Ritual Magic

environment.”

Such incarceration might delay the fragmentation of her mind. It will not prevent it. An accurate projection of when such fragmentation will become irremediable is not possible, but without my intervention, it may take place quite quickly. I am particularly concerned about the strength of her mother bond. Her mother died forty-five years ago. She is not aware of this.

“No,” Grandmother said. “She asks for her mother. We make excuses. We have not told her that her mother died many years ago.”

That is wise. I do not judge her mind capable of sustaining such a shock. Withholding this information is a temporary solution, however. She will either guess the truth or construct elaborate stories to protect herself from that. Already she has begun to do the latter. Eventually these stories will acquire permanence, and there will be no way to supplant them with observable reality.

Eventually Julia really would be crazy, in other words. Rule’s throat went tight with sudden grief.

Edward spoke slowly. “You say you can prevent this. How?”

I propose to buttress certain mental constructs and alter others. I do not go into detail as you lack both the language and the conceptual background to understand, but several of them relate to her temporal sense. I will distort that to mimic the buffering provided by the passage of time. This will give her a better chance of surviving the blow to her mother bond and aid her in accepting her current body and other aspects of reality.

“A better chance,” Lily repeated. Her voice was level. Her hand gripped Rule’s so tightly his fingertips tingled. “How much better?”

Substantially better. I do not affix numbers to what is essentially unquantifiable. You should all be aware that, regardless of your individual or joint conclusions regarding competency, I will seek Julia’s permission before proceeding.

Mequi’s eyebrows lifted. “Mentally, Julia is twelve years old. You consider a child competent to make such a decision?”

Your species employs a far greater degree of custodial care for its young than mine finds either necessary or desirable. Respect for this species difference does not require me to violate my ethical standards. Julia Yu has done nothing that would entitle me to subvert her autonomy. I will not proceed without her consent. You should also know that delay is inadvisable. The sooner I am able to proceed, the better the outcome will be.

Edward Yu spoke. “In the interest of speed, then, we will now discuss which course to follow—that of Dr. Babbitt or that of Sun Mzao. We will go around the table. Mother, will you begin?”

“I prefer to go last, Edward.”

“Very well. Jim?”

Mequi’s husband didn’t want to talk about the dragon’s proposed treatment versus the doctor’s. He declared himself incompetent to make that decision—if that was meant as a joke, it fell very flat—and offered a short lecture on the legal means of declaring someone incompetent in California.

Mequi, next to him, said that of course Julia was not competent to make such decisions at this time, and that with all due respect to the black dragon, humans were obviously better able to determine what humans needed than he was. They should either follow Dr. Babbitt’s advice or bring in additional doctors.

Lily’s phone vibrated while Mequi was speaking. Her lips thinned, but she took out her phone to see who it was. Rule couldn’t see the screen, but it must have been important because she interrupted. “I’m sorry. I have to take this.”

“Good God, girl, can’t you turn that thing off?” Jim exclaimed. “We’re talking about your mother’s—”

“Jim,” Grandmother said, “enough.”

“I was just going to—”

“You will do me the favor of shutting your mouth.”

Wearily Edward said, “Lily is not chatting with her friends, Jim. The call must have something to do with the investigation. It may be urgent.”

Rule was able to hear most of what the caller was saying to Lily in spite of the chatter at the table. Edward was right. It was about the investigation, and it was urgent.

Lily put her phone up and pushed away from the table. “I have to go. Rule, will you speak for me?”

He met her eyes. “What will I say?”

“That we’re wasting time talking. There’s no real choice to be made. If Sam says Mother has to have this procedure or her mind will come unglued, then she does.” Then she added more intimately, You heard what Officer Perez told me?

Unlike everyone else at the table, Lily could use mindspeech. Not reliably, but sometimes. Rule nodded somberly. “You’ll be in touch with Ruben.”

“Oh, yeah.” She looked around at her family, but her gaze ended on Dr. Babbitt. “Doctor, the Bureau may wish to use your services as a consultant. I need your number so I can contact you if needed.”

“Of course, but why? I’m already on your mother’s case.” He lifted up so he could pull his wallet from his back pocket. He took out a business card and handed it to her.

“Because it looks like Mother wasn’t the only victim.” She looked at Rule. “I’m headed for Scripps on Fifth.”

“Take Scott and Mark.”

She grimaced but left without arguing—or answering any of the questions her family hurled at her retreating back.

SIX

“WELL, I like that!”

“That kind of cavalier attitude—”

“I can’t imagine you’re going to let her behave that way, Edward.”

“Of course he will not. Edward, I will go get Lily and tell her to come back here right now.” Mequi scraped her chair back.

Rule had had enough. “Stop!”

Faces turned toward him—incredulous, startled, and displeased faces.

He looked at them one at a time . . . and he let his wolf rise just enough that they would see it in his eyes. They might not consciously recognize what they saw, but their hindbrains would. “I am tired of this. You are Lily’s family. You love her—and you chide her as if she were a child. You have no grasp of her responsibilities or her abilities, and no respect for her authority. If she could have told you more, she would have. You are making a terrible time more difficult for her and for Edward. Stop.”

No one said a word. Mequi was rigid with affront; Feng was frightened and trying to hide it. Paul was uneasy, which made him look especially wooden, and Dr. Babbitt flinched away from Rule physically. Susan’s face flashed from alarm to disapproval. Jim frowned, but there was a thoughtful look in his eyes. Deborah was simply astonished. Madame Yu’s eyebrows lifted. She gave him a small nod.

Edward’s expression didn’t change. Rule realized he’d been wrong. Edward’s family wasn’t making things worse for him. He was barely aware of them, save when they spoke directly about Julia. He had no energy, attention, or emotion to spend on anything not directly related to his wife’s health. “Since Lily was called away,” Edward said as if nothing had happened, “it is your turn to speak, Rule.”

Speak about Julia, that is . . . who was why they were here. Who wasn’t here with them, helping them make this decision. They’d already deemed her unable to participate in her own care regardless of what the law said, which Rule intended to point out to—

Do not.

Sam could direct mindspeech to one or many. This time, Rule was sure Sam had spoken only to him. Sam was well able to pluck the thoughts from Rule’s head . . . or respond to his general confusion. Which was what he