Since Tolya agreed with that assessment and Tobias was confident they could reach Bennett in plenty of time to catch the train if they headed out at first light, Joe went along with them. They set up camp within sight of the crossroads—and not that far from the spot where bison had been shot the previous week. No one mentioned the incident, or said anything about the number of carcasses that had been stripped down to bone already, but the Wolves sniffed the area for any sign of intruders, and Tobias and the ranch hands put on their gun belts and checked their revolvers before setting up the watch for the night.

The next day, they started out right after breakfast.

As Joe snapped at a yearling to encourage it to keep up with the other bison, he noticed the trucks parked on the side of the road and the men who stopped working and watched their little herd trotting toward Bennett.

<What are the humans doing?> he called to one of the Ravens.

<Fixing the fence that Air and Earth pulled up the other day.>

That was sensible. Cattle that strayed off the land used by humans were considered edible, and the Elders who had come down from the hills last week to feed on the dead bison were still prowling the edges of human land. It was their lingering scent, as much as the herding skill of humans and Wolves, that kept the bison from trying to break free. There was also the sound and smell of water as it sloshed in the two barrels loaded in the back of the pickup—and Nyx hand-feeding the bison when the humans stopped to rest, teaching the animals that she was not something they needed to fear.

Joe wondered if the Sanguinati did something similar with humans, lulling them into a trust that allowed vampires to feed without their prey being aware.

And that made him wonder how long Tolya planned to stay around Prairie Gold.

When they finally reached the train station, there were two livestock cars being loaded with cattle. After being told they could load the bison into the third stock car once the cattle were settled, Joe and Jackson took advantage of the wait to shift to human form and pull on clothes.

A human noticed them and the bison, then said something to a couple of men on horseback before walking over to them.

“I’m Stewart Dixon.” He tipped his head to indicate the bison. “You boys need a hand getting them loaded?”

Tobias glanced at Joe, and Joe understood it was his decision. He also understood that Tobias didn’t feel wary of this man the way the Intuit did around that Daniel Black.

“Thank you,” Joe said.

A wave of a hand had the men on horseback approaching slowly, nodding to the men from Prairie Gold.