Those additional humans seemed to be the tipping point for Meg, overloading her ability to endure the futures of so many people prickling and buzzing under her skin. That was why Simon had already decided she wouldn’t go to the Liaison’s Office today—and already knew that she couldn’t be left alone with the silver razor.

He slowed down as they reached the fork in the Courtyard’s main road. Going straight would take them to the Market Square. Going to the right would take them to the Pony Barn. He saw a handful of ponies standing near the fork. Jester must have told them Meg was going to spend the morning with them and they were waiting for her.

“Stop.” Meg’s voice was barely audible, even to his Wolf-sharp hearing.

“We’re almost—”

“Stop the BOW!” Her voice rose in a wail. “Stop!”

She opened the door and tried to leap from the BOW.

Simon grabbed her arm to keep her inside and stomped on the brakes. “Meg, wait.”

She flailed at him, screaming and trying to scratch. The attack surprised him so much, he let go of her arm. Then she was out of the BOW and running back toward the Green Complex.

He threw the BOW into PARK, flung himself out the door, and ran after her.

Jenni Crowgard flew over him, then turned and flew back to him. <What’s wrong with our Meg?>

<We have to stop her before she gets hurt.> Running in a blind panic, she could trip and fall.

She had a head start, but he was fast enough to catch her—and the ponies were even faster. Thunder got ahead of her and turned, blocking her path. She ran into him and bounced off his side, right into Simon’s arms.

“I can’t,” she gasped.

“I know,” he replied, holding her against him, the only comfort he knew how to give right now. “I know.”

He heard Jenni still cawing a warning, heard Crows responding—and heard a couple of Wolves respond as well.

<We’re all right,> he told Jenni. Then he looked around and tried not to tense, tried not to show that he knew he was in the middle of a dangerous potential explosion. The ponies surrounded them, some of them so close Simon could feel their breath—and worry about those clompy pony hooves being so close to Meg’s feet.

“Meg.” He said her name as both warning and plea when the smoke that had been rushing toward them shifted into Nyx and Grandfather Erebus, who was the leader of the Sanguinati and doted on Meg. Having the Sanguinati wanting an explanation was bad enough. But most of the Elementals who lived in the Courtyard were also there.

“Did the humans upset our Meg?” Fire asked.

Not a question he wanted to answer.

As if unaware of everyone around them, Meg started finger combing Thunder’s forelock. That seemed to calm her.

“Did they?” Erebus asked, his dry-leaves voice producing a skitter of fear down Simon’s spine.

“What’s all the howling about?” Jester asked. He had patches of fur on his torso and arms, indicating his haste in shifting to his human form after running up from the Pony Barn. Fortunately, enough of the Coyote was hidden by Mist’s body that Meg wouldn’t notice he was naked. “Doesn’t Meg want to spend the morning with us at the Pony Barn?”

Damn Coyote, Simon thought when all the ponies tried to crowd in a bit more as if to encourage the correct answer.

“What?” Meg said.

Thunder lipped her chin.

“You. Me. The ponies. All of us being sensible and staying away from the chaos in the Market Square,” Jester said. “Simon already made arrangements for the mail to be brought there so you can sort it and the ponies can make the deliveries.” He looked at Simon. “Didn’t you tell her?”

Meg twisted in Simon’s arms in order to look at him. “What?”

“Stupid human books,” he growled. “It was supposed to be a nice surprise. Human females are supposed to like nice surprises.” On the other hand, he’d been concerned about Meg’s reaction to the job fair and only skimmed a couple of the kissy books they still had in stock, so he might have missed the part that would have told him that this was what usually happened when a male tried to give a female a nice surprise.

“Oh.” Meg petted Lightning’s nose. “We were going to the Pony Barn?”

“Yes. I was going to drop you off before going to Howling Good Reads to deal with the last group of humans.” He really wanted someone unsuitable to show up today and give him an excuse to take a bite or two.

“Caw?”

<Meg is fine,> he said. Hopefully Jenni would pass along that message.

“I would like to go to the Pony Barn,” Meg said.

“Good,” Simon replied.

<Wolfgard,> Erebus said, his voice sounding too courteous.

“Can you walk back to the BOW and pick up your carry sack?” Simon asked Meg.

She blinked. Her eyes widened as she finally took in who had reacted to her panicked flight. She nodded.

Jester shifted to his Coyote form and quickly got out of the way of all the hooves as the ponies sorted themselves into two lines.

“Sorry,” she said under her breath.

He gave her waist a light squeeze to tell her he’d heard her. Then he let her go and watched as the Elementals, led by Fire and Summer, and the ponies escorted Meg to the BOW and then on to the Pony Barn.

Jester looked at Simon. <Meg will be fine.> He ran, passing Meg and her escorts in order to reach the Pony Barn first.