World Of The Lupi 4 - Night Season by Wilks Eileen

Author:Wilks, Eileen
Language: eng
Format: epub

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Not again,” McClosky moaned.

“One moment.” That was Cullen, and a second later four mage lights bounced into place in the center of the room, making it about half as bright as before.

The room felt better. The air was just air‐cool and dry and tinged with unfamiliar smells, but no longer oily. Cynna lifted a hand to run a diagnostic, curious about what kind of spell he'd used.

“Don't,” Cullen said sharply, taking a seat on one of the floor cushions.

“We're in a magical dead zone. It's temporary, and I left a loophole so I could pop out the mage lights, but if anyone else tries to use magic before the effect fades, the results could be... unpredictable.”

“But what did you do? You didn't have time to set wards.”

“No. They wouldn't work. The walls of this place are crawling with shaped magic‐that's why you were uncomfortable, by the way. Gnomish magic is not a good mix with Air.”

“That makes sense. It doesn't answer my question.”

"The gnomes have had centuries to fine‐tune the spells in these walls.

They've got an abundance of power. I couldn't outpower or outfinesse them, so I shorted things out."

Cynna snorted. “Magic is not electricity.”

Cullen grinned. “Which means I had to be clever, doesn't it? Congruencies, Cynna. At the moment all the spells for about thirty feet around us are confused about where to draw power because of a little chaos I introduced in the system. It won't last, but for now no one can eavesdrop.”

But how could... her breath caught. He was playing with raw magic again.

That was the only way he could have done it. He'd sent a surge of power through the walls, disrupting the spells they contained. He'd shaped it some, she guessed, with that chant, but it was still dangerous.

He must have read her expression. “It worked, didn't it?”

She wanted to point out that the spells he'd disrupted might have other purposes‐like, say, holding up the walls. But nothing seemed to be crumbling, and if it was temporary...

Ruben interrupted her worrying. “We can't be overheard now?”

Cullen gave a graceful shrug. “Not by the spells they had in place. I won't guarantee anything more.”

“Very well. First, I want everyone to be clear on our roles while we're guests here.” He gave Cullen a small smile. “However we define guests. We represent the government of the United States. We expect to be treated as such. They will likely concede to our demands with many smiles. They will patronize us... with the possible exception of Mr. Seabourne, They tend to discount humans. He is both lupus and sorcerer, and consciously or otherwise, they will expect him to be in charge.”

“We're supposed to act important?” Cynna was dubious about her ability to pull that off.

“Don't act,” Cullen said. “Their lives and the lives of everyone here depend on you. They know it. You just keep that in mind and leave the acting to the rest of us.” His smile was chilly and not pleasant. "I'll play to their expectations.

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