said.
White grimaced. “So you're saying the attacker was far enough away that no one on the street could see him?”
“That's exactly what I'm saying. And the identification is even more problematic because I threw up a shamanic shield.”
“Why is that a problem?”
Kavon had never shared details of his work before. A big part of that had been Dave’s strict rules about privacy. Many mentors encouraged secrecy, but Dave had taken that to extreme levels. Now Kavon wondered if Dave felt that shamans functioned best when others couldn’t predict them or if Dave had wanted to help Bennu hide. Either way, the time for a complete embargo on shamanic knowledge was over. White needed to know how to fight the coming battle, or at least how to keep mundane agents from being crushed between the two sides.
“A shield that is strong enough to block the magic is generally strong enough to stop the caster from being able to see the attacker. That’s why large shields are dangerous. They create a blind spot.”
White frowned. “Why haven’t you mentioned that?”
Kavon hid his flinch. Whatever issues Kavon had with Dave, they were not for public consumption. “Sir, it’s no different than hiding behind a wall. If the wall is solid enough to stop a bullet then it’s equally effective at making it impossible to watch the suspect.”
“That makes sense. Even if it made it impossible for you to identify your attacker, I’m glad you were there to shield your partner.” White projected a weary relief. “And at least we know we’re looking for a shaman. That doesn't narrow the suspect list down much, does it?”
“No, sir. A lot of shamans have reason to hate us, or fear us because they're afraid of getting caught.” Kavon wasn’t exactly lying, but he didn’t feel good about implying untruths.
White stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Do you think that's what this is? Is this about your work with the FBI, or is this about your position on the Shamanic Council?”
“I can't say for sure,” Kavon said. “Hopefully an investigation will be able to get to the bottom of it.”
Disappointment crossed White’s face, but he nodded as though he’d expected that answer. “I've already called Unit Three. They’ll interview you as soon as Darren is released from the Center. I asked them to avoid separating you two because Darren isn’t strong enough to protect himself from this sort of perp, so we’re going to bend a few rules on this one.”
Kavon had a flare of temper, and Pochi blinked into existence over his head. Kavon took a calming breath and tried to control his own emotions before Pochi started blowing people up based off Kavon’s fraying temper. “No offense sir, but Unit Three is violent crime. They have no experience investigating Talent.” Hell, they wouldn’t even know what questions to ask. While that would make it easier for Kavon to hide the existence of the durance, it would also make the investigators next to worthless.
White’s expression turned hard. “I can't have the Talent unit investigating an assassination on one of its own. We’re going to have to make do with the resources we have,” he said firmly, but Kavon wasn’t about to let this slide.
“Assign it to Coretta’s team. Isn't that why we divided the Talent team into two separate units, so we would have more flexibility in assigning cases?”
“Is there some place where we can speak in private?” White gestured toward the hallway. Two nurses sat at a desk at the far end and a young man pushed a large cart down the corridor, stopping to deliver meals at each room. Because this was a Djedi center, the floor was quieter and calmer than a normal hospital. No one wanted an emotional or injured shaman startled by a loud crash or shouts. However, it still had an undercurrent of activity throughout.
“There’s a small lounge this direction.” Kavon led the way. In the past, the lounges were used as places for people to make phone calls on public lines and perform small spells that might help a loved one. These days, cell phones made the first function obsolete, but plenty of visitors would still conjure the illusion of butterflies to swirl around a bouquet or use the small spaces to transfer energy to a healing crystal. If Kavon could do something similar to help Darren recover, he would, but sometimes the body simply needed to heal on its own.
He didn’t even wait for the door to close before