Ritual Magic

spilled in frizzy waves to her waist. As a teen, Nettie had hated her hair. She’d chopped it all off in medical school and kept it short until, when she turned thirty, it began turning gray. Somehow that change reconciled her to it. She’d worn it long ever since.
    Rule had known his niece since she was in diapers. He’d studied women for years. He knew hair held meaning for women, that it affected how they saw themselves. He had no idea why its turning gray had made Nettie like hers. He was glad it had, but he didn’t understand it.
    He eased forward another few feet. His phone chimed that he had a new text. He reached for it.
    “You are not going to read text messages while driving,” his passenger informed him. “And yes, this speed still qualifies as driving.”
    “Of course not.” Rule held the button down briefly without looking at his phone. “Read the text, please.” The automated voice complied. The text was from Lily, who wanted him to know that Abel—whom she insisted on calling Karonski, that being the preferred cop mode of address—was holding a press conference in thirty minutes. Abel wanted her to perform with him.
    “That’s the damnedest thing.” Nettie shook her head. “Your phone reads your texts to you? Not that you should be using it at all when you’re driving.”
    “I don’t do it at highway speeds.”
    “You shouldn’t do it at all. And I don’t want to hear about your super-duper lupi reflexes. Even if you can avert a crash at the last minute, you shouldn’t put yourself in that position. Or me. Or the drivers around you.”
    He wasn’t feeling charitable toward the drivers around him at the moment. There were too damn many of them. “I wouldn’t risk you.”
    “Try not risking yourself, too. May I see your toy? How do you get it to talk to you?”
    He handed her his phone and instructed her briefly in how to access Siri. Nettie had one of the oldest still-functioning cell phones in existence. It was another point of bafflement for Rule. She was no Luddite, yet she disliked cell phones and refused to upgrade.
    While she played with Siri, they eased forward a bit faster. Maybe the bottleneck was breaking up at last.
    Nettie handed him back his phone. “Maybe I should break down and get a smartphone.”
    “I’ll get one for—”
    “No, you won’t. Note that I said maybe
I
should. Not you. Feeling especially Leidolf and territorial today, are you?”
    “I
was
feeling generous. Now I’m feeling annoyed.”
    “Surely you know that lupi claim territory by giving presents? Leidolf’s especially obvious about it, but you all do it.”
    That shut his mouth. Did he do that? Did his father? “The way you claim territory by constantly correcting me?”
    Nettie chuckled. “It’s not constant, but if you’re going to be wrong so often—”
    “Careful.”
    “Not to mention prickly. What’s wrong?”
    Rule gave her a look.
    “You’re worried about Lily’s mother, of course. I know that. But I was raised by a champion brooder. I know a good brood when I see one. Something else is eating at you.”
    “If I’d wanted to talk about it, perhaps I would have found a way to introduce the subject myself.”
    “Did I ask if you wanted to talk about it?” Though her words were as tart as ever, her voice was gentle. She reached out and squeezed his arm. “Do you know what’s bothering you?”
    Rule sighed. “I’ve found a new level of pettiness in myself. I’m not happy about it.”
    She made a humming noise that was supposed to encourage him to keep talking. When he didn’t, she did. “I’m not just being nosy, Rule. I’m wearing my shaman hat. If we’re dealing with a negative spiritual incursion—”
    “A what?”
    “A negative spiritual incursion into our world. Or you could call it the dark side of the Force. Or an evil god.”
    “You mean the Great Bitch.”
    “Actually, I don’t. Not necessarily. First, not all gods are Old Ones. Second, wouldn’t your mantles have reacted if
her
power was used directly against Julia Yu?”
    “I think so, but if Friar is using an artifact, the power isn’t coming from
her
directly.”
    “I don’t know much about artifacts.” Nettie thought about that a moment, then said, “Directed, focused spiritual power—to me that speaks of those we’ve traditionally called gods. But whether we’re dealing with a god or an artifact, spiritual power is involved, and spirit is different from magic.”
    “So