by Mark Taylor
“How are we doing?” Excalibur asked.
“Mary has done well,” Dina replied, “she is stronger now than before. It will be enough.”
Mary slumped back into her chair. “I don’t think I can keep that up for long.”
Dina smiled at her. “You have done well. Tell me, where do we need to be to find the graves of those you seek?”
“They should be in or around Salem, Massachusetts,” Mary replied.
“As I expected. It is a two day drive to get there, so we should leave soon.”
“Is there no way to…” Mary thought for a second and gestured with her hands, “…poof?”
“Poof?” Excalibur laughed.
Dina’s smile elongated, “For the three of us, yes, we can migrate through space to a certain extent by the power of our mind, but you still do not have the power to do it yourself. Two of us will go ahead, path the way, and find those we seek. Mary,” she looked at her, “you and Excalibur will follow behind in the car.”
Mary looked to Excalibur who bore the face of a punished child.
“It will give the two of you time to…bond. Besides, the four of us travelling together will only rouse the Essence Mongers, especially if they are looking for us. Mary, you will need to supply me with the details of those you wish raised before you leave, and once there, Excalibur will be able to find us.”
“Fine. When do you want to leave?”
“There is no time like the present.”
***
Excalibur opened her eyes. “Where are we?”
“Missouri. You’ve only been asleep for a couple of hours.” Mary kept her eyes on the road.
“So what’s the plan? When do you want to stop for a rest?”
Mary glanced at the clock on the dash, it was eight in the evening and getting dark, “I reckon we find a motel around twelve, see if we can’t get six hours or so before sun up.”
“You choose the place, but make sure there’s a bar there somewhere.”
Mary sniggered. “Can’t you just conjure something up?”
“World class chefs still like to have meals made for them, don’t they?” She closed her eyes again.
“So why did you take the name Excalibur?”
“Why not?” she replied, without opening her eyes.
Right. “How long have you known Dina?”
“Does it matter?”
Mary decided against trying to continue the conversation further, for now.
As her eyelids hung tired, Mary watched the motel sign come up on them. It was eleven twenty. “Excalibur.” She nudged her sleeping passenger.
“What?” Excalibur muttered as she seemed to struggle to open her eyes.
“We’re here. Outland Motel, bar and all.”
That seemed to wake Excalibur. She opened her eyes and looked out of the window. “Bit of a dive, but it’ll do.”
Mary pulled into the parking lot and swung the car over by the offices, drawing to a stop. She got out and grabbed her travel bag from the rear of the car, and Excalibur got out and joined her by the door.
Mary looked her up and down, still dressed in the same clothes she was wearing when they met. “You sure travel light.”
Excalibur sighed and rolled her eyes. She opened the door of the car and took out a travel bag identical to Mary’s; one that hadn’t there a second ago. “Happy now?” she asked.
“So what’s in it?”
Excalibur looked at her with hang dog eyes. “What do you want to be in it?”
“Is it full of money?” Mary reached, knowing that it could be full of whatever Excalibur wanted it to be.
“I’m not a performing seal you know.” She carried her bag around Mary and over to the office door. “Well…are you coming?”
The two of them entered the dingy, poorly lit office and rung the bell on the counter. A disheveled looking man—who had probably been asleep—came out from the back. “What can I do for you two,” he paused and looked at Excalibur, “ladies?”
“Two rooms please,” Mary replied.
“For the night or by the hour?” he asked.
Excalibur snorted in contempt. “The night. What time does the bar next door close?”
“Single or double? Whenever they feel like it,” he countered.
“Single,” Mary cut in, “and do they serve food?”
“Yeah.” The man behind the counter turned away and started flipping through the keys that were hanging from nails on the wall.
“Make mine a double.” Excalibur gave a sharp glare to Mary, intimating that she should not make her decisions for her.
The man chose two keys and turned back to them. “That’ll be eighty bucks.”
