“Which she can do just fine. I think it’s good training for her.”
“You think!” Grandmother’s voice rose to the volume that sent her grandnieces and neighbors scuttling for cover. Only her son didn’t run—but he did walk, slowly and deliberately, out to check on his sheep when she yelled like this. “What gives you the right to think? I agree with the entity when he calls you an abomination.”
“Abomination? Destroying a young woman by making her think she deserves to be destroyed is an abomination!”
The two women were nearly nose to nose. Grandmother’s black eyes flashed. “You leave my granddaughter alone.”
“Your granddaughter?” Chandra asked with a laugh. “She isn’t yours. She’s my niece. You don’t deserve to call her granddaughter, feathered crone—”
“She is my family. Hell goddesses don’t know the meaning of the word—”
“Stop!” I rose on a wave of magic, light crackling around me with my rage. “Both of you, stop it!”
Chandra and Grandmother Begay looked around at me, as though they’d forgotten my presence.
I had nothing to say. My words got tangled up, the English I’d learned to speak around age five vanishing. I could only think in Apache, and no one on this rooftop knew that language, except maybe Chandra. And then only because she was related to my mother and knew everything that went on in my head.
I screamed in frustration. All my life I’d been pushed and pulled, tugged between everyone I’d met—my parents who hadn’t wanted me, my teachers who hadn’t known what to do with me, Janet, my real mother, Mick who admonished me, Grandmother Begay, and now Chandra.
Chandra hadn’t denied Grandmother Begay’s accusation that she had persuaded Cornelius to hire me. I think that stung the most, which was stupid—I should be afraid of Chandra and fear that she’d come to take me back to my mother. But I’d believed Cornelius had seen something in me, trusted me.
He’d messed with me too.
I came down to the rooftop with a thump, gravel sliding under my feet. My shoes pinched and my dress chafed. I suddenly hated my new clothes, and all those who’d given them to me.
I swung around and walked away. I heard Colby start after me but then halt.
“Where are you going?” Grandmother Begay called. “You stop right there, Gabrielle Massey.”
“Gabrielle,” Chandra tried.
I kept marching, my throat aching, my eyes stinging. Nash only watched me, either understanding or not caring that I was leaving. Good riddance, he must think.
Cornelius did try to step in front of me. “My dear.”
“Leave her alone.” My lone defender was Maya, who shook her head at Cornelius. I’d horned in on her vacation and ruined it, and she didn’t like me at all, but she regarded me with understanding.
I was too brittle even to give Maya a nod of thanks. I walked into the lovely hotel and down the stairs, emerging into the hall ruined by the dirt storm, furniture overturned from the guests who’d fled.
I moved unimpeded to the elevator, which slid open to my spark of magic—it would have ruined my exit to have to wait for it.
The hotel’s electricity had come back on. I rode the elevator down to the ground floor, the casino looking odd in its emptiness. A few security guards roamed through to check out the floor, and they didn’t impede me from walking out.
Guests huddled in clumps outside the hotel, beginning to laugh and joke in relief. I saw the ladies I’d met in the bathroom the first night. They stood together, their backs a little straighter as they waited to be let back into the hotel. I noticed their husbands were satisfyingly attentive to them.
Another good deed I’d done.
Or maybe I’d done it because I was arrogant and evil. Who knew?
“Gabrielle!”
Amos came through the crowd to me, a worried look on his face. “You all right? I didn’t see you out here, and I was afraid …”
I willed English to return to my tongue. “Your car here?”
“Yeah, I parked down the block. Had to clear out for fire trucks and stuff. You need to go somewhere?”
I nodded and he led me without question to his limo, opening the door for me as though I wasn’t all scratched up and bloody.
“Where to?” he asked from the front as he started up.
“Anywhere. I don’t care.”
Amos gave me a salute and put the car in gear. He pulled smoothly away from the curb, and I left the crowds, flashing lights of emergency vehicles, Grandmother and Chandra, and my new life behind.
