Light in the Barren Lands: Travail of The Dark Mage Book One (17 page)

Returning his attention to the driver he asked, “What’s your name?”

“Destiny,” she replied.

James had to grin at that as it could very well have been destiny that put her at the motel at just the time they needed her. “You can call me James.”

“James?” she asked.

He nodded. “That’s right.”

“I don’t have much money but you can have it all and the car if you just don’t hurt me,” she pleaded.

“Relax,” he replied. “No one’s going to hurt you as long as you do what we ask and don’t cause any problems. We are only interested in a ride, nothing more, okay?”

“Okay,” she replied.

James knew she didn’t believe them. And frankly, if their places were reversed, he wouldn’t either.

A mile went by in silence, then a second, when from up ahead, flashing lights appeared shortly followed by two cop cars screaming past on their way to the motel. “Won’t be long now,” James told his friend in the back seat.

Now scanning the road ahead in more earnest, James sought an alternate mode of transportation. He dared not risk continuing much farther in this Geo, for had those in the restaurant seen their manner of departure, it was a very real possibility that those cop cars that recently shot past would be on their way back shortly after arriving at the motel.

He contemplated cutting through the orchard of almond trees to their right when from up ahead on their side of the road appeared two vehicles. As they drew closer, it was clear one vehicle was hooked in tow to the other. And not only that, the vehicle in tow was sitting upon one of those flatbed haulers people used when they don’t want to rack up the miles on the vehicle being towed. Covered in a tarpaulin to keep the road dust off, it might prove to be just what they needed.

The lead vehicle had blown the front left tire and two men were placing the jack in position. Being in close proximity to the almond orchard, coupled with the fact the light was waning as night approached, made this a golden opportunity. Just before the Geo drove past, he caught sight of a bumper sticker on the lead truck. He didn’t catch every word, but he did make out
Bakersfield, CA
.

Turning back to Jiron, he said, “I’ve got a plan.”

“You do?” he asked.

James nodded. As soon as the two men changing the tire had all but disappeared in the distance, he had Destiny pull the car over to the side. Then grabbing her purse from where it rested upon the emergency brake situated between their seats, he opened it and removed her wallet.

“Take it,” she said. Turning the car off, she began handing him the keys.

“I don’t want the car,” he told her. Then motioning for her to return the key to the ignition, he said, “Keep it running.”

The first thing he saw when he opened the wallet was a picture of a girl, she looked to be a preteen. “Is this your daughter?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Cute girl.” A quick search of the wallet’s content revealed a number of credit cards, old receipts, forty five dollars, and her driver’s license. After removing the cash and her driver’s license, he replaced the wallet back into her purse.

“Now here’s what we’re going to do,” he stated.

Eyes now grown fearful at the many terrible, horrifying possibilities of which that statement could mean, she could never have possibly imagined him to say, “We’re letting you go.” Staring at him with total shock, she dared not speak for fear of him changing his mind.

“I truly don’t want to hurt you,” he assured her. “However, we can’t very well have you notifying the cops about where you dropped us off. At least not right away.” He held up her license. “We know where you live. If I hear of you informing the cops, or telling anyone else about what transpired here, we’ll find you.” He let the unspoken threat hang in the air for a moment. “Give us two days, after that I don’t care who you tell or what you tell them. Okay?”

She nodded her head.

To Jiron he said, “Ask me a question.”

“What?” his friend asked.

“Ask me a question,” he repeated.

“What kind of question do you want me to ask?”

“Perfect,” smiled James. “Reno.”

“Reno? What’s a Reno?” Jiron was confused.

“Reno,” he said, making sure to pronounce the word very clearly, “is a city in my world. Now, let’s get out.”

As Jiron and Jira got out, he returned his expression to Destiny. “Now remember,” he said, then held up two fingers, “two days.”

