Anne Bishop - Written in Red

This was the beginning of the prophecy she’d seen about herself.

This was the night she was going to die.

S low and steady, Monty thought as the cab did a crawl and slide down Whitetail Road. Slow and steady.

Every time they reached a traffic light, he listened to the zzzzzeeeeeeeee of tires spinning as the cars tried to get enough traction to move through the intersection and keep going. When they finally reached the Chestnut Street intersection and it was clear they were going to wait through several changes of the traffic light before the cab would be able to make the turn, Monty said, “I’ll get out here,” and paid the driver.

“I think we’ll get through this storm all right,” the cabby said as Monty got out. “It looks like the snow is letting up.”

Asia listened to the putt putt brrmmm of a BOW growling its way through snow. Then she called the special messenger.

“Simon Wolfgard is headed for the Green Complex. Your benefactor’s property should be there already. Looks like some employees are staying overnight in the apartments above the shops, but there’s no one in the business part of the Courtyard who will interfere with you.”

“We’re all in position. The Stag and Hare is still open and crowded. You can blend in there. As soon as we’ve reacquired the property, we’ll be heading out of the city. I’ll call you.”

Maybe he would call her. She had a feeling she might be conveniently left behind. That was fine. The messenger and his men were just the diversion she needed to acquire the pup and get out of the Courtyard before the Others knew what happened.

She waited another minute, then left the maintenance garage and hurried to the garage that held the BOW Darrell had driven last week.

That space was empty, but when she opened the next door, that garage contained a BOW. She unhooked the vehicle from its power source and got in. The BOW grumbled when she turned the key, but the engine turned over. She located the controls for the lights and wipers. When she turned on the lights, she noticed the power bar showed a thirty-percent charge.

She couldn’t remember how much charge the BOW had used the night Darrell had driven to the Green Complex, and that annoyed her. Asia Crane, SI, would remember that kind of detail from just a glance at the dashboard.

It’ll be enough to get me there and back, Asia thought as she turned off the lights and backed out of the garage. After all, I’m not the one breaking the trail.

Muscling the BOW into the tracks left by Simon’s vehicle, Asia headed for the Green Complex and the bit of fur that was going to make Bigwig and the other backers piles of money and make her a very famous woman.

A gust of wind playfully pushed the BOW. Simon growled, not sure if that gust was simply weather or if it was Air amusing herself. Either way, the direction had shifted, which meant the storm was curling around the city instead of continuing to slam through it. That softening had to be Winter’s doing, with help from Air. It was still a good day to get home and stay home, and with tomorrow being Earthday, clearing the delivery area and the parking lot could be done leisurely. And he liked the idea of Wolves digging out the cars stuck in their lot. That would be more fun than being in human form and shoveling.

Maybe they could let the ponies . . . ? No, he wasn’t ready to encourage the ponies to reveal their true nature and abilities by clearing the snow in the places where humans could see them. But inside the Courtyard was another matter. Tornado, Cyclone, and Twister were not small forces, but they could work smaller for play. He could tell by the way the road had been cleared that Jester had hitched one of them to the pony sled so that Meg would be able to get home. And Blair had noticed short snow funnels that moved along the Courtyard’s interior roads at the speed of a trotting pony. The three ponies were pleased because they didn’t get to use their natures often in this part of Thaisia, and Blair was pleased because he wasn’t using time or fuel to plow the roads.

And Meg could drive anywhere she wanted within the Courtyard without getting stuck in the snow, which pleased all of them.

It took more time than usual, but he reached the visitor’s parking at the Green Complex and slowed to consider. The lane leading back to the garages hadn’t been cleared at all, and any vehicles that were back there weren’t going anywhere for a day or two. That left the spots across the road from the complex.

Someone with large, powerful limbs had swiped most of the snow from the guest spots. Simon wasn’t sure two BOWs could fit into the cleared space and have room for the drivers to get out, but there was plenty of room for him, and nobody else would be using a vehicle to get home. In his smoke form, Vlad could travel faster in this weather than any other terra indigene except the Elementals.

He studied the snow next to the cleared space. Then he turned off the BOW’s lights and let his eyes adjust. With the lights on, it appeared that what stood beside the parking space was a swirl of snow. But in the dark, that swirl became a shape.

Henry Beargard was a large man and a massive Grizzly. But when Henry took the spirit bear form, he was even bigger. And standing on his hind legs, as he was now, he looked like he could pluck the stars from the sky.

Simon asked.

Henry paused.

He growled. She had shared those words with Henry, the spirit guide for their Courtyard. And the Grizzly was restless.

Henry dropped to all fours and moved off.

Simon watched him go, his form visible only because the Wolf knew what to look for. He parked the BOW and hurried across the road, wondering if he’d find Sam at his apartment or at Meg’s. Then he stopped, listened.

he called.

she replied.

Nothing out there now, but he had heard it.

she said.

He hurried to his apartment. As he put his key in the lock, Nathan said,

Simon finished unlocking his door, but went up the stairs to Meg’s porch. Nathan’s fur had a light coating of snow, making the watch Wolf nearly invisible in his chosen spot.

Nathan cocked his head.

He didn’t have a chance to respond before Tess called,

he said.

A thought occurred to him that formed a bone in his throat.

Tess paused.

A BOW wouldn’t do anyone any good on the city’s streets, especially in this weather, but someone could get fairly deep into the Courtyard before finding roads the ponies hadn’t cleared at all.

Simon went back down the stairs. Nathan followed him. They stood perfectly still—and listened.

Jester looked at his charges, then at the big flakes of snow that would have been prettier if there hadn’t been so many of them.

Twelve little ponies all snug in their stalls, he thought. And one Coyote who was going to snuggle into the straw with them.

No point going to the Green Complex. He had everything he needed right here. And he wanted to keep an eye on the ponies, especially old Hurricane, who wasn’t having an easy time making his way through the snow. That was something he needed to mention to Winter. The Elementals’ steeds were slow to age, but even their time in the world came to an end, and their place was taken by youngsters who filled the same niche. Still, it was never easy when a pony reached his time, and Hurricane was a favorite of Air and Water.