Colin drove in silence for a few miles. Then, he took an off-ramp and parked at a deserted truck stop.
"Reggie, tell us everything you remember about the storm and the trouble you felt."
"When I left you, I headed for the mountains where I sensed some sort of power link to the land. What I found was nothing I'd ever seen before. At first, the link seemed to dance with the lightning, but I soon felt something beneath my feet. I sensed it did not like the unnatural storm. It felt Maude's presence and disliked her -- it was an old hatred. I thought I was with her, but my thoughts convinced them otherwise. Somehow, we worked together."
"Do you have any idea what they were?" Neko asked. "I remember nothing like this while Maude held me."
He had been catching more than the words Reggie spoke. There was a sense of ... things coming together to deal with Maude --
"Kachinas," Neko said. "They are figurines representing items in the real world, or ancestors and gods. She studied them once, but we never got to this area. This is not a surprise, but she wanted to find a way to subdue them and drain their power."
The ground shook.
"Someone is listening," Luna said as she stared out the window. "Is it her or them?"
"Both," Neko and Reggie chorused.
Colin started to drive away, but they hadn't even reached the on-ramp before another storm was upon them. This one was unlike the others in the storm and the magic that drew it together. The thunder beat like drums, and when the hail came, it sounded like tiny feet on the car's roof.
A Kachina slid down from the roof to the windshield and pounded on the glass. Luna tried to wave it away, but it gave a shout of defiance, and a dozen more joined it. They pounded against the glass with fists and weapons made mostly of wood. The glass still cracked despite all the magic Colin had put into the car.
"Stop that!" Luna ordered, sounding not at all like herself. Even Shosha looked startled. "If you keep that up, you will just draw her attention!"
The original Kachina came through the window without breaking the glass. Shosha and Neko both hissed, but the tiny figure stood up to them.
"You cannot order me!" he shouted, his voice reverberating through the car. He pointed to the cats. "These creatures are linked to her. You cannot fool me."
"Her magic trapped us," Neko answered. "Would the fae stay with us if we were her helpers? She forced you into this battle, didn't she? Why are you helping her now?"
That caught the Kachina by surprise. Neko realized this was one of those magical creatures that knew the truth when he heard it. That would make it easier to deal with them, but it also raised a question.
"How did Maude lie to you to get your help?" Neko asked.
"She never lied. She told us exactly what she would do to the land and the people if we did not help. We had no choice but to believe her. Your penguin companion saved us all."
"You can see him?" Colin asked.
"He is part of our world, not yours."
"What do we do now?" Colin asked.
"I fear that by interfering with your journey, we have drawn Maude's attention back to you."
"She is getting closer," Reggie agreed. "And in no better of a mood."
"She has never been happy," Shosha replied. No one argued. "What do we do now?"
Colin threw open the car door. "Everyone out. I am sending the car off on its own. That should keep her busy."
"We will go with the car," the Kachina added. Others of his kind seemed to like this idea from how they leaped and shouted. "That will confuse her as well."
Neko didn't like the idea of heading off into the desert on foot. Again. Reggie had said little during the first hour of the walk, and Neko wondered what the penguin thought.
"Is there a problem, Reggie?" Neko asked.
"A question that nags at me," he said and frowned up at the sky. "He didn't say what Maude had told them, only that they believed her. We were quick to assume that she threatened them. Kachinas are often tricksters. It is possible that was what we were meant to believe."
They had all slowed down, but Neko was the first to stop and look back.
"The storm is still there," he said. "It is not moving very fast, but it is still heading our way, I fear."
The others stopped and looked back as well. Neko could see looks of resignation on all their faces, including Reggie's. They stared long enough to confirm what Neko had guessed and to note that it was picking up speed.
"They are sometimes tricksters," Reggie mumbled to himself. "You just can't trust tricksters, especially when they are being helpful."
"We can't outrun it," Luna added while Shosha tried to burrow into her jacket. "And I have the feeling that now that we noticed, we aren't going to have much time to prepare."
Wind whipped dust up around them and Neko swore he could hear the echo of Maude's laugh. He spun and would have run if Reggie hadn't gotten in his way. Colin swept him up and protected them all with a wall of air that blocked the sand, dust, and debris that flew straight at them.
Neko could tell that Colin couldn't hold it for long. He hoped that Dorian had sensed that they were already in trouble. The power of the wind doubled and the wall was not holding back everything.
He saw Maude walking toward them.
No comments:
Post a Comment