“How?” she finally asked as she brought her hand to her head, the Sunflower Kid massaging her temples. “The last thing I remember was Albuquerque.”
“You were in Albuquerque?”
“With Zephyr. And then…”
“Zephyr, huh? Let’s circle back to her, I need to tell you what we got planned.”
“We?”
Sterling looked the teenager up and down, starting from her moccasins to the off-white tunic that she wore, dozens of bracelets on her arms, strands of her dark hair now beating in the wind. “I’ll get to that part. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Everything?” she asked, Sterling knowing exactly what she was insinuating.
“As much as I can.” He turned away from her for a moment, and when he turned back, he had a rolling paper and some tobacco in his hand. Sterling quickly rolled up a cigarette and lit it.
“You’re still smoking?” She was crouched now, examining a crack in the soil. With a wave of her hand she summoned a small sunflower, which quickly grew in size until it was as tall as her, the yellow petals vibrant against the beige landscape, the green of the stem and its sepals almost alien.
“What level are you now?” Sterling asked.
“Level 50. You?”
“Damn. Last I remember you were somewhere in the 30s.”
“It has been three years.”
“It sure has. Three long years. I’m at Level 61. Just leveled up, actually.”
Even though she looked like a sixteen-year-old girl, maybe even younger, Sterling knew she was older than that. The Sunflower Kid didn’t age, a result of her biomancer power.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“I have some fruit.”
Strawberries began to press out of the enormous sunflower she had created. “I forgot you could do that.”
“Do you want some strawberries?”
“Strawberries, huh? It has been years since I had one of them.” Sterling let her pick most of the strawberries while he smoked a cigarette. Once he finished, he picked one as well and squeezed it, noticing how plump the strawberry was.
“No wonder they wanted you so badly back there.”
“Who wanted me?” she asked.
“Yeah, I guess we should start there. Sorry, like I said, it’s been a night. If you want to know why you woke up on my shoulder, it was because a cult took you, specifically the Culto Demente Sagrado, and they were holding you hostage outside of Mountainair. I heard that you had been captured, and from what I could tell, they forced you to use your powers to really fortify their fortress. You even grew a jungle in there.”
“I can’t grow a jungle,” she said, “not without a hydromancer.”
“Do you know a hydromancer?”
“I don’t remember anything aside from the hydromancer that Zephyr and I knew in Albuquerque. His name was Cristobal.”
“Shee-it, sounds like he might have sold you out. I don’t know, but there was definitely a jungle. I ain’t never seen nothing like that before. It was a completely self-contained jungle, like, what’s that word?”
“A botanical garden?”
“There’s the word.”
“I read about a botanic garden in the nation’s capital, the United States Botanic Garden. Are you familiar with it?”
“All I know is that the capitol was in Washington, D.C. There’s no telling what’s there now, hell, the whole East Coast for that matter. I’m imagining a dense, urban environment like that really didn’t do so well after the Reset.”
The Sunflower Kid continued. “The Botanic Garden was established in 1820 by the U.S. Congress. The oldest botanic garden in all of North America. The facilities there included a garden court, a rare and endangered plants conservatory, an orchid house, medicinal plants, desert plants, plants from Hawaii, jungle specimens, and a children’s garden…”
Sterling popped the strawberry in his mouth, the burst of tart and sweet flavor making his senses tingle for a moment. This reminded him of his skeletal arm, which was still exposed because his duster was in his inventory list, the Kid either not noticing it or not saying anything about his bone arm if she had.
“…the Vessel Fern was held there, and it was believed to be the direct progeny of a plant brought back during the United States Exploring Expedition of the Pacific Ocean and the West Coast.”
“Is that so?” Sterling asked her. When not quiet and keeping to herself, the Sunflower Kid could rattle off facts like the best of them. She was a heavy reader, and she had been known before to drone on and on about a variety of subjects, the teenager with a photographic memory when it came to things she’d read. This was at odds with her overall personality, which was easy-going to the point that she seemed lackadaisical at times, simply floating by on the wind.
