Mortal Ties

FOURTEEN

RULE was leaving the house when Lily returned. He told her he was heading over to Eric Snowden’s to get Toby, touched her face as if he, too, regretted the lack of a private moment, and left at a lope. By the time Lily showered, called Ruben, called the local FBI office to delegate some of her cases, and texted her parents that she’d be out of town for a while, he was back.

So was Toby. So were Emmy and Danny. Rule vanished into the study with Isen, and Lily ate breakfast with a noisy and inquisitive crowd. The three kids charged back out as soon as they finished downing the pancakes they’d drowned in maple syrup. It seemed the self-defense refresher course planned for their age cohort had been moved up to today.

Lily approved of the clan’s custom of teaching basic self-defense to its kids. She suspected that today’s class was at least partly to keep them busy, maybe wear them out a bit. They were all wired after last night. But it would also reinforce the idea that being young and small might mean taking orders and running or hiding if necessary, but it did not mean they were helpless.

As soon as Toby and company left, José told Lily about the arrangements for their trip. The bulk of the guards who’d accompany them had left while Lily was still asleep because they were driving up. But Scott would fly there with her, Rule, and Cullen.

Scott was Leidolf. So, she realized, were the guards José named who’d already left. That had to have something to do with Rule’s newly found sense of himself as Leidolf, but what? Lily put that on her mental list of things to discuss later, when she and Rule were alone.

At ten till nine she finished packing—she’d gotten really quick with that—and rolled her suitcase out to the living room. Cullen sprawled on one of the couches, a battered duffel near his feet and a cup of coffee in his hand. He nodded at her. “José is bringing the car around.”

She glanced at the hall that led to Isen’s study. “Rule still in with Isen?”

“Yeah.”

In addition to the steel plates in the walls, Isen’s study was soundproofed. No point in asking if Cullen had heard anything. Lily parked her suitcase by the hallway and started for the kitchen. “I’m going to grab a cup of coffee.”

“Don’t bother. This is the last of it.”

“You took the last cup?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

She sighed and plopped down on the hassock. Maybe Isen had given Rule the brief report she’d printed off for him and they were talking about it. The Bureau didn’t have a lot on Jasper Machek, but what they did have made interesting reading. “How did you rig the coin toss?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Right. You’re fine with Cynna coming with us if she wants to. You didn’t do a thing to influence that coin she tossed.”

He grinned. “Nothing anyone can prove.”

Lily wasn’t about to tell Cullen that she approved, but she did. She’d call Cynna if they needed her in San Francisco, but her promise on that score didn’t mean she couldn’t stress the danger. Cynna shouldn’t be kept penned up at Clanhome every minute…but there was a chance this whole deal was a setup designed to get as many of them as possible away from Clanhome, where they could be ambushed. Cynna was nursing. Where she went, Ryder went. Best if she sat this one out, at least for now.

“Last night I kept getting interrupted when I was questioning you,” she said, pulling out her notebook and flipping it to the next blank page. “You said you didn’t have a picture of your prototype, so I need a description.” An omission she’d noticed with a cringe when she reported to Ruben.

“A skull.”

She stared. “It looks like a skull?”

“It is a skull. The runes are written on it in black ink—specially prepared, but you don’t need to know about that. And of course the yellow quartz is adhered in a carefully composed pattern that—”

“You used a human skull for your prototype?”

“You’re really slow on the uptake this morning. Maybe you did need that cup of coffee.”

“You can’t be ignorant of the laws about using human relics in magical practices. If you—”

“Of course I know the law,” Cullen said testily. “The skull’s over seventy years old, which exempts it from most restrictions. It’s been blessed and certified clean of taint or ties to its original owner. I bought it from the Catholic Church. Paid a pretty penny, too.”

“The Catholic Church sells skulls.”

“At a huge profit, but they’re the most reputable supplier around, plus the only one that can offer sufficient quantity, so if you’re worried that I hadn’t considered how many I’d need if—”

“No. No, that wasn’t my concern. Why in the world did you use a skull for your prototype?”

