Wanderers 3: Garden of The Gods (The Wanderers)

by Richard Bamberg

  “What are you doing?” Beast growled as I slid off his back.

  “I think there’s something following us. It looked like a hawk or an eagle, but it stayed with us for miles,” I answered.

  “I don’t think a hawk could keep us with us that long,” Tess said.

  “You think it’s glamoured,” Beast asked.

  “Yes, I do. I’m not sure what it might be, but it’s high enough that it would be hard to take out from the ground.”

  “Then what are we going to do?” Tess asked.

  “I thought I’d let Beast check it out and if it’s a threat, either kill it or let me know so I can arrange an ambush.”

  “How’s he going to do that?”

  “I’ve put a glamour on him of a sparrow, something small enough to be missed unless our friend is paying close attention. Beast, I want you to wait until Tess and I have been gone for five minutes or so and then I want you to sneak up on whatever is trailing us. What happens then is up to you.”

  Beast growled low and menacing. “My pleasure.”

  I slid a leg over the back of Tess’s seat and sat down behind her. Neither of our seats was really meant for two people, but two could ride in a pinch, as long as they were friendly.

  I snuggled in behind her, and she rose up and forward just enough to let me get my tailbone into the soft leather of the deep bucket seat. When I stopped fidgeting, she settled back into the seat and let that well-padded posterior mold into my crotch. I felt an immediate stirring in my loins and bit my lip. I brought my hands up and around her waist and interlocked my fingers just above the top of her leather pants. Her tight stomach muscles quivered for a moment against my palms and then relaxed.

  “Comfortable?” Tess asked. Her voice sounded a little throatier than usual.

  “Sure, I’m ready when you are.”

  “Promises, promises,” she murmured low enough that she might have thought I wouldn’t have heard her, but I had my senses tat active, and she might as well have shouted.

  Dropping the transmission into gear, Tess accelerated smoothly back up the slope toward the road. There was a short transition from dirt to pavement. It caused us both to bounce in the seat, and she settled even tighter against my crotch. I rolled my eyes and tried to get my mind off her rear end, but it was already too late. In a few more seconds, she couldn’t miss what was growing between us. We had reached cruising speed when I felt the muscles of her cheeks flex tightly against me and then relax again.

  Yeah, she’d definitely noticed.

  “So, I assumed you’ve put a glamour on us too,” Tess said.

  “Yes, it should appear that Beast and I are riding alongside of you.”

  “You think that’s why we got ambushed this morning? Someone followed us out of New Braunfels?”

  “I’d bet on it. Rowle probably sicced those apes on us, and he knew our location. He might also have had something that belonged to me and cast a locator spell, but I haven’t lost anything recently.”

  “Recently? Does it have to be recent?” Tess asked.

  “Pretty recent. It depends on what the item is and how powerful the magic user doing the locator spell is. If it was money I had touched in the last hour and the mage was decent, he could probably track me for a couple of hours before losing me. If it were blood and the mage was really good, he might be able to track me even after a week or more. That was why I made sure to burn all the blood I lost at the motel.”

  I felt Tess flex her muscles again. This time, I knew it was deliberate. She was doing it just enough to keep me at attention. Damn, she was a trial. I decided to ignore her. She couldn’t keep it up forever.

  “I was thinking we should work on getting you a familiar,” I said to get her mind off the subject of my crotch.

  “Really? You think I’m ready? I thought that would take a lot more training.”

  “It’s not as difficult as burning your first tattoo. It might take a couple of days to get you prepared,” I said.

  “And then poof, my familiar possesses my Harley?”

  “Well, it’s not just poof. It’s more like sending out a call and waiting to see what answers. You never know what might respond, but it’ll be intelligent, to a point, and capable of providing you with transportation in its natural form.”

  “Then I wouldn’t get a manticore like Beast?” Tess asked.