She nodded silently in disbelief, hardly daring to believe this ordeal may be over so easily. Her heart began to race when the two in her back seat were out, with the door closed behind them. Then, while the man who called himself James did likewise, she held her breath. As soon as he was standing on the side of the road and had closed the car door, she floored it.

“Why did we let her go?” Jiron asked, watching her peel away back onto the highway. “She’s going to tell your cops where she dropped us off.”

Holding the woman’s license, James glanced at it and recalled the picture of the girl from the wallet. “I don’t think so.” With guilt and remorse for what he had put that girl through, and for what she will continue going through with the knowledge hanging over her that he knows where she lives, James left the road behind and entered the almond orchard.

“And what’s the deal with Reno?” Jiron asked.

Moving some distance into the trees, James didn’t reply until the road was occluded by several rows of uniformly spaced trunks. Then, as he quickened his pace and angled back in the direction of the two men working to change the tire, he said, “Remember back when we left Lythylla with Illan and his Raiders?” Jiron nodded. “Remember how we sacked that one caravan and left a guard alive to ‘overhear’ where we were going?”

Realizing where this was going, Jiron grinned and said, “Yes I do. We got a day’s lead on them before they realized the information was wrong.”

“Exactly,” agreed James. “The girl overheard us talking. Though she couldn’t understand what we were saying, I’m certain she did hear us say Reno. Reno is north and east of us. I plan to go south.”

“So that’s why we let her go,” Jiron said approvingly.

James nodded. “We couldn’t exactly take her with us, and the only other alternative was to kill her.”

“And I’ve known you long enough to realize you could never do that.” Such caring for others on James’ part had cost them no end of trouble during their many travels. But that was one of the things he admired about his friend the most.

“I told her to wait two days before mentioning us,” he explained, “or we’d pay her a visit.”

“Think that will ensure her silence?”

Shrugging, James replied, “I hope so. But if not, she’ll tell them we’re on the way to Reno.”

By this time they had worked their way back through the grove and could see the truck with the two men changing the tire. From the looks of it, the spare was already on and lug nuts were being tightened.

James drew closer and kept low behind the trees as he watched the second man toss the flat tire into the truck’s trunk. He pointed to the car beneath the tarpaulin on the trailer. “We need to get in there before they take off,” he whispered.

The tarp was held tightly over the car by ropes tied securely to ringlets on the sides of the flatbed hauler. Unfortunately the tarp did not reach the bed of the hauler so any attempt by them to hide beneath it would soon be discovered. The trunk of the car on the other hand, was a more possible solution. For here the tarp did not rest very tightly against the trunk; one of the rear lines securing it had loosened.

With nightfall not too far away, the number of cars upon the highway had dwindled. James waited until the man closed the truck’s trunk and began returning to where his partner finished tightening the lug nuts. The road was clear for the moment, the headlights of the closest car still over a mile away. Waving for Jiron and Jira to follow, he ran quickly and quietly toward the end of the flatbed hauler.

He indicated the trunk and said, “Get it open. Break the lock if you have to.”

Jiron nodded and hopped up onto the flatbed. He first tried to lift the trunk, but then realizing it was locked, inserted a knife into the keyhole and twisted. A barely audible crack was heard as the lock broke.

James peered around the end of the hauler toward the two men. He heard Jiron’s breaking of the lock just as the man finished tightening the lug nuts and was tossing the lug wrench into the trunk.

Upon the hauler, Jiron had the trunk open as far as it would go. Jira climbed up and quickly squeezed through the narrow opening. “Come on,” Jiron urged James. He too was keeping an eye on the two men who were even now shutting the trunk and making to get back into the truck.

James left his position at the rear of the hauler and scrambled up next to the trunk. He tossed his pack in first then shimmied inside. Despite Jiron’s best effort in widening the opening, pain flared across the midsection of his back as the trunk’s locking mechanism scraped off several inches of skin. Stifling a cry of pain, he forced his way through despite the agony and moved in as close as he could to Jira and Jiron’s duffle which was already inside.

