Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,26
books, furniture, and the food in jars and cans.”
“All the alcohol should be collected,” Jesse said, tossing the tissue in the little wastebasket she’d also tucked behind the counter. “I think … I feel the task of clearing out the houses is taking a toll on the young people doing the work. Some of them may come to depend on alcohol to numb their minds and hearts in order to face the work. And drugs. The houses should be cleared of all the drugs. Let the doctors who come here figure out what to do with prescriptions and such.”
“You fear for the young humans. But humans keep alcohol in their homes. There is a store here that sells nothing but alcohol.”
“Which isn’t open because there is no one to run it yet.” Jesse frowned. If access to the free alcohol was stopped, would some of the young men resort to breaking into the liquor store? “The saloon could sell bottles and act as the liquor store for the time being as well as being a place to buy a drink and socialize.”
“I will mention this additional requirement to Scythe,” Tolya said.
A chill ran through her. “Scythe?”
“Madam Scythe as she will be known at the saloon.”
“Is she a shifter?”
“She can take human form.”
Evasive. She didn’t expect Tolya to tell her everything. She didn’t live in Bennett, wasn’t a part of the governing body here. But Prairie Gold would have a hard time surviving if Bennett disappeared completely, so she did have a stake in what was happening here. “What is she?”
Tolya studied her. “A rare form. A ferocious predator, even by the standards of other terra indigene. Understand that knowledge about her cannot be disseminated without great risk to your species.”
Gods above and below. Did she want the burden of that kind of knowledge? Was there really a choice? “Tell me.”
“She is a Harvester, a Plague Rider. The Sanguinati drink blood as their preferred sustenance. Her kind harvest life. It can range from a sip of life energy from many different prey to killing her prey. Her hair indicates her mood. Red is anger. If her hair turns solid black, she can kill with a look.”
“Why …” Jesse struggled to speak. “Why let her stay here if she is so dangerous?”
“Would you have her on the outside, where she is alone and sees all of you as prey?” Tolya countered. “The Lakeside Courtyard has a Harvester running the coffee shop, and the arrangement has worked well for them. They are careful around her, as we must be around Scythe, but it is safer for everyone to have her among us at this point.” He paused, then added, “Besides, she is enthusiastic about running a frontier saloon.”
“She’ll kill people.”
“Yes. She will protect the beings who work with her.” Tolya unrolled the papers he’d brought in. “I think we should establish residential territories so that humans with the same customs can live together if that is what they desire. Also, by designating neighborhoods open to habitation, we can reduce the pickup of garbage and other government services.”
“You’ll still need to have someone drive around the streets with unoccupied houses to keep an eye on things.”
He smiled, showing a hint of fang. “Why drive a vehicle and waste gasoline? If the Ravens, Eagles, or Hawks see something, they’ll tell us.”
Jesse looked at the street map of Bennett and knew that, while Tolya’s point about services wasn’t a lie, that wasn’t the reason for designating particular areas as approved housing. “These are boundaries.”
His smile faded. “As you pointed out, there will be scavengers and squatters. Humans who are not suited to be here. There are no real boundaries, Jesse Walker. Not anymore. But there can be acknowledged areas where humans will be considered not edible as long as they don’t provoke the terra indigene into attacking them.”
“And if someone decides to live in one of the houses outside those areas?”
“They might survive.”
But it wasn’t likely. Suddenly she realized why Tolya wasn’t that concerned about scavengers and squatters. Every kind of terra indigene would look at those people and see meat.
There was no mercy in the wild country, no safety in the dark. She knew that. But she wondered if the people coming to Bennett fully appreciated what that meant.
And she wondered what else Tolya wanted to talk about but shied away from.
She took a deep breath and blew it out. “Could we drive around these areas you designated? I think I could get a feel