we Lerned from yu.

That sign was a harsh reminder that the terra indigene had slaughtered the entire town, had mounded the bodies for reporters to find, as the Wolves had been mounded by the Humans First and Last movement after being slaughtered. What had been done with the human bodies? Should she ask? Or did you survive in such a place by leaving some questions unasked?

She had chosen to come here, to work and live here. There was nothing she could do about what had happened. She could only do her best to prevent it from happening again.

John Wolfgard, acting as their group leader, stood up and made a sound like an abbreviated howl. It wasn’t particularly loud, but it stopped all conversation in the car.

“Since all of you have travel papers issued from Lakeside, we’re supposed to wait until any of the strangers in the other passenger car disembark and are dealt with.”

Dealt with? Jana watched the Wolf. He’d been friendly during the trip, had talked enthusiastically about being the manager of the town’s bookstore. In fact, he’d been so friendly, she’d almost forgotten he wasn’t human. But something of the predator now showed in his amber eyes—a sharp reminder of what he was.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“The town leaders want to know why the humans are here and how long they’re staying.” John shrugged. “Some of the humans might just want to walk to the places where there is food, like we did at other stops.”

“Is looking over the passengers standard procedure?” Was that going to be part of her duties?

John shrugged again. “It’s standard for now.”

Jana felt Candice tense. The other woman didn’t have to remind anyone that she didn’t have any travel papers from Lakeside.

Not many people disembarked from the other passenger car, so it wasn’t long before John was telling them to collect their bags from the overhead racks and to have their papers in easy reach. Figuring she would have to talk to someone about Candice traveling with them, since she had initiated the other woman joining their group, Jana waited while the doctors, dentist, attorneys, vet, and other professional people left the car. Finally she and Candice walked down the steps and reached the platform, with John right behind them.

She wasn’t sure what she’d expected from John saying the town leaders were meeting the train. Enough individuals to control a group of people coming into town? Didn’t need a group. The two men—males?—standing on the platform were sufficiently intimidating in completely different ways. The one dressed in a black suit with a gray shirt had the sleek look of a ruthless politician—or a high-priced assassin, if she went with the description of such men in the thrillers she read. The other one …

Shaggy hair that was a mix of gray and black, the gray not due to age, since he looked to be in his early thirties. Amber eyes that didn’t hold a hint of tolerance let alone friendliness. Attractive in a rough-and-ready sort of way. Not someone she would choose to be around, because everything about him warned her he was dangerous. The man in the black suit might be more lethal in the balance, but the man dressed in jeans and a red-checked shirt was the one you’d find in the middle of bar fights and other physical altercations.

He was also the one wearing a sheriff’s badge pinned to the pocket of his shirt.

This was her boss? Crap.

“Wait here,” John said as he walked past the two women.

He didn’t talk to the other two men for more than a minute—surely not long enough to explain Candice’s situation—when he gestured for her and Candice to join the men. Males. She’d have to ask someone about the correct word to use.

“Virgil, this is your new deputy, Jana Paniccia,” John said. “Deputy Jana, this is Sheriff Virgil Wolfgard.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Jana held out her hand.

Virgil grabbed her wrist, leaned over her hand, and sniffed it.

Her hand closed into a fist before she had time to consciously make a choice, but she retained enough control not to bop him in the nose.

Virgil released her wrist, then studied her. “She’s kind of small.”

She bared her teeth. That wasn’t a conscious choice either. “I’m stronger than I look.”

“We’ll see.” Dismissive, as if he’d already decided she wasn’t worth his time.

Don’t punch him in the face. Don’t punch him in the face. Do not punch him in the face. And don’t even think about a knee to the groin, no matter how satisfying the action would be in the short term.

“Ms. Paniccia, I’m Tolya Sanguinati, the town’s leader.” He held out his hand.

Jana shook it. “I met Vlad Sanguinati when I interviewed for the deputy position.”

“I know.” Tolya smiled, showing a hint of fang.

Oh, definitely tall, dark, and lethal.

“This is Candice Caravelli,” Jana said, bringing the other woman to their attention.

“John explained that you are looking for work,” Tolya said.

“Yes,” Candice said, then amended her reply. “Yes, sir.”

“What kind of work do you do?”

“I was a dance instructor. All kinds of dances. Some formal but I also taught country dances and square dances.”

“Those are traditional frontier kinds of dances and would be useful for social events,” Jana said.

“I also taught Quiet Mind classes,” Candice said.

“Very useful for helping to relieve stress,” Jana added.

“Are you one of those high-strung females?” Virgil asked.

