Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

large delusions, given to fits of rage when things
     don’t go their way.”
    Friar smiled. “You make me glad I decided to do this your way. I’ll dial for you,
     shall I?” He pulled a knife out of his other pocket. A switchblade. A single touch
     and the blade snapped out. He stood and started toward Jasper.
    Maybe Friar was right. Jasper’s throat was suddenly way too dry for witty repartee.
    “I won’t do anything too permanent.” Friar looked so sane when he said that. He looked
     like a dentist reassuring a nervous patient. “Not your eyes, then. Did you know that
     the soles of the feet are one of the most nerve-rich places on the body? I think we’ll
     start with…” He tipped his head. “Ah. This is your lucky day, Jasper. Or night. Your
     brother is here.”
    Jasper’s mouth was suddenly as full of spit as it had been dry a second ago. He swallowed.
     “Glad to hear it. And you know this how?” Did Friar have others stationed around the
     school that Jasper hadn’t seen?
    “A ward. A very simple one. I’m quite the novice with them, so simple is best.”
    “Is that how you knew—”
    “I’d like you to be quiet now. Absolutely silent, in fact.”
    L ILY got out and slammed the car door. They’d gotten bloody damned lost on the way here.
     GPS could only do so much, and San Francisco streets were crazy.
    Never mind. They were here now, and she’d just texted Tony, who’d replied that Hugo
     was still at the bar. It was two blocks away, but they’d driven past it while hunting
     for a place to park. There weren’t any. The streets were lined solid and the nearest
     lot was full, so Lily had Todd park illegally next to a hydrant. The bar Hugo has
     chosen was small but with a large neon sign that screamed T OPLESS ! in red. Below that, in smaller letters, it said D INGOS . No apostrophe, so it was hard to say if the owner wanted to welcome wild dogs but
     didn’t know how to pluralize
dingo
, or if he was claiming to be one.
    Mike and Todd closed in on either side of her. It was not a great neighborhood, but
     hardly the worst she’d been in. At this hour it was lively. Men outnumbered woman
     at least two-to-one, and Lily did not blend in with those women she saw. They probably
     weren’t all hookers, but you couldn’t tell by looking.
    “You see Tony?” she asked. “Or smell him?”
    “My nose isn’t that good in this form,” Todd said apologetically.
    “I can’t see much in this crowd,” Mike said. “Why isn’t he waiting for us inside?”
    “He’s banned from Dingos. Got in a fight there once, and they remember him.”
    “He’s a memorable guy.”
    “Is that why he couldn’t nab Hugo for you?”
    She nodded. “That, and the fact that Hugo’s probably got some spellcraft, which makes
     dealing with him tricky. He definitely has a Gift, but we don’t know what kind. Something
     connected to Air.”
    “I don’t know what that—”
    Between one word and the next, Todd’s eyes rolled up in his head as a wall of magic
     rolled over Lily. Todd collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
    So did Mike.
    So did every damn person around her…save one.
    The woman was short—around Lily’s height—but a lot more muscular. Also a lot furrier.
     Tawny fur covered every exposed inch from the toes of her bare feet to the tips of
     her catlike ears. A slightly darker ruff stood up between those ears. She stood twelve
     feet away from Lily with one hand pressed to the windshield of a parked car.
    Aside from the fur, her face looked quite human as she smiled. “Miss Yu. My compliments
     on the strength of your Gift.” Her voice was lovely and lilting. Her English was West
     Coast American. “Or would you more properly be addressed as Agent Yu?”
    Lily drew her gun and aimed. “You’re under—”
    Something stung her cheek. “Under arrest,” she finished, automatically reaching up.
     She touched a feather. There was a feather stuck in her cheek. It burned, and her
     mind wasn’t working right. Neither was her hand, which felt clumsy gripping her weapon.
     She tightened those fingers as hard as she could, but her weapon was heavy. Way too
     heavy. It was pulling her down…all the way down…

THIRTY-TWO

    T HEY came through the double doors in twos—four men in dark jeans and dark shirts with
     expressions to match. They were fit and dangerous and beautiful.
    “Stop,” Friar said, and they did.
    Jasper’s not-quite-human brother wasn’t the tallest