“It’s just a gopher snake. But I wouldn’t let him run out in the desert. There are a lot of things out there that could kill him. Rattlesnakes, coyotes, and foxes.”
“Good luck with that. We locked him in the basement after we got him fixed, because Ginny worried that the wound would get infected if he got in the pool. He didn’t last three hours. I’m not too worried about him though, he’s a survivor.”
Esteban held the door. I saw Nan at the kitchen table and froze in the doorway. When I finally recovered, I went to the refrigerator and grabbed a jug of milk. Esteban got out two bowls and Grape-nuts.
“This is all the cereal we got. Maybe you and Nan could go to the store later and get some things you like.”
Nan shook her head. “I’m busy today. I’d really rather she not be in the house. Can you drop her off in town before you go to work?”
She said all that without looking at me once.
Esteban sighed. “Sunday, how would you like to go to work with me today?”
I jumped up. “That’d be great. How long do I have to get ready?”
“About thirty minutes.”
I took a quick shower, grabbed a few pencils and a small sketchpad, and met Esteban on the front porch.
I climbed into the cab of the truck and rolled down the window. This early in the morning it wasn’t hot yet.
“Just a warning, this is going to be a long drive. We have to go to Tucson today.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
“Sorry about Nan. She’s still grieving.”
I shrugged. “It’s no biggie. I understand grief.”
Esteban eyed me for quick second. “Oh yeah, how’s that?”
“My mom died a few years ago.”
“How’d she die?”
I twisted my hands. This was a story I didn’t tell often. In fact, I think Naomi and Ginny were the only people who knew what happened. But Esteban seemed like he’d understand.
“When I was little, my dad joined a rather violent cult. They believed women were meant to be perfectly obedient, and if they weren’t, they were punished.”
I paused and looked at Esteban, not sure what his reaction would be. His eyes were trained on the road.
“Mother wasn’t a very good cook and one Saturday night she totally burned dinner. Sometimes I think she did it on purpose, because she wanted to rebel a little, and that was one way she could do it. But I don’t think she ever thought it would get her killed.
“The next Sunday at church, father told the master about his burned dinner and the master had her burned with hot coals.”
Esteban jerked the car over to the side and I grabbed the door.
He looked at me. “Sorry, almost hit a tortoise. I was listening so hard I forgot to pay attention to the road. Keep going.”
“There’s not much else to tell. Her entire chest had third degree burns. Father couldn’t stand her screaming after we got home and he shot her in the head. We buried her in the yard.”
“How long ago was this?”
I had to think. I wasn’t good at keeping track of the days when I lived with father because every day felt like an eternity. “About three and a half years.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. What happened to the man who burned her?”
“I’m not exactly sure.” I squirmed a little because I did know. Naomi cursed him. There was a time when I resented that, because I wanted to exact my own revenge, but Puck told me that the curse still haunts Naomi. I couldn’t remember the wording, because I had other things on my mind that day, but apparently it was an unusually cruel curse.
“How’d you get away?”
“Naomi rescued me. Then she sent me to live with Ginny. I try not to think of my life prior to that.”
“I can see why. Maybe you can help Nan deal with her grief. You seem well adjusted.”
I grinned. The only reason I was well adjusted was because I had power that no one would ever be able to take from me. I’d always be able to defend myself.
“Enough about me. I want to know everything there is to know about your desert.”
He talked for the rest of the drive and I soaked it all up. It was a long drive because we had to drive through the whole city first.
We pulled into a parking lot in front of a squat building in the middle of the desert. There were cacti everywhere.
“What’s this?”
“This is the Desert Museum. You’ll learn everything you need to know about the desert here. I have a few meetings to attend, but then you and I can meet up for lunch.”
I frowned as I got out of the car. I hated museums. They were boring and dry and you could never touch anything. Ginny used to think it was her mission to make me cultured. She took me to the art museum, thinking that I would enjoy it because I liked art. But then we got kicked out because I wanted to see what kind of material one particularly awesome statue was made of. Turns out it was paper and I crushed the poor statue’s finger.
We entered into an open air walkway. Esteban pointed to a map.
“This is where we are. Lunch will be here.”
This place was enormous. I looked around the sign. “It’s all outside.”
Esteban nodded and looked at his watch. “I’ve got to go. Meet me at the restaurant at twelve-thirty.”
I’d never been to an outdoor museum before. My curiosity was piqued. I wandered down a path and nearly ran into a woman holding a small owl.
“Sorry,” I said.
“No problem. Would you like to learn about the elf owl?”
I nodded.
At first I was totally engrossed, then I was distracted by a group of young adults all wearing “U of A” shirts. There were four of them, two guys and two girls. All four were Shades. I waited until the woman paused, thanked her, and followed the group.
They weren’t strong enough to be recruited by either side, but this was what I came here to investigate. I tried to follow at a distance; when they stopped at an exhibit I pretended to be interested in the scene in front of me. I was startled to find myself nearly nose to nose with a gray fox. We were separated by only a few thin wires. He sniffed at the air and I laughed. This was obviously no ordinary museum.
