Marked In Flesh

CHAPTER 12

Firesday, Juin 8

Simon held out a letter when Vlad walked into HGR’s office. “Read this.”

Vlad took the letter and looked at the signature. “This is from Jean.”

“Yes. She sent it to me. Read it.”

While Vlad read the letter, Simon read the e-mail from Joe. His mouth watered at the thought of tasting bison again, even if the meat wasn’t fresh off the hoof. He really hoped Meg liked it.

He stared at the computer screen. He wasn’t sure how much farming—or what kind of farming—was being considered at the River Road Community being developed by the Lakeside Courtyard and the Intuits at Ferryman’s Landing. Sure, the land around Lake Etu wasn’t like the grassland found in the Midwest, but there was grass. And he wasn’t thinking of a herd of bison. Just a few at River Road, a few in the Courtyard. Substantial meat. Even with the deer that were already in the Courtyard, there would be enough grass to feed a handful of bison. Wouldn’t there? Of course, it would be safer to ship little bison and let them grow up once they were here. So they would have to be fed for a few years before they were of sufficient size to be a meal for all the carnivores living here. But one bison would feed all of them for several days.

Something to think about.

Vlad sank into the chair on the other side of the desk. “When you were told to consider how much human the terra indigene would keep, we thought it meant the things humans make. But this prophecy sounds like something is going to happen that will cause a lot of the human cities in Thaisia to disappear.”

“I know.” Simon pushed aside the happy distraction of fresh bison. “But Lakeside and Great Island survive.”

“Prophecy is not a guarantee of the future.”

No, it wasn’t a guarantee. Choices could change the outcome of the future.

Vlad set the letter on the desk. “I’d like to show the letter to Grandfather Erebus—and to Stavros. Blair is picking him up at the station. Tolya came with him from Toland and will travel with Nyx to Prairie Gold. They’ll deliver the books to Jesse Walker and Shelley Bookman, and they’ll talk to Joe Wolfgard.”

“You didn’t have to thin our stock quite that much,” Simon grumbled.

“I’ve already sent in the reorder. We still have plenty of books available for the Addirondak Wolves to experience shopping in a bookstore. Besides, I sent Jesse Walker the rest of the kissy books we couldn’t send to anyone else.” Vlad gave him a long look. “The inventory didn’t match the books we had left. You wouldn’t know what happened to the rest, would you?”

“Oh. Well. I didn’t want to get rid of all of them in case Meg wanted to read that kind of story. Not now, but sometime.”

“I think it would be smart to ask a human male if that’s the way human females typically respond to mating before assuming a story provides useful information.”

Well, of course. Something scary had happened to Meg in the compound, so a naked human male was still a confusion for her. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t come into season someday and want a mate. No reason not to gain some understanding of what would make one male more attractive than another when a female wanted to do more than take a one-night walk on the wild side.

“Why is Stavros coming here?” Simon asked, changing the subject.

Another long look from Vlad. “He has things to discuss with Grandfather—and the Business Association.”

He’d been the leader of the Lakeside Courtyard for several years, but until tonight, Simon had never set a paw inside the Chambers, the part of the Courtyard where the Sanguinati resided. Plenty of game made use of the land and water—deer, ducks and geese, wild turkeys. The Hawks, Crows, and Owls might fly over that part of the Courtyard, but fly over was all they did.

Meg had been the first to receive permission to enter the Chambers, to walk up to the door of Erebus Sanguinati’s home to leave a package. Because of Meg, Simon’s nephew Sam had been inside the Chambers, protected by Erebus while Meg led the enemy away from the pup—an act of bravery that had almost killed her.

They drove up to one of the gates in the ornate black fences. Simon, Elliot, Tess, and Henry got out of the minivan and waited by the gate. The full moon was waning, but for a Wolf’s eyes, it was enough light to see the smoke flowing toward them. Four of the Sanguinati moved to either side of the gate. Only Vlad shifted to human form. He opened the gate, a silent invitation.

Tess’s green hair coiled tighter, a sign she felt uneasy.

I guess that means even a Harvester couldn’t survive a fight with this many Sanguinati, Simon thought as he followed Vlad down a curving path and across a footbridge to a weathered pavilion sheltered from sight by the surrounding trees.

Stavros Sanguinati, the Toland Courtyard’s problem solver, was already inside with Erebus Sanguinati.

“Welcome,” Erebus said. “Sit. Be comfortable. We have some refreshments. Vladimir?”

Elliot asked Simon.

