The Others 03 Vision in Silver (35 page)

“What we noticed was that a number of merchants we recognized as usually having tables on a side aisle had tables on the center cross today,” Kowalski said. “And they had the kind of merchandise that would appeal to Crows. Windup toys. Sets of blocks, gaudy crap.”

“Jenni and her sisters were so excited, so happy,” Merri Lee said. “And they had so much money.”

Debany nodded. “Jenni did most of the buying, and she had a money belt around her waist that was
stuffed
with cash. I thought a couple of merchants were going to faint when she pulled out a wad of bills to pay for what they wanted.”

Burke pursed his lips. “So you made slow progress down the main aisle of the market, and everyone was having a good time.”

“Yes,” Kowalski said. “We had just reached the center of the market. The Crows were still going strong, but I had the sense that Simon Wolfgard had had
more than enough noise and people. Michael was going to talk to the girls about calling it a day. Before he could do that, Wolfgard got a phone call, and suddenly we were on the move, in danger, had to get out
now
.”

“So he stopped you all before you reached the back half of the market?” Monty asked.

“Yes, sir. He grabbed Jenni and began hauling ass for the front entrance where the bus was parked. Ruthie and Merri had Starr with them, and Lawrence was escorting Crystal. Henry Beargard was to Simon’s left. Don’t know where Vlad was. Behind us, I think. We could see the doors when a group of men blocked our way. They all carried weapons—clubs mostly, but a few had knives. Michael and I identified ourselves as police officers and ordered the men to step aside.”

“Is that when you called the station?” Burke asked.

Kowalski shook his head. “Before. We called the station and called you as soon as Wolfgard indicated we were in danger.”

Burke took them through the rest, confirming that the humans attacked their group
after
Kowalski and Debany identified themselves as police officers; that the shots that killed Crystal Crowgard and injured Lawrence MacDonald came from behind them; that they had fired their off-duty pieces to protect themselves and the people with them.

That Simon Wolfgard had broken clear and could have gotten away, but turned back to help them when MacDonald went down.

When they finished, Burke looked at Merri Lee and Ruth. “Ladies, could you give us a minute?”

Ruth helped Merri Lee to her feet. The two women slowly left the room.

“Will Merri be able to stay at the Courtyard tonight?” Debany asked.

“The lieutenant and I will be going to the Courtyard soon. We’ll assess the situation and let you know.” Burke leaned closer. “Now. I want a straight answer. When MacDonald went down and you called for more backup, was there any delay before officers arrived to help you?”

Monty saw the shock on Kowalski’s and Debany’s faces. They looked at each other, hesitated, then shook their heads.

“It felt like the fight went on for hours, but I don’t think the whole thing lasted more than a few minutes,” Kowalski said. “The Elementals got there first, but backup was right behind them, and you were right behind the backup.”

Burke slapped his hands on his thighs and stood. “All right. Good. We’ll check out the Courtyard and then we’ll return.”

Monty walked out with Burke. Holding the door for Merri and Ruth, he looked at his men, then said quietly to Burke, “I know why you had to ask the question, but did they need to wonder about that today? The question came as a shock. They’ve had enough shocks.”

“Help arrived before they had a chance to wonder if it would arrive. I think that’s going to matter a lot in the days ahead. Come on, Lieutenant. Let’s find out if Simon Wolfgard also believes help arrived in a timely manner.”

Watersday, Maius 26

T
he driver of the police van did his best to make careful turns and avoid quick stops, but just the motion of the van as they drove back to the Courtyard made Simon hurt. He hurt and hurt and hurt. He wanted to shift to Wolf and find a safe place to hide. Then he could whimper like a little puppy because he hurt and hurt and hurt.

When he was a juvenile Wolf living in the Northwest Region, he’d spent a year with other youngsters learning to work and hunt with a pack that wasn’t family—a first step to working in a Courtyard where you would have to work cooperatively with many forms of
terra indigene
. That’s when he’d met Joe and Jackson. Working with them had felt easy, natural, and that bond had made the three of them a collective leader of their pack.

But one juvenile Wolf didn’t fit in with the rest of them. He wanted to be leader, but there was something about him that made the other Wolves wary, and they wouldn’t follow him. He resented Simon, Joe, and Jackson, and that resentment grew until the day they were hunting a half-grown bison. The pack was hungry and motivated to bring down game. Instead of working with the rest of them, the Wolf turned the animal at the moment when Simon would be unable to get out of the way.

He’d been lucky that day. Instead of being trampled, he’d dodged the hooves and received nothing more than a glancing blow that had slowed him down and prevented him from hunting for a few days. But it had hurt, just like the betrayal had hurt.

The resentful Wolf disappeared that same day. The day Simon rejoined the pack for a hunt, they found that Wolf. He’d been trampled, his hip bones crushed. He also had deep claw marks that had torn up his sides. He’d tried to crawl, looked to be heading toward the area where the juveniles were settled. And then something had crushed his skull.

The adult Wolves had said the juveniles were on their own that year—within howling distance if they got into bad trouble, but essentially on their own and not under the watchful eyes of other Wolves.

