Everyone was busy, scurrying to get beds made and food prepared. Either the storm would be vicious but brief and everyone would feel like fools for closing down the city, or the flooding and damage would make the blizzard in Febros look like a weather hiccup.

Either way, today the Courtyard was crowded with strangers whose future was in question. And the answers were buzzing under her skin as prophecies screaming for the razor to release them.

She dropped the silverware on one of the tables in Meat-n-Greens, oblivious to the noise it made. Turning blindly, she rushed for the door, barely hearing Merri Lee calling to her.

“Meg!”

A hand on her arm. “I have to go. Too many prickles. Too much buzzing under the skin.”

“Go where?” Merri Lee asked. “The storm is going to hit any minute now.”

“To the Liaison’s Office. I can sort something. Mail. Packages. Anything. Need... routine.”

“There isn’t going to be routine today, Meg. And there’s no one else at the office. Nathan isn’t going to be there. We’ve been told to keep the doors locked so they don’t get caught by the wind.”

Meg pulled away from her friend. “Can’t stay here.” She ran to the archway in the Market Square that provided access to the employee parking lot and, beyond that, the back door of the Liaison’s Office. She didn’t realize Merri Lee had come with her until the other girl said, “Hurry up, then, so we can get inside.”

A gust of wind hit them and the door just as Meg turned the lock, and they almost fell into the back room. It took both of them to push the door closed.

“Gods,” Merri Lee muttered. She checked the under-the-counter fridge, then the cupboards. “If we’re really going to stay in here, we should have a few more supplies.”

“You don’t need to stay. I’ll be all right on my own.” Better, Meg added silently. Even now, as she tried to stay focused on the friend who was with her, her skin still prickled and buzzed in a couple of places.

“Please, Merri. Please. I need to be alone or I’ll have to cut.”

They both knew what would happen if she made a cut now. Simon, Vlad, and who knew how many other terra indigene would lash out at the humans who had come here for shelter and protection.

“You have your mobile phone?” Merri Lee finally said.

Meg nodded. “And I know the phone numbers for A Little Bite and Meat-n-Greens. I’ll stay in touch.”

“You’re sure?”