by Anne Bishop
Nothing she could do about the dead—not Dina or the men who’d burned—so she would do what she could for the living.
* * *
* * *
Tolya stood behind his desk in the mayor’s office and faced Yuri, Isobel, and Anya. “We are the keystone form of terra indigene here. We’re the form most adapted to human places.” Urban places, not places like this. “If we leave, no other form wants to take over the leadership of this town. If we leave, most of the terra indigene will abandon the town as well.”
“Will Scythe leave?” Yuri asked.
“This will become her hunting ground.”
“You’re deciding this without asking Grandfather Erebus?” Isobel asked.
“I was given the task of securing the town so that the railroad station wouldn’t be taken over by humans who were enemies of the terra indigene. The only way to do that was to bring in more Sanguinati and other forms of terra indigene—and particular humans. But I was too indulgent, allowed too many humans to come in too quickly. And I waited instead of killing Parlan Blackstone when he first arrived. We paid dearly for my mistakes.”
They didn’t disagree with him. They’d lost Stazia. They would never know what had compelled her to partially take on a form vulnerable to human weapons, but she hadn’t been able to shift fully to smoke before being struck by a bullet and damaged beyond saving.
They had taken her into the Elder Hills and buried her in a secret place—and had agreed that they would not acknowledge to any human that a Sanguinati had been killed in the fight because humans might be able to figure out how it had been done and try to do it to the rest of them. If anyone asked, Stazia had left Bennett.
Nicolai, on the other hand . . . Jesse Walker was the only human still alive who had seen Nicolai, was the only one who knew how badly humans could damage one of the Sanguinati. Nicolai had fought hard, had killed so many, but at least one of the enemy had delivered a crippling blow. One side of his face looked crushed, but he couldn’t shift it out of its human form. He also couldn’t shift one arm and most of his torso. And the parts that were smoke sometimes almost shifted to human or, usually, shifted to the Sanguinati’s true form.
With the help of a Sanguinati bodywalker, Nicolai would find his way back to a single form or he wouldn’t. If he couldn’t, he, too, would have to leave Bennett.
“If we stay, there must be changes,” Yuri said.
“If we stay, the humans who are here now will be under our protection,” Tolya said. “Strangers who come to Bennett will be prey. Humans like Parlan Blackstone and his clan will not be allowed to survive long enough to become a threat.”
“If the Elders now consider ‘outlaws’ as a dangerous form of human who act in a particular way, there won’t be many of them who live long enough to reach Bennett,” Yuri said.
“There will still be prey.” Tolya said, knowing that even among the humans who would have their protection, very few of them would not be considered prey. Not anymore. He made a small hand gesture to indicate Yuri. “You’ll take over the train station?”
Yuri shook his head. “I’ll stay at the saloon. Saul Panthergard said he’d handle the station until Nicolai is well. And Joshua will stay at the bookstore and help John.”
A three-legged Wolf had no chance of surviving in the wild country, but a man who had lost an arm could still do work and provide himself with food and shelter.
Tolya looked at the Sanguinati. Anya, Isobel, and Yuri met his eyes and nodded.
“We stay,” he said.
As they turned to leave, Anya said, “Parlan Blackstone survived. Where is he?”
Tolya’s lips curved in a grim smile. “He’s with Scythe.”
* * *
* * *
Parlan had a bad feeling that the rope around his chest was the only reason he was still able to sit in the chair. His arms and hands weren’t bound. Neither were his legs. It didn’t matter. They’d stopped working. His heart labored to keep pumping. His lungs labored to draw in each breath.
“Where’s my son?” he gasped, barely recognizing the weak, quavery voice as his own. “My brother?”
“Dead,” the thing replied. “All dead.”
“I issued a challenge, all right and proper.”
“Nothing about your challenge was right or proper,” she said. “You knew what would happen if any of the outlaws killed one of the terra indigene. And yet you thought you could stack the deck, that you could cheat in your dealings with us and somehow win.”
“Not true,” he gasped, fighting to breathe. Of course it was true. It should have worked, but it all went wrong. “If I’ve done wrong, then I should stand trial.”
“There is no need for such human things here. Besides, Virgil and Tolya already decided what to do with you.” She brushed close to him and suddenly leaned down, her face right in front of him, giving him no time to look away. “They gave you to me.”
He didn’t look at her for more than a wavering heartbeat.
As she walked away, her black hair coiling, he felt the strangest sensation.
He felt it start to rain inside his skull.
CHAPTER 38
Thaisday, Frais 6
“Easy, now.” Tobias opened the truck door and held out his hand. “Let me help you.”
Jana didn’t argue about receiving help. After two days in the hospital and two days at home, she was glad to be back to work, even if it was desk duty.
She was glad to be alive.
Standing on the wooden sidewalk, she studied the new sign in the window of the sheriff’s office. “Did you do that?”
Tobias shook his head. “Virgil did. He called you his pack sister, when he thought you were . . . Well, you know.”
