Lupi 06 - Blood Magic

listen, either. He felt a frisson of displeasure when her caller turned out to be Deputy Cody Beck - and felt annoyed with himself for the annoyance.
    "I do not know how it works - but then, I do not know how cell phones work, either." She smiled. "I believe Sam understands it better than I."
    "There would be a huge commercial potential, if what he does could be duplicated."
    "I do not think Sam approves of money. Not for dragons, at least. He says he does not want his promises scattered all over, nor does he accept promises promiscuously."
    Money as a collective promise? It was an interesting take on the subject. "Still, if he's found a way to make magic and technology coexist, or even work together... hmm." It gave him something to consider for the favor Nokolai would eventually claim, once they finished negotiating.
    Lily disconnected. "We've got to go."
    "What's up?"
    "Cody's found a body for me."
     
    The body, it turned out, was already at the Medical Examiner's.
    "So this victim was killed by a single thrust to the heart." Rule started the car, put it in reverse, and twisted around. He needed to get the vehicle turned around here, where Sam's landing pad gave him room to maneuver.
    Lily clicked her seat belt into place. "Looks like. The responding officers didn't spot it, but no shame to them. The body was found yesterday, but the victim had been dead awhile. In this heat... " She shrugged.
    Rule's nose twitched in sympathy. "They know anything about the victim yet?"
    "If so, Cody didn't have it. Just that the man had been stabbed from behind by a thin blade that penetrated the heart. No suggestion magic was involved, but there wouldn't be. Um... you don't have to go in with me."
    "I'm perfectly capable of controlling myself."
    "Sure, but you hate that place."
    Rule disliked morgues with both of his natures, but it was the wolf who truly hated them. Rule wasn't sure why. Wolves weren't upset by the deaths of strangers, but for some reason, the presence of all those bodies made his wolf anxious. Cemeteries didn't affect him that way. Just morgues. "I'm not fond of waiting in the car, either."
    "Okay. What about your bodyguards? Going to have them meet us there?"
    "They won't be much help against a killer who could make them think no one was around. Or that you were attacking me."
    "True." She pulled out her phone. "I'm going to call my mother."
    His eyebrows rose. "Voluntarily?"
    "I just want to make sure... rats. It went to voice mail. Ah - Mother, this is Lily. I need to talk to you about something important. Give me a call, okay?"
    "You want to make sure she's okay," Rule said as she disconnected.
    "I want to make sure she actually wears that charm. Mother tends to discount what Grandmother says, which I guess I can understand, because Grandmother doesn't ask - she commands. And she seldom explains. But telling Mother to wear a dragon scale charm doesn't mean she'll do it."
    True. "Madame Yu must be aware of that."
    "She ought to be, but there's this dynamic in our family where Mother usually agrees with Grandmother, then does things the way she wants. So she might have nodded and agreed to wear the charm, but - " Her phone interrupted with the opening bars of "The Star Spangled Banner."
    That particular ring tone meant her boss, Ruben Brooks. She answered right away. "Hi, Ruben. You must be psychic or something. I was just going to call."
    Since Brooks was, indeed, psychic - his Gift was precognition, or awareness of events before they occurred - that was meant as a joke. But Brooks didn't laugh. Rule had no trouble hearing his response. His hearing might not be as acute in this form as in his other one, but with Lily's phone so close it would be hard to not overhear.
    "Lily, I had a disturbing dream last night. Or a series of dreams, rather, centered on San Diego."
    "I didn't think you did dreams."
    "Normally my Gift doesn't manifest that way, no. On the rare occasions that it does, it generally means there's the possibility of a massive loss of life. I have a feeling it would be unwise to bring in troops at this point, but I'm unsure what steps I should take."

 
    TWENTY-ONE

    Rule saw Lily jolt. He felt the same shock in himself, a nasty, crawling certainty that things were about to go spinning out of control.
    "Troops?" Lily repeated. "Like the Army? You're thinking of calling in the Army?"
    "No, I've decided I'd better not. I'll explain. I dreamed of a series of possible scenarios. Many of them