Written In Red: A Novel of the Others
Page 45
Monty turned off the radio and pulled on his coat and boots. He wasn’t on duty today, but everyone was on call. He’d seen a few bad storms during the years he’d lived in Toland. There had even been a few times when the Big City had closed down for a day. But listening to Kowalski, Debany, and MacDonald yesterday—men who had lived in Lakeside all their lives—he realized he hadn’t seen the kind of storm they considered bad. And they were all gearing up for bad.
Checking to be sure he had his keys, he went outside.
Black clouds were piled up like huge boulders waiting to fall on the world. As he stood there, his skin stinging from the cold, the snow came down faster and harder. A plow had gone by earlier, but the street was filled in again. And that made him wonder if anything was going to be able to get in or out of his street in another hour or two.
Returning to his apartment, he called Kowalski.
“What’s your opinion of this storm?” he asked when Karl answered.
“It’s coming in faster than expected,” Karl replied. “I just heard on the radio that everything downtown is closing, and all social events for tonight have been canceled. Traffic is already starting to snarl because of the amount of snow on the roads, and it will get worse.”
“The plows?”
“Will do what they can to keep the main drags open, but there’s only so much they can do until this storm blows over.”
Monty thought for a moment. “In that case, I’m going to pack an overnight bag and catch a cab down to the station while I can still get there. What about you?”
“You’ll have a better chance of getting a cab if you tell the driver you’ll meet him at the corner, since you live off one of the main streets. I don’t think a cabby will try to drive down any residential street at this point. Too much chance of getting stuck. Me and a few other guys helped dig out a couple neighbors who had to report to work. Medical personnel, emergency aid, and firefighters are being called in.” A hesitation. “Actually, I thought you were calling to tell me to come in.”
Why would that be a problem? Monty wondered, hearing something under the words. More than the weather. He was getting the impression that Kowalski would resist leaving home for as long as possible.
“I tried calling the inns and hotels closest to Lakeside Park, but I guess some of the phone lines have already gone down, because I didn’t get an answer.”
Monty gentled his voice in response to the worry in Karl’s. “That’s a concern, but is it an immediate problem?”
“A group of men are in town for some kind of reunion. They have snowmobiles. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to locate them and see if they might do some volunteer work.”
“What aren’t you saying, Karl?”
“We didn’t think the storm was going to hit quite this fast, so Ruthie went to Run and Thump to work out and then was going to stop at the Market Square grocery store to pick up a few things.” Kowalski hesitated. “Nobody is answering at Howling Good Reads or A Little Bite, and I haven’t gotten through to Ruthie’s mobile. We’re only a few blocks from the Courtyard, but I’m not sure Ruthie can get home at this point.”
Monty watched a car slowly making its way down the street. “Karl? I have to go. Keep looking for those snowmobiles. I’ll have my mobile phone with me, so let me know when you’ve made contact with Ruth.”
“Will do.” Kowalski hung up.
Monty quickly packed a bag, called for a cab to meet him at the end of his street, and headed out into the storm.
* * *
Asia rammed her rental car into the snow clogging the Courtyard parking lot, determined to create a path for her escape once she acquired the Wolf pup. She would have preferred parking across the street, but all the spaces near the Stag and Hare were filled, and when she passed the city lot that was available to the customers of all the businesses within that block, it was obvious that only the last car that managed to jam itself in was going to get out, and even that was doubtful.
She gunned the engine until the tires spun, then took her foot off the gas and put the car in reverse to back up enough to take another run at getting into the lot. Ignoring the blare of a horn from the car that just missed her rear bumper when she reversed, she put the gearshift in drive and gunned the engine again. The car slewed and ended up stuck, completely blocking the other cars in the lot.
Swearing vigorously, Asia slammed out of the car. Piece of shit. She had told the rental company she needed a car that could handle snow, and they had assured her this one could under most conditions.
Most conditions, my ass, she thought as she reached in for the pack of supplies on the backseat. After pulling out the hammer axe, she slipped the pack’s straps over her shoulders, then made her way to the back wall of the parking lot.
She tried the wooden door in the wall first, hoping the Others hadn’t bothered to lock it. No such luck. But there was mounded snow that rose to the top of the wall. That would be easy to climb.
Using the hammer axe, she hauled herself up the mound, then got a leg over the wall and lowered herself to the snow piled on the other side. This side of the parking lot hadn’t been cleared all day, and the cars in it weren’t going anywhere for a while. She was going to leave a trail, but she couldn’t worry about that.
She studied the padlock that secured the wooden door that provided access between the two lots, and swore. Had to find the key for the padlock. She wasn’t getting out the way she got in, not with that pup in tow.
