Beasts and Burdens (13 page)

The coach came to halt and Ethan stepped out to stretch his legs. The driver looked down at him and nodded forward ahead of his horses. Ethan stepped around the horses and found a young man, not much older than him, leaning against a dune buggy playing a hand held game.

He was notably Chinese, but his subdued features hinted at a mixed parentage. His short ebony hair was spiked in a faux-hawk, and he wore a red and black NASCAR jacket. He hit his hand held game frowning at the results of his concentrated efforts.

Ethan grabbed his bag from the carriage and met with him. He was a little shorter than Cori, but it was hard to say if that was a weakness for him or not. Ethan stared down at him as he continued to achieve his high score, despite the surrendering sunlight.

“Just a second.” The young man drawled distractedly, twisting his lips in concentration.

Ethan might have been sympathetic to his gaming goals had he not been running on six hours of interrupted, uncomfortable sleep. “Now,” he said simply, implying as much motivation as he could into the word.

“Yeah, I just need to…”

Ethan placed his hand over the game screen and squeezed tightly. The plastic started to crack and the gamer looked up at him in shocked awe.

“Okay, okay! Please don’t break it! It’s the only one I have,” the boy pleaded with honest distress. Ethan let go of the game and the boy immediately shut it off, frowning at the crack in the plastic casing. He stuck it in his back pocket without any further complaint. “Sorry, I just…I’m Levi. Like the jeans.” Levi stuck out his hand for Ethan to shake.

“Ethan.” Ethan took his stiff hand in his, pressing just enough to declare his presence as someone of importance, but not enough to be a dick. He had already peacocked enough for one day.

Levi glanced down at their joined hands, before his eyes flickered over Ethan’s face. Ethan retracted his hand and Levi motioned to his vehicle. “We have to take the next few miles by dune buggy, if that’s okay? The horses don’t do as well in the softer sand.” Levi smacked the roll bar looking over the vehicle proudly.

Although they were probably similar in age, Ethan wondered if he had ever been that young: jubilant admiration for toys, short attention span, and easily intimidated. “And if it’s not okay?” he asked unable to resist making the boys nervous smile fade.

“Oh…um…well I guess I could go back and fetch a camel.” Levi looked at his watch. “Gets even colder after sunset,” he mumbled to himself. “I should bring some furs along.”

“Levi,” Ethan interrupted. “I was being flippant. The dune buggy is fine.”

“Oh, right, yeah, sure.” He looked at Ethan’s bag and reached for it. “Oh, here, I can load that up.”

Ethan removed the strap from his shoulder and Levi strapped the bag in despite the vehicle not being designed to carry luggage. The two-seater buggy looked like a frame-only car, but with significantly smaller wheels and engine. The two plastic seats afforded comfortable seating, but Ethan was already imagining the pelting sting of wind and sand.

“Nice wheels. How fast does it go?” Ethan asked more to ease Levi into a conversation he knew he would enjoy.

“Thanks, it comes with the job, but I reworked the engine so I kind of get dibs on it.” Levi once again patted the vehicle like it was his loyal pet. “Max is usually 50-60 for this style, but the terrain doesn’t allow for much more than 35-40. I always wanted to get it out on the dry bed of the basin, but…well you probably know how that goes? No drawing attention,” Levi said through clenched teeth.

“Yeah, I know about that.” Ethan started to round the vehicle to get in the passenger’s side.

“Did you want to give her a go? Drive I mean?” Levi’s brow perked with the offer.

“I wouldn’t dream of depriving you of the pleasure.”

“Oh, no, man—er—sir, I drive it all the time. I don’t mind.”

Ethan chose to ignore the sir, since he had probably inadvertently demanded the respect with his braggart introduction. He looked over the mechanics of the vehicle. He rarely got to drive at the prison, and his experience prior to those walls was limited as well.

“I wouldn’t want to wreck it for you,” Ethan said humbly, but he was already moving back around.

“Go ahead. I’ll just fix it up again. No skin off my back. I like hanging out with grease and wheels all day.”

