Originally Human by Eileen Wilks Page A

beauty. He's well aware of his effect on others and capable of using it to get what he wants, but looks don't really matter to him. Magic does.
    I didn't trust him, not completely. But I liked him, and, oh, but he was a pleasure to watch. Heads turned in baggage claim as he approached us. Among other things, Cullen is a dancer, and he moves like music made solid.
    "Hullo, darling," Cullen said as he sauntered up. "Still in one piece, I see, in spite of ninjas and bazookas and such. But you have a new look. Nice," he said, reaching out with lazy grace to stroke one finger down my cheek. "But surprising." He leaned toward me.
    "No kissing," I told him firmly.
    "No?" He pulled back, quirking one eyebrow. Sometimes I think everyone in the world can do that except me. "How interesting. I have a few questions."
    "I'm sure," I said dryly. "But not here, I think. You brought your car?"
    "You don't think I'd trust my delicate skin to a taxi driver, do you? And you indicated a need for privacy." Deliberately he turned to face Michael. "This would be the mystery man."
    "Yes. This is Michael."
    Who was staring. "You," he said, "are most unusual."
    Cullen's eyes narrowed. After a moment of study he said, "So are you. Though I'm damned if I can say what you are. Not quite human, I think?"
    "No. But then, neither are you. I've always wanted to meet one of your kind." Michael turned to me with a smile. "Did you know this is the only realm with Lupi?"
    Oh, yes. That's another thing that Cullen is. A werewolf.
    CULLEN was currently living in a dilapidated little shack in the mountains outside San Diego. At least, that's where he took us. I'm not sure he actually lived there. It looked ready to fall down, but it sat almost on top of a node.
    "Quite small," he told us as he pulled his dusty Jeep to a stop in front of it. "No more than a trickle, really. But enough for my purposes, since I'm the only one using it. I'm trusting you rather a lot," he added, sliding me a glance as he climbed out. "I never bring people here."
    "I'm paying you rather a lot. Besides, you're eaten up with curiosity."
    "True." He flashed me a grin, then turned to Michael, who was studying the land around the cabin. "See anything interesting?"
    "Just your wards. Nice work," Michael said politely. "That low one—it's to keep out vermin? Insects and such?"
    Cullen went very still. "Oh, yes, I am definitely curious. Shall we go inside?"
    The inside didn't look any more solid than the outside, but it was slightly cleaner. There was only one room.
    "Sit," Cullen said, rooting around in a cupboard. "I originally trained in Wicca, if that means anything to you." He took out an athame, two vials, and a small silver bowl.
    "Yes," Michael said, seating himself at the small wooden table. It looked sturdier than the walls of the shack. "It means you're grounded in the basic energies of your realm, which is the best way to begin. With sorcery, though, I assume you're self-taught?"
    "Mostly. Now and then I run across a tantalizing scrap, or cut a deal with one of my reclusive compatriots. We don't trust each other, of course, but we're equally desperate for knowledge. There's a man in Africa doing good work, a woman in Singapore… I've a contact or two in Faerie, as well, though they're a closemouthed lot." He gestured with the hand holding the bowl. "Sit down, Molly. I'm going to try a little creation of my own in a minute, a combination of truth and seek spells. First I have questions."
    I sat. All of a sudden I wasn't at all sure I'd made the right decision, coming to Cullen. But what choice did we have? "I've told you how I found Michael."
    "Questions for him, love, not you." He sat in the third chair, put his tools on the table, and looked at Michael. "You say you don't remember who and what you are, where you came from."
    "I remember pieces. Not the whole."
    "Yet you saw what I was right away. You saw my wards—and knew what they were, too."
    "I gather that most people in this