Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

Emmy and Danny. Rule vanished into the study with Isen, and Lily
     ate breakfast with a noisy and inquisitive crowd. The three kids charged back out
     as soon as they finished downing the pancakes they’d drowned in maple syrup. It seemed
     the self-defense refresher course planned for their age cohort had been moved up to
     today.
    Lily approved of the clan’s custom of teaching basic self-defense to its kids. She
     suspected that today’s class was at least partly to keep them busy, maybe wear them
     out a bit. They were all wired after last night. But it would also reinforce the idea
     that being young and small might mean taking orders and running or hiding if necessary,
     but it did not mean they were helpless.
    As soon as Toby and company left, José told Lily aboutthe arrangements for their trip. The bulk of the guards who’d accompany them had left
     while Lily was still asleep because they were driving up. But Scott would fly there
     with her, Rule, and Cullen.
    Scott was Leidolf. So, she realized, were the guards José named who’d already left.
     That had to have something to do with Rule’s newly found sense of himself as Leidolf,
     but what? Lily put that on her mental list of things to discuss later, when she and
     Rule were alone.
    At ten till nine she finished packing—she’d gotten really quick with that—and rolled
     her suitcase out to the living room. Cullen sprawled on one of the couches, a battered
     duffel near his feet and a cup of coffee in his hand. He nodded at her. “José is bringing
     the car around.”
    She glanced at the hall that led to Isen’s study. “Rule still in with Isen?”
    “Yeah.”
    In addition to the steel plates in the walls, Isen’s study was soundproofed. No point
     in asking if Cullen had heard anything. Lily parked her suitcase by the hallway and
     started for the kitchen. “I’m going to grab a cup of coffee.”
    “Don’t bother. This is the last of it.”
    “You took the last cup?”
    “Is that a rhetorical question?”
    She sighed and plopped down on the hassock. Maybe Isen had given Rule the brief report
     she’d printed off for him and they were talking about it. The Bureau didn’t have a
     lot on Jasper Machek, but what they did have made interesting reading. “How did you
     rig the coin toss?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Right. You’re fine with Cynna coming with us if she wants to. You didn’t do a thing
     to influence that coin she tossed.”
    He grinned. “Nothing anyone can prove.”
    Lily wasn’t about to tell Cullen that she approved, but she did. She’d call Cynna
     if they needed her in San Francisco, but her promise on that score didn’t mean she
     couldn’t stressthe danger. Cynna shouldn’t be kept penned up at Clanhome every minute…but there was
     a chance this whole deal was a setup designed to get as many of them as possible away
     from Clanhome, where they could be ambushed. Cynna was nursing. Where she went, Ryder
     went. Best if she sat this one out, at least for now.
    “Last night I kept getting interrupted when I was questioning you,” she said, pulling
     out her notebook and flipping it to the next blank page. “You said you didn’t have
     a picture of your prototype, so I need a description.” An omission she’d noticed with
     a cringe when she reported to Ruben.
    “A skull.”
    She stared. “It looks like a skull?”
    “It
is
a skull. The runes are written on it in black ink—specially prepared, but you don’t
     need to know about that. And of course the yellow quartz is adhered in a carefully
     composed pattern that—”
    “You used a human skull for your prototype?”
    “You’re really slow on the uptake this morning. Maybe you did need that cup of coffee.”
    “You can’t be ignorant of the laws about using human relics in magical practices.
     If you—”
    “Of course I know the law,” Cullen said testily. “The skull’s over seventy years old,
     which exempts it from most restrictions. It’s been blessed and certified clean of
     taint or ties to its original owner. I bought it from the Catholic Church. Paid a
     pretty penny, too.”
    “The Catholic Church sells skulls.”
    “At a huge profit, but they’re the most reputable supplier around, plus the only one
     that can offer sufficient quantity, so if you’re worried that I hadn’t considered
     how many I’d need if—”
    “No. No, that wasn’t my concern. Why in the world did you use a skull