Ethan smiled at the image of Levi under a car, smeared in oil. It reminded him of Cori in her greenhouse smudged with dirt head to toe. He had yet to be away two full days, but his heart clenched at the thought of her so far away.

“In that case, I’d be honored.” Ethan climbed in and Levi clapped his hands together and jumped in the passenger side. “How do I…” He searched for the ignition.

“Right here, sir.” Levi pointed it out as he handed him a pair of goggles. “You should probably fasten your seat belt. Annette will have my head if she knew I’d put you in any danger.”

Ethan dutifully clasped his restraining belt after he started the engine. He couldn’t imagine the beautiful, grandmotherly Annette ever being angry at anyone, but she did wield the power of the Earth like a book of matches. She was probably best kept on one’s good side.

34

Thirty minutes later, Ethan pulled into the grass hut village Levi had pointed out to him. The seemingly abandoned village was at the base of the mountain line, just before the ground started to elevate exponentially. Levi gave him a throat slashing signal, and Ethan cut the engine. 

“Tell me this isn’t it.” Ethan looked over the half dozen structures with unhidden disgust. He was by no means spoiled, but he had hoped solid walls would be part of his lodging.

“No, but I should probably take over from here, the road gets kind of obscure after this.”

Ethan nodded not bothering to ask the definition of that. They switched seats, and Levi checked that Ethan’s bag was secure before smiling at him and starting the engine. Ethan knew that smile meant he was in for something special and/or terrifying, but he just strapped himself in tightly and resisted the urge to question him about it.

The dune buggy took off fast, and Ethan smirked as Levi glanced over at him. He didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of being surprised. Past the primitive structures, but before the mountain line, was a gorge. Ethan couldn’t tell how deep it was, but its length spanned miles, disappearing beyond the foreseeable distance.

Levi geared up to the alleged 50 miles per hour that Ethan had not come close to on the sandy dunes. The gorge barreled at them in fast forward, and Ethan couldn’t help but grip the roll bar. He glanced at Levi and as he suspected, he was smiling—whether it from the thrill of speeding, or his discomfort, was unclear.

The depth of the gorge was still indistinct, but the width that expanded before them revealed to Ethan that jumping the gorge was impossible. At the speed they were going, a sudden turn would likely roll the vehicle. He knew Levi was only teasing him with the display, but they were quickly running out of reasonable braking distance and Ethan’s patience for the cockiness would end sooner than that.

“Trust me,” Levi said losing his smirk. He must have sensed Ethan’s irritation, or at least predicted it.

Ethan wasn’t sure why he should trust him, and he was just as baffled that he did trust him, but he relaxed back into his seat, arms down and let the impending cavernous fall come to him without objection or intervention.

At the gorge edge, Ethan’s heart leapt into his throat and he made a concerted effort to keep his eyes open. However this was going to work, he wanted to see it for himself. If he believed it after the fact, was up to his brain.

The dune buggy left the solid ground of the desert and glided, without so much as a bump, onto the thin air over the gorge. Like distracted cartoon characters, they were following the imaginary line that would break if they acknowledged it.

Ethan dared to look down and found the gorge to be several stories deep. Perhaps not as deep as his imagination would have guessed, but by no means a fall they could survive. He expected to see a hidden road invisible to the casual observer, but he saw nothing. If they were on a road, it was made of the clearest glass ever created.

When they arrived on the other side, a shimmer rippled through his vision, temporarily interrupting all conscious thought except the obvious “what the fuck” that never seemed to leave one’s mind, no matter how disoriented one became.

“I can’t see,” Ethan said blinking his eyes furiously trying to get the damned shimmer off his retinas.

“I know,” Levi said. “It will pass. Just try to keep calm.”

The dune buggy hit a couple of bumps and abruptly descended downhill sending butterflies from Ethan’s stomach to the back of his neck. “What the hell?”

“Sorry, the entrance goes under the walls.”

