Phil Mailer cleared his throat. “I guess we’d better prepare for the rest of the prophecy. I’ve warned every Intuit village or settlement I could. Got a response from Steve Ferryman at Ferryman’s Landing. He’s sending out the alarm too. He didn’t have the feeling that all Intuit places would be in danger. A lot of our settlements are too deep in the wild country to be reached easily by other humans. But he also felt that the farther the warning could be spread, the less likely one of our villages would be caught unawares.”

Tolya nodded. Then he looked north and pointed. “I don’t think we’re the ones who will have to worry about fire.”

•••

The fire funnel raced over the land, and everything burned in its wake. Wind whipped the flames that consumed fence posts and grass—and cattle—as the funnel headed for the ranch buildings still in the distance.

•••

As they neared the crossroads, Daniel Black saw lightning strike the lead pickup’s cab with a marksman’s accuracy as a sudden gust of wind hit the pickup with enough force to shove it off the road.

The other trucks pulled over and men ran to help their comrades.

Black stepped out of his pickup. “They hurt?” he called to the men.

They backed away from the lead pickup.

“They’re dead.” One of the men, who had looked so triumphant a short while ago, looked frightened now.

Shouldn’t be dead. Rubber tires. Grounding. That was supposed to protect a person in a lightning storm, wasn’t it? How could his men be dead?

Then Black saw the funnel that appeared out of nowhere, and felt the first shiver of fear.

“By all the dark gods,” he whispered.

“Boss?”

He looked at his foreman. Then he reached into his truck, pulled out the camera, and handed it to the man. “Tell the sheriff about this. Get someone out here to deal with... the men. Then get those pictures to the newspaper. You got that?” He waited until the foreman pulled away with reckless speed before turning to the rest of his men. “Come with me. We have to get to the ranch ahead of that thing and save what we can.”

The men looked at the funnel, then at him.

“Move!” Black scrambled into the pickup. The men piled into the cab and into the bed, their only choice if they didn’t want to be left behind.

He put the truck in gear. Then he hesitated. They couldn’t outrun that twister. He wouldn’t get to the ranch house in time. He should go the other way and finish his assignment, burn out that town of freaks.