Etched in Bone
Page 81
Simon pulled off his clothes and shifted to Wolf. <Elliot, go over to the Liaison’s Office and watch Meg. I need Nathan.>
<Done.>
Simon dashed down the stairs, with Vlad flowing beside him. In their pony form, the Elementals’ steeds were as vulnerable to teeth and claws—and bullets—as any other creatures. He didn’t think the ponies would have come for the mail and treats if the Elders were still in the Market Square.
Nathan met them at the archway into the square, and the three of them darted across the open space to the spot where Theral sat on the ground with Jenni crouched beside her.
“Jack,” Theral gasped. “It was Jack. He hit me. He said he’d kill me if I didn’t go with him. I still tried to get away. Then it got foggy and Jack screamed and was gone.”
Vlad shifted to human form and helped Theral stand. “You are hurt. Let’s go into the office. We’ll have a bodywalker come to help you.”
<Welby Owlgard is the closest bodywalker,> Simon said. <And flying will be safer than traveling overland.> At least he hoped the Elders wouldn’t swat an Owl out of the air.
<Agreed,> Vlad said. <I’ll ask Henry to relay information to Lieutenant Montgomery and Officer Kowalski. They can come here to talk to Theral or get her to a human doctor.>
After giving Theral a polite sniff for that Jack Fillmore’s scent, Simon and Nathan turned toward the blood nearby. Some was Theral’s; most belonged to another human. They followed the blood trail to within sight of the Green Complex’s garden, where they met Blair, who was sniffing around . . .
Oh no, Simon thought. Meg can’t know about this.
<The Elders,> Blair said. <I stayed at the Green Complex until they headed deeper into the Courtyard with whatever they didn’t eat here.>
Simon approached the backbone stripped clean of meat, while Nathan pawed the torn clothes and found a wallet and keys. Blair sniffed a foot, still in its shoe, that had a few inches of leg attached to it.
They were shaped differently, but a grown human male would have as much meat as a deer. But that wasn’t much of a meal for any of the Elders’ forms when there were two of them consuming the meat.
The bones—what was left of them—were stripped clean. All the organs were gone, and the long bones of one leg had been cracked for the marrow. The only thing left intact was the foot in the shoe and the . . .
<What are you doing?> Simon yelped as Blair ate the flesh off the bit of leg still connected to the foot.
<I’m hungry,> Blair replied. <No point wasting the meat.> He started to pull the foot from the shoe, then sniffed the foot and stopped. <It’s stinky.>
<You said you were hungry.>
<I’m not that hungry.>
<Found the other foot but not the other leg,> Nathan said. He trotted over to Simon, carrying the foot by the heel.
<We have to bury this.> Simon looked at some bushes several yards from the garden. Someone working in the garden wouldn’t notice freshly dug earth behind the bushes. <Seeing a bunny backbone upset Meg. This . . . >
He closed his teeth over the backbone and headed for the bushes. Blair and Nathan followed with the feet, dumped them at the chosen spot, then went back to look for any other bits of bone and meat scraps.
<Some Hawks made off with a couple of bits,> Blair said. <But they won’t leave anything where Meg would see it. I couldn’t find the head. One of the Elders may have taken it to crack open the skull and eat the brains later.>
They gathered up everything they could find of the human. Nathan ran to the Green Complex to find a bag to carry the clothes and belongings while Simon and Blair began digging.
“Would the Wolfgard like some help?”
The Wolves looked at Earth, who sat astride a sand-colored steed.
<We need to hide this from Meg,> Simon said, backing away from the bones and scraps. <She’ll be upset if she sees it.>
“Quicksand and I can do that.”
The ground beneath the human remains turned into that deadly kind of sand. When the last bit of bone disappeared, the ground became solid, sandy earth.
<Thank you,> Simon said.
Quicksand pawed the ground, momentarily turning a patch of sandy earth back into quicksand.
Earth laughed. “Our Meg is handing out sugar lumps as an extra-special treat. Quicksand wants to get her share.” The Elemental turned her steed, and they galloped toward the Market Square—and the Liaison’s Office.
<I found these,> Nathan said a minute later. He dropped a large paper bag and small blanket near the pile of torn clothes.
They put the jeans, shirt, underwear, and one shoe into the bag, along with a belt and the keys and wallet. That Jack might have carried other things in his pockets, but after a quick search of the area, they didn’t find anything except the other shoe. They put the bag in the blanket and loosely tied the blanket ends to make it easier for the Wolves to hold. Then Simon and Nathan headed back to the Market Square while Blair returned to the Utilities Complex.
They came across several Crowgard, who flew off the moment they were spotted. Since there were a couple of dull coins in the road, Simon figured the Crowgard had made off with any shinies that might have fallen from that Jack’s pockets.
When they passed the ponies carrying full mail baskets, Simon realized how little time had passed. That was good. Meg had been busy. Unfortunately, it also meant that Montgomery and Kowalski were still in the Market Square. The men watched as he and Nathan trotted past with the bag swinging in the blanket between them.
