Trailblazer

by Zen DiPietro

  Padding out in her bare feet, she smiled shyly at James.

  “Hang on.” He snapped his fingers. “There we go.”

  Sally put a hand to her hair, which had been hanging in wet tangles. It was now dry, styled, and glorious. “How did you—”

  James cut her off. “Magic. I already told you. Try to keep up.”

  At Sally’s bemused expression, he added, “It’s unique to my shop. Nowhere else in Everternia does fashion come alive. Just go with it.”

  She didn’t believe in magic. Not in the way he implied it, anyway. She suspected some deep-rooted mechanics, specific to James himself, but she decided to go with it. No one truly understood the world they lived in—herself included. Everyone just made their best guesses and assumptions and forged their way forward.

  She’d do the same. “Okay.”

  He flashed her a brilliant smile. “Let’s start with leather. I think you’re a leather kind of girl.”

  Sally thought he was right.

  James pulled a lever and the configuration of the towering stories of displays shifted. They expanded outward, allowing the fourth row up to slip between, slide down, and then compress together, with the other layers above, as they’d all started out.

  “Wow.”

  “We’re just getting started.” James winked.

  An hour later, Sally strode out to the main room of the store and struck a dramatic pose for her friends, just as James had instructed her.

  “Whoa,” Darthrok stood from the chair where he’d slumped during the long wait.

  Essley turned from the display of elaborate hats she’d been examining. “Holy gasket.”

  Was that good? Sally hoped it was good.

  The two of them came closer, gawking, and Sally still wasn’t sure whether they were impressed or drawn in by some kind of can’t-look-away-from-the-disaster energy.

  Darthrok extended a finger to touch one of the many buckles that ran down Sally’s bodice, but Essley slapped his hand away. “What the doot, dude!”

  “What?” He froze.

  “You can’t just touch her!” Essley drew closer and touched the same buckle Darthrok had been eyeing.

  “What, and you can?” Darthrok looked at Essley like she’d insulted his honor, and the honor of his family for three generations, retroactive in time.

  “I’m her friend,” Essley said, admiring the metalwork and leatherwork of Sally’s new outfit. “This is amazing, Sally!”

  “I’m her friend, too,” Darthrok argued.

  “You’re a dude,” Essley noted.

  “I’m…she’s…” Darthrok sputtered. “It’s Sally. She’s family. Sally doesn’t think I’m a perv.” He turned his attention to Sally. “Do you?”

  Sally didn’t know this word. She gathered that it meant something related to guys touching girls, and that it was violently frowned upon.

  If frowns could be violent.

  Sally kind of hoped they could.

  She gave herself a mental shake. She was following too many trails of thought while her friends were looking at her for some kind of confirmation.

  “Darthrok isn’t a perv,” she said carefully. “It’s a neat outfit, and I’m family.”

  Darthrok smiled, vindicated.

  Surprisingly, Essley smiled, too. “Okay then. I just didn’t want him to make you uncomfortable.”

  Sally didn’t understand why that might be the case, but she appreciated Essley’s misplaced concern. Not long ago, no one at all felt any concern toward Sally, and she didn’t plan to ever take that for granted. Even if Essley was being weird. Sally was weird, too, so it only made her feel closer to her friend.

  “It’s so sleek!” Essley said. “Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

  Sally tilted her shoulders and torso to the right, then the left, to show how the fabric moved with her. “It’s great!”

  “How much does something like that cost?” Darthrok asked.

  “Twenty plat, since I bought so much other stuff. Bulk discount,” Sally nodded, pleased with herself.

  Essley’s and Darthrok’s jaws fell open at the exact same time as if choreographed.

  Darthrok sounded choked. “How much did you spend, in all?”

  “Two hundred plat even.”

  Their jaws somehow dropped further.

  “What?” Sally asked, suddenly defensive.

  “That’s…a lot of coin,” Essley said.

  James burst into view, carrying two armfuls of bags. “You can’t put a price on feeling your best. Which is what you get when you look your best. And doesn’t she look un-steamin’-believable?”