“What walls?” Ethan said sarcastically. “I can’t see a flipping thing.” He should have been used to the enigmatic disposition of everyone even remotely involved with Danato, but being blinded to protect the entrance of this top secret location was going too far.      

“Yeah, me neither; sucks doesn’t it?”

“What?” Ethan looked over at Levi, though he couldn’t actually see him. “You’re blind too?” Ethan had just assumed that the magical barrier was intended for strangers and that Levi would be immune. “But you’re driving.”

“It’s okay man—sir, I’ve driven it like a hundred times. I’m the errand boy. I could do it with my eyes closed.” Levi chuckled amused by his own joke. Ethan was about to snap at him, but shook off the unnecessary anger and joined him in the humor of things. At least they were surrounded by roll bars.

 As if the outside wasn’t cold enough, the decline brought them into a damper coolness. Ethan still couldn’t see, but he smelled earth and moisture. He could only assume that their tunnel was taking them into the mountain.

Occasionally, the tires would hit the rumble bars and Levi would adjust his course, but for the most part, the ride went without interruption. Ethan didn’t bother trying to fill the silence with conversation since Levi obviously needed to concentrate, but a minute passed, he started to wonder how far into the mountain they were going.

Before he could ask, the reflective echo of the dune buggy engine ceased, and the air warmed. He could see the flicker of firelight through his blindness, and hear the echoing voices of men directing Levi to slow and park.

“Now what?” Ethan asked after the engine shut off. He probably sounded like an impatient child asking “are we there yet” but he couldn’t help feeling vulnerable without his eyesight.

“Adrianna?” Levi called out. “There you are,” he said relieved. “You mind doing your magic voodoo for me and my friend?” After a short pause. “Perfect, thank you. That’s Ethan Peirce, Annette’s
special
guest. Sir, the lady about to touch you is Adrianna Levinson. Don’t…um…just let her do her thing.”

Ethan was already questioning the designation
special,
so he didn’t really have time to read between the lines of Levi’s statement. Gentle hands grasped his biceps, willing him forward. He leaned with them, and two small soft kisses were placed on each of his eyelids.

Almost instantly, the smear of fairy dust clouding his vision dissipated to reveal a woman, perhaps in her twenties standing before him in what looked to be pajamas. From the soft sweet kisses he had expected her to be a beautiful luminous woman, but his cleared vision revealed a gaunt, pale skinned girl with long ragged deep russet hair that hadn’t seen a brush in days. Her sharp nose might have been considered cute, if her cheekbones weren’t demanding to be noticed right along with it.

Adrianna’s wide eyes stared at him like a wild animal fearful of every movement they saw. Though her discomfort at his gaze was obvious, he couldn’t help but stare into the one part of her that was undeniably beautiful without reproach. Her gray rimmed irises faded to a pale green at her pupil, making the color negotiable depending on the lighting.

He could feel an instant draw to her. It was not a physical attraction, but rather emotional. He wanted to envelope her in warm, loving arms, feed her a mammoth cheeseburger, and whisper endearing, paternalistic praises in her ear.

Ethan wasn’t aware that he had reached out to her, until she sprung back away from him. He was certain he was thinking only of shaking her hand for an introduction, but he was mortified to make her flee. “I’m sorry, I…” He looked down at his hand wondering why it had caused so much confusion in her eyes. He hadn’t even attempted to stand up.

“Ah, that’s okay, sir,” Levi assured him, but he was still racing around the vehicle to break up the situation. “I think that’s good, Adrianna. Run ahead and tell Annette that Ethan is here?” Levi crossed his arms tightly over his chest as he spoke to the girl. “I was just going to give him a little tour first.” The girl turned slowly leaving them in her periphery until the last possible second and then she was gone, leaving only an unnatural breeze from her sudden exit.

Ethan finally took note of the huge fire lit room. It was vast and empty except for the vehicles it held. The only activity was a few men who had directed them into the gigantic parking garage. There were dozens of exits paths. The one they came in through was guarded by two twelve foot hunchback giants. They regarded Ethan enough to memorize his face, but that was the extent of their interest.