<Done.>
Simon dashed down the stairs, with Vlad flowing beside him. In their pony form, the Elementals’ steeds were as vulnerable to teeth and claws—and bullets—as any other creatures. He didn’t think the ponies would have come for the mail and treats if the Elders were still in the Market Square.
Nathan met them at the archway into the square, and the three of them darted across the open space to the spot where Theral sat on the ground with Jenni crouched beside her.
“Jack,” Theral gasped. “It was Jack. He hit me. He said he’d kill me if I didn’t go with him. I still tried to get away. Then it got foggy and Jack screamed and was gone.”
Vlad shifted to human form and helped Theral stand. “You are hurt. Let’s go into the office. We’ll have a bodywalker come to help you.”
<Welby Owlgard is the closest bodywalker,> Simon said. <And flying will be safer than traveling overland.> At least he hoped the Elders wouldn’t swat an Owl out of the air.
<Agreed,> Vlad said. <I’ll ask Henry to relay information to Lieutenant Montgomery and Officer Kowalski. They can come here to talk to Theral or get her to a human doctor.>
After giving Theral a polite sniff for that Jack Fillmore’s scent, Simon and Nathan turned toward the blood nearby. Some was Theral’s; most belonged to another human. They followed the blood trail to within sight of the Green Complex’s garden, where they met Blair, who was sniffing around . . .
Oh no, Simon thought. Meg can’t know about this.
<The Elders,> Blair said. <I stayed at the Green Complex until they headed deeper into the Courtyard with whatever they didn’t eat here.>
Simon approached the backbone stripped clean of meat, while Nathan pawed the torn clothes and found a wallet and keys. Blair sniffed a foot, still in its shoe, that had a few inches of leg attached to it.
They were shaped differently, but a grown human male would have as much meat as a deer. But that wasn’t much of a meal for any of the Elders’ forms when there were two of them consuming the meat.
The bones—what was left of them—were stripped clean. All the organs were gone, and the long bones of one leg had been cracked for the marrow. The only thing left intact was the foot in the shoe and the . . .
<What are you doing?> Simon yelped as Blair ate the flesh off the bit of leg still connected to the foot.
<I’m hungry,> Blair replied. <No point wasting the meat.> He started to pull the foot from the shoe, then sniffed the foot and stopped. <It’s stinky.>
<You said you were hungry.>
<I’m not that hungry.>
<Found the other foot but not the other leg,> Nathan said. He trotted over to Simon, carrying the foot by the heel.
<We have to bury this.> Simon looked at some bushes several yards from the garden. Someone working in the garden wouldn’t notice freshly dug earth behind the bushes. <Seeing a bunny backbone upset Meg. This . . . >
He closed his teeth over the backbone and headed for the bushes. Blair and Nathan followed with the feet, dumped them at the chosen spot, then went back to look for any other bits of bone and meat scraps.
<Some Hawks made off with a couple of bits,> Blair said. <But they won’t leave anything where Meg would see it. I couldn’t find the head. One of the Elders may have taken it to crack open the skull and eat the brains later.>
They gathered up everything they could find of the human. Nathan ran to the Green Complex to find a bag to carry the clothes and belongings while Simon and Blair began digging.
“Would the Wolfgard like some help?”
The Wolves looked at Earth, who sat astride a sand-colored steed.
<We need to hide this from Meg,> Simon said, backing away from the bones and scraps. <She’ll be upset if she sees it.>
“Quicksand and I can do that.”
The ground beneath the human remains turned into that deadly kind of sand. When the last bit of bone disappeared, the ground became solid, sandy earth.
<Thank you,> Simon said.
Quicksand pawed the ground, momentarily turning a patch of sandy earth back into quicksand.
Earth laughed. “Our Meg is handing out sugar lumps as an extra-special treat. Quicksand wants to get her share.” The Elemental turned her steed, and they galloped toward the Market Square—and the Liaison’s Office.
<I found these,> Nathan said a minute later. He dropped a large paper bag and small blanket near the pile of torn clothes.
They put the jeans, shirt, underwear, and one shoe into the bag, along with a belt and the keys and wallet. That Jack might have carried other things in his pockets, but after a quick search of the area, they didn’t find anything except the other shoe. They put the bag in the blanket and loosely tied the blanket ends to make it easier for the Wolves to hold. Then Simon and Nathan headed back to the Market Square while Blair returned to the Utilities Complex.
They came across several Crowgard, who flew off the moment they were spotted. Since there were a couple of dull coins in the road, Simon figured the Crowgard had made off with any shinies that might have fallen from that Jack’s pockets.
When they passed the ponies carrying full mail baskets, Simon realized how little time had passed. That was good. Meg had been busy. Unfortunately, it also meant that Montgomery and Kowalski were still in the Market Square. The men watched as he and Nathan trotted past with the bag swinging in the blanket between them.
