the male growled. Simon replied reluctantly. the female said. Simon argued. He tried to think of something big enough to be considered a reason to get rid of that Cyrus but small enough that the Elders wouldn’t attack all the humans in the Courtyard. A hard thing to admit. the male said. Simon asked, curious about their persistence. the male said. the female said. Simon asked, feeling a trap close around him. the male replied. Simon whined softly. The first group of humans from the job fair were already on their way to Bennett. If the Elders stopped all migrations, the train with the Simple Life humans aboard wouldn’t survive to reach Bennett. And the professionals who were supposed to take the train tomorrow would never leave Lakeside. He wasn’t supposed to be responsible for more than the Courtyard in Lakeside, but the Elders were going to decide about every human place in Thaisia based on what they learned here. How much human would the terra indigene keep? He knew it was risky to let that Cyrus stay so close to his Meg. But if Simon told her what was at stake, Meg would insist on taking the risk. She wouldn’t want to be the one who stopped a human like the Jana Paniccia from having a choice about the work she could do and where she could live. He couldn’t ask Meg to carry that weight, not when she was the Trailblazer who was looking for ways to help the rest of the cassandra sangue survive. But he was still the leader of this Courtyard. If he was going to do this for the Elders, it would be on his terms. He wasn’t going to take unnecessary risks with Meg or Sam or the rest of his pack. His whole pack. Simon pointed a front paw at the stone apartment buildings. He felt the Elders swell with anger. They were Namid’s teeth and claws. They were not used to having anything but the world telling them what to do. Then Air said, Earth joined her sister, took on human form, and smiled at Simon. the female said. Simon replied. Air added, referring to the song Charlie Crowgard had written about Meg and Merri Lee protecting Skippy from a bad human named Phineas Jones. the male said. Were they a little too interested in watching Meg? He’d have to warn Nathan to check for the Elders’ scent around the Liaison’s Office. Simon said. He felt a terrible silence surround him, but he held his ground. He was leader here; they were guests. Not that such things mattered to Namid’s teeth and claws. Air said again. the male snarled. Earth smiled. Wake up Winter during the last month of Summer’s reign? Wake up Winter and tell her the Elders wanted something that might pose a threat to Meg? Even the thought of how that Elemental would respond made Simon shiver. Apparently the threat impressed the Elders too. the female said. Having reached that much of an agreement, Simon hurried back to Howling Good Reads and whatever drama was taking place between Montgomery and that Cyrus. He wasn’t happy about this arrangement with Namid’s teeth and claws, but if the survival of the humans migrating to other parts of Thaisia depended on what the Elders learned over the next few days, he’d rather have them watch the female and police packs here than humans elsewhere.