“Let me stop you right there, because believe me, I’m interested in this botanical garden, but we’ve got other things to discuss,” Sterling told her. “So, you either made that jungle in there, or you didn’t. Either way, it was impressive.”
“As I said, I can’t make something like that without a hydromancer.” The Sunflower Kid ate another berry, Sterling on his fifth or sixth strawberry by this point. “I’m able to do certain things, but I’m not able to sustain something that large. You said it was a compound, correct? How come I don’t remember any of that?”
“That I can explain. A telemancer, a nasty one at that. I saw people in cages in there too, plus they were clearly using your power to run that place. Come anywhere within half a mile or so of the fortress and,” Sterling snapped his fingers, “a telemancer takes over. That’s how they get their recruits.”
“So the telemancer was running the cult, and exploited my powers. Which would make sense, because I don’t remember anything about a jungle. My last memories are of being in Albuquerque,” she said, slowly putting the pieces together.
“A telemancer will do that to you. And the reason your shirt is bloody is I had to shoot you, and then knock you out, to get you out of there. Sorry about that; my hands were tied.”
The Sunflower Kid popped another strawberry in her mouth, her lips red. She tossed the green part to the ground. “Why did you rescue me exactly?”
“Aside from the fact that I would have come for you anyway had I heard you’d been captured, that wasn’t exactly the case in the beginning. My story starts a little over a week ago, at least I think it’s been a little over a week. The days have sort of all collided together. Anyhow, I was minding my own business at my pepper farm outside of Truth or Consequences when a Godwalker shows up and destroys my farm. Some bandits known as the Killbillies, obviously no relation to the Godwalkers, also showed up at the exact same time to fuck with me. We’ll be dealing with them Killbillies at some point, but more on them later. After seeing my farm destroyed, I realized pretty quickly that it was time to set out to do what I, what we, tried to do a couple years back.”
“Tried and failed,” the Sunflower Kid said, her tone indifferent.
“Yup, aware.” Sterling shook his head. And after a short breath out he continued. “I rode on down to Las Cruces in search of Don Gasper, hoping the old shaman would point me in your direction, Roxy and Zephyr as well.”
“Zephyr is in Albuquerque.”
“You ain’t the first to tell me, and we’ll get to that part in a moment. Anyway, as you can imagine, any time spent with Don Gasper is unpredictable and ripe for the depravity. Las Cruces itself is war-torn at the moment due to a battle between the White Sands Militia and the Killbillies, the two dipshit groups vying for power in southern New Mexico. I managed to get out of Las Cruces with my hat on my head and a riddle about your location that a coyote gave to me. I suppose that sounds crazy. Anyhow, I was left with a choice: either go after you, or go see if I couldn’t break Roxy out, who just so happens to be imprisoned by the militia I mentioned. Gasper seemed to think I should go for you first, and here we are, on our way down south to get Roxy.”
The Sunflower Kid
simply nodded, no judgment.
“To get back to the riddle this coyote told me: all I knew about your location was that it was north. I couldn’t figure out the damn riddle. Along my way north, I came to a Hopi pueblo, a new one, not far off the interstate. Made a few friends there, including a solimancer. They helped me solve the riddle, they also told me about a guy trying to kill me, a cryomancer bounty hunter named Ram. The Hopi knew about the cultists’ compound, and I verified it was you by the wall of cactus you erected around the structure. I couldn’t go any closer on account of the telemancer. So I continued to head north via the Turquoise Trail to get tech from Raylan. Remember him?”
She nodded.
“After some bullshit I don’t want to get into, I eventually reached Madrid, where Raylan lives. He fashioned this here hat for me,” Sterling said as he took off his cowboy hat. “Which has something in the hatband here that prevents telepathy. That was good and well, but the next morning, Ram the bounty hunter showed up, and ended up cutting off my arm in the fight that followed.”
“You want me to fix your arm?”