Being there at all was unprecedented. They would consume whatever was offered.

“None of us enjoy the soda beverages humans are fond of, so I’ve brought along bottles of apple juice and made a pitcher of lemonade,” Vlad said.

“You know how to make lemonade?” Tess asked, eyeing the pitcher.

“After enduring a vigorous debate between Merri Lee and Ruthie about how many lemons and how much sugar make the best-tasting lemonade, I can’t say I know how to make it, only that I followed the instructions I eventually received.”

Tess laughed. “I’ll try some.”

“Sure,” Simon said.

Vlad poured glasses for all of them. Erebus and Stavros took a polite sip and set their glasses aside. So did Henry. But Tess seemed to enjoy the lemonade, and while it would never replace the good taste of water, Simon decided it was tolerable—and something he would drink if Meg decided to make it.

“Stavros has things to tell us,” Erebus said.

“About the Sanguinati?” Simon asked. He couldn’t think of any other reason they would be meeting within the Chambers—unless Stavros wanted to be certain that no one would overhear what he had to say.

“About many things, but, yes, about the Sanguinati and the Toland Courtyard,” Stavros replied.

“And the Toland police?” Scaffoldon, a police captain in Toland’s Crime Investigation Unit, went missing shortly after the murder of Lizzy’s mother, Elayne. Elayne’s mother also disappeared around the same time.

Did Lieutenant Montgomery realize yet that Stavros was the reason the humans who had posed a threat to his daughter were no longer a threat?

“They are not our concern.” Stavros made a dismissive gesture with one hand. “There have been no reports on the radio or television about bison being shot. This isn’t surprising; such a thing is not of interest to humans, especially in a city on the East Coast. Some stores and shops in Toland, particularly ones who do business with our Courtyard, were targeted by vandals, just as some places were targeted here. Broken windows, writing on the walls and remaining glass. Stores that showed an HFL sign the next day had no difficulty finding replacement glass or getting repairs done. Store owners that refused to bend aren’t doing as well.”

“The impression I had from speaking with some of Lakeside’s government officials is that this difficulty is the same everywhere,” Elliot said.

Stavros nodded. “Tolya and I have been monitoring the television and radio news as well as reading the human newspaper. Nicholas Scratch has been oddly silent about the vandalism. He has not made any speeches about it or spoken to reporters. This is curious because he has voiced opinions about everything else that connects a group of humans with any of the terra indigene.”

“Not so curious if he knows the Humans First and Last movement was behind the vandalism,” Elliot said. “Maybe he left Toland?”

“No, he’s still there, and he’s still meeting with members of the HFL.” Stavros took a sip of lemonade, then set the glass down again. “I’ve already discussed this with Grandfather, and it has been decided that we’re going to abandon the Toland Courtyard.”

Simon stiffened, while Elliot, Henry, and Tess made wordless protests.

“The humans are driving you out?” he asked, shocked.

“Not the humans,” Erebus replied. “But Toland is a city filled with humans. Too many humans. They covet the land we hold in that city.”

“They covet all of Thaisia,” Henry rumbled.

The hair framing Tess’s face turned red. “If they aren’t held to the land they already infest, they’ll swarm the continent and consume everything.”

“No, they won’t.” Simon looked at Vlad. “Show them the letter.”

“I’ll read it.” Vlad took the paper out of his back pocket, unfolded it, and read Jean’s prophecy about the human cities in Thaisia.

“Fools,” Henry said. He looked at Erebus and Stavros. “If the humans aren’t driving the terra indigene out of Toland, who is?”

“While the terra indigene were distracted by the bison being killed, and while humans were distracted by the vandalism of stores not affiliated with the HFL, a dozen ships left three human-controlled cities on the East Coast. Five of those ships left from Toland; the other ships sailed from the other two cities. I don’t know what cargo they carried, but we think it must have been some kind of contraband because each ship carried barrels of poison that they dumped into the water, killing all the fish that came in contact with the stuff.”

“Sharkgard?” Simon asked.

Stavros nodded. “Oh, yes. The poison killed sharks and Sharks. It killed dolphins. It killed the schools of fish sought by fishing boats. Some of the Sharkgard survived long enough to send a warning. The ships were avoided to prevent further deaths, but they were followed until they reached the Mediterran Sea and Cel-Romano.”

“What happens now?” Tess asked.

Stavros laughed, a bitter sound. “Ocean is going to vomit the dead fish onto the shores of those three human cities. She will vomit the poisoned water into the streets of the cities responsible for killing the terra indigene who live in her domain. And then she will give the humans a taste of her wrath.”

