still shaky."
The guardian wasn't budging yet. There was something she wanted, and a good negotiator knew when to lay all her cards on the table - fast. "We screwed up, and we know it. I'll be working very hard not to do that again."
"It's not the first time," said Liriel softly, eyes flashing. "You nearly broke our coven."
Oh, God. "That wasn't our intent." Lauren's memories were mostly of the homesick guy she'd been with, but clearly they'd caused damage - Liriel's mind made that very clear. "I was still a baby witch, and Jamie was away from home and out of his element. I'm sure we could have handled things far better than we did."
"Yes." Liriel paused, choosing her words. "You didn't respect our magic. I know it doesn't meet your standards, but we work hard at our craft. If you enter our home today, I ask you for that respect."
Ouch. And ouch again. Lauren closed her eyes, well aware she was running on empty. "That seems like an important conversation to have, and I promise you, we'll have it. Know that I have immense respect for the way both of you have rolled with this travesty of a day. But I'm a witch about out of gas, and Beth wanted to talk. She feels like our first priority right now. And if you have a cookie to spare, I'd be eternally grateful."
The first hints of a smile teased Liriel's lips. "I'm sure we can find you something." She pulled open the door. "Beth is in the living room, off to your right. I'll fix a couple of things in the kitchen and be right in."
Lauren knew a skilled diplomat when she met one. Liriel was making the setup very clear - Beth was the focus here. And getting through the front door had only been the first test.
Sometimes there was nowhere to go but forward. Lauren squared her shoulders and made herself a promise. The next time she dropped in on the Witches' Lounge, there would be long underwear, a lifetime supply of coffee, and a dozen emergency cookies in her purse.
She walked down the hall, sending out a quiet mental scan as she went. The frantic, panicked energies of an hour ago were gone, replaced by guarded calm.
Beth looked up as she walked into the living room. "Hello. Thank you for coming back. I have some questions, and Liri thought you might be willing to answer them."
The formality hurt Lauren's heart. "It's the least I can do. First, however, let me apologize profusely. I'm not entirely sure what happened yet, but magically kidnapping you was deeply awful. We'll do what we can to make it right."
"You have power beyond what I've ever known." Beth let out a breath. "Perhaps that's why all the old texts have so many prohibitions and chastisements to work carefully."
The old texts knew that witches were far less than perfect. Lauren took a seat without speaking - she could feel more words coming.
"Tell me of this place. The one with enough magic to transport an entire person and reassemble her again."
That was no small request. "There's an informal witch community in Berkeley. One I'm still learning about myself." Lauren decided it was never too early to start apologizing for trampling things, no matter how unintentional it had been. "When you first met me, I was a brand-new witch. Two years ago, I had no idea I had power of any kind."
Beth's eyes grew larger by the word. "Liri says you have immense skill."
That was a truth that still sat strangely in Lauren's soul. "I'm not alone. Witch Central has a lot of people with strong talent."
"And they came to find you?"
Now things got sticky. "Sort of. I was the first witch found by the spell that fetched you." And memories of being pulled into a simple chat room caused new spurts of sympathy for the restrained woman across the room. "It started with a pint of ice cream..."
The story was a long one, and in the telling, reminded Lauren of how far she had come and how big some of the bumps along the way had truly been.
Beth listened and asked questions - some