“Fog and water hide the children,” Tess said, looking at the four women who had remained near the door, listening.
“Fog needs to rest a while,” Water said. “He has worked hard the past few days.”
Spring looked at Air and Winter. “Fog is not the only way to discourage travelers.”
There was something too alien about the Elementals to pass for human. It was more than the shape of the face and the look in their eyes. It was the sense that their connection to a tangible shape was tenuous at best—and they liked it that way.
“Yes,” Winter said. “We can let Fog rest for a day or two. Thunder and Lightning would enjoy a run.”
“So would Cyclone,” Water said. “And Whirlpool is here with us now.”
Monty shuddered. Lakeside was still recovering from the last storm. He didn’t want to think about what another one would do to the area.
“Won’t the flowers die if you summon a storm?” Meg asked, sounding worried.
The Elementals stared at her. Then Spring smiled, and the air in the room became warmer and fragrant. “A thin blanket of snow won’t harm what blooms in this part of my season. And wind cleans away the old to make way for the new.”
“And I’ll keep Cyclone and Whirlpool to the river,” Water said.
“We can fly with the storm at night, and let the Crows, Hawks, and humans on Great Island keep watch for the enemy during daylight hours,” Winter said.
Meg smiled. “That would be good. And then the cookies can drive the … Mr. Ferryman! He was going to talk to people in his village about making Wolf cookies.”
“Sounds like a container or two are heading our way,” Simon said.
“That leaves the scars and smoke,” Tess said. Black streaks suddenly appeared in her hair as she looked at Erebus Sanguinati, who returned her look.
“One of the Sanguinati died, didn’t he?” Meg said. Tears shimmered in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Mr. Erebus. Maybe if I’d made the cut sooner, I could have—”
“No.” Erebus looked uneasy. “The sweet blood is both wondrous and terrible. It should not be shed lightly.”
“But it has to be shed,” she whispered.
“That is something for you to discuss with Simon,” Erebus said gently. Then he added reluctantly, “And with the human bodywalker.”
Lorenzo sucked in a breath, but that was the only indication he gave that he now understood how closely the Sanguinati watched Meg Corbyn.
Simon picked up the envelope again. He pulled out the photo and set it on the table. When Meg paled, he put an arm around her.
“Her designation was cs783,” Meg said.
“What was her name?” Simon asked.
“She didn’t have one. Didn’t want one. She … she wasn’t like Jean and me. She wanted someone to take care of her and she wanted to feel the euphoria when she was cut. That’s all she wanted. She liked being kept in the compound.” Meg shuddered. “Outside was nothing but the images she had to learn to describe the visions.”
“So she didn’t run away like you did?”
Meg shook her head.
No one spoke. No one moved. The Others waited with eerie patience.
“The Controller must have sold her,” Meg finally said. “Or sent her away for some reason.”
“You can guess the reason,” Simon said.
“She wasn’t … The Walking Names weren’t always careful about what they said around us. I heard them once when they were evaluating some of the girls. They said cs783’s prophecies were accurate but lacked range. She couldn’t see prophecies the way Jean can.”
“Or the way you can?”
Wolfgard was circling around what they had all originally come to discuss.
“It is time to talk about what happened yesterday morning,” Henry said. “Meg, what do you remember?”
“I had a bad dream, a terrible dream, and I woke up screaming because I was so afraid.” Meg said. “I was so afraid, but I didn’t know why, and I had to cut so I could see the danger. I should have called someone first—”
Simon growled.
“—but I couldn’t wait. It felt like my skin would split on its own, the need was so overwhelming.” She touched the side of her nose. “Like my skin split the night I dreamed about the blood and black feathers in the snow.”
“So you put a towel on the bathroom floor, laid down, and made a long cut,” Henry said.
“I don’t remember the towel or lying down. I don’t remember choosing where to cut. I felt so desperate, I just … cut. Then I tried to swallow the words and the pain because that’s the only way we can remember a prophecy.”
“Pain?” It was the first time Lorenzo spoke since the meeting began.
When Meg paled and seemed unable to reply, Simon said, “There is bad pain until the prophet begins to speak. There’s nothing but pain unless she speaks. That’s how the girls are punished—they’re cut and then prevented from speaking.”
Monty looked at Meg’s left arm, recalling the crosshatch of scars he’d seen when she’d been brought to the hospital.
“That confirms some of what I’ve been thinking,” Lorenzo said.
“What else, Meg?” Henry asked. “What happened after the cut?”
“Simon came, and he was Simon,” Meg said.
Simon looked uneasy. “What else would I be?”
“You were Simon, and then you weren’t Simon anymore. You turned soft and gooey.”
He jerked away from her. “I did not!”
“You did! You were fine, and then you licked—”
Erebus sprang to his feet, a terrible look on his face. “We do not drink the sweet blood!”
Simon sprang to his feet, his canines lengthening. “That rule is for your people, not mine.”
“You licked up my blood,” Meg said, her voice trembling. “You licked my blood, and it made you sick.”
“Not sick!” Simon snapped.
Now Meg stood and stared at Monty. “That’s why all these bad things are happening, isn’t it? That’s what made the Crows too sick to get away.”
He’s afraid for her, Monty thought, glancing at Simon. He doesn’t want her to tell the rest of them what she’s figured out.
“Not sick!” Simon shouted. “Sit down, Meg, and stop being stupid, or I’ll bite you!”
“I’m not being stupid, and you can’t bite me!”
“I can nip really hard!”
With fascinated horror, Monty saw Erebus’s legs change to smoke, clothes as well as flesh; saw Vlad and the female vampire jump to their feet; saw Henry rise to tower over all of them, his strong fingers now ending in a Grizzly’s savage claws; saw Tess’s hair turn red with wide black streaks. Blair and Elliot were crowding the chairs, putting themselves between the vampires and Simon—who was totally focused on Meg.
The Elementals were the only ones who didn’t seem concerned, and Monty found their curious interest more frightening than being caught in the middle of a terrible fight.
Then Simon grabbed Meg’s upper arms, ignoring her startled cry of pain, and hauled her up to her toes. Even then he had to bend a little to be nose to nose with her.
“I don’t know how long the crazy female mood lasts when you’re in season, but you are not doing anything stupid until you can think straight!” Simon yelled. “And if you try being stupid then, I will bite you, no matter what.”
She stared into Wolf eyes that had turned red with fury. Then she grabbed his sweater. Seeing the way he winced, she must have pulled a couple of fistfuls of fur along with the material.
“Meat grinder,” Meg whispered. Her eyes, her face, her voice, were oddly blank.
Everyone in the room froze.
“Meat grinder dream,” she said. “Need the pain, need the fear to make the best meat. Hand in the grinder, chew it all up. Keep the meat alive while you cut and grind. He’ll find me! He’ll … Simon!”