Skipping around some more

[unknownfate]

The morning at the hotel there had been a buzz in the office. There wasn’t enough of a complimentary breakfast to matter, just coffee. The night clerk was talking to a policeman and someone in a uniform neither of them recognized. Animal control, maybe? Something had happened in the night. They were stopped before they got to the door and warned that there had been an incident in the parking lot.

Shay peeked out the lobby doors and saw feathers and blood. Coyotes, the other man was saying, but it was strange because they usually only hunted in packs in winter around here and they had never made a mess like this that he knew of. Vince was quiet and his eyes were serious. He asked if they could leave and the man told them that there wasn’t anything outside as far as he could tell now. They were just making sure it was all on record before the hotel could get out there and hose the parking lot clean.

The desk clerk offered to hose the truck down too. It looked like the coyotes had used it as a buffet table for their killing spree. Vince had expected something like that, and sure enough, his truck was festooned with rabbit and bird guts.

“Is it a warning?” Shay asked.

“No,” Vince said. “Just a reminder.” The only thing really bothering him was where Rustle’s whisper had gone to.




Mius was up to something. He waited for Not-Catelyn to go into a rest stop to get some food that wasn’t sugar and turned to Helena in the back seat. He explained quickly that the thing in the box was a demon trap. Mius knew it because Amber had caught him in it the last time he came sniffing around. She was a witch and had some ability. She was a namer, he tried to explain to Helena. People brought things to her to find out what their names were.

“She asked me for mine,” Helena said.

“That was a test,” Mius said. He waved his hand dismissively. “To see if you would lie. She knew you.”

“And you,” Helena dared to say. “And-“

“Not another word,” Mius said, raising a warning finger. “Just open it and write this on there like I did on this paper.”

“That’s the word she told me,” Helena whispered.

“Don’t say it, just write it,” Mius hissed. They were both keeping an eye out for Not-Catelyn when they came back. Helena was torn, but the longer Mius was near her, the harder he was to disobey out right.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, even as she did what he said.

“You heard them,” he grumbled. “They have no plan. They’re going to sweep in and try to grab up as many of the descendants as they can and claim them as their own. They don’t know what to do after that. Then what? You asked that too, remember. Just set up housekeeping with all your distant great great great grandchildren somewhere? Keep them all in a little commune? Make your own little family cult? No, that’s stupid. It’s a good way to attention from on high and an even better way to get you and them killed all over again.”

“What’s your plan then?” Helena asked.

“If I don’t tell you, you won’t know,” Mius said. “And if you don’t know, no one can take it from you.”

“Give me a hint,” Helena said. “What do I do?”

“You be your sad, adorable self,” Mius leered at her and tapped the end of her nose. The smell of his fingers made her gag a little. He didn’t mind.

“Is all this name stuff why you don’t call me by my real name?” she asked when she could breathe again.

“I don’t mind you knowing mine,” he said. “As long as you don’t dare use it against me.”

“How did you get out of this the first time?” Helena asked as she finished up.

“Carefully,” Mius said, wicked eyes alight. “Now, slide it under the passenger seat right there and we’ll see if we got it right.”

Helena obeyed with only a little misgiving. This was a betrayal, she knew, but she wasn’t feeling the full emotional weight of it. A traitor to her sister, she thought. Not really her sister though. But Not-Catelyn would not take kindly to this and might never trust her again or be trustworthy again now that she would consider them enemies.

“It won’t hurt them will it?” she asked.

“Dead sisters feel no pain,” Mius said. “It didn’t hurt me, just contained me.”

They sat quietly until Not-Catelyn came back. They had their arms full, so Mius got out to open the door for them. Such a weird gentlemanly gesture for an inhuman monster, Helena thought. She knew he had bones under the driver seat, maybe from other patrolmen, or hitchhikers. As soon as Not-Catelyn hit the seat, the demon box activated and snapped shut, sealing them inside it.

“Pull it out,” Mius said. “Wrap it in newspaper and hold on.” He ran back around to the driver’s side and they all but flew back to the trainer park. Helena was sent to deliver the box back to Amber, who again offered to keep her there if she wanted.

“He’s going to let me go,” Helena said. She wasn’t sure how she knew that. “I’m no use to him on my own, but he can use me to get someone he can use.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Amber asked, taking the box with all the caution that said she knew exactly what was in it.

“I may be crazy now,” Helena said. “But I want it to be over.”

“See it through then, Helena Marcus,” Amber said. “I’ll help you all I can.”

“Thank you,” Helena said and she returned to Mius car. This time she got into the front seat.

Comments

[lemon_badgeress]

oh, helena’s a mover. that’s nice, that is!

and YAY, you’re still letting me read it! thank you!!

[unknownfate]

Sure! I started to hurry there towards the end of the month, so there's a lot more jumps. When I ever get around to putting it all really together, I should time things better.