenks rose to eye level and glared at me. "But this is our territory, Rache. We have a better chance of defeating our enemies on our own turf."

I sighed. "This isn't like fighting fairies, Jenks. I'm not saying you aren't capable of protecting your land; I'm saying there are some things that even pixies shouldn't be expected to fight. Even you wouldn't stand in the way of a tornado. And that's what the Coven is: a force of nature." I struggled to gather my thoughts and work out how to impress the seriousness of this situation. "This is worse than me being under an I.S. death threat."

The pixy arched a brow at me in disbelief.

"You want proof?" I asked, annoyed. "How about the fact that the Coven is the only group powerful enough to make the I.S. and the F.I.B. stand down, no questions asked. How about the fact that the Coven has the power to turn an entire nation, Inderlander and human, against a witch solely on its whim? Or the fact that even top-of-the-food-chain, undead vamps won't get in their way."

Glen met my eyes, asking for permission to weigh-in. I nodded. "You're probably right," he began mildly. "But for those same reasons, running won't work either."

"I know," I agreed.

"I opine I can keep you safe on the lam, Mistress Witch," Pierce interjected, looking supremely put-out that we'd been talking around him.

I glared at him, annoyed. "This conversation is between me and the people that I trust."

Ivy and Jenks grinned and looked proud, while Pierce turned the full force of his gaze on me. "I'm here for your protection, Mistress Witch. Saved your friend, did I not? What have I done to earn such mistrust?"

"You're playing with a demon," I pointed out.

Pierce looked affronted. "I swan I was in a fix. I only agreed to deal with that second-rate curser to be near you."

I just stared at him.

"You yourself are in a fix with a demon, Mistress Witch," he added petulantly.

I growled. "There's a difference between being "in a fix" with a demon and flat-out playing with one, like you're doing."

"That hack can't bind me, though he might own me," Pierce replied, "and I allow it for you. I opine I keep you safer during your sojourn in the ever-after."

I cocked a hip and flipped my hair to ease some of my rising tension. "You keep me safer?" I hissed indignantly. "You're the most unsafe part of being there!"

He scowled. "You're right fixed if you think you're safer with that demon spawn than me."

"I am safer with Al than with you," I said quietly, voice going low and fierce. Ivy and Jenks both stiffened, knowing that when I stopped yelling that's when I was really steamed. "You're the one that ignored Al's orders and left me alone so you could impress me with your ability to escape his bonds. Never mind that Al might blame me for freeing you. You left me alone in Al's creepy workroom, in the freaking dark, which led directly to me screwing up the spell I was working on and being possessed by that skanky, evil soul. I had to do some weird Vulcan mind-meld with Al so he could drive it out."

"You'll not have to deal with that beast for long, Mistress Witch," Pierce said solemnly. Clearly he'd missed the point.

I clenched my fists tightly, trying to rein in the urge to smash his conceited nose in. Diverting my eyes to my friends, I noticed that they seemed willing to let me work this out myself. Ivy was tense, pupils dilated, but she seemed OK. I knew we really didn't have time for this, but I felt that the Pierce situation was far too combustible to continue the way it was.