Tess turned to her left but kept her eyes directed at the pavement. The human mask was now a transparent veneer that muted the effect of looking at her. Oh, her preys’ organs would blacken and their brains would bleed, but not as fast as when she revealed her true form with no veil to soften it. Too sick to cause trouble, the prey would flee and die elsewhere—which suited her just fine since she would have supped on the best of the life energy.

“Are you out here for a reason?” Nyx persisted.

“To make sure nothing comes here to cause harm,” Tess replied, watching the people hurrying toward the Stag and Hare. It was as good a place as any to wait out this storm since it had plentiful food and drink, but she didn’t think the clientele were the kind of humans who held a neighborly opinion of the Courtyard or its residents.

“You’re talking about humans?”

“They’re included.” She felt Nyx move closer.

“Even your form of terra indigene couldn’t take on one of them.”

“Harvesting that much life, I wouldn’t need to feed for a year,” Tess said dreamily. How long had it been since she’d felt fully sated?

“Not feed for a year?” Nyx sounded disgusted. “What if you got a sour one and then had to wait so long to be hungry again?”

The thought made Tess laugh, and red threads appeared in the black hair. “You should get inside.”

“I’m safe enough from Namid’s teeth and claws. Smoke would just catch in their throats and make them cough. Didn’t you know?” A light touch on Tess’s back as Nyx said more seriously, “Today you aren’t going to hunt humans alone. I’ll keep watch from the back door of the efficiency apartments. That way I can also check the stairs that open on Crowfield Avenue.”

As Nyx flowed along the access way, Tess heard her tell someone to hurry. Looking toward the consulate, she spotted Elliot Wolfgard and looked away quickly when she realized there was a human with him.

“No,” Elliot snapped. “Don’t look. Just get inside.”

<Wolf,> Tess said. <That is good advice. If I were you, I would close the blinds on the windows that look out on the delivery area. I wouldn’t want any harm to come to you unintentionally.>

<I’ll pass that advice on to Henry,> Elliot said.

A gust of wind tugged at the hood, almost revealing her face.

Tess went inside the Liaison’s Office and turned the simple lock to keep the door securely closed.

There were plenty of HFL supporters in the city. Once they had drunk enough courage, a few of them would come here looking for trouble, so she would make herself easy to find.

•••