Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

against
     that vow.”
    “After I’m not in your custody anymore…?”
    Alycithin smiled. She all but purred. “I did not agree to see that you remained in
     Robert Friar’s custody. Only that neither I nor my agents would act against him for
     twenty-four hours.”
    Lily wasn’t purring. This, she wanted to say, is your solution? Your deal?
    From the halfling’s perspective, maybe it looked like a good deal. Maybe Alycithin
     would have gone happily to torture and death if she knew she would be avenged. Maybe
     Lily would think so, too, if killing Robert Friar were her only goal.
    Problem was, she really wanted to be alive and at least mostly intact when Rule came
     racing to her…which he would do long before the twenty-four hours were up. Once Lily
     was away from Alycithin’s Gift, the mate bond should work fine.
    Alycithin didn’t know about the mate bond. That was the important takeaway from her
     offer. She didn’t know about the bond, so she wasn’t honor-bound to keep Lily from
     using it. Lily spoke slowly, as if reluctant. “You have my phone.”
    “Yes.”
    “You know how to use it?”
    “Of course. I do not understand how the device works, but from what I have seen, most
     people in your realm do not understand it, either, yet they operate phones without
     this understanding.”
    “One of the contacts on my phone is for a sidhe who passes as human. Will you take
     my word for this?”
    “Do you give me your word?”
    “I do.”
    “Then yes, I accept that this is true.”
    “Will you call this person and reveal what you can, in honor, speak of concerning
     my situation?”
    “Twenty-four hours after the exchange, yes, I will. But you have not yet told me this
     person’s name.”
    Lily looked up at the ceiling. Drummond was still all misty. She looked down at her
     hands. “I have a question about your code. Does it allow you to give me aid in pursuing
     my spiritual needs?”
    It was Alycithin’s turn to be puzzled. “It would depend on the type of aid, but if
     it does not violate the terms of my agreement, then yes.”
    “I am facing either death or torture or both. I need tomeditate to strengthen myself for the coming ordeal. It would be a great aid to my
     meditation if I had my ring.”
    She shook her head. Her sadness seemed genuine. “I am sorry, Lily. The charm on your
     ring holds
arguai
—which, by definition, means I cannot measure or judge the nature of the power it
     holds. I cannot be certain you will not somehow use it to escape.”
    “If by
arguai
you mean that something’s there, but it isn’t exactly magic, then that’s what I’ve
     sensed about the charm. I don’t know how to use the whatever-it-is, or even if I could.
     I’m a sensitive. I can’t use magic. I simply want the ring as a focus for my meditation.”
     If she’d broken through briefly to Rule using a crude drawing of the
toltoi
…and she had. She was sure of that, even if she didn’t know if he’d “heard” a single
     word. If a crude drawing helped enough for that, having the real thing on her hand
     ought to let her do a lot more.
    Alycithin’s eyebrows lifted in polite skepticism. “Most objects containing
arguai
are used as foci, and usually in spiritual practices. You…oh. You truly do not know
     what you were entrusted with, do you?” She sighed. “I am sorry. I still cannot allow
     you to have it.
Arguai
acts unpredictably. It might choose to reveal its nature to you, or act through you
     even if you do not consciously will such action.”
    Strike three and you’re out. Good thing she wasn’t playing baseball. “In that case,
     may I have privacy and a candle?”
    “Of course.” Alycithin seemed glad Lily had asked for something she could agree to.
     “My people, too, sometimes use a candle as a focus. This is specifically allowed in
     the code. I will have to enspell the flame, of course. It will burn long if you do
     not move the candle or attempt to use it to burn anything else.”
    That sounded like tricky spellwork. Cullen could do it, Lily felt sure, but not casually.
     Alycithin seemed to consider it a minor task. “Thank you.”
    “And if I may know the name of the person you wish me to call when it is time?”
    “Arjenie. Arjenie Fox.”
    Several minutes later, Sean had been invited to join Alycithin in the main room. Lily
     sat on a pillow on the floor of the bedroom where she’d awoken. The walls were playing
     chamber music, a piece Lily didn’t