Marked In Flesh (The Others #4) - Anne Bishop Page 0,156
the front room.
“What’s wrong?” Nyx said.
Merri Lee pointed at the two cards on the counter above the drawer that held Meg’s prophecy cards.
The first card was a beautifully rendered but terrifying representation of what Henry guessed was one of the Elders’ forms. Next was half a Wolf cookie. Last was a card that had a simple drawing of a smiley face.
“That is sooooo wrong,” Merri Lee said, shuddering.
“Yes, it is.” Henry picked up the cookie. “Leaving food on the counter will attract mice.”
She gave him a look that told him he’d missed the point.
“And the Elders shouldn’t have been playing with Meg’s cards.” Nyx opened the drawer and used the tip of her finger to nudge the cards inside. “It might interfere with her reading a prophecy.”
Now Merri Lee looked at Nyx. “I’m going outside for a minute to get some air.”
They watched her leave.
“She seems disturbed,” Henry said.
“Of course she is,” Nyx snapped. “Don’t you find that smiley-face card disturbing?”
• • •
Nathan watched the fog lift to reveal a blue summer sky.
If the Hawk was flying, did that mean it was safe to go out?
He howled out of happiness and scattered the humans who were clustered near the door as he dashed for Captain Burke’s den. The big human looked at him when he entered the room and shifted to pull on his clothes, but Burke kept talking on the phone.
“Looks like he got the news. If I’m delayed, I’ll let you know. Otherwise, expect us in an hour.” Burke hung up, walked to the doorway, and boomed, “We received the all clear. Go, go, go!”
Nathan watched the police officers moving out for their own kind of hunt.
Burke returned to his desk. “I’m expected at the Courtyard in an hour; I can give you a lift home.” Then he held out a piece of paper he’d taken from his desk. “What do you make of this?”
A message from the Shady Burke. Nathan read it, then handed it back with a shrug. “The humans weren’t going to hold any part of the wild country for long.”
“It’s the phrase ‘about to get some weather’ that interests me. Did we get some weather, Nathan?”
The question had a bit of Foxgard slyness. “We had wind, lots of rain.” Not to mention Namid’s teeth and claws roaming the streets.
“Have you ever seen a human doing magic tricks?” Burke dipped his hand into his pocket, took out a quarter, and held it up for Nathan to see. “Like making coins disappear or pulling rabbits out of a hat?”
When he was a juvenile, he had seen a magic act. He’d wanted to find a bunny-filled hat like the magician’s, but all the trading post had was a hat made of bunny fur. “That was a trick? The hat didn’t really hold a bunny?” How disappointing, but not unexpected from humans.
“Getting hungry?” Burke asked dryly.
“Yes.” Hopefully the humans hadn’t eaten all the meat in the Courtyard. He was bound to have work to do for the pack, and he wouldn’t have time to chase down a meal.
Burke moved his hands and the quarter disappeared. “Sleight of hand. Distracting the attention from one thing by drawing attention to something else.” Burke turned his hand and revealed the coin again. “We didn’t get anything like the weather that’s heading for Cel-Romano, did we?”
“Ask Simon. He might know.”
“Yes, most likely, he does know.” Burke looked at the quarter. “He has said more than once that the terra indigene learn from other predators. He wasn’t just talking about hunting techniques, was he?”
It didn’t sound like a question that needed an answer, so Nathan said nothing.
Burke pocketed the coin. “Well, I expect Commissioner Wallace wants to yell at me for being an alarmist and a pain in his ass, not to mention holding an entire police station hostage—more or less.” He walked to his office door.
Simon was the Courtyard’s leader and would tell the humans what he wanted them to know. But Nathan felt he should say something to Burke about keeping the police pack denned.
“Captain? You’re not an alarmist.”
Burke looked back at him and smiled tightly. “I know.”
CHAPTER 51
Earthday, Sumor 1
“. . .Major flooding in Toland, along with power outages and damage to roads and railways. In a bizarre twist to the storm, a severed head was found on the steps of one of the television stations. It is rumored to be the head of Nicholas Scratch, the