Lupi 06 - Blood Magic

War they mutated, becoming a species that actively feeds on fear. In the War's aftermath, they developed another skill. They already had mindspeech; they learned how to touch other minds to cause them to create waking nightmares.
    "Like giant snakes," Lily burst out. "Or murderous yeti, or whatever someone fears. It's the Chimei who's doing that. She's making people see what they fear."
    Yes.
    She shoved to her feet, furious. "Why didn't you tell us? Warn us, let us know what we were up against. This Chimei had something to do with the attack on Cullen, didn't she? If you'd told us instead of making bets about when we'd show up - "
    Quiet.
    The single word arrived with such force that, involuntarily, Lily took a step back.
    I balance the fate of your world in what I say to you, when I say it, what I imply, what I leave for you to learn elsewhere or not at all.
    Lily sucked in a breath. He meant it. He'd spoken as he always did, with inhuman precision - no rhetorical flourishes, no dramatic exaggeration. "The world. The entire world."
    I said that my people battled in the War's aftermath. We are uniquely suited to fighting the Chimei, and there were many Chimei in realms outside their own, so the fighting continued for some time. The cost to us was great. It was decided there was need for a treaty to stop the killing. Almost all Chimei agreed to return to their home realm, where certain alterations rendered them less dangerous. They are not allowed to leave. Some Chimei, such as this one, refused to return. The treaty binds such Chimei in other ways - and, unlike treaties made by humans, it binds in an absolute sense. Chimei and dragons are unable to kill each other - unable to act directly against each other.
    "Directly," Lily repeated. She knew a loophole when she heard one. "You can't just pounce on this Chimei, but indirectly you can do something?"
    Operating against her indirectly is possible, but difficult. Small actions, intent, words - all may have cumulative power. Applied at the wrong time, in the wrong way, this power could break the treaty. If dragons break the treaty, two things may happen. Any Chimei still outside their own realm would be free to travel here. And any Chimei here would be able to breed.
    "This treaty prevents their breeding?"
    It does. This Chimei is still in attenuated form. She is extremely powerful, but without physicality to anchor her, she is unable to use her power effectively. If she succeeds in manifesting herself fully, San Diego and much of this coast will be lost. If she breeds, or if other Chimei travel here and manifest themselves physically, they will send your world spiraling into chaos and madness.
    "Chaos and madness. The world. You're speaking literally."
    Sam didn't deign to answer. Probably he figured he'd said it once, and that should be enough.
    Lily's heart was pounding. Possible disasters spun through her head - or was it all one enormous tragedy, on a scale she couldn't conceive? And couldn't stop trying to imagine.
    She looked at Rule. She wasn't sure what she wanted from him. He couldn't have any answers, either. He met her gaze, his eyes dark and troubled. And reached for her hand.
    Oh, yeah. That's what she'd wanted. The reminder that they were in this together... whatever the hell "this" was. She turned back to Sam. "Can't the Old Ones who drew up this treaty - I'm guessing that's who was behind it - do something?"
    They have bound themselves to not interfere. It is an imperfect situation.
    Imperfect. Yeah, that was one way of looking at it. Lily had an ancient, not-quite-physical demon who couldn't be killed disrupting the minds in her city. Eating the fear her nightmares caused. What was she supposed to do? How did she fight such a creature?
    Lily took a slow breath. Start where you are. That's what Grandmother always said. For Lily, that meant treating this like a cop. "Okay. I saw an Asian guy at Clanhome last night shortly before Cullen was attacked. No one else saw him. How does he fit in? He does fit somehow, doesn't he?"
    I will not answer that at this time. I suspect you will be free to confer with the others about it, however.
    Well, duh. Of course she was. That didn't -
    Lily Yu. A tinge of exasperation lent the faintest warmth to Sam's words. There is no "of course" to this. Do you not see? It is likely you will be bound, to a greater or lesser extent, by the treaty.
    That did not make sense. "The treaty was between dragons and Chimei. I'm