Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest by A. Lee Martinez

Author:A. Lee Martinez [Martinez, A. Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Orbit Books
Published: 2013-07-16T05:00:00+00:00

21

Nigel had never had much use for spirits, but for once the capricious forces had led them in the right direction. They found the electric-blue Chimera parked on the side of the road. No trace of the passengers, but Peggy assured him that the spirits assured her that their targets would be returning shortly.

The plan was simple. The club hid their cycles a mile down the road, came back, and waited patiently in the shadowy woods. Nigel found a good spot behind an old bent tree. He glimpsed a few other club members’ hiding spots, but that was only because he was looking for them. Overall their dark leather allowed them to blend in quite naturally. Except for Peggy, who stood out like a white specter in a dark room, but she’d found a good bush that blocked the view from the road.

Franklin rustled through the underbrush.

“Hey, Nigel,” he whispered. “Do you think they’ll come?”

Nigel shushed him with a glare. It didn’t stick.

“Why are we hiding, Nigel?”

“Because we don’t want them to see us,” Nigel replied.

“Yeah, but isn’t that a bit…sneaky?” asked Franklin.

“It’s an ambush. Ambushes are sneaky.”

“Uh-huh.”

Franklin nodded to himself.

“But they are only two people, right?” he said. “Do we really need to ambush them?”

“We don’t want them getting away, now do we?”

“Oh, OK.”

Franklin slunk away, disappearing into the shadows. He was surprisingly good at hiding, Nigel had to admit. Better than Nigel gave him credit for, because he failed to spot Franklin until he spoke up again.

“We’re in the middle of a dragon preserve. If we surround their car, where are they going to get away to without it?”

“They might run for it,” said Nigel.

“But where to? Peggy says we’re miles from any civilized help. And it’d be stupid to run away from your only form of transportation in a dragon preserve. Wouldn’t it?”

“People do stupid stuff all the time. And I am not going to waste my whole afternoon chasing someone down when I can jump out of the bushes and finish this quickly.”

“But—”

“It’s an ambush, Franklin. You’re supposed to shut up now.”

Franklin did shut up. For thirty seconds.

“It’s kind of a shame, though.”

Nigel closed his eyes, refusing to carry on the conversation. Franklin persisted.

“These last few days have been some of the best of my life. For the first time, it really felt like I was doing something important. My whole life, I’ve always been a pencil pusher, a nobody. But then I got the call from the gods, and everything was different. Air smelled sweeter. Felt like I belonged somewhere. Like I’m doing something that matters. Like for the first time, the gods above noticed me. You probably don’t understand.”

Nigel understood. More than Franklin could ever know.

“I know you guys don’t like me, think of me as a wannabe,” Franklin said, “but riding with you, being part of this, even if you all think I’m a joke…”

Nigel considered beheading Franklin with one clean stroke of his ax to end this awkward moment.

“Sorry, Nigel. I’ll be quiet.

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