Marked in Flesh
Page 110
In human form, Henry was a big man with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes, but he didn’t feel human. At least, not when she’d first met him. Now? Was it just that she’d gotten used to him, or had he lost some of the wildness in these past few months?
“That depends on who you ask,” he replied.
“The terra indigene who no one talks about. The really dangerous ones. Well, you’re dangerous too, but . . .” She stopped, afraid she’d insulted him. Then she pressed on, because she had to know. “Simon has brought more humans to the Courtyard. It’s Lieutenant Montgomery’s family, so it’s a kind thing to do, but will they think he’s becoming too human because he’s spending so much time with humans? Are you at risk? Did I cause this?”
Henry leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. His expression went from puzzlement to amusement as he slowly shook his head. “Have you been saving up these questions, Meg?”
“You think it’s funny?”
“Funny? No. Amusing?” He tipped a hand back and forth. “There is always a danger of taking too much from a form, but I imagine that’s been true since the first terra indigene took the form of another predator in order to study its way of hunting and become an even better hunter than the original animal. But humans are an odd kind of predator, and most of what they fight over among themselves . . .” He shrugged. “Yes, we’ve become more entangled with humans, and not just in Lakeside. Yes, there’s a risk that we’ll become too involved in their concerns and forget who we are and what our own kind need. But I don’t think Simon will become too human, not in any bad way. You know why?”
Meg shook her head.
Henry smiled. “Because you won’t let him.”
She sat back and sighed. “Tess is kind of cranky.”
“Tess is Tess.”
“Do you think the Courtyard will still be able to buy those apartment buildings across the street?”
“We have bought them. The humans have to do their paperwork, but that’s a formality and should be completed anytime now.”
“Until then, where do we put everyone?” In the compound where she had been raised, every girl had her own cell. She didn’t have a training image that would help her visualize many people crammed into a room to sleep, even temporarily.
“Meg? You take your quiet time whenever you need it. You’re not responsible for Lieutenant Montgomery’s pack; he is.”
“Well, I’m not going to make the mistake of showing them the ponies!”
Henry’s booming laugh rang out. “As if Jester would let you near the Pony Barn with small humans after the last time.”
She’d made mistakes when she’d taken Lizzy to see the ponies. She had no reason to believe the other little girls would react the same way and want to ride the Elementals’ steeds, but she wasn’t going to take that chance.
They heard Jake cawing.
“Sounds like I have a delivery.” Meg stood. “Thanks, Henry. I like the box.”
She hurried out of the studio, ran the length of the yard, dashed out the gate, and rushed into the back room of the Liaison’s Office. She reached the front counter in time to see the deliveryman getting back into his truck. The packages and her clipboard, with the information filled in, were on the counter.
She took the packages into the sorting room, then turned on the radio. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been listening to the weather report when she realized that Tess had come in.
Meg tipped her head to indicate Tess’s coiling green and red hair. “You’re feeling tense.”
“So are you.” Tess looked pointedly at Meg’s arm, where her fingers were digging into skin. “Are you feeling prickles?”
More than that. Worse than that. “I haven’t made a cut in a few days.”
“It won’t tell us anything.”
“It could tell us if we’ll survive.”
Tess gave her a long look. “No, I don’t think it will this time.”
• • •
Simon led Captain Burke and Agent O’Sullivan upstairs to HGR’s second floor. “Vlad is checking e-mails, so we’ll talk in the office where he can hear us. Unless we should wait for Lieutenant Montgomery?” He felt restless and didn’t want to wait. You could dig a den in the earth to escape a bad storm or hide from fire if you couldn’t outrun it. But you could drown in that same den if the storm brought a flood or if the packed earth collapsed and trapped you inside. Shifters like him weren’t the target of the storms, but they were going to get hit just the same.
“No, the lieutenant needs some time with his family,” Burke replied. “I’ll relay the information to him once he gets everyone settled in the duplex.”
How could he tell these humans that he would try to save some but he couldn’t risk trying to save others who belonged to the same pack?
<The Sanguinati and Wolfgard arrived in Bennett,> Vlad said.
<Any word from Stavros?> Simon asked.
<No.> Vlad closed down the e-mail program.
Simon studied Burke. “The Courtyard will be a safe place during the storms. If Lieutenant Montgomery’s pack is denning too far away, he might not be able to bring them here in time.”
