Joe didn’t know exactly where Tolya and Nyx stood with their pack, but he wouldn’t be surprised if their jobs were the equivalent of enforcers or guards. Why send them here to deliver some books? Or did their arrival have more to do with the drawings made by Jackson’s prophet pup?

When Prairie Gold came into sight, Joe shifted back to human form and got dressed. Their first stop was the motel, so that Tolya and Nyx could check in and drop off their personal luggage. That’s where they heard the news that a fuel truck had exploded on the highway the day before. The two men who drove the truck were killed. There was some argument about whether the explosion was an accident caused by driver error, or if the drivers were already injured or dead when the truck exploded.

“Supply and fucking demand,” Tobias said when he heard the news. Then he looked at Nyx. “Pardon my language, ma’am.”

Whether it was deliberate or not, Prairie Gold wasn’t going to receive its expected—and needed—fuel until the Others arranged for a different supplier.

The worry over a gasoline shortage dimmed Jesse Walker’s pleasure when they brought in the boxes of books for her store, but she was gracious in her thanks and polite to Tolya and Nyx. Shelley Bookman, on the other hand, took one look at the Sanguinati when they entered the library and seemed to have trouble catching her breath.

After receiving Tobias’s promise to drop off the boxes of books at the place where the terra indigene received human goods, Joe watched the human drive away before giving the two Sanguinati a tour of the town. Humans watched them from doorways and windows.

“How long are you staying?” Joe asked. “Should I ask some of the terra indigene to stay close to town?”

“This is an Intuit settlement on terra indigene land,” Tolya countered. “Is there a reason to fear these humans?”

“No. They remind me of the humans who make up Meg Corbyn’s pack. They want to be members of a larger pack.”

“That is wise,” Nyx said. “I will be staying a few days before returning to Lakeside. Tolya will stay longer.”

“If that’s acceptable to you,” Tolya said, looking at Joe. “Grandfather Erebus wants the Sanguinati to be more present in the Midwest. He wants us available to help the shifters. And my staying at the motel means I can keep an eye on the Intuits while you keep watch over everything else.” He paused. “I think the terra indigene should visit Bennett as little as possible.”