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ago. They re probably beginning to suspect something s happened. If they d
waited to bring Trace in, they might have learned Blass s entire plan. But
they also could have lost her, lost precious time as well.
Mack motioned to Trace. Rand, get one of your people to take her back to
lockup, then have your team meet me at the shrine in ten. We move on Blass.
Now.
27
A dozen strategies raced through Mack s mind, followed by another dozen
counterstrategies. Yet in spite of all that activity, the loudest sound was
Gillie s footsteps, hurrying to catch up to him. He d told her to stay in
Rand s office. Clearly, she hadn t obeyed.
I have to go with you, Mack.
The corridors of Cirrus One had returned to their usual early-evening crush
after being eerily vacant during the opening of the shrine. People bustled
about their business, totally unaware that Fav lhir ships were within attack
range. Totally unaware that a Fav lhir agent and Grel Te lard sorcerer were on
station.
Mack wasn t quite sure what the latter portended, but he knew he was about to
find out. No, you don t, he answered without glancing at her. He didn t need
to see determination written on her face. It was clear in her tone. Rand and
I will handle this. It s routine.
Then why, she persisted, as they sidestepped a worker guiding a small
antigrav cart, are you going back to your office to get your laser pistol?
This time he did slant her a glance. The ease with which she d taken his
destination and purpose from his mind startled him. Raheiran. Mageline. He
still wasn t quite used to that. Because.
Same reason I have to go with you. Because.
Gillaine. He hesitated at his office door, then palmed it open, motioning
her inside. The lights, sensing a presence, flickered on.
I don t have time to argue. He tapped in a code on his deskcomp, unlocking
a lower drawer. This is official business. You may be RSF. But you said it
yourself: you re not official.
And I was back there with Faydra Trace?
Trace was already in custody. And had been searched for weapons. She was
harmless. What happens in Rand s office stays there. I don t have to file an
official report to explain your unofficial presence.
Ican take care of myself. Gillie planted her hands on her hips and glared
at him. She wasn t listening to his words, he knew, but reading his emotions.
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And bucking against his desire to protect her.
He pulled a small laser pistol and holster from the drawer, then stripped off
his jacket. He was still in his formal dress uniform, with a white shirt
underneath. No time to change to something more utilitarian. No time to argue
with Gillie. He checked the pistol, then shoved it back in the holster.
You re not going to stop him with that, Gillie said as he clipped the
holster to his belt.
He reached for his jacket. Blass isn t stupid. He ll play innocent, deny our
accusations, just like Trace did. He s not going to start doing magic tricks
in front of the PH.
Magic tricks. She let out a harsh breath. Grel Te lard sorcerers don t do
magic tricks. You threaten them and they start killing people.
I don t intend to put him in that position until he s securely in Rand s
lockup. He sealed the front of his jacket.
It doesn t matter what you intend. Gillie didn t hide the frustration in
her voice. He ll know exactly why you re there.
Mack shoved the desk drawer closed. It clicked loudly as the lock cycled.
He s mageline, Mack. Telepathic. And he doesn t have the same scruples a
Raheiran has. Faydra Trace is missing. You walk in with Rand and Tobias, he ll
be in your mind immediately. You ll feel a little dizzy at first and by the
time the headache and nausea hit hard, he ll already know what you intend to
do, where you ve placed security. Then he ll insert commands of his own, make
you do things you wouldn t intend to do. Like kill one of your own officers.
His gaze shot from the data on his deskscreen to her face. He d been
monitoring station status but her words her admission of what a mageline
sorcerer could do wrenched his attention away. Again, he realized how little
he knew about Captain Gillaine Davré. Was it only her scruples that made her
different from Blass?
No. Gillie might be mageline but by her own admission she was an RSF captain,
not a sorcerer. Mack felt sure a Raheiran sorceress would hold a much higher
rank than military adviser.
His mageline military adviser was watching him, eyes narrowed. You can t
stop Blass, she said firmly.
He won t have time to pull my intentions from my mind. He ll be looking at
Rand s best security team all around him. Eight laser pistols on full power
will tell him all he needs to know.
You re not listening. He ll kill you.
It s been tried before. That s part of my job description.
And stopping a Grel Te lard is mine.
Gillaine. Gods, he didn t want to argue with her. He traced the line of her
jaw with one finger. The stubborn line of her jaw. The lavender in her eyes
darkened, the color not dissimilar to the mist that had swirled over her skin
from the crystal shard. She was Raherian. Blass was a sorcerer. This was
something out of his range of expertise and squarely part of hers, yet there
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were still the political games to consider. Blass s connections to the
chancellor. Honora Trelmont s presence. If things went wrong, he d not only
have to explain an RSF captain s unofficial participation but why HQ hadn t
been informed RSF was involved. He felt torn between what had to be done and
the way he knew Fleet would demand things be handled.
He sighed. Have you ever faced a Grel Te lard before?
A corner of her mouth quirked slightly. Few weeks ago. I destroyed one of
their ships in Riftspace. That s how I ended up here.
She d mentioned that. He d assumed her appearance had been an accident. But
then, he d made a lot of assumptions about Gillaine Davré, most of them wrong.
Something hovered on the edges of his mind; facts that fit, yet didn t. One of
these days he d ask her for answers, personal and political. The latter was
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