  James drew close and gestured at her with both hands as if revealing a great work of art.

  Sally had to agree. She did feel great. And since money didn’t mean anything to her, why shouldn’t she buy whatever made her happy?

  “Don’t worry,” James winked at Darthrok and Essley. “She has plenty more.”

  “She…does?” Essley looked from James to Sally.

  Darthrok straightened. “Well…I guess you haven’t had much to spend your money on before, right Sally? It would make sense that you have lots of money in your accounts. Right?”

  Sally didn’t have accounts like they did. They sometimes made the mistake of thinking she was like them, which she didn’t mind because it was nice to be included. Being a CM, she could summon whatever money she wanted, at any time.

  Given their reactions, she decided she’d been right in keeping her financial situation to herself.

  “Right,” she agreed. “I saved up.”

  “Well, you look amazing.” Essley smiled.

  “She looks more than amazing!” James exclaimed. “She’s a vision. An inspiration. I’m going to create a whole line based on her. I’m going to call it…” He held his hands up in the air as if framing something, “Strongpunk Fashion. It’s going to be huge.”

  “I’m sure it will,” Darthrok agreed politely.

  Essley simply nodded.

  Sally sensed that her friends were overwhelmed by James’ fabulousness, and she didn’t blame them. He had about five levels of personality intensity, and seemed to be stuck on the highest level. He was just a lot.

  She liked that about him.

  “Huge!” James insisted.

  Darthrok whispered in her ear, “I feel awkward when he talks. None of my answers could possibly be right.”

  Sally laughed. “Everybody’s good,” she assured him. “Just different.”

  James swept Sally into a big hug, kissed her on both cheeks, then pressed the bags into her hands. “You’re doing great, sweetie. Just keep being you. And come see me soon. Strongpunk Fashion is going to be The Thing. And I’ll owe it all to you.”

  Sally laughed. “I’ll come again. Have good adventures.”

  James lifted his chin, looking heroic. Then he winked.

  “Home?” Darthrok asked. “There’s a bus coming in just a couple minutes.”

  “Oooh, bus,” Sally agreed.

  She’d do the whole ride standing up, this time. While holding her bags. Steaming gaskets, it was going to be so fun!

  “Need any help carrying those?” Darthrok asked, gesturing at Sally’s numerous shopping bags.

  “Sure.” She handed him a few of them. “Thanks.”

  “I’ll take some, too,” Essley offered.

  Sally handed them off. If it were anyone else, she’d be worried about her new treasures, but she could trust Essley and Darthrok.

  They arrived at the bus stop. When they’d arrived in Reel, the bus stop had been nothing but a spot on the road with a bench and a post that had a bus schedule attached. Upon their return, they found that an old woman had commandeered the bench and set a table in front of it.

  Apparently, she was in business.

  A glance told Sally that the CM had nothing she needed. She had no use for fishing poles and nets, or small water globes with aquatic scenes inside. The woman herself seemed interesting, though. Sall
y had never seen anyone so old. Her face had such deep wrinkles that they appeared to be ruts that had wrinkles of their own.

  It was a nice face. A face with character. Sally assessed her.

  Nan. CM.

  Class: Entrepreneur.

  Specialty: Streetmonger.

  Nan’s grandmotherly looks hide her nerves of steel. Unwary people underestimate her, and pay the price.

  A streetmonger specialty? Sally hadn’t seen anyone else associated with that word before.

  “Ah, three young people waiting on a bus. You know what that makes?” Nan asked.

  “What?” Darthrok asked.

  Nan smiled slyly. “Time for you to buy something. Old ladies have to make a living too, you know.”

  “I’m sorry,” Essley said. “But we aren’t going fishing, and don’t need souvenirs. But your goods look very nice.”

  “’Nice’ doesn’t buy Nan any dinner, now does it?”

  Darthrok and Essley shifted uncomfortably.

  “Do you have anything else?” Sally asked.

  “Well, since you have time,” Nan said coyly. “We could play a little game.”