* * *
When we reached the far southern end of the Strip and the open space of the airport, Amos halted at a traffic light and turned to me. “Seriously, where do you want to go?”
“Magellan,” I said.
There was one person in all the world who would understand, who would be as freaked out about Chandra as I was.
Amos sent me a puzzled look. “Is that in North Las Vegas?”
“In Arizona. East of Flagstaff.”
His brows went up. “I’ll have to call that in. Our cars have GPS trackers so we don’t run off with them. I need my job, not a jail sentence.”
I waved my hand. “Fine. Call it in.”
He did and surprisingly got the green light to take me to Arizona. His bosses must have realized it would be one hell of a fare, which Janet would have to pay. She would, I was pretty sure.
I lay down in the backseat and let the darkness beyond the city wash over me. Amos didn’t ask me to talk, didn’t ask what had happened. I sensed his curiosity, but for now, he left me alone.
Colby had let me go. He’d been about to stop me, but then he, like Maya, had stood aside. He understood—not long ago he’d been stuck under a binding spell, forced to do the bidding of the Dragon Council, compelled to hurt his friends. He knew all about being cornered.
Amos had to stop for gas in Boulder City, and after that, I sat up front with him. I liked the sweet freedom of being on my own, but my heart was still leaden from all that had happened on the rooftop.
I let Amos talk—I learned about his girlfriend and his dreams for the future, which didn’t involve driving other people around. But right now, he needed the money to make ends meet, to save up for a life one day. He’d get a higher-paying job, and he and his girlfriend would get married and buy a house, and things would be better.
I’d heard this brave optimism before, from so many people. When we got to the hotel, I’d have Cassandra do some good luck magic on Amos. He was a good guy and deserved to find happiness.
Hours later, Amos turned off the 40 to drive through Winslow, then down the highway to the Crossroads and pulled into the lot beside Barry’s bar, which was full of motorcycles.
The Crossroads Hotel beyond was lit up, lights in every room. People spilled out the front door into the cool night, wandered the saloon that was still missing its outer wall, and were even camping out in the parking lot.
It was just past four in the morning, and Barry’s place, by law, should have been closed hours ago. Sheriff Jones didn’t put up with bars in his county breaking the rules.
Of course Sheriff Jones was in Las Vegas, and his deputies were a little more flexible. In fact, Deputy Lopez was standing outside the front door of the bar, talking to Barry.
Amos shut off the engine. “I’ll go inside with you.”
He said it protectively—so sweet.
“Sure. Come on.” He’d be safer inside anyway.
The lobby was packed. People filled the couches and chairs, sat on the staircase. Some were bunked down in sleeping bags on the floor. Cassandra sat behind her desk, looking tired, Pamela next to her. The office door next to the desk was closed, the light off.
Did I say people? I meant supernaturals. I saw Changers, witches, low-grade demons, and even a few Nightwalkers in their human personas.
They were all getting along. Nervous, wary, but non-confrontational. They were more afraid of whatever had driven
them there than they were of one another.
A table filled with trays of food ran the length of the wall under the stairs, a huge urn of coffee at one end. As I halted in amazement, Elena came out of the kitchen with a platter of enchiladas and set it on the table, taking away an empty.
I waded across the floor to Cassandra’s desk. “What’s going on?” I asked her. “Where’s Janet?”
Pamela gave me a fierce look from her wolf’s eyes. “Janet’s in bed. Cassandra and Mick made her go. Don’t disturb her.”
Yep, I was back home all right.
I addressed Cassandra again. “Do all these people think the hotel will protect them?”
Cassandra’s eyes were red-rimmed with weariness. “They do. The warding here is strong, though I don’t know if it will be strong enough.”
“Probably not,” I said. “I’ve fought this thing a couple times now. We’re going to need a lot more collective magic, plus the dragons. I’m thinking the dragons are key. Want me to add to the wards?”
“Don’t you dare even touch them,” Pamela growled.
What did Cassandra see in this woman? She was always crabby.