“Actually, yes, I just thought I needed to explain why it was missing in the first place. A little context never hurt nobody.”
“I can do it now while you tell me the rest,” the Sunflower Kid said as she approached Sterling and reached for the flesh still left on his right arm. As he spoke, his skin began to slowly stitch together, the sensation akin to getting a light massage.
“As I was saying, once I had the hat, and the borrowed skeletal arm that you are now fixing, thank-you-very-much, I left Madrid and went to the cult to see about freeing you. A little luck, a fight with the serpent amalgamation—I apologize again for how I had to assault you so you wouldn’t attack me—and here we are.”
“Some story.”
“Like I said, you were under her spell, the telemancer, she’s all sorts of batshit insane, calling herself Jesus and whatnot. I had to do something.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
“I do.”
The Sunflower Kid continued to focus on healing Sterling’s arm. He would always have the bones of another man beneath his flesh, but at least he had flesh now.
“I’m glad to hear that. Shee-it, listen to me ramble on like a lingering fart with nothing better to do. If it wasn’t clear in the beginning, let me say it again: I’m putting the team together to take on these Godwalkers yet again, and I want your help. I need your help. We all do. Thus far, Raylan has agreed to join up once we get a technomancer, which I have a lead on; getting Zephyr is on my to-do list after we deal with Roxy in White Sands; there’s a Hopi man named Paco, a solimancer, who is itching to get into the fight; and there’s also a pyromancer named Sierra, who’s in Madrid with Raylan. The way I see it, you, me, Roxy, Raylan, Sierra, Paco, Zephyr, and this technomancer we eventually find, is the team. Together, we are going to do what we weren’t able to do three years ago.”
“I see.”
Sterling was quiet for a moment, waiting for the Sunflower Kid to say more. “So…” He cleared this throat. “Does that mean you are willing to join up again? To work with us? I guess I am being a bit forthright here. You make your own choice, and don’t let none of what I just told you, or what happened back at the compound, weigh in on your decision. But I have to be honest, I hope you are willing to join us. We need you… I need you.”
“There is only you at the moment,” she said, her tone still indifferent as she continued repairing his arm, a vein pulsing on her head. “Everyone else that you have mentioned seems conditional in some way.”
“That’s not exactly true, Paco tried to help back at the cultists’ compound and I damn near had to beat him off so he wouldn’t ride south with us. Sierra is only staying in Madrid to protect the place if Ram comes back.”
“Ram is still alive?”
“I ain’t proud about that part. He’s going to be one tough son of a bitch to take down considering he’s a Level 90 cryomancer, but he’s in Albuquerque, and I plan to deal with him when I go for Zephyr. One step at a time, or at least, combine some of the steps that make sense to corral together.”
“And you think Zephyr would join you again?”
Sterling shrugged. “You would know better than I. You tell me, you were the last to see her.”
“I honestly don’t know what she would do if you approached her.”
“I’ll do my best to convince her. What about you? Sorry to put you on the spot like this, but are you in?”
“Okay,” the Sunflower Kid said, no hesitation in her voice.
Sterling looked at her incredulously for a moment. “Wait, you’re agreeing?”
“I’ll join.”
“Hot damn! And I was about to get down on my knees and beg you.”
“You can still do that if you’d like,” she told him.
“In that case, I guess… Well, damn, I thought you’d put up more fight. I mean, it’s your choice, but I was going to do my best to convince you. I need to stop talking while I’m ahead.”
“Why would I put up a fight?”
“No reason.” Sterling looked away from her, ignoring the shame that he was feeling for what happened last time they’d tried to take down a Godwalker. She was nearly done healing up his arm, his new skin down to his wrist now. Blood vessels lifted out of the outer edge of the flesh as it grew, reaching over the bones of his hand. She seemed to be going slower than normal; he knew she could heal faster than this. “I guess we should keep going then. Maybe it’s best if we rest tonight so we can start fresh in Alamogordo tomorrow. That’s where we’re supposed to meet Don Gasper.”
