“That takes care of John,” Simon said. “You can take the lead with our next employee.”

Vlad gave him a sour look. “So I get to handle the exploding fluffball? Why?”

“Because you do it so well. And I’ll be right behind you.”

Vlad muttered a nasty comment that Simon pretended not to hear.

• • •

“Assistant manager? Really?” Merri Lee’s smile showed a lot of teeth. Since she was human, they were small teeth and not intimidating in any way.

“Yes, really,” Vlad replied, giving her a warm smile that didn’t show his teeth. Somehow revealing fangs seemed like one-upmanship.

Merri Lee’s smile faded. “But what about Meg? The work I do with Meg?”

“Simon and I understand that some flexibility is required since you can’t predict when Meg will need your assistance. However, for the time needed to work on The Blood Prophets Guide, perhaps you could work with Meg after the midday break, before she makes her deliveries? Ruthie would also be available then since the human young have school in the mornings and are watched by other adults in the afternoons.”

Merri Lee nodded. “We could work that out.”

“Either Simon or I will be in the store most of the time, so you won’t be completely on your own.”

“Okay.” She gave them another beaming smile. “This is great. Really great. When do I start? Can I order books?”

A happy fluffball could be as unnerving as an angry fluffball. “You can make recommendations, but for the time being, Simon or I will approve the final list to send to the publishers.” Based on the timidly reported news about the condition of the remaining human-controlled cities throughout Thaisia, getting books out of the publishers in Toland might be problematic. Simon had sent letters to all the Intuit and terra indigene publishers he knew about in the Northeast, Southeast, and High North. Until they heard back, they couldn’t say what would fill the bookstore’s shelves.

“Can I run over to the Liaison’s Office and tell Meg? I guess I should ask Tess, since I’m working at A Little Bite today.” Merri Lee darted through the archway, shouting, “Tess! I’ve been promoted!”

“Do you think Tess will mind?” Vlad asked. When they’d considered who could become their full-time employee after John left, Merri Lee had been the obvious choice because she’d already been putting some hours in at the store and could handle the terra indigene who came in—even the Wolves from the Addirondak packs who came to Lakeside for a few days for just that kind of controlled interaction with humans.

But they hadn’t considered that Tess might not be pleased to lose her best human employee.

On the other hand, the color of her hair and the amount of curl were clear indications of Tess’s mood. If it was any color except brown when she learned about Merri Lee’s promotion, he and Simon would find work to do in some other part of the Courtyard until she calmed down.

“She’ll still have Julia Hawkgard working with her, as well as Nadine Fallacaro,” Simon said. “And she’ll have the Sierra to wait on customers and do other work.”

“Not the same thing.”

Simon didn’t want to agree, but finally, reluctantly, he said, “No, it’s not.”

They tensed when Tess suddenly appeared in the archway, her hair solid green and coiling. “You don’t get Merri Lee until the job fair is done. After that, the whole Business Association will discuss the reassignment of human employees.” She left as suddenly as she’d appeared.

Vlad stared at the empty archway. For years they had worked with Tess without knowing what she was, beyond that she was a deadly form of terra indigene. Knowing she was one of the rare forms—a Harvester, a Plague Rider—didn’t make working with her easier. She was one of Namid’s fiercest predators—not as lethal as the Elementals or the Elders, but more than a match for most of the shifter forms.

“That went pretty well,” Simon said. He looked out HGR’s big front windows. “Come on. We’d better get ready for the humans. They’re starting to arrive.”

“This would be more enjoyable if we could eat a few of them.” Vlad shook his head. Even potential employees had to be considered nonedible. “Forget I said that.”

“I’ll collect the first batch of applications and bring them upstairs for us to review,” Simon said.

Vlad went upstairs to HGR’s office and wondered how he and Simon would select potential employees when their own knowledge of the job consisted of herd cattle, ride horses, and don’t piss off the Elders and get eaten.

• • •

“Tess? Do you have a minute?”

Tess turned her head toward Nadine Fallacaro but didn’t look at the woman. When A Little Bite had served any human who came in for a cup of coffee and a sandwich or pastry, it had been easy to take tiny sips of their life energy. Not enough to damage them, not even enough to be noticed by the humans, especially in the morning, when the caffeine from the coffee would mask the little extra bit of fatigue. With all the other kinds of food available, those sips had been enough to sustain her, if not satisfy her.

But the coffee shop wasn’t open to the general public anymore, and those sips had to be taken much more carefully since she knew every person she fed on and didn’t want them to be harmed. She didn’t sip from Nadine in the morning for the same reason she didn’t take any life energy from the police officers—they needed that energy to remain alert and safe while they worked.