A moment later, Jiron squeezed through with much less difficulty than had James. As the truck’s engine started, he pulled the trunk closed and they were plunged into darkness.

The interior of the trunk wasn’t necessarily roomy, but it had just enough space for them to lie without overlapping. James was trying to move a rather hard, rectangular object he thought might be an oil container out from beneath his back when they started to move.

“Uncle James?” questioned Jira.

Before he could answer, they came to an abrupt halt. A fraction of a second later, sirens were heard approaching fast. James listened with dread as they drew closer, and didn’t relax until they had sped past and began growing distant.

The truck didn’t immediately pull onto the road. James had a heart stopping minute of worry and fear until he felt them pull onto the highway and begin accelerating down the road.

“Uncle James?” Jira asked again.

“Yes?” he replied.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Of course not,” he assured her. “You only did what you had to. I’m proud of you.”

Trying to get as comfortable as possible, they rearranged the contents of the trunk. Once a semblance of comfort was achieved, Jira was quick to fall asleep. Jiron and James talked quietly for an hour or two before the rigors of the day finally began taking their toll. Jiron offered to take first watch, and while James gradually slipped away to sleep, he allowed the trunk to rise just enough so he could look through to the outside. As the world passed by, he thought of Aleya and longed to once again wrap her in his arms.

Many miles away, an old truck cruised the streets of Haveston. From the police scanner bolted to the underside of the truck’s console came a steady stream of cross-talk from police officers and dispatchers. The driver paid little heed.

His attention was firmly fixed on the view outside the truck, to those whom he drove past. From face to face he sought the one who could give him answers. And if the answers weren’t forthcoming, well, that’s what the fully loaded 9mm Browning laying on the seat next to him was for.

One way or another he was going to…

“Unit Six to Dispatch.”

“This is Dispatch. Go ahead Six.”

“Got a positive ID on the suspects who killed the boy at the motel restaurant. It’s the same ones the feds are looking for in conjunction with that terrorist bombing of the doctor’s office.”

Interest piqued, the driver turned the scanner’s volume up.

“More than one witness ID’d them. They kidnapped a young woman and took off east down Highway…”

Slamming on his brakes, the driver made an abrupt u-turn in the middle of the road. Gunning the gas, he raced through the outskirts until reaching the highway. There, he turned east and flew through the night.

Chapter Ten

________________________

The shaking of his shoulder brought him awake. “We’ve stopped,” he heard Jiron say.

“Hmmm?” James asked, still not quite awake.

Jiron shook him again. “We’ve stopped, have been for some time.”

James came instantly awake. He looked to where Jiron had the trunk lid cracked open. There was nothing but darkness. “Is there anyone around?”

“I don’t think so,” he replied. “When we stopped, I heard the two men talk briefly then it grew quiet. That was over an hour ago.”

James listened to the quiet for a second. “Okay. Then it might be time to leave our hideaway and find out where we are.”

“That’s what I thought too,” agreed Jiron. Pushing the trunk lid up as far as he could, he stuck his head through. Ducking back inside he said, “Looks like we’re in a building. I can see light coming in through a window.” Then he turned to his daughter. “Stay here while Uncle James and I check it out.” Seeing Jira nod, Jiron squeezed through the narrow opening. James was quick to follow.

The car and flatbed hauler were in an open ended, elongated garage. The truck that had towed them was still attached to the flatbed, and both had been backed into the garage with the nose of the truck protruding out the front. There didn’t appear to be anyone else about.

They moved to the front of the garage. There they discovered a house with lights on sitting not far to their right. Muffled voices could be heard coming from within. To their left stood another house, this one was dark and quiet.

Passing before the two houses was a residential street with more houses facing them from the opposite side. They, too, were dark.

“Get Jira,” James said.

Jiron hurried back to the trunk and soon, both he and Jira returned. Jiron handed James his pack then slung the duffle across his back. With one final look to ensure the coast was clear, James led them from the garage and quick-timed it down the street.