Law explained what she’d learned from Alton.
Bare Snow added what she’d found out. “The gunfire was Tinker domi’s troops clearing the oni invaders out of her cousin’s enclave. I arrived too late to help, beyond saving a puppy. It was so sad; she loves her cousin so much. She was very upset but Prince True Flame kept her from taking her grievances to the Stone Clan. That would not have gone well for the Wind Clan.”
Considering what she learned at Caraway’s, no, it would not have gone well. “Can these Harbingers be trusted?”
“They are old and clever, with ancient grudges. They are like a blind swordsman filled with rage; they will attack anything that moves. It could make them easy to manipulate. The Harbingers might have sided with Tinker domi. They abhor spell-working. Cana Lily, though, abhors the Wind Clan. He is a warlord from the Clan War. He would have gladly given Tinker the fight she sought and the Harbingers would have backed Cana Lily.”
“Oh joy.”
“What’s more, since the Skin Clan attempted to prolong the Clan War, it is possible that Cana Lily has always been one of their pawns.”
Law admired her fellow Pittsburghers. Hell or high water, they were determined to live their normal life. Oktoberfest was an ancient Earth festival imported from Europe ages before the first Startup by immigrant steelworkers. Law believed that the original festival had been held in October (hence the name) but it had been combined with the elf harvest celebration that started a week or so before the fall equinox. (Elves did not have holidays but holy weeks.) Since it featured drinking large quantities of beer, the humans aimed for Friday and Saturday instead of a set day, thus the date was fluid.
The festival was normally held at the fairground that doubled as the gossamer airfield. The war made that impossible, so the powers that be had moved it to the converted railroad station of Station Square. It was a trade-off between access to the light-rail and the constant danger that the riverfront presented. All week a brave and cautious work crew had erected fences along the shoreline.
Law had three deliveries to make, all last-minute calls. Ellen inquired about the possibility of chestnuts, Tiffani begged for pesantiki, and Trixie demanded apples. (Knowing Trixie, her demand was to cover her embarrassment for having to ask for help.) Without Bare Snow, Law would have never been able to gather everything on top of her enclave orders. She arrived too late to drive into Station Square proper; the long driveway was closed. She parked across the street in the old Hooters parking lot.
Law unloaded her Dodge into her two Radio Flyer cargo wagons. Brisbane tried to climb in with the McIntosh apples.
“No way. You won’t eat just one. You get in the fish.” Law used a slightly wormy-looking apple to lure him into the other wagon. He climbed in, complaining loudly. The porcupine was the size of a kindergartener and at times just as loud.
She started off with the apples and nuts, confident that Bare Snow would follow with Brisbane and the fish. They crossed the street that led to Smithfield Bridge.
The elf part of the festival had started several days earlier with setting up a temporary home for the religious shrines that guarded over the grounds. A wooden platform and roof had been handcrafted without any nails. Pennants flew overhead, mostly Wind Clan blue and Fire Clan red but with a sprinkling of Pittsburgh black and gold as a dodge around displaying Stone Clan color. The stiff plastic rustled in the wind like dozens of little people clapping.
An odd low roaring sound came from across the river. Law paused at the corner to look across the Smithfield Bridge. An elf with a bullroarer was leading a parade across the bridge. The instrument roared as he spun it in a wide circle.
“We’re just in time,” Law said. “Here comes the shrine.”
“Gouni is coming!” Bare Snow clapped her hands and gave a little bounce of excitement. The autumn equinox was dedicated to the Goddess of Life and Harvest. Over the last week, it had become apparent that Gouni was the elf version of Santa Claus—if Santa Claus was a cheap bastard that only gave out blessings and roasted keva beans. Seriously, Law could not see the appeal but she knew that Bare Snow desperately wanted to be blessed by the priestess.
“They take forever to get the shrine into place,” Law said. “If we hurry, we can be done to receive the blessing.”
The old station building had been converted into a pub favored by the human train personnel. Law had spent many afternoons at the pub with her grandfather and other local retired railroad employees. It was a grand place with tall marble columns, an arched ceiling, rich detailed woodwork and beautiful stained-glass windows. It served killer bruschetta and Shirley Temple cocktails. It almost made her like being force-fed information on trains. Across the street from the station was the old Freight House that now housed several Earth chain stores, all closed due to Tinker destroying the orbital gate. It was no wonder that the pub leapt at the chance to host Oktoberfest.
The two-lane drive past the Freight House was closed to traffic. Booths lined it on either side. Bare Snow pointed in excitement at them. Jewelry. Handcrafted toys. Hot food. Games of chance. Everything locally grown and crafted.
The tenth booth in was Usagi’s household. They were doing a simple ring-toss game with very cute, handmade, stuffed rabbits as prizes. All the half-elf kids were there, wearing rabbit hats that covered their pointed ears.
“Law!” The oldest, Moon Rabbit, bounded up to Law. The girl was going through a neon pink phase. She had on a bright pink rabbit onesie in lieu of a rabbit hat. “Law! Law!” She bounced up and down, making her ears and big cottontail flop. “Where’s big sister?”
Law wasn’t sure how anyone could miss the sexiest thing on two legs pulling a porcupine in a large red wagon. She could hear Brisbane complaining that he’d finished his apple. She glanced behind her and spotted the flash of red. “Right there.”
The children launched themselves at Bare Snow and Brisbane with squeals of excitement that could shatter glass.
“You’re here alone?” Law asked as Usagi hugged her.
“Clover is home with the two babies. Babs had a baby to deliver in the South Hills. Hazel is at work. The EIA worked some deal to get all the bakeries in town flour from the Westernlands. They’re paying her in food that we desperately need. Widget got hauled off by a boy from the bakery; something about life and death and needing her computer skills.”
It left Usagi outnumbered five to one.
“Do you need help?” Law felt she needed to ask even though babysitting wasn’t her strong suit.
Usagi waved off the offer. “Hazel will take them home after she gets off work. I told them they could stay until dusk. They’ve been sewing rabbits for a week, it’s the least I can do.”
“They made these?” Law picked up one of the stuffed toys.
“The older kids did.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “The bunnies that the little ones made were really ugly so we’re going to give them to any annoying drunks that win.”
They had a solid barrier to prevent cheating, painted with happy bunnies to disguise the fact that it was a deterrent. A tape measure and graph paper showed that Usagi had left nothing to chance. She had everything carefully mapped out to maximize her profits.
“What do you expect to clear?” Law said.
Usagi looked slightly worried. “We need this to pay for heat this winter. We were screwed out of a lot of money when we were cut off from Earth. July is our biggest jam production run and we collect on those deliveries in August at Shutdown.” Which never happened.