The afternoon sun baked the stone. The canyon city remained hush, with only a whistle of the hot breeze through stone abodes. The wooden wheels crunched against stone at the border of the steps. Axels creaked as Josh strained his arms to give the carta push while Darrell pulled the handles from the front. Vestor followed the duo while chewing on a rice cake. Dew leaned forward about to drop his staff, but his sister barred him from leaving the shade with her arm and a stern shake of her head.
“They told you to get rest, so do so!”
Dew sat back on his mat, gingerly moved his injured leg so he could lay comfortably facing the cliff.
“And stop sulking.”
“I’m not sulking. I’m resting as you women instructed.”
Vestor hoped back toward them, “It’s way too hot in the sun. I’m going to sit with you. Is Dew still sulking?”
“Yes, he is, like a big baby.”
“I am not sulking.”
Awlena turned around and stood over her brother, “I was thinking. If Nadia becomes a man, perhaps I can marry him?”
Dew tapped his finger against his thigh as he stayed wedged against on the cooler stone while lying across his mat.
“Did you hear what I said?”
“Do as you like.”
A sandal went against Dew’s rear as she shook him slightly with her foot, “What?”
“She doesn’t love you, just as she doesn’t love me. And there is another woman from her village that she is chasing. So should she become a man, which I highly doubt will happen, she is not going rush into your arms.”
“Oh, highly doubt? Do you have something in mind?”
“I’m here to protect the life of the woman I love, beyond that, I have no part in her misguided goals, either to hinder or help.”
Awlena knelt as Vestor watched. She poked her brother in the side.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“There is nothing I’m hiding from any of you, so if you would kindly stop causing me further pain, I would be most appreciative.”
“You don’t have a motive for asking us to go forty leaps out of the way?”
“Not beyond the safety everyone here. I thought you said I need rest. Are you going to let me rest?”
Awlena waved a hand as Vestor finished his rice cracker, “Fine, fine, get some rest. I’ll talk to you about it later if we get the chance. Vestor, can you check on Nadia and make sure she is safe? Don’t wake her. Just make sure there are no crawlies about.”
Vestor snapped to attention and his tail went straight, “No problem, you can count on me.”
Vestor ran off to check on Nadia.
“There, he’s gone and the other two are out of hearing range. Tell me what you’re planning. Now.”
“I’m going to say this one last time before I ignore your nagging completely. I’m not planning anything beyond doing my best to protect everyone here, especially you my dearest sister and my beloved future princess.”
Awlena put her arms around her chest, sat down on the mat, then laid down leaning her back against her brother’s while frowning sourly, “Fine, if you say so, I trust you. And, I'm on your side.”
Dew groaned but otherwise ignored his sister’s presence as he pretended to fall asleep.
Working together, Darrell and they pushed the cart upwards. Every twenty meters there was a wide step where they could rest, but they passed most without stopping. As they moved forward, the walls of the canyon became shorter until they reached the end of the stairs at the edge of the ruins. Simple one-story clay buildings dotted the landscape, though most were mere shells.
Hints of a stone road peeked from under rocky sand. They found a wall, the mere façade of what was once a dwelling, to put the cart behind. They sat in the shade by the cart. Josh wiped his forehead with his shirt. Sweat soaked Darrell’s clothes.
“Do you think we have a head start on the night monsters?”
“The centipedes? Yeah, it’s good enough. If we go any further, we’ll just get lost?” Darrell asked.
Darrell walked to the steps and looked down before waving to let Awlena know they had completed the task. He didn’t receive a response because the napped by the wall, so he returned to the shade to catch his breath and try to cool off.
“Why don’t we take a swim?”
“As much as I want to, I’d rather just air dry while taking a nap. Besides, Nadia wants us to get sleep before the sun starts going down. We’re going to travel at night when it’s cool and the centipedes hunt.”
Darrell pointed to the burning scar running down Joshes’ arm, “That hurt?”
“Yeah. Tryin’ to make me feel better?”
“As part of the ordinary human crew, I have to do my best to support you guys.”
