《Of Elves and Semis》


 1: Confusion and More

    1: Confusion and More


    ¡°Allow me to sing you a song."


    Rain pounded on the roof, sounding as if millions of tiny hammers were trying to break the thin metal, drowning out faint music coming through the speakers. Catherine held her foot on the brake as she warily rubbed her face with her hands, her heavy eyes shutting on their own.


    ¡°Just a bit longer¡­¡± she whispered to herself, opening her mouth wide in a yawn, toque falling on her shoulder and rolling onto her lap.


    Catherine quickly shook her head and blinked, but she saw double. Triple even. None of the elven letters and numbers on the gauges were at all legible. Directly ahead of her lay the crossroads leading to the backside of Hades¡¯ Crest and an old road to the high elf lands. Not maintained the best, but there were no scales on the route until she got to the Shimmering Valley where her destination lay deep inside the fortified city.


    She leaned back, mouth opening wide a second time as she inhaled deeply and shut her eyes. It was enough. They refused to open, and she didn''t attempt to force them either.


    She sat there, head leaned against the headrest and eyes shut. The pelting of rain against Stevie¡¯s roof, the wipers moving across the windshield with soft thumps, even the faint exhaust note came through the cab to sing a lullaby to the elf.


    With each intermittent pass of the wipers across the windshield, her chest rose and fell. Seconds slowly ticked by until Catherine''s hands relaxed and fell into her lap, her body slumping in the seat and everything became quieter. Even the music. A rune on the dash glowed green ever so softly in the dark as Catherine¡¯s foot slipped off the brake and onto the floor.


    There was no noticing the gauges as the air pressure steadily dropped all on its own.


    A loud buzzing pierced into her subconscious and ripped her from the abyss, sending a jolt of energy throughout her body. Catherine¡¯s pale eyes snapped open as a stop sign fell from the roof of the cab and swung across the driver¡¯s side windshield.


    With all the panicked energy of someone about to sail over the edge, Catherine spun the wheel hard to the left. ¡°No!¡± she yelled.


    But the semi was motionless. The shifter in neutral and the swinging stop sign finally registering as the critically low air pressure warning. She pulled a yellow diamond on the dash. It popped into place and the semi hissed in reply as the parking brake set.


    ¡°Dammit,¡± Catherine hissed. She glanced in the mirror, but saw only darkness behind her. Not that she could see anyone anyway with so many raindrops covering the window.


    She pressed lightly on the throttle to increase the rpm and set the cruise control to let it build air faster. Then she grabbed her phone from the storage compartment above her. Catherine paused when she looked at the name she was about to call: Vic. Her eyes read the clock on the dash displaying one in the morning. Far, far too early to call Victoria on a weekday. She shook her head and dialed a different number instead: Nia.


    She waited, and waited until Nia picked up. ¡°Hello?¡± Nia croaked.


    ¡°Long time, no call, eh?¡± Catherine said quietly, leaning her head against the cold windshield.


    ¡°Isn''t that supposed to be my line?¡± Nia asked. She shushed something in the background and whispered softly, but Catherine could hear it clearly. ¡°No, no. My hair isn''t food.¡±


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    Catherine giggled. ¡°Training someone new?¡±


    ¡°Something like that. You sound exhausted.¡±


    ¡°Sort of.¡±


    ¡°Sort of?! You sound just as deep as Rosco right now.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Catherine raised an eyebrow. She coughed and tried to clear her throat. ¡°How¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°Still the same.¡±


    ¡°Damn. Well, I haven''t slept in three days,¡± Catherine said, her voice letting out a croak. ¡°Might be¨C¡±


    ¡°Go the fuck to sleep!¡± Nia hissed quietly.


    Catherine shook her head and giggled again. ¡°Not yet¡­ The load¡¯s gotta be at Nalia Mall by seven. I¡¯m on the backside of Hades¡¯ Crest and won''t make bottom if I keep going. I can reach the top, that''s easy, but¡­¡± she trailed off to let out another yawn.


    Another voice spoke incoherently in the background of the call.


    ¡°You need me to finish the load,¡± Nia said.


    ¡°Yes. And help with the next one? Please? It¡¯s urgent. I''ll owe you a favor in return.¡±


    There was another long pause from Nia again, so Catherine rolled the window down and wiped the mirror clean with her sleeve. No bandits, which was a good sign overall. Despite that fact, she felt the holster between the side of the doghouse and driver¡¯s seat, giving the pistol a soft pat.


    ¡°Come work for me after we finish the deliveries,¡± Nia said. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as your payment.¡±


    ¡°Noooo! I can''t¡­ I have to keep. I have to keep driving to new places.¡± Catherine shook her head and blinked a few times. She reached across to the passenger side for her cooler bag and pulled an ice cold energy drink out from within.


    ¡°Please? I have deliveries everywhere now.¡±


    ¡°Everywhere?¡± Catherine cracked the drink open with a loud hiss. She took a long draw from the cold blueberry drink and waited for a reply. ¡°Define everywhere.¡±


    ¡°Everywhere! As in all over the continent, even to the high elves!¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. You expect me to believe y¡¯all deliver alcohol to them when you didn¡¯t send Telas a case?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Nia exclaimed. ¡°Look, I couldn¡¯t send him a case because there was a war on. What¡¯s his address?¡±


    ¡°Fuck if I know! All I know is he¡¯s a rich snob from Sonath clinging to chivalry.¡± Catherine shrugged. She placed the drink on the doghouse and verified the pistol was still loaded by drawing it from the holster next to the seat and dropping the magazine. ¡°Probably in some castle sitting on top of a hill like a dick pointing at the sky.¡±


    ¡°How can I send him the alcohol then!?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know!¡± Catherine groaned and held the bridge of her nose.


    ¡°Alright, what¡¯s got you running so hard anyway?¡±


    ¡°Turns out it''s a team load.¡±


    ¡°Oh for fucks sake¡­ don''t you pay attention to the information they give you?¡±


    ¡°I did!¡±


    ¡°Clearly you didn''t!¡± Nia groaned. Catherine heard the other incoherent voice in the background of the call, which caused Nia to whisper again. ¡°Sorry. Sssh.¡±


    ¡°It changed after I picked it up.¡± Catherine set the pistol back in the holster and downed a large swallow of the energy drink. The magic of the drink swirled within her stomach, absorbing the glowing liquid as it sent an oddly electrical feeling jolting throughout her body.


    ¡°Can''t you explain the situation and reschedule the delivery?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Catherine looked at her energy drink, slowly swirling the can for a moment. ¡°It''s for Nael,¡± she said nonchalantly.


    ¡°Dad gave you a load¡­?Are you serious right now?!¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t know it¡¯s me and I can''t fail this load. I can''t, I can''t. I can''t. This¡¯ll be my second if I do and you know the rules.¡±


    ¡°By the Dead Gods¡­ I¡¯ll meet you at the top.¡±

 2: Bilfords Diner

    Chapter 2: Bilford''s Diner


    ¡°Turning into a rat to steal my sandwich was funny afterward, but I was starving at the time!¡±


    Areannia followed Cathy¡¯s gaze out the diner''s frost covered window toward a green cabover semi-truck. The fading chrome gleaned in soft glow provided by the parkinglot¡¯s lights and it even caught the attention of a few passersby who stopped to look at the semi Cathy named Stevie. Most of the bottom half was covered in a mixture of road grime, slush and volcanic ash.


    Stevie was parked between two other semis and looked toward the diner. The Stephenson S100¡¯s noisy Centura V12 engine was likely the reason for the people to stop and look at it. Stevie¡¯s large protective front bumper was another good reason.


    Stevie''s chrome brightened and the faded paint became glossier when one of the people standing near the semi lifted their child up so the young one could see their reflection in the grill.


    ¡°What do you see?" Areannia asked Cathy, who sat across the table from her.


    The voice snapped Cathy out of whichever daydream she had been in. Cathy looked at Areannia, and then the menu, heavy bags under ruby red eyes. Cathy¡¯s wild and free dark-green hair was held in place by a knit toque to keep her ears covered and looking as human as possible. The long elf ears made the toque bulge awkwardly on one side, while the other ear poked through her hair.


    Areannia pointed at her own ears hoping Cathy would get the idea, but the changeling was clearly oblivious to the gesture.


    Around them the diner''s patrons chatted amongst themselves, drowning out most of Areannia''s own inner thoughts. It was unclear to Areannia how her sister was able to think clearly, but given that the changeling drove an excessively loud semi, it was likely she was hard of hearing anyway.


    ¡°How much like a bull Stevie looks like with her antennas,¡± Cathy said, motioning toward the truck and smiling. ¡°Just look at the antennas. She looks nice, eh?"


    Three meter long antennas sat atop the dark green semi¡¯s mirror brackets. They were angled forward and did resemble a bull. Not to mention the semi needed a serious bath with the caustic ash and slush caked in every nook and cranny you could think of.


    ¡°Okay¡­?¡± Areannia said. ¡°Haven¡¯t you looked at her everyday since you bought the truck?¡±


    ¡°Just look at her!¡± Cathy¡¯s smile turned into a goofy grin as she waved to the semi. ¡°So pretty.¡±


    ¡°You need sleep.¡± Areannia raised an eyebrow at her. There wasn''t anything different about the truck. It was old and broken.


    ¡±Of course I do! But she¡¯s a nice looking truck." Cathy turned her attention to a small coin operated jukebox on one end of the table, flipping through songs one after the other.


    ¡°Old and rusted more like it. How¡¯s the frame?¡±


    ¡°Some spellwork mechanic in Amarillo applied a protection spell a few weeks back. Should be good for another year, until I can save up for a new frame.¡±


    ¡°In Amarillo? That¡¯s the desert.¡± Areannia waved to Cathy, tearing the woman¡¯s attention away from the jukebox.


    ¡°Yeah, so?¡± Catherine sipped from her tea and closed her eyes, smiling at something in her head.


    ¡°The desert.¡±


    ¡°And? They have a chrome shop out there that does some of the best work I''ve seen!"


    ¡°The. Desert,¡± Areannia said, tapping her hand on the table with each word.


    ¡°Explain,¡± came the quick reply from Cathy.


    Areannia took a deep breath and motioned at Cathy. ¡°We live in Hades Valley. You know, right between the frozen Northlands and temperate Wildlands?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Cathy nodded slowly, her eyes changing from ruby red to purple, and back again as she blinked a few times.


    Areannia shook her head at the eye color change and moved her hands as she spoke. ¡°We get snow almost year round. Just look outside!¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°You might as well be driving to another shard with how far away Amarillo is."


    Cathy nodded, blinking as her eyes changed color again to a soft gold, mimicking Areannia¡¯s hair color. "Okay, but Amarillo isn''t too far away? Less than halfway to the east coast."


    "Amarillo itself is nearly three thousand kilometers away from here!" Areannia tapped her finger against the table and nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s like a four day trip!¡± Cathy set her drink down and sat up to look Areannia in the eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Amarillo, eh?¡±


    This made Areannia frown and pick up the solid wood menu to look at the sandwiches. For fucks sake, Cathy¡­ You know better than this! They''re fleecing you for everything you¡¯ve got!


    Cathy took her cue look at her menu.


    *** ***


    Minutes later, the conversation behind Areannia went quiet, which was a relief, but the tips of her long ears burned as a faint whisper reached them. She already knew what they were talking about, as it was the very same thing people had muttered when she walked in; her ears nearly as long as the average hand and dotted with six rings and four studs. Ears that were quite similar to Cathy¡¯s current choice of ear length.


    Almost everyone in the diner was human. Although the short cook and waitress were halflings. To Areannia it did not matter. What mattered was that she wanted food and the diner had food, but food cooked by a halfling? That would be all the better.


    "Excuse me,¡± the human behind Areannia said in common, ¡°we couldn''t help but overhear that beautiful language you were speaking. Elvish, right? It¡¯s quite lovely to hear and we only have a few questions. Your daughter¡­? And you are elves, right?"


    Cathy shrank lower in her seat and hid her face with the menu while Areannia felt an overwhelming urge spark a flame within her. Areannia¡¯s hands squeezed the menu tight enough she thought she might break through the wood carving, teeth grinding together, eyes narrowing to fine slits. Shadowed thoughts of grabbing the woman by the hair and slamming her into the table surfaced, thoughts of ripping and tearing until there was only silence.


    Areannia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A faint blue glow came through Areannia¡¯s eyelids while she appeared to go into a minor trance.


    The oblivious woman leaned further over the edge of the seat next to Areannia and tried to look at her face. ¡°Hello? You do speak common, yes? What¡¯s it like being from the Wildlands? Or are you from the frozen north?¡±


    Areannia focused on the world around her, attempting to commune with any creature of the wild that would hear her voice. She found a few nearby, but it was no good; a simple cat outside who could not find a way in to get at the good food man kept for themselves, a few birds on the roof who had gone quiet when they noticed the cat prowling around, and a spider too far away to do anything in the short term.


    This made Areannia retreat within herself and take another deep breath, before exhaling through her nose. She focused on the tranquility of the forest until the anger within retreated once more.


    Areannia eyed the annoying, nosy woman but did not look directly at her. Instead, Areannia turned her attention back to the menu and spoke in perfect common. "It should be quite obvious, but I would not expect a young one like yourself to realize it truly does not matter if we are or are not elves. For we are here to enjoy the same food as you. Would you mind returning to your table? I have not seen my sister in over a year and appreciate our meal not being interrupted."


    Areannia¡¯s pinky twitched against the menu while she waited for the woman to reply. Her nails shifted colors, becoming a dark grey-black like claws as the energy unwillingly flowed to them.


    Cathy placed her hands together, bowing her head head at the intruder and fluttering her eyes. "Please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top, eh? We''ve had a long day of traveling and are very tired." Her voice sounded like the chirping of songbirds on a crisp morning after. Completely at odds with her earlier scratchiness. There was even a flicker of a glow in Cathy¡¯s mischievous purple eyes, before they exploded with light for the briefest of moments.


    Areannia''s mind relaxed just hearing the voice, but then it snapped shut, blocking out a faint trace of mind altering magic.


    The human woman gave Cathy a nod before she sat back down in her chair with a quiet mumble about them not being as talkative as she thought.


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    Areannia sighed, the tension in her face dissipating as her grip on the menu relaxed.


    "Feel better?" Cathy whispered in their native tongue.


    Cathy picked up her drink and slowly sipped from the straw. She gazed out the window at Stevie, smiling at the old semi. Her long wild hair rested half on her shoulder and half on her back, the knit cap slipping just enough for her pointed ear to poke through her hair.


    Four metal bands of shifting colors ran along the outside of the ear and a single stud was placed dead center of her ear lobe.


    The elf''s still glowing eyes glittered off the ice cubes in her iced tea like the city¡¯s lights at night when viewed from the top of Hades¡¯ Crest, pulling Areannia''s attention to Cathy¡¯s slender hand. Areannia¡¯s eyes drifted to the metallic purple nail polish for just a moment, noting that Cathy still kept her first two fingers trimmed close. They then moved along the abstract forearm sleeve. There was no rhyme or reason to the tattoo¡¯s design, or even logic in the colors chosen.


    Areannia felt like she was sinking into the chair as the tattoo became deeper, and deeper in Cathy¡¯s skin. Incoherent words in an unusual language danced and flitted through her ears. She sank further and further into the chair while the world kept turning around her. Something peered over Areannia¡¯s shoulder again.


    She ripped her eyes from the tattoo and looked at the short wild-haired waitress wandering around like a crazy chicken missing its head.


    The words ceased whispering to her.


    Areannia frowned. Domination magic in public? A dangerous game to play. She snapped her fingers in Cathy¡¯s ear.


    Cathy turned her attention to Areannia, wide easy smile across her face, as she sat upright in her chair, the glow fading rapidly from her eyes.


    "I take it that''s a yes, eh?" Cathy asked.


    "Yeah¡­" Areannia glanced back at the other table to see if the woman noticed the magic or not. She didn''t, so Areannia whispered to Cathy, "Did you just charm that woman?!"


    Cathy giggled in reply, saying nothing, but nodding a couple of times and giving Areannia a shrug.


    "You cannot simply cast that on a random person! It failed on me and I noticed it. What if she noticed? What if a guard detected it?! You¡¯d be arrested for using mind altering magic!" Areannia kept her voice low and in elvish so the woman didn¡¯t hear her, assuming they didn¡¯t speak elvish. ¡°That¡¯s a Class One Felony and fifteen years minimum!¡±


    ¡°What are you, a cop, eh?¡± Cathy asked.


    No, that was her husband. Areannia frowned as she leaned back, folding her arms across her chest. ¡°I married one, remember? You met him.¡±


    "Well, she¡¯s too stupid to notice! And if she does? Oops." Cathy leaned to the side and waved her hand, speaking loudly in common to a halfling woman in an apron across the diner. "Excuse me? We''re ready to order now!"


    ¡°Give me a moment!" the waitress called back to her.


    ¡°And the leg?¡± Areannia leaned to the side trying to look around the table, but even if she could, Cathy¡¯s artificial leg was covered by her camouflage cargo pants.


    ¡°Just fine.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t have it in prison.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. They won''t catch me if they don''t know who I am.¡±


    ¡°Then get a hold of your form and stick to one look,¡± Areannia whispered. ¡°Your eye color keeps changing.¡±


    ¡°Dammit¡­ what color did I have when I came in?¡±


    ¡°Purple. Like always.¡±


    ¡°And now?¡±


    ¡°Pink like mine.¡±


    ¡°Close enough.¡±


    Areannia covered her face with both hands as she let out a quiet, exasperated sigh.


    *** ***


    Catherine leaned back in her chair again and rubbed her temples. Why is the diner so fucking loud?


    Her injured ear rang like the tolling of a church bell on a wedding day. Being in the diner with so many people, so many conversations going on at once, and so many eyes? She had to hide from it all, lest she hear too much.


    But she needed the interaction and attention.


    At least that is what part of her said. She rubbed the back of her itching tattooed hand, frowning. Each syllable not coming from Nia''s quiet voice was like nails on a chalkboard with how loud they were. However, a strange presence within Catherine wouldn¡¯t let her block out the noise. No, no. It wanted her to hear the conversations around her and hang on to every word. Every. Single. Word until it overwhelmed her.


    Let me eat in peace, dammit! she cried to the unrelenting presence.


    She clicked her tongue and turned to look at Stevie, but instead of seeing the semi, the waitress''s reflection appeared in the glass. The waitress seemed about average height for a halfling with her frazzled head of yellow hair left to roam free.


    "Hi!" The woman''s voice dug at Catherine¡¯s ears like a hammer smashing into her skull, causing her to clutch her ear. That was when she realized it was exposed and not as short as it should be. She had a half-elf appearance this morning. Now her ear was as long as Nia¡¯s!


    Fuck, fuck, fuck. How long was it when I came in?!


    She covered the ear with her whole hand and practically curled up on the bench seat, stuffing herself into the corner against the frosted glass. Areannia said her eyes were changing colors on their own. Did her ears change? This is why the diner was a bad idea!