Mary went to pull her bag from her shoulder, but before she had time, Excalibur had placed her bag on the counter and opened the zipper just far enough to slide her hand in. She pulled out a small pile of notes, and rolled off eighty. As she did, she looked at Mary and winked at her. A bag full of money? Show off.
He placed the key to Ten in front of Mary and the key to Eleven with Excalibur. “Will there be anything else?”
Excalibur picked up her key. “No,” she looked at Mary, “come on, Tinkerbell, let’s drop our stuff and get next door.”
Mary sighed, picked up her key and followed Excalibur out into the parking lot. Leaving the car where it was, they walked over to the rooms and along to Ten. “I’ll just drop this and then be out,” Mary said.
Excalibur didn’t stop walking. “Whatever.”
Mary watched her walk one door down, open the door just enough to slip the bag in and drop it, and then close and lock the door.
“Ready?”
Mary shook her head and opened the door to Ten, dropping her bag just inside, the same as Excalibur. “Ready.”
The two of them walked back across the parking lot and into the adjacent lot of Billy’s.
Excalibur admired the line of motorcycles outside the front. “Looks like my sort of place.” She stepped towards the door, “Coming?”
Mary followed slowly behind, somewhat dubious about eating in a place like this.
As Excalibur opened the door the smell of stale cigarette smoke flooded out, the noise of the jukebox filled the air and the sound of raucous fun joined it. Inside, it looked to Mary like a typical hillbilly biker bar, full of men wearing jeans two sizes too small and lumberjack shirts, topped with cowboy hats. The smell of testosterone was overbearing. The interior design of the place seemed to be built around cattle skulls on the walls and damaged old wood chairs and tables. She felt like everyone was watching her.
Excalibur led them over to an empty table and the two of them sat. “Now this is my type of place…you keep the table and I’ll get us a drink, what are you having?” she called over the music.
Mary shook her head. “I just want to eat.”
“Suit yourself.” Excalibur left the table and went over to the bar, clearly attracting some male attention—she was after all dressed mostly in lace, and even from Mary’s point of view, had a stunning figure.
She returned a moment later with two glasses, the one she sat in front of herself was a dark brown, and the one she placed in front of Mary was clear. “She said we can’t eat if we don’t drink.”
Mary nodded and picked up the water. “Are they bringing a menu?” She raised the glass to her mouth.
Excalibur laughed. “Menu? Does this look like a restaurant? I hope you like cheeseburgers. They’ll bring them over in five.”
Mary did like them—but would have preferred a choice. She took a gulp of the water. At first, she assumed that the burning sensation in her mouth was due to dehydration, and then when she swallowed, she realized. Almost choking the words out, she said, “This isn’t water…”
Excalibur laughed again, “When I said drink…I meant drink. Vodka.”
Mary looked at it. It had to be close to a coffee cup full. Of vodka. Joy. She looked around the bar, two or three bikers (she could tell bec
ause of their leather vests over inked skin and bandanas emblazoned with the flag) were arguing over the pool table, some others were playing cards at one of the tables and looking shiftily at each other and others were just wandering around. The dance floor was empty and stools at the bar, full. Occasionally scantily dressed waitresses scurried around the collected men, wearily bypassing the drunken advances and harassment suits waiting to happen. Not that they would happen—not in a hole like this.
Sipping her vodka, Mary tried to examine Excalibur without her seeing. She watched her over the rim of her glass. Excalibur held a certain grace to her, she was pale skinned and her eyes darted from left to right constantly. She was ever vigilant…almost vampiric. Of course, they had died out in the dark ages. She was stunningly attractive, but Mary knew she already knew that.
“What?” Excalibur’s piercing eyes flitted directly into Mary’s.
Mary looked away, “Sorry.” She glanced casually around the bar, then back. “So, how old are you?”
“That’s a bit personal.” Excalibur drained the rest of her drink. “Why?”