“That is why the Sanguinati are leaving Toland—why all the terra indigene are leaving Toland,” Erebus said.

“We’re going quietly,” Stavros said. “Most of the Wolves have already left. They’re heading up the northern coast or toward the Addirondak Mountains. The Hawks, Owls, and Crows leave the Courtyard as usual, flying over Toland. But not as many return to the Courtyard as leave each morning or evening. Since the Sanguinati were the dominant form there and the least vulnerable to the Elementals’ wrath, we’re packing up what possessions we can and using earth native trucks late at night to move items to other locations, or we’re sending a trunk of smaller items with someone who is traveling.”

“It sounds like we should order as many books as we can from the Toland publishers,” Vlad said.

Stavros nodded. “I’ve made that suggestion to several Courtyards.”

“How much time do we have?”

“Not much. Dead fish are starting to wash ashore.”

“One last order, then,” Simon said. “After that, there are Intuit and terra indigene companies that publish books and print books. We’ll buy from them.”

“We already buy from them,” Vlad said. “They don’t publish that many books.”

“They can expand a little to publish more. Besides, if Ocean is going to strike out for killing some of the Sharkgard—and dumping poison in a part of her water—there may not be any books in Toland left to buy.” He looked at Stavros. “What about you? Do you . . .” He stopped. Despite being the Courtyard’s leader, he wasn’t the one who should offer Stavros a place here at Lakeside. Not when Erebus was sitting right there.

Erebus smiled. “There will be many in the days ahead who would like a place in Lakeside, but too many predators in the same land causes strife. However, I would like Stavros to have a place here when he is not in Hubb NE, keeping watch over the human government. I think they will need careful watching in the days ahead.”

Simon drank the rest of the lemonade in his glass. Was it his imagination, or had it gotten a little more sour while it sat? “You’re not going to tell any of the humans, are you?”

“Why should we?” Stavros replied. “They brought this on themselves.”

“Not all of them.”

“There are no sweet blood in Toland now,” Erebus said. “Stavros and the government agent, O’Sullivan, removed them.”

“I wondered if Lieutenant Montgomery has family there.”

Silence.

“Ah,” Erebus finally said. “The helpful policeman. What could you tell him?”

Simon thought about that. No way to know when Ocean would strike. If too many humans tried to leave Toland, where would they go? Except for the human farms that supplied food for the city, there wasn’t any human-controlled place between Toland and Hubb NE, which was an hour’s train ride away. There was only wild country and the terra indigene, who, like Ocean, had less and less tolerance for the clever monkeys.

“I don’t know what I could tell him,” Simon said.

“Captain Burke’s cousin is visiting all the way from Brittania,” Henry said. “It would not be strange to ask if any of Lieutenant Montgomery’s kin were planning to visit him and the Lizzy.”

“Meg should ask. Otherwise Montgomery will wonder why we’re suddenly so interested in his kin.”

Everyone agreed that was a good idea. Meg asked questions. She talked to humans about all kinds of things. She might already know if Montgomery still had kin in Toland.

Nothing more to say. Not tonight. Simon wanted to shift to Wolf and run for a while in the moonlight. He wanted to curl up next to Meg while she watched TV or read a book. He wanted humans to go back to being annoying instead of a real threat.

Nothing more to say. Except . . .

“There’s trouble here too, but we’re not leaving Lakeside.”

“No, we’re not,” Erebus agreed.

“Nothing else is at risk by leaving Toland,” Henry said. “But if we’re gone from Lakeside, Great Island will be vulnerable, especially since it hasn’t been decided yet if all the remaining humans in Talulah Falls will be sent away and replaced by Intuits and Others who can work the machines. As it is, Steve Ferryman doesn’t want his people going there because it’s too dangerous. That means almost everything that comes from other parts of Thaisia—or the rest of the world—comes to them through Lakeside.”

Erebus stood—and the meeting was over. Vlad led Simon, Elliot, Henry, and Tess back to where they’d parked the minivan. Four Sanguinati, still in smoke form, kept watch at the gate.

They drove back to the Green Complex in silence. Henry parked the minivan in one of the visitors’ parking spaces across from the complex, and they all went to their apartments.

Simon stripped and tossed his clothes on the sofa before shifting to Wolf and going out again. He sniffed around the complex, watered a couple of trees, then returned to the summer room below Meg’s apartment, shifting one paw just enough to open the door.

