“You have magic. It stops that magic, so you’re stopped, too.”
Alice shook her head. “That is not possible,” she said as she stepped forward. She didn’t quite bounce off the shimmering air, but she stopped very abruptly.
Back at the tower, Grandmother snorted.
“Remarkable,” Alice said. “I would very much like to talk to your grandmother, but we are short on time. I need to enter.”
“And we should let you in for some reason?”
“I am to bring the children here through the gate I presume you have located.”
Rule growled.
“Who are you?” Alice asked him.
His voice was growly, too, and lower than usual. “The father of one of the children you wish to destroy.”
“Ah. You’re lupus, then?’ Alice sounded mildly curious. “How in the world did you get here? But I suppose that is a long story, and we are short on time. You do not know what I wish. Unless you want the children to remain in Dis, you will allow me to enter your ward so I may retrieve them.”
“You?” Lily exclaimed. “You’re the one who’s supposed to bring them here?”
“Yes. The one you know as Tom Weng and that other one are expecting me.”
Lily bit her lip and glanced at Rule. His eyes were too black, the pupils trying to swallow the irises. Not a good sign. She slipped her hand in his. The mate bond helped him keep control sometimes. “What do you think?”
He shook his head as if he were trying to shake loose some confusion. “Not . . . feeling very verbal.”
He was having trouble holding back the wolf. Hell. Not surprising with full moon night a couple eye blinks away, but worrying. She tried to think. She’d assumed—they all had—that the children had been/would be brought through the gate by someone in Ginger’s group. Maybe a demon, maybe someone they hadn’t seen because he or she left with the children before they arrived at the audience hall. That was the whole idea behind setting the ward the way they had: let the children in, keep the bad guys out.
She looked at Alice. “You could have told me this. You’ve held back information all along, yet you want us to trust you. How can we when you tell us nothing?”
“I have told you as little as possible to minimize the risk to myself. I do not wish to die. But you are currently aiming at me the token you claimed was sufficient to prove my good intent.”
True, but . . . “What is the magical construct for? The one on Dis that reaches into this realm?”
“I don’t know. I know what the Zhuren were told, but I am fairly sure they were deceived. I will tell you what I do know after you let me in.” Alice leaned forward a whole inch—her version of great intensity. “You must let me in. The children will be removed from Dis. You know this. You remember it happening, and causality is not readily thwarted. If I don’t go and get them, where do they go? With who, and how?”
“One of the claimed could go get them,” Lily said. “We can’t because we’re already in that realm, but one of the claimed could.”
“Those who hold them would not hand them over. They would not release the children to any but myself or one of the Zhuren. Do you wish to send the Zhu Kongqi?” She lifted in her eyebrows in delicate mockery.
“She is right,” Grandmother said. And the iridescence vanished.
Alice stepped over the strip of burned grass. The Fists followed, their expressions stoic and watchful in a way that suggested they expected everything to go to hell in the next minute or two.
Rule murmured, “Keep an eye on them, will you?” To Alice he said, “Tell us about the construct.”
“It is anchored in three realms—Earth, Dis, and here. The Zhuren were told this was necessary for stability, as once completed, the construct—that is a good term, by the way—will function as a massive gate between Earth and Dis. She says she wishes to flood your realm with demons. This may be true.”
“It is not a gate,” Grandmother announced.
“No,” Alice said, “I do not believe it is, although it appears to have some of the qualities of a gate. I am not knowledgeable about gates, however, so that is not the basis for my conclusion that the Zhuren have been deceived. I based that on calculations concerning the amount of power the construct requires. I am familiar with that, as I have been balancing that power.”
“That’s it!” Lily exclaimed. “That’s why your Gift felt so odd. It’s balanced. Your Gift uses all of the elements equally.”
“My Gift automatically balances the elements,” Alice corrected her.
“That is so not possible,” Cynna said.
Alice slanted her a look. “I am told my Gift is unique. To return to the topic, my calculations suggested that the Old One currently embodied in Ginger Harris lied about the consequences to my world once the construct becomes fully active. She told the Zhuren there would be localized fires and small earthquakes. This is only true if one defines ‘localized’ and ‘small’ in ways that defy common usage. I fear for my world. I chose to assist you, hoping that you will destroy the construct. It will bring destruction to your world, too.”
“And yet,” Rule said, “you have been working on the construct. Your Gift may have been essential to its completion.”
“I believe we have already covered the fact that I do not wish to die.”
Lily lifted both brows skeptically. “The Zhuren would have killed you if you didn’t cooperate? Even though you’re kin? I’d think your . . . that is, I’d think Kongqi would object.”
“There used to be seven Zhuren.”
That was not the non sequitur it seemed. If the Zhuren—all or some of them—had been willing to murder their brother, killing a great-niece wouldn’t be a major hurdle.
“The ward is down,” Grandmother reminded them. “This is not safe. She needs to leave so I can activate it.”
Lily knew that Grandmother had to stand directly in front of the gate to keep the ward powered up. She didn’t know why, but it didn’t matter. “Better go,” she told Alice.
Alice started forward, followed by the squad of Fists. The Kanas were clustered tightly around the tower, however, and it took a moment for them to move out of the way. Lily saw Alice’s gaze seeking someone, then her brow wrinkled. “Ah Li. I had hoped you would not come here.”
“Where else would I be?” the healer asked, smiling.
“It is very dangerous to be here. Your skills are not replaceable.”
“If it is dangerous here, my skills may be needed.”
Alice sighed faintly and moved forward the last few steps, stopping in front of Grandmother but looking back at Lily as she said in English, “I will not return right away with the children. Gates must be rested between uses. This is particularly true when the realms are not congruent in either space or time.”