The Others 03 Vision in Silver (25 page)
Read The Others 03 Vision in Silver Online
Authors: Anne Bishop
Tags: #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Dark Fantasy, #Alternative History, #Contemporary
Simon watched the humans. Cautious but not afraid. Even the newest humans, the Denbys, weren’t afraid. Not like they would have been a year ago.
He hoped they stayed cautious, especially if the Courtyard started having guests.
whooshing through the pipes with the summer room open. Since humans pretended they didn’t know about each other’s pee and poop, he’d let her figure that out on her own. He had something else on his mind.
relieved about having another source of food besides what they can buy in human stores.>
Simon said nothing more because Meg returned. He followed her into the summer room to see what kind of food he was eating instead of a deer.
* * *
Now that he’d eaten, all Monty wanted was a hot shower and sleep. He had at least a decade on every member of his team, and today he felt those years.
Were they going to work this hard
every
Earthday until harvest?
On the other hand, the
terra indigene
expected to work hard for every meal, so today was just a different kind of work.
“Fresh corn on the cob is great,” Kowalski said as talk flowed about what everyone wanted to plant.
“Why?” Simon asked, puzzled.
“Corn is good,” Jenni Crowgard said.
Kowalski grinned. “Oh, yeah. Steamed until it’s tender and then brushed with melted butter. Only way to eat it.”
Baffled silence.
“Steamed?” Jenni said. “You
cook
corn?”
Kowalski, Debany, and MacDonald exchanged looks.
“Yes,” MacDonald said. “We cook lots of vegetables, including corn.”
“I never cared for the taste of it, but it might be appealing if it was cooked properly,” Vlad said.
Jenni huffed. “Maybe. But it’s fine just the way it is.”
If you’re a Crow,
Monty thought. “How do you protect your crops?” They weren’t likely to put scarecrows in their gardens.
Henry laughed. “Didn’t you see the Hawk post? What comes to raid a garden is also food for many of us, so this is a season of plenty.”
“And protecting a garden is good training for the juvenile Wolves,” Simon added.
Forks paused. Eve Denby stopped chewing and eyed the dishes that Tess had contributed to the meal, no doubt wondering about the ingredients.
“There’s nothing here that you wouldn’t find in a human store,” Tess said, amused.
“Your pups have stopped eating,” Jester said. The Coyote pointed at the three children, who were fading after an active day. “I could take them to the social room to watch a movie.”
“Go ahead,” Simon said.
“I’ll give him a hand,” Theral said.
The rest of the women refilled their glasses and went outside. After a moment, Jenni Crowgard joined them, leaving Tess as the only female still at the table.
“We were wondering why having a share in the garden is so important to all of you,” Vlad said with a casualness that made Monty wary.
“You did offer,” Monty replied.
Vlad nodded. “We did. Why did you accept?”
Tension filled the room.
“Speaking for myself and Ruthie, being able to grow some vegetables means a smaller bill at the grocery store, and lots of foods are going to be more expensive, including fruits,” Kowalski said. “The price of anything made with flour has also risen in the past couple of weeks.”
“We have fruit as well as the vegetable gardens,” Simon said. “We have strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes. There are some apple trees in the Courtyard, as well as pears and peaches.”
“Walnut trees too.” Henry smiled. “While a particular form might have acquired a taste for certain foods, the
terra indigene
can, and will, eat much of what Namid provides. So our Courtyards have some of everything that grows in this part of Thaisia.”
“Why is fruit going to be expensive?” Vlad asked.
After a look around the table, it was Pete Denby who answered. “Shortages. Several of the regional governments are predicting food shortages this year, and prices are already going up. The loss of the farms in Jerzy—”
“The farms weren’t lost,” Simon snapped. “The farmers might be working for the
terra indigene
now that the land was reclaimed, but the work is the same. They keep what they need to feed their own and provide the food for the Intuits
who moved into the hamlet to run the businesses that those farmers also need. The rest of their crops are sold to the markets in human cities, same as last year.”
