Lupi 06 - Blood Magic

much what it sounds like - magic that's sourced in part or whole on blood. Blood is highly magically active. Doesn't matter if it's from a null or a big, bad werewolf - it's got juice."
    "I don't get that. Lupus blood carries some of their magic. Blood from a Gifted person might, too, I guess. But blood from a normal human? How is that magic?"
    "Magic's everywhere. Or potential magic, maybe. Thing is, mostly it's sort of transmuted into being instead of acting. That's what spells are for. They take a bit of that being and make it acting."
    "I know you think that makes sense."
    Cynna ran a hand over her hair, making the spikes stand up straight. "Cullen's better at explaining than I am. Say you use a rose in a spell - and it's a good spell, and you know what you're doing, because if it's a poorly crafted spell, nothing happens. But this is a workable spell cast by someone with a bit of magic to feed into it. Some bit of that rose stops being rose and acts as rose. It's like the difference between a noun and a verb."
    "And blood has lots of potential magic?"
    "You could put it that way." Cynna yawned hugely. "Sorry. One reason blood spells have a bad rep is that a person's blood can be used to power a spell against them. A hex or curse, in other words. That's what someone's done to Cullen, though it isn't like any hex or curse I've ever heard of."
    "He said the spell was powered from his blood. That's what any blood curse does, isn't it?"
    "Not exactly. The way he said it... I'm guessing, but it sounded like it's drawing power from him now. Not like it was initially powered by blood someone stole from him somehow, but like it's powered from his blood while it's in him. That's real tricky. I never heard of a spell that could do that." She shook her head, sighed. "He's going to want to figure it out, and not just the way a sane person would, so he can get rid of it. No, he'll want to understand it."
    She sounded gloomy, but not for the reason Lily's anxiety spiked. A spell like Cynna described would be hard to defeat. It wouldn't run out of power as long as Cullen was alive. "Nettie said the spell made Cullen's body fight against his magic."
    "That fits. Healing - ordinary healing - is delivered through the blood. The spell either interferes with that or makes the blood actively toxic. Cullen's magic keeps fixing things, but it can't get rid of the spell, and the spell keeps messing up his blood again."
    Lily's phone sounded. It was the chime that meant the call had been forwarded from her official number, so she answered it. "Yu here."
    "Hey, babe."
    The gravelly voice was immediately familiar. Funny. She'd thought she didn't remember Cody's voice that clearly. Lily felt a smile tug at her mouth. "I never did break you of that habit. What's up?"
    "Not a damned thing." He sounded tired. "We're winding up here. Thought I'd let you know. Oh, and the big boss wolf said to tell you one of his people picked up a scent, but it petered out. He wants to know how the vic's doing. I'd like to know, too."
    "He's alive. He's also still reacting to a nasty spell that damn near killed him, which makes this case mine."
    Cody was silent for a long moment. "Guess I can't argue with that. Never thought I'd see you on the fed side of the fence, though."
    "It feels weird sometimes." All at once she had a dozen questions to ask him. Questions that had nothing to do with the case. Nothing to do with the present at all. With an effort she shoved them away and asked the ones that mattered.
    Still no sign of the weapon. No physical evidence at all, basically. They were talking about what role the sheriff's department would have in the investigation when someone knocked on the door. "Got to go," she said quickly, drawing her weapon and sliding her phone back in her pocket.
    Rule opened the door. It was Jason. At her nod, he wheeled in a folded-up rollaway bed with one hand. Under his other arm he carried a large bundle of blankets.
    The blankets spoke. "Can't goddamn breathe in here."
    "Hang on a sec." Jason set the bundle down, unwrapped the top blanket, and revealed four and a half feet of scowling gnome.
    Max had beady little eyes sunk beneath hairy, salt-and-pepper eyebrows. His nose dripped toward his chin like a blob of melted wax. His mouth lacked much in the way of lips, and his skin was the color of mushrooms. His shoulders were wide, his neck barely there, and his suit could have come from the 1920s. The black fedora covering his bald