“My duplex isn’t that far away. Besides, you’ve already taken in more people than you can comfortably fit,” Burke said.
“That depends on who you ask,” he replied.
“The terra indigene who no one talks about. The really dangerous ones. Well, you’re dangerous too, but . . .” She stopped, afraid she’d insulted him. Then she pressed on, because she had to know. “Simon has brought more humans to the Courtyard. It’s Lieutenant Montgomery’s family, so it’s a kind thing to do, but will they think he’s becoming too human because he’s spending so much time with humans? Are you at risk? Did I cause this?”
Henry leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. His expression went from puzzlement to amusement as he slowly shook his head. “Have you been saving up these questions, Meg?”
“You think it’s funny?”
“Funny? No. Amusing?” He tipped a hand back and forth. “There is always a danger of taking too much from a form, but I imagine that’s been true since the first terra indigene took the form of another predator in order to study its way of hunting and become an even better hunter than the original animal. But humans are an odd kind of predator, and most of what they fight over among themselves . . .” He shrugged. “Yes, we’ve become more entangled with humans, and not just in Lakeside. Yes, there’s a risk that we’ll become too involved in their concerns and forget who we are and what our own kind need. But I don’t think Simon will become too human, not in any bad way. You know why?”
Meg shook her head.
Henry smiled. “Because you won’t let him.”
She sat back and sighed. “Tess is kind of cranky.”
“Tess is Tess.”
“Do you think the Courtyard will still be able to buy those apartment buildings across the street?”
“We have bought them. The humans have to do their paperwork, but that’s a formality and should be completed anytime now.”
“Until then, where do we put everyone?” In the compound where she had been raised, every girl had her own cell. She didn’t have a training image that would help her visualize many people crammed into a room to sleep, even temporarily.
“Meg? You take your quiet time whenever you need it. You’re not responsible for Lieutenant Montgomery’s pack; he is.”
“Well, I’m not going to make the mistake of showing them the ponies!”
Henry’s booming laugh rang out. “As if Jester would let you near the Pony Barn with small humans after the last time.”
She’d made mistakes when she’d taken Lizzy to see the ponies. She had no reason to believe the other little girls would react the same way and want to ride the Elementals’ steeds, but she wasn’t going to take that chance.
They heard Jake cawing.
“Sounds like I have a delivery.” Meg stood. “Thanks, Henry. I like the box.”
She hurried out of the studio, ran the length of the yard, dashed out the gate, and rushed into the back room of the Liaison’s Office. She reached the front counter in time to see the deliveryman getting back into his truck. The packages and her clipboard, with the information filled in, were on the counter.
She took the packages into the sorting room, then turned on the radio. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been listening to the weather report when she realized that Tess had come in.
Meg tipped her head to indicate Tess’s coiling green and red hair. “You’re feeling tense.”
“So are you.” Tess looked pointedly at Meg’s arm, where her fingers were digging into skin. “Are you feeling prickles?”
More than that. Worse than that. “I haven’t made a cut in a few days.”
“It won’t tell us anything.”
“It could tell us if we’ll survive.”
Tess gave her a long look. “No, I don’t think it will this time.”
• • •
Simon led Captain Burke and Agent O’Sullivan upstairs to HGR’s second floor. “Vlad is checking e-mails, so we’ll talk in the office where he can hear us. Unless we should wait for Lieutenant Montgomery?” He felt restless and didn’t want to wait. You could dig a den in the earth to escape a bad storm or hide from fire if you couldn’t outrun it. But you could drown in that same den if the storm brought a flood or if the packed earth collapsed and trapped you inside. Shifters like him weren’t the target of the storms, but they were going to get hit just the same.
“No, the lieutenant needs some time with his family,” Burke replied. “I’ll relay the information to him once he gets everyone settled in the duplex.”
How could he tell these humans that he would try to save some but he couldn’t risk trying to save others who belonged to the same pack?
<The Sanguinati and Wolfgard arrived in Bennett,> Vlad said.
<Any word from Stavros?> Simon asked.
<No.> Vlad closed down the e-mail program.
Simon studied Burke. “The Courtyard will be a safe place during the storms. If Lieutenant Montgomery’s pack is denning too far away, he might not be able to bring them here in time.”
“My duplex isn’t that far away. Besides, you’ve already taken in more people than you can comfortably fit,” Burke said.