  “No, I’m not saying you wouldn’t, but there are all manner of creatures that might respond. Rowle has a black dragon, and Walt had a Pegasus. I’ve seen a winged sphinx, a wyvern–”

  “Wait, what’s a wyvern?” Tess interrupted.

  “It’s like a small dragon.”

  “Really? That would be cool.”

  I had to grin at her enthusiasm. I remember similar feelings when I summoned Beast. It was a special time to meet someone who would spend the rest of your life with you. Bonding to a familiar was stronger than marriage. Granted the familiar could leave you, just like a spouse. However, I’d never heard of a Wanderer losing his familiar, but then, a week or so ago, I had never heard of a female Wanderer. Things, they were a-changin’.

  “Yes, it’s seriously cool and something few magic users other than Wanderers ever attempt.”

  “What about all the stories of witches and their cats?” Tess asked.

  “They use a similar spell, but rarely can they summon self-aware creatures like Beast. I don’t know all the reasons. I don’t even know if Walt knew. If he did, it was one of the many things he never got the chance to teach me.”

  “Couldn’t one of the other Wanderers have helped you out?”

  “Probably, but you have to remember that we have jobs to take care of. Walt’s area was North America, so it became my responsibility. Only rarely did any of us go into someone else’s domain,” I said.

  “Why is that exactly? I’d think you’d team up on anything serious.”

  I found myself shrugging even though she wouldn’t see the movement and I wasn’t holding her tight enough for her to feel it. “We occasionally do; it’s just that we’re a pretty introverted group. It’s not that we wouldn’t help anytime someone express a need, but that so rarely happened.”

  “So it’s not like what Beast claimed?”

  I found myself frowning. “Just what did my familiar tell you?”

  “He said that Wanderers are too conceited to ask for help. That they are cocky and too full of themselves to ever think they need help.”

  “He actually said that?” I queried.

  “Oh, yes, he definitely did.”

  “And of course he didn’t ask you to keep his comments in confidence.”

  “Ah, no. Why? Do you think I shouldn’t have repeated it?” Tess asked.

  “No, I’m sure he knew you would mention it sooner or later and just didn’t care. Beast makes no bones about his opinions on my actions. For what it’s worth, he’s not entirely wrong. You give a man as much power as we have and we do have a tendency to let it go to our heads.”

  “Hah, sounds just like a man,” Tess stopped talking for a minute or so, and we passed through Mt Dora, a spot on the map named for the 6200-foot high dormant volcano that stood a mile or so north of the highway. The mountain only rose five hundred feet above the road. Other than a lower speed limit, the community actually had a few homes, trees, and damn few people. I remembered a flag on a pole in front of a post office the last time I came through here, but it was no longer there.

  Tess accelerated back to the speed limit on the west side of the village.

  “You know you aren’t really like that,” she said.

  “Say what?”

  “What you said about power going to the heads of the Wanderers. I haven’t seen any sign of you being arrogant or full of yourself. I have seen you be a little reckless and cocky that you can handle whatever Fate throws at you, but you have also shown yourself to be caring and humane.”

  “I–” I really didn’t know what to say. I don’t get real compliments oft
en enough to know how to respond. “I thank you for the compliment. I hope I live up to your appraisal.”

  “You’re also a pretty damn considerate lover,” Tess added and flexed her cheeks again.

  “Ah, yes, well. I try.”

  I heard laughter from above us and looked up to see Beast behind his sparrow glamour flying less than fifty feet over our heads.

  “Should I stop?” Tess asked as she glanced up.

  “Yes, let’s see what he found.”

  She pulled the bike to the side of the road and killed the engine. Beast lit beside us. There was little traffic here. We hadn’t seen a car going either way in the last couple of minutes. I dropped our glamour and Beast did likewise. The manticore appeared on the shoulder of the pavement.

  Tess pulled her helmet off and shook her head. Her hair wasn’t long enough to really develop helmet hair, but it was getting there.

  “So, what happened with our stalker?” I asked.

  “It won’t be reporting our position again,” Beast growled.

  “What was it?” Tess asked.

