Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

didn’t, actually,” Lily said, “but we did suspect they were involved somehow.
     Why do you say Friar’s working with them?”
    “With them or for them. Or one of them. I heard her talking once when Friar called
     to chat, and it sounded like she was telling him what to do. Not that I know what
     she said, but she sounded in charge. And that voice…it had to be an elf. No one else
     could sound like that.”
    Some of the sidhe delegation had given interviews on TV. The translation device they
     used relied on a form of mind-magic, which only worked in person, so the gnome hadtranslated for the television audience. But everyone had heard their voices as they
     answered in their own language, and Jasper was right. No one and nothing sounded like
     an elf.
    Except maybe a halfling? One of the elves was female, but so was the halfling. She
     didn’t look elfin, but halfling meant mixed blood and she was sidhe, which meant some
     of that mix was elf. The halfling hadn’t given any interviews, though—at least none
     Lily had seen. Lily didn’t know if she sounded like a fountain or a flute or something
     else impossibly musical the way the elves did. “You’re sure it was a female voice?”
    He nodded.
    She looked at Rule and tried something.
You buying this?
    A flicker of surprise on his face told her it had worked. She felt ridiculously pleased,
     kind of like when, in the second grade, she’d suddenly grasped the mystery of fractions.
     He gave a small nod, but she didn’t “hear” him reply.
    Apparently sending and receiving mindspeech were two distinct skills.
Me, too,
she sent, or thought she did. Impossible to be sure, since his face didn’t give her
     a clue this time.
    She’d have to chance waking Ruben up. The trade delegation was almost certainly involved.
     The prototype was not just missing, but active—and therefore actively altering memories
     in weird and unpredictable ways.
    “Hold on a minute,” Drummond said. “I’ve got an idea. If I’m right, you’ll want to
     hear it before you call Brooks.”
    Lily had almost forgotten he was here. What did it mean that she could get so used
     to a see-through guy that she stopped noticing him? “What?” she said—and realized
     she’d spoken out loud, and glanced at Jasper. Should she tell him? Did it matter if
     he knew she was a mite haunted?
    Reluctantly she decided it might. If spilling his guts to Friar would buy Adam’s life—or
     if he thought it would—Friar would know all about Drummond, too. She wasn’t sure that
     mattered, but any information they kept from Friar might give them an advantage.
    Drummond had straightened away from his spot againstthe wall and walked closer. He went around Scott just as if he’d been solid. “I’ve
     got a couple questions for the sorcerer.”
    Okay.
She glanced at Rule and tried to do it again with him. It felt different when she
     mindpsoke Rule. She couldn’t define the difference, but it was as obvious as the difference
     between her right hand and her left.
I’m going to wait so Drummond can ask some questions first. He thinks it’s important.
    His eyebrows lifted.
    Drummond looked at Cullen. “This gizmo of his—it puts out some kind of mind-magic,
     right? And it’s turned on.”
    Lily spoke to Cullen. “Your prototype is turned on. That means it’s putting out mind-magic.”
    Cullen looked impatient. “Good to know you paid attention when I told you about it
     this time.”
    “What about his Find spell?” Drummond asked. “Is that mind-magic, too?”
    She repeated it: “Is your Find spell mind-magic?”
    “Not exactly. It—wait. Shit. That’s it. That’s why I can’t make the bloody spell work!
     Lily, you’re a bloody genius!” He took two long strides—right through Drummond, who
     scowled fiercely—grabbed her by the shoulders, and kissed her smack on the mouth.
     “Find spells aren’t mind-magic, but they’re Air, and so is mind-magic, and when you
     look at the congruencies—never mind. You don’t want to hear all that. The prototype
     itself is screwing up my spell!”
    “And you’re delighted about this because…?”
    “Because now I
know.
”
    Drummond answered at the same time. “Because now we know why they want it so damn
     bad.”
    Lily looked quickly at him. “What…”
What do you mean?
    He rolled his eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? The prototype keeps the woo-woo types from
     Finding things. These perps have kidnapped two people,