“Pamela is right,” Cassandra said. “If blunt. We want Earth magic only in the wards. The dragon slayer says the entity is provoked by Beneath magic. Even Janet had to take her magic out of them. Mick and I reworked them, with help.”
Dragon help, she meant. I felt the power of Drake and Titus seeping through the building. Cassandra’s magic was layered in there, as well as Elena’s. All powerful, all Earth-based.
“You shouldn’t be here, Gabrielle,” Pamela snapped. She was obviously tired, which I guess made her crankier than ever. “You’ll attract its attention. I thought you were happy with your cushy new job in Vegas.”
“Pamela,” Cassandra admonished her gently, but I could see from Cassandra’s expression that she too worried what my presence would do.
And true, the Earth entity had attacked me, gleefully. Me and my pure Beneath magic.
“I’m not offended,” I said to Cassandra. “Pamela can’t help being a bitch—she is a she-wolf after all. But you don’t have to worry about me. I’ll grab a change of clothes, and then I’m out of here.”
“Your stuff is in the attic,” Pamela said. “We needed the room.”
I didn’t answer. Cassandra gave me an apologetic look, but she didn’t chide Pamela this time. They really didn’t want me around. I was torn between not blaming them and wanting to weep.
Amos was already enjoying the buffet, Elena having invited him to taste the food. Well, he was harmless, and he’d be safe here for now, if Elena looked after him.
I moved swiftly up the stairs, not stopping until I was in the storage room beyond the third-floor office. I had to step over people in sleeping bags to get to my duffel that had been tossed into a corner.
I snatched it up and went out onto the roof, using the cover of darkness to change from my ruined black dress to jeans and a top. The early morning was brisk, so I added a light jacket before stuffing the dress into my bag.
I stood up and surveyed the land, looking east to the abandoned railroad bed and the open country beyond.
The moon had long since set, and stars coated the night. Even the lights from the hotel and Barry’s bar couldn’t dim the heavens tonight.
Dark skies, they were called. Truly dark, without city lights to pollute the view. The canopy of night stretched overhead, filled with stars and the planets and even the faraway fuzzy haze of nebulae.
I zipped up my jacket, stowed my duffle bag, and walked down the three flights of stairs to the ground floor. I could have floated down on magic, but Cassandra and Pamela were right—Beneath magic might draw the Earth entity, and I didn’t have the strength to fight it again tonight, if I even could.
No one noticed me walk back through the lobby and out the front door. In the parking lot, Fremont Hansen, sitting cross-legged near a campfire, led a circle in off-key songs. Flora, who was a pretty good Earth-magic witch, sat next to him, holding his hand.
I kept walking, moving around the hotel, past the shed where Mick worked on his and Janet’s motorcycles, past the tree where Grandmother Begay liked to perch as a crow, and up the abandoned railroad bed that lay to the east of the hotel.
I stopped once I reached the top of the bed where tracks used to lie, and gazed across the open darkness. Out there, hills, canyons, and washes broke the seemingly flat land, and vortexes lay dormant. One vortex, which led down into the world where my mother lived, was now completely buried.
The goddess was cut off, sealed in by Janet, Mick, and Nash. So they thought.
I scrambled down the far side of the railroad bed and headed for my mother’s vortex.
Chapter Twenty-One
Gabrielle
When I reached the wash that buried the entrance to my mother’s realm, all was quiet. The wash lay silent and covered in rubble and fallen trees.
Rainwater runoff had moved the rocks and piles of tree limbs a little, but there was no vortex here. She was not coming out.
So how had Chandra?
If Chandra was telling the truth. I’d sensed the immense Beneath magic in her, one that could only come from someone as powerful as my mother, but in the heat of battle, had I seen clearly?
I should have remained at the C and questioned her, but no, I had to run and cry to Janet, who, it turned out, didn’t have time for me.
I climbed upon a large, flat boulder, pulled my jacket around me, and drew my knees to my chest. A streak flashed through the black sky above me, then another and another, a mini meteor shower just for me.