  “A harpy. It was glamoured as a crow.”

  “A harpy?” Tess asked.

  “Big bird creatures with human-looking heads and mammillary glands,” I said.

  “You mean breasts?” Tess asked.

  “Yeah, butt ugly creatures with a fondness for human flesh. They can be evil bitches, but rarely manage to enter our world.”

  “Then how did it get to tracking us?”

  “Good question. Beast, did it talk before you killed it?” I asked.

  “It cursed a little, but I surprised it, and I didn’t figure it would tell us anything we didn’t already know. The damn things aren’t even worth eating. I was hoping to get a meal out of it.”

  I laughed. “I thought you ate last night.”

  “I did, but your battle interrupted me. I didn’t get a chance to finish.”

  “Always worrying about your stomach,” I said. I heard the roar of a diesel engine approaching. “Okay, glamour up and follow us. Keep an eye out for anything else that might be on our tail.”

  He growled once and then appeared to become a red-tailed hawk. There was a blast of wind as he leapt into the clear sky.

  Tess twisted in the saddle, rubbing unnecessarily against my crotch as she did, and asked. “I thought you would get back on him. What’s the matter, are you enjoying me sitting in your lap that much?”

  “Don’t be silly,” I said, protesting my innocence. “You know he can’t change forms but once during the day.”

  Tess puffed out her lower lip. “You could have just agreed with me. Spoil sport.”

  When she turned back to the front, again rubbing me excessively, I rolled my eyes and tried to take my mind off my urges. It was bad enough when we trained each day, but having her behave this way was making me feel like a randy teenager.

  Tess cranked the bike, waited for the semi to blast past us. Its slipstream buffeted us for a few seconds and then she accelerated after it.

  A half hour later, we passed Des Moines and a small restaurant. I saw Tess studying the restaurant as we approached it and asked her if she was hungry again.

  “I could eat, but how much farther are we going today?”

  “It’s less than an hour to Raton, and there are several restaurants there. I intended to make camp in the mountains above Raton. There are some nice campsites that aren’t usually busy this time of year.”

  She nodded and said, “Okay, I can wait that long. So are we camping roughly like last night?”

  “Pretty much. You need to finish healing that foot and get some training in. If we stay at a motel, we’ll just have to find a spot to train.”

  “Okay, Boss, it’s your call, but can I point out something?”

  “Of course, Tess,” I said.

  “I know you don’t have any problems sleeping under the stars and I don’t either for the occasional night. But I am not that fond of squatting in the bushes.”

  Hell, I hadn’t really thought of that being an issue. She hadn’t mentioned it last night, and there had been plenty of motels within a half-hour ride of where we camped.

  “Okay, then. We can find a motel in Raton.”

  “It’s not just my comfort. You know that if we’re spending any real time camping that we’ll need supplies that we don’t have with us. You remember food?”

  I chuckled. “I said okay already. You don’t have to convince me. We can afford motels, and I can stand to have to suffer through room service and hot running water if you can.”

  “Who said anything about room service?” Tess asked. “I was talking bathrooms and meals.”

  “Okay, bathrooms and meals coming up.”

  The remainder of the ride into Raton was uneventful. We came out of winding hills onto more of the desolate plains we’d already passed through. In the distance, I could see the outskirts of Raton and the mountain that I-25 crossed going north into Colorado. We could have gotten on the Interstate and kept moving north, but I wasn’t sensing any kind of urgency from Verðandi, so I elected to stop here for a few days of training.

  We crossed the Interstate overpass and motored into Raton proper. Several chain motels dotted the wide street called Clayton Road for obvious reasons. I’d been here several times over the last forty plus years and usually avoided staying in the same motel twice. If I’d been that circumspect in New Braunfels, Laura would still be alive. I shook the bitter memories from my head and pointed to the right at the next traffic light.