“Congruence, first of all, plus bone has useful properties. There’s an element of theater, too, of course. The magically ignorant require a touch of showmanship to believe something is working the way it should. Skulls impress the hell out of them.”

She shook her head. “You’ve got a weirdly malfunctioning magical device. It’s made from a human skull. You don’t think there might be a connection?”

He frowned. “That’s what Cynna said, but there is no theoretical support for the idea. The skull tests neutral in every way that matters—mortal ties, transference, elemental imbalance—”

Her phone ran through the opening bars to the theme from Jaws. She grimaced. “Hold on a minute.” She pulled it out.

Cullen grinned. “If your mother ever finds out what ringtone you gave her, you are toast.”

“If anyone ever tells her, he’s toast. Remember that. Hi, Mother,” she said. “I guess you got my text.”

“Of course I did, though I’ve told you I don’t like text messages. They’re too impersonal. I wanted to make sure you talk to your sister while you’re in San Francisco.”

“Oh. I probably will go see Beth, but I’m going there on a case, not for pleasure, so—”

“You have to talk to her about this man she’s seeing. He’s older than she is. A lot older,” Julia Yu said ominously. “I don’t know why she had to move there in the first place. I said it wouldn’t work out well.”

“She’s seeing someone in particular?” Lily said, surprised. Beth dated a lot, but she hadn’t mentioned anyone special. A whiff of guilt drifted in when she realized she hadn’t talked to Beth lately. A few texts, yeah, but she hadn’t called in…three weeks? Maybe more. Given the way Beth flamed through relationships, that was plenty of time for her to be head over heels. “Beth falls for someone every other month. I don’t think we need to worry.”

“This one is different. She didn’t tell me about him.”

“What do you mean?”

An impatient sigh. “She’s mentioned him, but she doesn’t say she’s in love. It’s there in her voice, but she hasn’t said it, and when I ask, she says he’s just a friend. Clearly this one is different.”

“What’s his name? How much older is he?”

“Sean something-or-other. He’s over forty.”

That was a pretty big age difference. Not as big as the one between her and Rule, but Lily’s mother didn’t know that. Rule looked about thirty. Still…“I’ll ask her about him if I get the chance. I can’t promise. I don’t know how this case is going to go, but…” The study door opened. “I’ve got to go, Mother.”

It wasn’t that easy. Things never were with her mother. While Julia Yu explained how necessary it was for Lily to find out everything she could about Sean something-or-other, Lily listened with half an ear to Rule ask if the car was waiting. Cullen assured him it was, stood, and cocked an inquiring eyebrow. “Anything we should know before we leave?”

Rule raised both brows. “You couldn’t have heard us.”

“I didn’t. That’s why I’m asking.”

“There is news, but it’s for Isen to speak of.”

As he said that, Isen joined them. “Got to go, Mother,” Lily said hastily. “Bye.” She disconnected quickly.

Isen was looking cheery again. The twinkle was back. “Lily, you’ll like this part of my news. Young Hank acted on his Rho’s orders, so Nokolai does not hold him responsible for his misdeeds. He won’t be allowed to remain here, but he will be released without further punishment.”

“You’re right. I do like that.”

“You’ll also be pleased to hear that I decided the situation did not require Leo’s death.”

She’d bet he was pleased about that, too. Isen could be ruthless if he thought it necessary, but he preferred to be devious. “Good.”

“Leo was under the impression he was being clever. He thought I’d appreciate his, ah, sneakiness. In his mind, by selling worthless information—he knew the prototype had problems—he benefited his clan, thereby benefiting Nokolai as well. I explained the flaws in his reasoning.”

“You did more than that.”

“True. However he may have justified his actions to himself, he deceived and betrayed Nokolai. I can no longer trust him. I required him to pass Laban’s mantle to his heir—”

The quick “son of a bitch!” came from Cullen.

“—who will be joining you in San Francisco to assist in your investigation.”