I kept my eye on the group and sent Naomi a text.
In Tucson today. Just found a group of Shades. Two boys, two girls.
The group moved along the path and I followed, this time stopping at a bridge and staring at the ugliest hairy pigs I’d ever seen.
Tucson’s kind of far from Tombstone, isn’t it?
A couple of hours.
Just talked to Puck. Tucson has lots of Guardians.
I felt a little dumb. I let the group continue on without me and listened to a docent explain that the pigs were not really pigs at all but javelinas. Whatever.
My phone buzzed again.
Don’t get discouraged. Just remember, you’re only interested in Tombstone. It’s not very big.
I spent the rest of the morning exploring the zoo, because that’s really what it was. At one o’clock, I hurried into the restaurant quite aware that I was very late.
“Sorry,” I said to Esteban. It looked like he was already done eating. “I got distracted by the hummingbirds.”
He laughed. “I know, I figured it was something like that. I’m actually surprised you are only thirty minutes late. But we do need to get going. Why don’t you grab a sandwich for the road?”
He wasn’t mad. This was so unusual. Naomi had gotten used to my distractedness but she still rolled her eyes every time I showed up late. I think Esteban may be my new favorite person.
Sunday
The Moonlight cactus is an ugly beast. Its arms are long and skinny, with short stubby spines. But it produces the most beautiful flowers. They are enormous, deep pink blooms. Funny how that happens.
EVERY DAY THAT WEEK, I went to work with Esteban. I learned so much about the saguaro and other cacti. Esteban kept asking if I was bored,
but I loved every minute of it. I finally understood Naomi’s obsession with roses. I’d probably be just as insufferable with the cacti.
Occasionally we’d stop at the grocery store on the way home, but I still hadn’t been to town. I’d been in contact with a total of ten people from Tombstone and none of them were Shades. I knew that I wasn’t doing my job, but I was still depressed about being there and about the fact that Jordan hadn’t sent me a single message.
Nan continued to ignore me, which bothered me more than it should have.
On Friday, Esteban met me on the porch with a frown.
“You can’t come with me today. I have a meeting with my boss. She doesn’t have a problem with you coming along on normal days, but on days when I have meetings with her she won’t approve.”
I grimaced. “Can you drop me off in town?”
He smiled. “I can do better than that. Come here.”
I followed him out to the garage.
He removed the cover off a brilliant blue scooter. “It won’t go over forty-five miles per hour, but it will get you around.”
I got my driver’s license earlier this year, but only because Naomi made me. I never used it. Though I was grateful that Esteban gave me a way out.
“Um, I’ve never driven one before.”
“Scooters are easy. Just take is slow. I’m sure you’ll be natural.”
Obviously he never watched me try to ride a bike.
He shoved it forward to undo the kickstand and had me climb on.
He pointed to the things that looked like bike brakes. “These are your brakes. The left one controls the rear wheel and the right one controls the front. Pull both at the same time when you want to stop.” He pointed to the right handle. “This is your throttle. You pull it towards you to give it gas. This little switch next to it will kill the engine. If you ever feel the vehicle going out of control, push this switch and brake.”
He gave me a few more tips on how to get it started. “Now, the time when you are most likely to fall is when you are you going slow. Make sure that when you stop you put both feet on the ground. Give it a spin around the driveway.”
I wobbled a little but it wasn’t too bad. When Esteban felt I was ready, he sent me on my way. I paused at the road to town. Yeah, that was where I needed to go, but in truth I didn’t want to work and the desert called to me. I wanted to get some decent sketching done before it got too hot. I could go searching for Shades when it was too unbearable to be outside.
The ride was exhilarating. My hair whipped around my face, and even though the scooter couldn’t go over fifty I still felt like I was flying.
After about twenty minutes the flat desert turned rocky. If I went much further I’d end up at the mountain, but I stopped at a stretch with enormous rocks everywhere and cacti three times my size. The sun was already high and hot. My skin felt like the moisture was being sucked straight from it. I took a sip from my water bottle and walked across the arid land. The birds were all singing and the air smelled strongly of sage and creosote.
I found a rock with a nice flat side that I could lean against. The sun was coming up behind me so I got good shade.
I sat down and stared at the monster “crowned” saguaro in front of me. Those were super rare. I got out my sketchpad and began to draw.
Arizona wasn’t that bad. The desert was gorgeous and going to work with Esteban was fun. But I wasn’t doing what I was sent here to do. Part of me was scared to do my job. What if I failed? What if I succeeded? Ultimately no matter what happened, things were about to change and I didn’t like change.
A few hours later I stood up and stretched. Sounds of footsteps came from behind the rock and I froze. I let down my shield just a little bit so I could get a feel for the person behind the rock. Sour grapes. Whoever it was, he or she was just as nervous as I was. That was a good thing.
I slowly turned around and found myself staring into the barrel of a shotgun.
Sunday
Some people think cacti can shoot out their spines, but that’s not true. Some cacti, like the Jumping Chorro, have very loose spines; even a breeze can lodge their barbed needles into your skin, making it appear that the cacti had thrown its spines right at you.
