No Humans Involved

"And security guard," Sava

"Head of security."

"Right. In charge of all those other librarians and security guards we've hired."

"It's a growth position. Just like yours. Someday, I'm sure you'll be in charge of the entire secretarial pool."

"These boxes aren't moving on their own," Paige cut in as I approached the open door. "I need them all upstairs and sorted into the proper rooms. Then I need Adam assembling the bookcase while Sava

"A shitload more," Sava

"I've got you two. Close enough."

"You don't want zombies," I said as I walked in. "You'll spend a fortune on air fresheners."

Adam was digging through a box of reference texts. He didn't look much like a librarian… unless it catered to surfers. A stereotypical California boy, well built and ta

Paige was busy on the computer, fingers flying and eyes on the monitor even as she spoke. A voluptuous twenty-seven-year-old with long dark curls, she was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. Practical moving-day attire. It was rare to see Paige out of a skirt. A girly girl, as Sava

Sava

Even in ripped jeans, old sneakers and a tight concert T-shirt, Sava

Sava

"I guess that lock on the front door still isn't working," Paige said. "I'll have to get Lucas to take another look at it. Poor guy. Really not his area of expertise."

"It's working," Sava

"And didn't go down to escort her up?"

"How? You've got us working our asses off while you play on the computers."

"I'm getting the network up. If we don't have everything in place by tomorrow-"

"The earth will stop revolving around its axis. And we might lose our first paying client."

"Which is even more important." Paige looked up at me. "Sorry. Things are a little nuts. We've been slowly moving in, but now we've got a lead on a very big client… who expects to see a fully functioning professional office-tomorrow."

"Well, don't worry. I won't take up much of your time. I just want to run a scenario by you."

"Sure. We'll grab coffee and talk." A glance at the others. "Can I leave you two alone?"

"Please." Sava

Paige pulled a face and ushered me out of the office. The drilling down the hall had stopped, replaced by Lucas's voice, quiet but in-sistent. We found him on his cell phone, examining a drill hole in the wall.

He peered at his drill work, his already serious face dropping into a frown. Paige caught his attention, and his eyes lit up.

"No, I don't believe you understand," he said into the phone. "We allowed for leeway on the understanding that if our needs changed and we needed the work completed promptly, it would be. If you ca

He lifted two fingers to Paige, who nodded. He signed off, then hung up.

"We were coming to see whether you have time for a coffee break," she said. "But I'm guessing the answer is no."

"I'll take one anyway. I could use the air. Jaime, was your flight-"

His cell phone rang. A soft sigh and he checked the number. "Jack McNeil."

"The client," Paige explained to me. "Take it. We'll bring you back a coffee. Jaime can explain her situation then."

WE WALKED to a bakery a block up. Paige swore the neighborhood wasn't as bad as it looked. I put my trust in her hands… and her defensive spells. We were still catching up when we returned to the building, coffees in hand.

" Sava

"Is she still leaning toward graphic design?" I asked.

"She is, but she wants our advice and we're really torn. Part of me wants to tell her she's doing the right thing, preparing for a reliable career while she pursues her art in her spare time. The other part wants to say 'forget practicality' and tell her to enroll in a fine-art program."

"Getting a job to fall back on isn't the worst idea. Jeremy worked as a translator for years before his paintings started to sell."

She led me onto the elevator. "I think that's who she's taking her cue from. But I worry that Lucas and I are both too inclined to push practicality and maybe that's what driving her decision. Anyway, she has a year to think about it."

We met Adam and Sava

Sava

"Take this one instead. Brownies, plus a Coke for Adam, and a mocha cappuccino for you."

"Thanks," Adam said.

"Don't thank her," Sava

"You got it. And sandwiches for later, so you don't need to take off for di

BE PREPARED

"I ASSUMED IT WAS A NECROMANCY PROBLEM, but now I'm thinking dark magic," I said after I told them what was happening.

Lucas frowned. "Dark magic? As in ritual sacrifice?"

"Eve would be your best bet for anything dark," Paige said. "But I'm guessing if you're asking us, she's out of contact again. My experience with stuff like this is practically zero. I've witnessed ritual sacrifice." Her face went pale at the memory. "Not intentionally. Some kind of high-level protection ritual."

"That's the primary use," Lucas said. "A life given for a life protected. Ritual sacrifice is very rare. If I encounter it, it's peripheral to a case I'm investigating. When a Cabal passes a sentence of execution they may perform ritual sacrifice as the method of execution. Purely a matter of economics."

Paige nodded. "If they're already killing someone, might as well use it."

"But in all cases, the soul passes over," Lucas said. "It's even written into the Cabal legal code that if an executed victim is used for ritual sacrifice, an independent necromancer must be on hand to confirm that the soul has safely passed over."

"That's the Cabal version of the Geneva convention. They can only torture you until you're dead."

"Huh." I sipped my coffee, thinking. "What about Druidic sacrifice?"

"Rare these days," Paige said. "Even rarer than dark magic sacrifice. Remember Esus? He didn't even try to ask for a human sacrifice. We gave him his pint of blood and he was happy. But even if a Druid was performing human sacrifice, it doesn't explain damaged souls. It's the act that matters. A show of respect for the Druidic deity."