    She might be able to hold a form after one day of no sleep, but three? Pushing it. Any more and it''s likely to disappear completely.


    ¡°So what can I get you two lovely ladies this fine afternoon?" the waitress¡¯s grating voice asked.


    "I''ll have an avocado and chickpea sandwich with a side of wedges and a strawberry shake," Areannia said to the waitress and gave the slightly cracked menu back.


    "Chickpea¡­? Like replacing the meat with beans?" The waitress replied, confusion reaching her lips but she wrote it down anyway.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    "So a custom no meat sandwich?"


    "Correct." Areannia nodded slowly and motioned to the woman. "I apologize to the cook, and realize some places might not do that, but my oath to the Huntress prevents me from consuming animals I have not directly hunted."


    "Ooooh! I get it now! You''re a tree hugging hippie!" The waitress nodded in recognition, practically hopping up and down in excitement. ¡°That''s cool! It''s so rare these days, too! Don''t worry about Bilford being angry, he understands you hippies don''t eat meat and came up with the Leaf Lover¡¯s Special!"


    Areannia merely stared at the woman, one eyebrow raised and and a hand on her glass for quite some time. Long enough Catherine gulped.


    Don''t tell me she''s going to punch the waitress¡­ I don''t feel like dealing with an angry lion. I just want sleep!


    Instead, Nia picked up her glass and began drinking.


    "I''ll have a Bilford Special and another sweet tea," Catherine said softly, still holding a finger in the ringing ear. Her brows furrowed at the waitress''s eyes, pleading for quiet knowing she wouldn''t get it.


    Either way the halfling was clearly oblivious to her plight as she took the menus and went to turn away from the table.


    Areannia motioned for her to wait and spoke up, "Would it be possible to get those in takeout boxes? My sister has come down with a migraine and we need to leave."


    "Sure thing, leaf lover!" the waitress said and bounced off.


    Once the waitress had gone out of earshot, Areannia looked at Catherine and whispered in elvish, "Do I look like a hippie?!"


    Catherine nodded.


    "No¡­ you lie!" Areannia sat as straight as she could and looked down at her loose fitting handmade clothes, charm and patch covered backpack resting next to her on the bench. Her long blonde hair was tucked behind earring covered ears in a ponytail and her backwards ballcap.


    Catherine rolled her eyes. She felt like someone was staring at them but she wasn''t sure who. Her eyes drifted from person to person, noting the many faces within the restaurant ranged from child, to baby, to seniors with a tall bulky silver haired elf tucked in the corner away from everyone else.


    The old elf man¡¯s suit cut his form in a way that said he¡¯d take a dwarf in a brawl even at his age.


    Something about the old man struck a chord deep within her. She should know him, but from where? His pasty complexion spoke of spending time indoors, narrow chin and teal eyes said he was from the far north.


    "Speaking of work¡­" Areannia leaned toward Catherine and put her hands together almost like she was praying, resting her chin on top of them. "What¡¯s this job you dragged me on?¡±


    The old elf man popped open a newspaper, leaning back against his corner booth.


    It can''t be Telas, can it?


    Catherine hadn''t seen the old man in almost a century. As the elf crossed his legs at the ankle, his clothing shifted from a well made cloth suit to sealed form-fit plate armor. A tattered golden cape was draped over his shoulder and gaudy helmet resting on the dinner table.


    The man flipped the page, his muddy boots tapping the floor as both he and Catherine waited for dinner; fried ham, potatoes and biscuits. A delicacy that would make anyone¡¯s mouth water when you''ve been at sea for weeks. As it was, Catherine¡¯s empty stomach gnawed at itself and twisted around demanding food now.


    ¡°Cathy?¡± Areannia asked. ¡°Everything alright?¡±


    The room went eerily silent. So silent Catherine could actually hear clearly from her left ear. But what she heard wasn''t what Areannia said. It was something else altogether.


    ¡®Ahoy there!¡¯ a man¡¯s haughty voice called out from the deepest recess of Catherine¡¯s memories. ¡®Might I trouble you for some biscuits?¡¯


    ¡®The fuck do you mean biscuits?!¡¯ another voice said, much closer to Catherine. ¡®You were just shooting at us!¡¯


    ¡®Correct, my boy!¡¯ the first voice replied to the second as Catherine rubbed at her replacement leg trying to soothe an itch. ¡®But we can be civilized about it, can we not? I¡¯m out of flour. Do you have any in that house? I have gold and a list of supplies I require; five pounds of flour, three oranges, five apples¡ª¡¯


    A snap tore through the voice and ripped Catherine back to the present. The man was gone, replaced by an empty booth with no food on the table, nor even a newspaper.


    She rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes. Why didn''t she just let Areannia buy food while she slept?


    Gods dammit¡­ When''s the food getting here?


    ¡°Cathy?¡± Areannia asked again. ¡°You''ve been staring at an empty booth for a while now. What''s wrong?¡±


    Catherine shook her head, purple eyes glancing around the diner once again. ¡°I need sleep¡­¡±


    "Food will be here soon." Areannia dug through her backpack for her wallet.


    "Did I ever tell you how I met Telas?¡±


    "It''s been a long time, but I think it was something to do with an enchanted house?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. He saved my life a few times. Kind of annoying, eh?¡°


    ¡°What do you mean annoying?! I''d think living is good.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d think.¡± Catherine shrugged. ¡°Except when you''re stuck in a time loop you don''t know about and you die one, two¡­¡± She leaned back, staring up at the ceiling as she counted the numbers in her head until she spoke again, ¡°Took him fifteen tries he knows of to save me and losing the leg was the best outcome. Or so he says. Could¡¯ve been bullshit to get in my pants, eh?¡±


    ¡°Did it work?¡±


    ¡°Kind of¡­¡± Catherine shrugged, and then patted her stomach. ¡°About four months later I realized why I couldn¡¯t change forms when Elly started showing.¡±


    ¡°Is that what happened this time?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh! No.¡± Catherine giggled to herself, waving her hand dismissively and shaking her head. ¡°No, no, no. Wait. Where do you think I''ve been?¡±


    ¡°I don''t fucking know!" Areannia leaned forward and glared a bit, placing both hands on the table. ¡°You dropped off the face of the Earth!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been driving! What else would I be doing, eh?!¡±


    ¡°No one knows where you¡¯ve been for the last year! Hells, you haven¡¯t even called me until yesterday. When was the last time you talked to Victoria?¡±


    ¡°We talk every day! I called her¡­¡± Catherine''s voice slowly trailed off while she thought about it. She tried to think of the date for a good long while and drew a blank. Just how long had it been, truly? A week? A month? They used to talk all the time!


    A woman¡¯s voice whispered in the back of her mind, ¡®On the black river of your home, you will follow the lines eternal. Feet humming, heart beating, fire breathing you will roam.¡¯


    Catherine¡¯s eyes darted from her tea, to her napkin and then out the window at Stevie, whispering softly to herself, ¡°When did I last call her? I thought I called her last night¡­ What is today? Tuesday? I could have sworn I talked to Elly on the radio this morning¡­¡±


    The semi¡¯s paint was nice and bright, chrome almost shiny. Light crept through the small drop visor and bounced off the windshield, drawing Catherine¡¯s attention to glowing fairy lights inside the cab.


    When did I turn those on?


    Areannia said something again as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, slowly shaking her head.


    Catherine sipped from her tea, letting the cool drink sate her empty stomach for now. Long shadows fell over the flat nose of the semi giving it a face-like appearance with the fairy lights seeming to be the semi¡¯s pupils.


    The waitress set the bags of food and drinks in front of the two and smiled at them. ¡°One Leaf Lover¡¯s Special and a Bilford Special for my two favorite friends!¡± the waitress said happily.


    ¡°We¡¯ve never been here before though?¡± Areannia tilted her head at the halfling.


    ¡°I come here all the time,¡± Catherine said, pulling a bag close and opening it.


    The halfling giggled at Areannia, practically bouncing in place as she set the check down in front of them. ¡°Oh, I just say that to people I like! See you, friends!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s odd.¡± Areannia muttered and reached for her bag, taking a deep breath to let the aroma fill her lungs.


    ¡°You get used to her.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the avocado? Why is this a drowned meat sandwich?!¡± Areannia gasped.


    Catherine''s sandwich had far, far, far more vegetables than the sandwich she ordered should have. ¡°I think I got your sandwich... Fuck it.¡±


    ¡°Don''t you dare!¡± Areannia¡¯s eyes widened.


    Catherine smiled at her, pulled the wrapper back and brought the sandwich close as if to take a bite.


    Areannia leapt across the table.

 3: Foggy Days Suck

    3: Foggy Days Suck


    ¡°As do long hauls.¡±


    No one looked at Stevie or Silly Nia as they noisily rolled onto the inbound scale, but they sure heard it thanks to Stevie¡¯s unmuffled exhaust. The semi¡¯s thunderous engine rattled the scalehouse¡¯s thin windows, threatening to break them with each thump from the twelve cylinders.


    The engine shuddered, gasping for one final breath before it let out a soft hiss.


    An eerie silence fell across the cramped cab. Enough so that Nia heard Cathy Catherine¡¯s slow breathing behind the curtains, and even the changeling¡¯s subtle shifting as she rolled onto her back. It was the kind of silence where something was most definitely wrong, but you couldn''t place what. Where all your thoughts could come rushing back all at once.


    A faint snake-like hiss drifted out from one of the knobs. Nia wiggled it a bit, but it didn''t help. The faded yellow knob needed replacement. As did a few of the pitted chrome bezels around the many gauges.


    She could pull the knob out and apply the parking brake, or just let it leak. Why bother giving the guard hearing problems by dumping the air when she could keep the semi in place by holding the service brakes down?


    It wasn''t like Stevie was going to dump the air again.


    Nia¡¯s fuschia eyes moved to an additional panel where a set of four elvish runes lay inscribed into the wood. Focusing solely on one she herself had created years ago, her hand hovered over the rune, eyes aglow with magic and words whispering on the wind. A blue-green energy swirled around her hand and traced the rune at the same time.


    Her spellwork was neat, orderly and easy to follow to the center where she infused some of her own energy into the windows themselves. A flash of light exploded outward from the dash, distorting Nia¡¯s view of the port¡¯s entrance before it returned to a clear view, except for frost on the edges, but that was from the cold fog.


    Stevie¡¯s headlights showed what they could, but they didn''t help against the bay¡¯s thick fog in the morning when Stevie was this close to the water.


    Immediately to Nia¡¯s left was the port¡¯s guard house. A simple building that was all windows with cameras pointing directly at the semi. A scale to weigh the incoming vehicles and cameras pointing at the cab windows.


    No one saw the flash except for cameras. Even then, they saw nothing change as Nia had merely refreshed the spell. A person would be unable to look directly inside the windows even through the camera.


    Nia looked behind her where Cathy lay sleeping behind thick enchanted curtains. Cathy had mentioned the mall as the delivery point on the call, not Portside Docks, yet Cathy¡¯s navigation system and phone said to go to the docks.


    Nia could wake Cathy and ask, but Cathy needed the sleep with how unfocused and incoherent the changeling was only a few hours ago. She might not even wake up for the rest of the day and what then? Nia didn''t know where to get the information or what jobs Cathy wanted. Probably just take the changeling home. Or to the truck stop outside Nalia at the least. Cathy did say she had another job lined up.


    Nia slowly worked the manual window crank with a heavy sigh and closed her eyes, waiting to see if she would be shot by the guard or not depending on if they were supposed to be there.


    ¡°Morning!¡± A man said to her in common. He looked quite comfy with his greying beard and a heavy cold weather jacket.


    Nia nodded. ¡°Morning! Nice day, eh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d ask if you dyed your eyes, but I can see you¡¯re not the usual driver by your ears.¡± The guard held the clipboard close to his chest so she couldn¡¯t see anything but the underside of it. ¡°So where¡¯s Phantom?¡±


    Nia¡¯s eyes wandered to the clipboard in the man¡¯s hands, then back up to his face, and then drawn to movement behind the guard.


    Another man stood on his tiptoes to look over the old guard¡¯s shoulder at her. The man was clearly younger than the first guard, shorter, too.


    Nia dipped her head forward in a nod. ¡°Hello.¡±


    The young man remained unblinking, wide eyed and jaw agape at her.


    The seconds passed until the older guard turned to the younger one. ¡°What are you doing?¡± the old man asked, adding, ¡°I told you I got this truck, go watch the monitors!¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s an elf!¡± the younger man whispered and waved his hand toward Nia.


    ¡°And?¡± The older guard shrugged, pulling the clipboard away from the other man. ¡°She needs to work just like you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen one before! Can¡¯t I do this?¡±


    For fucks sake¡­ Do you not know you live in a country ruled by a dragon?


    Nia pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head side to side at the younger guard. She wasn''t mad, so much as she was in disbelief at the man¡¯s idiocy.


    The older guard held the clipboard just out of the younger man¡¯s reach. The younger man looked like a child trying to grab important documents from his father as the two wrestled for the clipboard.


    Hold on. Shit! A code!


    With a gasp, she grabbed Cathy¡¯s phone from the storage compartment above the driver¡¯s seat and scanned through the messaging app until she saw a short conversation in elvish:


    ¡®Word of the day is Tailwind. Arrive in the morning fog before 09:00 Slip some cash to the guard in thanks. You will be reimbursed. Do not arrive late or you''re done. Reply Ok.¡¯


    ¡®Ok.¡¯


    ¡®This is your final chance! Do not be late this time. Do you understand? This load cannot arrive late. The ship will not wait!¡¯


    ¡®I won''t be.¡¯


    There wasn''t anything else, so Nia fired off a simple message: ¡®Here.¡¯


    ¡®Very Good. The guard will give you a package and the Other¡¯s guard will tell you where to take it. Understand? Y/N?¡¯


    ¡®Y.¡¯


    The broker replied with a thumbs up.


    Nia set the phone aside and waited for the other guard to sit back in the chair.


    The younger guard folded his arms across his chest as he stared hard at a monitor linked to a camera looking directly at her. She leaned away from the window to cover her face from the camera, but it wouldn''t help. It looked directly into the cab.


    ¡°So¡­¡± the old man said, holding the clipboard close to his chest.


    ¡°Phantom¡¯s asleep in the back. The name¡¯s Bobtail,¡± Nia replied and nodded. ¡°Their sister.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± He nodded slowly. ¡°Well, you¡¯re here early, aren¡¯t ya? Don''t normally see her until later.¡±


    ¡°Had a tailwind if you can believe it. Flew so fast I blew the doors off a diesel bear and he went after someone else!¡± Nia flashed a smile at the man. She¡¯ll be hearing about that soon.


    ¡°I¡¯ll believe that when I see it,¡± the guard replied with a smile of his own and held the clipboard out for her to take.


    She set the clipboard on her lap, using her fingers to feel the pages for irregularities until she came across a distinct bump underneath them. ¡°So what is with the papertrail?¡± Her tone was nonchalant, as it should be in such a situation.


    ¡°Management¡¯s been up my ass about making sure drivers sign in. Someone busted into three trailers this week before anyone even knew about it. The locks weren''t even touched!"


    "Are you sure they didn''t just smack the locks together?¡±


    ¡°These weren''t normal locks. They were magically sealed with a special spell to decipher the keyhole.¡±


    ¡°You can still open them if you hit them hard enough. Trust me.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°But it sounds like someone used a magic door," Nia said quietly, slipping her hand underneath the paperwork to smoothly replace the envelope with three translucent pink bills. They were the size of a credit card with the image of a regal human woman on one side with a gaudy crown atop her head. The other side showed off an image of a dragon sitting atop a pile of gold. All three bills were a hundred dollars a piece.


    "Check the interior walls for chalk marks,¡± Nia added.


    "Why chalk marks?" The guard tilted his head.


    "Can''t open a door you don''t know is there, can you?" Nia filled out the information from the message about the trailer and truck numbers, but neglected the name box.


    "I suppose not.¡± The guard threw his arms out in a shrug. ¡°I''ll let them know to contact the Arcane Investigators."


    "Leave me out when you do. I¡¯d rather not deal with them." She held a finger out for the guard to wait and spoke again. "Now I understand the need for the truck and company number, but you want my name? Why? Other yards I go in don¡¯t ask for my name."


    "As I said, management." the guard shrugged.


    ¡°You sound like a dwarf from the Lonely Mine, but I suppose I can comply.¡± She put down a fake name and held the clipboard out.


    The guard fumbled while pulling the cash out, practically flashing the bills in full view of everyone as he pocketed them. ¡°Have a nice run, driver,¡± he replied.


    She turned the key, a buzzer chimed from the dashboard while a red light illuminated in response. The cab speakers came to life playing an instrumental surf rock song, filling the cab with a smooth melodic beat akin to riding a wave. Nia waited for the light on the dash to go out, but didn¡¯t turn the key further. She turned the radio down at the same time she spoke, ¡°Quite the fog you''ve got here. Makes me think I''ll get lost trying to find the office. Anything I need to know or is it still down the way?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going directly to the boat. Follow the blue line south and turn right when you get to the second intersection. Go all the way past the first warehouse and make a left." the guard replied. ¡°You can¡¯t miss it.¡±


    Na nodded in reply. ¡°First warehouse and make a left. Got it."


    Stevie let out a shrill squeal from the air-starter, just before the Centura engine kicked in with a window shaking roar once more.


    *** ***


    Fog and trailers. That''s all that greeted Areannia as she slowly crept through the port facility, Stevie¡¯s large engine wishing to go faster but settling on a comforting low rumble.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Open windows allowed frigid, salty air to flow inside and replace Cathy¡¯s stale cigarette smoke. The heater kicked on all on its own to keep the cab somewhat comfortable, but it barely helped.


    Still, the open windows were needed to hear the sneaky container loaders driving around like they were race car drivers, zipping between container stacks and down narrow roadways between buildings without a care for other people. Half the time you didn''t see them until they were passing you!


    Following the path the guard told her to go, Areannia¡¯s hand tapped the door in time with the drums, causing the fairy lights above her to pulse and dance with the beat. It didn''t take long to arrive at a clearing in the fog where the ship was.


    An old and crusty vessel best sent to the scrapper, however at one time in the distant past it would ferry both passengers and cargo between the planet shards. Quite a bit smaller than most nowadays, but at its prime, the ship was likely fast. Unfit for hauling more than four or five modern forty foot containers on its deck with three already on it.


    A single funnel sat roughly in the center of the vessel with the rear two-thirds of the ship being taken up by the crew cabins and wheelhouse. Only the front third was mostly open for cargo.


    How such a small and decrepit ship still operated was beyond Areannia¡¯s knowledge. All she cared about was getting the job done and getting paid.


    A midnight purple-skinned half-elf with silver hair waved Areannia over, pointing close to the side of the vessel. The half-elf wore a heavy coat to keep the cold at bay and still looked freezing. His cowboy hat was completely out of place at the docks.


    She followed the instructions, pulling the whole semi parallel with the ship and as close to the pier''s edge as she could get without going into the water or hitting the bollards keeping the vessel in place.


