Marked In Flesh (The Others #4)

“What kind of favor?”

“His cousin is visiting for a few days. Shady Burke assisted in bringing some special girls safely to land.” The Others had diverted a ship bound for Cel-Romano that had cassandra sangue as part of its cargo, bringing the “lost” ship to Brittania. Shady had participated in the girls’ rescue.

“I remember.”

“Shady would appreciate an opportunity to interact with some of the terra indigene to better his own ability to work with them when he returns home.”

No response. Then, “Different forms live in different parts of Namid. The Shady Burke may not meet the same forms here. Although the Crowgard may live in Brittania. They live in many places.”

“He understands that. But Shady has never seen a Courtyard.”

A thoughtful silence. “Charlie Crowgard is going to play some music tonight in the Market Square. Theral is going to play some songs on her fiddle. This would be a good time for Captain Burke and his kin to come to the Courtyard. They could have food at Meat-n-Greens.”

And be another kind of entertainment? Monty thought. “I’ll let them know.”

“Simon?” a Wolf called out.

Monty didn’t move aside to let Simon vault over the counter to talk to his guests about books.

“Something else?” Simon asked.

Did he really want to ask? Was there a choice? “My mother is going to spend some time here with me, helping me look after Lizzy. And my sister and her two children may join her for a visit.”

Those amber Wolf eyes studied him. “Is that your whole pack?”

“I have a brother, but we haven’t heard from him in a while.”

“Simon?” the Wolf called again.

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

Monty couldn’t even guess what Simon was thinking. A Wolf pack might be quite comfortable in a one-bedroom apartment, but it wouldn’t work for three human adults and three children.

“Where is your mother now?” Simon asked.

“She lives in Toland. So does my sister.”

A long silence. Monty could hear someone talking behind the shelves. Someone else must be helping the Wolves.

“Humans have important papers,” Simon said, not looking at him. “Things they need to keep.”

“Yes.”

“Your mother and sister. They should come soon, and they should bring the important papers with them.”

“They don’t need to bring such things for a visit,” Monty said, smiling. But that was a good thought if his mother was going to relocate to Lakeside.

Simon looked at him. “They should come soon, Lieutenant, and they should bring whatever is most important to them.”

Another chill went through Monty. This wasn’t a misunderstanding about what humans brought when they visited someone. This was a veiled warning.

Simon walked away from the checkout counter and disappeared among the shelves.

Monty went into A Little Bite and bought a cup of coffee. Instead of taking it with him as he usually did, he sat at a table near the window, ignoring Debany’s puzzled looks.

Typical of Simon to give him a veiled warning. But the message was clear enough: get your family out of Toland because something is going to happen soon.

If it hasn’t already started, Monty thought, remembering the news report about dead fish washing ashore around Toland and two other East Coast cities.

He finished his coffee, brought his cup over to the counter, then signaled for Debany to join him as he left A Little Bite.

“Where to, Lieutenant?” Debany started the patrol car.

“Back to the station. No.” Monty got out of the car. “Wait here. I have to make a phone call. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Monty went up to the efficiency apartment, where he would have privacy. Pulling out his mobile phone, he called his sister’s residence and wasn’t surprised when his mother answered.

“Mama? It’s Crispin.”

“Crispin? Are you all right? Why are you calling at this time of day?”

“I’m fine, Mama.” Monty took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m fine. But I need you to listen very carefully.”





CHAPTER 17


Windsday, Juin 13


A breeze danced over the Courtyard, softening the heat of the day as Simon and Sam trotted down the road. Meg and Tess had driven to the Market Square, so they had brought clothes for the two Wolves. Sam might remain in Wolf form, but Simon felt he should look human tonight as a courtesy to the humans who would be joining them.

<Remember, pup, we don’t howl during every song,> Simon said. <Charlie Crowgard will tell us when to participate.>

<I know,> Sam replied. <I know how to behave.>

Which meant someone else didn’t know. Did human pups tend to misbehave during public events? Should he warn Lieutenant Montgomery and Pete Denby that anyone disrupting music would get nipped? He thought the humans were attending the concert out of politeness, but he could be wrong. Theral was going to play her fiddle, and those songs would be familiar to the other humans. The female pack was excited about the concert, both to hear Theral play but also to hear Charlie Crowgard. And Kowalski and Debany had asked him twice if Charlie was going to sing the song about Meg and Merri Lee defeating the bad human, Phineas Jones.

When he and Sam arrived at the Market Square, Kowalski and Debany already had three short rows of chairs set up in the open area that made up the center of the square.

“Vlad told us to do it this way,” Kowalski said when Simon approached. “And Henry said to put some perches behind the chairs and around both sides.”

Not all the terra indigene would attend this concert. Some still needed to stand guard. But tonight was as much about mingling with humans as it was a chance to hear music. Charlie would give a private performance for those who couldn’t attend tonight—or didn’t want to mingle.

Tess came out of Meat-n-Greens, followed by Meg, Merri Lee, Ruthie, and Eve.

“We’re all set,” Tess said. “We have pizza from Hot Crust that we can warm up, fresh-picked berries, sandwiches and sweets, and ground bison already shaped into patties for those who need, or want, their burgers cooked.”

Charlie sat in a chair, tuning his guitar. He had a few more feathers than usual in his black hair—a sign that he was feeling anxious about performing in front of humans.

Henry walked in with a big drum. Nathan followed him, carrying a wooden flute, which he set on a stool near Charlie before taking his place in the audience.

<If you’re playing your flute, who is going to play the drum?> Simon asked Henry.

<We’ll have to see,> the Grizzly replied. He stood next to Charlie as Theral came out of the medical office, where she must have done her grooming before the performance.

The air carried the smell of her nerves and sweat, but the smile she gave Charlie seemed genuine, and Simon noticed the nervous scent faded as she showed her fiddle to the enthusiastic Crow.

The Wolves entered the Market Square: Blair, Elliot, Jane, and John, along with the six Addirondak Wolves. Thirteen Wolves, including him, Sam, and Nathan. Enough to balance out the humans who would be there—especially when Simon saw the smoke flowing toward the other side of the chairs. Erebus and two other Sanguinati took human form, while the other two columns of smoke settled into the shadows to keep watch.

Owls glided in and settled on the perches on one side of the square. Hawks flew in and took the perches behind Erebus and his kin. That left the perches directly behind the chairs for the Crows—and gave them the best view of Charlie.

He was glad to see Jake fly in, followed by Jenni and Starr. Crystal’s death had hit all the Crowgard very hard, and the Courtyard’s Business Association wondered if Jenni and Starr would remain in Lakeside, and if they did, if they would continue to run Sparkles and Junk.