by Anne Bishop
The Hope pup drew the attached picture. I don’t know what it means, except that it is a warning meant for you and Virgil.
—Jackson Wolfgard
CHAPTER 11
Thaisday, Messis 9
Abigail made her voice and hands shake a little as she set the plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of Kelley. She’d spent two days pleading with him to look at the house she wanted, and when he finally did go with her, all he’d said was “If that’s what you want.”
He still loved her—or his memory of her—enough to move into the house. But she’d read the tarot cards last night and they indicated that he wouldn’t be staying very long.
“Do you want me to pack you a lunch?” she asked after fetching him a glass of orange juice.
He watched her, the food on his plate untouched. “Why are you doing this, Abby? Why do we need a house this size?”
They didn’t need a house this size. She didn’t need a house this size. But she did need her friendly neighbor who would unwittingly help her solidify her sweet Abigail persona, regardless of what Kelley might tell people.
“Why are you volunteering to sort through other people’s things? You always claimed you were extrasensitive to the residue other people left on objects, and that was the reason everything we owned, even stuff that was brand-new, had to be washed and set out in the sun before you could stand having it in the house. Books you got out of the Prairie Gold library were ‘aired’ before you could read them. And now you’re going to put in forty hours a week pawing through things owned by strangers who were killed by the terra indigene?”
“It has to be done.”
“A few days ago, you were willing to clean any kind of commercial building in order not to clear out private residences, and suddenly you’re okay with it?” Kelley pushed aside the plate of food. “I can’t tell if you’re lying to yourself as well as to me, but I’m pretty sure you’re lying to me, if not now, then before when you made such a fuss about things.”
“I’ve never lied to you.” Well, he hadn’t caught her in a lie until now.
“Fine. You’re not lying; you’re just being less than truthful. Does that sound better?” His voice had an edge it had never had before. “The point is, I’m not sure I want to live with less than truthful anymore.”
“We were happy in Prairie Gold!” she cried.
“You were.” He pushed away from the table. “I have to get to work.”
“But you haven’t eaten anything!”
He didn’t reply—and he didn’t kiss her before he left the house.
Abigail stared at the eggs and toast a full minute before she sat down, pulled the plate over to her place at the table, and began to eat with a gusto she couldn’t have shown if Kelley were still there.
Fetching the jar of strawberry jam that she’d opened the other day, she slathered jam generously over one piece of toast.
She had used her real name when she and Kelley had married, just in case she needed the marriage to be legitimate, and when she’d realized the name had meant nothing to him, she’d felt staggering relief. He’d seen himself as the hero rescuing the maiden from her abusive father. He would have started questioning things a lot sooner if he’d known her father was the leader of a clan of Intuits who gambled and swindled and conned everyone they met. They would roll into a town, pluck all the prey they could, and then move on before the law got a little too interested in them and their deals. And they always had a feeling about when it was time to move on, just like one or another of them knew who to play for the biggest score.
No one knew they were Intuits, because they had avoided Intuit towns. But anyone who did learn that little secret . . .
She never found out how her father had arranged the evidence to finger a man addled by drink as the person who killed a deputy in a small West Coast town. The man was a drunk who could barely hold a knife to cut his own dinner and certainly didn’t have the skill to do . . . what the newspapers said had been done to the deputy. The lawman had died because he was sweet on her—and she’d told him the family’s secret in exchange for his help in escaping from her father’s control.
She had escaped, but two men had died—the deputy and the man accused of killing him. That was typical of how the Blackstones dealt with problems before they moved on. Her father called it “taking out the trash.”
It was just a matter of time before someone from her family would arrive in Bennett—and then someone else would die. She just had to make sure the someone wasn’t her.
* * *
* * *
Tolya reviewed the e-mails from Lakeside, as he had since the first one arrived on Sunsday. Because there was no longer direct communication between the regions that made up the continent of Thaisia, e-mails and telegrams had to go through Intuit communications cabins that had been set up near the borders. Letters and business correspondence sent by anyone who wasn’t Intuit or terra indigene traveled by train and eventually reached the destination cities and the recipients who lived there. So even “fast” communication between regions could take up to twenty-four hours before being received.
The single exception was the connection between Sweetwater, which was in the Northwest, and Bennett and Prairie Gold, which were in the Midwest. Tolya and Jackson Wolfgard had pleaded with the Elders to allow them to have direct communication with each other because there was a connection between Jesse Walker in Prairie Gold and the blood prophet pup living with Jackson in the terra indigene settlement at Sweetwater.
Jackson and his mate, Grace, had discovered that Hope Wolfsong had the ability to draw the visions that came to her and didn’t need to cut her skin. Drawing didn’t release the visions for most of the girls, but Hope’s ability encouraged other girls’ caretakers to explore different ways that these girls could reveal prophecy without the cutting that would eventually kill them.
