flicked to one of the other screens, which had a view of the roomâs other occupants. The bald fellow apparently lacked interest in clothing, though he wore a silver necklace with a small silver disk as pendantâ¦inscribed?
Cullen squinted and frowned. The resolution wasnât good enough for him to be sure. The man was talking to the only other person in the room, a tallish woman with her back to the camera. His lips, tongue, and palate were dark gray like a chowâs. The womanâ¦hell!
Cullen spun to glare at Lily. âWhat the hell are you thinking? Get Cynna out of there!â
Brooks answered smoothly. âAgent Weaver is acting on my orders. Weâve been assured it would offer grave insult to leave our guests in a room without someone present to act as host. Apparently thatâs gnomish custom.â
âGnomish custom is to exchange hostages. Thatâs her real functionâhostage, not host.â
âIs this your so-called expert, Ruben?â a slick-looking man in a pricey suit drawled. âDoesnât seem well-informed. Everyone knows gnomes are harmless.â
âEveryone knows a lot of damned silly things,â Cullen snapped. âWho the hell are you?â
âAdam McClosky. Assistant Undersecretary of Commerce.â
âWhen weâre ready to trade something, be sure to speak up. Till then shut yourââ
âCullen,â Lily said.
He caught his breath and tried to catch hold of his temper.
âMr. Seabourne is an expert practitioner,â Brooks assured the smooth man. âHeâs consulted for us before. I have great confidence in his skills and knowledge.â
Brooks had done a nice job of stepping around the word âsorcerer.â Since sorcery remained illegal due to the impenetrable stupidity of most lawmakers, Cullen appreciated that. âAnd Iâm ready to consult. Get me in there and get Cynna out.â
âSoon. Rest assured that Agent Weaver is as safe as we can make her. The room has defenses that arenât obvious.â
âThe room canât defend her against a magical attack.â
âNo, sheâll have to handle that herself, should the need arise.â
Cullen took two quick steps, but the place was too damned crowded. He nearly bumped into another one of the strangers, who stepped aside, eying him warily.
Timms spoke without leaving Brooksâs side. âItâs her job, Cullen.â
Cullen scowled. Lily put a hand on his arm. âI think sheâll be okay. Iâve shaken hands with all of them.â
The touch startled him enough to break through his urgency. Lily didnât touch often or easily. âAndâ¦?â
âTheyâre all of the Blood, but only the gnome is Gifted. It isnât a Gift Iâve encountered before, but his magic isnâtâ¦â She waved a hand. âI donât know how to describe it, but his magic felt like itâs bound up in itself. Or in something. He doesnât have much juice for other things.â
âOf the Bloodâ meant they were innately magical beings. This was true of most of the nonhuman races, from gnomes to lupi to any number of less common beings and creatures. What Lily meant was that those of the Blood were seldom able to work spellsâtheir magic simply wasnât available that way.
Excepting the Fae, of course. And Cullen, who was both of the Blood and Gifted. As was this gnome, apparently. âMaybe heâs using most of his magic for something else right now. Iâd very much like to know what, wouldnât you? That doesnât make Cynna safe.â
âSheâs doing her job. And sheâs pretty good with spellwork herself.â
Okay. Okay, he knew that, butâ¦Cullen ran a hand over his hair. âYouâll know if somethingâs been done to her. Youâll check.â
âOf course.â
âWhatâs the problem?â demanded the Deputy
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