There was a pulse of magic, and she felt the house, from the pipes underneath it to the tip of the chimneys. There wasn't anyone inside. Apparently that was the point. On some unheard command, the Wyverns moved down to the next building. Annoyingly, because of her height, Tinker couldn't see through the crowd to spot the Stone Clan domana directing the search.
"Is Jewel Tears here?" she asked Stormsong, who could see over the heads of most of the humans.
Stormsong shook her head. "It is the mad one, Forest Moss."
"Oh, joy," Tinker muttered. "Where is Maynard?"
"This way." Pony kept hold of her elbow.
She thought they would have to push their way through the crowd, but as they approached the humans and elves, the crowd parted as shoved by an invisible wedge. In the human faces there was a mix of fear and hope. They wanted her to be one of them but afraid she was wholly an elf.
The crowd was avoiding a section of sidewalk. As Tinker drew even with it, she saw that is was covered with congealing blood, thick with black flies. As the sekasha brushed passed, some of the flies rose in fat, heavy buzzing. The rest continued to feed.
"I want this to stop," Tinker whispered to Pony, dreading his answer.
"This is by order of the crown," Pony said. "There is nothing you can do to stop it."
Maynard saw Stormsong first and then scanned downwards to find Tinker. "What are you doing here?"
"I want to talk to you about this stuff." Tinker waved the newspaper at Maynard.
"I'm busy at the moment. Why don't you get your husband to explain it to you?"
"Because you're here. I have the power to pin you down and make you explain it to me. And you'll use words I can understand."
Maynard glanced at the paper. "What don't you understand? That article is fairly clear."
"What can I do?"
He gave her a long unreadable look before saying, "I'm not sure. Windwolf bought us some time, but without proof that the gate is in orbit and possibly repairable, that time runs out Sunday."
Figures, after everything she had gone through to destroy the gate, she now had to save it.
"So," Tinker said. "If I can prove the damn thing is still up there, would that help?"
Maynard's eyes widen in surprise. "You think you can do that?"
It was tempting to say yes, but she had to be honest. "I don't know. I can try. It's a fucking discontinuity in Turtle Creek, across at least two or three universes. If Earth is one of those universes, there might be a way to use the Ghostlands to communicate."
"The elves are keeping everyone away from the Ghostlands," Maynard said. "The scientists at the commune are ready to storm the place for chance to study it."
"Keep them away from it," Tinker said. "At least until we can make sure the Fire Clan and the Stone Clan don't kill them on sight."
Maynard looked away, as if to hide what he thought. When he turned back, his face was back to its carefully neutral - nearly elfin - facade.
"What do you fucking want from me?" Tinker cried. "I was raised in a junkyard!"
"You're the only one in a position to understand fully what is to be human," Maynard said, "and still be able to do anything about this situation."
"But I don't know what to do."
"I know you don't." Maynard said but didn't add anything more - which would have been a big help.
There was pulse from Forest Moss and this time the building wasn't empty. She - and Forest Moss - picked up two people still inside on the second floor. A shout went up. Tinker turned to see the Wyverns swarmed in through the door of tiny second-hand shop. Like flashbulbs going off, she felt spells flaring the small rooms into brilliance, one after another. The Wyverns quickly worked to room with the hidden couple.
"Oh, no." Tinker started for the store.
Stormsong pulled her short. "They are only killing oni."
Was that supposed to make it better? Much as she hated the kitsune, she didn't want to see Chiyo beheaded. She didn't want Riki anymore dead than she wanted Nathan hurt.
"We can't go in there - it would be asking for fight." Stormsong kept hold of her. "One we can not win. Wait. Please."
Much as she wanted to protect the strangers, she couldn't bear the thought of sacrificing her sekasha.
Tinker nodded numbly and pulled out of Stormsong's hold. "Let's get closer."
She lost sight of the storefront beyond the wall of backs. This time her sekasha had to clear a path, pushing people aside to make what they thought was a wide enough path for her. Maybe if she was an elephant.
The Wyverns muscled out only one person. They dragged him to a white-haired elf, announcing, "We killed one inside - it tried to run. This one is spell marked, but it was with an oni."
It was Tommy Chang.
"Kill him." The male domana said.
"No!" Tinker plunged forward, forced her way through the towering Wyverns to Tommy's side. "Don't hurt him!"
The white haired elf turned and Tinker gasped at the damage done to his face.
"Ah, what honest horror!" The half-blinded elf said. "You must be the child bride. Not much to you - how did you come out in one piece?"
"Because they underestimated me." Tinker tugged Tommy's arm out of the wyvern's hold. "Look, he's been tested. He's not oni."