She slipped one arm out of the pack as she considered the one-story brick building that formed the parking lot’s right-hand boundary. A garage door and a regular door. She tried the regular door first. When it opened, she slipped into a garage full of snow-removal equipment and gardening tools. Basically, a groundskeeper’s shed.
Closing the door most of the way in case any of the Others were out in this weather, Asia pulled a small flashlight out of her coat pocket and swung the light along the wall next to the door. She grinned fiercely when she spotted the key rack. The last key in the row was on a loop of string and had the word PADLOCK written above it.
Taking the key, she hurried out and opened the padlock, then tossed it over the wall to ensure a quick exit. She put the key back in its spot, then checked the other keys. One was labeled BOW.
Yes! she thought as she pocketed the key. Darrell had said one key fit all the BOWs, so all she had to do was find one of those little vehicles.
The opposite wall of the maintenance garage had a reverse setup of doors. She made her way to the other regular door, then turned off the flashlight and opened the door just enough to peer out and confirm that these were the garages she’d seen when she’d spent the night with Darrell.
The messenger had moved up the timetable when it became clear the storm was worse than anticipated and had hit the city faster than originally reported. The only problem with the new timetable was that Meg hadn’t closed the office yet. When the messenger and his men created the distractions that would pull Simon Wolfgard and the rest of the Others to various parts of the Courtyard, Meg had to be tucked into her apartment at the Green Complex, all safe and snug and easy to grab.
Pushing up the sleeves of her parka and sweater the necessary inch, Asia checked the luminous dial of her watch. Only three thirty in the afternoon, but it was already dark because of the storm. That would work to their advantage.
She jerked back, shutting the door almost all the way as the back door of Howling Good Reads opened and she heard Simon say, “Tell her to wait. I’ll be back in a minute.”
She watched him stride toward the Liaison’s Office, and she saw him stop as something caught his attention. He remained still for a moment, then continued to the office’s back door.
Checking her watch again, Asia settled down to wait.
* * *
As soon as Simon walked into the office’s back room, he could feel Nathan’s restless energy and hear Meg’s voice. She was talking to someone, but he didn’t think
it was the Wolf.
Nathan said, sounding edgy.
They certainly did need to get home and settle in. He had closed HGR half an hour ago, and Tess had done the same at A Little Bite, but he was still chewing over what to do with their human employees, especially the ones Meg considered friends. He couldn’t just chuck them out the door to find their way home. Not when he could look out HGR’s windows and see the traffic gridlock that had already formed and was going to get worse.
A couple months ago, he would have closed the store and not given Merri Lee and Heather another thought. They were humans who were not edible because they were useful, and that’s all they were to the terra indigene. But somehow they had become Meg’s human pack, so now they were borderline members of the Courtyard and, therefore, under his protection.
He didn’t like thinking of humans like that. He didn’t like it at all.
Well, he would deal with Merri Lee and Heather. But first he had to deal with Meg. And that meant dealing with Nathan.
“That’s not a problem,” Meg said to someone on the phone, absently pushing Nathan away when he tried to slap the phone to disconnect the call. “Delivery on Moonsday will be fine. You be careful driving out there. Thanks. You too.” She hung up and shook a finger at the watch Wolf. Then she noticed Simon and blushed.
Meg was restless and rubbing her skin? Was she feeling the prickling that indicated a potential vision, or was the storm making her uneasy, like the rest of them? He didn’t care why she was restless. He was getting her away from this part of the Courtyard.
“You’re closing up now,” Simon said, blocking the Private doorway and not giving her room to maneuver.
“I’m trying to do exactly that. It would be easier if I didn’t have as much help,” Meg replied, sounding like she was ready to bite someone.
Nathan whined and gave Simon a pleading look.
It was embarrassing to hear one of the Courtyard’s best enforcers whine like a puppy.
“I checked with all the delivery services who usually come by on Watersday afternoon,” Meg said. “Most of them didn’t have any deliveries for the Courtyard today, and the ones that did, I told them delivery on Moonsday is fine. Besides, Harry from Everywhere Delivery called a couple of minutes ago to tell me a driving ban has just been issued for the entire city. No unnecessary travel. So I’m almost ready to go.”
“But . . . ?” He could read her well enough now to know there was something more.
She took a deep breath and blew it out. “Two things. The BOW’s charge was low when I got back from lunch. I’m not sure it has enough charge for the drive home, and I’m not sure I can drive in snow this deep.”
“You’re not driving. Jester should be here with a pony in a few minutes.”
Meg brightened. “We’re riding in the sleigh?”
He shook his head. “Only the Elementals drive the sleigh. Jester is bringing the sled. It’s big enough to fit you and Nathan. I’ll take the BOW back to the Green Complex. If it doesn’t make it, I’ll shift and go the rest of the way home in Wolf form.” No protest from her. Probably because she wanted to ride in the sled. “What’s the other thing?”