Like Meg Corbyn, the blood prophet who lived in the Lakeside Courtyard, Hope Wolfsong was highly gifted, and while those who received the drawings of her visions weren’t always able to interpret the pictures correctly, she and Meg had been instrumental in saving many of the Wolfgard from the slaughter organized by the Humans First and Last movement. The warning hadn’t come in time to save the adults in the Prairie Gold pack, but it had come in time to save the pups as well as the Intuit town.
What all of that meant to him was a picture from Hope Wolfsong couldn’t be ignored.
Tolya still hesitated to download the file. Jackson had called the picture a warning. Vlad had told him unauthorized humans most likely would be arriving in Bennett along with the humans selected during the Lakeside job fair. That meant he and Virgil should be at the station to assess the humans as they arrived—starting today, since they couldn’t be certain that the strangers wouldn’t arrive before the Lakeside migration.
He hesitated a moment longer before downloading the file and printing two copies. Then he studied the picture.
Silence.
Tolya almost pitied the humans who might be viewed as intruders. Almost. He understood Virgil’s rage against humans. He just wasn’t sure what he would—or should—do if the Wolf couldn’t contain that rage and started killing the useful humans who wanted to live in Bennett.
Not something he needed to deal with today. Slipping the copies of the picture into a slim briefcase, Tolya left his office, then stopped at the book room to check on Barbara Ellen and Joshua Painter�
��who were doing fine. Too fine? No, they were fine, still getting acquainted. No reason for alarm or to send any messages that would cause undo excitement in Lakeside.
Even so, he’d remain vigilant until the new deputy arrived. Then she could keep watch over Barbara Ellen Debany.
Leaving the two humans to their book sorting, he walked to the jewelry store and was pleased to see the Open sign on the door.
“Mr. Sanguinati,” Kelley Burch said.
The human looked tired, strained. Whispers had reached Tolya that something wasn’t right between Kelley and his mate—something serious enough that Jesse Walker was concerned. Not that she had said anything, but every time he mentioned Kelley or Abigail, her right hand closed over her left wrist. Trouble between human mates wasn’t his business, but Kelley was the only person qualified to assess the jewelry and run this shop, and having someone in town to do that work was Tolya’s business.
“What can you tell me about black stones?” Tolya asked.
“Was there anything in particular you wanted to see?” Kelley asked in turn. “I have jewelry here that has onyx or hematite stones. I have a jet necklace. I even have a ring with a couple of black diamonds as part of the setting. There are probably more stones in the back, including some tumbled stones that I haven’t sorted yet.”
“Are any of them significant? Preferred by a certain kind of human?”
Kelley thought for a moment, then shook his head. “The diamonds are valuable stones. The others are considered semiprecious, so by themselves they aren’t worth a lot of money. I might be more help if I knew what you were looking for. Loose stones? Something in a silver or gold setting?”
“I don’t know yet,” Tolya replied. “But I want to know about anyone showing interest in black stones.”
Kelley looked uneasy. “All right. There’s nothing sinister about liking those stones. Black doesn’t mean bad.”
Tolya didn’t respond to that. Instead, he returned to his office and called Jesse Walker’s mobile phone, since he knew Rachel Wolfgard wouldn’t answer Jesse’s personal phone.
“I’m in town,” she said.
“Virgil Wolfgard and I will be meeting the train. I’d like you to be there.”
A hesitation. “Is there a problem?”
“Maybe. Before that, there is something I want to show you. Can you come to my office?”
“I’ll be there soon.”
While he waited, Tolya sent an e-mail to Vlad, asking if Tess knew anyone named Scythe. Vlad would understand that he was asking for information about another Harvester.
Jesse walked in a few minutes later and settled in one of the visitors’ chairs. “Tobias wanted to bring a couple of horses to the livery stable here. They’re younger animals and well trained, but he didn’t feel anyone at the Prairie Gold ranch was the right match for either of them.”
“He felt they might suit one of the newcomers?” Tolya asked.
She nodded. “You think there’s a problem heading our way?”
“It’s heading our way or it’s already here. Virgil and I received a warning. I’m showing this to you because you have seen such warnings before. I’m not sharing this information with anyone else. Not yet.”
He waited for her to nod again before he removed one of the copies of the picture from his briefcase and set it on the desk—and he watched Jesse Walker pale.
“I’d say Hope Wolfsong was a genius if her drawings weren’t so disturbing,” Jesse said quietly. “People made of black stones rendered so well you can see they’re made up of many stones and aren’t statues made from a block of stone.”
The drawing was the street outside the Bird Cage Saloon. Rendered as ordinary humans were Barbara Ellen and an unknown female with brown hair pulled back in a tail. Both were laughing as they headed toward the saloon, although there was something in the unknown female’s expression that made Tolya think she wasn’t as unaware of the people around her as she first appeared. Standing at the doorway of the saloon was a human shape made of black stones, with two more of the stone humans nearby. Stazia Sanguinati was also in the picture, looking angry as she started to shift to her smoke form. And Virgil, standing upright and still dressed in jeans and a checked shirt, looked like a snarling Wolf.