“I just wondered. It’s just that…It’s just that you seem very comfortable. As if you grew up, well, now.”
Excalibur smiled. “I’m older than you, trust me.”
Whilst they were distracted, two of the bar’s drunker patrons had shuffled over to the table. Each of them was a colossus of a man, draped in denim, leather, heavily bearded and cowboy hatted. As Mary looked up, the first leaned down and rested his two giant paws on the table, and looked straight at Excalibur. “Hey girl, now you is a fine looking female, and my partner and me was just wondering if we could join you and your friend here for what might be a fine evening. Hell, when the two of you walked in, my night got a whole lot better.” He breathed a mixture of unpleasant smells out over the table.
Excalibur looked at him with a slight smile, and Mary couldn’t tell if she was amused, or about to pounce. “I don’t think so, gentlemen.”
The man seemed surprised, as if this tactic of consuming as much alcohol and food as possible was a sure fire winner with the ladies. “Now hold on missy…” he lifted his hand from the table and gripped Excalibur’s arm. “I don’t like that tone in my girls.”
From the look on Excalibur’s face—if only for an instant—he was gripping her hard enough to hurt.
Mary closed her eyes, concentrated on what Dina had said, and pictured what she wanted in her mind.
The man grunted and tried to stand, gripped at his own groin—releasing Excalibur—and staggered slightly, only to be supported by his equally abhorrent, quieter, friend.
Mary opened her eyes and watched him stagger away; the air around the table cleared of his stench and was filled by a new air of his expletives. She looked at Excalibur, who in turn was looking at Mary’s own hand resting on the table, clenched like she was squashing a tennis ball.
“Thanks, but you didn’t need to,” Excalibur shot her a small smile.
“I wanted to…I need the practice.”
“At least I know you’re willing to open your mind to new things. I’ll bet you couldn’t do that two days ago.”
Mary shook her head shyly. “No.”
A waitress circled around the floor to them and placed two plates on the table in front of them. “Cheeseburgers as ordered, ladies; I told chef rare as you asked, but at this time of night you gets what he makes. On another note, if you two ladies have got a secret to persuading guys like Sam and Bobby to leave you alone after they’re tanked up, please feel free to share.”
Mary and Excalibur exchanged a knowing look, and then Mary said, “You’d be surprised what a polite word can do.”
The waitress looked at Mary with an I-don’t-believe-you look, turned away and called after her, “Enjoy your meal.”
Mary picked up her burger. “Rare? That’s unusual.”
“I’m unusual,” Excalibur replied as she sunk her teeth into hers.
Mary had left Excalibur at the bar and returned to her room. It was now one in the morning. Knowing that Excalibur was unlikely to want to do any of the driving in the morning, and judging by the state of her when she had left, unable to do it regardless, Mary wanted some sleep. She showered quickly, changed and turned down bed. It wasn’t what she was used to, but she made do with the facilities at hand, too tired to be bothered to change any of them.
As she settled into the bed, a light knocking came at the door. She got back out of the bed and opened the door, only ajar. Outside was Excalibur—looking worse for wear with alcohol—and two men, both as equally vacant looking as the other.
“Do you want one, Tink?” she slurred.
Mary smiled, “No, thanks, I’ve got a lot of driving to do in the morning.”
“Suit yourself…more for me.” Excalibur returned the smile.
Mary shut the door and went back to bed. After only a few minutes—probably aided by the vodka, Mary started to drift off to sleep. Then the squeaking started.
Eek, eek, eek.
It was slow at first and only just enough to pull Mary back from slipping away. What the Hell is that?
Eek, eek, eek.
As she concentrated on the sound it became faster, and slightly more rhythmic. Then she realized what it was.
Hopefully Excalibur would wear them out quickly.
She didn’t.
