“You’re under arrest,” Debany said.

“I just delivered a freaking package!” the man protested.

Hesitating, Debany looked at Vlad. “Do you believe that?”

Vlad looked over his shoulder to check on Meg and saw her slice the underside of one finger on her right hand.

“Arrest him or we’ll kill him,” Vlad snapped. “Either way, I want him out of here!” <Nathan, go outside with Debany.>

<Why?> Nathan snarled.

<Go.> Vlad rushed into the sorting room, cursing Meg and himself. After calling Burke, he should have let Nathan guard the stranger while he kept watch on Meg.

He pulled the razor out of her hand and set it on the table. No obvious blood on the razor; nothing to run onto the cards. And no time to grab anything to soak up the blood dripping off her finger, so he cupped his hand under hers, struggling not to shift to smoke and consume the drops of blood as they hit his skin.

“Speak, prophet, and I will listen.” How much time had passed as she’d tried to swallow the words along with the agony that preceded the spoken words of prophecy? <Tess! Liaison’s Office, now!> Not his first choice since she was already upset with Meg, but she had experience dealing with the girl during these prophecies.

“Rotten eggs,” Meg whispered. “Hands. Feet. Bones. Maggots.” A hesitation before she breathed out one final word. “Bullet.”

She sank to the floor. Vlad went down with her, still cradling her hand to keep her blood off the floor.

He felt Tess sweep into the room and out again. When she returned, she crouched beside Meg, lifted the bloody hand, and wrapped a towel around it, dropping a second towel under Vlad’s hand. He quickly wiped Meg’s blood off his skin.

“Put the towel in the sink. Run cold water over it while you rinse off your hands. The female pack says that works for removing blood from cloth so we don’t waste what we might need later,” Tess said.

<Can you take care of her?> Vlad asked as he hurried into the bathroom. <I need to talk to Lieutenant Montgomery and Captain Burke.>

<I hear sirens. I don’t think you’ll have to go looking for either of them.> Tess studied him when he returned. <Bad?>

<Let’s hope our Meg is wrong this time.>

<She hasn’t been wrong yet. Not really.>

At another time, the truth of that might have made Meg’s self-doubt amusing. But not now.

•••