“Hi,” she said.

He stopped just inside the door. He’d thought she’d be asleep since there was no light on.

“It’s going to be a busy weekend, isn’t it? The Addirondak Wolves will arrive in a few days for a week of people watching.” Meg laughed softly. “I don’t think it sunk in until Merri Lee, Ruth, and I were talking this evening that that’s what this is about—people watching.”

Interacting, actually. The Others watched humans all the time. Not that watching had stopped things from going wrong.

Nothing he could do about Toland. Nothing he could do about dead bison in Joe’s territory. But he could help Joe by sending books for the Others and the Intuits. He could help Jackson deal with the Hope pup. And he and Meg and the human pack and the terra indigene here in Lakeside could show the Elders who were watching closely that terra indigene and humans could work together to keep Thaisia a good place for all of them.

He gave Meg’s hand a couple of licks, then settled down next to her lounge chair and fell asleep.

Jerked out of a light sleep, Monty grabbed the phone on the second ring, scrubbing a hand over his face as if that would make his brain function—or convince his heart that Lizzy was still safe. “Hello?”

“Crispin?”

Monty’s heart banged against his chest as he turned on a lamp and looked at his watch. “Mama? What’s wrong?” Had to be something wrong for her to call him at midnight.

Twyla Montgomery sighed, a sad, tired sound. “I got handed my walking papers today. Security guard watched me clean out my locker, even checked my bag afterward to make sure I wasn’t taking anything that wasn’t mine before walking me out the door.”

“Fired?” Monty couldn’t get his mind around that bit of information. “You were fired?”

“Wasn’t needed anymore. Have to provide jobs for those more deserving.”

“They said that?” Then it clicked. “They wanted you to join the HFL in order to keep your job.”

“As if I need to belong to some organization in order to clean the toilets those fools mess up every day.”

“Gods.” Monty rested his head against the back of the couch. “Mama, you did right not joining the HFL. They’re doing nothing but stirring up trouble.”

“You think I can’t see that?”

The dry tone made him smile. His mama didn’t tolerate fools—especially fools who wore suits that cost more than she made in a month. But his smile faded as he realized what losing the job meant for her. “When do you have to move out of your apartment?”

“Soon. I can stay with your sister for a few days, but she’s got her troubles too.”

How long since he’d talked to Sierra? His sister sent letters, breezy bits of news that, he realized now, didn’t actually tell him much.

Monty looked around his apartment. Lizzy was spending the night with Sarah Denby, Eve and Pete’s daughter. He’d intended to crash at the efficiency apartment in the Courtyard, but Captain Burke made a comment about possession being nine-tenths of the law—a pointed reminder that his landlady had a key and could decide he’d abandoned the place, which she could rent for twice as much as what he was currently paying. He wanted to keep this one-bedroom apartment until his lease ran out at the end of the year—or until the Courtyard took possession of the two buildings on Crowfield Avenue and he and Lizzy could move into one of the two-bedroom apartments.

“You often say that opportunities come out of bad moments as often as they come out of good.”

“Where’s the good in me being fired?” Twyla demanded.

“I need help taking care of Lizzy. Some friends are looking after her while I’m at work, but Eve has a job and her own two kids. I’ve been thinking about this ever since Lizzy arrived in Lakeside. She needs you, Mama. So do I.”

A thoughtful silence. “Any chance of me finding work where you are now?”

Monty hesitated. “Maybe.”

“I’m not living off my children, Crispin. Not you, not Sierra.”

He noticed she didn’t mention Jimmy, Monty’s younger brother. Then again, Jimmy still came around looking for a handout, despite being a married man with two children of his own. And he always left feeling resentful when he didn’t get that handout.

“There might be work available, but I’m not sure how you’d feel about the employers.”

“Are they more of those HFL fools?”

“No, Mama. They are definitely not members of the HFL.”

“Well, I’ll think on it.”

“You have enough money for a train ticket?”

“I’ve got enough put by. Might take the bus instead.”

He bit back a protest. Plenty of people traveled by bus. “You let me know when you’re coming and where to meet you. I’ll be there.”

A soft sigh. “Thank you, Crispin. Talking to you has eased my heart. I’ll say good night now.”

“Good night, Mama.”

She hung up first. She always did since he just couldn’t hang up on her.

Monty stood up and stretched. He was already entangled with the Others at the Lakeside Courtyard. He wasn’t sure he wanted to ask Simon to give his mother a job.