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“That’s okay. I didn’t expect to see you either, but kismet,” she says, and sniffs the pack.
“These must pack a wallop.”
She taps out a smoke and holds it to her lips. I get out Mason’s lighter and spark the cigarette for her.
“So this is what they smoke in Hell these days. A tribe that used to worship me—who was it?—they liked sage sprinkled with wolf dung, so I suppose I’ve had worse smokes in my time. So, what can I do for you tonight?”
I open my hands. Sally makes a face and brushes some graveyard dirt from my shoulder.
“I wasn’t looking for you. You stopped me.”
She shakes her head.
“Use your brain. You’re on this road. I’m on this road. Spirits and mortals don’t just bump into each other outside a Stuckey’s without it meaning something. So, we’ve exchanged pleasantries. You’ve paid me this ludicrous tribute. All the formalities are taken care of. What’s on your mind?”
I’m not sure what to say at first and then it comes to me.
“I’m going into Kill City.”
“You do go to the most interesting places. Why?”
“I have to find a ghost.”
“That’s probably a good place for them. How many people died there?”
“In the accident, a hundred give or take.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“I don’t know anything about the place or where we’re going. We have a guide but I don’t trust him. I’m not sure what to do about it.”
Sally puffs the Malediction, pulling the smoke as deep into her lungs as any Hellion.
“Here’s the thing: Kill City isn’t really my kind of road. I’m an open-road gal. Kill City is more of a labyrinth. You know any labyrinth spirits?”
“No.”
“I know a few but they won’t be any help. They’re all as dizzy as clowns in a clothes dryer.”
“Do you have any words of wisdom before I go in?”
She nods her head from side to side, thinking.
“You could get one of those little Saint Christopher statues for your dashboard.”
“You’re the only traveling saint I believe in.”
She smiles. A few other cars pass us as we talk. You’d think us standing here in the middle of the night would attract rubberneckers. But no one slows down or even looks at us. It’s like we’re invisible.
“What I can tell you is what I tell anyone in your position. When you get lost, and you will get lost, keep going and don’t stop till you hit the end of the road. There will be something there, even if it’s not what you were looking for. And something is always better than nothing, isn’t it?”
“That depends on how pointy something’s teeth are.”
She blows out some smoke and drops the Malediction on the ground, grinding it out with her shoe.
“Sorry I can’t be more help,” she says.
“You’re always fine by me, Sally.”
