Mortal Ties (18 page)

“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 for your prototype?”

“Congruence, first of all, plus bone has useful properties. There’s an element of
theater, too, of course. The
magically ignorant require a touch of showmanship to believe something is working
the way it should. Skulls impress the hell out of them.”

She shook her head. “You’ve got a weirdly malfunctioning magical device. It’s made
from a human skull. You don’t think there might be a connection?”

He frowned. “That’s what Cynna said, but there is no theoretical support for the idea.
The skull tests neutral in every way that matters—mortal ties, transference, elemental
imbalance—”

Her phone ran through the opening bars to the theme from
Jaws
. She grimaced. “Hold on a minute.” She pulled it out.

Cullen grinned. “If your mother ever finds out what ringtone you gave her, you are
toast.”

“If anyone ever tells her, he’s toast. Remember that. Hi, Mother,” she said. “I guess
you got my text.”

“Of course I did, though I’ve told you I don’t like text messages. They’re too impersonal.
I wanted to make sure you talk to your sister while you’re in San Francisco.”

“Oh. I probably will go see Beth, but I’m going there on a case, not for pleasure,
so—”

“You have to talk to her about this man she’s seeing. He’s older than she is. A lot
older,” Julia Yu said ominously. “I don’t know why she had to move there in the first
place. I said it wouldn’t work out well.”

“She’s seeing someone in particular?” Lily said, surprised. Beth dated a lot, but
she hadn’t mentioned anyone special. A whiff of guilt drifted in when she realized
she hadn’t talked to Beth lately. A few texts, yeah, but she hadn’t called in…three
weeks? Maybe more. Given the way Beth flamed through relationships, that was plenty
of time for her to be head over heels. “Beth falls for someone every other month.
I don’t think we need to worry.”

“This one is different. She didn’t tell me about him.”

“What do you mean?”

An impatient sigh. “She’s mentioned him, but she doesn’t say she’s in love. It’s there
in her voice, but she
hasn’t said it, and when I ask, she says he’s just a friend. Clearly this one is different.”

“What’s his name? How much older is he?”

“Sean something-or-other. He’s over forty.”

That was a pretty big age difference. Not as big as the one between her and Rule,
but Lily’s mother didn’t know that. Rule looked about thirty. Still…“I’ll ask her
about him if I get the chance. I can’t promise. I don’t know how this case is going
to go, but…” The study door opened. “I’ve got to go, Mother.”

It wasn’t that easy. Things never were with her mother. While Julia Yu explained how
necessary it was for Lily to find out everything she could about Sean something-or-other,
Lily listened with half an ear to Rule ask if the car was waiting. Cullen assured
him it was, stood, and cocked an inquiring eyebrow. “Anything we should know before
we leave?”

Rule raised both brows. “You couldn’t have heard us.”

“I didn’t. That’s why I’m asking.”

“There is news, but it’s for Isen to speak of.”

As he said that, Isen joined them. “Got to go, Mother,” Lily said hastily. “Bye.”
She disconnected quickly.

Isen was looking cheery again. The twinkle was back. “Lily, you’ll like this part
of my news. Young Hank acted on his Rho’s orders, so Nokolai does not hold him responsible
for his misdeeds. He won’t be allowed to remain here, but he will be released without
further punishment.”

“You’re right. I do like that.”

“You’ll also be pleased to hear that I decided the situation did not require Leo’s
death.”

She’d bet he was pleased about that, too. Isen could be ruthless if he thought it
necessary, but he preferred to be devious. “Good.”

“Leo was under the impression he was being clever. He thought I’d appreciate his,
ah, sneakiness. In his mind, by selling worthless information—he knew the prototype
had problems—he benefited his clan, thereby benefiting Nokolai as well. I explained
the flaws in his reasoning.”

“You did more than that.”

“True. However he may have justified his actions to himself, he deceived and betrayed
Nokolai. I can no longer trust him. I required him to pass Laban’s mantle to his heir—”

The quick “son of a bitch!” came from Cullen.

“—who will be joining you in San Francisco to assist in your investigation.”

L
ILY
snapped her seat belt in place. “I’ve never wanted to punch your father more.”

Rule smiled at his
nadia
, seated between him and Cullen in the backseat of Isen’s oversized and armored Lincoln.
No doubt it was perverse of him to find her aggravation comforting. “It’s not an uncommon
reaction.”

“There is no reason for him to be so tight-lipped about his reasons!”

“He did explain.”

Lily snorted. “Oh, yeah. He’s just making things easy for me.”

“That’s Isen for you,” Cullen said. “One considerate son of a bitch.”

Isen had informed Lily that it would be convenient for her to have Tony around to
question in person. True, but Lily’s skepticism was justified. There was more to Isen’s
arrangement…not that Rule assumed he knew all of that “more,” but he knew some. “You
will want to talk to Tony about the deal his father made with whoever wanted the prototype.”

“Of course I want to talk to him. Isen didn’t get any
information about that from Leo. At least that’s what he claims.” She shot Rule a
look. “You were with Isen for a couple hours. You know more about this.”

“Most of our discussion this morning involved clan politics. Isen’s manner of handling
Laban’s betrayal will have repercussions.”

“Why?”

“It’s meddling,” Cullen said. “Meddling in an internal Laban matter.”

