Part 21 (1/2)

Smiling, Jester held thumb and forefinger close together. ”A little bit of trouble, which is amply compensated for by the entertainment you've been providing.”

”Thanks a lot.” She hesitated. She didn't know much about anything, but she didn't have to know much to figure out she was going to have time on her hands. ”Jester? When they were caught up with their work, what did the other Liaisons do while they waited for deliveries?”

He looked around the room. ”You cleared out all the old mail and packages?”

”Yes.”

He looked a little bewildered. ”I don't know, Meg. I don't remember seeing this room so clean. Maybe . . . read books?”

”Is there something else I could do to be helpful?”

”What do you want to do?”

Good question. One that deserved some thought.

”Your suggestion about reading is a good one. I'll start with that.” She could study anything she wanted, could read about a subject from beginning to end if she wanted. She could learn how to do things instead of having a head full of disconnected images.

”Good,” Jester said. ”Fine. I'll talk to the ponies. From now on, they'll be happy with whatever treats you give them.”

Then he was gone, slipping out the door so fast she almost wondered if he'd been there at all.

Meg shook her head. She wasn't sure humans could-or should-understand how the Others thought. But Jester's suggestion was a good one, so during her lunch break she would pick up a book to study and a book to read for fun, and ponder what else she could do to earn her keep.

Then it occurred to her that if the Others had no suggestions about what she should do with her time, she could adjust her job to include whatever she wanted. Hadn't she already done that by making deliveries?

Putting a music disc into the player, Meg filled the room with a lively tune and went back to sorting.

Hearing the crunch of tires behind him, Simon s.h.i.+fted over to the side of the road. But the s.h.i.+ny black sedan slowed to keep pace with him, and the rear window rolled down.

”Want a ride home?” Elliot asked.

Simon shook his head. ”Need to walk.”

”Stop the car,” Elliot said to his driver.

Simon waited for Elliot to exchange the expensive leather shoes for practical boots and get out of the car. The sedan drove off, leaving the two Wolves walking toward the Green Complex.

”What's wrong?” Elliot asked. ”Has your Liaison caused another problem? Isn't one a day sufficient?”

”Could have been worse,” Simon replied, a low growl under the words. ”At least it was Thunder expressing an opinion. And if he hadn't been showing off or trying to scare her or whatever it was he was trying to do, his stamping a hoof wouldn't have done that.”

”And if it had been Twister or Earthshaker expressing an opinion around so many buildings?”

”It wasn't.” If it had been, he would have had an unpleasant conversation with the girl at the lake, since the ponies were the Elementals' steeds. Instead he'd had a baffling talk with Jester. The Coyote was delighted that Meg was able to pull Elliot's tail with so little effort, but Jester was also wary of their weird-haired Liaison. She didn't behave like other humans, so none of the Others were quite sure how to deal with her-which made her the most interesting and frustrating thing to cross their paths in quite some time.

”There's trouble in the western Courtyards,” Simon said. As they walked, he told Elliot about the phone calls, the attacks, and the deaths. ”Select Courtyard leaders might be meeting in the Midwest Region to discuss this new threat.”

Elliot frowned. ”This . . . disease. It's contagious?”

Simon shook his head. ”It's not a disease. It wears off like a drug in a few hours. There are two pieces of foulness trickling into small human settlements, and our bodywalkers can't find the source of either of them.”

”You're going to represent the Northeast Region?”

”If the meeting is called, I'll be the one to go for the Courtyards in this part of Thaisia.”

A brief, uncomfortable silence. Then Elliot said, ”What about Sam? I'll take care of him. You know that. But I will not have him in a cage.”

”The cage is for his protection.” An old argument. In his terror and grief after seeing his mother killed, Sam had gone on a binge of self-destructive behavior no amount of pack discipline could stop. After the second time the pup had come too close to killing himself, Simon had gotten the cage, intending to get rid of it as soon as the pup settled down. But by the time he could trust Sam to be alone, the pup had decided the cage was the only safe place, and getting him to come out for even a few minutes at a time had become a daily battle.

As much as Elliot loved Sam and still mourned the loss of Daphne, it was a battle the older Wolf refused to endure. And the sight of Sam in a cage upset everyone in the Wolfgard complex, especially the other pups.

”Henry will look after him. Or Vlad.”

”How long will you be gone?”

”A few days. Maybe a week.” He didn't want to consider what could happen in a week-or who might not be in the Courtyard when he returned. ”Try to get along with Meg, all right? She's the first Liaison we've had in a long time who actually does the work, and that includes making deliveries to the Chambers.”

Elliot looked uncomfortable at the reminder that Erebus Sanguinati approved of their new Liaison. ”Well, I will say this for her. She's the first monkey who bothered to walk the few steps between buildings and deliver the consulate's mail personally so that I receive correspondence in a timely manner.”

Having that much settled, they finished the walk to the Green Complex in easy silence. The black sedan was waiting in a visitor's parking s.p.a.ce.

Elliot opened the door, then paused. ”By the way, the mayor called me to whine about a dangerous thief and about a rumor that she may be hiding in the Courtyard, even posing as our Liaison, and it was vitally important that the property that was taken be returned to its owner.”

Simon twitched. Should he tell Elliot about Meg? The decision the Business a.s.sociation had made not to tell anyone that Meg was a blood prophet was sound-and it had taken a threat from Tess to get Jenni Crowgard's promise not to share that information with anyone, including the other Crows. But maybe knowing would help Elliot deal with the monkeys who chattered in his ear?

”What did you tell him?” Simon asked, knowing his hesitation had given Elliot a clue that he had reasons for wanting to hold on to their new Liaison besides her ability to sort mail and deliver packages.

Elliot bared his teeth in a smile. ”I told him our Liaison didn't have the backbone to be dangerous or the intelligence to be a successful thief.”

”That will do.” Not a compliment to Meg, but the kind of answer that the human government could find useful. Then something occurred to him. ”How did the mayor know that Meg looked like the woman on the wanted poster? Only a handful of police have seen her, and the deliverymen would have no reason to know about the poster.”

”The mayor said he received an anonymous tip,” Elliot said.

”Male or female?”

”He didn't say.”

How would Asia Crane have seen one of those posters? She wasn't above causing mischief for the person who had the job she claimed she wanted. Or was it someone else? Someone who might be able to charm information out of a policeman. Or someone who worked for the Others and had earned some degree of trust.

Something else he would discuss with Henry, Vlad, and Tess, especially if he had to leave for that meeting.

Simon watched Elliot drive off to the Wolfgard Complex before crossing the road and going to his apartment. Sam's greeting ended as soon as Simon opened the cage door and reached for the pup.