"I'm trying to work," she said dryly. "People keep showing up, expecting to stay here."
A gleam of amusement brightened the tired eyes. Grandmother enjoyed being outrageous, but at least she knew she was doing it. Mostly. "You require a Christmas tree."
Oh, Lord, she was right. With Toby here… "Maybe you'd like to take care of that for us."
"I will call," she announced, as if making a great concession. "You want one with candy. Sugarplums. No Santas. I do not like Santas. Someone will deliver it." The painted eyebrows arched. "I think you have much to tell me."
They shared a look of understanding affection. "As you say, later. I've an appointment I—"
"We have an appointment," Rule said smoothly. "Madam Yu, I have a great favor to ask of you."
"SHE'S not a stranger," Lily said as she punched the elevator button. "But do you really feel good about leaving Toby with Grandmother?"
Rule grinned. "He may consider it part of his punishment, but he's safe with her."
She couldn't argue. Grandmother was a real tiger when it came to protecting children.
A real tiger.
No one outside the family knew about that, of course… well, aside from two members of the Unit, and they would keep the secret. And even the family didn't know how Grandmother had come to possess her unique ability. She discouraged questions. Sure, there were stories of adepts in pre-Purge times who'd been able to take a beast form or curse someone into an animal's body. But who knew if those tales were true? The days of the adepts were long over. Today the only werebeasts were the lupi… and Grandmother.
"I expect Li Qin will do any actual work," Lily said as they climbed into a little box already nearly full of people she didn't know.
"You forget. She's going to teach him mah-jongg."
She grinned. "That's a mark of high approval. She normally refuses to play with anyone not up to her standards." If Lily hadn't known him so well, she wouldn't have seen the tension in Rule's body. He didn't like elevators. He didn't like anyone noticing his discomfort, either, so she kept talking. "We should do something for Li Qin as a thank-you."
"A vacation? Without your grandmother, that is."
"Surprising as it may seem, Li Qin is devoted to Grandmother. I doubt she'd go. But Christmas is nearly here."
"Yes, and it looks like we'll have family around for the holiday, after all. Not to mention a Christmas tree. With sugarplums."
"But no Santas. I hope you realize you're paying for that. Grandmother will feel she's done more than her share by condescending to use the phone."
"I certainly wouldn't let her pay for it. You need to call your mother."
That had sure come out of left field. It took her a second to recover. "She'll just refuse to talk to me."
The elevator doors opened on someone else's floor. Two men got off. "Then leave a message. You know better than most that we aren't guaranteed the time we think we need to mend fences with those we love."
She stared at the closing doors. "Wrong time, wrong place. Nag me later."
He lowered his voice. "You haven't told me what's wrong between the two of you. But does it matter? Does it matter as much as spending the holiday without speaking to her? She's difficult, but she loves you."
Lily didn't answer. He meant well, but so did her mother. Every time she told Lily how she ought to be running her life, Julia Yu meant well.
Almost every time. When Lily had desperately needed her support… "This is our floor," she said, as glad as Rule must be to escape the crowded elevator.
Before she and Rule left San Diego, Lily had gone to her parents' house to say goodbye to her father and her younger sister… and to apologize to her mother. She owed her that much, though she'd known damned well she'd get no apology in return.
She'd managed two out of three. Her mother hadn't been home.
Five weeks ago Lily and her younger sister had both been in the emergency room. Lily had been injured physically; Rule was missing and presumed dead, and Lily's Gift had been reft from her. She'd needed her mother, and Julia Yu had come… to hover over her youngest daughter and blame Lily for everything.
"Your sister could have been killed! And why? Because of him! Him and your job, the stupid job you insisted on, no matter how many times I told you I didn't like it. And now you've brought hurt to your family, you and that—that wolf man you're sleeping with. I'm glad he's dead! I—"
That's when Lily had slapped her.
"Lily," Rule said.
Yanked back to the present, Lily noticed the woman hurrying toward them—fortyish, with dust-colored hair, glasses, and a bright pink shirt straining over generous breasts. Sandy McPherson was an analyst in data collection with a wicked sense of humor, and one of the few people Lily knew in Headquarters.
"You sleepwalking?" Sandy said. "I called you twice."
"Sorry. What's up?"
"Ida is looking for you."
"Is it urgent?" Lily glanced at her watch. "We're due in a meeting in two and half minutes."
"She didn't say, but…" Sandy shrugged. "It's Ida."
"Right." Ruben's secretary wasn't likely to make a fuss if it wasn't important. "Thanks, Sandy."
"You can thank me by introducing me to the sexiest man I've ever seen."
She was looking at Rule with a familiar expression on her face. Lily grinned. "Mine."
"I can still drool, can't I? You're Rule Turner. Not only can I read your visitor's badge, I read the gossip mags, and… no, better not go there. I'm supposed to be somewhere myself as of…" She checked her own watch. "Twelve minutes ago."
"It's good to almost meet you, Sandy," Rule said.
She grinned, sighed, and bustled off down the hall. They headed for the next intersection in the maze, took a left, and arrived at Ida's lair.
Ida was speaking into her headset, tapping away at a keyboard, and passing a file to the woman standing by her desk. "Take that in to Ruben," she said without missing a keystroke. The other woman hurried to the door on the far wall.
Lily waited a moment, but Ida didn't look up. "Cynna suspects she's an alien," she whispered, "but I think she has three brains. Has to, to multitask that way."
"I heard that," Ida said without looking away from the screen, adding—presumably into the headset—"You're booked on the 4:30 flight. Yes. I'll ask. For now, use the Morrison ID."
"She also has supernaturally keen hearing," Lily said in a normal voice. "I can't figure out why I don't get a buzz of magic from her."
"Call Jules. No, not yet—I'll let you know when we do. All right. Goodbye." Ida stopped typing long enough to remove her headset. She spared Lily a glance. "The report you wanted is in the blue folder. I thought you might need it before your meeting."
"And she's supernaturally quick with flashes of omniscience." Lily picked up the folder. "Thanks, Ida."
"You've got thirty seconds to make it to the conference room."
Lily hurried.
"Friendly soul," Rule said.
"Maybe not, but she's devoted to Ruben and the Unit—"
"How can you tell?"
"—and she's got a better memory than my computer. You're miffed because she didn't drool."
"I don't expect drool. A glance, maybe, some hint of awareness… Do you think she's a robot?"
Lily grinned and pushed open the door.
They walked in on a fierce argument. Sherry O'Shaunessy was stabbing her finger in the air at a man Lily didn't recognize, who scowled back at her. The archbishop was nowhere in sight.
Sherry didn't look like either of Hollywood's versions of witches—the cackling crone or the nubile young Wiccan. Aside from the hair, that is. Her hair flowed in a gray and silver cascade to her hips, held out of her face by a silver headband. Otherwise she might have been someone's suburban grandma: short, chubby, with rosy cheeks and blue eyes set off by plenty of smile lines. She wore tailored slacks and a sky-blue twinset.