“You’re doing fine for someone who stumbled his way here.”
“My parents are going to kill me if I don’t die before I make it back.”
“You won’t die if we can help it. To bad you won’t be able to tell them about this place. Not like anyone would believe you. You’ll just hit the blindness.”
"Blindness?”
“Yep, people are blind to the energies they don't want to see or feel until they are directly affected by them, and sometimes even then they remain blind. That’s how I did my job, exploiting the blindness.”
“Where did that come from?”
“The blindness, I think it’s something that’s always been. Or it might have started because people who refused to use magic started killing those who could. I’m really not the person to give you a history lesson.”
“No, I mean that mark, and all the trouble and power that comes with it.”
“An evil wizard gave me the powers. Nadia gave the me scar.”
“What?”
“When she resisted the incubus. She broke something inside it. At first, I thought it was great. I could talk to normal people again. I could be seen. But that made the big guy angry. Last, I remember, I killed a man, pretty sure I killed him. It wasn’t on purpose. I exploded. The big guy almost got loose. I could barely hold it back. And the poor guy who died, not a target, not a bad guy, just someone who gave me a lift.”
“Was that the day when the sirens were going crazy along Mackenloo Pike?”
“Probably, there was nothing left of the vehicle. Just a big crater”
“The sinkhole was you!”
Josh nodded, “If you want to tell the cops, go ahead. They won’t believe you. As far as the world is concerned, I don’t even exist. The me that existed died in a fire ten years ago.”
“You killed a lot of people?”
“A handful, but except for that last guy, they all deserved it.”
“You tried to kill Nadia. Did she deserve it?”
Josh froze staring at the ground. Eyes open wide as his finger tensed over the handle of an imaginary blade. The scar glowed. Sweat sizzled under his clothing.
“What are you trying to say to me? I didn’t kill her, did I? At worst I was going to knock her out and take her pendant. I don’t hurt women.”
Teeth clenched as he flared his nostrils for deep breaths. Darrell shifted away so as not to push his luck. Hands slapped down on knees as Josh pushed himself while loudly exclaiming a curse. He glared at Darrell while breathing heavily.
“What happened back then was a fair fight between evenly matched opponents! It doesn’t count. The only intention I had was to steal her pendant, and that’s over and done with.”
“I’m sorry. If it’s good between you and Nadia, it’s good with me.”
Josh sat back down, “I’m tired from moving that cart. I’m going to nap in the shade. I suggest you do the same.”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
The landscape into the continent received the sinking sun. Rays of reddish light glowed across the cheeks of the men napping on flat stone in front of the cart. Vestor wiped his nose as he yawned over his mat. The spot was no longer shady, but the sun wasn’t strong enough to bother him in his fatigue. Nadia rose from her sleeping mat fully clothed in the desert robes Dew had provided.
A small dust plume formed as she wiggled stocking feet into her sneakers. The steel sword felt a bit heavy as she sheathed it into her belt. Sleep itched her eyes until she rubbed her hardened mucus out of them. Light continued to fade into darkness as rays gleamed from above the shallow cliffs.
The city filled with shadow, but wasn’t yet dark. Nadia took a seat outside on a long smooth rock bench. A brown lizard ran from underneath it and off into the crags of the desert. At the end of this abandoned city the sand covered road didn’t stretch far. There was no path, no visible trail for them to follow, just an expanse of rocky desert in every direction.
The dry searing heat of the day gave way to a cool wind. Still, this air dried her with every breath. At least it was calm, she thought as she sat. She took a sip of water from a small wooden flask and swished it in her mouth. Dew hobbled up the steps using his cane for support. Sand stuck around his toes was still visible in the dusk.
“Do you wish to call everyone awake for our fugitive trek across the sleepless desert?”
Vestor already rolled up his mat. Awlena stretched on hers before waving to her brother and Nadia. Josh and Darrell waved from above and Josh shouted down the canyon, “The cart is ready! We pulled it up here to save time! And we got a bunch of torches!”
“Seems like everyone is already awake. Let’s be on our way before the sun sets completely.”
