A Wind of Change (A Shade of Vampire #17)(19)

And then we headed straight for the desert. We barely talked as we traveled beneath the late-afternoon sun. I just kept looking straight ahead through the windshield. About halfway, exhaustion caught up with me. My eyelids began to droop. I figured it was better to take a nap now than tonight when I needed to be alert and watching. I drifted in and out of sleep for the rest of the journey.

“Over there,” Fariss said, pointing to a cluster of tanks in the distance. I was relieved that they were still here.

“Good,” I said, leaning forward in my seat. “We should try to remain hidden from them. I don’t want them to know that we’re spying on them.” We had stopped on a raised mound of sand that sloped downward toward the area where the tanks were stationed. This gave us a good view of their camp. But we were too exposed for my liking. Fariss pulled back a little so that we were a bit less visible but could still see everything that was going on.

And then the wait began. Once the sun had set behind the horizon, men began to climb out of the tanks and stretch their legs. I rummaged in the front compartment of the vehicle and found a pair of binoculars. I looked through them and zoomed in to get a better look.

They all seemed to wear belts with the same equipment I’d seen the two men wearing the other night—sharp wooden spears, silver guns, and boxlike objects with flashing lights. I also noticed some other odd-looking technology that I couldn’t put a name to. Some of them sat on top of the tanks, looking north, while others walked around the area or leaned against the tanks, eating and talking.

What I wouldn’t give to overhear their conversations.

I looked at Fariss, then at Bashira—who was beginning to nod off in the backseat of the car.

“I need to hear what they’re saying,” I whispered.

“Miss Giovanni,” Fariss said, looking nervous, “you didn’t say that you would want to leave the truck.”

“I promise I’ll be fine, I just need to do this.”

I grabbed my backpack and a bottle of water, opened the door and stepped out onto the ground.

“Miss Giovanni,” Fariss called, “don’t go too far. And watch out for dangerous creatures—cobras and scorpions in particular.”

I gulped. “Thanks.” I put the bottle of water into my backpack and then pulled out the flashlight, tucked it into my belt and flung the bag back over my shoulders. Then I positioned the hood of my dark-colored jacket so that it covered my face as much as possible.

I began making my way down the slope. Of course I couldn’t use my flashlight or I would attract their attention. That was just in case of an emergency. I had to go by the light of the moon and stars.

When I was level with the tanks, I could already hear better. I was just about close enough to begin making sense of their words when two men turned toward me. I dropped to the ground, hoping that they hadn’t noticed. And that I hadn’t just dropped down near some kind of deadly creature.

I remained still for several moments, turning my head to look toward them from my position against the ground. Although two men were still looking in my direction, it seemed that they either hadn’t noticed me, or just weren’t interested. They turned their backs and headed back toward the rest of the crowd.

I breathed a little more easily. Raising my head higher, I stood up slowly.

I began to move closer, but to my dismay, the conversation had died down by the time I was close enough to hear. Most of them were now staring northward in silence, guns in their hands and those odd red flashing boxes scattered around the area. I looked north myself, trying to understand what they were all staring at. I couldn’t see anything but endless sand dunes.

What are they all waiting for?

I decided to start walking in the direction where they were staring. I kept down low against the ground, careful to keep an eye out for creepy-crawlies. I had to catch my scream in my throat as a hideous black scorpion scuttled out from a hole in the sand about a foot away. It nearly crawled over my feet.

After that, I remained standing, praying that I wouldn’t encounter another dangerous creature before I returned to the truck.

I swerved out wider, further away from the men to avoid being seen, and continued walking north, looking back every now and then to be sure nobody had noticed me.

I was about to see the futility of my attempt and return to the vehicle when a sharp pain filled my skull. It felt like I’d just walked headfirst into a wall. I staggered back, cursing and clutching my forehead.

What in the world…?

Reaching out a hand, I was shocked to find something hard.

I’ve got to be hallucinating.

I stretched out my other hand. That also touched something hard. It was the most bizarre thing I’d ever experienced in my life, like some kind of invisible barrier. I moved my hands along the hard surface. It felt neither rough nor smooth… I didn’t even know how to describe its texture, if it even had a texture. It just hurt like hell to walk into.

Blinking hard, I looked toward the truck still parked up on the mound of sand. Then I looked back at the tanks. I didn’t think that I was hallucinating.

What is this? I walked further, keeping my hands against this strange invisible force field. After twenty minutes of walking, I was about to run back to the car to get Fariss and ask what he thought when I heard a voice. A male voice, speaking English.

“No, Marilyn.”