Page 82 of Faithless
“Walk away,” one of the guards said. “If you start now, you might find someone to pick you up before you die of heat stroke.”
“Fuck you,” I spat. “I’m not leaving without him.”
“You take one step toward this canyon, you’re vulture food.” The other guard cocked his weapon. “We’re giving you this chance to live because you’re a woman. But you will never come near here again or breathe a word of this resort. If you do, there will be consequences.”
“Like what?”
“Trust us, you don’t want to know. The resort owners have the means to enslave you and your whole family.”
If there was just one of them with a gun, I could have had a chance to take it from him. But two was too risky. Still, I wanted to laugh in their faces. They had no fucking idea who I knew or what I had at my disposal.
But I wasn’t about to show all my cards. I wanted them to underestimate me. And most importantly, I needed a healthy amount of backup to get Torr and Santos out alive.
“Alright.” I started to turn away, toward the empty, barren desert. “You won’t see me again.”
“If we do, we won’t give you a second chance.”
As much as it prickled my skin to turn my back, I started walking away. Seconds later, I heard the sound of the elevator heading down to the canyon floor.
I looked eastward. The sun would be rising soon, and then I might be in trouble. This was the Great Wasteland, and I had no food, water, or wheels to get me anywhere. Shit, where would I even go? That tavern we stayed at was a good three-hour drive away, and there was no cell reception there. Home was even farther away.
My hands flew over my jacket and jeans pockets in a panicked rush. A huge sigh of relief deflated my lungs when I found my phone. I pulled it out and turned it on. No reception and only 12% battery. Fuck.
I turned it off to conserve the battery and returned it to my pocket to look around again. Where could I go?Come on, Rori…
My gaze settled on the brightest part of the sky again—east. That way was Sevier, my Aunt Kyrie’s territory. I had some other family there too, probably closer to me if I was estimating correctly. It would still be hours away, but it was closer than home, and I should be able to make phone calls as I got closer.
Resolved, I started walking toward the rising sun.
I had only gone a few hundred yards when a certain dove chose to settle on top of a cactus and coo at me.
Now I really wished I had a gun.
“Oh, fuck you!” I yelled up at the bird. “Huge fucking help you’ve been, thank you very much! Do me a favor, and just fuck off, alright? I don’t need you, Astarte.”
Yes, you do, Aurora.The bird shook out its feathers.Now more than ever, you do.
“You know what? I’ll take my chances, thanks.”
I am not a pet you can dismiss, child.Astarte’s voice pressed like a tangible weight against my skin.You cannot perceive all the threads woven into your destiny, but I see them all. And without me, those threads will tangle and choke you like a fly in a spider’s web.
“Yeah, great job keeping me untangled from the shitshow that just happened. Torr and Santos could be dead or tortured, and for what?” I spread my arms out, looking up helplessly to the god. “What the fuck is the point, Astarte?”
Typical human,she scoffed.Always so short-sighted.
“Then fuck off and leave me alone!”
The dove flew off, and while I was grateful for the peace, I couldn’t shake the sense that Astarte could see everything. My future, my thought process. My decisions and motivations, like she was both inside my head and also zoomed all the way out with a bird’s eye view of the map of my life.
Whatever. As long as that deity stayed out of my line of sight and didn’t talk to me anymore.
I was pissed, and since I had nothing to shoot or hit, I put all of my anger into walking east. The sun peeked over the mountains in the distance, gradually revealing itself fully. And on I walked.
The sun rose higher, and I kept walking long after feeling the uncomfortable prickle of a sunburn on my nose and cheeks. After some time, I noticed my shadow in front of me, gradually getting longer. My feet had started aching hours ago, the pain fading to numbness now. I didn’t even want to think about my hunger and thirst. That would send my mind into a panic, and I didn’t want to venture off-course in a futile search for water.
One foot in front of the other. Again. And again. And again.
At some point, the sun started to set directly behind me, and I felt its fiery blaze on my neck. I knew I had to have walked miles, but I couldn’t begin to guess how many. I felt myself starting to sway, exhaustion settling in when my pissed-off determination ran out. As the eastern sky began to darken, I didn’t know how I was still upright, let alone moving.
