Mortal Ties (55 page)

“Edward,” Rule said, “give us a couple more minutes. Please.”

“I’m going to see my wife,” Lily’s father said. “Julia—are you all right?”

“Who’s he?” Julia said, her voice wobbly. “He’s not your husband, is he? He looks
too old.”

Lily almost lost it. She swallowed and blinked like crazy and prayed her voice wouldn’t
break. “Father. Give me a minute. Please. If magic’s involved—”

“Magic!” Julia cried.

Edward Yu didn’t answer, but he shoved at Scott. Who didn’t budge, of course. Neither
of them was a large man, but Scott was lupus.

“Edward.” The cousins parted to allow a small, awesomely erect old woman to come forward.
Her black hair was pulled ruthlessly back from her face and fastened in an intricate
bun. She wore crimson satin, lavishly embroidered. Grandmother murmured something
in Chinese that Lily didn’t catch and laid a hand on her son’s arm. “Something bad
has happened. Julia does not know you. We will stay back for now so we do not overwhelm
her.”

Edward Yu frowned hard. His eyes were frantic. “Not long. I won’t wait long.”

Lily turned back to the woman who didn’t know she was a mother. Who thought she was
twelve years old. “I’m with Unit Twelve, Julia. Have you heard of that? We investigate
crimes connected with magic.”

“Someone put a spell on me, didn’t they? That’s what’s wrong!”

“It’s one possibility. I can find out if you’ll shake my hand.”

Julia’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why?”

“I’m a touch sensitive. If magic has been used on you—a spell of some kind—I’ll feel
it when we touch.” Her mother was null, with not a whisper of a Gift. Any trace of
magic Lily found would have been put there by someone else.

Julia cast a worried glance at Rule. He nodded reassuringly. “I guess that’s okay,”
she said, and held out her hand. It was shaking.

Lily took it in both of hers.

Julia Yu used to play the piano. She had the hands for it, long-fingered and graceful.
Her manicure was immaculate, the polish a pale pink. The hand Lily held was covered
in well-tended skin and a hint of…something.

The sensation was so faint Lily wasn’t sure she really felt it. She closed her eyes
and tried to shut out every other sense, concentrating on her hands…yes. It was like
the difference between air that’s completely still air and the merest puff of a breath,
but it was there.

“You found magic.” Julia’s voice was high and quick. “You did. I can see it on your
face.”

“I found something,” Lily agreed, opening her eyes. Something that bothered her, but
she didn’t know why, when she’d barely been able to discern that anything was present
at all. Maybe her unease had nothing to do with her Gift and everything to do with
whose hand she held. “I don’t know what. It’s very faint. Would you mind if I touched
your face?”

“My face? I—I guess not.”

Julia Yu was five inches taller than her second daughter. Lily reached up and laid
her palm flat on her mother’s cheek.

The skin was soft there, too. Pampered. Had she touched her mother’s face at all since
she was little? She couldn’t remember. Julia was staring at her with such hope, as
if she could fix things with her touch. Lily’s eyes stung, so she closed them. Her
hand. She had to focus on her hand.

Not quite as faint here. Still a barely there sensation, but a bit more present, just
as she’d hoped. A spell that tampered with identity or memory should be more concentrated
on the head. Only she still didn’t know what she was touching. Magic always had a
feel to it—slick or rough, intricate or smooth, oily or dry or whatever. This wasn’t
tactile. More like being in a dark room where you couldn’t see a thing, but you knew
someone was there. You didn’t hear anyone or smell anything. Maybe you sensed the
air move or the heat of their body, but you weren’t aware of that. You just knew someone
was there.

Lily opened her eyes and drew her hand back. Her right hand. Not the one with Rule’s
diamond. The one with the
toltoi
charm. “I think…” God, she could not cry. Not now. She had to be a cop, not a daughter,
right now. She made her voice firm. That’s what people needed from a cop—firmness,
authority, even when said cop was clueless and wanted badly to curl up in a ball.
“I did find something.”

“Can you take the spell off? Make it go away?”

“No, I’m not a practitioner. We’ll get someone who is, though. Someone who knows a
lot more than me.” Lily tried to smile reassuringly. She was pretty sure it was a
sad and sick failure. “Rule—

“I’ll call Cullen.” He tried easing one arm away from Julia. She clutched at him.
“I’m right here,” he said soothingly. “I’ve got you. I need to call a friend of mine,
though. He’s very good with magic.”

Cullen Seabourne was one of a kind, the only Gifted lupus in the world. His Gift was
one of the rarest, too. He was a sorcerer, able to see magic much as Lily was able
to touch it. He was also a complete geek about magic. He’d have some idea what to
do.

Lily sure didn’t. She drew a shaky breath. What now? If this had been anyone else,
a stranger, what would she be doing right now?

“Lily,” Grandmother said. “You will now tell me what you found.”

All right. Yes, that was one thing she could do. But first…“In just a moment. Rule,
I need to give your people some orders.”

He had his phone to her ear. He nodded.

“Scott, I need the restaurant exits shut down. No one is to leave. Julia, you’d probably
like to sit down. You’ve had quite a shock. Grandmother, maybe you could take her
to—”

“What did you find? What’s wrong with Julia?” That was her father, who had waited
all he could. Scott had moved away as soon as Lily gave him his orders, leaving defense
of the hall to Mark, who also didn’t budge when
Edward Yu shoved him. Her father’s hands clenched into fists. “Move.”

“Father, I don’t know exactly what’s wrong, but I know this is a Unit matter. I need
to talk to Uncle Chen. Will you bring him here?”

His mouth tightened. He cast his wife one long look, then nodded and turned, pushing
his way through the crowd gathering at the hall’s entrance. It wasn’t just relatives
now—several customers had decided they needed to see what was going on.

“Everyone else—you will go back to your tables. Now.” She whipped the last word out.
A few people did back away. None of her family budged. “Mark, keep this hallway clear.
Anyone who doesn’t go sit down—” Quickly she amended what she’d been about to say.
“Anyone other than Grandmother who doesn’t go sit down will be taken politely but
firmly to their table.”

“Don’t be absurd.” That was Paul, her brother-in-law. “You can’t intend for him to
lay hands on any of us.”

“This is a crime scene. I mean exactly what I said. I need you to go get Susan.” Lily’s
older sister was a dermatologist, so this was way outside her field, but she could
at least make sure their mother didn’t go into shock or something.

Being given an assignment tempered Paul’s indignation. He frowned to let her know
he did not appreciate her attitude, but he left to get Susan.

“Cullen’s on his way,” Rule said.

Thank God. Though it would take him awhile to get here. He was at Nokolai Clanhome,
which was forty-five minutes outside San Diego. “Grandmother, can you take Moth—Julia—into
the ladies’ room so she can sit down?” There were a couple chairs in there.

“Who are all these people?’ Julia said plaintively. “I thought I was here with my
family, but I don’t see them. Is my mother here? You need to call her. Mrs. Franklin
Lin. She’ll be worried. You’d better call her right away.”

Lily met Grandmother’s eyes. Her mother’s mother had
died forty-five years ago…two months after Julia’s twelfth birthday.

Grandmother stepped forward. “You will allow me to worry about that. I am Madame Yu.
I am not your grandmother, but you may call me that, if you wish. Come.” She slid
an arm around Julia’s waist, gently but inexorably detaching her from Rule. She was
a full head shorter than the younger woman. “You will sit down now. Someone will bring
you a glass of water.”

“Can I have a Coke?” Julia asked as she was steered into the ladies room.

“A glass of Coca-Cola, then. We will not worry about caffeine tonight.”

The ladies’ room door closed behind them.