Parlan’s hand shook a little as he poured Durango’s drink.

“We set for the showdown?” Durango asked. “Tomorrow, isn’t it? Judd called and told me he’d moved some merchandise to a couple of houses just north of the tracks. At that location, the goods will have easy access to the train station and other places on that side of the square.”

Damn it! More men inside the town meant more chances of someone getting itchy and making a mistake.

He poured drinks for William and Wallace Parker, and finally one for himself.

He saw it in their eyes. If he told them he was going to challenge the Sanguinati just to back down, they would kill him now and go in his place, not knowing what would happen when the first shot was fired. Even if he told them what would happen, they would still go into the fight with guns blazing. Outlaws were becoming an extinct breed of human who couldn’t survive in any environment except human-controlled towns, and they were being driven out of those places too. These men needed Bennett, and they weren’t going to walk away.

But he might be able to convince them that they had a chance, and keep them believing it long enough for him to get away.

“We call out the mayor and the sheriff tomorrow,” he said, raising his glass. “To new beginnings.”

They toasted, they drank, they talked—but Parlan had the feeling none of them trusted him quite enough anymore.

CHAPTER 34

Watersday, Frais 1

Startled awake, Jesse grabbed for the phone on her bedside table. “Hullo?”

“Jesse Walker?” A young female voice. Shaky.

“Rachel?” She knew it wasn’t Rachel but couldn’t think who else would call her at that hour of the morning.

“No, it’s Hope. Hope Wolfsong.”

Jesse sat up, her heart suddenly pounding. “Hope? Did something happen in Sweetwater?”

“We’re safe here.”

That didn’t actually answer her question.

Turning on the light, Jesse looked at the clock. “Honey, where are you?”

“At the terra indigene’s communications cabin. Amy Wolfgard is with me. Please listen. I don’t think there’s much time before …”

Jesse heard Amy’s sharp, anxious whine and took a guess at why there wasn’t much time. “Jackson doesn’t know you left the Wolfgard cabin?”

“No, but that doesn’t matter. You have to listen.”

A chill went through Jesse. “You drew a picture.”

“I was teaching Amy how to draw, but we fell asleep, and Amy said I got out of bed and started drawing.” A suppressed sob. “Something bad is going to happen.”

“Can you send me the drawing in an e-mail?” Jesse asked.

“There isn’t time.”

She swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Tell me.”

“I drew a picture of two towns. One town is seen from a hilltop or maybe high up like a Hawk or Eagle would see. It has a long rectangle in the center with trees and grass and a pond.”

“That sounds like Bennett.”

“A red shadow is creeping through the town, consuming it piece by piece. Amy says I cut a finger to make the red. That’s why …” A hesitation. “The other town looks abandoned. A sign above one building says Walker’s General Store. The windows are broken, and there is debris in the street, like there’s no one left to clean it up.”

Another chill went through Jesse. “Hope, honey, where is Jackson?”

“He and Grace went out for a run. They’ll be upset when they come back and—” Hope sucked in a breath.

Jesse hadn’t heard the howl, but another sharp whine from Amy told her that Jackson had found the drawing—and was now calling the Wolfgard to find their missing blood prophet.

“Jackson needs to talk to Bennett’s mayor, needs to send that drawing to him.”

“No!” Panicked breathing. “If Jackson sends the drawing, the man will know about me. That’s why I called you!”

Something wasn’t right. “Honey, Tolya Sanguinati already knows about you. He’s received drawings from Jackson before.”

“But he won’t be the only one who sees it!”

Jesse’s left wrist throbbed. “Who else would see the drawing?”

“The man made of black stones.”

* * *

* * *

“Don’t brush this off, Tolya,” Jackson snapped. “Hope drew this picture. It’s not an idle warning.”

Tolya rubbed his forehead, then felt disgust at having acquired that human gesture. “I’m not brushing it off, Jackson, or dismissing what Hope saw. I just don’t know what to do about it. The Elders and Elementals will deal with the enemy in their territory, but there aren’t enough Sanguinati and Wolves to win a fight with Blackstone and his allies if we really fight.”

“You trust him to keep his word?”

“Of course not. He’s a human who cheats his own kind. He’s not going to be honest with us.”

Silence. Then Jackson said, “What can I do?”

“Don’t let the Hope pup send any drawings or call anyone until you hear from me or from someone in Prairie Gold. I’m going to destroy everything you’ve sent me that might tell someone like Blackstone what she is and where to find her.” And he’d have to figure out what to do with their own prophet pup.

“Be careful,” Jackson said. “Humans are sneaky.”

In Jana’s book, the good guys don’t win—and most don’t survive—because they believed the bargain they had made with the villains. “I’ll call you.”

