Page 62 of Wind Called

A hint of a smile played around Bellamy’s mouth. “I have no idea,” she replied. “I suppose I need to get some stories ready about this new super-fertilizer I found, just in case anyone asks.”

He didn’t know whether that would be too much of a concern — he hadn’t seen a hint of the people whose properties abutted the ranch, so either they weren’t even here or they just didn’t choose to be friendly — but he only nodded. “I suppose it’s always good to have an explanation lined up.”

After that, they went inside, where he returned the few belongings he’d brought with him to his overnight bag, while Bellamy got out the bag she’d used when staying at his Airbnb and filled it with a few necessities and a change of clothes. It seemed clear that she didn’t think she’d need anything more than that, not when they were going to be staying only a few miles away from the ranch.

Once they were done with their minimal packing, they drove over to Sky Ranch Lodge, which, as advertised, was perched on top of Airport Mesa. In fact, the Sedona Municipal Airport was only a stone’s throw away, along with a restaurant called the Mesa Grill, a place he thought would be a good venue for dinner. That way, they could stay up here and absorb as much of the vortex energies as possible.

Or maybe not, if Bellamy’s theory that the vortexes only affected them while asleep turned out to be true.

The room was spacious, if a little dated. However, since it looked like the hotel had been built sometime in the mid-twentieth century, he knew the room must have been remodeled since then, because it had luxury vinyl plank floors and quartz countertops in the bathroom, rather than grody old carpet and Formica or something.

But the grounds were gorgeous, as he and Bellamy discovered when they ventured outside. Walkways traversed the property, some of them sporting bridges that crossed over small streams which happily burbled away underneath, and when they got to the overlook at the western edge of the gardens, they found a spectacular view of West Sedona and the countryside beyond, with Mingus Mountain and the rest of the Black Mountain range a bluish-purple smudge on the horizon.

“This place is fantastic,” Bellamy said. “I think Connor and Angela got married right here.” And she spread an arm to indicate the green lawn behind them, which Marc guessed would accommodate seating for at least a hundred people, maybe more.

And to have wedding photos with that spectacular vista behind them?

He couldn’t think of a better place.

The briefest flash in his mind of Bellamy in a white dress and a lace veil, one that vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared. Was that the vortex working on him, or merely wishful thinking?

Possibly a little of both.

They’d gotten a pair of drink vouchers when they checked in, so, after lingering at the overlook for a moment longer, they headed off in search of the bar, which proved to be right around the corner from the hotel office. The vouchers got them a couple of glasses of wine, and they wandered the grounds until they found a spot with a garden bench in a secluded section away from the buildings and the more popular paths.

“This feels good,” she said, after they clinked their plastic cups together and took a sip. “I don’t know if it’s the vortex or what, but I like being up here.”

“Maybe it’s the vortex…or maybe it’s just the fresh air and the feeling of being up above everything.”

She nodded, gaze moving past the little grotto where they sat toward the west, even though they couldn’t really see much of a view from up here.

“It does seem like we’re kind of away from it all,” she agreed, then sipped some more of her chardonnay. Because it was so warm, they’d both opted for white wine, which felt cool and very welcome. “And I could definitely use some of that now.”

The faintest of sighs escaped her lips. Rather than drink more of her wine, though, she only sat there with the cup cradled in her hands, her eyes still seeming to focus on something far off in the distance.

“I’m sorry about work,” he said softly, and her shoulders lifted.

“Well, I couldn’t expect Jack to keep me on after this, especially since I was still in my probationary period. I’ll figure something out, though. I mean, there are a ton of tasting rooms around the Verde Valley, and they tend to have a lot of turnover because you get people coming here for the total Sedona experience, and then they leave when they realize the reality doesn’t meet their expectations.”

“It seems like a pretty amazing place to me,” he said.

Bellamy shifted on the bench, now facing him. “Oh, it is,” she replied. “I mean, it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. But it’s also expensive and filled with tourists. There’s a lot of competition for housing. And although Cottonwood and Clarkdale — and even Camp Verde and Rimrock — take some of the overflow, a lot of people insist on living right in Sedona no matter how much it costs and just make it tougher on themselves.”

He supposed he could see that. After spending a couple of days here, though, he thought he’d be happy to live anywhere in the Verde Valley…although he could already tell that dealing with the ebb and flow of tourists and traffic in Sedona itself might get a little old after a while.

And that didn’t even take into account the vortexes — if they even had any effect on him at all.

Well, they’d find out soon enough.

18

For all thatMarc did his best to act natural at dinner — which they had at the Mesa Grill, and got an amazing sunset view for dessert — Bellamy could tell he was on edge, not sure what to expect from sleeping right on top of an outflow vortex.

To be fair, she didn’t quite know what was going to happen, either. The increase in her powers had been so subtle that she hadn’t even realized what was going on until that unsettling episode at the Devil’s Bridge. She still didn’t understand why she’d been in a near-trance when she heard the voices that time, although she was beginning to have her suspicions.

Maybe the boost to her powers had already been starting to fade after she’d spent the night before at Marc’s Airbnb, and the voices had put her in a slightly altered state of consciousness so they could still get through to her. Although she didn’t much like the idea of outside forces having that kind of an effect on her mind, she thought that theory might be the right explanation, even if she couldn’t completely say how the voices had done it.

Or who…or what…the voices actually were.

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