“I’ll tell him. Where will you be?”

“The livery stable. I want to look at the horses there, want to make sure the people working there actually know something about horses.” He hesitated. “And then I thought I’d take a look at the saloon. It’s not open for business yet, but people are welcome to come in and take a look.”

It didn’t surprise her that the first business in Bennett to be fully staffed and truly operational would be the saloon. There had been more than one “watering hole” in the town, and someone might eventually open one of the other ones, but for now the Bird Cage Saloon would be an important gathering place.

“Go on, then.” When he turned to leave, she added, “Tobias? I’d like to know about the people working there—and the person Tolya Sanguinati chose to run the place.”

“You think that will be important?”

“Yes, I do.”

They studied each other. Intuits did not dismiss the feelings that had helped them escape the persecution of humans who feared their gifts and had helped them bargain with the terra indigene to establish communities that were well hidden in the wild country.

“Anything in particular I should look for?” Tobias asked.

Jesse shook her head.

The door opened and Tolya walked in with a long roll of papers. “Mr. Walker.”

“Mr. Sanguinati.” Tobias touched the brim of his hat and left.

Jesse went behind the counter. No reason to except she felt easier.

“We can’t keep doing this.” She hadn’t meant to say it so bluntly, but she was tired—and she was scared for herself, for her son, for the people of Prairie Gold, and for the newcomers, who, she was sure, weren’t prepared for the daunting truth about Bennett no matter what pictures they had seen on the TV or in newspapers. Picking through the lives of so many people, realizing that what had eliminated the entire population was out there, watching, waiting …

Bennett was a carcass. Sooner or later, the scavengers would start arriving to pick at the spoils. And then more people would die.

She jerked when Tolya’s hand closed over her right hand, which had a tight hold on her left wrist.

“I know your tell, Jesse Walker, and I know the scent of fear. Why are you afraid?”

“Outlaws, scavengers, squatters,” she whispered. “They’ll be coming too. Maybe not on the same trains that bring the people we want, but they’ll be coming close behind. They’ll find a way to get here because this place is ripe for the picking, and there’s nothing we can do.”

She felt surprised when a tear rolled down her cheek. Felt even more surprised when Tolya gently brushed it aside.

“We can’t keep doing this,” she said again.

“Doing this being clearing out the houses? I know. That’s why I brought these maps of the streets. I had some thoughts about … prioritizing.”

She moved her hands to indicate she wanted to be released. Tolya immediately raised his hand.

Taking a tissue from the open box she had placed near the cash register, she blew her nose and considered priorities.

“Jewelry, money, bank information, and legal documents are the important items that might be in each home, yes?” Tolya asked. “Those are the things that should be set aside for any potential heirs, if the attorneys who settle here can find anyone. These items are more important than clothing, 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 for whether or not they would do what you have in mind.”

“Of course. I welcome your input. I will locate someone with a vehicle to drive us.”

“Tobias can drive us. He was going to take a look at the saloon, so we could meet him there.” And she’d like to take a look at the madam running the place.

* * *

* * *

Kelley didn’t want a house, was adamant about not wanting the work of taking care of a house and whatever yard was attached to it. Abigail didn’t want an apartment, was certain being in an apartment complex would expose her to danger and leave her vulnerable in a way that living in a house wouldn’t.

A month ago, Kelley would have given in. But a month ago he’d still believed the story she had spun about her life before meeting him, had still believed she was the sweet woman he’d loved and married. Now they were two people who were living in the same room at the hotel but not even sharing a bed while they wrangled about where to live.

She had a feeling the wrangling wasn’t going to go on much longer. Couldn’t go on much longer. Her new neighbors had to see her as sweetly odd Abigail Burch who had sold soaps and candles when she’d lived in Prairie Gold.

Maybe it would be better to arrange things so that Kelley would leave and she could be the sad, brave wife he’d walked out on. That could work—as long as she chose the right kind of neighbors.

Abigail wandered one of the residential streets, making sure she looked adrift, homeless.

In order to eat free food and have a free place to stay, everyone coming into Bennett was expected to put in forty hours a week in some kind of work—and part of that work included helping to sort and clear out houses and businesses. She had tried to help sort and clear out the clothing, but she couldn’t stand being in the bedrooms, especially the ones that had belonged to the children. So she volunteered to clean the offices, scrubbing windows and floors, dusting furniture, cleaning the bathrooms. Even that work wasn’t without its unpleasant surprises. One person had kept a small bowl of tumbled stones on a desk, and those stones created another dissonance, another tear in the protections she had created around herself with her own collection of stones.

Abigail closed her eyes. She needed … She needed …

“Hey!”

A hand grabbed her arm. She gasped, pulled away, staggered. The hand grabbed her arm again.

“Easy. Wow. Have you been out in the sun too long? I live across the street. Come over. I’ll give you some water.”

Abigail looked at the young woman—at the gullible mark—with the blue eyes and freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. Perfect. “Thank you.”

“I’m Barb. I’m just moving in over there.” She pointed to a house. “You’re pretty wobbly. I’d say you should see a doctor, but we don’t have one yet. I’m what Mr. Sanguinati calls an almost-vet since I’ve been taking care of all the pets who were left behind when … they were left behind.”