“Crops were lost in the Midwest,” Pete said. “At least, that’s what the news reports are saying.”
“The Elementals weren’t interested in farmland. The enemy wasn’t hiding in the fields. They struck what they intended to strike.”
Another look exchanged around the table.
Pete leaned forward. “They’re saying we’ve lost a lot of our surplus crops because of damaged silos. We’ve lost feed for animals, and some livestock has died because of it. There’s talk of shortages of flour and grains for cereals.”
“The ration book had coupons that allowed a family to buy a dozen eggs per month at a fixed price,” Kowalski said. “When my mom went to buy eggs the other day, the same coupon is now for half a dozen eggs for the same price.”
“I heard bakeries will get dibs on ingredients like flour and sugar in order to stay in business, and everyone else will only be able to buy a pound bag of each per month,
if
it’s available,” Debany said. “That means families won’t be able to bake their own bread or make biscuits.”
“A bakery down the street from us told Theral each household needs to register with certain businesses to guarantee the availability of some items. Anyone registered with that bakery will be guaranteed one loaf of bread each week,” MacDonald said.
Debany nodded. “Doesn’t mean everyone who registers will be able to afford to buy a loaf a week in six months’ time.”
Monty listened, becoming more and more uneasy. Had all of this escalated in the past couple of days while he was focused on Lizzy’s arrival and Elayne’s death?
Simon seemed to be wondering the same thing. “That doesn’t answer the question. Last year, there was enough food. Why isn’t there enough this year? The
terra indigene
haven’t reclaimed that much land, and what needs to be grown is still being grown.”
Pete Denby shook his head thoughtfully. “I haven’t heard of any infestations that would account for lost crops.”
“There has been one,” Vlad said. “The Humans First and Last movement.”
Simon nodded. “We hadn’t caught any scent of them last year. This year, they’re howling everywhere about everything.”
“Maybe we should pay more attention to what they’re saying,” Tess suggested as her hair turned green and began to curl.
“Maybe we should,” Simon agreed.
Monty suddenly had the feeling his team really wanted an excuse to leave. He looked hard at Kowalski. “What aren’t you saying?” It wasn’t a good question to ask, not with the Courtyard’s leaders present, but information was also a crop to be tended.
Kowalski winced. “I’ve been hearing from other officers that some of the butcher shops and bakeries will display an HFL decal. Customers who want limited items will not only have to register at a particular shop; they’ll have to show their HFL membership card.”
“And if they don’t have a membership card?”
“I don’t think nonmembers will be welcome. Or safe.”
Something to tell the captain in the morning, assuming Burke didn’t know about it already.
Simon, Vlad, Henry, and Tess looked eerily calm.
Then Simon shifted in his chair. “Enough. It’s time to rest.”
“I’ll second that,” Pete Denby said.
They agreed to let Tess store the remaining food and bring it to A Little Bite in the morning, since most of the humans would be working around the Courtyard anyway. Kowalski, Debany, and MacDonald headed out together, and their voices mingled with those of the women who were still sitting outside.
After bidding the Others good night, Monty and Pete walked over to the social room to fetch their children.
“They say the eye of the storm is the safest place to be,” Monty said.
“Is that where we are?” Pete asked. “The eye of the storm?”
“Maybe. We’re going to be able to feed our families, and that’s not something everyone will be able to say.”
“You think the Others are responsible for the shortages?”
“No. And that’s a worry, because if it’s not them . . .”
“Then it’s us,” Pete finished.
Monty pushed aside the grim feelings, but he didn’t need to put on a smile for his little girl. The children, and Jester, were sprawled on furniture, sound asleep. Only Theral was still awake, and she gave them a distracted wave before turning her attention back to the Wolf Team movie.
“Almost over,” Theral whispered.
Jester jerked upright at the sound of her voice and blinked at Monty and Pete. With a grunt, he scrubbed at his hair and sat back when Theral hissed a warning for him to be quiet before he had a chance to speak.
So they all stayed quiet.
