Ritual Magic

RULE had always known his people were at war.

Long before his First Change, he and Steve and the others in their age cohort had killed thousands of dworg. Dworg made satisfying monsters because they were not wholly imaginary. Extinct, yes—or so everyone believed—but the clans had fought the real thing in the Great War. Sometimes Rule had died heroically in those battles, like Arnos of Etorri, but mostly he’d preferred to emulate Kierran or Tel— heroes who survived to fight another day. Those ancient tales were the stories he’d listened to, played out, and grown up on. All lupi did.

Human history had no record of the Great War. Not surprising, given that it ended over three thousand years ago . . . or so its other participants thought. Not the lupi. War didn’t end until your opponent was dead or had submitted irrevocably. The enemy they had been created to defeat was an Old One, as incapable of real submission as she was of dying. She might have been temporarily defeated and locked out of their realm, but the war hadn’t ended.

For over three thousand years, each generation of lupi had been raised knowing they could be the ones called upon to resume the war. So Rule had always known that his people were at war, yes, and that his could be the generation called into battle . . . much as he’d grown up knowing the Russians might decide to drop nuclear bombs on his country. It could happen. It probably wouldn’t, but it could.

Unlike the lupi’s war, the Cold War had ended. And as year rolled into year it had been easy to believe that his generation, too, would live out their lives in relative peace.

One year and four months ago, the Aza tried to open a hellgate.

He and Lily and a great many others had stopped them, but they’d known she was behind the attempt. Persuading the other clans of this had been difficult until last September, when the Lady spoke through the Rhejes to announce the resumption of the war. In October, the battle had gone hot. Even humans knew a little about it now—at least, they knew about the battles at the Humans First rallies. Most had some idea of Friar’s connection to that carnage, though they didn’t know about the Great Bitch and her plans for their world.

A few did, however. At the FBI and in the White House, they knew.

It was one thing to know you might be called to war. It was another to fight it.

Rule leaned his head back in the uncomfortable chair beside Julia’s bed and closed his eyes, relieved that she slept at last. Relieved for both of them. Dealing with a sad, frantic twelve-year-old was not easy. But with his eyes closed, the sickness came back, a sickness that pounded in him like a drumbeat.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

What had been done to Julia was hideous, obscene, wrong on the deepest level. And his fault.

That wasn’t true. He knew that, dammit. How could he have anticipated such a thing, much less kept it from happening? He pushed to his feet and then stood there, trying not to pace. Deep inside where that drumbeat pounded, words held no sway. Deep inside, he knew only that he’d failed. Failed Julia and failed Lily. Julia was part of the war because of him. It had been up to him to protect her, and he’d failed.

He took a slow breath to calm himself. God, he hated hospitals.

His eyes fell on the black leather purse sitting primly on the beside table. Edward Yu was a highly logical man, yet he’d insisted that Julia should have her purse. That made no sense. All the familiar detritus of Julia’s life had no meaning to her now, but logic broke down under such an onslaught of emotion.

There was a slim leather folder tucked into one outside pocket of that purse. His heart heavy, Rule pulled out that folder. He knew what it held—a notebook containing all the plans for the wedding, written in Julia’s slanting, impeccable script.

Lily often found her mother difficult, he knew. He understood why, but he’d enjoyed collaborating with Julia on the wedding. She was pushy, yes, and inclined to hold a very high opinion of her opinions. But once they’d established that Rule could not be pushed somewhere he didn’t wish to go, they’d dealt with each other quite well. Julia was a natural organizer, and she’d taken such pleasure in arranging her daughter’s wedding. Every detail interested her. Every detail mattered.

Every detail was written down in the notebook he held now. That was fortunate, for Julia remembered none of them now. Sorrow tightened Rule’s throat. He tucked the folder into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

On the other side of the door to Julia’s room, Chris spoke. “Madame Yu is coming with a lady who looks like the one you’re expecting.”

“Very good. Admit them when they arrive.” Grandmother had arranged for a family member with a nursing degree to relieve Rule. The woman had been chosen for her training, of course, but also because the twelve- year-old Julia hadn’t known her. Julia was most distressed by those she’d known who were now so much older. Rule had asked Grandmother to escort the woman here herself. He had guards at the door to Julia’s room and guards with the rest of her family . . . guards who would be useless against the kind of attack that had struck Julia, but it was all he knew how to do. All he could do.

Rule heard Chris’s respectful greeting. He carefully smoothed out his face. The door opened, and Madame Yu entered with a woman in her forties with the kind of cushiony body that made children think of laps, hugs, and cookies.

Madame Yu looked at Julia, then at Rule. She frowned. “You must stop that.”

He blinked. “Ah—stop what?”

“Never mind. We have no time now, but you and I will talk later. Jin, do you require anything?”

“Not a thing, Grandmother.”

Madame Yu was not this woman’s grandmother. Jin Zimmerman was the sister of a woman who’d married one of Lily’s cousins. But “cousin” was an elastic term in Lily’s family, encompassing first, second, and third cousins as well as their spouses, offspring, and sometimes other relatives. It could be confusing, especially since not all cousins were called cousin. Those of Lily’s parents’ generation or older were “aunt” or “uncle” to her generation —a more respectful title to indicate their status in the clan.

Not clan, he reminded himself. Family. The similarities between her family and his clan were obvious, but the differences mattered. Madame Yu might hold a position similar to Rho, but she had no mantle to enforce her will, nor would challenges to her authority be settled physically.

“Rule,” Madame Yu said, “this is Lily’s cousin Jin Zimmerman. Jin, this is Rule Turner. I go to the meeting room now. Rule, you will bring Lily there when she arrives.” Having delivered her instructions, she left.

“It’s good to meet you, Mrs. Zimmerman,” Rule said.

“Make it Jin,” she said placidly. “How’s my patient?”

“Physically well enough. Sam says she’ll sleep for at least eight hours, so your duties should be light.”

“Who’s Sam?”

“The black dragon. He put her to sleep.”

“Oh. Yes, I was told about that. He will take some getting used to. I’ve never had a dragon treating one of my patients.”

She didn’t seem alarmed at the prospect. “I’m not sure one can get used to Sam. He probably won’t bother you, however. I can’t say the same for some of the doctors.” Julia now had four physicians consulting on her case. He pulled out his card case. “You may want my number.”

Jin took his card and glanced at the bed where her patient slept. “Anything else I should know?”

Rule, too, looked at Julia. She was curled up on her side, one hand tucked beneath the skimpy pillow the hospital provided. There were still traces of makeup around her eyes. Her eyelids twitched in some dream, but she didn’t stir. He looked at her and all he could think was Wrong, wrong, wrong.

“I don’t think so,” he told her nurse. “Professionally, of course, you must obey the doctors. For anything that does not fall under their authority, heed what Madame Yu told you.”

“Oh, yes,” she said and settled into the chair Rule had spent too much time in. “I always do.” She pulled yarn and knitting needles out of the tote she’d brought with her. “She said Julia imprinted on you.”

Rule blinked. “She what?”

“Like a baby duck.” She wound yarn around one needle. “Madame said you were the first friendly face Julia saw after being robbed of her memory, and that was that. She fixed on you, just like a baby duck. Should I call you if Julia wakes and asks for you?”

“She shouldn’t wake before I return, but yes.” Rule gave her a nod and left, closing the door behind him. Two of his men waited there. Two more waited near the nursing station. He nodded at the two who would remain