    The half-elf held both hands in a straight line and motioned for her to keep coming forward. Then he pointed one to the right slightly, followed by straightening it.


    She mimicked his movements in the cab until the whole truck and trailer were perfectly situated under a shipboard crane. Areannia pulled both the yellow parking brake and red trailer air supply knobs on the dash. Outside, an ear piercing hiss kicked out from the valves outside, deafening anyone close enough as the semi-truck dumped all the air in the lines to set the brakes.


    The half-elf came close to the driver¡¯s door and shouted, ¡°Mornin¡¯! How¡¯s things?¡± He held the flap of his coat in a way that¡¯d allow him to quickly pull it open with a hand near it.


    ¡°Oh, you know, flying on a tailwind and blowing the doors off other trucks. The usual with our gal Stevie here.¡± Areannia shrugged. She rested her hand over Cathy¡¯s hidden pistol and waited for the silver haired man to speak or draw his hidden gun.


    He waved to the other workers, shouting in common, ¡°Get the trailer unhooked!¡± The man climbed the side of the cab, causing it to rock oddly on the worn out shocks. Air hissed from the cab¡¯s suspension as it tried in vain to smooth the momentum.


    ¡°Where''s the usual driver?¡± the half-elf asked Areannia.


    ¡°Asleep. Normally I am.¡± Areannia flicked her hand, using a short blast of magic to pull the curtain back, revealing Cathy was curled up underneath a thin blanket.


    The half-elf smiled at Areannia. ¡°Got the envelope?¡±


    She slowly reached into her jacket with two fingers and gave it to him.


    He pocketed it and gave her another one. ¡°This is for you and Phantom. Tell ¡®em their tires are slicks.¡±


    Areannia nodded firmly, pocketing the thick envelope without looking at the contents. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Nope! Don''t got room for a ferry ride today.¡±


    Behind them, a metallic thunk resonated through the cab as a worker pulled the fifth wheel release. The human climbed onto the catwalk between the trailer and cab to disconnect the lines, shouting, ¡°Godsdamn! Can you turn the truck off?¡±


    The half-elf shook his head. He pulled his cowboy hat low over his eyes and whispered, ¡°Let him be annoyed.¡± He smiled, leaning back as he added, ¡°We¡¯ll call Phantom tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your day!¡±


    The dark half-elf jumped away from the cab, leaving Areannia to sit and wait for the other man to lower the landing gear so she could leave.


    *** ***


    An unusual humming resonated throughout Stevie¡¯s interior, echoing off the steering wheel and drowning out the sports radio broadcast. Even through the fuel pedal, but only above a certain speed. It wasn¡¯t like that in the morning, or if it was, Areannia didn¡¯t notice. She flew along the highway just above the speed limit, keeping up with cars, single exhaust stack roaring into the afternoon.


    Areannia held the side of her aching head, lifting her foot just enough the semi slowed down until the humming stopped. ¡°Cathy!¡± she called to the changeling in the back. ¡°Something¡¯s weird with the suspension.¡±


    She got no reply.


    Cathy would likely be asleep for some time considering she was awake for three whole days. If she awoke now that¡¯d be a miracle. Areannia knew this. She hoped to get some kind of answer from her sister, but didn¡¯t expect one in truth.


    Traffic was light on the frosty highway leading away from Portside, yet that didn¡¯t stop police from camping out in the obvious places in preparation for the evening rush hour. Portside and Nalia were but two cities in a greater metropolitan area known as Hades¡¯ Valley. Or as locals called it, the Shimmering Valley. So named for its appearance when viewed from above at night and covered in a layer of snow it looked like a sea of shimmering stars.


    A city far older than either of the two inside Stevie¡¯s cab, but not older than Stevie herself. Oh no! Stevie was older than the Tri-Valley. That was for sure, but don¡¯t tell the two sisters that. They¡¯d have a heart attack. Well, one would.


    A pretty truck indeed!


    Areannia felt each crack in the road without the trailer. Each pothole sent the poor elf lifting off her seat thanks to Stevie¡¯s heavy duty walking beam suspension in the back. One particular crack slammed into the steer tires hard enough that Areannia''s ball cap brushed the roof at the same time an ungodly crunch overpowered the wind noise. She didn''t have to look in the mirror to see the tandems dancing with the blow, mudflaps threatening to fly off at any moment when they landed on the ground. She felt it through her body when the air ride seat collapsed to the floor, then slowly lifted back up to where she had it.


    How has she not replaced the shocks by now?!


    Her exit was coming up, so Areannia ran down through the gears. Stevie growled and snarled as the engine brake slowed her down, blinker relay click-clacking loudly within the cab as the elf prepared to exit.


    The truck stop held quite a few semis and a decent chunk of parking spots were already taken with only ten spots remaining. Lines of semis waited to get one of two fuels; either diesel from the Dead Shard, or Liquid Crystalized Magic. LCM was lightning magic that someone had the bright idea of adding more and more crystals into a blender until they slurried it into a thin paste.


    Most semis, Stevie Included, could run on both, but each engine preferred one or the other. Stevie¡¯s cabin and frame had been built to spec of an ancient and defunct Dead World truck manufacturer with a gnomish-built engine resembling a large V12 hemi created by slapping two separate engines together in the middle, complete with both a supercharger on the intake and twin turbochargers on both sides of the block.


    She even had a separate tank with an unknown purpose on the plans, so the gnomes who built the machine decided it was best to add in an emergency fuel reserve.


    Powerful, loud, and drank down LCM like it was a dehydrated wanderer who found an oasis. Diesel wasn¡¯t much better. Thus it had two large fuel tanks on each side and one auxiliary tank right behind the cab. All five showed near empty. The reserve made it six.


    The truck stop fuel islands were large enough an overheight semi could still get fuel. Pumps on both sides for quick and easy access. Most of the bays were full, except one that Areannia pulled into and set the parking brakes. She hopped down from the cab and made her way around the short truck, popping open each of the fuel tanks. She stuffed a nozzle into each of the forward tanks and made her way over to the card machine. There, she slid Cathy¡¯s points card through the reader, followed by Cathy¡¯s company fuel card.


    The machine asked for a truck number. She entered the license plate number.


    It asked for mileage. Areannia merely hit one, not knowing if Cathy even bothered to track that information.


    The machine, again, asked if she was getting diesel or LCM. She frowned, checked the prices, noting LCM to be far cheaper than diesel and hit that button.


    The machine asked whether or not she was getting reefer fuel. She hit no.


    It then requested to know if she wanted to buy anything extra inside.


    Areannia groaned loudly, balling her fist at the machine. ¡°Just give me the fucking fuel!¡± She smacked no, practically slamming her finger into the button and shaking the machine.


    The machine beeped as it declined the transaction; the printer spitting out a receipt saying insufficient funds. Of course Cathy was broke. Why else would she call Areannia?


    Behind Areannia, Stevie rumbled loudly, drawing the attention of another driver while she put Cathy¡¯s credit card away and ran her own. The machine¡¯s cycle started over.


    ¡°Oh for fucks sake¡­¡± Areannia whispered as she went through the routine again.


    The other driver set the long squeegee back in the bucket and peered around the pump, eyes wandering across Stevie¡¯s, quite frankly, ugly exterior. Why did Cathy not give Stevie a bath?! Likely because they were too busy driving the semi day and night and made Stevie do the work of cleaning herself in the rain.


    ¡°What engine is that?¡± the other driver asked, right as Areannia was pressing no reefer fuel. ¡°Sounds mean.¡±


    Areannia¡¯s finger slipped, smacking the yes button and it skipped past to ask her about the extra items. ¡°Gods dammit!¡± She slammed her fist against the machine, wheeling around and glaring at the man.


    The human blinked at her flame filled eyes and shook his head. ¡°You don¡¯t gotta bite my head off, lady,¡± the driver said and went back to his aerodynamic semi-truck, closing the hood and locking it down.


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± She punched the button, hoping her card wouldn¡¯t be declined. Otherwise she¡¯d have to do it a third time. It wasn¡¯t, so she began fueling.


    It¡¯ll be a while.


    Areannia leaned against the cab, flipping through her phone messages and voicemails.


    ¡®Are you coming home tonight?¡¯  Her husband had texted her earlier in the morning.


    Areannia replied simply: ¡®I¡¯m not sure. Need to take the truck to Vic¡¯s. I¡¯m sure she wants to see Cathy.¡¯


    The reply came almost instantly: ¡®Give Vic a hug from me and tell her to avoid strenuous activities, dammit!¡¯


    ¡®I will.¡¯


    The flowing LCM gave the area an oddly electrical feeling to it, smelling of blueberries as the glowing liquid slammed into the empty fuel tanks like a waterfall, mixing with the remaining diesel inside. The liters added up. Already at fifty. In all the process would take roughly five minutes to fill all five tanks.


    A long hood semi parked right behind Areannia. Its driver pulled the brakes and grabbed their lunchbox from the seat next to them, likely glad that Areannia was actually there fueling the truck and not getting food inside, taking a shower or using the restroom.


    While Areannia waited for the fuel tanks to fill, she checked on Cathy to see how the changeling was doing. There was a pulse, which was always a good sign. Beyond that, her ¡®usual¡¯ half-elven appearance was there; copper skin, wild and free dark green hair, ears half the length of Areannia¡¯s and a muscular woman¡¯s appearance.


    Cathy¡¯s prosthetic leg had worked its way from the shelf next to her all the way to the passenger floor, so Areannia plugged it into a cord coming from the dashboard and set the leg on the seat. An odd device to Areannia, considering both its age and origin. Roughly a hundred years old and still functioning, but it was high elven in design and creation.


    Just how her sister came to own the leg during peak conflict between the wood elves and high elves was lost to Areannia. She might¡¯ve heard the story at one time, but over the years many stories were told and forgotten. With great age comes forgetfulness unless you actively work to remember events.


    Areannia smiled, patting Cathy on the shoulder.


    Cathy groaned and shifted in her sleep in an unusual way, turning this way and that. Her fingers flexing visibly, eyes glowing bright purple under the eyelids as the air around her smelled like rotting meat.


    Areannia covered her nose from the stench and backed away.


    Cathy¡¯s fingertips glowed a sickly green, faint ethereal flames moving down her hands as if the skin were burning away leaving charred bone-like metal behind, similar to a prosthetic hand. The changeling¡¯s eyebrows furrowed at something as she mumbled, ¡°You shoot, we all die. I drop this, we all die. I¡¯m leaving with the queen, not you. Should you make any attempt to stop me¡­ I drop the grenade.¡±


    Leaving with the queen?


    ¡°Cathy,¡± Areannia whispered, shaking her shoulder again. ¡°You''re talking in your¨C¡±


    Cathy rolled toward her, throwing herself at the elf with ghostly speed as her solid glowing eyes snapped open. Areannia braced herself, but there wasn¡¯t anywhere to go in the small cab. The city horn beeped in response to The elf¡¯s back slamming into the steering wheel.


    Cathy¡¯s narrowed eyes and snarl were unlike anything Areannia had ever seen. The glowing gaze burned deep into Areannia¡¯s soul, punching through any semblance of normality. Not only were Cathy''s eyes glowing, but flames scorched the skin around the sockets, leaving behind what looked like metal plating, hair seeming more ethereal than actual hair and now that she was so close to Areannia, the unusual magic¡¯s stench was unbearable, causing the elf to cough violently.


    ¡°What are¡­ what are you doing?!¡± Areannia shouted between the coughs.


    Cathy¡¯s skeletal hands grabbed Areannia¡¯s jacket and pulled her close, shouting, ¡°You¡¯re going to die!¡± a strange metallic voice echoed in the cab far louder than the idling Centura engine. ¡°Do you understand!? Your car feels wrong, don¡¯t get in it. If you¡­ if you¡­¡± Cathy¡¯s eyes shut and her head slumped against Areannia¡¯s chest. Her chest slowly expanded and contracted as if she were still asleep.


    Areannia¡¯s heart galloped in her chest while she processed what just transpired, breathing short and rapid. Cathy appeared to be still asleep, because she wasn¡¯t responding to any nudges. Yet she was just awake and talking. Although the terribly smelling magic had faded, her forearm still glowed bright and began to fade.


    What the hell was she on about?


    After maneuvering Catherine back to bed, Areannia fired off a message to her husband Rosco: ¡®Stay home tonight, please, and don''t touch my car! Cathy just told me something is wrong with it.¡¯


    *** ***


    Catherine rubbed behind her ear, frowning deeply at the mechanics in the large building they were parked near. The heavy growl of an oversized impact gun spinning a lug nut off a trailer inside the shop shattered the silence, echoing inside the building and out across the parking lot.


    The human mechanic moved on to the next nut, and so on while loud music drifted out from the shop¡¯s tire filled bay.


    Catherine stood next to Stevie¡¯s open door, leaning on the cab while she watched the mechanics work on the truck ahead of them. Too much noise. Why did Nia wake her up for this? She could¡¯ve bought tires while letting Catherine sleep! Then again, the sun was almost behind the horizon and the street lights were on.


    The two men working on the other semi both had heavy earmuffs on and shouted at each other to be heard, their echoing voices making it sound like two of them were talking at once.


    ¡°What are we getting?¡± Nia asked loudly, the elf sitting in the driver¡¯s seat and looking down at Catherine.


    Catherine frowned up at her. ¡°Tires, brakes, and a pogo stick.¡±


    ¡°Why a pogo stick? The springs are working fine to hold the air lines up.¡±


    ¡°Have you seen ¡®em?¡± Catherine asked, plugging the ear facing the shop with a finger so the noise was lessened. ¡°They''re nearly rusted through, eh.¡±


    ¡°How about an oil change? Sticker says your last one was almost twenty thousand kilometers ago.¡±


    Catherine nodded at Nia, waving to her. ¡°Fine, fine. Oil change, tires, brakes, pogo stick. Remember, three-fifteen tires in the front and standard in the back.¡±


    Nia looked out the window at the semi ahead of them before she climbed down and stretched her arms over her head. ¡°I¡¯ll get some Alasse¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°You always pick the low end junk!¡± Catherine yawned softly and closed her eyes. ¡°I want top tier tires.¡±


    ¡°I could go with the mid-tiers? Makes no difference really.¡± Nia shrugged. ¡°I run mids on my fleet.¡±


    ¡°Then go with a name brand if it makes no difference. I want the best.¡±


    ¡°When was the last time you had a blowout? I¡¯d rather not see you spend ten thousand dollars right now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, eh? We got paid fifteen thousand.¡± Catherine waved dismissively to Nia. ¡°Just as planned.¡±


    ¡°I had to pay for fuel today!¡± Nia threw her hands to the door. ¡°Two-and-a-half thousand dollars to be exact! When am I getting that back?¡±


    ¡°Take it from my cut.¡±


    Niau folded her arms across her chest and leaned to the side. ¡°And the tires? If you get mid-tiers you¡¯ll save about three thousand dollars.¡±


    Catherine shook her head and blinked a few times, rubbing the crust from her purple eyes. She stepped toward Nia, placing a finger against the other woman¡¯s chest and frowned. ¡°Cheap tires killed me,¡± Catherine said quietly in a tone that sounded like it came from the depths of the Underworld.


    Nia stared into Catherine''s purple eyes, but said nothing.


    ¡°I lost a steer mid-turn and went straight over the fuckin¡¯ edge of Gentle Gap!¡± Catherine stepped back and clapped her hands together, making one appear as if it jumped off her palm. ¡°The only thing I could do was watch it roll down the cliff and crash into the bottom.¡±


    Areannia¡¯s eyes widened as she continued to stare at Catherine¡¯s glare. Neither of them blinked for the longest time, allowing the silence to float between them, only broken by the sound of the men shouting in the shop.


    ¡°You¡­ died?¡± Nia asked softly, finally blinking. ¡°How did you come back?!¡±


    Catherine¡¯s glare turned into a smirk as she clapped Nia on the shoulder. ¡°Come on! You don''t believe that, eh?! There''s no way this truck would be here if it went over the edge!¡±


    ¡°That''s not funny.¡±


    ¡°Why are you always so grumpy?!¡± Catherine turned to give the semi a pat on the floorboard, a tremor in her fingers visible to anyone that had eyes. ¡°Li-Lighten up sometime, eh?¡±


    ¡°Not right now. Tell me the truth!¡± Nia folded her arms across her chest and frowned.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re that gullible!¡±


    ¡°Your tone said otherwise.¡±


    ¡°I got better, eh?¡± The changeling¡¯s trembling hand reached inside the semi for her cigarette pen, but it was out of reach. She placed her foot on the step to hop inside.


    Nia grabbed Catherine by the shoulder to stop her. Her narrowed eyes drilled into Catherine¡¯s as she said, ¡°the truth, now.¡±


    Catherine gulped at the cold tone coming from her sister and nodded, but then shook her head. ¡°A pix¡­ I can''t! I can¡¯t! I can''t tell you what happened after!¡± Her right arm¡¯s tattoo sleeve glowed softly. On her left wrist was a pair of now glowing snowflakes that she pressed against the sleeve until both glows faded. ¡°Just drop it!¡± the changeling added.


    ¡°Fine!¡± Areannia huffed. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and took a deep breath. ¡°When¡¯s your next job?¡±


    Catherine tapped her chin as she looked at the worn and cupped steer tire. A tire that¡¯d make all kinds of racket going down the highway and likely the noise Areannia heard. ¡°Tomorrow. Hey, I think I found the odd noise you were talking about.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Nia spun around and looked at the tire. ¡°Oh.¡±

 4: Secrets

    4: Secrets


    ¡°Always sure, my dear!¡±


    The Flying Hook truck stop situated an hour northeast of Portside was one of many in the corporate chain that served drivers, and one Areannia knew well. She and Catherine shouldn''t even be that close to Portside, as the city was a half day¡¯s drive southwest of Nalia and under the Matriarch''s umbrella since 155. Areannia had never met the Matriarch before, but she knew of the woman through various shady business dealings they had gone through back in the day.


    Now, Areannia was not really paying attention to her surroundings and anyone could sneak up on her if they wanted. Her eyes were solely focused on the CB radios sitting inside a glass display next to the commercial driver¡¯s register.


    Stacked five shelves high, there was everything from magical navigation units to radios, to cameras and headsets. Her fuschia eyes were locked on one shiny chrome radio with forty channels and both a wide and narrow band setting. The coiled snake logo was the same brand that Cathy used in her semi, but they didn''t do much else while Cathy¡¯s was a full on amateur radio with even more frequencies and abilities.


    The blonde elf kept an eye on the mirror showing off the racks of sweatpants and heavy flannel shirts behind her. Travelers and other commercial driver''s wandered by. Some were oblivious to the fact that there was an elf standing there in front of the display while others didn''t really care. An elf or a demon, or even changeling, was fairly common amongst commercial drivers as it was an occupation that allowed for one to be away from people.


    But not everyone liked being on the road for weeks or even years at a time.