She blinked back the sharp sting of tears. Pack sister? Really? Ah, geez.
Ignoring her quiet sniffle, Tobias said, “He’s missed you. He hasn’t forgiven you for thinking you were big enough to stop a bullet, but he’s missed you. He even filled the little fridge in the office with containers of green gelatin because someone at the hospital told him it was a food humans liked when they were injured and needed to get well.”
“Oh gods,” Jana groaned. “Now I’m going to have to eat it.”
“Yep.”
Jana thought about that. “Barb is going stir-crazy at home, and she still needs plenty of help doing things. And I’m going to need to take breaks and little naps throughout the day.”
“Darlin’, why does that sound like you’re about to pull Virgil’s tail?”
“Because you’re getting to know me?” And if she gave Virgil a reason to snarl at her, he would know she was getting better.
Tobias laughed.
Before they went into the office, Jana took another look at the sign and smiled.
HE HAS TEETH.
SHE HAS A GUN.
THEY ARE THE LAW.
* * *
* * *
Virgil stared at Jana’s desk. Her empty desk. His pack sister was supposed to come back today. Why didn’t she come back? No, her scent was here and fresh. A little different because there was stinky human medicine smell mixed with it, but no wolverine sitting at the desk. Didn’t she want to be police pack anymore?
He heard muffled voices coming from the cells in the back. Female voices.
He hurried back there, then stopped at the Me Time cell. Just stopped.
“Tobias Walker, what are you doing?” he demanded.
Tobias stepped down from a stool and raised his hands. “Hey, I’m just a guy. I’m doing what I’m told.”
“We decided to fix up the Me Time cell so that Barb and I can rest when we need to,” Jana said brightly. “And Tobias put up the curtains for us so that we could have privacy.”
Virgil eyed the changes. Curtains long enough to almost brush the floor. The r
ods were secured to the bars with barely a paw of space between rod and ceiling. They covered the two sides of the cell that weren’t walls.
The cot, which had had a thin mattress that was supposed to be uncomfortable to encourage good behavior, now had a thick mattress and a big pillow with arms that looked like the top half of a puffy chair.
Barb sat in a rocking chair that also had cushions and pillows, her feet up on an ottoman, and one arm in a sling.
He pointed at the chair. “That’s dangerous. The puppy might get her tail caught under it.”
“There’s plenty of room for her,” Barb said, pointing at the space under the cot. “See?”
Rusty poked her head out and gave him a welcoming yip, but she didn’t come over to greet him. No, she stayed right next to her mom’s leg.
Traitor.
Who had remembered to bring her food and take her out to piddle? Who had taken her for runs that, they had agreed, were not going to be mentioned to her mom?
Who had gone back to the stinky hospital to rescue Cowboy Bob after Jana didn’t need the stuffie anymore?
“Thanks, Tobias,” Jana said, slowly getting up from the cot.
“Anytime.” He stepped out of the cell, taking the stool with him. “I’ll leave you ladies to get settled in, and I’ll be back in a bit with some victuals.”
As Virgil watched, unsure what to do, Jana pulled the cell door partway closed and pulled the curtain all the way across the bars, shutting him out.
* * *
* * *
Jana heard the slow click of nails on the floor—again. Then the hesitation and silent approach, followed by audible sniffing and a nose poking under the curtain.
When Virgil retreated—again—Jana got up and moved the big reading pillow to the other end of the cot, turning it so she could sit with her body supported and her feet on the floor.
She’d meant it as a joke, as just enough of a tail pull to annoy Virgil so that he would know she was okay. She’d thought he would respect a privacy curtain for about five minutes before pushing it aside and growling at her. But he hadn’t done that. He was acting like that piece of fabric was a stone wall keeping him out, a barrier he could not cross.
Barb stirred and opened her eyes.
“You need anything?” Jana asked quietly.
“No.”
The rapid click of nails. Had Virgil been standing at the door to the cells, waiting to hear one of them speak?
She looked at Barb. They waited.
The audible sniff. The nose poking under the curtain. And then . . . a whine.
He sounded so lonely. But he wouldn’t enter the den made for her and Barb.
She pulled the curtain aside and looked at the big Wolf. “You can come in if you want to. We’re just sitting here pretending we don’t fall asleep every ten minutes.”
She sat on the cot to give him room. Besides the rocking chair and ottoman, Tobias had added a narrow storage unit that allowed them to keep containers of water and juice on one shelf and a selection of books on another. It hadn’t seemed crowded, but Virgil took up most of the available floor space when he lay down.
Rusty crawled out from under the cot, gently mouthing Cowboy Bob, and went over to greet the Wolf.
Watching them, Jana wondered if Virgil had become Rusty’s favorite stuffie—and how many unauthorized activities those two had engaged in during the couple of days she’d been in the hospital.
And she wondered whether he’d slept at all since the fight, or if he’d been patrolling and letting certain Elders know that he was still there.
