Outfoxed (The Fox Witch #1) - R.J. Blain Page 0,64

curses and evocations as I see fit. And I can reverse curses and even toss some blessings while I’m at it. We’ve always tested the limits of magic, and we’ve found ways to work around some of the constraints some believe exist.”

Great. If he found out I was a witch on top of being a shapeshifter, we’d probably end up battling each other.

Toxin witches like me didn’t like curse mages like him. We stepped on each other’s toes, and we often got saddled with trying to undo their workings, as our control of toxins allowed us to reverse them—and most curse mages lacked the ability to revoke the curses they cast, leaving witches like me to clean up their messes. I frowned. “You can reverse your curses?”

“Not all curse mages are irresponsible with their magic. My family teaches curse reversal before we’re taught how to toss curses at people. It’s really embarrassing to cast a curse you can’t reverse. Really, we’re not all bad, and I’m disgusted that curse mages have such a poor reputation even in the Alley.”

“Well, nobody wants to be cursed,” I reminded him.

“Right you are. So, will you sign?”

Right. I still held the papers, which would cause me many difficulties down the road, but at least if I did lose my general freedom, I’d be with an enemy I knew—or paid exceptionally well to face my fate. With money, I might be able to change the system from within. It helped he didn’t seem to enjoy the realities he faced.

If he deceived me, he did a damned good job of it, and I deserved to pay the price for accepting his sincerity.

“Don’t make me regret this,” I warned him.

“I will do my best to make certain you do not regret your choice.”

I sighed, considered the paperwork, and wondered what the hell had happened to my life, which had gone right off the rails. “I’ll sign.”

All I could hope was that I could continue to keep one step ahead of the other bounty hunters until I figured out what I could do about my situation—if I could do anything at all.

I would find out soon enough.

Monday, May 4, 2043.

Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Alley.

* * *

Several hours after being dragged into City Hall, I escaped with a carry permit, a pass into Asylum, and an annoying contract that trapped me in the system while offering me limited protections. The amount Sandro paid stunned me, and I needed more time than I had to come to terms with how much he felt I was worth.

We belonged to two different worlds, and the casual way he’d paid the government confirmed it.

How far would he go to keep someone like me? Why? He’d transformed himself from a hot-ass bounty hunter out for my living head to an intriguing mystery.

Batbayar intercepted me at the bottom of the staircase, and he held out an envelope. “Your latest paycheck. It is going to be a few days until I am set up in Asylum, although we are taking everything down before the storms hit tonight. I told them you work hard, have lost many friends, and need a few days, too. I got them to give you a bonus pay so you can handle your personal affairs. Do you have your pass?”

I held up the card, which could be tapped or swiped at the locked doors leading into Asylum, which I’d never used before. “I’m to ask a guard to make certain my pass is active or let me in if it doesn’t work. I’ve a note for that if needed.”

I would make use of the pass, too, and preserve my precious secrets allowing me to come and go from Asylum as I pleased.

“Excellent. My new location within Asylum is inside the envelope, so if you need a place to stay, find me there. Did you make a deal with that gentleman?”

“A provisional one. I told him if he wanted me, he’d have to earn me.”

Batbayar smiled at that. “A treasure should be properly won, not hastily purchased. Good. Hold your ground. You deserve nothing but his best.”

“Your thoughts on him?” I wondered what Batbayar knew that I did not, and while my life was full of uncertainties, I could rely on him holding more secrets than I anticipated.

“He has more integrity than most, and he will keep you on your toes. His reputation is good enough, although you will find he has even more secrets than I.”

“Bite your tongue, Batbayar! No man has more secrets