Whether that was true or not didn’t much matter. When they’d searched for scents to figure out what kind of animal had killed the Wolf, they smelled nothing but other
terra indigene
. Not Wolves. Not anything they could name.

It had been the only time during that year that any of them had smelled those forms of
terra indigene
. All of them hoped they never caught those scents again.

Some of those scents had been in the air the day he and Henry drove past the River Road Community on their way to a meeting with Steve Ferryman, which meant some of
those
forms of
terra indigene
were now close enough to watch the humans and the Others who lived around Lakeside.

The lesson the juvenile Wolves had learned that day when they had found the body of the resentful Wolf was this: certain actions angered the earth natives who lived deep in the wild country, and they were the ones who should not be provoked.

Would today’s attack be considered provocation? He didn’t know. He just knew that, right now when he was hurt and unable to defend himself, he feared other kinds of
terra indigene
more than he feared humans.

Vlad said.

Home. Meg.

He growled about being helped out of the police van, but he couldn’t have stepped down on his own. Humiliating, and frightening, to be that vulnerable. Vlad stayed close to him as he shuffled to the Market Square’s medical office while Henry helped Nathan.

Jake Crowgard, in human form, ran to meet the van, embracing Jenni and Starr when they emerged.

As Vlad opened the door of the medical office, Simon looked at the humans standing near the van. Strangers in police uniforms. Who could be trusted? And what would happen to any who were deemed untrustworthy?

A white car pulled up behind the police van. Right behind it was a black sedan.

“We’re protected,” Vlad said quietly. “Let’s go inside.”

Protected, yes. He spotted several Sanguinati in their smoke form. He saw Blair and a few other Wolves in Wolf form moving along one side of the market’s inner square. In the center of the square was Air astride Twister—warning and threat.

Dr. Dominic Lorenzo, Lieutenant Montgomery, and Captain Burke passed under one of the Market Square’s archways and strode toward the medical office. Tess and Nyx also headed toward the medical office, but they were coming from the direction of the Liaison’s Office.

“I thought you were helping humans deal with the
cassandra sangue
,” Simon said to Lorenzo, surprised at how slurred the words sounded.

“I am,” Lorenzo replied. “But I’m still putting in some hours here for the Courtyard’s residents. I heard a news bulletin about the trouble at the stall market, and I thought I might be needed here.”

He was about to refuse. He didn’t want any human touching him.

Then Meg appeared in the office doorway. She looked at Henry, then at Nathan, then at him—and burst into tears.

Jane Wolfgard caught Meg before her legs buckled.

“No bending that knee,” Jane said sternly.

Lorenzo shook his head. “Enough of this.” He looked at Jane. “Take Ms. Corbyn to the examination room. While I’m sure you did an excellent job of cleaning and tending the cut, I’ll examine the knee and make my notes for her file.” Then he turned to look at Nathan. “You. Do
not
lick those cuts. Even from here I can see there’s glass in some of those wounds. If you swallow any of it, it can cut you up inside.” Finally he turned to Henry and Simon. “I’ll examine both of you and make my recommendations for your human forms. Then you and your healer can decide the best course of action.”

Having given his orders, Lorenzo walked into the office and headed for the examination room.

As they hobbled after Lorenzo, Simon noticed Theral, who was standing out of the way. When she saw Burke and Montgomery—and none of the humans who had left with the Others a couple of hours ago—she turned pale and swayed.

“Ms. MacDonald,” Montgomery said gently. “We need to talk.” He led her into the room Elizabeth Bennefeld used for massages and closed the door.

“Mr. Wolfgard,” Burke said, ignoring Simon’s warning growl. “I’d like your perceptions of what happened at the stall market.”

“We were warned to leave,” Simon replied. “Danger. Humans blocked the way and attacked before we could get out. Attacked Nathan too.” He tried to turn his head to look at the Grizzly. “Henry knocked me down.” And probably had that furrow in his right cheek from the bullet that would have killed Simon.

“Captain, I can give you enough for your report,” Vlad said.

Jane stepped out of the examination room. “Nathan?”

“Simon first,” Nathan said.

Lorenzo may have wanted to see them in order of visible injuries, but leader came before enforcer. So Simon hobbled into the examination room.

Since he hadn’t seen her leave, it shouldn’t have surprised him that Meg was still there, sitting in a chair.

He grumbled at Lorenzo and Jane when they cut off his shirt, wasting a usable garment, but he couldn’t raise his arms for them to lift it off, so there wasn’t much choice. He growled about them removing the shoes, socks, and jeans. He would have bitten at least one of them if they’d tried to remove the briefs. No one was taking those while Meg was in the room.

“Oh, Simon.” Meg started crying again.

“Don’t cry, Meg,” he pleaded. It hurt in a different way to hear her crying.

Lorenzo poked and prodded, gently enough, all things considered, but Simon still yelped a few times.

“Well, even in this form, you’re a lot tougher than a human,” Lorenzo said. “You’re battered and deeply bruised, no question about that. You might have some hairline fractures that I can’t detect without taking X-rays, which I can’t do here. But I’m not feeling any obvious broken bones or anything that’s dislocated. All I can prescribe is rest. Give yourself time to heal.”