As soon as he hung up the phone, Tolya reached out to Yuri, using the terra indigene’s form of communication. <Go to Maddie’s house. Make sure everything is quiet there.>

<Nothing’s quiet,> Yuri replied. <I’m heading there now. So are Jana, Barbara Ellen, and the Wolves. Maddie is … upset.>

<Bleeding?>

<Don’t know. Kenneth woke Jana, asking for help. She called me and Virgil.> A beat of silence. <I see Jana. She’s wearing her gunbelt and gun over sleeping clothes.>

<We’re going to fight the Blackstone Clan for control of the town. Meet me and the rest of the Sanguinati at the mayor’s office once you’ve helped Jana and Virgil.> He thought for a moment, then added, <The Wolves need to be at this meeting too.>

As he turned away from his desk to look out the window, the phone rang again. “Hello?”

“Why were you on the phone so long?” Jesse demanded.

“Business,” Tolya replied. “Why are you calling so early?”

“You’re in trouble. Tobias is picking me up. We’ll get there as soon as we can.”

“No. Stay away from Bennett today.”

“Can’t.” Heavy breathing. “Hope Wolfsong called me.”

Jackson hadn’t mentioned that—probably because Hope had “forgotten” to tell him about the phone call. “This isn’t your fight, Jesse.”

“Yes, it is. I have a feeling that I’m the wild card. Your adversary has no reason to think Prairie Gold has that much of a stake in what happens in Bennett.”

“I believe my adversary is an Intuit, so he might sense more than you think. And there can be no wild cards in this fight.” He didn’t want her there, didn’t want one more friend anywhere near this place if they really had to fight.

Silence. Then Jesse said, “Tolya? I’m counting on you and your people winning this fight. But know this: If you should lose, the new leader won’t hold the town for long because I will put a bullet through his brain.”

Tolya stiffened, alarmed by her words. “His pack would kill you.”

“Yes. But he’ll still be gone, and my people will be safer for it.”

* * *

* * *

“Speak, prophet, and we will listen,” Jana said for the sixth time. She wasn’t sure Maddie heard her words or if the girl was speaking the prophecy to the best of her ability.

Maddie raised her shaking arm, her hand shaped like a gun. Pointing at Kane, she wailed, “Bang! Bang!” The hand moved to point at Virgil. “Bang!” Then to Jana. “Bang! Bang!” Then to the rest of them—Barb, Yuri, Kenneth, Evan, even her brother Mace. “Bang! Bang!”

“The doctor gave us an oral sedative for her,” Evan said. “It’s supposed to calm her down enough to break the cycle when she’s like this. Should I … ?”

Jana nodded. The girl hadn’t cut herself and therefore didn’t have the veil of euphoria to protect her mind from the visions. Maddie was being tortured by whatever she was seeing, and Jana didn’t think the girl would be able to make herself understood any better than this.

She closed her hands over the girl’s. “We understand, Maddie. We heard you, and we understand.”

Maybe her words had gotten through the terror. Or maybe Maddie’s body couldn’t take anymore. Either way, Maddie collapsed so suddenly, Jana barely had time to catch her before the girl’s head hit the floor.

Leaving Evan and Kenneth to deal with Maddie and the rest of their children, Jana walked out of the house with Virgil, Kane, and Yuri.

“We’re going to fight the Blackstone Clan for control of the town,” Yuri said.

“When?” Virgil asked.

“Today. Tolya wants the Sanguinati and Wolfgard to meet at the mayor’s office as soon as we’re done here.”

Virgil looked at Jana. “Put on your deputy clothes. You’re coming too.”

She didn’t bother to tell him she hadn’t taken a shower yet. Most likely, he could smell the difference.

Not important. Not today.

She ran across the street to her house, almost tripping over Rusty when she went inside.

“I know, pup.” She let Rusty out in the backyard, then headed for her bedroom to get dressed, hesitating when she heard the phone ring.

“I’ll get it,” Barb called out.

A minute later, Barb tapped on the bedroom door and opened it partway. “That was Zeke. Kelley called him a few minutes ago. Dina didn’t come home last night and Kelley is worried. Zeke thinks she’s catting around, if you know what I mean, but he didn’t want to say that to Kelley. And Zeke is more ticked off that she took a vehicle out yesterday and didn’t log where she was going.”

Jana buttoned her shirt and tucked it into her jeans. “Did he give you the license plate number of the vehicle Dina took out?”

“Yes. I wrote it down for you.” Barb waited a beat. “What can I do?”

“Let Rusty back in and feed her. And if any of our feathered neighbors are home and available, ask them to contact me if they spot the vehicle.” Jana slipped past Barb and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. “You should stay away from the town square today,” she said as she brushed and rinsed.