To: Vladimir Sanguinati

Barb Debany arrived in Bennett and is settling in. Her brother supplied labels and stamps. We supplied postcards and stationary as a welcome gift. She was more excited about being given the use of a horse than she was about the postcards.

—Tolya

Dear Michael,

I’ve been working all the daylight hours since I arrived because so many small animals need care until I find new homes for them. I’m living at a boardinghouse, see address below. Will write more later. Love to Mom and Dad. Barb.

P.S. They gave me a horse!

CHAPTER 55

Sunsday, Sumor 17

Meg smiled at Simon and Vlad.

“There is something behind that smile,” Vlad said.

“Like the first time you see a striped pretty and don’t learn what it is until you poke it with a paw and it sprays you,” Simon said.

She wasn’t smiling now. “Did you just compare me to a skunk?”

Now they smiled.

“To be fair, you don’t smell like one anymore,” Simon said.

“What?”

“Why did you want to see us, Meg?” Vlad asked.

Having witnessed a scene with Twyla Montgomery and some of the children earlier this morning, it was clear to Meg that throwing what Merri Lee called a hissy fit didn’t get you what you wanted. And if doing that didn’t work with Twyla, it certainly wouldn’t work with Simon and Vlad—especially if they didn’t understand what she was doing and she had to explain it. Which would be embarrassing. And not mature.

Amused at herself, which made her feel steadier, Meg laid some cards on the table.

“Meg?” Sharpness in Simon’s voice. Sharpness in Vlad’s eyes.

“I’m not drawing cards for a vision,” she explained. “I’d like a favor. Two favors, actually.”

“That must be why you asked for two of us to come here,” Vlad said.

She pointed to the cards she had taken out of a deck on the sorting room table. One card was a smiley face. Another was a sad face. The third was the question mark she’d drawn once before when she asked about Lakeside’s future. “These cards are from a game. Some of them got mixed up with the prophecy cards.”

“How did that happen?” Simon asked.

She shook her head. She wasn’t going to be a tattletale. She knew that Merri Lee and Ruth had already talked to Eve Denby and Twyla and Sierra Montgomery about the importance of the children not going into the Liaison’s Office unsupervised and, especially, not playing with the cards.

“That’s not important. The important thing is that I think these actually are useful for revealing prophecies without me making a cut.”

She had their complete attention now.

“But these particular cards . . .” She went to the drawer and randomly pulled five cards that had different backs, which meant they were from different decks. She turned them over and lined them up above the first three cards. “Do you see? These are from different decks of cards—some reveal the natural world and some are illustrations of human or urban things. Even though they’re different, they complement each other. Do you see?”

Vlad came around to her side of the table. He picked up the deck of game cards and fanned them to see more of the images. “So you want a deck of cards with these images but done in a style that would fit in with the rest of the decks you’re currently using?”

“Yes.” Eventually she would have to pare down the number of cards that would become the Trailblazer deck of prophecy cards, but for now she didn’t want to limit possibilities while she was still exploring what the cassandra sangue might be able to do with this way of seeing visions.

“Could the Hope pup draw those?” Simon asked, cocking his head.

Meg felt something run over her skin. Not strong enough to be pins and needles or prickles, but definitely a response to the question. “I don’t know. Could we ask her?”

“We can get a message to Jackson.”

“Could you purchase another deck of these?” Vlad asked, waggling the fanned cards. “Hope would need the images for reference.”

Meg said she would see about getting another deck. She didn’t mention that she was going to ask Eve Denby where to buy one.

“That was an easy favor,” Simon said.

Of course, there was no guarantee that the cards would be available. With people now considering what they needed instead of what they would like to have, a children’s card game wouldn’t be a high priority when companies had to choose what to ship by truck or train.

“What’s the second favor?” Simon asked.

“Could you find a job for Harry, the deliveryman? He quit his job at Everywhere Delivery because the company became Everywhere Human Delivery. But he still needs to work.” Sensing resistance, Meg hurried on. “You wouldn’t have to find a place for Harry and his wife to live. If he could use one of our vans, he could be the Courtyard’s deliveryman and pick up orders we place with companies in Lakeside. Or maybe you could talk to Jerry Sledgeman about hiring Harry to work for him and make deliveries between Lakeside and the River Road Community.”

“Meg . . .” Simon sighed. “We can’t keep taking in strays. On top of the human pack, we’re already letting Officer Debany’s parents shop in the Market Square. Same with Officer MacDonald’s parents. And Captain Burke. And Commander Gresh and his mate and young. When a pack gets too big, it needs to split so that part of it finds new territory and new prey. We’re looking after a lot of humans now. And Merri Lee and Ruthie will have pups, and they’ll need food too, after they’re weaned.”