CHAPTER 56

Windsday, Sumor 18

Standing in the consulate’s meeting room, Monty heard seagulls and the surf before he caught the briny smell of the female who walked into the room, flanked by the Lakeside Elementals, Water and Air.

The shape was female, but she never would have passed for human. Her hair was kelp, and snails and small crabs moved about in it. Her body was fluid and blue-gray, covered by a gown that moved continuously, like waves coming to shore—and was the source of the sounds of surf and gulls.

He had taken Lizzy to the shore a few times to look for shells. He had found the Atlantik alluring, but he had never wanted to bet his life by going out on that water—and that was before he had learned there was something sentient that could command that water.

“Ocean,” Simon said. “Welcome to the Lakeside Courtyard.”

He’s not comfortable with her being here, Monty thought, watching the Wolf struggle to maintain a sufficiently non-furry human shape. Or maybe he doesn’t want to look human in the presence of such a dangerous form of terra indigene.

“The Sharkgard, Orcasgard, and I have enjoyed the stories that have flowed from this place in recent times,” Ocean said. Although quiet, the voice held depth and the memory of the storms just past.

Simon’s ears suddenly shifted to Wolf, and he made a frustrated sound as he struggled to get his ears back to human shape.

She smiled at Simon, and the sound in the room became the soft murmur of gentle waves kissing sand. Then she looked at the three humans, and the smile faded and the sound of storm surge returned.

Stepping up to the table, Vlad unfolded a large map. “As you requested. I hope it’s adequate.”

Ocean nodded but she continued to look at the three men standing tensely on the other side of the table.

“This I command,” she said. “No ship that sails from Thaisia will touch Cel-Romano. That place is closed to the humans here. Defy me, and no ship from this land will survive me.”

Captain Burke quietly cleared his throat. “What about other places? Brittania, for example.”

Ocean turned her attention to Simon. “Wolf?”

“Captain Burke’s kin from Brittania helped us when we asked,” Simon replied. “We have no quarrel with the humans who live there.”

“Then I will permit ships to sail between Thaisia and Brittania. And Felidae and Afrikah since they did not spawn enemies of our land kin.”

“What about Tokhar-Chin?” Monty asked, wondering if a Wolf would be considered “land kin” to something like her.

“It does not touch my domain. You would have to ask the guardian of the Pacifik about that place,” she replied.

Had he really wanted confirmation that there was more than one of these creatures? Well, now they all knew.

Ocean studied the map of Namid, paying particular attention to her own domain. She brushed a finger over the Fingerbone Islands, leaving a wet line on the paper. “My home. The place where I keep the treasures that the water, the Sharkgard, and the Orcasgard retrieve for my pleasure. I have many things. Old things. Old maps. I enjoy looking at the way you humans think I have changed. I am not the one who changed.” Her smile was savage and primal and terrifying.

“On the old maps, you used to put the words ‘Here Be Monsters.’” Her finger traced a wet curve in front of the strait that provided entrance to the Mediterran Sea. She looked at Burke and O’Sullivan, and the punch of that look made Monty feel weak, even though it wasn’t directed at him. She bared teeth that might have been made of coral. “You should put those words on the maps again.”

She walked out of the room, followed by Air and Water.

Monty braced a hand on a chair.

“So,” O’Sullivan said. “No trade with Cel-Romano. I’m not sure how we’ll enforce that.”

“You won’t have to,” Simon said, touching his ears as if to reassure himself that they had returned to human shape.

“But if Thaisian ships disobey that command, Ocean will destroy all the ships sailing from this land, and that would include fishing vessels,” Vlad said. “Can your people afford to lose the food that comes from the sea?”

“We’ll spread the word,” Burke said after a tense silence.

Simon nodded. “We’ll let the terra indigene know as well.”

As they left the consulate, Monty realized that he’d stopped thinking of Simon Wolfgard as a predator. Faced with the truth of what else was out there, the Courtyard’s residents didn’t seem like much of a threat anymore.

He opened the back door of Burke’s sedan but didn’t get in. “Here be monsters. Do you think she was referring to the terra indigene or to humans?”

Burke looked at him over the roof of the car. “At this point, Lieutenant, does it really matter?”

CHAPTER 57

Thaisday, Sumor 19

Meg wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring at the three-ring binder that held the names and contact information for Intuit companies. But when she became aware of the sorting room again, she was startled to see Twyla Montgomery standing on the other side of the table.

“Miss Twyla. What . . . ?”

“Didn’t want to disturb you while your mind was wandering,” Twyla said gently.

“Arroo?” The click of nails on the floor in the front room as Nathan hustled to find out what was going on in the sorting room.

“It’s all right,” Meg said, looking at the watch Wolf, who had his front legs braced on the counter.