Chapter 3
Thano walked out of Eli's store and was about to shadow walk back to the ranch when Conal called his name from across the street. Had they taken Romeo's car here? The birds normally flew, but Conal's and Tuur's other forms didn't allow flying.
"Want a ride?"
He might as well. He gave Conal a short nod and crossed the street. "Why are you still in town?"
"I wanted to check out the phone."
The phone?
When Thano didn't speak, Conal continued. "I wasn't sure what Elijah Lucus looks like and figured it might be good to know."
"Why?"
Conal shrugged. "If they're gonna starve to death, like Charles said, he might be someone we'll want to save. The one with the phone might be important. I assume we'll keep Eli alive. A shop, a phone keeper, and Romeo's pack."
They turned a corner and the square came into view.
Tuur was waiting by the car, glaring at everyone who dared walk close to it. To Thano's surprise, Raven was sitting on the roof in raven form. "Did Fala fly home?"
"Yes."
They got into the car, and Thano looked at Conal who was driving. "I think we've made a mistake."
"How's so?"
Thano held in a sigh. "We never should've become involved. We should've let them deal with all their decisions on their own."
Silence filled the car. No one dared to contradict him, they weren't leaders of their groups--other than Raven, but she was in bird form.
They most likely didn't dare speak on their species' behalf, but right now, he didn't want their compliance.
"There are too many rules, too many stupid things we don't need to care about.
We should give them back the board, allow them to rule as they see fit, and guard the borders as we used to. "
Conal grimaced. "But it was what got Emeric shot."
"Our home is on the ranch. We live, we hunt, we entertain ourselves.
We don't need Last Hope." And it was starting to annoy him that he had to care about what they did here.
He didn't care. He'd been on the board to learn more about humans, to understand how they were thinking, and to be able to predict what would happen.
But they had Romeo now. They could ask him about humans' reasoning and what their actions meant.
They had story night where they learned about how humans other than Romeo acted, both good and bad humans.
They needed a person in Last Hope to get information, but they didn't need to be involved in the decisions. They could have the crows survey things. Or maybe not the crows. They were too easily distracted.
He glanced at Raven. Would she agree to spend her days in Last Hope?
Flying around and listening to conversations.
He didn't like the idea of having her there alone.
What if someone hurt her? Ravens couldn't gather the shadows around them and disappear, and if she was injured, she couldn't fight.
No, not Raven. Maybe a murder of crows, but he feared the information would be inconclusive.
"True, but without the shop, Ciar and Draven have no business and can get no money to buy the things Romeo needs or any fun things. And Romeo would be sad if something happened to his kin."
Thano gave a slow nod. "We could have one representative as we did before. One person on the board who surveyed their actions."
Conal would be best suited. He was observant and planned ahead, could see what consequences a decision would have.
Fala was there because she was curious, and he suspected Raven was too.
He didn't know why Tuur was there. Maybe Armelle wanted a bear on the board, so they wouldn't miss out on information.
Bears might not be as flaky as crows but they were as curious.
"You want us to abandon our positions?" Conal's voice didn't give anything away, which made Thano believe he didn't like the idea.
"What do we care about tolls?"
Raven preened her feathers, looking like she didn't care one way or the other, and maybe she'd had enough of humans now when she'd been on the board for ten months.
Tuur adjusted his position. "If we hadn't been on the board, we wouldn't have known they'd invited a person into their territory who they want to be the enforcer."
It took a moment before Thano understood what he was talking about. "You mean the sheriff?"
"Yes. The last sheriff aimed a gun at us."
"True, but we killed him. I'm sure the new one has heard the story."
The soft thunk of the car leaving the paved road and driving onto gravel sounded, and Thano looked out at the spring-green leaves on the trees.
"We could have a meeting." Conal glanced at him as The Moonlight Ranch came into view. There were six smaller cabins, all about to fall apart, and then there was the house where Romeo and Ciar lived.
"And say what?" They hadn't had many meetings lately. There hadn't been anything to discuss. Everyone lived their lives without any bigger conflicts or problems.
"I don't know. Ask the leaders of every group what they think we should do."
Yes, maybe. "Okay, call a meeting."