“Compared to what?” Reminding herself that she shouldn’t start challenging her boss before she’d had a chance to see the town, Jana gave Virgil a tight-lipped smile. “I find exercise and Quiet Mind stretches keep me from feeling overly stressed.” And if she’d had the occasional crying jag during her time at the police academy to relieve the pressure of dealing with classmates who had made a daily effort to remind her of why she wasn’t suited to be a serving police officer, that was her business.

“Let’s proceed to the Bird Cage Saloon, where newcomers receive their information about housing and the town’s rules,” Tolya said. “Newcomers will be housed in the hotel temporarily. Ms. Paniccia, you will be housemate to Barbara Ellen Debany, who will meet you at the saloon. Are your possessions marked with your name?” He gestured to the boxes and luggage being offloaded from the baggage car.

“Yes,” Jana replied.

“Then Nicolai will have everything delivered to the house except the items you have with you now. The possessions for the rest of the new residents will be dropped off at the hotel or the designated storage area.”

After four days on the train, she didn’t have a clean set of clothes left in the carryall, but she said nothing since she figured that caring about clothes, even for practical reasons, would give Sheriff Virgil Wolfgard another reason to claim that a female wasn’t suited for the job.

Not that he’d actually said a female wasn’t suitable, but the look he’d given her had said plenty.

“This way,” Tolya said. He and Virgil turned and walked away, leaving Jana, Candice, and John to follow.

“It looks empty,” Candice whispered as they left the train station and walked down the street past a feed store and tack store.

“Most likely everyone is working,” Jana replied. She hoped that was the reason she hadn’t seen any humans. There were some cars parked on the street, but she couldn’t tell if they’d been parked there for an hour, for a day, or since the terra indigene had wiped out the humans who had originally lived in Bennett.

Couldn’t think about that—and couldn’t afford to forget it happened.

Then she stopped thinking about cars and people and looked at the buildings that ran along one side of the street. It was like stepping back in time to a real frontier town. Wide wooden sidewalks. Buildings that were cheek by jowl, with a feel of age both in their design and in the way they seemed to lean on each other for support. And every one of the buildings had some kind of supported covering over the sidewalk to protect residents from the sun and weather. It was like entering one of the stories she and Pops had loved to read. And there were even …

Jana stopped and stared at the two ponies grazing across the street. Chubby-legged, barrel-shaped ponies. One was black. Nothing unusual about that. The other was brown, with black legs and a mane and tail that were a stormy gray.

Despite her enthusiasm for being a mounted deputy—a desire based on girlhood fantasies—she didn’t know much about horses beyond the things she remembered from books she’d read when she was a girl. But she was pretty sure it wasn’t natural for a brown pony to have that color mane and tail. So if those critters weren’t ponies set loose to graze, what were they?

“Umm … ,” Candice said.

“Yeah.” Wouldn’t do to keep everyone waiting. Especially her boss.

She and Candice passed the hotel, crossed a side street, and walked into the Bird Cage Saloon.

“Wow,” Candice said.

“Wow is right,” Jana agreed. Outside, the stores looked like a real frontier town, a little tired and worn. This looked like a freshly painted movie set. There was a bartender with sharp eyes and a friendly smile and two women dressed as saloon girls. And the woman who came around to the front of the bar …

Oh gods.

“Look at that hair,” Candice whispered.

Jana was looking at the hair. Mostly gold, with wide blue streaks, narrower red streaks, and a few threads of black that made Jana shiver. Not the same colors, but the manager of the coffee shop in the Lakeside Courtyard had hair like that.

Tolya gestured for them to come forward. “Ms. Paniccia, Ms. Caravelli, this is Madam Scythe, the proprietor of the Bird Cage Saloon.”

Scythe eyed Candice. “Tolya says you know dances that would have been danced in a saloon.”

“Some,” Candice replied, sounding wary.

“You know how to work in a saloon?”

“I could learn.”

Wondering if “work in a saloon” was a euphemism for a kind of work Candice wouldn’t want, Jana debated the wisdom of saying something about Candice’s situation. Better not. The woman needed a job and could speak for herself. And if she couldn’t—or wouldn’t—Jana would be in a better position to help her once she was herself gainfully employed as a deputy.

Madam Scythe raised a hand. “Garnet, take the human girl to that table over there and explain the rules.”

The black feathers in Garnet’s hair told Jana she was one of the Others. “Crow?”

“Raven.” Garnet gave Candice a smile that was sharp but not unfriendly. “This way.”

Scythe focused on Jana. “Is this the one who’s going to work with Virgil?”

“Maybe,” Virgil growled. Now he focused on Jana. “You got your papers?”