Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

ring.”
    “Oh, surely not.” The halfling smiled at her over the rim of her teacup. “That is,
     surely you don’t expect me to hand you a totem containing…but your language doesn’t
     have a word for this. We call it
arguai.
”
    “Grandmother is often vexed by the limitations of English.” Lily set her cup down
     in the precise manner she would have used had this been a proper tea ceremony. “I
     called it my ring. This was misleading. The band itself is mine, but the charm on
     it was entrusted to me by my clan. My honor—the lupi would say
du
—is involved.”
    “I can assure you the ring is safe. It will not, however, be returned to you. Do try
     the berries. We don’t have their like in our realm, and I am quite infatuated with
     them.”
    Lily had learned what she needed to. The
toltoi
did possess some kind of power, one the elves recognized. One they thought she could
     use. She ate some strawberries, commented on their sweetness, and asked if Alycithin
     planned to include strawberries in whatever trade deal she was negotiating.
    “Perhaps, though I am not sure the plants would thrive in our climate. We are very
     interested in obtaining a good supply of duct tape. A remarkable substance, and one
     that will not be affected by the higher levels of magic in my realm the way your technology
     would be.”
    Duct tape? Really? Lily dragged her thoughts back on target. “Excuse me for saying
     this, but you seem to be going about your negotiations rather awkwardly. Sean told
     me that your people consider hostage-taking an integral part of doing business. You’ve
     been here long enough to know that we don’t do things that way. In fact, part of my
     job is to arrest people who do things that way.”
    That amused her. “And how long have I been here?”
    “A lot longer than two weeks, obviously. Are you able to shift between realms without
     a gate the way some sidhe do?”
    “You will find that my people take a long view. In the short term, your people will
     not appreciate some of our practices. In the long term, you will discover the value
     of doing business our way. Already your corporations are gratifyingly eager to import
     some of our wares.” Alycithin held out the plate of bread. “Won’t you try some? It’s
     from a bakery Dinalaran found, and is quite good.”
    Lily accepted a slice. “Is Dinalaran the one with the SIG or the one practicing spellcasting
     over by the TV?”
    Alycithin had eyebrows. They weren’t obvious, blending in as they did with the short,
     golden fur on her face, but she had eyebrows. She raised them now. “He stands behind
     my chair. Aroglian practices runic writing. You are familiar with such practice?”
    “I have a friend who fiddles with spells that way.”
    “Ah. Cullen Seabourne. The…your word is
sorcerer
.”
    “The guy who made the device everyone is so eager to get their hands on, yes. Though
     I admit I’m puzzled about why
you
would want it. Your Gift works a lot better than any device could.”
    Silence. One heartbeat, two…just long enough for Lily to be sure that arrow had hit
     home. “Whatever do you mean?”
    Lily tore a piece off the bread and popped it in her mouth. Alycithin was right—it
     was good bread. She washed it down with tea. “Your Gift is really good at hiding things.
     You can’t do outright illusion the way the elves can—that’s why Dinalaran or the other
     guy does the driving, isn’t it? Going unnoticed works great unless you’re in the driver’s
     seat of a car. It upsets people if they don’t notice a driver in a car. But in many
     ways, your Gift is better than straight illusion. It’s not just that you can knock
     everyone out, though that came in handy last night. You can baffle wards and Find
     spells. You can hide whatever needs to be hidden. Coming like you do from a place
     where magic is used forall kinds of things, that must be a very valuable talent. A very rare one, too, I’m
     told.”
    Alycithin tipped her head to one side. “You have been told things I did not expect
     anyone in this realm to know.”
    “And you have not been told some things you need to know. Like about Robert Friar
     and the war you’ve landed yourself in the middle of.”
    “Oh, that.” She brushed it off with a graceful gesture. “I am aware that he and your
     lupi consider yourselves at war. This is why he will trade what I want for you.”
    Lily took another sip of tea and prepared to roll the dice.