  Second Street was nearly the only four-lane street in Raton. Back before the Interstate came through it must have been the main north-south route from Albuquerque to Denver. Nowadays at least half the buildings seemed empty. Second Street curved sharply and became Canyon Drive when it met up with the same railroad line we’d followed into New Mexico. I tapped Tess on the shoulder and pointed out a small motel ahead on the left. It was a locally owned motel with only a dozen or more rooms. This particular one looked as if it dated back to early fifties–pre-Interstate. Mom and Pop motels were less likely to track you as the chains had started doing. I preferred not to be in anyone’s database.

  Tess steered past the small restaurant that shared the parking lot and stopped beside the office. I slid off the saddle as soon as she stopped. Beast lit on the roof of the motel and watched us.

  Tess removed her helmet and set it on the left handlebar. After dropping the kickstand and killing the engine, she swung off the bike and stretched.

  “Man, this spending all day in the saddle is killing me,” she said as she rubbed the seat of her leather pants.

  “All day? We haven’t been traveling but for a little over three hours,” I said.

  “Yeah, but on top of yesterday’s eight hours.”

  “Okay, you’ll get used to it, besides we’ll be here for a while and you’ll get a chance to recover. You want to get us a table in the restaurant while I get us a room?”

  “How about let’s do it the other way around?” Tess asked.

  I cocked my head. “Any particular reason?”

  “No, I’m just trying to share the workload. I’m your apprentice; I need to feel like I’m helping out.”

  I shrugged. “In that case, sure, you get the room; tell them indefinitely so we can leave quickly if Verðandi sends a summons.”

  “Okay, got it.” She held out her gloved hand.

  I looked at it for a second and then nodded. “Sorry, wasn’t thinking.”

  I slid my small wallet out and took out one of the two credit cards I carried. My wallet held a driver’s license (that expired in the early ‘70’s), the two credit cards, and a few hundred in cash. One of the credit cards doubled as an ATM card.

  I handled Tess the Visa. “Keep this one on you until we get you one with your name on it.”

  “Sure thing. Ah, how do you do that?”

  “I just have to call the company and tell them to send me one in your name,” I said.


  “But how do you get it? Do you have an address somewhere that you haven’t mentioned yet?”

  “Oh, yeah, I have a post office box at a private mail service center in Denver. I swing through there a couple times a year to check my mail or I can call the manager and have anything interesting forwarded to wherever I’m staying,” I explained.

  “Okay, just curious, I’ll meet you in the restaurant,” Tess. She pocketed the card and doffed her gloves as she walked toward the office door.

  I watched her for a moment, grinning at her uncomfortable gait. Maybe I would give her that massage she’d asked for.

  The restaurant was small, maybe a dozen or so tables, and according to the sign on the door, it was open from six to two every day but Sunday. I guessed that meant today wasn’t Sunday. I’d lost track of what day it was somewhere. Maybe Tess remembered.

  A middle-aged woman with long brown hair that hung to her waist stood at the hostess station, doing something with receipts. She looked up when I entered and smiled. “Good morning, table for one?”

  “Two actually, my partner is getting us a room.”

  “It’s a little early to check in.” The lady’s name tag told me her name was Pam.

  “You keep odd hours.”

  I shrugged. “Guilty as charged, Pam. I take it the restaurant is affiliated with the motel?”

  “Sure is. I’ve owned both since my parents retired. My husband cooks and I handle the books and hostess here.” She plucked a couple of menus from a cradle behind the cash register and waved them at me in a summoning manner.

  “Where you from?” Pam asked as I followed her to a booth on the right hand wall. The windows there overlooked the parking lot, and I could see the entrance to the office.

  “Here and there. Originally, Colorado Springs,” I said honestly while wondering at her question.

  “You don’t say. My sister, Bernice, lives in the Springs. Been there since the Army transferred her to Fort Carson a couple of years ago. Visited her when we shut down for a week last winter. She took us skiing at Breckenridge. Boy, but that place has grown since we were last there.”

  I thought about the changes to Breckenridge since I’d learned to ski there in the winter of ’67. “You don’t say.”