“It’s okay for Isen to kill Leo, but it’s meddling if he makes him step down?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

Rule could tell how little Lily understood that. “A subordinate clan owes obedience
to its dominant, but is governed by its own Rho. Isen was well within his rights to
require Leo’s death, but telling him he must pass the mantle to his heir…he has the
authority, but some will question whether he has the right. Only a Rho makes decisions
concerning the mantle.”

“Yet killing Leo would have the same effect—the mantle would go to his heir. Plus
Leo would be dead.”

Rule nodded. “And that’s how Isen will present his decision, as the symbolic death
of an oath-breaking Rho. The Rho ‘died’; the man did not. Some will still see it as
a usurpation of the Laban Rho’s authority. Ah…this isn’t a perfect example, but think
of how testy local cops get when your Bureau intrudes on what they consider their
turf. The feds have the authority to do so, but local officers sometimes think they
abuse that authority.”

“Then there’s the Civil War,” Cullen said cheerfully. “States’ rights and all that—what
powers belong to the federal government and what belong to the states. People still
get hot under the collar about that. Laban is subordinate to Nokolai, but it still
has rights.”

Rule nodded. “It doesn’t help that Tony was Leo’s heir, and Isen didn’t allow him
to change that before passing the mantle on.”

“What does that have to do with it?”

Rule and Cullen exchanged a look. Rule answered. “Until this past July, Leo’s heir
was his older son, James, but he suddenly replaced James with his younger son, Tony.
It’s widely believed that the two of them argued and Leo wanted to teach James a lesson,
and that Tony, the younger son, is a temporary placeholder for his brother.”

“What’s wrong with Tony?”

“Nothing,” Rule said firmly. A little too firmly, maybe, and she raised her brows
at him. He sighed and gave a partial answer. “Tony doesn’t have a son. And yes, I’ve
told you that’s essential for a Lu Nuncio, but it’s a cultural requirement, not a
distinction the mantle makes.”

Cullen put in helpfully, “It’s like the way Jasper Herron named Myron the Lu Nuncio
for Kyffin. Myron’s a lousy fighter.”

She nodded slowly. “A Lu Nuncio is supposed to be proven in battle, but Jasper made
his uncle his heir because his son’s too young and Myron doesn’t want to be Rho, so
he’ll be glad when his great-nephew is old enough for the position. Everyone’s wink-wink,
nudge-nudge about it. Does everyone wink at Tony being Lu Nuncio, then?”

“More or less. We’ve assumed Leo would remove Tony before long.”

She nodded again. “Okay, so there’s an issue of territory and rights with Isen telling
Leo to step down. I get that, but how does letting Leo live change the way the boundaries
are drawn?”

“It was Leo who was responsible, you see. Not the mantle.”

Lily chewed on that a moment. “In a weird, lupi sort of way that makes sense. Leo
took responsibility for his actions, so he’s personally culpable, which lets his clan
off the hook. But Isen’s decision was about the mantle, which makes it about Laban.”

“Some will see it that way.”

“Is my head spinning? It feels like it’s spinning. And all that doesn’t explain why
this new Rho is ordered to join us. Or why we should let him.”

“You and Cullen and I are exposed to risk because of
Laban’s actions. Laban’s Rho will therefore be exposed to risk, too—and given a chance
to help recover what his clan caused to be taken from Nokolai.”

“Grandmother says that if you make an enemy lose face, you have to either kill them
or give them a way to regain face.”

“Laban is not our enemy, but otherwise…yes.”

Lily fell silent, thinking that over. Or maybe she’d reverted to worrying about him.

His fault. He hadn’t found time to have a word with her alone. He took her hand. She
looked at him once, a slanted glance from under her lashes. She wanted to ask him
questions, but she wouldn’t, not here. He looked away, stroking his thumb over the
fleshy base of her thumb. He didn’t want her questions. Shame clung to him, vague
and sticky as a spiderweb. He saw no reason for it.

It had been a shock to learn he had otherkin. He hadn’t reacted well. No doubt some
of that was due to the timing, falling as it had on Mick’s birthday. But he wasn’t
shamed by his reaction.

How did he feel now? That’s what Lily would ask if they were alone. Or perhaps not.
Much as she loved questions, she did understand that some answers arrived more fully
without tacking words to them. He was…curious. Yes, now that the shock was past, he
wanted to know more about Machek. He didn’t want the man in prison, if it could be
avoided—a goal Lily might help or hinder, and there was a question he needed to ask
when they were private. But there was no real bond between him and this newly discovered
kin, even if Machek had called him brother on the phone last night.

But Jasper Machek was fifty-three years old. Rule knew this because Lily had asked
Isen while Rule was still reacting. And while Rule might have been utterly unaware
of Jasper Machek’s existence, Machek had known about Rule. So Isen had said just before
Rule left the room last night. The man had had ample opportunity to call Rule brother
before now.

Easy enough to see what had changed. He wanted something.

Rule roused from his thoughts, feeling Lily’s gaze on him. “Yes?”

“I think we should be sure we’re all on the same page here,” she said. “Cullen wants
his prototype back. I do, too, but even more I want to find out who has it and why.
What’s your priority, Rule?”

“Determining if Friar has any connection to the theft, of course. Which puts us very
much on the same page.” He added very softly, “I’m okay, Lily.”

She nodded, but not as if she believed him. More like she was willing to let him say
that. “We don’t have any reason right now to think there’s a connection. This could
be good, old-fashioned corporate theft.”

“You said Ruben had a hunch you should be there.”