Page 15 (1/2)

I pointed down the hill "They’re certainly investing in so down there"

"Yeah, but it could be a casino for all you know Or Coyote’s paying them to put down stakes in an iht," I conceded, "it bears investigation Coyote certainly deserves the skepticism I’ll have Oberon spy on thes" I switchedwith Ben Keonie Hey, Snugglepuoing off site for a while I want you to stick next to Sophie Betsuie this afternoon and report later on everything she talks about Listen especially for anything regarding the project she’s working on I want to knohat they’re building

"Don’t we know that already? I thought it was going to be buildings they would use to build other stuff Solar-power stuff"

We’re treating this like nuclear-arms reduction Trust, but verify

"I don’t know, Atticus She’s going to pet h duty for a hound of my delicate constitution"

Whatever, you big baby Negative thirteen sausages

"Twelve!"

Thirteen, with a possible bonus if your report is satisfactory

"Deal! I’m on it!"

Oberon dropped the rope suddenly and Ben Keonie staggered backward a bit with the sudden release of tension "Whoa!" he said, as he watched Oberon bound away down the hill

"Coo" I filled her in on the plan, such as it was, on the way down to the Black Mesa mine It was located about twenty as station located on the highway; I’d cae myself and run in the rest of the way to the mine property She’d come back to pick et a rooan the next

I left Moralltach in her car, because deadly Fae swords aren’t very useful in disabling heavy ot passed by a couple of trucks but nothing else It was the middle of a shift; they worked it round-the-clock six days a week, shipping the coal to a power plant in Page and producing a good chunk of the state’s electricity Since it was Saturday, I’d be hitting it right before they had a day off

It wascoated area full of hauling trucks and yellow ate was open, and I slipped through unnoticed to pay special attention to every vehicle in the lot I needed line-of-sight to cogering one of ine covers open to ot around the running ine covers loudly with a crowbar I’d found, and panicked operators would turn off their earth-shredding beheot any worse They’d obligingly coine compartment forthely at it Once they were satisfied and returned to their station or cockpit to turn it back on, all they got were little red lights telling theation would ensue, and I’d ot to the end, they had shut down all the machines to pree all the engines Fore about all the lost revenue for everycoal out of the earth It would take theure out precisely what the probles to discover that their pistons and cylinders were per facility too, and I sabotaged that for good h it wasn’t strictly necessary; without a steady supply of new coal co in, it would run out of work in a day or so

I allowed arcoat it all they wanted, but strip ood Nobody had been injured, much less killed, yet I’d shut down the entire operation Unfortunately, I’d also lost track of ti below the horizon when I finished, which meant I’d already missed my rendezvous with Granuaile I’d have to make my way back to Kayenta on foot I could fly there as an owl, but then I’d have to steal a new set of clothes before I could showalwaysoperation millions in lost revenue and equipreat, by coy for the run, but it would still be a good couple of hours on the road

While going cross-country afforded a straighter path back to Kayenta, I risked facing obstacles that I couldn’t pass without shape-shifting, and I didn’t know the lay of the land I chose to stick to the roads instead Once safely back to the highway and off the coal e, because it was, frankly, an unnecessary drain on the earth It was nightti on, and no one would notice or care about a lone whitewell off the shoulder of the road But paranoia made me keep it on There were two skinwalkers out there with Fa until they tore into ht have been laid up and in no shape to hunt for edible Druids, the other one, I discovered, was quite able to stalk e be damned The speed and surprise of its attack overwhelmed me I saw a flash of movement underneath a stretch of barbed-wire fence ahead of aroo rat or a roadrunner or anything else, the bobcat it turned out to be drove round, its teeth at my throat Before I could shout a coet off, he’d already ripped out my windpipe and one side ofinto the cold air I weakly brought a hand up to prevent further attack, but he was greedily gulping down the e, since it was clearly useless, and triggeredmy trachea, but I doubted it wouldbefore I’d be in any shape to put up any sort of spirited defense I wished I hadn’t left Moralltach in the trunk of Granuaile’s car

As I finished that thought and the bobcat finished singas if it had those scarab beetles fro around underneath its skin Its dead eyes--curiously, not orange the way they had been in huht take its nextslapped forcefully into its flesh, sending it tu over my head Belatedly I heard the crack of a firearm It howled anew in response to a second shot, and the skinwalker fled, which was just fine withlife with one ht have already ended it with one