As his eyes closed, Jana felt him relax against her legs. He didn’t even stir to challenge Tobias when the man returned, which told her how exhausted Virgil had to be. And it told her one other thing—that Virgil trusted her to stand guard when he couldn’t.
Tobias looked at Barb, who was dozing again, then at Virgil and Rusty sprawled on the floor, sound asleep. He gave her a smile and a wink before quietly retreating. When the phone rang, she heard him answer it and tell someone that he would take a message.
As news about what happened in Bennett traveled to human towns, Jana hoped a particular message would reach the Elders who ruled and protected the wild country.
We are here. We are different but we stand united to protect our home. We are different but we protect our families, whether they are families by blood or by heart. We are different but we are not alone. Never alone.
We are here.
GEOGRAPHY AND OTHER INFORMATION
NAMID—THE WORLD
CONTINENTS/LANDMASSES
Afrikah
Australis
Brittania/Wild Brittania
Cel-Romano/Cel-Romano Alliance of Nations
Felidae
Fingerbone Islands
Storm Islands
Thaisia
Tokhar-Chin
Zelande
LAKES AND RIVERS IN THAISIA
Great Lakes—Superior, Tala, Honon, Etu, and Tahki
Feather Lakes/Finger Lakes
River—Talulah/Talulah Falls
MOUNTAINS
Addirondak
Rocky
CITIES AND VILLAGES MENTIONED IN THE STORY
Bennett, Endurance, Ferryman’s Landing, Hubb NE (aka Hubbney), Lakeside, Prairie Gold, Ravendell, Shikago, Sparkletown, Sweetwater, Talulah Falls, Toland
CALENDAR
DAYS OF THE WEEK
Earthday (a spiritual day and a day of rest)
Moonsday
Sunsday
Windsday
Thaisday
Firesday
Watersday
MONTHS OF THE YEAR
Janius
Febros
Viridus
Aprillis
Maius
Juin
Sumor
Messis
Frais
Grau
Novembros
Dormente
CAST OF CHARACTERS
BENNETT
Air (Elemental)
Abigail Burch
Kelley Burch
Candice Caravelli
Zane Coyotegard
Barb (Barbara Ellen) Debany
Dina
Judith Dixon
Melanie Dixon
Stewart Dixon
Fagen
Fire (Elemental)
Fog (pony)
Larry
Lila Gold
Becky Gott
Hannah Gott
Jacob Gott
Sarah Gott
Charlee Hawkgard
Evan Hua
Freddie Kaye
Maddie (cassandra sangue)
Manuel
Don Miller
Pearl Owlgard
Joshua Painter
Jana Paniccia
Saul Panthergard
Garnet Ravengard
Anya Sanguinati
Isobel Sanguinati
Nicolai Sanguinati
Stazia Sanguinati
Tolya Sanguinati
Yuri Sanguinati
Scythe / Madam Scythe (Harvester, Plague Rider)
Kenneth Stone
Thunder (pony)
Twister (pony)
Craig Werner
Dawn Werner
John Wolfgard
Kane Wolfgard
Mason (Mace) Wolfgard
Virgil Wolfgard
Zeke
FERRYMAN’S LANDING
Officer Roger Czerneda
Steve Ferryman
LAKESIDE
Captain Douglas Burke
Meg Corbyn (cassandra sangue), aka Broomstick Girl
Jenni Crowgard
Officer Michael Debany
Nadine Fallacaro
Officer Karl Kowalski
Merri Lee
Lieutenant Crispin James Montgomery
Erebus Sanguinati, aka Grandfather Erebus
Vladimir (Vlad) Sanguinati
Tess
Simon Wolfgard
PRAIRIE GOLD
Wyatt Beargard
Shelley Bookman
Ellen Garcia
Tom Garcia
Phil Mailer
Truman Skye
Floyd Tanner
Edna (Ed) Tilman
Jesse Walker
Tobias Walker
Stanley Weeks
Chase Wolfgard
Morgan Wolfgard
Rachel Wolfgard
SWEETWATER
Amy Wolfgard
Grace Wolfgard
Jackson Wolfgard
Hope Wolfsong (cassandra sangue)
MISCELLANEOUS
Daniel Black
Martha Chase
Wilbur “Pops” Chase
Henry Hollis
Cyrus James Montgomery
Stavros Sanguinati
Joe Wolfgard
OUTLAWS
Dalton Blackstone
Lawry Blackstone
Parlan Blackstone, aka the Gambler
Daddy Bonney
Eli Bonney
Frank Bonney
Ma Bonney
Sweeney Cooke
Durango Jones
Judd McCall, aka the Knife
Wallace Parker
William Parker
Sleight-of-Hand Slim
Charlie Webb
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop is a winner of the William L. Crawford Memorial Fantasy Award, presented by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, for The Black Jewels Trilogy. She is also the author of the Ephemera series, the Tir Alainn trilogy, and the Novels of the Others--including Etched in Bone, Marked in Flesh, Vision in Silver, Murder of Crows, and Written in Red. She lives in upstate New York.