I TOOK THREE DEEPS BREATHS and looked up from the barrel to the person holding the gun. He was my age, maybe a year or two older. He had shaggy blond hair, a strong jaw, and amazing blue eyes. They practically glowed in the sunlight. But his face was twisted into an ugly scowl. Damn my boy craziness. He had a shotgun pointed at me and I was thinking about how beautiful his eyes were. I gathered my energy together and sent him the taste of vanilla ice cream and the sound of the ocean. It was supposed to calm him.
He lowered the gun, but didn’t relax.
“What the hell are you doing on my property?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I thought this was government property. I’ll leave.”
He waved the gun toward the road. “The ‘no trespassing’ signs didn’t tip you off?”
“I don’t remember seeing any signs. I’m sorry. Let me gather my things and I’ll go.”
“Damn right you will.”
As I walked away I could feel his eyes on me. I turned around when I got close to the road. He had his gun raised. Why did he feel threatened by me? I was just a girl with a pencil and sketchpad.
I took the scooter back into town and found a small diner. I ordered a burger and fries and people-watched. Mostly it was old people. A group of three teen girls came in, but they didn’t even look my way. Not a hint of Guardian, Destroyer, or Shade anywhere. Either this was a town without any, or they were good at shielding it. So far Naomi’s theory didn’t seem plausible.
An hour later I could find no reason to hang out there anymore, so I drove back home. I slammed the screen door behind me and heard Nan’s voice coming from the living room.
“Whatcha doing home?”
“It’s too hot to be outside.”
Nan sat on the couch and stared at the TV that was playing afternoon soap operas. I moved to sit with her when she spoke again.
“Well, go to your room. I don’t want to see you.”
I got up and left, but the words stung. So when Esteban asked me to come have dinner with them that night, I was apprehensive.
“Can I stay in here? Nan doesn’t want me out there.”
He sighed and sat down on my bed. “I wish you had known Nan before. You two would’ve been glued at the hip. She pushes everyone away now. Including me. I was actually hoping having you here would be good for her, but she’s still grieving for Alejandro. Please understand that what she says and does is not personal. She’s hurting.”
I understood grief. My own mother had died. But I didn’t understand how on earth I would be able to help an old woman get better. Especially while she hated me. I followed him out to dinner anyway and decided it was time to put my extensive training to use.
Nan sat at the table. First I assessed her emotions. She smelled of pine and tasted of strong coffee, which was exactly what the deepest of sorrow felt like. I decided to start small. I sent her the smell of oranges and clove, which should have brought her a measure of peace.
Her face softened a little when I sat down, but she didn’t say anything. Esteban served us pizza that he picked up on his way home. I wished someone around here cooked. I wasn’t crazy about eating out all the time. I cooked some when I was younger, but since mother wasn’t a good cook, neither was I. After my mother died, I received a beating on more than one occasion, either for burning dinner or not cooking it long enough. Then when I moved in with Ginny, she had a cook who did most of it for us. Though sometimes she and Naomi would make dinner.
No one said much as we ate but when I stood to escape back into my room, Nan put her hand on mine. It was ice cold. Instinctually I put my other hand on top of hers.
“You’re freezing,” I said. Without thinking I sent her the warmth of the Guardians. It’d be easier if I was
one, I could have it with me all the time. But for now, that was all I could do.
Her whole body relaxed and for a second I saw a completely different person. She didn’t smile, but it came close. Then she withdrew her hand from mine and the iciness in her voice was back.
“I found you a job in town. You’ll be working at Happy Cones, it’s an ice cream shop. You’ll need to be there tomorrow at nine.”
I nodded. This would be good. I needed to get mingling with the locals anyway. If there were shielded Shades here, then I needed to find them. The more people I could interact with, the better. A job wouldn’t be bad either. I’d never had one of those before.
After dinner I stepped outside. I loved the Arizona desert, especially at night when it wasn’t so hot. This was so different from the desert in Vegas. The sky was vast and it was so quiet.
I closed my eyes and saw those brilliant blue eyes of the boy with the shotgun. The eyes were a gorgeous color.
I ran back to my room for my sketchbook and colored pencils, then returned to the porch. I sketched his eyes and the barrel of the gun.
Esteban joined me on the porch.
“Can I see that?”
I shrugged and handed it to him.
“What is this?”
“Apparently I was trespassing. He chased me off his property. He had a gun.”
Esteban smiled. “Arizonians love their guns. I doubt he would’ve done anything to you, but next time make sure that you’re on public land.”
“Don’t worry, I will.”
“It’s late, you should probably go to bed. You have work tomorrow.”
I snorted. “I don’t sleep much. Seriously, I’ll go to bed now and be up at five.”
“Must be nice. I have to get my eight hours or I don’t function.” He pointed to my picture. “You’ve got some talent. You should show these to Nan.”
“You haven’t noticed that she has no interest in me?”
He sighed. “I know. I just keep hoping something will hit her and she’ll wake up. Can I show her a few of your sketches?”
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