“We’re meeting Don Gasper?”
“Yup, I guess I should have mentioned that little part. He’s there dealing with some evil sorcerers or something. Hopefully, he has figured all that out by the time we show up, but I doubt it. Most likely, he’s gotten back into ‘shaman business,’ as he calls it.” Sterling sighed as he took a quick look around. “Unless you feel like sharing Manchester, we need to find you something to ride, and you should probably change shirts. Figured you’d have another couple in your invo list.”
Of all the things to stumble upon, a half-dead pronghorn surrounded by vultures, while appropriate for the desert, came as a surprise to Sterling.
The Sunflower Kid, who now wore a new cotton tunic, immediately went about healing the female creature, which quickly morphed into a male as horns and testicles took shape. I did not know she could do that, Sterling thought. The creature had a tan coat, a white pattern on its forehead, black on its nose and reflective eyes.
“It will work for now,” the Sunflower Kid said, the pronghorn instinctively trusting her. He had seen this play out before; the Kid had a way with animals that came as part of her biomancer powers. Sterling was not certain if it was a technique she had enhanced or related to a Class Proficiency.
“Whatever it is, that’s the biggest pronghorn I’ve ever seen,” he said on the tail end of a yawn. He was looking forward to finding a place to rest, especially after what he had been through back in Mountainair.
“Adult males are generally four to five feet long, and stand up to forty-one inches high at the shoulder,” she said. “I believe this one is six feet long, and it’s as tall as me at about sixty inches.” The Sunflower Kid started at the bottom of the front hooves and used her hand to slowly take a measurement all the way to the pronghorn’s shoulder, the creature entirely at ease with her presence.
“Good to know. You’re going to need a saddle. I got an extra blanket you could use.”
The Sunflower Kid turned to a single cactus growing between a pair of gray rocks. It shifted backward as the succulent began to balloon in size, the surface now smooth as the excess flesh of the cactus flopped over to the side, hardening as if it were leather. She picked it up and brought it to the pronghorn. As she placed the inflated cactus ear on the pronghorn’s body, it began to morph around the creature until it resem
bled a saddle, portions of the succulent connecting beneath the pronghorn’s body, a saddle horn forming.
“You are something else,” Sterling said as he watched her work, a cigarette in his mouth. His hand was healed up now, the skin tight and pink, something that he hoped would darken over time. It was good to be himself again, even if he had bones that belonged to another man. “I guess anything’s possible after the Reset, heh.”
“It will do for now,” she said as climbed onto the saddle. The pronghorn’s horns started to grow backward so they would operate almost as handlebars for the Sunflower Kid, allowing her to stabilize herself. She bent forward, and pet the pronghorn’s neck. “Are you ready?” she asked, looking back at Sterling.
“I don’t know what I am anymore, but it sure is good to have you back around.”
Once he was mounted up, the two continued on their journey, keeping close to the road. Sterling equipped his travel guide and traced his finger along the map until he could estimate their location. They weren’t far from a small town called Carrizozo, and Sterling was hoping that there were some kind natives or locals running a trading post there, preferably someplace with lodging, maybe even a tavern so he could have himself a beer or three. He needed to rest before their inevitable encounter with Don Gasper in Alamogordo; something told him that things were going to get wild again, just about as soon as he met the old shaman.
He shook his head as he recalled how he had encountered him in Las Cruces, Don Gasper on the stage covered in blood, the shaman high off toad venom and peyote when he spotted a woman in the crowd, white paint spread across her nude body, at odds with the darkness of her skin. What was her name? Magdalena, Sterling thought, and according to Don Gasper, she was his lover, or had been at some point. He couldn’t help but grumble as he recalled what Gasper had said about lovers by morning, murderers by dinnertime, or something to that effect. It was all hogwash, yet Sterling couldn’t shake this feeling that Don Gasper was going to be part of this narrative whether he liked it or not.
Cowboy Necromancer: Infinite Dusk Page 36
