Lake Silence (The Others #6)(36)

“And the arrival of Swinn and his men?” Ilya asked.

All the color drained out of Farrow’s face as he whispered, “The stench of overripe garbage spreading beyond the alley into the streets, into the shops, into the homes.”

Interesting. Julian Farrow always said that he felt places, not people, but this was the first time the Intuit had revealed anything that descriptive about what he sensed. It sounded more like a memory than an observation about the here and now.

“Whatever really brought Swinn here will sour this village,” he said.

Farrow nodded.

“The restoration of The Jumble is the key to Sproing’s survival.”

Farrow nodded again.

“Then perhaps we can work together to ensure that Victoria retains control over the human part of the terra indigene settlement.”

Farrow gave him a tight smile. “We can do that. But it can be a fine line between helping someone and giving that person the impression that you don’t think she’s capable of helping herself.”

Ilya repressed a sigh. That fine line in a wounded female like Victoria was probably smudged, and all he could hope for was not to stumble too far over that line and make matters worse.

“Do you still want these books?” Farrow asked.

“Yes.” As Farrow turned away, Ilya added, “I didn’t feed on her. In case you wondered.”

Farrow didn’t reply, but Ilya had the impression that the human male was relieved.





CHAPTER 20





Vicki


Windsday, Juin 14

I thought some rude things about Julian Farrow when I unpacked the bag of books and discovered he’d sold me the first five Wolf Team books instead of the whole set, filling the bottom of the bag with books by someone named Alan Wolfgard as well as other authors I hadn’t heard of. Then I saw the boys’ response to the Wolf Team books and could, grudgingly, appreciate Julian’s strategy.

Conan and Cougar weren’t swift readers—or accurate spellers, if the sign on the chain across my access road was anything to go by—so five books would be plenty for the four readers currently using my library. And when they had finished with those books, there would be more that could be purchased, either by me or by them, if I was very brave or incredibly stupid and took them into Sproing to visit Lettuce Reed and purchase books for themselves.

For a community that maintained that the Others were Out There, Conan and Cougar would be an eye-opener—and probably fill the doctors’ office with a slew of people experiencing heart palpitations or dizzy spells, especially if someone forgot about looking human and slapped a paw on a counter to lay claim to something of interest.

Then again, if people signing up for the trail rides that Ineke had proposed weren’t interested in seeing the terra indigene, they wouldn’t be getting on horses and riding around in the Others’ backyard, so to speak. But I could appreciate that there was a difference between seeing one of the Beargard in the woods and having one sit on the stool next to yours at the diner. There would always be the possibility that you would look tastier than the food on his plate.

I’d been more focused on Conan’s and Cougar’s reactions to the books because of the whole tooth and claw thing they had going for them, but eventually I realized Aggie was spending a lot of time looking at the covers and not saying anything.

“Nothing of interest?” I asked.

She traced the title on one of the books with a finger. “If there was a Reader at The Jumble, more of the terra indigene could enjoy the stories. Every terra indigene settlement has a Reader. Sometimes more than one.”

Aggie looked at me. Conan and Cougar looked at me.

“You want me to be the designated Reader?” I could hear the capital R when Aggie said the word.

They all smiled at me. Conan and Cougar hadn’t seen enough smiling humans to get all the teeth sorted out. The result was unsettling. It also made me wonder how they enunciated as well as they did.

“I guess we could start with the first Wolf Team book,” I said. “Maybe I could read for an hour before dinner tonight?” It had been a while since I’d done any reading aloud, but I thought I could do a decent job reading to the three of them.

Aggie bounced up and down and clapped her hands. As she dashed out of the room, she said, “I’ll tell my kin. They’ll pass the word.”

Kin? Word?

Conan took the second Wolf Team book and Cougar took the third before wandering off and leaving me to sort through the rest of the books Julian had tucked into the bag. I remembered seeing some of the titles in the stacks of books he’d had on the island counter. I didn’t recognize the authors or the publishers. Of course, I didn’t know Alan Wolfgard’s work either, but the name offered a clue about what he was.

Using half a piece of heavyweight writing paper, I made a tent sign, put it on one shelf in the library, and shelved the new books I’d purchased that day. As I worked, I let my thoughts wander through the events of the past forty-eight hours. A lot had happened since I called the Bristol Police Station to report a dead body.

Detectives Swinn and Reynolds were forbidden to return to The Jumble, and Ilya Sanguinati had stressed on the ride home that if Swinn or anyone working for him contacted me, I was to hang up immediately and call him. Officers Grimshaw and Osgood were exempt from that gag order, but no one else.