Now she looked uneasy, as if she were about to stomp on his tail. “Merri Lee takes a bus to work.” She turned enough to look at the snow falling and falling and falling.
Simon relaxed, pleased that he’d anticipated this. “She’s not going home. Neither is Heather. They can pick up some food at Meat-n-Greens or the grocery store, and they’ll stay in the efficiency apartments tonight. I’m going to talk to Lorne and see if he wants to stay. Marie Hawkgard is staying to keep watch, and Julia will also be in the efficiencies.”
She opened her mouth, and he expected her to say she would stay with her friends in the too-exposed part of the Courtyard. But as she looked at him, all the color bled out of her face.
“I need to get home,” she said quietly. “Tonight I need to get home.”
“That’s why Jester is coming with the pony sled.” Simon studied her face. Why did she look so pale, so scared? “Meg?”
She shook her head. “I need to go to the toilet.”
Worried about what she might do in that room, he snarled, “Meg?”
“I can’t just lift a leg like you do, so I have to pee before going out in the cold,” she snapped at him.
He took a step back, letting her pass. But he also gave her a quick sniff. Nathan was right; there wasn’t any fresh blood scent on her.
He opened the go-through for Nathan. “Wait for her by the back door. I’ll lock up.”
He fetched the keys from the drawer in the sorting room and used the go-through. Nathan had told him that Meg usually wiped the floor after the last delivery because it got slippery from the snow brought in on the deliverymen’s boots. She hadn’t done that, which made vaulting over the counter a good way to slip and break a leg or, at best, take a bad fall.
As he flipped the sign to CLOSED, a hooded figure in a green and white parka hurried up to the door. He considered ignoring the human and locking up, but he’d seen that same parka walking out of the Courtyard a few minutes ago.
Pulling the door open, he growled, “What?” before he recognized the Ruthie, who looked like she was trying not to cry.
“Mr. Wolfgard,” she said, sounding breathless. “I’m glad I caught you before everything closed up. My car is in your parking lot.”
“That’s sensible.” It would be out of the way, and the adolescent Wolves could have fun digging it out tomorrow.
“But there is a car stuck in the parking lot’s entrance. The driver isn’t in the vehicle, and I can’t get around it.”
He followed the trail of her words and realized he had come to a different conclusion than she had. “You’re staying. Go around to the back door of Howling Good Reads. I’ll meet you in a couple of minutes.”
“But . . .”
“Go to the back door,” he snapped. “It’s time to find shelter, not go running in the snow.”
After a hesitation, she nodded. “Thank you.”
He watched until he was sure she was headed toward the back of the building instead of being foolish and plunging into the storm. Like Meg had done the first night she came to the Courtyard. What was wrong with human females that they didn’t have sense to find shelter?
Of course, if Meg had taken shelter somewhere else instead of stumbling along until she came to the Courtyard, she might not have found them, and he might never have known her. So maybe Namid was wise to make human females do foolish things.
That much settled, Simon finished locking up the office. He poked his head into the Three Ps long enough to tell Lorne to close up and come to HGR. Then he trotted to the bookstore’s back door. Nudging the Ruthie inside, he found the stockroom full of confused, anxious people. And there was Tess, who looked amused.
“Cars are stuck in the parking lot, so you two aren’t getting out,” he said, pointing at Ruthie and Heather. Then he pointed at Merri Lee. “And taking a bus tonight is foolish. So you’re staying. We’ll open the efficiency apartments and bring food for you. You’ll have shelter. Marie and Julia Hawkgard will
also stay here tonight.”
“I have a box of chocolates and a couple of movies,” the Ruthie said. “I figured this would be a good movie night.”
“What about other people who might be stranded?” Merri Lee asked.
He shook his head. “Someone is trying to hurt the terra indigene. Let strangers find shelter elsewhere. They won’t be safe here.”
While Tess went up to Simon’s office to fetch the keys for the efficiency apartments, John drew Simon aside.
“I can stay too,” he said. “Having the Hawks stay is good, but having a Wolf guarding the door will be better.”
“All right. Take the delivery sled and go to Meat-n-Greens. Get enough food for everyone for tonight.” When the back door opened, Simon added, “And take Lorne with you.”
That much settled, he bounded up the stairs and reached his office doorway at the same moment Tess was leaving.
“I’ll be heading out in a BOW in a few minutes,” he said. “Do you want a ride?”
Her brown hair kept twisting into corkscrew curls then relaxing, a sign of indecision. Finally, she shook her head. “I’m going to keep an eye on this part of the Courtyard.”
“I don’t want us scattered.” He didn’t think she would willingly share a room with anyone overnight, and even though they were in sight, the rooms above the Liaison’s Office felt too far from company or help. He didn’t want any of his people isolated.