(eng) Lindsay Buroker - Rust & Relics 02 by Thorn Fall

Author:Thorn Fall [Fall, Thorn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Zelda didn’t sound that healthy as she chugged up the highway into Oak Creek Canyon. Even if I thought Simon’s money-acquisition plan sounded ludicrous, I hoped he would find a way to get the van repaired sooner rather than later. We had moved out of the campground but opted for leaving Temi’s car in a shopping area instead of taking it, since the convertible’s soft top wouldn’t do much to stop thorns. I didn’t want to test the van against thorns again, either—especially with nothing except a few new layers of duct tape on the roof keeping the weather out in places—but at least we had better protection this time, a mismatched collection of Kevlar helmets and vests Simon had located from some online contact. I hoped anyone who saw us tramping through the woods in camouflage would assume we were a paintball team rather than skulking terrorists.

“This is behind someone’s house?” Temi asked from the back of the van, peering out the window as trees, lodges, and campgrounds slid past. It wasn’t exactly a residential area.

“There are a few streets off the main highway with houses on them.” I waved my phone, and the map lit up. “I think if we drive up to the end of this one, we won’t have to cross people’s yards to get to the canyon wall.” We shouldn’t have to walk far to reach the cave, either. I was well aware that our new gear protected our heads and torsos, but not much else. We all wore long sleeves and pants, but those thorns would cut through fabric with ease. And unlike with bullets, even a grazed forearm might be deadly.

Alek sat near Temi, plucking at his bulky new vest.

“Can’t be any worse than a muscle cuirass,” I said in English, then repeated it in Greek. We had been conversing fairly well, if stiltedly, that afternoon without the tablet. English was still a stretch—beyond barnyard animals—but he was understanding my Greek even better than I was understanding his.

Alek grunted. I didn’t expect more of a response—he rarely spoke unless I asked a direct question—but he added, “The Dhekarzha have protection that weighs nothing.” He gestured to his torso. “You do not see it unless it is struck.”

Invisible armor? I thought of the invisible jibtab and of Simon’s skepticism that the monsters were being created by humans.

“Did you get to wear it when you were with them?” I asked.

Alek’s lips twisted wryly. Or maybe wistfully? “No. It was… preferred that I wore my own clothes and armor.”

“As a spectacle? Some prize that had been won and was being shown off?” I was thinking aloud and probably shouldn’t have been, because Alek’s lips flattened, any humor that had been there disappearing.

“Some prize,” he said—in agreement?—then shifted his gaze toward the window.

“Sorry,” I murmured, though I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t look back at me.

“This the spot, navigator?” Simon asked, the van already turning off the highway and onto a bumpy dirt road.

“I think so.” I didn’t see a sign anywhere, but the GPS promised we were on the right forest service road.

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