* * * *
Eli closed out the cash register for the day, took the money to the bank, and had the teller fill out his ledger. All the while, he was fighting tremors. Nausea threatened to take over at times, but he pushed it down.
He had told Thano they couldn't provide for themselves in Last Hope, and he'd taken it to mean there were too many people.
Had he condemned them to death? Would there be a raid storming through the streets tonight, decreasing the population to a suitable number?
If so, who would live and who would die?
It was easier when someone had made a mistake, like shooting a vampire, then you knew who'd go--but then, they hadn't known. Hadn't had a clue until it was done. And once it was, all the what-ifs set in.
The monsters had spared the population then, had only taken out those who'd okayed going after Romeo, but Eli wasn't sure that was what would happen this time.
If the goal was to cull a portion of the population to bring it down to a number more equal to the original one, then a good chunk would go.
He didn't know how many had been spared the first time, or why they'd left those individuals alive, but Last Hope had grown.
It had grown since he was a kid. People had children, and a selected few moved in.
People died too, so maybe the growth hadn't been huge, but it had grown.
He couldn't stand his dark house, so he steered his steps toward the hotel. Elijah had a bar. It wasn't often someone frequented it since people didn't have money to waste on drinks, and Elijah didn't have a lot of options to serve, but it was where he went anyway.
He pushed open the door and walked into the old lobby.
Elijah had done a good job of cleaning it up.
There were some cracks in the floor tiles, but the walls had fresh paint on them.
It must've cost a fortune unless he'd found old paint in some abandoned building, but he didn't think Elijah would risk getting caught outside the settlement limit.
To the right of the reception desk was the bar, and Eli steered his steps toward it. Elijah poked his head out from what he assumed was the kitchen and widened his eyes. "Eli?"
"Hi. Do you have anything to drink?" He pulled up the few bills he had from his pocket, and Elijah hurried over to the bar. The glass he placed on the scarred surface was an ordinary water glass. Everyone used what they had.
"I have pear wine, some cider, but..." He looked around. "...for something stronger, you'll have to come up to my place." He nodded toward the ceiling. "I'll trade you a drink for a couple of eggs."
Ah, not on the books. Heat washed over Eli at the thought of being in Elijah's home.
"Risky." He'd have loved something stronger, but in case he wasn't killed tonight, he didn't want to give anyone a reason to suspect he was doing something wrong.
It was bad enough everyone knew he was doing business with queers.
Some people in this town would've loved to catch him in the private quarters of another man and have him hanged.
Or maybe they only exiled queers these days.
"It's my personal stuff, and I'm free to serve whomever I want in my private abode." Elijah gave him a careful smile.
"True, but it might still be risky. You have to be careful who you invite to your home."
Elijah studied him for a second too long. "You're right, so pear wine? It's my personal favorite."
Right as he'd uttered the words, a rough-looking man rounded the corner and walked into the bar. Had he been listening? It wasn't someone Eli recognized, and since he owned the only grocery shop in town, everyone shopped there. It had to be the guest.
Elijah poured Eli a glass and turned to the man. "Can I get you anything?"
"A beer."
"I don't have beer, I'm afraid. Cider?"
The man snorted. "Fine, cider then." He smacked a bill on the bar before taking the bottle Elijah offered and walking to a table some distance away. Close enough to be able to eavesdrop should they talk loud enough.
Eli caught Elijah's gaze as he put the bill in the cash register, withdrew a few coins, and dropped them in the empty tip jar. He suspected Elijah would be in the shop tomorrow with those coins.
"What brings you here, Eli?" Elijah leaned into his space, his voice not a whisper exactly but not far from. "You never visit."
It was for both their sakes, but he couldn't speak those words, especially not with a potential listener. "I'm a little shaken and needed to be around another human being."
Elijah's eyes widened. "What happened? Was it the cupcakes?"
Cupcakes? Right, he'd almost forgotten about the cupcakes. "No, Thano came back again in the afternoon."
Elijah lost some color. "There haven't been any controls since the others took over the board."
"I know, and it wasn't an inspection. I believed it was and got ready to take him to the bank--"
"Conal was here."
"Who?" He couldn't conjure up a face to match the name.
"He's on the board too."