Not a human-made movie,
Monty thought as he watched the Wolf Team’s successful attack and rescue—and listened to Pete suck in a breath as the Wolves dealt with the bad humans.
“Are there more of these movies?” Theral asked, turning down the volume as the credits began to roll.
“A few,” Jester said. “You might have to put your name on a list at Music and Movies since the Wolf Team is very popular. There are books about them too.”
Nodding, Theral stood and stretched. Then she yawned. “Is Lawrence ready to go home?”
“I think he forgot you were up here and is looking for you,” Monty said, smiling. He picked up Lizzy, then waited for Pete to pick up Sarah and shake Robert awake enough to have the boy follow him back to the car.
As they walked outside with the children, Monty glanced toward the summer room. No light, so he couldn’t be sure Simon Wolfgard was still in there. But the Others wouldn’t need a light.
“Where’s Meg?” he asked.
“She went up.” Merri Lee tipped her head to indicate Meg’s apartment. “She’s tuckered out. So am I.”
They piled into the cars they’d left in the visitors’ spaces across the road from the Green Complex. Kowalski and Ruth dropped off Merri Lee and Debany, as well as Monty and Lizzy.
Bidding them all good night, Monty climbed the stairs and went to the efficiency apartment he was using. He woke Lizzy sufficiently for her to use the toilet and put on pajamas. As he tucked her in, he wondered how long Merri Lee and Debany would stay outside, and if Merri Lee would come in alone.
* * *
No need for a candle or lamp. The
terra indigene
saw quite well in the dark.
“What do you want to do?” Vlad asked quietly.
“We’ve never concerned ourselves with the human ships that travel on the Great Lakes or what those ships bring to the port here,” Simon replied. “Our
supplies from other regions are brought in on earth native or Intuit ships. Humans will notice if we start sniffing around their ships now.”
“A few of the Sanguinati who live in the Courtyard often hunt around the docks. They might know something they didn’t think would be of interest to Grandfather.”
“Ask them. But there’s one form of
terra indigene
who can find out more.”
“If they’re willing,” Henry said.
Simon nodded. “If they’re willing.” He stood. “I’m going to check on Meg. Then I’ll pay the girls at the lake a visit.”
“Tonight?” Tess asked.
“Yes.” He looked at the three of them. “Will you be here?”
Henry and Tess nodded. Vlad said, “I need to visit Grandfather Erebus, but I’ll wait until you get back.”
He went upstairs and found Meg on the sofa, sound asleep, despite the television being tuned to the show she watched every Earthday. Crouching, he ran a hand over her fuzz of hair. She couldn’t growl about it if she didn’t know.
Fairly sure she wouldn’t wake anytime soon, he stripped out of his clothes and shifted. Then he left her apartment and ran to the Elementals’ part of the Courtyard.
Except for Winter and Autumn, who slept during the warmer seasons, all the girls were around the lake. They watched him approach. Air rustled the leaves in the trees. Water lapped the bank, flowing over Earth’s toes. Fire, Spring, and Summer sat a little farther away from the lake’s edge.
“Is something wrong with our Meg?” Spring asked.
“No planting tomorrow,” Water said. “Rain is coming from our kin who live near Lake Superior.”
“Since our Meg is happy, what does the Wolfgard want?” Fire asked.
T
he questions were the pebble dropped in a pond, and the ripples were whispered in the wind to the Elementals throughout the continent of Thaisia. They flowed through the Great Lakes and down the streams and rivers, and they were part of the rain. They became a scent in the earth that was picked up by more than the shifters and Sanguinati willing to reside near human settlements.
That scent did not please the earth natives who lived in the most primal, and pristine, parts of the wild country.
And when the ripples became surf, Ocean took the questions into herself and sent them far beyond Thaisia.
Moonsday, Maius 14
“S
imon, it’s Tess. Blair is driving me up to Nadine’s Bakery and Café. She said she can sell me some of what she has ready, but she would prefer we pick up the order before she opens for human customers.”