Mary’s sleep was broken badly—not because of the noises coming from next door—but because she was torn between annoyed and staring at the ceiling, and in a drowsy haze, sometimes feeling as though she had left her body behind on the bed and was drifting in the room…free of the shackles of her own weight. Each time she awoke, when she tried to get back to sleep, her mind filled with the memory of the power that she felt the morning previously, and the way that she seemed to be able to control at least some things around her without chants or runes.
Perhaps it was just the excitement of what was to come.
In the morning, Mary was up at six just as the sun came over the horizon, dressed and hair done, and was waiting for Excalibur by the car three minutes later.
She stood in a cool breeze and the sun painted the buildings around her with an orange hue. Come on. She glanced at her watch. She knows she’s supposed to be out at six. As she stared in annoyance at the door to Eleven, it opened and two rather sheepish looking men exited. Neither of them spoke, and by the looks in their eyes they had no idea of what had happened the night before, or perhaps who the other was…or indeed, what they might have done with each other. It raised a small grin on Mary’s face.
Two minutes later, Excalibur left the room dressed as she was the night before, and walked over to the car. “Ready?” she asked quite cheerfully.
Mary rounded the car to the driver’s side. “Dirty girl,” she chuckled at Excalibur.
The two of them got in the car and Excalibur turned to Mary, “Hey,” she smiled, “perks of the job.”
V
“If we can get near Erie before eight tonight, we’ll be with Dina before lunch tomorrow.” Mary didn’t take her eyes off the road whilst she spoke. “How are you feeling?”
Excalibur opened her eyes enough to look blearily back and grunt.
“Rough night…no sleep?”
Excalibur sat up straight—clearly out of defiance. “Ha ha,” her tone was dry, “what time is it?”
“Two, we’re making good time.”
“Time for lunch, me thinks.” Excalibur looked out of the car window at the passing houses on the side of the road. “I want chicken. Find somewhere to stop.”
“Please.” Mary only teased, but perhaps Excalibur wasn’t in the mood.
“Please stop at a chicken place, or you’re driving the rest of the way on your own.”
Mary cleared her throat, rolled her eyes and looked around for a stop. They were only just on the edge of town so there should be somewhere.
“Ooh,” Excalibur pointed out the window at a sign, “Clucky Bucket, that’ll do.�
��
It’s like having a child in the car…
Mary turned into the parking lot and stopped in a space. “Let’s make this quick.”
They got out of the car and went in. It was as typical a fried chicken place on the inside as it was on the outside. Before they had even sat down, Excalibur had a menu in her hand. “I’ll have the Mega Deal for two.”
“Is that all?” Mary asked rhetorically and with a hint of sarcasm. She took the menu from her and glanced over it.
The waitress came up immediately, as if she was waiting for them to sit. “What can I get ya?”
Mary dropped the menu to the table, “A Mega Deal for two, a Billy Bacon Burger, and two coffees, thank you.” The waitress jotted it on her pad, turned away and left.
“Hungry?” Mary asked absently, trying not to agitate Excalibur further. She really didn’t want to drive the rest of the way on her own.
“I like chicken.” She sat back, “Besides, I need the energy.”
“You’re not going to do that again tonight, are you? We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
Excalibur raised her eyebrows and sat forward again, “Listen,” her voice took on a more serious note—one Mary hadn’t heard before, “don’t worry about that. Dina will have it all arranged for when we get there. We’ll get it done.”
Mary was somewhat taken aback by her change in temperament. “Thanks…” She didn’t know what else to say.
After the food was dumped on the table with all the grace of a sow (by a waitress moving so fast she looked like a spirit flicking in and out the shadows), the two of them ate. It was hard for Mary to tell how much chicken was in the bucket without looking like she was looking, but it looked a lot.
They ate in silence, but it was quite clear to Mary that Excalibur really did like chicken. Possibly more than she liked people…certainly more than she liked her.
Mary glanced down at her burger, the cheese oozing slightly from where she had bitten, and then back up. Excalibur was gone. She had only looked away for a split second.