But it was the woman taking up the bottom right corner that was the main reason Tolya had wanted Jesse to see the picture.
“I’ve only seen her a couple of times since she and her mate arrived, but isn’t that Abigail Burch?” Tolya said.
“Yes.” Jesse said nothing else for a minute. “She’s dead. In the picture, she’s dead.”
“Yes.” The staring eyes told him that much.
“Why . . . ?” Jesse swallowed hard. “Why is blood trickling out of her mouth?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you wondering if Kelley is going to kill her? Something happened in Prairie Gold that put a crack in their marriage. Abigail has secrets. She acts sweet and a bit simple, and she acted the part so well that no one in Prairie Gold realized it was deliberate until the scene with Kelley a couple of weeks ago. To be honest, I’m surprised she went with him, and I’m surprised he’s still living with her. But I’m not feeling any indication that he would kill her for any reason.”
“We’ve been warned that unauthorized humans will be arriving in Bennett looking for work, looking for . . . opportunities,” Tolya said. “That’s why I want you to join me and Virgil when the train gets in. Your instincts are different from ours. I’m not opposed to additional workers, but we need to be careful.”
Jesse sat back and looked away from the picture. “Yes, we do.” She ran a hand over her hair. “I’ll let Tobias know we’ll be here for a while.”
“I was about to walk up to the train station, but I can arrange for a ride if you prefer,” Tolya said.
She let out a little snort that sounded equally amused and annoyed. “The train station is just up the street, and I’m not infirm. A walk will suit me just fine.” She looked troubled. “I’m not happy with Abigail at the moment, but I don’t want her to come to any harm.”
“Then let’s try to keep that from happening.” Tolya slipped the picture back into his briefcase, led Jesse out of the office, and locked up. “And let us both remember that a warning is intended to help prevent something from happening.”
* * *
* * *
Virgil didn’t like having a human behind him, even if it was an older female who didn’t meet his eyes or challenge him in any way. But she was there, standing in the space Tolya Sanguinati had left between the two males.
All right. He couldn’t argue with that, because all humans were the enemy but some were also a threat to the terra indigene and the humans who were, regrettably, considered not edible.
Humans who were threats to the terra indigene or broke human laws would be bitten. Savagely. Maybe lethally. But he was going to get Tolya to agree that nipping the nonedibles was permitted by the sheriff and his deputy—just in case he had another reason to haul Barbara Ellen to jail for some “me time.”
The baggage door opened at the same time Nicolai Sanguinati walked out of the delivery area of the train station, pulling a cart that had webbing on two sides that could be raised and lowered for loading.
“You expecting anything in particular?” Nicolai asked, looking from Tolya to Virgil.
Some meaty bones would be nice, but Virgil figured he and Kane would have to hunt those down for themselves.
“Passengers,” Tolya replied.
A man wearing a shirt with the railway�
�s logo on the pocket and across the back stepped down from the baggage car while another man tossed him the mailbags, which he and Nicolai loaded into the cart. Next came the luggage and packages that were designated for the Bennett station. The railway men moved quickly, efficiently. Nervous, but not afraid. Bennett might be controlled by the terra indigene, but the men understood they were safe at the station—or as safe as any human could be in Thaisia.
“That’s the last of the cargo,” the man on the platform said as he held out a clipboard for Nicolai to sign. “Anything to go out?”
“One bag of mail to the Northeast Region,” Nicolai replied. “I’ll bring it out.”
Virgil caught Kane’s scent before he heard Jesse Walker’s quick intake of breath. The Wolfgard were significantly bigger than regular wolves and could take down prey a wolf couldn’t. He looked back at Jesse Walker. “You’ve never seen one of the Wolfgard in that form?”
“Haven’t seen an adult in a while,” Jesse replied. “Rachel is a juvenile Wolf, so she’s not nearly as big as your friend. I guess she still has some growing to do.”
Virgil knew Morgan and Chase had taken over the Prairie Gold pack, but if Jesse Walker hadn’t seen them in Wolf form, it sounded like they weren’t inviting the humans to howl with them and weren’t expected to be that friendly.
He envied them.
Then the first humans stepped off the train.
A pack of five young males, all dressed in dark trousers, white shirts, and the straps that held up clothing instead of using a belt. And hats.
The wind conveniently changed direction, bringing their scent to him and Kane. They smelled of clean soap and animals—and nerves.
“Simple Life,” Tolya said quietly. “It is their custom for the males to dress that way.”
Virgil studied the clothing carefully. Other males might try to disguise themselves by wearing that kind of clothing, but he didn’t think any other male would be able to reproduce their particular scent.