Simon growled at the answering machine and continued to rub a towel over his hair. He’d heard the phone ringing when he got in the shower. The damn phone had done nothing but ring from the moment he’d turned on the water. But Tess could have used the
terra indigene
way of communicating to tell him she was leaving the Courtyard and chose not to, preventing him from voicing an opinion.
“Simon, this is Steve Ferryman. Remember me telling you about the woman who showed up to work with the girls? I’d like to hire her if I can figure out how to stretch the village budget to pay her. Anyway, I’d like you to meet her. And I wanted to go over some things about the River Road Community. Any chance you could come up to Ferryman’s Landing today?”
“How should I know?” he grumbled. “I’m not even dressed yet.” And if he didn’t get moving, Meg would growl at him for making her late for work—or leave without him.
“Simon, this is Pete Denby. I need to talk to you about the two-family house you want to purchase. And I wanted to ask . . . do you have a spare desk and computer in one of the offices that I could use?”
Humans. Couldn’t be satisfied with being considered not edible; they also wanted to
talk
to him. And talk. And talk.
He took two steps away from the answering machine when the phone rang again.
Pouncing on the phone, he picked up the receiver and snarled, “What?”
“Arroo!”
“Sam?”
“Uncle Simon! The Wolf pups are going on a field trip with Miss Ruth!”
Simon blinked. “You’re going on a trip to see a field?”
Sam laughed. “No. We’re going to visit Howling Good Reads and learn how to buy a book!” A pause. “Can I stay with Meg after the field trip? Nathan gets to stay with her.”
“Nathan’s the watch Wolf.” Since the Lizzy was still in the efficiency apartment with Montgomery, he’d have to check and make sure Nathan was going to be in the office with Meg. The enforcer was still upset with the Lizzy for misbehaving and causing so much trouble on Watersday.
“Uncle Simon?”
“Okay, sure. But don’t whine if Meg doesn’t have time to play with you.”
“See you later!” Sam hung up.
Simon put the phone down and ran up to his bedroom to get dressed. Then he let himself into Meg’s apartment through her kitchen door and found her with her hands braced on the table.
“Meg?” He hurried over to her.
She blinked at him. “I am so sore. Even my butt muscles are sore. I didn’t do anything with
them
. Why are
they
sore?”
“Don’t know.” He hadn’t done as much snoozing as he usually did on Earthday, but he felt just fine.
He ran his hand over her puppy fuzz hair. When she didn’t growl at him, he wasn’t sure if he should be pleased or concerned.
“Did you eat breakfast?” he asked.
“I tried to reach for the milk. It was too far.”
He gathered up her work things and then gave her a quick once-over to make sure she was sufficiently dressed for the office. That much accomplished, he herded her out her front door and was entertained by watching Meg whimper her way down the stairs.
She wasn’t sick; she wasn’t injured. Before he called Dr. Lorenzo to come look at her, he’d see if the other females were whining this morning.
Probably best not to point out that the human males and the Wolves had done the digging yesterday, which was harder work than planting. And none of
them
were whining.
Well, the Wolves weren’t.
He waited until they were driving to work before he mentioned the morning field trip.
“Why do a field trip?” Meg asked.
“Because someone untied its shoes?”
Meg frowned. “That makes no sense.”
“It makes as much sense as most human jokes.”
“That’s true.”
Simon carried Meg’s things into the Liaison’s Office, then wondered if he should offer to carry her. But she came inside on her own, so he put the BOW in the garage and walked over to Howling Good Reads to tell Vlad about the field trip—and find out if anything else wanted to bite his tail that morning.
* * *
Meg sagged against the front counter and stared at Nathan, who was stretched out on the Wolf bed under one of the big windows.
She felt relieved to find him in the office. After upsetting him so much when she’d made that cut—or, more honestly, forced
him
into making the cut because she’d been out of control—she wasn’t sure he’d be willing to work as the watch Wolf anymore.
She eyed him lying there, looking so lazy and comfy.
Of course, “work” could be a flexible word.
