Lupi 04 - Night Season

me.” Cynna Weaver’s eyebrows went up. That eyebrow motion could mean all sorts of things, but Gan thought that this time it meant surprise. Gan’s gaze drifted. “You’ve got great breasts. What do you think of mine? Pretty nice, huh? Jenek told me to keep ’em covered out here. He said humans have rules about that, but I see breasts on television sometimes.”
    â€œHuman sexual customs confuse us, too, but keeping most of your breasts covered is usually best. I notice that you’re talking and no one is choking you.”
    â€œI’m not talking to Lily Yu.” The councilor didn’t care if Gan talked to Cynna Weaver, which was interesting. Shouldn’t he be trying to get Lily Yu on his side? “You’re a Finder, right?”
    â€œRight. Is the little guy your boss?”
    â€œHuh! You mean the councilor? He’s not in charge of me, but he is in charge of the half-half, who probably isn’t strong enough to make my eyes pop out. I’m pretty strong, too. But she does have those tusks.”
    â€œNot to mention a great big sword, if we’re talking about the same person—the one the councilor called Tash. She’s a half-half?”
    â€œUh-huh. That’s what they call them, all the ones who aren’t just one thing or another. Half-halfs.”
    â€œWho’s ‘they’?”
    â€œGnomes. That’s who I know about, anyway, but I guess everyone in Edge calls them that. There’s a lot of half-halfs in Edge because of all the magic.”
    â€œYou been to Edge?”
    Gan nodded, preening. “I can still cross.” That was rare—hardly any demons could cross between realms without being summoned, but Gan could. She hadn’t lost the ability when she started growing her soul, either. This made her very special.
    Cynna Weaver recognized that. Gan could see the admiration in her face and hear it in her voice. “I wish I could cross like that. Is it harder to do now?”
    â€œWell, I don’t have as much juice, but…hey, do you have any candy? Chocolate candy.”
    â€œMy, you have changed. Not gobbling live bugs these days?”
    Gan sighed. “I can’t eat ymu anymore, so I have to eat dead things. But chocolate’s different. I like chocolate.”
    â€œI think I’ve got some.” Cynna Weaver pulled her big bag up into her lap and started digging around in it. “You’ve been staying with the gnomes.”
    â€œUh-huh. What kind of chocolate?”
    â€œHow did you know that the councilor and the others were coming here?” She pulled out a candy bar. Gan tried to grab it, but Cynna Weaver held it up too high. “Answer the question first.”
    â€œI’m stronger than you. I can just take it.”
    â€œDo you have money?”
    Gan’s forehead scrunched up. “Huh?”
    â€œIf you have money, you can buy your own chocolate. If you don’t have money, you’ll either have to steal things—which can get you in lots of trouble—or get someone to give you what you want. I might give you more chocolate later if you don’t make me mad. If you make me mad,” she added, “I might zap you.”
    Gan eyed her. Cynna Weaver was bigger than her, of course, but that didn’t mean much. Even big humans were pretty puny. But she’d seen Cynna Weaver kill a red-eye with a spell. Red-eyes were tough to kill. “Lily Yu wouldn’t like it if you killed me.”
    â€œI have more than one spell. My zap spell hurts but doesn’t kill. Usually.”
    â€œYeah?” Gan perked up, interested. “Show me. Not on me,” she added hastily. “On the half-half, maybe. Or the councilor.”
    â€œNot now. How did you know the Edge people were coming here?”
    â€œI’d like to know that, too,” Lily Yu said.
    Gan looked up at her. It made her feel funny to see Lily Yu again. Good-funny and bad-funny all mixed up.
    While Lily Yu was in Dis, she had died. Well, part of her had, since she’d accidentally gotten herself split in two—which wasn’t Gan’s fault, or not all her fault, anyway. Being human, Lily Yu had a soul, so the part that died hooked up again with the part that lived, which was the Lily Yu sitting beside Gan now.
    It was complicated, but Gan more or less understood what had happened—as much as she understood anything about souls, anyway. The