A coyote wandered by. He stopped and took me in, eyes glittering, wind ruffling his tawny fur.
Coyotes aren’t as afraid of humans as humans think they should be, though they rarely attack, unless they’re ill and need an easy meal.
This one looked healthy. His muzzle was grizzled, his forehead broad, legs strong. He stared at me for a good long time before he sauntered to the boulder and climbed up beside me.
He gave a grunting sigh as he lay down, his fur warming my side. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, and he began to pant.
“I really am not in the mood for you,” I said.
I lied. I liked having him next to me, cutting the chill and not haranguing me for being evil and selfish.
Aw, too bad, Coyote said directly into my head. I thought we could get snuggly.
“Not when you smell like that.” The scent of wild animal fur was pungent.
Hazards of shifting. Fleas are another.
“Bullshit. You can smell the way you want to. And don’t sit here if you have fleas.”
His chuckle was warm. You can’t let her out, Gabrielle.
I glanced at the covered-over arroyo where the vortex, awash with power, had once lain. “I didn’t come here for that. I came to make sure it was closed.”
Hmm. You’ve changed.
“Not that much. But I can learn from my mistakes, can’t I?” I hunkered into myself. “Not that anyone’s giving me a chance.”
Are you giving them a chance to give you a chance?
“Don’t get preachy on me.” I scowled. “I get enough of that from Grandmother Begay.”
Another chuckle. Yeah, she can really work herself up into a tirade. Ask me how I know that. But she’s a wise woman, even if she likes to have the upper hand. Always.
“When Pete gets married, he’ll move to Farmington to live with Gina and her family, and leave me alone in Many Farms—you know, with Grandmother, and Janet’s aunts and all their kids who like to stop by at least twice a day.” Sadness touched me. “I’ll miss him.”
That was the truth. Janet’s father’s silences could soothe me, and he was the only one on the planet who didn’t berate me.
Pete Begay is a good soul, Coyote said. Not many of those out there.
“Janet’s lucky. I wish he’d been my dad.” I meant that with every ounce of my strength.
>
Ask him.
I shook myself out of my self-pity. “What?”
Ask Pete if he’ll be your dad. He’ll probably say yes.
I smiled a weak smile. “I think he’s afraid of me. He’s seriously looking forward to moving out.”
Ask him anyway.
Coyote left it at that and fell silent.
A breeze crossed the desert, stirring the brush into a whisper. The stars dazzled us overhead. I wasn’t good at recognizing constellations, either the Indian ones or the Greek ones, but the patterns were familiar.
I’d always found comfort in the stars. No matter what insanity happened on Earth, the heavens were eternal. The stars had been there, just like this, for eons before we arrived, and they’d be there long after we all were gone.
“It’s so beautiful,” I said softly. “The sky bowing down to meet the desert, the mountains, the woods, the canyons. Why does it want to destroy us? The Earth?”
It doesn’t, Coyote said. An Earth elemental does, one that formed and grew with the lava and the rock. It’s possessive.
“How do we even fight something like that? There’s nothing to fight.” I shivered. “I hate intangible enemies. Give me something I can blast.”
You’ll figure that out. You and Janet. Put your heads together, and you’ll come up with something.
“Oh, thanks. Real helpful. What about you? Won’t you be fighting with us?”
I can’t destroy it. I’m from Beneath, remember? Like you. Coyote ceased panting and gave me a long look from his golden eyes. A storm is coming. Will you be strong enough for it?
“I’m not a Stormwalker,” I pointed out.
Does that matter?
I opened my mouth to blurt, Well, of course it does, but I closed it again. Coyote was hinting at something, and I’d have to think about it.
“What about Chandra?” I asked him. “Is she really who she says she is?”
Coyote looked blank. Who’s Chandra?
I hid my start of surprise. “I thought you were the all-knowing god.”
Only when I’m paying attention. Who’s Chandra?
Dragon Bites Page 19