Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

see them right away. He pushed his
     way through the inevitable crowd until he could.
    There were people everywhere. And bodies. No blood. EMTs, police officers, and what
     Lily would call civilians were tending the fallen, some of whom were stirring…the
     ones at the edges, he thought. The ones who’d been farthest from whatever magical
     attack took place.
    Lily would not have been knocked out by magic. Something else had happened to her.
    He didn’t see Todd or Mike. Too many people blocked his view. He did, however, see
     Tony, who stood a head andmore above everyone else—including the two cops with him. “I need Mike and Todd,”
     Rule said. “Joe, I want up on your shoulders. Brace. Cullen, give me a stirrup.”
    Joe planted his feet, Cullen cupped his hands and bent, and Rule used those cupped
     hands to launch onto Joe’s shoulders. He’d needed the assist because of his shoulder,
     which complained fiercely about being jostled. He ignored that. Crouched, he looked
     over the crowd until he spotted Todd. He straightened so that he stood upright; Joe
     automatically grabbed his feet to steady him. He put his fingers in his mouth and
     whistled.
    Todd turned and started loping toward them. Everyone else heard him, too. He gathered
     a lot of startled looks before he jumped down.
    The cops didn’t stop Todd. Sloppy. If they let one bystander leave, others would,
     or already had.
    “Where’s Mike?” Rule said as soon as Todd reached him.
    “I woke up while Tony was talking to you. Then Mike did. Tony told us you wanted him
     to find Hugo. Mike went with him. I stayed out here to look for Lily or some sign
     of what happened to her. Rule, we—”
    Rule chopped one hand, cutting him off. “She’s alive. I don’t know where. Tell me
     what happened, but keep it short.”
    Todd’s story was short and told him little. He’d passed out instantly, without warning.
     When he woke up, the humans around him were all unconscious and there was no sign
     of Lily. Tony, however, had been awake and, as Todd had said, talking to Rule on his
     phone. Todd hadn’t found any sign of Lily—no blood, thank God—but he had found a scent.
     One he couldn’t identify. He didn’t have a very good nose in this form, however.
    Rule looked at Cullen. “You would recognize the scent of an elf.”
    “Damn right I would.”
    “Todd, take Cullen to the place you found the scent. Joe, with me. I need to see to
     Tony.”
    “Your shirt,” Cullen said.
    He looked down. “Damn.” He’d bled freely. It didn’t show as much on the black cotton
     as it would have on something else, but it showed. He should have thought of that
     earlier.
    “Take mine,” Todd said, already unbuttoning it. “We wear the same size.”
    The delay made Rule want to howl, but he gritted his teeth and put up with it. He
     disposed of the old shirt by having Cullen rip it off, then had to thread his bad
     arm through the sleeve of Todd’s shirt. “No,” he said tersely when Cullen started
     to replace the makeshift sling. “It’s got blood all over it, too.”
    At last he strode forward—only to be stopped by the officer who’d ignored Todd leaving
     the scene. “Stay back, now.” The man put a hand on Rule’s shoulder.
    It
hurt.
Rule snarled.
    The officer’s eyes rounded. He fell back a step, his hand dropping to the gun holstered
     at his waist.
    “Rule.” Cullen touched Rule’s other arm, then went on too softly for human ears. “As
     soothing as it would be to rip off his arm and beat him with it, it would really slow
     things down.”
    True. Rule took a slow breath. Somewhere he found a smile. “Sorry, Officer. I’m worried
     about my fiancée, who I believe was abducted from this scene. I’m an FBI consultant
     with Unit Twelve. I’m going to reach into my pocket for my ID now.”
    The cop’s eyes flickered to Rule’s hand and back to his face. “Reach nice and slow.”
    “Of course.” As if he’d be more of a threat with a gun. Rule didn’t explain the officer’s
     mistake, however, but slowly took out his wallet and flipped it open. The ID Ruben
     had arranged for Rule to carry was not a badge. Rule wasn’t a law enforcement officer.
     But it did proclaim his security clearance and his connection to the Bureau, most
     notably to Unit Twelve.
    It wasn’t enough for the cop to let them pass, but he did call his superior—who may
     have misunderstood Rule’scredentials slightly. Rule heard his