I carefully placed the wrapped sphere at my feet in the car and looked at over at Jamie, “So why would you agree to take me to Uncle’s if you can’t stand the White Council so much?”

A dark look entered Jamie’s eyes as he began to rant, “First off, the White Council is the one who has a problem with me. Every encounter I have ever had with the Council they have reminded me that I am not a member of their club; that I have no pedigree. I was taught by no master and they are just waiting for me to screw up. The one time a Warden came to town I had to risk my life and take on a cult just to prove I was innocent. All that aside I want to make sure this artifact is put in their hands and never sees the light of day again.”

Jamie then gave me a mischievous smile, “Plus I want to see your Uncle’s face when I walk in his store with this.”

I responded, “So you have a big chip on your shoulder, and you want to get a rise out of my Uncle ‘cause he does fit in with the White Council. I understand it is annoying; just don’t show them that you can be useful otherwise they will want you then…” then I lost my smile “trust me”.

I put the smile back on my face, “Just so we are clear I am not on their payroll. They help out me with… some issues and give me information when I need it and I do the same for them. They choose not to tell me everything and I do the same.”

Then I think I got a dangerous glint in my eyes, “So how much do you want to get my Uncle annoyed?”

Jamie drove without responding for about a minute and then said, “After the incident with Warden Meyers and my… display at The Tempest, I no longer have the option of pretending to be a Minor Talent. Now I must play the game of being dangerous, but too much trouble to be worth fooling with. The war with the Red Court also helps with that.”

He continued, “Based on that philosophy, I want the Council to know that I am a major part on why this artifact is off of the street. That should be worth it.”

“So is there something you want from me?” I asked as we continued to speed towards east Dallas.

Jamie barked a short laugh, “So I can owe you something later? I think not”.

At this I got somewhat upset, “If you were worried about that you should not have summoned a Demon in front of me.”

Then I teased him, “Just because I believe it is not breaking a law of magic doesn’t mean everyone else on the White Council agrees with me.”

I sighed, “You do know that I don’t charge friends and I don’t sell out friends either; no matter how tempting the offer. Loyalty means a lot to me.”

Jaime glanced at me, "That is good to know. So we are both mercenaries with something resembling a code of honor.”

At that point Jamie turned his BMW into the parking lot of Uncle’s shop, “As for the demon summoning I am not worried. If it were against the Laws of Magic it would not be an extensively covered topic in White Council writings. Also, Demons are of the Nevernever and thus considered part of our reality. Ready to do this?"