    Areannia was one such elf. She listened to her mother¡¯s words through the cell phone held against her ear. ¡°Your sibling is playing a dangerous game.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Areannia said quietly. Her eyes flicked from the CB radio to the normal registers on her left. There was a small line of people holding bags of food while one person pointed behind the cashier to the cigarettes and vapes on display, asking for at least five different flavors.


    The poor worker kept going from the register to the wall and back again.


    ¡°I understand why she fought him, but it was still stupid,¡± Mallorie added, her voice annoyed and quiet. ¡°She''s lucky Vic was there, otherwise Nael would''ve finished her off. So answer me this; Why is she working with him again?"


    Areannia didn''t know and likely Cathy had no clue either. The blonde elf bit her lip as she shifted her weight to one side. ¡°I don''t know, mom. It¡­ it''s insane.¡± Areannia glanced around her before heading to her right where the commercial semi-truck parts were sold. Clearance lights, brake and blinker lights, tarp straps and bungee cords were some of the items offered for sale. She half-assed looked over one arcane refrigerator capable of sliding between the seats of a narrow cab. Wouldn''t even come close to fitting inside Stevie¡¯s cabin and the semi didn''t need a new fridge anyway when there wasn''t room for one with the passenger seat inside it.


    " Is she back on that drug?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re supposed to pick up a trailer from Portside tomorrow and take it to Rocklin.¡± Areannia walked away from the fridge toward the smaller knickknacks like lug nut covers and CB antennas.


    ¡°Portside¡­ Portside¡­ Portside¡­¡± Mallorie whispered to herself for a few moments.


    Her words were barely audible over the disembodied voice coming from ceiling speakers as it said, ¡°Attention Driver number thirty, your shower is ready.¡±


    Areannia checked her watch to see how much longer until her shower was available. Another twenty minutes if the attendant was to be believed.


    ¡°Why does that sound familiar?¡± Mallorie trailed off as she let out a soft gasp. ¡°Oh!¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Areannia queried.


    "Your father needs to borrow one of your trailers. Preferably a brand new one. It''ll be back in our capable hands by next Monday."


    "Sure?"


    Her mother went quiet for a few moments as she typed away on the computer, so Areannia decided to pick through the lug nut covers once again. They had a few acorn shaped ones and some with jewels in the ends, but the ones she was looking for were the spikes. They¡¯d complete Stevie and make her look nice, but sadly, the bin was missing too many to think about buying them.


    ¡°Pepper misses you.¡± Mallorie''s voice broke the silence.


    Areannia pulled an amber clearance light from the bin and tried to think if Cathy had any spares for the trailers or not. She wasn''t sure, because her mind switched to her children. ¡°She''s not too much trouble I hope.¡±


    ¡°This is not the first time in a thousand years I¡¯ve had to watch a toddler and an eight year old. Which is why they''re spoiled with all the sugar and cartoons they could ask for!¡±


    Areannia nodded firmly and smiled at hearing that. Then her mother¡¯s words actually registered, causing an eye to twitch visibly. ¡°They''re on a strict diet, mom! No sweets or caffeine after two and no video games after five!¡±


    Mallorie giggled softly. ¡°Would I really spoil them with sweets when there''s so much more entertaining things to do?! Like teaching them to summon the undead!¡±


    ¡°Could you send me some pictures? I¡¯d ask Rosco, but¡­ I¡¯d rather not give him a reason to yell at me.¡±


    ¡°He told me to tell you that nothing was wrong with your car. He had the Arcane Investigators and the Bomb Squad check it out, and there was nothing there.¡±


    ¡°Really? Cathy said¡ª¡±


    ¡°She could have been hallucinating another timeline. That happens when you''re scrying in your sleep and why she should be keeping a journal.¡±


    Areannia grabbed two brake lights and a handful of long bungee cords, tossing the bungees over her shoulder. ¡°I''m glad I didn''t get that curse, which reminds me. Can you have someone deliver a driver application form to Vic¡¯s house?¡±


    ¡°I still can''t believe that woman stole a pool.¡±


    Areannia walked away from the bins of lights and grabbed three pairs of gloves, using her shoulder to hold the phone to her ear. ¡°I¡¯m just surprised that they never noticed the ¡®excavator¡¯ marks were made by claws.¡±


    ¡°Is that Areannia?!¡± a man''s deep voice called out in the call''s background.


    Oh fuck.


    ¡°Don''t give him the phone,¡± Areannia muttered. Rosco and Mallorie talked about something before the line was muted, which made Areannia frown deeply. The blonde elf added two tubes of grease to her growing pile of items and headed for the register, her mind slowly drifting to one of her other partners for a moment.


    I should call John and let him know I''ll be busy for a few days...


    The lanky man behind the counter began ringing the items up, asking, ¡°Do you need a bag?¡±


    She nodded and swiped her points card, then entered in a number. ¡°Mom? Are you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Areannia Trail Fortuna!¡± Mallorie snapped, causing Areannia to cringe as she pulled the phone from her ear. ¡°Three hundred kilometers an hour in a semi is insane!"


    "But¡ª"


    "I saw the video and the radar readout! There was glitter coming from the exhaust!¡±


    Areannia bit her lip. She knew that hanging up would be a bad idea, but what was there to say other than she didn''t actually know how fast the semi was going? She only held her foot to the floor when racing Cathy¡¯s daughter.


    ¡°The highway was dead and no one else was around! It wasn''t dangerous.¡±


    ¡°What if there was black ice? You have children! Don''t do it again. Understand?¡±


    She sighed heavily, slowly shaking her head from side to side. ¡°Yeah. I understand.¡±


    *** ***


    A thunderous clank echoed throughout the semi''s cabin as Catherine''s bed shook violently, throwing her at the wall behind her. A pop followed the clank before a hiss of air escaped from all around Stevie.


    Catherine''s eyes snapped open as she clutched her blanket. She pulled her hands close to her chest and looked toward the wall to her right with a frown. Her eyes glowed purple while her innate arcane energy illuminated the otherwise dark interior, but she couldn¡¯t see through the steel wall at what had caused the noise. Catherine could only stare at the quilted pattern on the wall and the empty gun rack.


    Where''s my shotgun¡­?


    She ran a hand through her long dark-green hair and made sure her pointed, half-human ears were covered even though she could just turn them into full human ears. Her current identification card said half-elf, so that''s what she had to look like. Had to keep the ruse going after all. The cabin was eerily quiet, almost like the semi had rolled away on its own. She was so sure that it had just moved and was running.


    Why is Stevie off?


    ¡°Nia?¡± Catherine called out to the other elf. She took a deep breath and held it, hoping to all hope that Nia hadn''t abandoned her to let the truck get stolen.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Nia''s voice came drifting back through the curtain. ¡°I¡¯ll be more gentle next time.¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Catherine let out a relieved breath, smiling widely. She pulled the covers around her as she stuck her head through the curtain. With her eyes suddenly filling with light, the glow faded and the irises became their normal purple again. Fog filled the windows in all directions, obscuring most of the compound aside from rows of trailers. Through the mirrors she saw that they had hooked onto a trailer parked right against a building. Or missed the trailer¡¯s kingpin and collided with the trailer itself. She wasn¡¯t sure. Knowing Areannia though, they hooked the trailer, as she wasn''t prone to mistakes like that.


    Catherine sniffled and rubbed sleep from her eyes, her nostrils filling with the icy morning air. ¡°It sounded like the trailer hit the cab.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Nia shrugged. She had a thin hours of service logbook on her lap with a half-filled form on the open page. ¡°Mind hopping out and connecting the lines while I do paperwork?¡±


    ¡°Where are we?¡± Catherine did not move from the warm and comfortable confines of the bed. In truth, she felt like she was going to fall back to sleep right then, but then again she was startled awake. She doubted that she could go back to bed quickly, yet nothing was stopping her from being lazy and staying in bed all day anyway.


    ¡°In our truck,¡± Nia tapped the pen to the notebook, a small smirk appearing on her face. With a small flick of her fingers and quick whisper of words, Nia summoned a tiny gust of wind to move the changeling¡¯s hair in a way that would show off her half-elven ears.


    Catherine frowned as she ran her hands through her hair once again to fluff it out and pull it down over the ears. Hair which was now long enough to drape over her exposed shoulders and down almost to her breasts, compared to the other day where she had it short.


    ¡°Nia!¡± Catherine whined, cupping her ears so they didn''t appear again. ¡°It''s too early for games.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on! Show people your ears! They''re cute with the color shifting rings you have on them now.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Catherine glared at Nia with eyes that burned with the radiance of the sun. Her jaw tightening and grinding her teeth just a bit. ¡°I don''t want to be stared at like some demon. I want to blend in.¡±


    ¡°You are not a demon, you''re a half-elf.¡±


    ¡°Changeling,¡± Catherine muttered through her teeth.


    ¡°Still, people will look at you regardless. That is just what people do! They look at you, eyes are for looking. Now either get some shoes on or go back to bed. We have a long run ahead of us.¡±


    ¡°Why would the run be long? It¡¯s just to Rocklin. A quick four day trip out and back. Be glad it''s not like it used to be where it took a week and a half.¡±


    ¡°Six days," Nia said.


    ¡°Four. We don¡¯t need to stop with you here.¡±


    Nia motioned toward Catherine and used her fingers starting with her pinky finger to count her words. ¡°One, we need to go around the Nalia scales. Two, we have to go through the main gate. Three, climb Hades¡¯ Crest. Four, hope the Ashen Guards do not add more trailers before we head over the hill.¡±


    ¡°Why around Nalia? Just go through and save three hours.¡±


    ¡°I don''t feel like blowing the scales in broad daylight. Not with this load.¡± Areannia said quietly.


    ¡°We can stop at the truck stop and wait until they take their lunch at two.¡± Cathy rubbed her exposed shoulder and frowned.


    ¡°You don''t know that for certain. Around is easiest.¡±


    ¡°Don''t be a wuss, they don''t even chase you anymore!¡±


    ¡°So?!¡±


    ¡°I do it every time I come through.¡±


    ¡°And now you know why they keep trying to inspect you.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Catherine blinked a few times at that. ¡°Why?¡± Nia hopped out of the truck, leaving Catherine to look at the half-filled logbook for a moment. ¡°Nia?¡± Catherine called out to no reply. ¡°What do you mean?!¡±


    No reply again.


    Cathy sighed heavily, letting her lips smack together like a horse sighing. She shook her head. ¡°Always cryptic.¡±


    Catherine had been having a dream where she was walking through the desert after some kind of disaster. She shut her purple eyes and tried her best to recall the dream since it was one of the few places she could rest in peace and quiet without anyone or any entity bothering her.


    The changeling found her world becoming warmer, and warmer as she lost herself in the bliss of sleep once more. Sand burned at her shoeless feet, causing her to quickly run ahead, her butterfly wings buzzing happily behind her. No clouds in the sky for once, only the sun and a bright blue sky above. The warm sun beat down on her exposed skin as a dry wind blew her hair sideways across her face.


    When she cleared her face she found a grassy hill ahead of her instead of sand.


    Catherine glanced back at where she had just been. She found that instead of a desert, it was merely a sandbox and everything felt much bigger to her. The three-story house not far away felt like an unscalable mountain surrounded by trees as far as she could see. When she looked ahead again, she saw a group of giant people gathered underneath a gazebo.


    Each and every person was dressed head-to-toe in black with veils covering the women¡¯s faces. Catherine could not see what they were clustered around or understand what one person was saying, but as she hovered closer, her heartbeat increased with each beat of her wings until her heart was practically pounding in her skull. Sweat poured down her forehead, drenching her eyebrows as she reached out and tugged on the nearest person¡¯s tuxedo. He was shorter, but his dark hair said it was someone she knew.


    "Where is my pa?¡± Catherine called out.


    The person turned toward her and she recognized the angular elven face of her step-father. He smiled a bit, but she saw his eyes cold, almost uncaring, gaze. Regardless, he knelt down to Catherine¡¯s level and reached a giant hand toward her, palm up as if waiting for her to land.


    ¡°We need to talk,¡± he said, his voice monotone, resonating inside her head like a thunderclap as her mind slammed shut on the vision.


    Catherine¡¯s eyes snapped open, dragging her back to dull reality as she quickly hugged herself and shivered in the confines of the sleeper cabin.


    ¡°Areannia?!¡± she shouted. Scrambling forward past the curtain, the changeling stumbled past a backpack on the shelf, nearly falling flat on her face. She gripped the ceiling storage compartments tight enough to turn her knuckles white and took a deep breath. After a shake of her head to clear her mind, Catherine slid down into the grey driver¡¯s seat.


    A quick check of the mirrors told her that Areannia was by the trailer¡¯s landing gear with her hands gripped tightly to the crank as she slowly turned it in circles. Almost as if sensing she was being watched, Areannia looked up and nodded to Catherine.


    Catherine waved back.


    ¡°Stop trying to contact me, ya fucking hose-head,¡± Cathine whispered to herself, shaking her right hand and giving the fingers a flex to get rid of the tingle underneath her skin. Her eyes were instinctively drawn to her hand where she stared at the scars and inkwork. Scars that appeared to shift with something moving under the skin.


    The tattoo glowed softly while the shapes changed and shifted. Catherine¡¯s own voice screamed from the dark behind her, the popping of gunfire filling her ears along with a bestial roar.


    Another voice called out, but she couldn''t hear what it was.


    She gave the hand another shake and turned her attention to the logbook Nia had been holding earlier. Catherine flipped it open, noting that they had been stopped for five hours according to the general time clock on the radio and a check of the page. Or at least in the same compound for five hours. Then again, Nia was not the best at record keeping. She was quite terrible at it in Catherine¡¯s eyes. Always missing times, half-filling it in, or ignoring it completely, so Catherine always had to fix everything for her through sheer guesswork.


    At least Catherine held good records even if she never planned to use them.


    Leaning back against the well worn seat, Catherine looked over the gauges on the bright wood grain covered dashboard, noting where each one was and remembering that the home clock where they were based, was the top left one. She pointed the pencil to it, then looked down at the book, and back at the clock. Before she could put pen to paper, the passenger door opened and Nia climbed inside.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Nia said as she sat down in the passenger seat. ¡°Everything¡¯s ready outside, how about you?¡±


    Catherine held the log book up to show Nia the missing information. ¡°Wondering where we are and why you didn¡¯t fill this out.¡±


    ¡°Portside Docks.¡±


    Catherine waved out the window. ¡°I can see that by all the fog. When did we get here, eh?¡±


    ¡°Fifteen minutes ago? I don''t know.¡± Nia shrugged. ¡°You know that book is useless if you never use it.¡±


    ¡°I do use it!¡± Cathy nodded.


    ¡°When? There¡¯s no paperwork! Turn and burn."


    ¡°It''s useful if the pick-up stops me,¡± Cathy grumbled as she finished filling it in. She tossed it back onto the dashboard and turned the ignition key.


    ¡°You have three more right here!" Nia held a small stack of logbooks to emphasise the point, nodding her head. ¡°Each with different driver names, so which one will you give them?¡±


    "The correct one for the day and form I¡¯m wearing."


    "And if you give them the wrong one?" Nia set the books back into the storage compartment she pulled them from. "Don''t risk being arrested. Just give the logbook ticket to Rosco and he¡¯ll fix it." Nia tapped her head and smirked. "Think, Cathy, think. It¡¯s okay to call him for help."


    "I''m not on his good side like you are¡­ well, were." A loud buzzer filled the air just before the cab shook, the engine roared to life with a silence shattering snarl. Then calmed down to a quiet rumble.


    "Okay, but let¡¯s pretend you do stop at a scale for once and they want to see inside the trailer? Your logbooks won¡¯t save you then.¡± Areannia waved at the log book.


    ¡°I''ll talk my way out of it before I call a cop for help.¡±


    ¡°How? Your charm doesn''t work on cops thanks to their training.¡± Nia waved her fingers toward the dashboard, whispering soft words. In response, the speakers came to life with the quiet sound of the electric guitar introduction that sounded dream-like in tone.


    Slowly, the truck left the spot with the trailer and made a wide right toward the gate leading to the highway. It was slow going with the fog considering Cathy couldn¡¯t see very far even with the sun being up now.


    ¡°So how are you?¡± Cathy asked as she glanced toward Nia, completely ignoring the question posed to her earlier. Then looked to her left for a moment.


    Outside the window was a bleak foggy world. Empty and loaded trailers steadily passed by to her right. On her left was the large warehouse with even more containers just sitting there out in the open in many rows. Cathy had been to the Portside Docks many times before and knew the general layout. As the truck reached an intersection, she turned right again and headed toward the gate. The cab rocked and shuddered when a front tire hit a pothole


    ¡°Doing better. You?¡± Areannia nodded. She waited for Catherine to look away from her before she reached inside her jacket to make sure the envelope was still inside an inner pocket, attempting to feel what the contents were. The guard had given her another one, but this time the text message said to keep it safe and guard it with her life.


    ¡°Nael tried to contact me in a vision,¡± Catherine grumbled, breaking Areannia¡¯s thoughts before she could decipher the envelope.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because he''s an asshole.¡±


    Areannia pat Catherine on the hand as she spoke. ¡°Don''t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry about it,¡± Cathy parroted in a tone that imitated Areannia¡¯s voice, but in a snobbish way. ¡°Easy for you to say.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like this,¡± Areannia muttered, her voice barely carrying over the engine. ¡°Look, I have something to¡ª¡±


    ¡°I kick him back the instant he speaks,¡± Catherine said, interrupting Areannia. Seeming as if she wasn''t even listening to her older sister¡¯s reply. ¡°I was having a good dream about the Endless Desert and he ruined it by talking shit!¡±


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s trying to tell you something and you¡¯re just not listening to him?¡± Areannia looked out the passenger window at a large bright yellow loader carrying a container off to some far off destination inside the compound.


    ¡°Fuck you!¡± Catherine snapped, giving Areannia a glare for a moment and then looked ahead again when she realized what she had done. ¡°Sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you let it go? He said he''s over it, so why aren''t you?¡±


    Catherine hit the brakes hard enough the semi screeched to a stop, throwing them against the seatbelts as something thumped hard into the front wall of the trailer. Catherine and Areannia glanced back at the sleeper wall before looking at each other.


    "We''re not talking about dad!" Catherine shot Areannia a glare like a volcano and pointed at her. ¡°I can¡¯t go back.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Areannia leaned back in the seat again and waited for the seat belt to loosen again before adjusting it.


    ¡°Just take a fucking look!¡± Catherine held her arms out for Areannia to see she had just a watch, no bracelets or anything on them except the many tattoos across both arms. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time, Nia. Less than a week¡­ Then I¡¯ll need to go solo on the Road again.¡±


    Nia slowly shook her head. She closed her eyes, resting her head on the side window for a moment. ¡°Alright, alright. So are you coming to work for me or not?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Work for you and be nearly arrested for bootlegging, eh?¡±


    ¡°That was one time!¡±


    ¡°Twice! First time was in sixty-six, then again in seventy-three with you and Vic!¡± Catherine pointed at Areannia, holding up two fingers.


