“So he empowered us to make a deal with you. You failed acting as Zorya in two separate instances: The first was refusing to send on a spirit who had sought help from you.”

“Ulfur,” I said, a pang of guilt zinging through me at the memory of him. “I didn’t refuse him at all. I would have sent him on if I could have, but he opted to remain and help me.”

Janice’s lips tightened even more. I was surprised she could crack them to talk. “Nonetheless, you must find him and send him to Ostri, as you were meant to do.”

“I have no problem with helping him,” I said. “Although he said he would be fine when I left Iceland. But he must be tired of poking around with nothing to do but watch tourists. What’s the second thing?”

“You must engineer the release of those Brotherhood members whose detention by the vampires you aided two months ago. If you do those two things, the director will ask the board of governors to execrate you from the Brotherhood.”

“Free the reapers?” My stomach wadded up on itself when I realized just what they were asking.

“Mother Mary,” Magda said under her breath, her gaze fixed on me. “The vamps aren’t going to want to do that, are they?”

“What you ask is too much,” I protested, my hands flailing a little as I tried to imagine me marching up to the vampires and asking them sweetly if they’d let their mortal enemies go. “Even if I knew where they were being held, there’s no way I could get them released.”

“Nonetheless, those are the terms of the agreement. Either you restore to the Brotherhood the four people listed here”-she handed me a card-“or you will fulfill your duties as Zorya.”

“You can’t make her be a Zorya,” Magda said hotly.

“Actually, we can,” Rick said, one side of his mouth quirking up. “I always thought it was a bit odd that a Zorya is merely a conduit to the power of the moon, but I can see why it would be useful in just such a case.”