Marked In Flesh (The Others #4) - Anne Bishop Page 0,168
like her.
“It does not touch my domain. You would have to ask the guardian of the Pacifik about that place,” she replied.
Had he really wanted confirmation that there was more than one of these creatures? Well, now they all knew.
Ocean studied the map of Namid, paying particular attention to her own domain. She brushed a finger over the Fingerbone Islands, leaving a wet line on the paper. “My home. The place where I keep the treasures that the water, the Sharkgard, and the Orcasgard retrieve for my pleasure. I have many things. Old things. Old maps. I enjoy looking at the way you humans think I have changed. I am not the one who changed.” Her smile was savage and primal and terrifying.
“On the old maps, you used to put the words ‘Here Be Monsters.’” Her finger traced a wet curve in front of the strait that provided entrance to the Mediterran Sea. She looked at Burke and O’Sullivan, and the punch of that look made Monty feel weak, even though it wasn’t directed at him. She bared teeth that might have been made of coral. “You should put those words on the maps again.”
She walked out of the room, followed by Air and Water.
Monty braced a hand on a chair.
“So,” O’Sullivan said. “No trade with Cel-Romano. I’m not sure how we’ll enforce that.”
“You won’t have to,” Simon said, touching his ears as if to reassure himself that they had returned to human shape.
“But if Thaisian ships disobey that command, Ocean will destroy all the ships sailing from this land, and that would include fishing vessels,” Vlad said. “Can your people afford to lose the food that comes from the sea?”
“We’ll spread the word,” Burke said after a tense silence.
Simon nodded. “We’ll let the terra indigene know as well.”
As they left the consulate, Monty realized that he’d stopped thinking of Simon Wolfgard as a predator. Faced with the truth of what else was out there, the Courtyard’s residents didn’t seem like much of a threat anymore.
He opened the back door of Burke’s sedan but didn’t get in. “Here be monsters. Do you think she was referring to the terra indigene or to humans?”
Burke looked at him over the roof of the car. “At this point, Lieutenant, does it really matter?”
CHAPTER 57
Thaisday, Sumor 19
Meg wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring at the three-ring binder that held the names and contact information for Intuit companies. But when she became aware of the sorting room again, she was startled to see Twyla Montgomery standing on the other side of the table.
“Miss Twyla. What . . . ?”
“Didn’t want to disturb you while your mind was wandering,” Twyla said gently.
“Arroo?” The click of nails on the floor in the front room as Nathan hustled to find out what was going on in the sorting room.
“It’s all right,” Meg said, looking at the watch Wolf, who had his front legs braced on the counter.
“I know this is an off-limits place,” Twyla began.
“For the children,” Meg said hurriedly.
“You got reasons for your rules, and those reasons should be respected.” Seeing Meg’s scars, Twyla’s dark eyes held neither pity nor discomfort. “But I believe in earning my keep. The folks running the Courtyard are looking at what skills are available to them, and they’ll sort out the work as soon as they can. In the meantime, I can help with the dusting and mopping if that would be of use to you. I noticed the back room could use a bit of shine. And there’s bound to be plenty of loose hairs coating the floor in that front room.” She winked at Meg.
Nathan growled and went back to his Wolf bed.
“Thank you,” Meg said. “I haven’t kept up with cleaning.”
“Mind if I ask what you’re doing?”
“This binder holds the names of companies owned or run by the Intuits. I’m supposed to order as much as I can from them from now on so that the people in Lakeside can’t complain that we’re taking rationed goods away from them. And I have lists of things people would like to buy in the Market Square grocery store. But some things . . . People have listed a dozen different kinds of cereal, and I don’t know how to choose.”
“How many kinds of cereal does that store have now?”
“I’m not sure. The Others eat a lot more meat than cereal.”
Moving slowly, Twyla eased around the table until she stood beside Meg and could look at the lists.