    ¡°Okay, twice.¡± Areannia shook her head, waving her hands before placing one over her heart. ¡°But! I¡¯ve been legitimate since the seventies.¡±


    Catherine sighed heavily. She turned her attention to the dash, slowly running her finger around the speedometer¡¯s bezel. A whisper in an odd language left Catherine¡¯s lips, barely audible to Areannia in a language only Catherine knew. It was a simple, ¡°He won¡¯t like what I¡¯ve done...¡±


    The song abruptly changed mid-verse to a sad love song without any input from either of the women.


    Catherine giggled softly at the change in music, a small smile crept across her face as she gave the dashboard a light pat.


    Areannia frowned. ¡°Did you do that?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Catherine shook her head. ¡°It sometimes does that; old wiring and all that.¡±


    ¡°My offer still stands; come work for me after this load. Same pay, less hours.¡± Areannia tapped her knuckle against the side window a few times and watched a thin layer of ice slide off of it. Her breath did not even leave a trace of fog on the window. ¡°Easy runs to wherever you want.¡±


    Catherine took a deep breath, slowly letting it out while she ran her hand along the steering wheel, before she reached for the shifter, but then looked at Nia. ¡°Okay, after this load I¡¯ll come work for you.¡±


    Nia smiled at Catherine and held her hand out for a handshake. ¡°Deal.¡±


    Catherine gently took Nia¡¯s hand and gave it a shake. ¡°Deal,¡± she said, blinking.


    Nia¡¯s skin was paler than she remembered seeing it, her hand feeling like it had been dipped in the frigid waters of the bay. Naught but a hum and the song¡¯s sad guitar filled her ears. No words from the radio, no words from Nia despite Nia''s mouth moving.


    Catherine blinked once more and bloody scars from a large claw crossed Nia¡¯s face. An angry animalistic roar filled Catherine¡¯s ears and drowned out the music.


    Catherine ripped her hand away from Areannia¡¯s grip.


    Nia gasped, recoiling away from Catherine. ¡°What the hell?!¡± Areannia shouted, the music returning as the tempo picked up.


    Catherine blinked again, bringing her trembling hands into view. Her heart thundered in her ears as she took a deep breath, followed by another, and another in rapid succession.


    ¡°What did you see?¡± Areannia asked, hesitating on touching Catherine''s glowing arm again.


    Catherine tore her eyes from her hands, gazing upon Areannia¡¯s soft colorful skin. Her life filled eyes and smooth scar free face. ¡°Death.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Areannia pressed her fingers against her own cheeks and frowned.


    ¡°Nael¡­¡± Catherine gently took hold of Areannia¡¯s hand again, but this time the elf felt warm and full of life. ¡°I think.¡±


    Areannia held Catherine¡¯s hand, before holding it in both of hers. ¡°When?¡±


    ¡°Less than two days.¡±


    ¡°Can we stop it?¡±


    ¡°I th-think s-so?¡±


    ¡°We will.¡± Nia nodded, locking eyes with Catherine and smiling at her. ¡°We will.¡±


    ¡°F-first your car¡­ Now this. I think Nael wants you dead.¡± Catherine reached across the cab as best she could, having to hunch over the dog house between them, and pulled Nia into a hug.


    Nia hugged back and didn''t say anything.

 5: Leaving Portside

    5: Leaving Portside


    ¡°What makes you think we don¡¯t have a permit for this?¡±


    ¡°You keep adjusting your booster axle.¡±


    Stevie shuddered and shook, letting out one last gasp of breath before the area outside the guard shack went as quiet as a cemetery. The fog blocked out any view of the land beyond thirty meters and all Catherine could see was a line of incoming semis in the opposite direction waiting to be checked in. Stevie¡¯s exhaust began to cool right away and it let out a tick. The air dryer hissed as Catherine¡¯s eyes drifted across the dashboard, holding her hand out above the set of runic symbols. Cameras aimed at the front of Stevie and the back of the trailer.


    She nodded when she saw the one to keep unwanted onlookers out of the cab was still active. The one to keep the cab quiet was likewise active. She glanced at Nia in the passenger seat. ¡°Did you refresh these earlier?¡± Catherine asked. "I don''t remember doing it."


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Areannia waved to Catherine. ¡°One of the guards was a little nosey again. I think he wants to fuck me with how much he drools.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡± Catherine nodded. She looked to her left at a brown haired guard staring at her from inside the booth. His eyes were wide, but also a mixture of confusion. She had never seen the man before even though she had been to the port quite a bit recently. Though she usually came in the afternoon. Thinking of afternoon made her wonder if now was a good time to call Victoria.


    Catherine reached for her phone above her, but Nia¡¯s voice drew Catherine¡¯s attention before she could grab it. ¡°That one,¡± Nia said and pointed to the guard.


    ¡°I see him.¡± Catherine nodded, grabbing her cigarette pen from the cupholder. ¡°I think I can get him off your back if he wants to talk.¡±


    ¡°Don''t kill him.¡±


    ¡°I won''t,¡± Catherine said through her smile. She clicked the button to turn the device on and pre-heat it. ¡°Just a nap in the snow.¡±


    ¡°You don''t have to be like that. They usually run when I take them home to meet Rosco.¡±


    ¡°Has he run off your other partners yet?¡±


    ¡°No, actually. He has a partner he started seeing last week.¡±


    Catherine looked dumbfounded upon hearing that. ¡°And you called mom to watch your kids¡­? Why didn¡¯t you call¡­ What''s her name?¡±


    ¡°Tiffany.¡± Nia rubbed her forehead for a moment.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call Tiffany?¡±


    ¡°Mom can work from home, the others can¡¯t.¡± Nia took her hat off to run her hand through her hair for a moment.


    ¡°You''re going to have a pair of mini liches running around by the time you¡­ He hasn''t scanned the load yet?¡± Catherine¡¯s voice was confused as she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. The guard was motioning to roll down the window, so Catherine obliged him by winding the manual window fully open.


    ¡°Hello?¡± the young guard asked in common from his booth. She noted his grey uniform and brown hair. A very basic looking guard if she ever saw one.


    ¡°Hi!¡± Catherine replied in elvish, switching to common after she realized she was speaking to a human. ¡°How are you?¡± The changeling took a puff from the pen, letting its strawberry banana flavored smoke tantalize her taste buds before chasing its way into her lungs for a nice relaxing buzz.


    ¡°Fine,¡± the guard shot back as he opened his door and walked out onto a platform next to the truck. ¡°Got your paperwork ready?¡±


    Catherine frowned at him, waited a few moments, and then let out her breath, exhaling a large cloud of smoke. ¡°Paperwork? Well, they didn''t give me much, sorry.¡± She shrugged at the man. ¡°Something about needing it yesterday and they¡¯ll pay more if I can get it there faster? They must think I''m a chronomancer, eh?"


    ¡°Mind stepping out of the truck?¡±


    "No need to twist your knickers, I have the paperwork right here," Catherine replied. She looked at Nia, giving her a small shrug and a concerned look.


    Areannia popped open the glovebox and sifted through a small stack of papers; five years worth of registrations and insurance papers, the receipt for last week¡¯s repairs, the manual that came with the semi, and finally a freshly crumpled shipping manifest for office supplies with no date on them. Nia filled out the date and gave the paper to Catherine.


    The guard looked at the paper and his own notebook for a moment. He then gave her the paper back and motioned for her to step out. "Please? I just need you there to make sure the door is locked."


    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys do that on your own?¡± Catherine tilted her head, gently tapping the fingers on her right hand together at the tips, her mind forming the framework of a spell and words coming to the tip of her tongue. Just in case.


    Areannia¡¯s quiet words in their native language broke Catherine¡¯s concentration. ¡°Do what he says; we can¡¯t make too big of a scene in the Matriarch¡¯s territory. You''re lucky you haven''t been shot yet.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Catherine''s smile faded slowly, letting the spell fade. She gave her sister a look that told the elf act normal, but Nia was already there from what the changeling could see.


    Nia looked as composed as she normally did. That is to say, slightly grumpy with an almost permanent frown when it came to Catherine¡¯s antics. Nia reached for Catherine¡¯s hand, but the changeling hopped outside before the elf could stop her.


    ¡°You need a jacket!¡± Nia¡¯s voice called out from the cab while Catherine walked with the guard.


    Cold air seeped into Catherine¡¯s copper skin, causing goosebumps to break out as the disguised changeling shivered in the icy air. She quickly rubbed at her shoulders in an effort to keep them warm. They were covered only by an old tank top. The snow covered stone seeping through her socks reminded her that she still hadn¡¯t put any shoes on, and that she would have to change her socks when she got back inside.


    The guard walked the long distance to the back of the trailer with his clipboard in hand and looked at Catherine. ¡°I just need to check the lock and numbers if that¡¯s fine with you.¡±


    Catherine nodded. ¡°Of course. Usually that¡¯s done while I sit in the truck, no?¡± She tried to look at the paperwork he was holding, but the man waved it around, and so she took a long draw from her pen.


    ¡°I know,¡± the guard stated, ¡°but things have been strange around here lately. You can go if everything checks out.¡±


    Catherine eyed the man while she followed. He was checking his notebook about something, flipping back to a name on the paper. She sighed heavily, the smoke trailing behind her like a steam locomotive.


    Catherine walked over to the door handles, but kept her distance so she wouldn¡¯t be accused of tampering and pointed at them. ¡°It was sealed when I picked it up. All I did was put the lock on.¡± She said honestly, nodding as well. Or as honest as she could recall considering Areannia had picked it up.


    The guard compared the seal number to his paperwork, pulled an electronic device from his pocket and held it over the numbers. After a few moments of silence, it beeped green to let him know the trailer was cleared to leave. ¡°Huh¡­ Everything seems to be okay here. Alright then.¡±


    ¡°I told you it was there when I picked it up! If it¡¯s not matching then¡­ oh. It¡¯s okay?¡± Catherine smiled. ¡°Yay!¡± She clapped her hands together and bowed to the guard.


    Her long dark green hair fell in front of her eyes, forcing her to run her hand through it to clear her vision. This exposed her half-elven ears to the icy air, which also made them burn with the fury of someone embarrassed to have ears longer than a human¡¯s and shorter than a full blooded elf¡¯s. Despite the fact that she could simply change them, she had chosen to take on a half-elf persona in a city of humans just to explain why she looked in her mid twenties at almost ninety years old.


    The guard smiled, holding his hand out. ¡°I¡¯m Jones. And you are?¡±


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Eyes fluttering in mild surprise from the name and question, Catherine remembered Nia¡¯s earlier comment. She smirked and quickly grabbed his hand in a grip tight enough a bear would be envious. ¡°Phantom, nice to meet you, I think?" She used her other hand to put the cigarette pen in her mouth and took a deep draw until her lungs were full. One long enough even Chessa would be proud of.


    "Phantom?" Jones asked, his face contorting in pain as she squeezed his hand. "Wh-what kind of a name is¡­ that?"


    Catherine let the question hang as the heavy smoke floated her lungs and a spell came to mind. A sleep spell disguised in the smoke would be perfect! So she pictured it in her head and felt the familiar tingle of magic flowing through her body.


    The hiss of air from a semi coming to a stop drew her attention to a modern brown truck with a pair of crossed swords painted on the top of the aerodynamic sleeper.


    She glanced to the side and sighed heavily, letting out a stream of now purple smoke into the frigid morning air until there was none left inside her lungs. Her feet were freezing sure, but it was nothing compared to what she experienced on the high elven sea or stuck atop the highest peak in Halifax.


    Catherine returned her attention to the guard and stared directly into his eyes. "Look, I¡¯m on a tight schedule and my feet are freezing. I don¡¯t have time for this nonsense.¡±


    Jones'' eye twitched as he bit his lower lip. ¡°Oh. Ca-can I get your number so w-we can hang out sometime then?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Too many people around for any spells, so she squeezed tighter until she mercifully released it. The guard gasped, clutching his red hand and stared at her. Catherine headed for the front of her truck. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in men,¡± she said to the guard. ¡°Leave me alone, eh?¡±


    He followed along behind her, holding his clipboard close and glancing at it every so often. ¡°Come on! You¡¯re an elf!¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Do you know how rare it is to see an elf?¡±


    ¡°I see half of one every time I look in the mirror, whatever your name is.¡± She shook her head, waving her hand dismissively at him.


    ¡°Jones,¡± he corrected her. ¡°I just wanna talk to you! I¡¯m curious about what the elves are up to. They¡¯re so reclusive now!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not an elf,¡± she added and shot him a deep glare that nearly pierced Jones¡¯s soul. She was trying to keep her composure and her head. Cameras and other people were on her now.


    ¡°You look like one.¡± Jones placed his hands together in a praying motion and bowed in the best reconstruction of the bow she had given him. ¡°You have to at least let me ask a couple questions?¡±


    ¡°All three of the empires exiled me. You''re better off reading a book or joining one of the mega corporations run by them.¡± Catherine frowned deeply and shook her head. Her hand gripped tight to the grab handle until she felt her remaining knuckles wanting to give out. She wanted to punch the man through the wall, to laugh at him, but at the same time she wanted the man to just leave her alone.


    ¡°Please?¡± The man broke her thoughts with a simple request. One so simple it made her giggle quietly.


    ¡°Oh, well I certainly can¡¯t argue with please, now can I?¡± she replied and climbed inside. Catherine slammed the door shut, leaned out the window and frowned at the human. Why wouldn¡¯t he just leave her alone? Probably because he was curious, but that was more than she wanted. She didn¡¯t want his questions. She didn¡¯t need them either.


    He grinned up at her with a clear expectation of her giving him a phone number. ¡°Really?¡± he asked


    ¡°No!" Catherine growled. ¡°Even if I liked sex, I¡¯m married to a dangerously beautiful woman, so why ruin it?¡± The changeling held a single middle finger out, adding, ¡°Now take off, ya hoser.¡± She turned the key and waited for the buzzer to finish.


    The guard¡¯s smile instantly faded at her words. He stepped back as the Stephenson S100 let out the shrill squeal of its air starter turning the engine over. It roared to life with the deep throaty growl of an angry beast. He tried to say something but the unmuffled Centura engine drowned out his voice. He attempted to get the half-elf to wait, waving at her and shouted as loud as he could, but the engine became even louder to the point it sounded like an animal growling at the man.


    Catherine felt the rising urge to throw a blast of unbridled force energy directly into his face, but instead of having to deal with the city cops, she released the clutch to get her truck rolling.


    The green cabover tilted sideways when it lurched forward, practically lifting one front wheel off the ground. Catherine quickly shifted it into the next gear and then the next until the vehicle was moving at a decent pace where she could grumble to herself without a distraction. Or, as close to distraction free as she could get considering Areannia was also in the truck.


    ¡°What an asshole,¡± the changeling grumbled in elvish to Areannia, using her left hand to roll up the window while shifting into the next gear at the same time. The instant the window was up a rune inscribed on the dashboard glowed softly and the exhaust note was reduced to faint background noise.


    "I warned you,¡± Areannia said quietly. She looked over from the passenger seat and waved ahead of them. ¡°I gather we''re the first elves he¡¯s ever seen.¡¯


    ¡°Fuckin¡¯ hoser,¡± Catherine grumbled under her breath as the blur spell over the windshield faded.


    "Hey." Areannia gently tapped Catherine''s arm as the changeling shifted into the next gear. Catherine glanced at her, so Areannia nodded and held the pink cell phone up. ¡°The broker says don¡¯t stop until after Prism.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    *** ***


    All the way in the old city of Petersburg, Victoria hummed happily to herself as she sat at her dining room table. The dining room was attached to a rarely used kitchen stuffed to the brim with modern appliances, including a separate freezer for all the ice cream Victoria could ask for. The table was large enough for four people, but rarely used for actually eating from. The ancient table lay covered in a heavy cloth to protect the wood from oils while the pale brunette worked on her firearms.


    One leg thrown over the other, Victoria¡¯s puffy nightgown took up most of the space between her and the table. She tilted her head from one side to the other as she held a revolver¡¯s cylinder in one hand and a barrel brush in the other. Her head was shifted just enough the overhead light¡¯s glare in her glasses didn''t blind her from her work.


    The pale woman scrubbed one hole fairly quickly, and then blew the black powder dust out. The ancient single-action top break revolver lay in pieces before Victoria. She moved on to the next hole, and the next until she had the cylinder cleaned inside and out before she applied a light coating of gun oil to it.


    Through Victoria¡¯s phone propped up next to her, the Dragon News Network played its complaints about rush hour ground traffic in all the usual spots and predicted more snow for the coming holiday week. Victoria was prepared for it as always. She and Chessa adored the winter time, for the land became as frozen as their soul. The air became crisp like the inside of her house and everything fell silent. Even had the pine tree erected in the living room like humans did for Christmas.


    Something gnawed at Victoria¡¯s mind, telling her that her house had a stranger in it. She ignored it as she whispered to herself, ¡°It¡¯s just Melissa.¡±


    ¡°I know, but she seems upset,¡± Chesathas replied to Victoria as a pressure in their forehead grew for a moment. ¡°Let''s ask. Maybe we can cheer her up.¡±


    The pressure ceased, causing Victoria to rub her forehead for a moment. Her fingers traced her hairline, tugged gently on a few strands of her hair and then she felt her cheek. ¡°We can''t just go over there and ask her,¡± she whispered. ¡°You didn''t see how she acted last night at the pub.¡±


    ¡°How did she act?¡±


    ¡°Like someone slipped something in her drink after the race. Let her sleep.¡±


    Victoria picked the revolver¡¯s frame up and peered through the gritty, grimy, barrel that looked as though it came from a river, but it was just one and a half boxes of black powder ammo. As the pale woman grabbed a spray bottle to loosen the powder, she listened to the news through a pair of earbuds.


    The newscaster spoke firmly, ¡°In other news. Bill F1T otherwise known as the ¡®Fit Bill¡¯ has passed.¡±


    Victoria froze, ears tuned to one noise and one noise alone, her mind empty of all thoughts. Even Chesathas was quiet.


    ¡°As of January first of next year, all dragons with flying licenses are to undertake a health exam every ten years. Down from every hundred.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Victoria¡¯s voice echoed throughout the house like a gunshot. ¡°That''s bullshit! Those fuckin¡¯ gnomes are crybabies!¡±


    The news channel switched over to a human interviewing a human airplane pilot. The pilot nodded as they spoke, ¡°Well, I think it''ll make our skies safer for everyone. Just because they naturally have wings and can fly doesn''t make them better fliers.¡±


    ¡°You Deathdamned hayburner!¡± Victoria grabbed the phone, silver eyes narrowed in a cold fury that raged from the deepest arctic depths uncharted by humans. All notion of cleaning her pistol was lost as she focused on the interview.


    ¡°You think so?¡± the reporter asked.


    ¡°Oh yeah! I can''t tell you how many times I''ve been cut off by a dragon who shouldn''t be flying. Hopefully, they''ll understand humans and elves already need to go through the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Vic?¡± Melissa called out from the living room, right before Victoria did something stupid like throw her phone or freeze it. ¡°Everything alright?¡± the raven-haired human added.


