That wasn’t quite true, Vlad thought. Because of the drawing Hope made, Simon and I—and Jackson—know more about what will happen between regions than anyone else. “You already know that lines of communication between regions have been severed,” he told O’Sullivan. “You can no longer call, send an e-mail, or even send a telegram to a person or business in another region. But there has been no sign of train tracks or roads being destroyed at regional boundaries that would deny travel or the flow of mail and merchandise between regions. I’m guessing that travel is still possible but will be difficult, especially if any form of transportation that is hauling freight has to be off the roads or at a train depot by dark. Or docked at a harbor if the cargo is going by boat.”

“No sign of tracks or roads being destroyed yet,” O’Sullivan said. “I heard the word you didn’t say, Mr. Sanguinati.” He paused. “The governor’s office is working on a list of towns and cities in the Northeast that are still accessible to humans.”

“Has anyone heard from the people in Toland?” Montgomery asked.

“Radio stations indicate the damage to the city is serious, and the death toll is rising,” O’Sullivan said. “Telephone and telegraph lines are down. Could be days before they’re reconnected.”

“Could be months, could be never,” Simon said. “Thin the herds, then isolate the herds.”

Silence. “We could be cut off completely from the other cities?” Burke finally asked.

“The HFL caused trouble throughout Thaisia,” Simon said. “Even though a breach of trust had been declared, and you all knew it would get bad if you broke that trust further, you did it anyway.”

“Not all of us, Simon,” Montgomery said.

“Not all of you,” Simon agreed. “But the monkeys chattered over the telephone wires to plot against us. So the wires will not be allowed to stretch between regions anymore. Maybe not even between cities.”

“Mobile phones might still work,” Vlad said. “Radio and television can still convey information over a distance.”

“The Elders broke the link they could see,” Henry said. “And they will keep it broken since those wires were strung across the wild country with their permission, which they no longer give. But the Elementals know how to silence radio and television if humans try to use them against us.”