Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

and if they have the prototype,
     you aren’t going to Find them.”

THIRTY

    R ULE knew by the look on Lily’s face that Drummond had said something important. When
     she passed it on, Cullen’s eyes went wide. “That’s it. Could that be it? Hard to believe
     I made something the elves don’t have twice as good already, when they could—no, wait,
     what if that bit from Kålidåsa’s
Siddhanta
is new to them? They don’t borrow much from human traditions. Hell, they don’t think
     much of humans, period, so if they never—I need to go.”
    “Go where?” Rule asked.
    Cullen started for the entry. “Go
think
. I can’t think with everyone yammering.”
    At the moment, he was the only one speaking. “The conference room?” Rule said to Cullen’s
     back. He gestured for Marcus and Steve to follow.
    “Yes,” Cullen said on his way out the door.
    “I don’t know,” Lily said slowly, “if Cullen’s a hundred percent on target, but close.
     Only why is Friar involved? I don’t think we can assume the main purpose he has for
     the device is to hide his captives from Find spells.”
    She said that to empty air. At least it looked empty to Rule at first, but something
     was there, a paleness blurringthe air…and a glow. A soft, golden glow in one spot. Abruptly that paleness sharpened
     into clarity. He saw Al Drummond standing there—the combed-back hair, the sardonic
     expression, and the gold wedding ring on his left hand.
    Rule jerked in shock.
    “What?” Lily said.
    “Nothing.” And that’s what he saw now. Nothing. He needed to tell Lily he’d actually
     seen the ghost. The mate bond was still bleeding something of her ability into him—was
     maybe turning up the power on that—and she needed to know.
    But later. When they were alone. “Friar wants to sell it,” Rule said. “The sidhe realms
     run heavily on magic. It’s their tech. They might have dozens of uses for such a device
     that we can’t imagine.”
    “And they could pay for it with more of the kind of stuff he got from Rethna. God.
     That’s bad news. I need to call Ruben right now. If he—” Her eyebrows went up as her
     hand went to her pocket. She took out her phone, snorted, and answered. “Hello, Ruben.”
    Rule heard Ruben Brook’s reply. “I had a hunch I should call. Is my timing a problem?”
    “No, you’re being your usual uncanny precog self. I need to bring you up-to-date.”
     Lily began pacing as she briefed her boss.
    Rule went to the spot on the couch she’d vacated and sat beside the man Lily insisted
     on calling his brother. He looked at Jasper. “You haven’t laid down any terms this
     time.”
    “Tonight I come as a supplicant. One without power can’t set terms.”
    Lily had been right. Jasper didn’t care if he went to jail, not as long as Adam was
     safe. “Did you consider just asking for help before?”
    Jasper looked down. His hands were clasped between his knees, and his face was still.
     “I didn’t know you. I had some preconceptions, mostly negative. I was just brightenough to know that’s what they were—glimpses caught through a distorted lens—but
     I was used to them. They were all I had to go on.”
    “I didn’t have any preconceptions. I didn’t know about you. Until last night, I didn’t
     know you existed.”
    Jasper nodded. “So Isen told me.”
    “You’ve talked to him.”
    “The last time my mother went in for treatment. Until then, I didn’t know Isen had
     paid for Mom’s treatments all along. I knew Dad hadn’t—he never made that kind of
     money—but he’d told me it was a relative of hers, someone with plenty of money and
     a guilty conscience, who covered the cost.” Jasper’s smile flickered. “True enough
     in a sense.”
    “Isen didn’t feel guilty about Celeste.”
    Jasper’s eyebrows climbed. “No? My father…but his perspective could be skewed, I suppose.
     He’s a good man, a fair man, but it was hard on him, accepting help from the man who’d
     abandoned her.”
    “Abandoned her?” Rule heard the sharpness in his voice. Carefully he smoothed it out.
     “I don’t think we’ve heard the same story.”
    To his surprise, Jasper laughed briefly. “I’m sure we haven’t. I’ve heard dozens of
     stories. Mom was…I’m not sure she knew which version was real. But Dad’s head is screwed
     on straight. He says that Isen wanted nothing more to do with her once she gave birth
     to you. He’d gotten what he