be back to talk toyou in a minute."

be back to talk toyou in a minute."

"Ben," he said to the desk sergeant, "there's been a mistake. Do me a favor and have somebody give this

young lady a ride home, okay?"

"Sure thing, Lieutenant."

Loomis took Kira by the arm and led her away from the desk. "You're one of them, aren't you?" he

said. "You and Modred."

She glanced at him with surprise.

"He told me," Loomis said. "Only I know he didn't tell me everything. He didn't tell me about you, for

instance."

"How did you know?" asked Kira.

"Leary tried a spell of compulsion on you and you resisted. Now I'm no expert on magic, but it doesn't

take a genius to figure it out. Unless you've been practicing necromancy and rejuvenating yourself, you're

much too young to be an advanced adept. And only a sorceress of the same level as Leary or higher

could have successfully resisted her spell." He took her hand in his. "I noticed you wearing this last night,"

he said, referring to her fingerless black glove. "Now it could be a fashion statement, but unless they're

kinky, most people don't make fashion statements in bed. You made a point of apologizing for not being

dressed when you came down, but you also made a point of being very unself-conscious about greeting

visitors wearing only a T-shirt and a pair of panties. Ginny came to the conclusion you wanted both of us

to come to. Paul's got himself an uninhibited young girlfriend. But Ginny's not a cop and cops tend to

notice little details. Like the fact that you didn't shake our hands. And the wrist strap on your glove wasn't

fastened, as if you'd pulled it on in a hurry."

He turned her gloved hand palm up and felt in the center of her palm with his thumb. He felt the hardness

of the runestone.

"That's what I thought," he said.

"Not much gets past you, does it?" Kira said with a smile.

"I have a feeling that not much gets past Leary, either," he replied. "You don't get to be a ninth-level

sorceress without being pretty sharp. She's got a real attitude problem, but she's not stupid. She'll be on

you like a fox on a duck, so watch yourself."

"Thanks."

"You just get that murdering animal and leave Leary to me," he said. "I'll try to keep her off your backs."

He took a deep breath. "And now, if you'll excuse me, it seems I've got a very miffed Bureau agent on

my hands. It looks like I'm not going to get any sleep, after all."

The morning paper's front page was devoted to the story of the previous night's events. The banner