    Victoria closed the news app, tugged an ear bud from her ear so she could hear better and smiled, all anger forgotten. Or at least hidden. ¡°We heard some distressing news is all.¡±


    Melissa had stood up and was stretching her arms over her head. ¡°What time is it?¡± She wore a long dark t-shirt and that was about it. Her long hair had gone everywhere and the tanned woman looked ready for even more sleep.


    ¡°Almost six in the morn.¡± Victoria set the phone face down. ¡°Are we taking you to work today?¡±


    ¡°Work? Oh fuck¡­¡± Melissa rubbed her forehead for a moment before clearing the sleep from her vertically slit neon green eyes. ¡°We¡¯re in Petersburg, right?¡±


    Victoria nodded firmly. ¡°Yeah.¡± She flashed Melissa a warm smile as she pulled her glasses to the end of her nose, cocking her head so she could stare over the top of the lenses. ¡°We can take you to Richmond if you need us to. Or you can stay here tonight.¡±


    ¡°Ooohh, shit. I need to call me boss,¡± the raven-haired woman whispered as she rubbed her head a few more times, blinking. Her neon eyes wandered the room for a moment. ¡°We raced, with the others, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Through the canyon?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°Who won?¡±


    ¡°Ventrosa.¡±


    ¡°Damn!¡± Melissa snapped her fingers, stomping a foot in the ground. She glared at the air for a moment before pouting. ¡°And here I thought I shoved that treasure bag into the river.¡±


    ¡°We watched her teleport before she hit. I¡¯m sorry, hun, but we just couldn¡¯t keep up with y¡¯all. Our lungs ain¡¯t what they used to be.¡±


    Melissa grumbled as she rubbed her shoulders. ¡°She always wins! How fair is that?¡±


    ¡°Well, you can''t beat the Matriarch in an aerial race, can you?¡±


    Melissa nodded a few times, half-turning toward the main hallway and pointed that way where pictures hung on the walls.. ¡°Alright, so who¡¯s the other woman in the photos and where is she? I must simply meet her.¡±


    ¡°Our ex-wife of fifty years. She disappeared some years back and we¡¯re kinda waitin¡¯ to see if she resurfaces or not. Figure we¡¯ll give her a decade.¡±


    Melisa cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Did she die?¡±


    Victoria¡¯s eyes went down to the old revolver on her dining table, a small frown on her face. ¡°You¡¯d think so considering she¡¯s a changelin¡¯ and almost ninety. I asked the Dark Lady, but she said no.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Go find her!¡± Melissa threw a hand toward the door. ¡°Don''t let me stop you, girl. Go!¡±


    The pale brunette frowned deeply at the table. ¡°I dunno where to look.¡±


    Melissa harrumphed as she tossed her head back and placed her hands on her hips. ¡°Well, if I were you I¡¯d start with a search of her old haunts. What¡¯s she like to do?¡±


    ¡°Drive.¡± Victoria shrugged visibly and leaned back in her chair.


    ¡°Anything else?¡± Melissa cocked an eyebrow.


    ¡°No. Wait, yeah. No, not really.¡± Victoria couldn¡¯t really remember Cathy doing much beyond the driving and building ship models that the woman still kept around the house. They were nice reminders and displays to have when people came over, but one on her coffee table had sat languishing for years in an incomplete state. It was of a tramp freighter built long, long ago, but one both Victoria and Cathy worked on for a time.


    She felt a tickle in her throat building up. One she couldn¡¯t hold back. She covered her mouth with a handkerchief. The pale woman¡¯s body shook with each violent cough of bloody ash, barely audible through the cloth. Only when she finished did either of them react. Victoria set the now soiled rag aside and frowned deeply. As did Melissa, but for an entirely different reason.


    ¡°You¡¯re not even a half-millennia old,¡± Melissa said, adding, ¡°Don¡¯t die just yet.¡±


    Victoria sneered at the other woman, cocking her head a bit for a moment. Then sighed heavily and shook her head, closing her eyes. ¡°Lasted longer than we should¡¯ve to be honest. Once we¡¯re gone¡­¡± her voice trailed off as she looked over at the half-completed ship model. ¡°There¡¯ll just be the Captain left from the caravan.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just ask Death to spare you?¡±


    ¡°No. She¡¯s already annoyed with us for extendin¡¯ our life with magic. With Cathy gone¡­ there ain¡¯t nothin¡¯ keepin¡¯ us here and no more magic to keep goin¡¯ with.¡±

 6: Out of the Blue

    6: Out of the Blue


    "When all is said and gone, where will you stand?"


    Traffic heading out of Portside was bad. Bad enough Catherine sat with both feet on the floor, elbow on the open window sill and head resting on her palm as Stevie clattered away in a parking lot of cars. Warm air flowed into the cabin, beating back the frigid mid-morning frost. She couldn''t see what caused the traffic, but heard about it on the radio after they passed the exit. No thanks to Nia having turned the radio down the night before. Her toque had given way to a dark cowboy hat to keep her head warm, but the toque was far better at that then the hat.


    Catherine sighed heavily, letting her lips flap together as she exhaled a cloud of smoke. ¡°Ten bucks says it''s a fatality,¡± the changeling said, waving a hand over one of the runes on the dashboard. A simple one to keep intruders out of the trailer. As she whispered the words, a light blue flash overtook the truck''s exterior. Then faded to nothing.


    Nia shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not giving you money.¡± She gave the double barreled shotgun a pat, followed by making sure it was loaded for the third time Catherine knew of.


    The sharp click of the weapon opening sent a shiver down Catherine''s spine, causing goosebumps to break out across her arms. She reached for the pistol holstered between the seat and doghouse. Catherine watched Nia, again, pull each of the glass ¡®shells¡¯ out to see they were stored lightning bolts, and then slide them back in, snapping the breech shut.


    Nia looked out her window at a car dealership selling the latest fancy cars.


    Catherine pulled her hand away from her pistol and gave Stevie¡¯s steering wheel a light pat. Although, she couldn''t quite shake the feeling that something was wrong about the way Nia acted.


    Nia kept checking her phone and sending messages to people while holding the device in a way Catherine couldn''t see the screen. Had to be texting her son, or one of her other partners. Maybe. She couldn''t be planning anything, could she? Why would she? She wouldn''t. It was Nia, not some random person.


    Static broke through the silence before a voice echoed from the CB radio. ¡°Look at these idiot four wheelers trying to sneak in any chance they get. No one¡¯s going anywhere!¡±


    Followed by another, ¡°Anyone see it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± a completely new voice pulled Catherine''s attention up to the radio right as she drew from her cigarette pen. ¡°I watched a four wheeler go pinballin¡¯ across the road and slam under a sea crate!¡±


    ¡°I think they''re having trouble pulling the body out,¡± another added.


    ¡°And that''s why,¡± Nia said, snapping her fingers and motion at the radio.


    Catherine shrugged. They had time to kill for sure. The load didn''t need to be in Rocklin until Monday and Rocklin wasn''t that far with two drivers. ¡°How¡¯s Sallros, eh?¡± Catherine asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s doing well. Says hello, too.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Catherine tilted her head. ¡°That¡¯s a surprise.¡±


    Nia let the phone drop into her lap next to the shotgun as she sighed and shook her head. ¡°Yes¡­? He just got a dog and is asking me if I could go over and speak with it to find out why it''s acting strange. Wants to make sure it''s not a druid. You know, unlike some people.¡±


    Catherine rolled her eyes at that and stuck the cigarette pen in her mouth. Her eyes were drawn to movement in the mirror as she exhaled a steady stream of warm smoke, turning it white with the crisp air outside. A person moved through traffic, cutting in between cars as they headed right for her trailer. She grabbed her pistol, racked the slide back and glanced at Nia.


    ¡°We got trouble,¡± Catherine said.


    Areannia''s light-pink eyes widened. ¡°Here?! Where are they gonna go!?¡±


    ¡°Probably planning to teleport the load.¡±


    ¡°It might be a cop! Don¡¯t overreact again!¡±


    ¡°Stay here.¡± Catherine popped open the door, swinging it wide on squeaky hinges as she hopped to ground. Her tennis shoes slammed into the slushy asphalt as icy wind bit deep into her unjacketed arms.


    ¡°Godsdammit, Cathy!¡± Nia yelled from inside the truck. ¡°Get back in here! Nothing¡¯s going to happen!¡±


    Catherine glanced at the older car next to her and waved at the old woman completely oblivious to the world around them by way of watching a movie on her phone.


    Having her pistol out in broad daylight might be a stupid idea, considering it''s bright pink, but it was an idea nonetheless, especially since she couldn''t cast her magic in public. Or rather, she wasn''t supposed to. Nothing stopped her from summoning force blasts aside from an agreement between her and the new dragon government: No public displays of offensive magic unless doing so would preserve the secrecy.


    Catherine thought of a spell she could use as she crept low along the cars, keeping an eye on the person moving through traffic, but they seemed to be moving awkwardly. Less upright and wore a helmet blocking anyone from seeing what they looked like, complete with a dark jacket. She pulled her pen out from her pocket and took a puff as she passed car after car, both hoping that it¡¯d calm her racing heart and to mix a sleep spell into the smoke.


    When the person came close enough for Catherine to see that it was just a motorcycle, her thoughts didn''t change. They could still be a wizard or sorcerer trying to hijack the load. She leaned on the back of the trailer, pulling her hat low in a nod to the motorcyclist, never taking her purple eyes off them the entire time they slowly weaved around cars and moved on by Stevie. The changeling tilted her head back and exhaled, letting the spell flow out into the sky above.


    Why filter through traffic when they could ride along the breakdown lanes?


    Catherine finally stepped around the trailer when it was clear the motorcyclist wasn¡¯t there for them. She ran her hand along the bottom of the doors, and up both sides as best she could, feeling the edges for a spell. Her magic flowed from her hand, seeping into the wood and metal looking for anything as her nails glowed a bright purple.


    There was an old one on the door from a few minutes ago. A tracking mark of some kind if she were to guess. The threads wandered along the length of the trailer, down into the tires and even into the ceiling, all the way to her semi. Catherine pictured scissors in her hand as she ¡®cut¡¯ the thread and killed the spell.


    It popped, sending a jolt of energy into her palm as pain flared across her arm. She cried out, nearly dropping the pistol. Her mind recalled a night long, long ago when she watched a living cloud devour someone and then come for her. Electrical tendrils snaked up her arm, pulling her toward it until her arm became a shell of ants again biting at her skin.


    A flash of light smacked her in the face, sending Catherine reeling back. She stumbled into the trailer and covered her eyes, ears ringing profusely as her world tilted in a few different directions.


    A trap.


    Her hand burned within, smoke trailing off the skin as it tried to melt away, filling her nostrils with the stench of rot and purification. A woman cackled in her ears.


    After checking the enchanted lock to be sure it was still there, she stumbled her way back to the cab. Her hand burned the entire way. She couldn''t cry out or she¡¯d draw too much attention. She had to complete her delivery, and she couldn''t let other people see the bubbling skin, or the colorless tone it was taking. Catherine even kept her face toward the trailer in case her disguise had failed.


    She didn''t know if it did or not, so she made her way as quickly as she could back to the cab and climbed inside.


    Nia looked over, then ahead and back over, eyes wide. ¡°What the fuck?!¡±


    ¡°I need a healing potion!¡± Catherine shouted as she holstered the pistol next to the seat. She closed the door with her hand and reached behind her for Areannia¡¯s bag.


    But Areannia was faster. She had the bag open and was already pulling a golden vial out for Catherine.


    The changeling grit her teeth at the fire smoldering underneath her skin and popped the cork, tilting the vial out over her hand. Amber fog drifted out as the honey and berry scented liquid splashed against the skin.


    The burn flared like she just touched Stevie¡¯s exhaust after a long day of driving, and yet the only show of it Catherine did was closing her eyes and grimacing. Beneath her, the semi moved forward on its own with traffic, slipping itself into gear as it worked the clutch all like it were its own driver. Not enough to get rolling properly, but enough that they were two meters further than where they started.


    Catherine took a soaked bandage from Nia and wrapped it around her forearm. Then held the forearm out for Nia to grab.


    Nia placed a hand over the wound, closed her eyes and whispered in a language Catherine didn''t know.


    ¡°Someone put a tracker on the trailer and it''s a trap,¡± Catherine said through her teeth as a warm glow took over her arm.


    The magic seeped through the bandage and into Catherine''s hand, a small smirk crossing Nia¡¯s face as her eyes flared with magic for a moment and then died down. It was enough to heal the wound for the most part, but not enough to completely heal it just yet. ¡°You forgot about your spell, didn''t you?¡± Nia asked and shook her own arm as an ache throbbed underneath the skin.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Catherine blinked at her. She let out a soft sigh when the magic soothed the burning in her arm.


    ¡°Your defense spell!¡± Nia pointed at the dashboard where the defense rune and muffler were active.


    ¡°It stings.¡± Catherine pulled her hand away from Nia and shook it a couple of times.


    ¡°No shit. It''s a lightning spell. Want me to drive?¡±


    Catherine shook her head. Her fingers were red, but no longer bubbled. The skin looked fine, but hurt with each small twitch. She grabbed a black bottle from the storage compartment above the driver¡¯s seat and sipped from the boysenberry flavored liquid.


    ¡°Why are you drinking that? You don¡¯t need it.¡± Nia leaned toward Catherine, looming in her face like a cop inspecting a crime scene.


    ¡°Painkillers,¡± Catherine said as she capped the bottle, and put it away again.


    The radio chatter had gone quiet, likely because Nia turned the radio down again, so Catherine reached up to turn it down, and then up to be sure.


    ¡°Gethel isn¡¯t a painkiller, Cathy. You told me you quit taking it.¡± Nia went back to her seat and adjusted herself so she could comfortably rest one boot on the dashboard. Then closed her eyes. ¡°Why did you start again?¡± Nia added.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Catherine reached for her cigarette pen and realized she didn''t have it. She felt her pockets, checked inside her hat and then looked in the mirror. ¡°Dammit¡­ I forgot my vape.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get it.¡± Nia opened the squeaky door on her side.


    Catherine grabbed Nia¡¯s arm and kept her from leaving. She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll get a new one when we stop outside Nalia.¡±


    Nia¡¯s eyes went to Cathy¡¯s face for a moment as she thought about what to do. Then she smiled and nodded, closing the door. ¡°Alright. How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Aside from the arm?¡± Catherine held it up.


    ¡°Aside from the arm.¡±


    ¡°Not good.¡± Catherine shook her head, eyes slowly scanning from one car to the next around them, right as her cell phone dinged with a message. ¡°I¡¯m worried we might get hijacked. I¡¯m worried there might be a bullet with your name on it hiding in any one of these cars. We can''t sit here, Nia.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you stopped drinking that shit you might think clearer.¡±


    Catherine glared at Nia for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s not what happened.¡±


    ¡°What do you propose we do then?!¡±


    ¡°I wish they''d just use magic and move the wreck or¡­¡± Catherine¡¯s voice trailed off as she pulled her pink cellphone out of the overhead storage compartment. ¡°Chessa can move it, eh?¡±


    ¡°For fucks sake¡­ They''ve already got dragons on the scene. Look!¡± Areannia pointed out the window at an armored silver dragon circling overhead looking as if it was trying to find space to land, wings spread wide, neck craning around.


    ¡°Oh good. I didn''t wanna hear Chessa rant about showing herself in public, because something something dragon code.¡±


    ¡°How did you meet her?¡±


    Catherine tilted her head a bit. ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Nia flashed a smile. ¡°We''re stuck in traffic. Might as well have a story, no?¡±


    ¡°Well, why not.¡± Catherine shrugged and reached for her cigarette pen again, but found it was still missing. ¡°Not much to it, really. It was after I left the Navy. I signed aboard a merchant ship bound for Halifax and little did I know that¡¯d change everything I understood about the world.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Nia folded her arms across her chest, leaning against her seat as she let her feet rest on the dash.


    ¡°See, the ship was¡­ not what you¡¯d expect, eh? A crew of misfits at best and a bunch of degenerates at worst. The list of their important employees is as follows.¡± Catherine held a pinky finger out and counted from there. ¡°An ex-combat android known as ¡®Cat¡¯. Anita, a woman who is more tree than person and will absolutely talk your ear off about her favorite subjects.¡±


    ¡°Are you just making shit up now?¡± Nia raised an eyebrow at Catherine. She patted the doghouse between them as she looked up at the radio, clearly listening for any new information. ¡°You never told me there was a bot involved in your old adventures.¡±


    No news about the wreck.


    Catherine shook her head. ¡°You know me, eh? I don¡¯t make shit up.¡± Bend the truth? Perhaps. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel one after the other in rhythm, much like the faint song coming from the stereo system. ¡°So, that isn¡¯t everyone on the ship, but they¡¯re the most relevant to the story.¡±


    Nia brought a hand close so she could rub her chin as she listened to the tale.


    ¡°This was that one job you hired me to do back in forty-three."


    ¡°The one you disappeared on?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I was pregnant with Elly and Chessa was rightly concerned I¡¯d gotten in over my head. So I was driving my car. The sky was bleak, like it¡¯s threatening to drop a tornado any second as I drove down to the docks on the winding dirt roads that made up Rocklin¡¯s streets. Rain fell in sheets across the road as I approached a ship that should¡¯ve been scrapped years before. The night before, some woman slipped me a piece of paper saying to meet her at the dock at a specific time.


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall what we said that night. There was quite a bit of alcohol involved and I awoke as dawn broke, finding myself fully clothed on a rooftop with the note stuffed in my hand.


    ¡°She was waiting there for me when I approached. Chessa wore a long lace-trimmed wine-red dress, well worn cowboy hat and an umbrella to beat the rain back. She stood next to a pile of crates with two other people. One, a pale blue-eyed elf with synthetic skin, was dressed in a flannel and tricorne. While the other, a heavily tanned human with wild leaf-filled hair hidden underneath a tophat, wore patchwork clothes that not even I would wear.


    ¡°I came to a stop near Chessa and popped the door open. She tipped her hat to me and smiled. That was when I saw a holster on her hip and even Anita, the wild-haired human, had a heavy revolver on her hip while Cat didn¡¯t appear armed.


    ¡° ¡®Nice of ya to make it,¡¯ Chessa said to me in her signature Amarillo accent. ¡®How are ya with driving a truck?¡¯


    ¡°I shrugged. ¡®Can¡¯t be any harder than a car, why?¡¯ And really, it isn¡¯t!¡±


    Nia held a finger up as if to have Catherine wait. ¡°You said the ship was better off being scrapped? Is it the same ship as last week?¡±


    Again, Catherine''s phone dinged with an incoming message.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Catherine nodded. ¡°It¡¯s called the Porington and was old even before I was born. Turns out Chessa had been working on the ship for near on twenty years when I met her.¡±


    ¡°Did you take my truck?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Catherine said and shook her head. ¡°They kept the truck in the cargo hold and brought it out with one of the forward cranes after we agreed to a price. It was one of those based off a pickup and modified with a supercharger and open exhaust. No markings except the bare minimum.¡±


    Areannia tilted her head. ¡°Like Stevie?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Same color, too. They told me Chessa was my guard for the run and I asked why. Anita explained that it was necessary for a guard in the truck, and two guards to follow in Chessa¡¯s car.


