Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,166

until a couple of weeks ago.

And moving a herd through the wild country without at least one of the terra indigene in the crew? There wouldn’t be a cow, horse, or man left by the time the nearest town came in sight.

So whoever had stolen the cattle had killed the animals out of spite because stealing was unprofitable, if not downright dangerous.

Tobias looked up and spotted a hawk overhead. Not sure if he was looking at a hawk or one of the Hawkgard, he removed his hat, held it above his head, and waved it in a wide arc a couple of times. He waited a few seconds, then waved the hat again.

The hawk paid no attention. Either it was a terra indigene who had decided to ignore him, or it was just a plain old hawk.

Tobias settled the hat on his head. It had been worth a try.

The thump of something large hitting the ground behind him had the horses jumping forward, wanting to run.

Wheeling his horse around, Tobias reached for his revolver, then jerked his hand away from his weapon and stared at the Eagle, who stared back at him before shifting into a human male. The head still had feathers instead of hair, and the legs were almost human-shaped but were supported by human-sized Eagle feet that had very large talons.

“Mercy,” Ed whispered, looking at her saddle instead of the naked male in front of them.

“Morning,” Tobias said, ignoring his young, blushing ranch hand.

“Yes,” the Eagle replied. “It is morning.” A pause. “That is a greeting?”

“It is.” He smiled. “But it’s also the time of day.”

Humans make everything complicated.

The words weren’t spoken, but the Eagle made his opinion plain to see. Then he pointed at the cattle. “They are dead.”

Tobias nodded. “Shot. Probably last night or very early this morning. Have the terra indigene seen any strangers around here?”

“I saw some earlier, but not live ones. They are not far from here.” The Eagle thought for a moment. “Not far for me.”

Tobias glanced at Ed, who had gone pale. It was all a grand adventure until a person made a mistake. Not wanting to sour the girl, he didn’t ask how many strangers were now being eaten or if someone needed to deal with a vehicle or horses.

He pushed his hat back. “Well, maybe you could pass the word along that there’s meat here for the taking.”

“You don’t want it for your own … flock?” the Eagle asked.

“Normally, I’d see about hauling some of the meat to the ranch or getting some of it to town, but I have other concerns right now.”

“Defending territory.”

“Yeah. And checking on family.” And warning the other ranches that there might be more cattle rustlers or horse thieves in the area.

“I will tell the rest of the terra indigene about the meat,” the Eagle said.

“If you notice any more strangers near the ranch or the town, I’d appreciate a warning. Or warn my mother.”

“The Jesse who teaches Rachel Wolfgard.”

“Yes.”

The Eagle raised his arms as if to pump wings and fly. Then he stopped. “All strangers are enemies?”

Careful. “No. Some are just people passing through or stopping because they have some business in Prairie Gold. But some could be a danger to another human.” Or even to some of you. Which wasn’t something he would say right now. He’d heard what happened to the man who had been called a Cyrus human and didn’t want to be responsible for someone else dying that way.

The male shifted back to his Eagle form and flew off.

Tobias waited a minute, then glanced at Ed again. “You okay?”

“I’ve never seen one of them looking like that.” She blew out a breath. “Guess you get used to it.”

“After a while, you do.” He scanned the land—and saw nothing. But he had the feeling something very large, something he just couldn’t see, was moving toward them. “Come on. There’s nothing we can do here, and I need to get back to the ranch.”

As they rode back to the ranch house, Tobias wondered how many birds riding the thermals were keeping an eye on him.

* * *

* * *

Armed with the slim directory she’d found in Kane’s desk and the list Anya Sanguinati had provided from the hotel register, Jana spent a couple of hours calling police departments and sheriff’s offices located in towns throughout the Midwest Region, trying to find out if any of the men who had recently checked into the hotel had been known associates of Sweeney