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He spoke through tight lips. “No, but I can take your wishes back to the council and argue that they grant them.”

“Wow. I suppose I’ll have to think about yer generous offer for a few moments then.”

Pretending to think, I rose and walked to get the teakettle again. I carried it back to the table and filled our mugs to the brim with hot water that still steamed. His mug sat unattended, so I played the friendly host. “Do ya want some fresh tea leaves for your strainer, Rasmus?”

He frowned and shook his head. I knew letting him stew would convince him better than words would that I had little interest in his petty offer.

After returning the kettle to the stove, I plucked an amber and black stone from a bowl of crystals on the counter before I turned back to talk. Cradling the stone in my hand, I studied Rasmus and his frown.

“How desperate are ya for me to say yes?”

“Desperate enough to entertain your requests,” he answered, glaring full-out at me.

Snorting at his irritated tone, I crossed my arms. A tingle of excitement crawled over my skin. This could be a chance to get my freedom to-do list done legitimately and in one fell swoop. How could I pass up a chance to make the council restore my freedomandto force Jack to drop his dogged pursuit of killing Conn?

Hope could do a lot to fuel my cooperation.

“Okay, demon hunter. Here are my non-negotiable requests. My familiar, Conn, is forever off-limits as a target for yer kind. Jack personally must swear to abide by that as well. Plus, I want Jack to retrieve my heirloom necklace from yer council and hand it back to me, since he was the one who stole it. He owes that much to my Da. Last, of course, it’s only logical for the rest of this bogus incarceration to be dismissed as if it never happened. I want to be a completely free witch.”

Rasmus chuckled low. “That’s quite a list for a proven criminal. I don’t know if they’ll agree to all that.”

I smirked at him. “Did I ask ya for reparations or money for the time I’ve been wrongly held here? No, I didn’t ask for that, because I don’t need to extort anyone for gain. All I want is for my rightful property to be returned to me and for my witch integrity to be restored. To do that, Conn needs to be safe from the likes of yer kind. Ya heard my deal. I want it all or I won’t be helping ya.”

Rasmus chuckled. “I find your negotiation-free stance surprising for a woman who’s been magickly confined for so long. I figured you’d be desperate by now to get out of this place and willing to do whatever it took.”

I tilted my head as I stared at him. “I only stayed here because I had reasons for staying. When those reasons are no more, I promise ya I’ll be leaving when I please no matter what ya try to do to stop it from happening.”

A sexy male smirk formed across lips that should have been used for much nicer purposes.

“You stayed because of the wards on this place. It’s warded against Celtic magick. I know all about the details of your incarceration.”

It was my turn to chuckle. “No, ya don’t. Ya know only facts that aren’t important. No one can ward against the power of the gods. It’s infinite and changeable and blesses my family as it chooses. My heritage never lets me down when I call on it. I haven’t yet made that call, but I’ve been rethinking the value of my cooperation with the likes of ya.”

Snorting because he didn’t believe my claim, Rasmus glared at me. “Are you saying you’re a god, Aran? That’s pretty arrogant of you. If you had that kind of power, they would have recruited you to help us long ago.”

I rolled my eyes and counted to ten in my head before speaking. “Do ya know who The Dagdawas?”

“Sure. I read mythology. He was one of the original leaders of theTuatha de Danann, who were not gods as far as I know. They were extremely magickal humans with advanced skills in technology.”

When I looked at Rasmus, my insides got warm and mushy, but when I listened to him, all I heard was another version of Jack trying to convince me he knew something more than I did.

“The Dagda was the first ancestor of my bloodline. I never tracked how many great greats exist between us, but Ma says he’s always been around in some form. The tribe of Danu eventually became immortals. Goddess Danu allowed it.”

“Do you have any proof of your claim to have the power of gods?”

I frowned at the question and pretended to be saddened by his rudeness. “I suppose ya require some extraordinary magick to convince ya, don’t ya, Rasmus? I’d remove the wards on the house, but that would bring the wrath of yer snooty council down on my head, and I’m not ready to deal with them yet.”

Even though I was still standing by the sink, Rasmus pushed his watery mug to my side of the table. “My tea’s gone. You could conjure some hot tea for me with magick.”

“That’s way too easy for our purposes,” I said, waving away his suggestion. Then I chuckled. What popped into my mind was a simple magick trick, but one I would enjoy inflicting on him for the rest of the day.

Raising my hand, I pointed one finger at his hair. “Enchanta purpleanta,” I announced. A stream of purple traveled to him from my finger and burst into a million sparkles in front of his face. My annoying visitor coughed and waved the sparkles away as I laughed at his new hair color.

While the spell took full effect, I turned and casually refilled the kettle at the sink, which was still nearly full. Filling it gave me something to do while I thought about what to say to convince him.

“This house restricts what the council thinks of asrealmagick, but that’s because they understand nothing except their own limited view of things. Demon hunters are far more mortal than my ancestors ever were.”

I turned and waved a hand at the stove. “This stove made by human hands works as much magick as any spell I could cast. For a simple exchange of energy, the teakettle heats all water we could ever want for tea. Science, technology, and mechanics are just as magickal as conjuring or sending forth a spell from yer fingers. My family taught me to respect all power... and all creatures. That’s a life lesson the magickals in yer country could use.”