    ¡°I thought it was kind of weird at the time and should''ve questioned it, eh? At least, that''s what you¡¯d do.¡±


    ¡°I don''t question everything!¡± Nia replied.


    It was Catherine''s turn to fold her arms across her chest as she stared across the cab at Nia.


    ¡°So that''s how you met Chessa?¡± Nia asked.


    ¡°Yes. We fell in love on the trip and the captain married us at sea.¡±


    ¡°And nothing else happened? Where did you meet Victoria?¡±


    ¡°They''re the same person...¡± Catherine tilted her head again. ¡°Are you feeling alright? Because you''re acting like your husband with these questions.¡±


    Nia shook her head, throwing her hands in the air. ¡°I¡¯m just curious!¡±


    ¡°Then who are you texting? You haven¡¯t put your phone down since we stopped!¡±


    ¡°My son, you dingbat!¡± Nia tossed her phone in Catherine¡¯s lap, right as the car ahead of them moved forward a few feet. "Stop taking Gethel, please."


    Catherine fumbled the catch and it fell in her lap. She ignored Stevie again moving on her own with traffic, and checked the most recent messages. Sure enough, Nia was texting Sallros about a dog he just bought the other day.


    ¡°How¡¯s your husband?¡± Catherine gave her phone back to Nia.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine.¡± Nia shrugged.


    ¡°Just fine?¡±


    ¡°Just fine.¡±


    Catherine nodded slowly and stretched her arms over her head, pressing against the quilted interior for some resistance. ¡°Then I guess we wait.¡± Her phone dinged again, and again.


    ¡°Are you going to get that?¡± Nia asked.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because that''s the broker telling us to get rolling. We''ve been stopped too long and they don¡¯t want us to wait around on this one.¡±


    ¡°So they''re tracking the load? What are we hauling?¡±


    Catherine shrugged, grabbed her pink phone from the cupboard and gave it to Nia. ¡°You can see.¡±


    Nia checked the phone and gave it back to Catherine. ¡°Why not explain the situation?¡±


    The changeling shrugged. ¡°They¡¯ll keep calling anyway.¡±


    Nia sighed heavily and held the bridge of her nose.


    *** ***


    Stevie hummed along the highway as Catherine drove on toward the gate, wondering where Elora was sneaking her transfer truck through the wall to bypass the customs gate. That''d be neat information to have, because then the changeling wouldn''t need to worry about the cops. She gave the semi a small pat on the wheel, and grabbed her phone from the storage compartment so she could send a text:


    Could you meet me when you get off work? I wanna ask something.


    I just dropped off my last load for the day. What¡¯s up, ma? Came the reply.


    It¡¯s not something I can ask over text. Meet me in my usual spot.


    You''re lucky my transfer has a sleeper.


    Catherine set the phone in the storage compartment again. She glanced in her mirror to see if the motorcycle was following them. All she saw were generic everyday cars that blended in with each other, except for a bright blue car that stuck out like a sore thumb. She frowned at it, but it disappeared before she could get much more than a look.


    ¡°So why did you disappear during the trip?¡± Nia asked.


    ¡°Oh yeah! We¡¯d spent a harrowing week trying to deliver the goods with Anita and Cat following us in their own car. I saw why they wanted a driver who knew the area when the narrow, gravel roads we took were better suited for horses than cars.


    ¡°We encountered a few unsavory things along the way, but managed to get through it pretty easy, all things considered. After repainting the truck for the second time, we made our way through the Prism checkpoint and were driving through the city since the highway ran through the heart at the time. Chessa was driving and wondered when I was due, because I was showing quite a bit and being pregnant made hiding it hard when I couldn''t change my form. My body wouldn''t listen and I was stuck in this half-elven form for the time being.


    ¡°We were sitting at a red light with the modified box truck idling quietly when I looked out the side window and saw a passenger in the back of a masterfully built car. The passenger was a beautiful elven woman in a fancy dress. Like... she was so beautiful it even made me have feelings. I didn''t know if I wanted to be with her or if I wanted to take her form. She stared at me for a moment. Her light frost blue hair split down her shoulders and draped over her chest in a sensual way. Pointed ears adorned with many golden rings and ruby studs pierced through her hair.


    ¡°A plain silver tiara perched neatly atop her head giving her the air of royalty. By the way her ears were barely longer than mine, and the fact that her skin looked as soft as moonlight, I guessed she was a high elf. Yet, the luxury car was similar in style to many I¡¯d seen at the time: long hood hiding a large engine, a place for the driver to sit with another section just for the passenger much like an old carriage.¡±


    ¡°You mean Chessa¡¯s wreck she''s got in her garage?¡± Areannia asked.


    ¡°Chessa¡¯s was more impressive by a fair amount. The poor overworked chauffeur sat in the exposed front half of the car with naught but a tarp and a thick jacket to keep him warm.


    ¡°Ice crept across the edges of the window and fog remained whenever I breathed on it. I waved to the elf woman, wondering who she was.


    ¡°She looked away from me to an elven man sitting next to her. He looked as if I¡¯d seen him somewhere before, but I couldn''t remember where. A dark blue uniform adorned his body plastered with a few medals and tassels on his shoulder. The man even had a cape! His steel blue eyes drifted to the noble next to him, before they met mine. The man said something to her and she shook her head.


    "The noble elf in the other car looked at me again, reminding me of Telas in a way. More rounder features and less pointed like other elves. She rolled her window down, pointed at her ear, and then me.


    ¡°I rolled my window down and called out to the noble. ¡®Yes?¡¯


    ¡° ¡®Is there something on my face?¡¯ She asked in an odd voice. Annoyed, yet curious. Quiet, but loud enough I barely heard it.


    ¡° ¡®No, ma¡¯am.¡¯ I shook my head, flashing my best smile. ¡®Just thinking is all.¡¯


    ¡° ¡®About?¡¯


    ¡°Chessa looked around me and waved to the woman. ¡®Hello! Would you like to get some ice cream?¡¯


    ¡°I groaned and covered my face. A car behind us honked its horn in annoyance at something while another went around. The light had turned and everyone ahead of Chessa had left. Chessa threw the truck into gear, but the noble held her hand out. ¡®You will stay where you are!'' she yelled. ''We are conversing and it is crude to leave without saying goodbye first.¡¯


    ¡°Chessa apologized to her.


    ¡°Then the noble called us peasants!¡±


    ¡°You kind of are to a noble,¡± Areannia said.


    ¡°Anyway! The noble sat up as straight as she could get. Her movements fluid with all the grace you¡¯d come to expect from a high born. One who looked down their nose at us lowborn. I frowned at her. The noble looked right at me, her lilac eyes bright and filled with curiosity. ¡®What makes you think you can stare at me?¡¯ she asked. ¡®Do you know who I am?¡¯


    ¡° ¡®No, ma¡¯am. I was merely admiring your car.¡¯ I waved to the vehicle.


    ¡° ¡®Hah! I have heard that before. This pile of trash I drive is not fit for me. It is too plain and forgettable. I much prefer the car I have at home, for at least the seats are comfortable.¡¯


    ¡° ¡®Looks like an Arrow,¡¯ Chessa and hummed for a moment. ¡®A fifteen I think?¡¯


    ¡° ¡®And?¡¯ I muttered, not at all knowing what the significance was back then.


    ¡° ¡®Worth a lot to the right buyer and I know just the dragon. I have an idea,¡¯ Chessa said in near perfect, but accented elvish. She pulled a bright silver key from her coat pocket and held it out for everyone to see. ¡®Hey, fancy lady! Wanna trade your Arrow for my Ghost?¡¯ she said in her best elvish she could muster, but again, it was still heavily human accented and had her signature drawl.¡±


    ¡°Hang on¡­ you mean the car in Vic¡¯s garage?¡± Areannia asked.


    ¡°Yeah. The one in our garage. The noble leaned against her door, eyes widening. ¡®You have a Ghost? Truly?¡¯


    ¡° ¡®I got her new in thirteen,¡¯ Chessa replied to the noble. ¡®Had Harlon an¡¯ Harlon put a touring body on. Kelasi took my order. Chassis number four that year. Painted a dark grey with a light blue interior, silver accents. Fitted with a crank mounted supercharger to make sixty-five horsepower. And runs on LCM.¡¯


    ¡° ¡®Let me see that key!¡¯ the noble shouted. Chessa chucked it across the gap. The noble caught it easily in her magic and flipped the key this way and that, eyes narrowed as magic swirled around it. Likely seeing if it was authentic or not.


    ¡° ¡®Don''t say a word about the wreck,¡¯ Chessa whispered softly before raising her voice. ¡®I got the title in my bag and pictures of it.¡¯


    ¡° ¡®Where is it parked?¡¯ The high elf noble asked.


    ¡°Chessa waved in a random direction. ¡®At the crossroads up near Copperopolis. A place called Dan¡¯s. Left her there for some minor repairs.¡¯


    ¡°I could see the noble was thinking this over while her passenger looked very, very annoyed at us. They turned and conversed with each other.¡±


    ¡°Is Chessa¡¯s car made from gold or something?¡± Areannia asked.


    Catherine shrugged. ¡°Dunno. Apparently they only made six a year and they were twelve thousand dollars when new. This noble didn''t have one. She asked us who we were and Chessa introduced us with noble titles.


    ¡°I don''t know why, but I leaned on the door and smiled at the noble. She raised her eyebrow as if not believing Chessa. Why should the noble believe her? We were driving a truck and wearing cheap clothes. Well, I was. Chessa¡¯s dress was finely made and styled nicely if you were trying to look fancy in the Old World.


    ¡° ¡®You know,¡¯ I said and waved a hand out the window. ¡®Telas Sorvskan the Fifteenth of too many titles is quite the blowhard who loves to hear himself talk. If you set the phone down, I bet he¡¯d spend an hour talking to himself.¡¯


    ¡°The noble rolled her eyes. ¡®I had thought the rube to be gone from my memories. Even now, I can still hear his voice saying ¡®Berry, my dear! My good lady! Ah, my queen!¡¯ and so on¡­¡¯ she shivered visibly.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait!¡± Nia held her hands up, shaking her head from side to side. ¡°Are you telling me, you and Chessa swindled High Queen Berrymoon?!¡±


    Catherine giggled to herself. ¡°We did! She took us over to her estate where she was having a party and they swapped titles!¡±


    ¡°How did you get the car back?!¡±


    ¡°Because Chessa stole the car back after selling Berry¡¯s to the Matriarch! It was a perfect heist.¡±


    ¡°Then when did you kidnap the queen?¡± Nia folded her arms across her chest, glaring at the changeling. ¡°You were talking about it in your sleep the other day.¡±


    Catherine smiled sheepishly. ¡°That night? See, I didn''t know they¡¯d been planning to kidnap her. None of us expected the high elf queen to take me aside and demand I save her from her ¡®wretched existence¡¯.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Her words, not mine!¡± Catherine held her hands up defensively. ¡°As I stared in confusion at the high elf noblewoman, I had a vision of Berry¡¯s death if I didn''t follow her words, so I did. Well. Chessa made the decision by tackling Berry¡¯s advisor to the ground and drawing her big iron. It was quite stunning to see a short human move that fast and knock an elf off his feet.


    ¡°We ran outside and filled in the others right as a Kill Team showed up and tried to take her from us. I have never seen Chessa mad enough to dump her whole revolver into someone at point blank since that day. The only thing the man did was insult her favorite rifle for being a single shot and still using primer caps. She stepped out from the shadows and pistol whipped one of the special forces before dumping all six shots into another one at point blank! The four of us fought it out with them until her guards got involved, allowing us to slip away with Berry¡¯s car and the truck. We burned down the hill as fast as we could while dragon cops circled the estate.¡±


    ¡°But she was seen the next morning making a statement on the attack?¡± Areannia bounced her foot off the floorboard fairly rapidly. ¡°I remember the news about it, some fringe organization tried to take her out. No mention of the Ventros Army.¡±


    ¡°The war was winding down. Do you really think they''d fan the flames and keep it going? No. The Captain caught wind of the kill team and sent us in to stop it.¡±


    ¡°Hold on. You said four. You have Chessa, you, that robot, and Anita. The Queen makes five.¡±


    Catherine smiled at Areannia, winking one of her purple eyes as her appearance shifted to resemble the high elf Queen¡¯s for just a moment, complete with the frost blue hair, then back to her ¡®normal¡¯ half-elven look with dark green hair.


    ¡°Oh fuck¡­ you swapped places with her!¡± Areannia¡¯s eyes widened, jaw dropping.


    ¡°Don''t be silly, Nia! I was at the bottom of the hill when she gave that speech.¡± Catherine''s smile turned into a smirk as she placed the cigarette pen to her mouth and took a deep breath.


    "What about the robot?"


    "What robot?"

 Chapter 7: An Unexpected Addition

    7: An Unexpected Addition


    ¡°A party magician is what you are.¡±


    Areannia found that despite the broker calling them constantly in traffic, Cathy just didn¡¯t listen. The changeling still wanted to sit at a truck stop outside Nalia and wait for Rosco to get on duty! They had to make up time and sitting still just wouldn¡¯t do. Unless Cathy was planning to run flat out all night once they reached the Wildlands, but fuel stops were few and far between out in the forest wasteland. Stevie vacuumed the LCM down at full throttle, so even if they fueled up in Prism like planned then they would likely need to fuel up again in Rocklin.


    That was one of the downsides to the Ventros Wildlands, according to Cathy. Fuel stations were so spread out that you could go a whole day without seeing one. Whereas on Halifax, for example, they were everywhere! And Halifax was floating in what was considered the Outer Rim of the planetary system. A place shrouded in darkness for much of the year with a few normal months in between. Its people were pale for the most part and that allowed them to blend in with the vampires there.


    Victoria was hatched there, and Cathy planned to visit it one day with her, but Areannia couldn¡¯t see how when the changeling couldn¡¯t even afford to keep her semi fueled!


    Areannia had never been to another shard. Or planet as some called them. They were visible in the night sky and sometimes in the day, except when there were heavy clouds threatening to drop snow at any moment like those currently looming over Nalia. The human holiday of Christmas was coming up soon and Areannia still had shopping to do, but here she was. Stuck in her black house cat form warming herself with the heater vents and windshield looking for any rays of the sun to pierce through. Her form was of average size for a house cat with deep onyx fur and little white socks.


    Cathy on the other hand, was busy staring at herself in the driver¡¯s mirror while Stevie idled away with a soft mechanical rumble. Or as soft as an un-muffled V12 could get. Bone shaking was one word Areannia used to describe it. Ear shattering when the two-stroke went flat out.


    The cat didn¡¯t know what her sister was looking for as Cathy tilted her head from side to side, leaning close in against the mirror to inspect her grimy half-elven disguise. Cathy used the open window for support, one hand holding her cheek as she turned her head to the other side. Her purple eyes glimmered softly with magic, looking like someone dumped a handful of glitter in them.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Cathy hummed softly. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Areannia meowed, ¡°About what?¡±


    The elf knew Cathy didn¡¯t know a damn word she meowed. It¡¯s why she picked the cat form. Areannia wanted to keep going, but the changeling wanted to wait. She was starting to see just why Cathy was in trouble with the broker. Her sister still wanted to go at her own schedule even on an important delivery. Something important enough to be pulled with a brand new trailer that still had the paper plates on it. Neither of them knew precisely what was inside beyond a large item that shifted around when Cathy had hit the brakes earlier that day.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I need a shower,¡± Cathy said, clearly not at all caring about what Areannia actually said. The cat opened her mouth to meow again, but the changeling continued, ¡°Look, Nia, this is the best option.¡±


    The window was as cold as death even with the heater on, but her onyx fur was like a heating blanket to Areannia. Her ears turned side to side with each noise she picked up; a car horn in the distance, a pressure washer washing down the side of a building, a truck parked next door playing a movie loud enough the bass of the voices could be heard through the sleeper walls. A nearby trailer''s refrigeration unit ran loudly.


    In the distance at the car fuel pumps, a pair of modern bright blue cars were filling up with gas next to an old purple Marion that caught Areannia¡¯s attention. The paint glimmered like a glass lake at night as it drove away from the pumps on tires that looked too tiny to support its weight. Its engine echoed loudly across the truck stop with a heavy growl.


    Cathy¡¯s hat lay on the shelf between the seats. She tried to look in the mirror and did for all of a split second, avoiding eye contact with her reflection. She looked at its hair above its head and reached for her own, but hesitated.


    ¡°Cathy?¡± Areannia meowed in an attempt to draw her sister¡¯s gaze from the mirror before what came next. The black and white cat got up from her perch and stared, waiting patiently to see if her fears were confirmed or not.


    Cathy¡¯s eye twitched visibly as the color slowly drained from her half-elven appearance. Her whole body, hair, and eyes took on a soft pale look akin to a living mannequin with vague facial features. The changeling¡¯s skin looked less like skin and more like a prosthetic limb with ever so faint lines where joints would be. Almost as if she was trying to mimic something mechanical rather than flesh and blood.


    Areannia rushed over and swiped at the air, claws extended out. She knew the only thing that could wake the changeling up from whatever her mind was in was pain. The cat¡¯s claws dug just enough to make their mark across a tattoo, but not enough Cathy would bleed.


    Cathy gasped, recoiling from the mirror as she held her bicep. "That fucking hurt!" She yelled. There was a short moment of silence until the changeling realized her form dropped and people could see her true appearance. Where the chaotic forearm tattoo was, was now a strange watch-like device Areannia recognized to be one given to military personnel. It was capable of things far beyond what Areannia knew. She only knew that it wasn''t really a watch. More akin to a personal computer than a time keeping device.


    Areannia watched her sister reach over to the watch and push a button on the side. A shimmer rippled across the changeling¡¯s skin as her appearance slowly shifted back to a half-elf with long and wild dark-green hair.


    She didn¡¯t know why Cathy didn¡¯t just pick human and never worry about someone mistaking her for an elf, but it likely had something to do with the fact that the changeling was pushing an age that a human would be dead. Indeed, there were very few changelings as old as Cathy. Areannia chalked it up to being born of an elf, but she wasn¡¯t sure anymore. Something wasn¡¯t right about Cathy. The changeling was acting more like she was much younger again. Cathy wouldn¡¯t ever consider working with Nael five years ago, but now? Areannia wasn¡¯t sure what was going through her sister¡¯s head.


    The black and white cat huffed softly through her nose and nodded firmly. Her job was done and she could go back to laying on the heater while Cathy checked over the scratch. Cathy frowned deeply at the mark running across a faded tattoo on her bicep.


    The tattoo was of a cowboy on a horse inside a crescent moon made of thorn covered vines with leaves covering most of the empty space around the moon. Parchment underneath held the text:


    R.I.P.


