Her newish empathic ability was proving to be a real bear, even though what she felt right now wasn’t as strong as what seemed to be usual for her, and she thought it was all coming from fairly nearby. Frowning, she closed her eyes and did her best to block as much of that emotional baggage as she could, even as she murmured to Bishop, “Don’t be surprised if I burst into tears. Somebody fairly nearby is having a very emotional fight with her boyfriend.”

He didn’t have to tell her to try to block that out, just waited and watched both her and the crow, and opened up that alert place in his own mind that was more than the spider senses and something other than telepathy.

Something unique to him, and something that had not, so far, been blocked or affected by the energy in this place or all the shielded minds around them. Or both.

Hollis opened her eyes suddenly and stared at the crow, unaware that her unusual blue eyes had taken on a luminous glow. “Huh. It’s Tia, the one who talks to Nellie. Yeah, I get the sense she’s one of their leaders.” She paused, adding, “Oh, yeah, definitely. Queenly. Proud of herself, this one.”

Aware of flutterings in his own mind, Bishop wasn’t surprised to see Hollis wince.

“I wasn’t being sarcastic, Tia. You understand us when we talk out loud, don’t you?”

After a moment, she glanced over at Bishop. “She does. Most of them do, at least enough to get the gist.” Then she frowned again as she looked at the crow regarding her so steadily. “Well . . . it’s clearer for them with empaths, for some reason. Understanding us when we talk out loud as well as opening up to them. Most telepaths are . . . too . . . something. Structured? Orderly. I don’t quite get that concept. Never mind, Tia. I had a visit— Oh. You know about that. Okay. Do you also know where we can find Megan?”

The crow uttered a soft, curiously sad sound, and lifted both wings to flap them without taking off.

Hollis turned to Bishop, her eyes still luminous and distracted. “She can take us. Show us.” She went still again, frowning a little. “Oh. It’s—she’s—up near where Reese and the deputy are searching. What I think I got is that the crows only found Megan really early this morning, about the same time I was talking to her spirit.” She grimaced. “I really hope it’s a grave and not remains, because—”

Bishop waited a moment, then said, “If they only just found her, they could have left her untouched.”

The crow uttered a slightly rougher “Caw” and flapped her wings again.

Hollis looked back at the crow. “I think we’ve insulted her. Oh. Damn. Megan put out corn and sometimes fruit for crows she saw. She was always nice to them. And they liked her.”

“Apologies,” Bishop said gravely to Tia. “And condolences.”