Lupi 06 - Blood Magic

struck."
    Unconsciously Lily rubbed her breastbone again. Grandmother had survived wars, famine, and who-knew-what-all in China. In this country, she'd dealt with a minor god, negotiated with the president, and battled a really large demon. And those were just the things Lily knew about. Grandmother would survive whatever this adventure was, too. "What will Nokolai get in return?"
    "A favor."
    She lifted her eyebrows. "Just one?"
    "That was our initial request. I'm allowing him to bargain me down."
    "Down? Asking for more than one favor is being bargained down?"
    "A debt that accumulates over many years could end up as a very large favor. He doesn't want that, so we're discussing how often Nokolai has to clear its tab. He wants it done frequently, so he can pay the debt with small favors. Naturally, I want the opposite."
    "Hmm." The road curved up and around, a pale scar on a sere brown slope surrounded by ruffled land. It looked a lot like parts of Clanhome, and if you went by air - the way Sam would - the distance between the two wasn't great. By road it was much longer. "I wonder what Sam considers a very large favor."
    Rule snorted. "Anything that seriously inconveniences him, I suspect."
    "You like him."
    "I do. The wolf understands him better than the man does, but I... " Rule's voice trailed off. He braked to a gentle halt.
    They'd rounded a tall, knobby earth-shoulder. Ahead the gravel road petered out into a broad, flat expanse of bare dirt.
    Lily had expected that. Rule had told her about Sam's architectural efforts. He'd used the rock and dirt excavated from his lair to build a large landing pad or front porch - first the rocks to make it stable, then enormous amounts of dirt, tamped down and leveled off.
    She hadn't expected the brightly colored canopy over the bit of carpet set on this end of that long landing pad. Or the middle-aged woman in loose white pants and a blue, short sleeved shirt standing in that small pavilion, smiling at them.
    "Well," Lily said after a moment, "it looks like we've found Li Qin."

 
    SEVENTEEN

    Rule and Lily left the car where it was. Li Qin stepped out from under the striped canopy and offered a small bow as they drew near. She was a solidly built woman of uncertain age, her face square and plain, her voice inexpressibly pure and lovely.
    "I am pleased to see you both," she said in her precise, softly accented English. "I was about to have tea when Sam told me you would be arriving shortly. Will you do me the honor of joining me?"
    "Of course," Lily said, because it was impossible to be other than polite to Li Qin. She could see the tea things set out on the low table and cursed inwardly. Li Qin meant to prepare the tea properly, in the Gongfu style.
    In other words, slowly. "Thank you. You honor us. Li Qin, is Grandmother here, too?"
    "Ah." Regret touched the placid features. "I did not think. Of course you might hope to find her here. I am sorry, but she is not. Rule, I believe you like your tea in the English style, but I'm afraid I do not have sugar or milk."
    "Your voice will sweeten it for me."
    She smiled. "You are kind."
    Li Qin's smiles didn't transform her face - it was still plain - and yet one smile always made Lily want to see another one. Which made it hard to speak bluntly. "Li Qin - "
    "You have many questions. I understand. I will tell you some things while I prepare the tea. Sam will... " She glanced at the arched entrance to Sam's lair, which was about fifty feet away horizontally and ten feet up. A hint of mischief lit her eyes. "I have won a bet with Sam. He thought you would not be here for several more days. He is sulking, but will be down later."
    Lily followed her gaze. The arch was high and broad, clearly shaped rather than natural. Shadows deepened to darkness immediately inside. She wondered how far back it went. Sam's lair in Dis had been flush with the entrance, not set ten feet up like this one. It had been part of an extensive cave system. She remembered the way Rule-wolf had forced himself to explore it in spite of...
    A sudden shiver shook off the memory.
    Rule caught her eye, his brows lifting in a silent question. Lily settled for a small shrug. It hadn't been her memory. Not precisely.
    "Please be seated," Li Qin said. She moved to a bright blue cushion on the far side of the table.
    That table was square and black, highly lacquered - and familiar. Lily recognized it, as well as the items laid out precisely on its gleaming surface -