Crossroads (Anna Strong Chronicles #7)

Crossroads (Anna Strong Chronicles #7) Page 35

JOHN-JOHN IS HAPPY TO SEE KAYANI. THE TWO TALK quietly in Navajo, giving me the opportunity to slip back into the kitchen and consider my next move.

Would Kayani stay here with John-John while I joined Frey? I'm pretty sure he would. But I don't have a clue where this View Hotel is, and if I ask Kayani, it's bound to spark questions. I could check for an address in a telephone book if I could find one.

I start in looking, opening and shutting each cupboard and drawer carefully and quietly. Sarah's cupboards are all, as I suspected they would be, neat, clean and organized. It dawns on me after I go through them all that I'm looking in the wrong place. A phone book would be in her desk, of course. I don't remember seeing one when I searched for the address book, but then I didn't have to go through all the drawers before I found what I was looking for.

When I pass through the living room, Kayani and John-John look up.

"We're going riding," Kayani says. "Would you like to join us?"

"You go ahead. A city slicker like me would just slow you down."

John-John says to Kayani, "Do you believe? She's never been on a horse."

Kayani gives me a sly once-over. "I believe it. We'll take her another time."

John-John scoots off the couch. "I'll get my hat."

Kayani rises, too. "Will you be all right by yourself?" "Of course. I think taking John-John riding is a great idea."

John-John is back in a flash. He has a round-crowned hat on his head and is shrugging into a lightweight denim jacket.

"It's awfully hot out there. Do you think you need a jacket?"

"We're used to the heat," Kayani explains. "And the sun is pretty fierce. Skin cancer, you know. Better to be protected." He looks at John-John. "Did you use sunscreen?"

John-John nods, and I find myself smiling.

It's seems such a dichotomy-Kayani spouting modern thoughts about protecting against skin cancer and a few minutes before, explaining burial rituals that include protection against ghosts.

"Okay then, we're off." Kayani says. "See you in a while."

I watch the two down the steps and until they disappear around the back of the house. Then I'm back in Mary's room. I find the phone book, one skinny little thing compared to the voluminous tomes we get in San Diego. There is a full-page ad for the View Hotel. But no real address or directions. When I call the hotel, I'm once again given GPS coordinates that I'm sure would help if I had a car with a GPS.

I can't even ask for directions from the house specifically because I don't know where exactly we are. I program the number into my cell phone and hang up.

My eyes wander out the living room window.

Kayani's vehicle I'm sure has GPS.

And his keys are on the table.

I snatch them up and head for the car, pausing only to make sure John-John and Kayani have started on their ride. I see them in the distance, moving at a brisk pace, little clouds of red dust marking their trail.

So far so good.

As soon as I get to the car, though, I realize my great idea has a serious shortcoming. There's a keypad entry system. Pressing every button on the remote does nothing except set off an alarm, which luckily I'm able to squelch. I suppose it makes sense. No cop would want his car stolen.

Shit.

I could break a window, but that's not only impractical, it's stupid. How would I explain it?

The ad said the hotel was located near the visitor's center and about five miles from the lodge. Could I retrace my steps from yesterday on foot? Once I get to the lodge, how hard would it be to get directions to the hotel?

I've run across desert before, with Frey. The night he mentioned when the two of us were sitting in the Jeep, watching the sky, waiting is a sunrise. Was that only a couple of days ago? It seems another lifetime. So much has changed. So much has been lost.

Frey showed me the way then. Just as he has so many other times in our short acquaintance. He's always there for me. And what have I done for him in return? Caused him misery and brought death. I can't believe he can stand to look at me.

Well. The least I can do now is find him. Help him track down the two who orchestrated this last horror. I'll use animal instinct. I know I'll pick up Frey's scent once I get close.

I leave my jacket and Kayani's car keys on the porch. Drawing my thoughts, I center on calling the vampire. She comes willingly, flexing muscles in preparation for our trek. She's happy to be free, happy to be hunting. It doesn't happen often. Like the domesticated cat that seldom tastes freedom except in dreams of her primal ancestors, she relishes the prospect.

And so we run. I follow the Jeep's tracks in the dusty earth. We retrace yesterday's journey until the point where a fresher trail presents itself. Frey this morning. I'm tempted to follow it. But instinct says, keep on to the lodge. If I lose Frey at the first hotel because of traffic and false scents, I've wasted precious time.

And so we run. Senses full of the perfume of the desert, dazzled by the color and texture of the earth underfoot, distracted here and there by the growl of another predator. A warning, but half hearted. Even the cougar and wolf know they are no match for vampire.

And so we run. Familiar terrain now, I pass the monolith that gave me shelter yesterday. A flicker of human thought. A decision to make. Can I give up this sense of freedom? Do I want to?

The lodge rises up in the distance. I slow my pace. Slow my heart. I need to be human when I approach. It takes some minutes. Vampire is not ready to relinquish her hold.

Patience. Your time will come again. Soon.

Then you will have your reward.

You will have blood.

Chael's blood.