“If Earthday is supposed to be a rest day, why did we all work so hard yesterday?” she asked.
He raised his head just enough to look at her, grunted, then flopped back down on the Wolf bed.
She watched a delivery truck pull in. “It’s Harry.”
Letting out a gusty sigh, Nathan rolled onto his belly, then stood up and performed the stretch that, in her Quiet Mind class, was called playful wolf, although Merri Lee had told her that the move was usually referred to as down dog.
Meg watched him for a moment before bracing her hands on the counter and stepping back far enough to perform a modified version of the stretch.
Nathan changed positions, now stretching his back legs and hips. Then he gave himself a good shake.
“Show-off,” she muttered.
He just yawned, displaying all his teeth.
Harry walked in with a couple of packages, looked at the two of them, and grinned.
“Guess everyone was working outdoors yesterday,” Harry said. “The wife and I turned the soil and planted some vegetables. Then she wanted to have a couple of pots of flowers for some color, so we went to the garden center. You couldn’t turn around there without making new friends.”
She didn’t know what that meant and was too tired to ask.
“We planted some vegetables too.” Meg took out her clipboard and slowly wrote the information for the delivery.
“You should take aspirin or something to help those sore muscles,” Harry said. “And remember to drink plenty of water.”
“I’ll remember.” She waited until Harry drove off, then wandered into the sorting room to see if there was anything she could do that didn’t require standing, bending, lifting, sitting, or reaching for something.
Drink plenty of water? She didn’t think so. Drinking meant peeing, and peeing meant getting her thigh muscles to bend enough so that she could sit on the toilet. She’d already done that once this morning. She wasn’t eager to try it again.
“Meg?” Merri Lee walked in from the back room, carrying an insulated container from A Little Bite and a small bag. She opened the container and set the food on the sorting table. “Coffee, sandwich, and a couple of cookies.” Then she opened the small bag and removed two bottles. “I wasn’t sure if you usually took aspirin or acetaminophen, so I brought both.”
“I don’t think we were ever given anything like this in the compound,” Meg said, taking a moment to recall training images of medications.
Merri Lee looked thoughtful, then opened the bottle of acetaminophen and shook two pills into Meg’s hand. She went into the back room and returned with a glass of water. “They probably didn’t give you aspirin because that reduces blood clotting. Wouldn’t be the best idea for a
cassandra sangue
.”
Meg swallowed the pills and drank all the water. “Don’t you hurt?”
“I don’t
hurt
, but I’m plenty sore, which is one or two levels below
hurt
. And being sore is why I made an appointment with Elizabeth Bennefeld today to get
a massage. I made an appointment for you at four fifteen, when you finish the afternoon shift here. Ruth and Theral also made appointments. And Eve Denby did a butt wiggle when I told her there was a massage therapist who worked a couple days a week in the Market Square.”
“What do I do in the meantime?”
“Stretches. Just don’t overstretch. I have to go. Ruth is bringing the Wolf pups to HGR as a field trip to learn about bookstores and the proper way to behave when you’re in one, and I’m working the checkout counter today.”
As soon as Merri Lee left, Meg bent forward. In Quiet Mind class, she could touch her fingertips to the floor. Today her fingers dangled just below her knees.
The Crows who were perched on the shoulder-high wall that separated the delivery area from Henry’s yard started cawing moments before Nathan quietly
arrooed
a warning that another delivery truck had pulled in.
She grunted when she straightened up and walked into the front room. Then she frowned as she pulled out the clipboard and wrote the name painted on the side of the small delivery van. “Blooming Blossoms. That’s a new one.”
It was nothing more than a comment, but Nathan moved closer to the counter.
The man opened the door but didn’t quite enter the office. He gave Meg a nervous smile. “I’ve got a delivery for Theral MacDonald. Am I in the right place?”
The pins-and-needles feeling swept over Meg’s ribs, then felt like it wanted to burrow into the bones.
Nathan looked at her, then growled at the deliveryman.
“I can sign for that,” she said, struggling to stay calm.
