Free Unbinding by Eileen Wilks Page A

cast a quick glance at the restrooms. “How long does Dell usually take to feed?”
    “She doesn’t know Benedict’s tolerance for blood loss, so she’s taking it slow, stopping to check with him. Um . . . I thought you should know that deities aren’t the only ones who can pull off transformational magic.”
    “I’ve heard that sidhe lords can, but surely only on their own terrain?”
    “A few could do it elsewhere, but you’re right—it would be a lot harder. Still possible for some, though. But also, we don’t know for sure that we’re looking at real transformation. It could be illusion.”
    Arjenie looked dubious. “They weren’t really butterflies?”
    “No, they probably were. But we don’t know that they started out as flowers. They might have been bloodsucking bugs all along, but we saw flowers. That would be an easy illusion for an elf whose talents ran that way.”
    Arjenie’s brow puckered. “Okay, I can see that. It wouldn’t explain where the creatures came from, though, or why some elf wanted them to bite us.”
    “True. No doubt I’ve got elves on the brain after dealing with them so much.” Kind of like the way Benedict assumed the lupi’s enemy was behind this—he’d been dealing with
her
way too much. Kai suspected that her own response wasn’t as reasonable as his. Benedict knew for certain that an Old One was actively seeking to destroy his people. Kai had no reason to think there was an elf anywhere in this realm, much less one who’d send butterflies to suck her blood. She shrugged. “I thought we should keep the possibility in mind.”
    “Sure. Until we have more data, we can’t—”
    Pay attention. I won’t be here long.
    The mental voice that cut through Arjenie’s physical voice was as cold and crystalline clear as ice.
Sun Mzao
, Kai thought, her heart jumping once, hard, in her chest. The black dragon. One of the four beings whose thoughts were utterly hidden from her, though the reverse was emphatically not true. She had shields, but nothing that would keep out the Eldest.
    Glancing hurriedly around, she could tell by their expressions who else had heard him. Arjenie, yes. Nathan. Also Ackleford, who looked like he’d been hit in the head. But the lieutenant was talking to one of her officers, oblivious.
    Nathan Hunter is correct that today’s event almost certainly did not involve the being we do not name. He is also, obliquely, the cause of the event, which created considerable disruption in the probabilities. Those took me some time to trace, although I was reasonably certain of their origin. I have now confirmed that origin.
Kai Tallman Michalski.
    “Yes?” Had she squeaked like a mouse? She felt like one, with the weight of that mind pressing on her.
    Did you see any sign of intention in the thought patterns surrounding you at the time of the event?
    “I had my Gift turned off. Looped, actually, not turned off, but the effect’s the same. The eye drops the doctor used messed it up. My Gift, I mean. I was afraid I’d go into fugue.”
    You have been taught to loop your Gift?
    Was it scorn or incredulity flavoring that icy voice? “Um. Yes.”
    Your instructor is either incompetent or has little regard for your welfare,
the Eldest observed dispassionately.
You are far from ready for such a technique.
It is unfortunate that you chose to employ it at that particular time. I can say definitely that the event was caused by an outbreak of chaos energy. I cannot say whether this outbreak was directed or random.
    “The knife.” Nathan’s voice rang with sudden understanding. “Nam Anthessa. You’re saying that its power didn’t return to its maker when I killed it.”
    That is both clear and puzzling. I can theorize about why the power remained here, but I do not know, nor do I have time to speculate. I have delayed longer than I like already, but since you are in this realm at my request, I chose to discharge my obligation before leaving. I do so