Only Human

from the hall to the entry way, Paul raced past. "Bye, Dad! See you at lunch!" He yanked open the door, stopped, turned around, and added in a polite rush, "It was very nice to meet you, Lily. I'll see you at lunch, too. We're eating with Aunt Nettie and Uncle Conrad." Then he sped outside, leaving the door open.
    A gnome trotted out of the atrium. No, not a gnome, just a tiny old man made of wrinkles stretched over bony angles. He had a little potbelly and a round, smiling face, and wore yellow biking shorts. "There you are!" he exclaimed, as if amazed to see Rule, and added apologetically, "Is it lunch-time? I lose track. The laundry, you know."
    "That's fine, Louvel. We're eating with my aunt and uncle, I'm told. This is Lily Yu."
    "Oh! Lily?" The old man trotted up, lifted Lily's hand, and, in a curiously graceful gesture, raised it to his face. He smelled it thoroughly, then dropped a kiss on it before releasing it. "Charming. Charming. Do you like chocolate, Lily? So many humans do."
    "Louvel is my father's cook and housekeeper," Rule said. "His chocolate torte is legendary."
    "I love chocolate," she said honestly.
    "Good! I'll make you a torte." He beamed at her, then trotted off down another hall.
    "Louvel is a little beyond taking care of the house on his own, but his baking is still not to be missed." Rule put a hand on her back. "I could use some coffee. You?"
    She nodded.
    A few minutes later she was seated in a sunny kitchen while Rule poured them each a cup of coffee. The back door stood open. They tended to leave doors open, she'd noticed. Perhaps because there wasn't any air conditioning. Or maybe they just liked things open.
    Rule handed her a steaming mug and sat at the table beside her.
    "What your father said about running out of sons ... does that mean someone might do that challenge thing?"
    He sipped his coffee. "It depends. If he says you will be allowed to ask questions, that may annoy people but is unlikely to seriously upset anyone. It wouldn't be the first time police or other law enforcement agencies poked around in clan business."
    "This isn't just clan business."
    "Most people here will see it that way, though. We haven't exactly been on friendly terms with the authorities—any authorities. If, on the other hand, the Lupois rules that you are to be answered honestly and completely—"
    "You mean that's an option?" She shook her head, baffled. "And if their Lupois tells them to be truthful and complete, they will be? Even if they disagree with him?"
    "They will, or they'll challenge. If he does so rule," he added calmly, "I'll go with you as Lu Nuntius when you ask your questions."
    "Lu Nunlius? What does that mean?"
    "It's my title. My presence will be official, representing the will of the Lupois. In practical terms, it means I'll be in wolf form."
    “To answer any challenges," she said flatly.
    "And because my sense of smell is more acute in that form. It's almost impossible for a lupus to lie in the presence of his Lu Nuntius. Rather like a devout Catholic trying to lie to a priest while hooked up to a lie detector."
    She considered that in silence, sipping the truly excellent coffee. "Do you think he'll tell everyone to answer me honestly?"
    "You said you don't try to predict your grandmother. I don't make predictions about my father, either. But I hope he does as you wish." His mouth tightened to a grim line. "He was betrayed by one of his own people. I want the traitor named."
    Lily was only startled for a second. Her mind skipped through possibilities, sorting her few facts into a new shape. "You think someone here—someone from his own clan—set him up."
    "It was an ambush. Carefully planned, and requiring knowledge that Leidolf shouldn't have had."
    "Someone told them where he would be."
    "Yes. And who would be with him. I'm hoping you'll be able to arrest the bastard so I don't have to kill him."

Chapter 11
    DID SHE TRULY want what Rule thought she did?
    Off and on for the rest of the day, Lily tried to answer that question. She knew what she needed—to stop a killer. Make an arrest. Turn up proof that would stand up in court. She'd play by the Lupois's rules for now and ask none of the questions burning in her, and hope he cooperated in turn.
    But how far did she want his cooperation to go? Was she willing to let Rule put his life on the line in order to get to the truth? Because that's what that whole Lu Nuntius business amounted to.
    In the normal course of things she