“So she does work here? I was told to confirm that before handing over the delivery.” He held up the flower arrangement.
The prickling filled Meg’s hands now as well as her ribs. “She’ll be able to pick up the flowers here.”
“I guess that’s all right as long as I get a signature.” He strode to the counter, keeping an eye on Nathan. “That’s some pet.”
“Uh-huh.” She glanced at the man’s shirt as she signed for the flowers. The dark green shirt had the Blooming Blossoms logo on the left side. No name tag, though.
“You should keep your dog on a leash.”
She gave the deliveryman a vague smile and wondered what kind of employer would send someone to the Courtyard and not tell the person anything about who lived there.
Put a Wolf on a leash!
Of course, Sam used to wear a harness and leash when he came to the office with her. Could the man have heard about that from another deliveryman? Or did he really not know the difference between a dog and a Wolf?
The deliveryman studied her, and she studied him. He had blond hair and blue eyes. Nothing unusual about that combination. She couldn’t recall a training image that would fit his overall look. Not handsome. Pleasantly attractive?
But something about him made her skin prickle.
Go away, go away, go away!
she thought fiercely.
The mail truck pulled up.
“Busy place.” He sounded annoyed about that.
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, you have a nice day.” He walked out and held the door for the mailman.
“Anything going out?” the mailman asked as he set a mailbag on one of the handcarts that was used for larger packages.
“Not today, thanks.”
She waited until he’d walked over to retrieve the mail from the blue mailbox positioned outside the consulate. Then she bolted into the sorting room. She wasn’t surprised when Nathan leaped on the counter and came in right behind her. But she was surprised when he shifted to his human form.
His
naked
human form.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
She scurried to the other side of the big sorting table so that she couldn’t see him from the waist down.
Naked
naked wasn’t as disturbing as when Nathan shifted into that weird blend of human and Wolf that made him look like both and neither.
When he started to come around the table, she squeaked and scampered to the doorway of the back room. “You should put on some clothes when you’re in human form.”
He snarled at her.
Okay, not interested in clothes,
she thought, trying to ignore her curiosity and
not peek at his parts, since that could be construed as sending a signal. At least, according to
The Dimwit’s Guide to Dating
that she’d been reading ever since that . . . confusion . . . with Simon the night he’d shifted from Wolf to human form and she kicked him off the bed. But the kicking was because of the dream she’d been having and not because of Simon being naked . . . and human.
Since Nathan didn’t seem to care one way or the other if she saw him naked, maybe Wolves and humans didn’t read the same signals?
The office’s back door opened. Nathan, looking satisfied, shifted to Wolf form and returned to the front room.
Okay,
that
signal was clear enough.
“Tattletale,” Meg muttered as Simon and Vlad rushed in.
“Meg!” Simon said. He bared his teeth. “Nathan says you’re itchy. Why are you itchy?”
“I’m not.” She didn’t feel even the slightest tingle anymore.
“Arroo!”
Nathan said, his forelegs on the front counter so he could watch what was going on in the sorting room.
Meg turned and glared at him. He stared back.
“I was itchy, but now I’m not,” she amended when Simon growled, clearly more inclined to take Nathan’s word over hers right now.
She held out her hands. “No more prickles. When that deliveryman showed up, the pins-and-needles feeling started and kept getting worse. I got away from the front counter as soon as I could.”
Vlad hissed. Simon
and
Nathan growled.
Meg decided she didn’t like being growled at in stereo.
“We’re not upset with you,” Vlad said.
Funny, it sure sounded that way.
“What was delivered that caused the prickles?”
“A flower arrangement,” she replied.
As soon as she moved toward the door with the
PRIVATE
sign, the prickling began again around her rib cage. When she reached the door, the pins-and-needles feeling became a painful buzz along her ribs and a fierce prickling in her hands. She’d been focused on what she was feeling and hadn’t realized Simon and Vlad were standing so close. When she tried to back up, she stepped on Simon’s foot, making him yelp.
