Lupi 06 - Blood Magic

fire," Ruben said.
    She winced. "I should have called. Everything's happened pretty fast, but I should have called. Cullen's okay. All of our people are, but there were casualties. The... " She paused, waiting to see if the damned geas would stop her.
    To her surprise, it didn't. "The perp's a sorcerer. Evidence suggests he started two fires here - I'm at the hospital - using magic, plus he used some kind of broadcast spell to knock people out, so this is our case. Magic used in the commission of a felony. He wanted a distraction so he could plant a bomb in Cullen's room. Rule found the bomb and tossed it out a window."
    "Mr. Turner is certainly competent."
    "I think so, too. This perp's the one who tried to kill Cullen last night. He's a sorcerer, like I said, capabilities largely unknown, but he's powerful. I caught a glimpse of a man I believe was him. The man is Asian, apparent age between thirty and fifty, clean-shaven, height between five-three and five-six, weight maybe one-forty. He might be Chinese. Han Chinese, specifically. I think he is. He didn't look Mongolian or Korean or Japanese. I think he's a pro. A hitter. He likes to use a knife strike to the heart, but he can change up if he needs to. He used a bomb today."
    There was a moment's silence. "That's substantially more information than you gave me this morning."
    "When he started burning things, the, ah, the binding on me changed. It didn't go away, but the terms of it changed. I need to tell you about the other perp. She's the real problem. She - " Her voice shut off. Just closed up. "I can't. I can't say anything more."
    "Interesting. I - "
    The door opened. Lily dropped her phone and had her weapon in her hand before she even thought of it.
    Nettie stepped in, with Jason behind her. "Sorry. Should have knocked first. We've got an ambulance waiting. Rule, we're short on personnel. I need you to handle one end of the gurney. Jason can tell you what to do. Cynna, you'll have to follow in a car. There isn't room in the ambulance."
    Lily put up her weapon and bent to pick up the phone. It still worked. "Sorry," she told Ruben. "I, ah, dropped the phone and didn't hear that last part. Nettie and Jason are here. They're ready to move Cullen."
    "I said that I'd run a check on your possible hitter."
    "I looked for similars already. There's a real dearth of top-dollar Asian killers who like to use a knife to the heart, partly because most hitters prefer a gun. There's one woman who might be Asian who likes knives - descriptions for her vary from Puerto Rican to Italian to Asian - but my perp's definitely male. There's a Japanese hitter who uses a blade, but he's in top-security lockup in Kansas."
    "Hmm. Did you have Ida query other nations?"
    "Ah - not specifically."
    "I'll look into it. I can see this isn't the time to request a report, but I need your attention for one more moment. I called in part to assure myself you were uninjured, but I also wanted to let you know that my sense of urgency increased just before I heard about the fire at the hospital. I'm flying out today instead of tomorrow. I should arrive shortly before ten your time."
    "You want me to pick you up?"
    "Thank you, but no. Ida has arranged all that. Take care, Lily." He disconnected.
    Lily frowned as she slid the phone in her slacks pocket, clipping it to the material. "You heard that?" she said to Rule as he came up to her.
    He nodded. "I'll be going with Cullen."
    "I heard." Grandmother had left her chair and was saying something to Cynna, who nodded seriously. Nettie and Jason began the business of transferring Cullen to the gurney.
    "After that, I need to go see Toby. Also my father and the Rhej."
    Her frown deepened. That sounded like clan business - well, not the part about Toby, but the rest. She couldn't imagine what had happened that could be seen as clan business. And couldn't ask, dammit, with non-clan present.
    Rule smiled and rubbed his thumb between her brows as if he could erase the frown. "I'll explain later. You'll be tied up here awhile."
    "Yeah. I've got something brewing for tonight. A lead on the sorcerer, maybe."
    "There are some things you need to tell me, too, it seems."
    She nodded. "No time now. You're wanted."
    He quirked his brows in a way that gave an annoyingly accurate double meaning to her words, then turned to help with the gurney. In a moment, they were gone.
    All except Grandmother. It dawned on Lily that this might be a problem. She went to the old