  “What kind of game?”

  A deck of cards materialized in Nan’s hand. “So glad you asked. Here.” She spread the cards and held them out, face-down, toward Sally. “Pick a card.”

  “I wouldn’t,” Darthrok said in a low voice.

  “I would.” Sally studied the backs of the cards, which all had the same levers and gears pattern on the back. She looked at Nan. Was Nan trying to encourage her to pick any particular card?

  Didn’t seem so. Sally selected one slightly right of center.

  “Take a look, but don’t show me,” Nan instructed. “Memorize it. Better yet, show it to your friends.”

  Sally looked. Nine of spades. She showed the card to Essley and Darthrok, who both looked displeased to be going along with this.

  “Put it back in, anywhere. I won’t look.” Nan turned her head, looking back over her shoulder, and held the deck out to Sally.

  Sally slid the card back in among the others.

  Nan shuffled the cards with an easy, practiced move. “Most people don’t realize that their energy leaves a stamp on things. Once they’ve touched something, it’s marked, like a piece of them. Not anything, mind you, only things of importance. And cards are particularly sensitive to that kind of energy.”

  “Really?” Sally watched Nan as she shuffled the cards again and again.

  “Oh, yes. For example, watch. You’ve only touched one of these cards. I’ll find it just by looking for your energy on it.” Nan spread the cards out across the table, then bent closer, examining them closely.

  “Ah, there it is.” She plucked a card up and flicked it up for them to see. “That’s the one.”

  Nine of spades.

  “Yes, that’s it,” Sally agreed.

  Nan turned it around, glanced at the card, then back at Sally, her expression guarded. “Right then. Now all you have to do is find your card. If I can do it, surely you can, right?”

  Sally shook her head. “No, I don’t do cards. I won’t be good at it like you.”

  “What if we only use three cards?” Nan asked. She lay the nine of spades face-up on the table, and put two other cards on either side of it. “Just three, and you can watch my hands the whole time.”

  It seemed like a trick. Of course she could keep track of one card among only three. “Okay,” Sally agreed.

  Nan smiled. “Just keep your eye on the card. If you find it, you get a prize. If you don’t, you owe me a gold coin. But you’ll find it, won’t you?”

  A trick. Nan had asked Sally to agree to the deal, which would bind her to it, and then she’d asked another question. Saying yes to either would obligate Sally to the deal, but in this case, she intended to agree anyway.

  “Okay,” she said again.

  Nan began mixing the three cards, flipping them over the others, again and again. Her hands were a blur of motion, and sometimes almost entirely obscured the cards.

  After a full minute of mixing them up, Nan took her hands away. “Which one is yours?”

  Without hesitation, Sally pointed to the one on the left. “That one.”

  “You’re sure?” Nan asked.

  “Yes.”

  Nan flipped the card over to reveal the nine of spades. “Well done. You win a prize.”

  Darthrok patted Sally’s shoulder. “Good job! I thought for sure it was the one in the middle.”

  “So did I,” Essley added.

  Nan had wanted her to choose the one in the middle. Sally had seen it in the way Nan moved the cards, and moved her hand into the way when she didn’t need to. Nan was highly skilled at misdirection.

  Nan gathered the cards. “I can’t remember the last time someone won. Doesn’t happen very often.”

  “I bet,” Darthrok muttered, and Essley nudged him.

  “What’s the prize?” Essley asked.

  Nan smiled. “The edge of a secret, the starting point of power. It’s a special prize, one that no one’s ever received. But it’s only for the bold of heart. Do you want it? If you want the easy way, I can give you a platinum coin instead. Make your choice.”

  Darthrok and Essley both looked to Sally.

  “It’s a special quest,” he said. “A one-time thing that no one else has ever done. Do you want to?”

  Sally didn’t even have to take the time to ponder. “Special quest. I want the special quest.”

  Nan smiled. “I had a feeling about you. Not anyone could do this, but maybe you can. I’ve been waiting for someone special.”

  Nan pulled something from her pocket and held her closed fist out, waiting.