“Once Simon shifts to Wolf, I can tell if there are problems inside,” Jane said.

“Can’t shift to Wolf,” Simon muttered. “Have to talk to humans about—”

Meg sprang out of the chair and was in his face so fast, he jerked back . . . and then whimpered because the move hurt, hurt, hurt.

“You do
not
have to stay in human form,” she yelled. “You do
not
have to talk to any humans until you’re better. You need to be a wolfy Wolf! And if you get stupid about this, I’ll . . . I’ll paint your tail orange!”

He thought of pointing out that he wouldn’t have a tail if he stayed in human
form, but Jane nodded and said, “That’s a good threat. Come on, Meg. Let’s step out so Simon can shift and the human doctor can look at Nathan.”

After giving him an “I whack bad Wolves” look, Meg limped out of the examination room.

“Let me give you a hand down,” Lorenzo said, bracing a hand under Simon’s elbow. “I won’t offer a painkiller because I don’t know how a
terra indigene
would react.”

Simon didn’t know how he would react to human painkillers either, but he thought giving Meg a couple of licks would make him feel better. He always felt comforted when he gave her hand a couple of licks while they watched a movie. But what about Nathan?

“Tell Jane to have Meg hold one of the chamomile cookies for a minute and then give a bit to Nathan,” he said.

Lorenzo studied him. “So the sedating quality isn’t just carried in
cassandra sangue
blood? Just having Meg hold something provides enough contact to transfer some of that calming effect?”

Cassandra sangue
blood had been used to make the drug feel-good, which could make someone so passive he couldn’t respond to any kind of threat. It was easy to argue that taking blood from the girls was a bad thing, especially when the girls were treated like livestock. But Simon was suddenly reluctant to tell anyone, even Lorenzo, that a blood prophet might slip a mild tranquilizer to someone just by handling food.

After all, the comfort
he
felt might just be from giving his friend an “I’m with you” lick.

“The cookies always taste better if Meg handles them,” Simon finally said.

Lorenzo seemed to consider that for much too long. “That’s definitely something to think about. Now, you shift and get out of here so I can look at your friends.”

He hurt just as much in Wolf form, and his forelegs didn’t want to take his weight because his shoulders weren’t working quite right. But he hobbled out of the examination room, swiftly replaced by Nathan.

he told Vlad.

Not having a tail, Vlad sounded amused instead of sympathetic. us about what happened here and at the stall market. I’ll interpret for you. Or Elliot can.>

He didn’t see his sire.

Yeah, he wasn’t going to be jumping up on a bed for the next few days, and sleeping on something cushiony would feel better than sleeping on the hard floor.

Meg stood by the open office door, staring out at the square. But when Nathan, in Wolf form, limped out of the examination room, she turned and stomped back to where the three of them were standing.

At another time, it would have been funny—Meg in a stompy-bison mood with her puppy-fuzz hair and a determined look in her gray eyes. Now . . .

Please don’t whack me,
Simon thought, grateful when Vlad stepped between the Wolves and the blood prophet.

“Nathan is coming home with us,” Meg said. “He needs quiet and rest as much as Simon, and if he’s in the Wolfgard Complex, the puppies will pester him.”

Vlad knew the adult Wolves wouldn’t allow that. But the Sanguinati was oddly silent. Of course, all Simon could see at the moment was Vlad’s back and not Meg’s face.

“Nathan is coming home with us.”

A moment of surprised silence. Simon asked Vlad.

Vlad replied.

Simon thought about Nathan, trapped and alone in the overturned bus, cut by glass and the sharp rocks that had been thrown at him through the broken windows. Which would be more comfort, being with the pack at the Wolfgard Complex or being with a smaller pack that included Meg?

He looked at Nathan.

Simon told Vlad.

*   *   *

Even though he wasn’t going to participate, Elliot felt the interview with the police would have more weight if it was held in the consulate’s conference room, and Tess agreed. That was why she and Nyx were sitting across from Captain Burke—and why they’d chosen the seats that would keep Burke from noticing Vlad, in his smoke form, blending into the shadows in a corner of the room.

Tess said.

Nyx replied.

Burke held up a small notebook and pen. “All right if I take notes?”

“Of course,” Tess replied. She saw the flash of alarm in the man’s eyes when her hair began to coil, but the hair remained brown, a sign that she wasn’t feeling angry or threatened.

After a moment’s hesitation, Burke opened the notebook. “Mr. Wolfgard said he’d been warned to leave the stall market, that they were in danger. I’m assuming that warning came from Ms. Corbyn?”

“Yes,” Tess said.

“What can you tell me about what happened here?”

Tess told him what she knew. She’d been in A Little Bite. John Wolfgard had been unpacking books in HGR’s stock room, and Elliot Wolfgard had been doing some paperwork at the consulate when they all heard a weird-sounding howl. Then Sam and Skippy howled a warning that brought them running in time to see Meg dash up the stairs to the efficiency apartments and fall, cutting her knee. John grabbed the youngsters and took them away before Meg began to speak, leaving Elliot and Tess to hear the prophecy.