CHAPTER 48

Alantea held Hurricane to a canter as they moved up Thaisia’s East Coast, followed by Air riding Twister. Waves that could swallow buildings and winds that could shred anything in their path kept the humans hurrying and scurrying—too busy trying to save themselves to think of anything else.

But there were places where other Elementals made their presence felt to soften the punishment, and that was right and proper. After all, it wasn’t her job to thin the herds who clung to the land. That was the task of other forms of terra indigene. Her task . . .

<Are we agreed?> Air asked.

<We are agreed,> Alantea replied. The Intuit fishing boat was snug in its harbor, and the Sanguinati who had helped the Sharkgard silence the voice of the enemy was safely on land that would feel only a kiss from the storm.

She aimed Hurricane at the city of Toland.

Air let out a triumphant scream as waves rose high enough to turn city roads into rivers.

Distraction. Diversion. This wasn’t the real battle.

Alantea turned Hurricane away from Thaisia, leaving Toland to the sharp mercy of Air and Twister. Giving her steed his head to run and run, she gathered the waters of her domain and aimed her fury straight at Cel-Romano.

To: Simon Wolfgard

Can’t reach anyone in the Midwest and haven’t received any phone calls or e-mails from anyone there. Suspect phone lines and telegraph lines are down. We’re still connected with other Intuit communities in the Northeast. Contact with the Southeast Region is erratic. No information about human-controlled cities and towns along the coast in that region.

Some Midwest radio stations are still broadcasting, and Intuit towns near the border between the Midwest and Northeast have passed along news. The first news indicated that the storm damage would, as one announcer put it, huddle the herd. Later reports talked about entire groups of people disappearing—and officials used the word “slaughterhouse” to describe the scenes.

Will keep sending news as long as I can. Black clouds on the horizon. Storm is moving toward us fast.

—Steve Ferryman

CHAPTER 49

Earthday, Sumor 1

“Flood warnings and high-wind warnings in effect until further notice. A travel ban is already in effect in anticipation of flooded roads or streets dammed with debris, including downed power lines. City officials are recommending that families fill jugs with drinking water and prepare for power outages. This is Ann Hergott at WZAS.”

• • •

Every new human entering the Courtyard made Meg’s skin prickle and buzz in a different place. Those people needed to be here; they were the families of trusted police officers, many of whom were her friends. She’d never forgive herself if any of them were sent away because of her and then something happened to them.

Everyone was busy, scurrying to get beds made and food prepared. Either the storm would be vicious but brief and everyone would feel like fools for closing down the city, or the flooding and damage would make the blizzard in Febros look like a weather hiccup.

Either way, today the Courtyard was crowded with strangers whose future was in question. And the answers were buzzing under her skin as prophecies screaming for the razor to release them.

She dropped the silverware on one of the tables in Meat-n-Greens, oblivious to the noise it made. Turning blindly, she rushed for the door, barely hearing Merri Lee calling to her.

“Meg!”

A hand on her arm. “I have to go. Too many prickles. Too much buzzing under the skin.”

“Go where?” Merri Lee asked. “The storm is going to hit any minute now.”

“To the Liaison’s Office. I can sort something. Mail. Packages. Anything. Need . . . routine.”

“There isn’t going to be routine today, Meg. And there’s no one else at the office. Nathan isn’t going to be there. We’ve been told to keep the doors locked so they don’t get caught by the wind.”

Meg pulled away from her friend. “Can’t stay here.” She ran to the archway in the Market Square that provided access to the employee parking lot and, beyond that, the back door of the Liaison’s Office. She didn’t realize Merri Lee had come with her until the other girl said, “Hurry up, then, so we can get inside.”

A gust of wind hit them and the door just as Meg turned the lock, and they almost fell into the back room. It took both of them to push the door closed.

“Gods,” Merri Lee muttered. She checked the under-the-counter fridge, then the cupboards. “If we’re really going to stay in here, we should have a few more supplies.”

“You don’t need to stay. I’ll be all right on my own.” Better, Meg added silently. Even now, as she tried to stay focused on the friend who was with her, her skin still prickled and buzzed in a couple of places.

“Please, Merri. Please. I need to be alone or I’ll have to cut.”

They both knew what would happen if she made a cut now. Simon, Vlad, and who knew how many other terra indigene would lash out at the humans who had come here for shelter and protection.

“You have your mobile phone?” Merri Lee finally said.

Meg nodded. “And I know the phone numbers for A Little Bite and Meat-n-Greens. I’ll stay in touch.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. Please.” There had been this many people working in the compounds. There had been all the girls. Maybe it was because the girls had been cut on a regular schedule that they didn’t experience any prickles about one another. Or maybe they had been exposed to one another so much they stopped feeling the possibilities.