  Sally put her palm under the fist.

  Nan opened her hand, and Sally felt something drop into her palm. Looking at it, she saw a cotter pin.

  No, it wasn’t just a cotter pin. Looking closer, Sally saw that the pin was also a key. It had a tiny pattern on its bottom side, which surely was designed to unite with an opposing pattern to unlock…what?

  Her curiosity bloomed, creating a thrill of excitement. “What is it?”

  “In a place protected by legs, you’ll find shadows and dust. If you look beyond the gloom, you’ll find the heart. This will make the heart beat again.” Nan smiled mysteriously.

  Sally pinched the cotter pin key between her thumb and forefinger.

  “Great wealth can come from it, or great misfortune. Choose wisely.”

  “Sounds kinda bad,” Darthrok whispered. “Think we can trade it in for the platinum coin?”

  Sally shot him a look of disgust. Where was his sense of adventure? She hadn’t woken up to play it safe and avoid excitement. And Jin had told her to “give them a steamin’ heck of a time.” Surely this was an opportunity to do that.

  She closed her fist around the cotter pin key. She caught Nan’s gaze, looked deep, and said, “What would you do?”

  Nan’s gaze flickered, looking into Sally’s eyes. For a moment, Sally almost saw something…something almost like awareness. “I’d go all in, child. No risk, no reward.”

  Sally nodded. “I’ll do it. All the risk. All the reward. And I’ll come tell you about it after.”

  Nan’s gaze sharpened even further. “You do that, child. You do that.”

  Behind them, the bus slid into view with a dramatic swoosh of released steam and the musical sound of gears swapping out to reduce speed to a stop.

  What a wonderful, soothing sound.

  The old woman’s eyes lost their focus, went vague, then roamed over Sally’s shoulder. “Ah, a young man waiting on a bus. You know what that makes?” Nan asked.

  Sally turned to follow her gaze, seeing a young cook behind her. She could tell at a glance that he had no coin to spend.

  How sad. If she hadn’t had a gold coin to risk, she’d never have gotten the treasure she held within her fist.

  With a pointed look at her friends, Sally said, �
��Stay well, Nan. I’ll visit again.”

  Nan paid her no mind, but as Sally passed the cook to board the bus, she pressed a gold coin into his palm. She wouldn’t miss it, and it might just lead to the biggest adventure of his life.

  Smiling, Sally stood in the center of the bus, grabbed a strap, and prepared for a glorious ride back to Pivot.

  11

  Sally returned to her store, bags in hand, feeling like a billion platinum.

  No, more than that. Way more. She’d always had all the coins she needed. Now, she had things that were worth far more. Things that couldn’t be bought with money.

  Essley and Darthrok had gone to see to some of their own personal business, so she was alone when she unlocked her store.

  Hang on.

  That was fun.

  She locked the door again, then unlocked it a second time, just because she could.

  So cool!

  Having a lock for the door was fantastic!

  Once she got into the store, though, she felt a wave of dissatisfaction. Yes, her seating area was inviting and she looked forward to sitting there soon. Her cash register stood ready as ever for when customers arrived.

  But she had numerous new garments and accessories, and nowhere appropriate to put them.

  She wasn’t about to store them in the cabinets that held her wares for sale. No way. But where then?

  She didn’t want to keep her personal things in the main part of her store. That only left the control room, which had no storage other than a maintenance box for the navigation and propulsion systems.

  Unhappy with her options but with nothing she could do about it for the moment, she left her bags in the control room. At least James would have packed her treasures away carefully to prevent wrinkles. She felt certain of that.

  Thinking of him made her smile. She hoped she could see him again soon. Instinct told her that Pivot would be shifting soon, though, so it could be a while, especially if they ended up far away from Reel.

  In the meantime, she had a quest to complete.

  Essley and Darthrok had chatted a bit about what the quest might mean, but Sally had pretended not to overhear. She’d wanted to enjoy the bus ride and the lurching around without distraction.

  Plus, she was pretty sure she already knew what the quest meant. More or less.