We stopped on the side of the road; dry air and baking desert sand surrounded us. Octavia was ahead of us on the shoulder. She stayed in her truck, talking on the phone. December stood at the front of the RV, trying to figure out why it emitted a concerning amount of steam. Jonah was beside her with an open toolbox in hand, ready and waiting for her command.
“And you see this,” she said to him.
“I think so…”
“You think you see something?” she asked, confused. “Do you need glasses?”
“No, no. I see it. I definitely see it.”
“There’s nothing wrong with needing glasses,” she told him honestly.
“Swear, I see it.”
Nico and I exchanged smiles. He stood in front of theRV steps, holding a weather-testing device he’d made from scraps of a secondhand radio. Getting new gear was pricey, and even with our decent income, we couldn’t imagine keeping up with the Guild’s arsenal. So, we improvised…Well, Nico improvised because he was the only one with the head for it. The rest of us reaped the benefits.
“God, let’s hope not manifestation. I hate those jobs.” Nico banged the side of the device against his palm when a weird buzzing sound started. We ran a very technical ship.
“Complete buzzkill,” he murmured, still hitting the device. “Why don’t they ever manifest something magical?”
“Like what?” I gently tugged at the patch, trying to take my time and avoid a painful removal. “A unicorn? Theme park fast pass?”
“Your idea of magic is a weird-looking horse and a trip to a consumerist slush pit?” Nico raised a brow.
“Isn’t everyone’s?” I joked.
He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m more of a genie in a bottle, three wishes kind of person.”
“I rest my case.” I gave him a one-shouldered shrug. “That could be found in the consumerist slush pit.”
“No, I’m talking about the real thing.”
“It’s real enough if you just believe.”
He nudged his chin toward Octavia’s car. “Tell that to our new client over there. Her video’s legit, by the way. There’s no evidence of someone doctoring it.”
“Did you have time to pull anything on the family?”
Nico stuffed his device into his back pocket and retrieved a vape from the small, obnoxiously orange pouch hanging across his chest. “Her mom and dad died about twelve years ago. An article said they were on a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon.”
He moved closer as he spoke, settling on the step below mine. I finished the removal of the patch, wiping up the bit of adhesive left on my skin. Because of my sweat and the lingering dust in the air, I took extra care in disinfecting my skin before reapplying a new CGM. The heat in this part of the state was downright rude this time of year. I’d discarded my top long ago and worked in a gray sports bra.
“The brother was a physics professor at Stanford.” Nico changed the cartridge of his vape. “Until about two years ago, after a car accident—that’s how he became paralyzed.”
“Can you tell if they’re close?”
“On a surface level, it sure seems like it,” he said. “Octavia was in all his wedding photos. And she’s the only person he still posts photos of on socials after the accident. From what I can tell, the guy’s single now. He moved in with Octavia after they purchased the ranch.”
“Jeez,” I murmured. “No parents, a newly divorced brother, and a haunted horse ranch. This woman’s going through it.”
“Rough patch.” Nico nodded and took a drag from the vape. “How much do you want to bet we’re looking at an ancestral spirit?”
I shook my head. “No betting until we get there.”
“You’re becoming a stick in the mud, you know that?”
“How do you feel about going with December when we split up?” I asked.
Nico’s smile dropped. “I was kidding. You’re really kicking me out?”
