Putting the regional map aside, he considered the map of the town and the red lines he’d drawn last night after Air arrived at his house and told him the Elders wanted to see him.

What had stood before him … Not their true form. Not even the animal forms he suspected had been taken by their ancestors a very long time ago. No, these Elders had walked on two legs, but they hadn’t been human in any other way. They were some of the nightmares that had wiped out the humans who had previously lived in Bennett. And they had summoned him to the edge of the Elder Hills to deliver a message: Enough.

In his smoke form, he had followed them through the streets of the town. Their claws scarred utility poles and post office boxes. By his reckoning, they were marking boundaries two streets beyond what he and Virgil had currently indicated as the town lines. He didn’t know if they understood the purpose of some of the buildings that were now restored to the official part of the town, including Bennett’s small hospital and a shopping center, but by the time the sun began to rise and people began to stir to prepare for the workday, he knew where the lines had literally been drawn.

Because the two official salvage companies had wisely offered jobs to any terra indigene who had expressed interest, they would be allowed to forage beyond the town line during the day. But those houses were now potential dens for the Others. Humans who tried to squat in any of those places would become meat.

One of the Elders left an animal in the town square to feed the terra indigene who were working with the humans. Today it was four-legged prey. Tolya had no doubt that, should humans become careless, the prey left in the square the next time might be someone the humans recognized.

That was one of the problems now. The terra indigene had been the dominant predators since the world had been new, adapting and learning the forms of the hunters around them as they changed with the world, but the Sanguinati were the only branch that had adapted to be urban predators who hunted humans as their preferred prey. That worked in the larger human-controlled towns that had a Courtyard. Or it had before the Elders had made being out after dark a form of suicide. The Sanguinati had hunted in the dark—smoke hiding in the shadows of an alleyway, taking nothing but blood from an unwary passerby; a shadowy lover in a dimly lit bar, exchanging an evening of romance—and sometimes even sex—for a fresh liquid meal.

Yuri, Anya, and Nicolai were in positions that made it possible for them to lightly feed on several individuals during the course of the day. Even Stazia at the bank and Isobel at the post office had opportunities to touch humans and draw a little blood through the skin. At least until humans became wary or even afraid of being touched.

As the leader of the town, he did not have those opportunities. He was Sanguinati, and all of Bennett’s citizens were aware of that. He would need to make some kind of … arrangement … with some of the humans in order to minimize their fear of his kind because this morning he looked at a simple truth: the terra indigene living in Bennett were seriously outnumbered.

Most forms of terra indigene had a connection with the land and had no desire to become contaminated by too much human. The ones who were now residing in Bennett were here out of a sense of duty to the rest, in much the same way as the shifters who lived in Courtyards and kept watch over the humans had provided a conduit for the human goods that were wanted by terra indigene who never could look human enough to approach even a trading post—and there were many, many more who had no desire to try to take that form.

<Tolya?> Yuri called. <We’re all here.>

Taking the maps, Tolya went to the conference room to meet the town council, as well as Virgil and Jana.

He laid the regional map on the table.

Jana leaned over the table, studied the map … and winced. “These are the existing towns?”

“They were,” Tolya replied. “I have not tried to ascertain if they still exist—or if they do, in what form. Perhaps that is something you could do as an officer of human law.”

“Some of the way stations are empty,” Nicolai said. “The humans working on the trains are concerned about that because there is no one to accept mailbags and supplies. The railroads would be willing to transfer trained workers to those places but only if the terra indigene would be willing to ensure their safety.”

“From us?” Virgil asked.

“My impression was they were more concerned about other humans,” Nicolai replied. “Some of the Owlgard have settled around our train station and keep watch at night. They also take turns listening to messages left on the answering machine in case there is an emergency.”

“There was an emergency,” Tolya guessed.

Nicolai nodded. “Of sorts. A human … held up?… the Carter’s Way station yesterday, just before full dark. The male took money from the booth where they sell tickets, as well as a bag of food, water, and medicines that they sell in the little shop. The male had a gun; the workers at the station did not. They gave him what he wanted, but he still fired the gun and wounded one of them before he left.”

“Where is that way station?” Virgil asked.

Jana found it on the map and put her finger on the name.

“Carter’s Way is a stop on a north-south railroad line,” Nicolai said. “If that male is one of the ones who attacked the ranch, then he’s moving south.”

Virgil bared his teeth. “Toward us.”

