Not a question to ask tonight. They were here among humans, a species who were, for the most part, becoming true enemies of the terra indigene. Simon hoped their presence was a good sign that the Crows could make the distinction between friends and enemies.
Now the humans arrived. The Denbys came with their two pups, and Lieutenant Montgomery was with them. So was the Lizzy.
Sam bounced over to greet them but returned a minute later.
<Sam? Do you want to shift? Meg brought clothes for you if you want to play with the human pups.>
<They are being silly,> Sam replied. <I want to stay with you and Meg. And I want to hear the music.> Sam bounced back to Meg and wedged himself between her feet. If her bare legs got too warm from brushing against fur, she would move him. But that was between Meg and Sam. The humans, on the other paw . . .
The human pups seemed to be willfully disobedient, deliberately acting up to be disruptive. Wolves knew the difference between high spirits and troublemaking, and they were eyeing the two-legged pups a little too sharply. So was Ruthie. She had a look in her eyes that reminded Simon of a pack’s nanny just before she put a stop to some nonsense.
Discussion among the Denbys and Montgomery. Then Pete, giving Simon an apologetic look, herded the youngsters away while Eve went into Meat-n-Greens and came out with containers of food. She said something to Tess before following her mate.
<They don’t think the pups will behave tonight,> Tess said in response to his and Vlad’s inquiring looks. <They don’t want to spoil things for the rest of us, so they’re taking the young home to watch a movie. But I suspect Pete and Eve will take turns going outside to listen as best they can.>
<A nip would encourage good behavior,> Simon replied.
<Every adult Wolf here is probably thinking the same thing, which is why Pete and Eve are taking the children home.>
Simon wondered how the three adults had decided who would stay to hear the music and who would tend the pups. Then he saw Captain Burke and another male enter the Market Square and understood that there was no decision. Montgomery had stayed because the police were another kind of pack that brushed the edges of the Courtyard, and he needed to be here with Burke, the police pack’s leader.
“Simon?” Meg didn’t raise her voice; she didn’t need to in order to catch his attention. But hearing it reminded him that it was time to shift to human form so that he could meet the stranger Burke had brought among them.
He returned to Meg and looked at her expectantly.
“I put your clothes just inside Meat-n-Greens,” she said.
He trotted off to put on clothes and fulfill his duties as host for the evening. And, as his reward for being human tonight, he would hold Meg’s hand during the concert.
? ? ?
Meg had seen images of orchestras and music halls and theaters. But those images didn’t fit this experience. The center of the Market Square had three broad steps down to an area that sometimes had benches and tables where the Others could sit and eat or read or simply be around the shops as a social interaction when they were in human form.
She identified the guitar and drum as musical instruments, and Henry had shown her his wooden flute during one of her visits to his studio.
Leaning over, she placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder so the pup wouldn’t bounce up and whack his head on her chin.
“This is exciting,” she whispered, idly petting him. “Have you been to a concert before?”
“Arroo.” Sam tipped his head back and licked her chin.
She wasn’t sure if that meant yes or no but decided it didn’t matter.
Captain Burke, Lieutenant Montgomery, and the stranger approached her. Her fingers tightened on Sam, and he let out a little whuff of concern.
No reason to be afraid. She was in the Courtyard, and she trusted Captain Burke and Lieutenant Montgomery. They wouldn’t bring someone here who posed a danger to any of them.
“Ms. Corbyn?” Burke smiled at her. “This is my cousin, Shamus Burke. He came all the way from Brittania to visit me and see a bit of Lakeside.”
“Hello, Mr. Burke,” Meg said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Shamus replied with a smile. “Call me Shady. Everyone else does.”
Relaxing her hold on Sam, and feeling better about Shady when the man crouched and held out a hand for Sam to sniff, Meg returned his smile.
She didn’t need to see them to know all the Wolves had edged closer, watching the unknown human who was too close to a pup. She just watched the way Shady quickly rose and stepped back. Then Simon, now in human form, stepped between the humans and Wolves and was introduced to Shady.
Charlie Crowgard strummed a chord, and everyone hurriedly found their seats. Merri Lee and Michael Debany sat on Meg’s right, leaving a seat on her left open for Simon. Karl and Ruthie were in the row behind them, along with Lieutenant Montgomery and Tess. Looking over her shoulder, Meg saw Burke and Shady in the third row, along with Vlad and Erebus. When everyone else was seated, Simon sat down next to Meg.
The perches, as well as the rooftops, were full of Crows, Hawks, and Owls. Sanguinati, slipping into the Market Square so quietly Meg wondered if anyone else realized they were there, now sat on the broad steps on one side of the square, while Wolves filled the other side.
Oil lamps, grouped at the corners of the steps nearest the performers, provided lights for the musicians, and several shops around the square were dimly lit as well.
Seeing Henry strike a match and light another oil lamp, Meg leaned down and rubbed the skin above her right ankle.
“Meg?” Merri Lee whispered when she sat up. “You okay?”
Simon leaned so close she could feel his heat—and that skin above her ankle prickled a little.
“Just an itch,” she whispered back, wanting to believe that.
“I brought some bug lotion.” Merri Lee looked at Simon and made a face. “It probably smells really stinky to you, but we don’t know yet how Meg will react to a bug bite, so I brought some with me.”
Charlie began singing. The prickle faded.
“I’m fine,” Meg whispered.
She held Simon’s hand and listened to music, marveling as Henry played some terra indigene music on his flute—music she’d heard on CDs he listened to when he worked on his sculptures and totems. She and Merri Lee cringed when Charlie sang “Teakettle Woman and Broomstick Girl.” And cringed even more when the Crows cawed, the Wolves howled, the Sanguinati clapped, and Karl and Michael laughed and whooped their approval.
Theral played a song on her fiddle. Then Shady went up and joined the musicians in a folk song originally from Brittania, singing the words in a fine tenor voice.
Everyone applauded. Meg rubbed her skin above the ankle and gently nudged Sam away from her legs. The pup obeyed, whining a soft protest as he moved to a spot right in front of her chair.
“Meg?” Simon said. Concern, warning, and demand all wrapped in one quiet word.
“Not pins and needles,” she whispered. “Just a little too warm.” She gave Sam an apologetic smile.
Just a little too warm. Merri Lee had described sunburn as a prickling heat that caused skin to peel. Which sounded disgusting—and possibly dangerous for a cassandra sangue, even though the skin wasn’t actually cut. Could she have been in the sun too long today? Did that little bit of skin really feel hotter than the rest of her leg, or was it warm because of Sam, or even from her own rubbing?
“We need a drummer,” Charlie said. “Anyone willing to try?”
No one moved. Then Captain Burke rose and made his way to the drum. “Let’s see if I remember anything from my misspent youth.”
He spent a minute tapping the drum and learning the different sounds it made. Then he nodded to Charlie.
“Give us a rhythm,” Henry said. “We’ll find something to fit it.” Then the Grizzly nodded to Simon, who looked at the Wolves.