    Thomas Mure


    A fresh scratch ran along one of the vines, which made Cathy mutter, ¡°And now I¡¯ll need that touched up. Thanks for reminding me, I guess.¡±


    Areannia ears were turned forward, a soft look to her eyes as she hoped Cathy didn¡¯t stare into the mirror again. The cat rubbed at an ear in a motion like she was trying to cover it.


    Cathy nodded and followed suit by fluffing out her hair so it would look wild and completely hide her ears. "Yeah¡­ I saw it again. It''s only ever in this mirror though." She looked again in the mirror.


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Areannia hissed.


    Cathy rolled her eyes at Areannia. "Uh-huh. I suppose I''m lucky I never learned to speak with animals and you never learned to talk as a cat." She leaned toward the mirror once more and wiped the dirt away from her face as best she could. Cathy paused momentarily to look at her nails with a frown. ¡°I need a manicure if I''m going to see Vic when this load''s done.¡±


    It was then that Areannia noticed movement in the corner of her eye and looked that way just as a car came to a stop in front of the truck. The small hatchback was black and loaded with stuff inside of it. Enough so that it looked like the person was moving into or out of a semi. The car¡¯s driver door opened. As far as she was aware there was no escort for their load until they got outside the gate.


    "Stay here." Cathy whispered to Areannia. The changeling ran the thumb of her right hand along the inside of her fingers, whispering in a language Areannia didn¡¯t know. She then tapped the index, middle finger and thumb together a couple of times while speaking softly in that same strange language.


    ¡°What the hell are you going on about?¡± Areannia let out a soft hiss, her fur standing on edge.


    A pair of purple orbs appeared in Cathy''s right hand and the tattoo even filled two sections of itself with a bright glow. The orbs vanished just as quickly as they appeared, but Areannia felt the power oozing from the tattoo, letting the black and white cat know Cathy had somehow stored the spell away in the ink work. A strange feat not even Areannia knew how to do!


    "You!" a man in a flannel shirt shouted in common at the same time he got out of the car. He pointed a finger at Cathy, glaring hard enough that Areannia thought he was going to go in a blood rage.


    Oh for fucks sake. Am I going to have to turn into a lion and fight him off?


    "Me?" Cathy pointed at herself, eyebrow raised and face scrunched in confusion. "What about me, eh?"


    "You got me fired!" the man yelled while walking around the car.


    ¡°How?!¡± Cathy asked, waving at him. ¡°I ain''t ever met you!¡±


    "Your stupid stunt got me a big fucking ticket and made me run late! They fired me!"


    Cathy looked at Areannia. The cat had no idea what the man was on about, but there was one thing he could be referencing. Areannia remembered the other night along the highway leading away from the customs gate toward Nalia. She¡¯d been running Stevie at one-twenty along the open frigid road and listening to her music when she heard a familiar voice over the radio.


    ¡®Phantooooom!¡¯ a woman had called out as Areannia went around a slow moving semi. Well, slow was a relative term. They were going the speed limit and Areannia did not. The woman continued speaking while a set of lights crept up alongside Areannia in the far left lane, ¡®Ain¡¯t seen you in a couple of months! Wanna race?¡¯


    And so the elf raced Cathy''s daughter. With the random driver they just passed failing to keep up with both the transfer dump truck and Stevie. A small smile crossed Areannia¡¯s face as she remembered leaving Elora''s dump truck in the dust. Areannia looked at the man out the front window before Cathy realized the truth.


    By now the man was near Stevie''s door and quickly approaching. Cathy popped the door open and it looked to Areannia like the door tried to close on its own, but the changeling shoved it wide open and motioned for her sister to follow.


    Areannia hesitated. She didn''t want to follow through with whatever idea her sister had this time, but it wouldn''t be the first time. She quietly hopped onto the seat to take up a ready to pounce stance by crouching low, her mind focusing on listening and preparing another transformation into a much larger and deadlier cat.


    Cathy hopped down and faced the bearded man. They were around equal height with the changeling being perhaps an inch or two shorter than him. Could be the boots he had on while she had tennis shoes. She made sure to keep at least arm''s length away from the man so he couldn''t easily grab her.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "What stunt are you talking about?" Cathy kept her distance as she eyed the man closely, making sure she had enough room to move her hands. Even Areannia could see this.


    The man stared back with the fury of a berserker about to go into a blood red rage. "Don''t play stupid! I know this is the truck that raced the dump truck yesterday. I was there!¡±


    Areannia¡¯s eye twitched. Fuck.


    Cathy slowly glanced at Stevie and kept one eye on the man. "Oohhh! I think you''ve got my truck confused with another! Same thing happened to the Diesel Bear yesterday." She gave the man a dismissive shrug and shook her head.


    He half-laughed and smirked, wagging a finger at Cathy. "No, no. Your charm might''ve fooled the bear, but I know I have the right truck. You¡¯re one of the few cabovers with a single stack Centura.¡± He pointed to the engine manufacturer logo behind the door on the side of the cab. ¡°You even have a tooth-like pattern of fog lights on the bumper and massive fucking antennas.¡±


    ¡°All common accessories.¡± Cathy waved dismissively at him and shook her head.


    ¡°This is the same truck, I know it is. I can feel it!"


    ¡°How can you feel it?¡± Cathy raised an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°It gives off a distinct aura when I look at it.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Cathy asked, tilting her head some.


    ¡°It feels like a living, breathing person when I look at it.¡±


    Cathy''s eyes narrowed at the man. The way he got her attention was completely wrong if he wanted help. No, he likely wanted to harm her, but that brought up the question of why he hadn¡¯t attacked Cathy yet.


    She took a breath and turned sideways to the man, moving her hand up to her chin. "Let''s say I am, eh? Are you going to beat me up in broad daylight? You don''t know me at all. I could be capable of turning into a mountain lion and ripping you to shreds, turning you into a harmless sheep, a necromancer looking for a new unboxing test subject, or even¡­ a dark temptress in disguise!" Cathy let out an echoing cackle that made Areannia shiver slightly.


    "I could be anything!" the changeling held her hands out to her sides. Her voice had drifted from its usual human-like tones to a more melodic elven tone, her eyes flickering with light. "But! So could you." Cathy pointed at the man. "Which has me curious. Why hunt me down if I am the person you claim I am?"


    "For some reason, I feel like of those options, you''re the dark temptress." The man took a step back from her and shook his head, trying to grab his head.


    Cathy stepped toward the man. She snapped her fingers to create a spark of flame as large purple butterfly wings appeared on her back. She giggled once more at him, her eyes flaring bright with power. "Very close¡­ wrong! But close enough. Now answer the question, peasant."


    "I''m not a peasant first off. Second off¡­ I don''t know. I¡¯m still angry you cost me my job, but you know what? This is stupid. How about we forget what happened and go our separate ways?"


    "I''ve already forgotten.¡± Cathy gave a shrug and a smirk. "Almost as if I slept through the whole ordeal. Now before you go I''d like to ask you one question."


    "You''re going to seduce me, aren''t you?" the man asked.


    "The underworld would melt before I tried to seduce you!" Cathy shivered at the thought and rubbed her shoulders. "What the fuck made you think that, eh?!"


    "Well you are acting like a damn succubus and casting a charm on me!"


    "I am not!" Cathy gasped and stepped back, placing her hand to her breast. Her wings flared out, her eyes wide and mouth agape.


    Areannia finally piped in with a meow of her own. ¡°Are, too!¡±


    This made Cathy look back at her and frown. "Not in the slightest! Why is it that whenever I try to be nice people assume I want to seduce them, eh?!"


    "The wings conjured with magic?¡± the man replied.


    ¡°They''re my actual wings! I hide them with magic,¡± Cathy corrected, throwing a thumb toward the semi. ¡°Hard to sit in a seat with them out.¡±


    ¡°Your sweet voice? Your graceful movements? The magic I can feel in your eyes?" the man added and motioned at Cathy. "Honestly, it''s hard to not feel entranced watching you move right now."


    She twirled her hand and spoke softly. ¡°Then why don''t you leave me alone, eh?¡±


    He quickly shook his head again and tapped the side of his head. ¡°Dammit! Get out of my head, woman!¡±


    Cathy placed her hands to her forehead and took a deep breath before letting it out, relaxing a bit. She clapped her hands together and stretched them out over her head. When she brought them down, she took another breath and focused on causing her wings and charm to dissipate. When they were gone, Cathy nodded and spoke once more, "Well, since I clearly flunked the final exam in succubi school, you are stuck with my poor attempts at articulating this half-elven form. But anyway! Let''s move¡ª"


    "There''s a school for becoming a succubus?" the man questioned, tilting his head.


    Areannia let out a meow, ¡°I¡¯d like to know this information, too.¡±


    "Oh for fucks sake!¡± Cathy yelled. ¡°No! They''re fiends, you moron! Do I look like a fiend, eh?¡±


    ¡°No, but you¡¯re acting like one!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Areannia meowed.


    Cathy let out a loud groan. ¡°I swear¡­ I''m going to drown you both in a barrel of diesel if you don''t shut up about succubi!"


    Areannia hissed at Cathy, baring her fangs. ¡°Rosco will find you.¡±


    Cathy pointed at Areannia, shaking her head from side to side. "Yes, I know he is, but I also know a place they''ll never find your bodies. They. Will never. Find you two. Never, never, never."


    This made Areannia roll her eyes.


    "Alright!" the man exclaimed and waved to Cathy. "Let¡¯s drop it. What was your question anyway?"


    Cathy faced the man with a small nod. "Right! As I was going to ask. You''re jobless, yes?" He nodded to her, but said nothing, so she continued, "And you seem the knowledgeable sort when it comes to semis. So tell me this; can you fill out a paper logbook?"


    "I was taught, but I haven''t done it yet. We had those magical logs in the truck at my last company. They shifted themselves, but I do know how to manually shift. The instructor even said I was the best of the group!"


    "Uh-huh¡­ you¡¯ll probably break the transmission within a month. Now, what spells are you familiar with?"


    "Well, I know when someone is trying to charm me." He motioned at Cathy. "No offense."


    She shrugged. "You''re not my type anyway. How about the muffle charm?"


    "Oh yeah! I used that one every time I went to sleep. Made the truck nice and quiet like a forest."


    Cathy opened her mouth to reply, but looked back at Areannia instead. The cat was busy covering her nose with both paws, eyes shut. "Tell me about it." Cathy mumbled, knowing a forest is anything but quiet. Tranquil at times, but not quiet if you moved like you belonged there and not a rampaging lunatic.


    "Let''s see, what else¡­" he thought about it and hummed quietly to himself. Then, it was as if a lightbulb went off above his head and he snapped his fingers. "Aha! I can read a physical map and navigate without those magical maps.¡±


    "Alright. Are you familiar with the invisibility charm? Lightning pulse? Blur?"


    The man shook his head. "Not with those, no. Why would you need a lightning attack?"


    "For when we go beyond the walls and come under attack. All trucks that go into the wastes have their own vehicular spells. Which means¡­ you only hauled within the city limits."


    "Yes. Is that bad?"


    "Nope! Welcome aboard." Cathy turned around and began climbing up the steps into the cab of her truck.


    "Wait. What do you mean ¡®welcome aboard?!"


    Cathy waved for the man to follow her. "Not every succubus is after sex. Sex is boring to me, I prefer cuddles instead. I''m also after knowledge from within the mind of someone unique. Go, park your car and come with me, and you''ll be dragged into a world you never knew existed."


    The man stared up at her for the longest moments before nodding. "Give me ten minutes, okay? Don''t leave."


    Cathy shrugged at the man before pointing at him. "I''m not even going to turn the truck on. But I will say this and it is very important that you do this; Before you even think of climbing in the cab and turning the key I want you to pat the truck on the logo and bow to it. Explain to her what you are going to do, but do not mention your actual name. Make one up. Failure to follow these instructions will bring misfortune on you. I am not joking about this. I am deathly serious right now."


    "That sounds stupid. Why?"


    "This is what happened to my last trainee who didn''t listen to that first step."


    Cathy picked up Areannia in a hug and gave her a pat on the head. The cat hissed at Cathy in reply but was purring ever so softly from the hug.


    "Ah¡­ I''ll be back."


    Cathy waited for the man to drive off. She looked down at Areannia in her lap and gave her another head pat, followed by ear scratches. "So¡­ are you going to stay like this or not?"


    Areannia purred loudly and nodded at the reply, a small smile crossing her face.


    "Good idea. No telling what that man will actually do, but it can¡¯t hurt to have another minion."


    The smile faded as Areannia looked up at Cathy and frowned. ¡°I am not your minion,¡± the cat hissed, followed by letting out a quiet meow. ¡°Can we please just keep going and have no interruptions? You know how dad is.¡±


    *** ***


    "Do I really have to pat the logo?" the man asked Catherine as he stood with his hands folded across his chest. His short black hair was now hidden from prying eyes by a lightly worn cowboy hat. He stood arms length away from the old green truck with Catherine leaned on the cab watching him.


    The man made a note that she had changed into a loose t-shirt with a soft drink logo on it and baggy cargo pants over tennis shoes and a toque to cover her hair despite the fact that it was two degrees out. In her hands were a knife she used to whittle a stick into a strange oval shape. She was keeping the shavings in a bowl that was sitting on the truck''s floorboard next to her head.


    "Eh, you don¡¯t have to. But ya just might turn into a cat or worse, be cursed." Catherine paused what she was doing to glance up at the man, eyebrow raised. "I''m fine with that outcome to be honest, because then I don''t have to deal with you.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± he asked.


    She shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be back."


    The man shot a frown in her direction.


    "Do I tell it my name now or after I touch it?" He reached out to touch the logo with his hand, stopping just short of physically touching the logo.


    "You do not tell Stevie your real name, but you tell her at the same time."


    Now that he was up close and personal with the truck he noticed the logo for what it was. It wasn''t your garden variety logo of the company name above the radiator. The words had been replaced at some point with a small deer''s skull carved from a large ruby complete with metal antlers that acted as a grab handle. Emeralds where the eye sockets would be and all of it was polished to perfection. It glittered in the light giving off an otherworldly appearance.


    "What''s with the skull?" The man leaned closer for a better look and saw his reflection staring back at him. But in the chaotic light reflecting off the logo, he saw a shadow behind himself. It was tall and had antlers much like the hood ornament. Soft whispers floated on the wind beckoning him closer to the skull, egging on him to touch it. To pull it from the truck and embrace his destiny. He heard giggling coming from within the skull itself as a silver haired half-elf¡¯s face appeared and stared at him.


    Catherine looked up just in time to see the man nose to nose with Stevie. His hand and nose almost touched the grill while dark tendrils of magic flowed from the semi¡¯s grill and began wrapping themselves around his head. The changeling paused momentarily to watch, a spell already forming in her mind in case the truck decided to eat him, but whatever happens to the man happens. It wasn''t like Catherine could just stop Stevie from doing what Stevie wants.


    The man touched the logo and looked toward Catherine with glowing eyes and spoke in a fairly calm voice, "It''s asking for my name."


    "And you gave it a random name, correct?" She asked.


    He nodded. "I see why you have a strict procedure. This truck is possessed by a spirit."


    "Somewhat." Catherine nodded once more and set the stick and knife on the floorboard next to the bowl. "Even the one you had driven was possessed, but I don''t blame you for not knowing. Most humans aren''t tuned to pick it out from a random machine."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Did it ever have any quirks you couldn''t understand? Any¡­" the changeling shrugged, twirling her hands in a small ball in front of her which she then tossed toward the ground. The ball of purple energy bounced, and flew toward the man, exploding in a shower of harmless dust. "Any instances of persistent electrical gremlins? Perhaps the turbo boosting beyond what it was set to, eh?¡±


    "The radio would come on randomly in the night every once in a while and sometimes change stations while driving. All without me touching it." His eyes still glowed while he talked to Catherine.


    Catherine slowly nodded at this and motioned at Stevie. "Like Stevie, your truck was given a personality through the workers who built them. Each minute of them pouring their hearts into crafting the finest machine they could left emotional fragments behind. Although I suspect yours was tailored for your company and built in a batch. Stevie is wild, she is untamed and I can guarantee you she was built on a Monday. She has the quirks of a truck built on a hangover."


    Almost as if the truck was physically listening to the conversation, the air dryer let out a soft hiss as if air leaked, but then it sneezed loudly.


    "And she proves my point. Now, you could give Stevie part of your name. It really doesn''t matter." Catherine shrugged. ¡°She will find out one way or the other.¡±


    The man looked at the truck''s grill where his palm connected to metal. It looked perfectly fine aside from his glowing fingertips and tendrils of energy swirling around his hand like the semi was trying to pet it.


    "Harold. My friends call me Harry," he said finally. No sooner had the words left his lips when a ball of white energy exploded in his face, sending him sprawling to the ground with a thunderous roar. Catherine walked over to his body and knelt next to him, waiting for him to move.


    He let out a groan and rolled onto his side, covering his face. "What¡­ what did you do to me¡­?" he managed to say between taking slow, deep breaths.


    "I did nothing. Stevie on the other hand? She accepted you." Catherine withdrew a hand length red vial from her pants pocket and broke the wax seal, quickly uncorking it. A tiny bit of sparkling red mist flowed out from the vial while the contents swirled and glowed brightly.


    "That was acceptance?! I placed my hand¡­ then I''m on the ground again!" He groaned.


    "Shut up and drink the potion, Harry. You''ll feel better." Catherine offered it to the man. He peeked at her through the gaps in his fingers, eyeing the vial. It took him a moment to reach for it, but he downed the vial.


    When Catherine saw he looked healthy enough, she held out a small wooden key shaped to look identical to the key most Stephenson trucks came with.


    The man eyed the key, the changeling and then slowly took the key from her. "What is this?" he asked, bringing the key closer to his face. As for the key, there was no S carved into it, but rather the key had a glowing elven rune on one side and a butterfly on the other.


    "It''s a spiritual key to Stevie. Keep it safe, eh? I''m the only one who can make those, so if you ever lose it you''ll find your ability to drive her disappearing." Catherine shook a finger at Harold and frowned deeply, narrowing her eyes.


    "But I was rejected!¡± he whined. ¡°Clearly I''m supposed to just be a fuck-up all my life who never¨C"


    Catherine''s frown became a scowl just before she slapped the man across the face. "No! I won''t tolerate shit like that! You ain''t a fuck-up, Harry. Just a person whose luck has changed is all. It''ll get better, trust me."


    ¡°It will?¡± He blinked a few times as he stared into her purple eyes.


    She nodded. ¡°Yes. It will get better. I was once like you, but far worse off. Now look at me, eh?¡± The changeling waved toward the semi. "Queen of my own semi."


    Areannia the cat remained quiet from her perch on Stevie''s dashboard as she stared down at the two, her tail flicking from one side to the other. She had seen everything. The pieces were falling into place one by one and she wasn''t sure if she liked it, but she had agreed to the load. Now there was a strange man on board. Three full size people in a space barely big enough for two?


    This is going to be a long weekend, Areannia thought as her gaze went from the two people to the rest of the truck stop where she saw many vehicles of all colors parked across the lot.