Lupi 08 - Death Magic

buried magic coursed beneath a null skin. The sensation of something flowing beneath an artificial skin was why she’d guessed at a Water Gift—a hidden one. But it was possible to suppress a Gift. Lily knew an empath who did just that with a spell. Parrott’s magic hadn’t felt the way the empath’s did, but maybe his charm operated differently. “You’d have to have the charm renewed from time to time.”
    He grimaced. “Unfortunately, yes. I dislike it intensely, but I . . . I don’t feel I have much choice. I’ve been told there is no way to rid me of magic entirely, so I have to renew the charm.”
    Mullins shook his head. “That’s tough. And working here with the senator, who disliked magic as much as you, maybe more . . . shoot, I bet he’d have fired you in a heartbeat if he found out.”
    “He knew.”
    Lily’s eyebrows climbed. “You’re claiming Senator Bixton knew about your Gift and kept you as his chief of staff?”
    “I’ve been with him for fifteen years. Of course he knew. I confessed it to him years ago. He also knew about the charm. Bob is—was—a compassionate man. He respected the choice I’d made to suppress the trace of magic I’m cursed with.”
    Naturally Lily tried to convince him to let them take the charm with them and have it tested. She wasn’t surprised when he refused. Either he was lying and it didn’t do what he said, or he was telling the truth and was worried about the state of his soul if he were parted from the charm.
    He wouldn’t tell them where he went to have the charm renewed. That was a tad more suspicious, but he might not want to provide additional evidence of his Gift. He might even be protecting the practitioner he used the way he claimed. Lots of practitioners were wary of authority.
    Lily left that interview unsatisfied. They let Bixton’s secretary know they were ready for the space she’d cleared for them, and she showed them to a small conference room. No windows, but it did have a pot of coffee. Lily headed there first. “Want a cup?”
    “Never touch the stuff. What do you think?” Mullins pulled out a chair and sat. “He really tell Bixton his nasty little secret?”
    “Maybe. If he didn’t and Bixton found out, it would make a dandy motive. Especially if he isn’t as suppressed as he claims.”
    “How’d you know about the charm?”
    “I guessed, based on experience. It could’ve been a spell—”
    “Isn’t a charm a spell?”
    “They look a lot the same to the rest of us,” she agreed, “but practitioners consider them quite different. A charm is the product of a spell, and not all practitioners can make them. I’m told the main difference is temporal, whatever that means. For me personally, charms and spells don’t feel the same. Charms are usually weaker, and their texture is, uh . . . more repetitive, maybe.” She shrugged. “Different, anyway. I thought you were going to say, ‘aw, shucks’ any minute there.”
    He pulled a pack of gum from his jacket pocket. “I’m good.” He nodded, agreeing with himself. “You weren’t completely idiotic yourself. Picked up my pass right on time.”
    “Better watch it with the compliments. I’ll get all fluttery.”
    He unwrapped his gum slowly, looking as dour and dull as ever. “You going to have trouble working with me now that you’ve discovered my massive intellect, charm, and sex appeal?”
    “My God. You’ve got a sense of humor.”
    “All part of the package.” He put the gum in his mouth. “Have to fight you women off with a stick sometimes.”
     
     
    SENATOR Bixton had a large staff. They talked to four of them before Lily had to leave to get checked out by the Leidolf Rhej.
    She was thinking about appearances and first impressions as Cullen pulled into the garage behind the row house. Doug Mullins wasn’t the unthinking, self-important prick she’d thought. Oh, he was a bit of a prick, but he was not stupid, and he was self-aware enough to know that people underestimated him and use that. He was damn good in interview.
    Was she making assumptions about Dennis Parrott the way she had Mullins, based on dislike?
    “Tell me more about the difference between charms and spells,” she said to Cullen as she got out of the car. “It’s something to do with time, right?”
    He shut his door. “A charm is a spell held in stasis.”
    “Like a ward? Wards don’t do anything until they’re activated, either.”
    “Not exactly. A ward doesn’t