Colin had bought a pen and paper to take notes. He bought Neko a nice laptop computer and offered Luna one as well. She chose a journal and pen instead.
So they spent evenings in their hotel rooms working on reports of what they'd seen. Neko went over the reports and typed them up when he got a chance.
Neko saw things the human and the fae never noticed. The magic bunnies that kept popping up in the Midwest led us to a field of magic-imbued clover.
And leprechauns.
Colin knew the clan. They had quite a little party that night. Neko learned to Irish Step Dance from the bunnies.
It wasn't until they met a couple gargoyles high up in the mountains that they learned anything important.
"Something is wandering through Yellowstone and setting off small explosions of power," the larger gargoyle said as he sat aside his book. Dante's Inferno. Neko wished they had time to talk. "That's not somewhere you want to mess with the magic others have put in place."
Colin silently agreed. They were soon in the car with him driving, and maybe a bit too fast for the cold, snowy weather. Neko had seen worse storms, but not while in a car on small winding roads with precipitous drops off the sides of mountains.
Neko crawled into his blanket nest and did his best to ignore the worried sounds Luna sometimes made.
They did not slow down, but eventually, there was a feeling of being lower and the road somewhat straighter.
"This is a dangerous situation," Colin admitted. "Geologically, Yellowstone is unstable. Fae have been shoring up small spots for centuries, but nature works her way around them. We don't want anyone tampering with those spots. We are going to get there as fast as possible. That means using a lot more magic to make certain no one sees us or tries to stop us."
"But won't that magic attract the attention of those causing the problem?" Luna asked.
"It might. I almost hope it does," he admitted. "That would save trying to hunt them down."
He pulled into the parking lot of a fast food place. Colin put Neko on his neck and made him invisible for now. They used the facilities and ordered food and drink -- and were on their way again.
"We'll be to the entrance at dawn," Colin said. "Sleep while you can."
Neko had learned to take those sorts of hints seriously. He was certainly asleep before Luna, who kept asking questions.
Neko didn't wake up again until just before dawn when he sensed something big and magical go off close by.
"What the hell was that?" Luna demanded as she sat up.
"Trouble," Colin replied. He pulled to the side of the road. "Something almost made a major tectonic shift out there. I think I caught it in time."
The ground shifted slightly.
"Oh, I don't like that," Luna mumbled. Neko hissed.
"Just a slight readjustment. You take over the driving, Luna. I need all my attention to locate whatever is making this trouble."
They traded out spots. Neko started to lie down but decided he was not tired.
They were not far from the East Entrance. They had extra gatekeepers on duty, apparently just to warn people heading in.
"Some of the animals have been uneasy for the last couple days," a woman told them. "Be especially careful of bison and bears."
"That sounds like wisdom at any time," Luna replied.
The park ranger gave an emphatic nod of agreement. "You would be shocked how many visitors assume the animals must be tame." She noted Neko in the backseat for the first time. "Be very careful with your furry buddy there. He's far too cute to end up as some carnivore's lunch."
"He's not getting out of the car without a very good reason," Colin replied. "And never without his harness and leash."
"Glad to hear it. Enjoy your visit."
They drove on. They drove through the entire morning and into the afternoon. Colin had a link to something ... but it moved this way and that, driving them all mad.
"Back to the damned geysers," Colin said with a frantic wave of his arm. "Why -- they can't be trying to lose us."
"Vacation!" Neko shouted.
"That would make sense of the movement -- traipsing here and there all the way from the coast," Luna offered.
"It might also mean they have no idea what is going on," Colin added. He shook his head several times. "Someone unaware --"
"A child," Neko offered.
Luna found a pull off with just enough room for the car. She turned to Colin but gave a quick nod to Neko.
"I was about five when my power as a seer suddenly leaped into my world. Demon was the nicest thing people called me. My parents disappeared. They told me they would be back in a few minutes, but I said I knew they wouldn't. It was the last I saw of them."
"I am sorry," Colin said with a light touch on her hand.
"I have the feeling of a child in this, Colin. Children with powers are very dangerous. I suspect whomever the child is with does not know or does not believe in powers. This could be dangerous on many levels."
"Yes. Those are excellent points. They have stopped. I think they are out of the car. Let us see if we can pin down the person, though I see no reason to do more than that right now. I can keep any tampering at bay still."
"It might be time to call in Darion," Neko suggested. "You will have to sleep at some time, Colin."
No comments:
Post a Comment