“We’ll deal with it,” Tolya said. “Right now, we have something more urgent to deal with before the next train arrives in Bennett.”

Nicolai looked at the clock on the wall. “Then there’s not much time.”

Tolya laid the town map on the table and moved a finger over the red lines he’d drawn. “These are the final boundaries for the town. There will be no further expansion. I will make a copy of this map for the land agents so they know where humans can live and can make a list of what stores and businesses are available for new residents looking for work.”

Virgil watched Tolya. “The Elders decided?”

“Yes,” Tolya said. “I was summoned last night. These are the boundaries. Room enough for the humans who are needed for the work that will allow the town to live, but no more. Anyone who wants to settle here either has the credentials to do a specific job or must be willing to apprentice in a particular kind of work and is an acceptable worker to the human who is dominant in that profession.” He looked at Jana. “You will assist the Werners to determine how many residents could be supported by each business or occupation so that we know how many more people we can accept as new residents. You need to figure this out, fast, since people continue to arrive and most don’t have any work papers.”

She looked stunned—and then he saw the look in her eyes that was the reason Virgil referred to her as a wolverine. He appreciated the attitude needed for a small predator to challenge a larger one.

Just because he appreciated it didn’t mean he liked that attitude aimed at him.

“Fast?” Jana growled. “Fast? I arrived a week ago with the rest of the people from Lakeside. We’ve barely had time to find homes and figure out where we’re working. How much faster can we do this?”

“You were selected and approved by trusted terra indigene before you arrived in Bennett,” Tolya said. “The ones who have been swarming into town the past few days were not.” Did she not understand the difference—and the danger?

“You object to people like Kenneth and Evan?”

Virgil growled at her. Tolya pulled back his lips for just a moment, showing Jana his fangs in warning.

“They have a purpose, and that is the point,” Tolya snapped. “Every human who wants to live here has to fill a position. And when those positions are filled, no more humans will be allowed to settle here. When the houses within the boundaries are filled—and not packed in like families of mice—there can be no more settlers. Humans will look at the houses beyond the boundaries and complain that there is room for them, but there is no room. The houses on the other side of the boundaries can be claimed by the terra indigene or not claimed at all, but they cannot be claimed by humans.”

“The humans already outnumber those of us they can see,” Virgil said. “If they start causing trouble, the Elders will thin the human herds more vigorously than the last time.”

Jana shuddered. With effort, she straightened her shoulders, but she looked pale. “What if the Werners and I find some occupations that might be better suited for terra indigene?”

They all looked at her in surprise.

Tolya said, “By all means, indicate those, and we’ll do our best to find terra indigene to fill those positions.”

She nodded. “The picture of the man Melanie Dixon saw at her house yesterday. I think it should be cropped to remove Abigail Burch and then sent to all the train and way stations we can contact.”

“You can do this cropping?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Then alter the picture and e-mail it to Nicolai. As station master, he will send it on to as many stations and way stations as he can.”

“Anything else?”

“Not today.”

Jana bolted from the room.

Virgil huffed out a breath. “Yesterday’s fight was her first kill.”

“Ah.” All the Sanguinati breathed out the sound. First kill wouldn’t have distressed any of them—being able to feed on one’s own was a sign of maturity—but they indicated sympathy because they appreciated Jana’s ability to articulate a human perception of what was needed without displaying aggression.

Except with Virgil. And now, perhaps with him.

Tolya rolled up the maps and returned to his office. He had hoped the Elders would have given them all more time for the town and the people to find their balance. Maybe they would have been content to observe if the Dixon ranch hadn’t been attacked, reminding Namid’s teeth and claws that humans were, for the most part, enemies who were not only prey but preyed on their own kind.

More humans were arriving every day, looking for opportunities—or looking to steal things from the empty houses. Every human who hadn’t already been approved by the terra indigene represented potential danger. The Sanguinati knew that. So did Virgil. He hoped Jana understood that as well.

For now, he would do what he could. And the first thing he would do was send Jesse Walker the picture Hope Wolfsong had made so that the residents of Prairie Gold would recognize an enemy if he came among them.

* * *

* * *

“Walker’s General Store, Jesse speaking.”

“Jesse Walker, this is Tolya Sanguinati.”

She heard the puppy yapping. Cory was in an enclosed pen and should be safe, but … “Is there something I can do for you, Tolya?”

“I have sent you an e-mail with the picture of a potential enemy. Your people need to be wary of this man and any humans who are with him.”