aren’t seriously planning to give up after a half hour on the road, are you?”
We’d actually been on the road almost an hour, because the mansion wasn’t particularly close to the Beltway, but I supposed that wasn’t really very long in the grand scheme of things. Both Steph and I had understood that this would be a long, tedious night.
I shook my head. “Sorry. That was frustration talking. I can’t seem to get my mind to shut up so I can zone out.”
Steph shot me a droll smile as she propped her elbow against the window and laid her head down on her hand, waiting for the next opportunity to inch forward. “If anything can make your eyes glaze over, it’ll be this traffic. Now hush and get back to work.”
I hushed as ordered, and tried once again to let my mind wander. I spent more time than I care to admit mentally cussing out the traffic, wondering what the holdup was. My guess was an accident with rubberneckers, but if I was right, it was far enough away that we couldn’t see any flashing lights yet.
Roll forward. Stop. Roll forward. Stop. Roll forward . . .
I can get pretty damned keyed up sometimes, particularly when I’ve been dipping into the coffee too much, but eventually the monotony of the drive got to me. My mind drifted a couple of times, but I unfortunately noticed it drifting, which yanked me back into full alertness. But it took me less time to start drifting, and I figured I was going to either get myself into the zone or fall asleep.
I blinked, and saw that not only were we not stuck in traffic anymore, we weren’t even on the Beltway. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs.
I remembered thinking—dreaming?—that I was in a hedge maze, trying to find my way to the center. I’d mumbled to myself each time I got to an intersection and had to decide which way to go. I remembered a sense of urgency pressing on me, telling me to hurry. I’d started out walking, then switched to jogging, then to an all-out run. It was . . . clearer and more coherent than an ordinary dream, but fuzzier than just a flight of imagination. I honestly had no idea if I’d been awake or asleep.
The car came to a stop at a red light, and Steph turned to me with an inquiring raise of her brow. Acouple of raindrops spattered on the windshield, and the trees swayed in a gust of wind. I leaned forward, staring up at the sky, but I saw no hint of the moon or of stars. The light turned green, and Steph drove through the intersection, continuing on straight, probably because I hadn’t told her to turn.
“Umm . . . Have I been giving you directions?” I asked.
Steph glanced over at me again. More raindrops spattered down, and she was forced to turn on the windshield wipers.
“Yeah,” she confirmed. “You’ve been kind of mumbling to yourself for a while. I thought you’d fallen asleep, only your eyes were open. Don’t you remember?”
I rubbed my eyes, but I knew I hadn’t been asleep. “I remember daydreaming, or something, about being in a hedge maze.”
I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. “Let me guess: the clouds rolled in, and that’s when I stopped giving you directions.” The rain came down harder as if to emphasize the point that I wouldn’t be getting any more moon-fueled hunches tonight.
“Yeah.”
I was so frustrated I wanted to kick something. If I’d been able to get into the zone before the rain had started . . .
“We wouldn’t have gotten here any faster if you’d started directing me earlier,” Steph said, guessing my line of thought. “We were stuck in traffic, remember?”
I made a sound of grudging acceptance. I knew she was right, but it didn’t make me any less frustrated. Two nights in a row, I’d been on Konstantin’s scent, and two nights in a row, I’d failed to find him. I was not the happiest of campers.
Steph and I drove around the area a little while longer, just to be thorough, but the rain had settled in to stay, and the moon
We’d actually been on the road almost an hour, because the mansion wasn’t particularly close to the Beltway, but I supposed that wasn’t really very long in the grand scheme of things. Both Steph and I had understood that this would be a long, tedious night.
I shook my head. “Sorry. That was frustration talking. I can’t seem to get my mind to shut up so I can zone out.”
Steph shot me a droll smile as she propped her elbow against the window and laid her head down on her hand, waiting for the next opportunity to inch forward. “If anything can make your eyes glaze over, it’ll be this traffic. Now hush and get back to work.”
I hushed as ordered, and tried once again to let my mind wander. I spent more time than I care to admit mentally cussing out the traffic, wondering what the holdup was. My guess was an accident with rubberneckers, but if I was right, it was far enough away that we couldn’t see any flashing lights yet.
Roll forward. Stop. Roll forward. Stop. Roll forward . . .
I can get pretty damned keyed up sometimes, particularly when I’ve been dipping into the coffee too much, but eventually the monotony of the drive got to me. My mind drifted a couple of times, but I unfortunately noticed it drifting, which yanked me back into full alertness. But it took me less time to start drifting, and I figured I was going to either get myself into the zone or fall asleep.
I blinked, and saw that not only were we not stuck in traffic anymore, we weren’t even on the Beltway. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs.
I remembered thinking—dreaming?—that I was in a hedge maze, trying to find my way to the center. I’d mumbled to myself each time I got to an intersection and had to decide which way to go. I remembered a sense of urgency pressing on me, telling me to hurry. I’d started out walking, then switched to jogging, then to an all-out run. It was . . . clearer and more coherent than an ordinary dream, but fuzzier than just a flight of imagination. I honestly had no idea if I’d been awake or asleep.
The car came to a stop at a red light, and Steph turned to me with an inquiring raise of her brow. Acouple of raindrops spattered on the windshield, and the trees swayed in a gust of wind. I leaned forward, staring up at the sky, but I saw no hint of the moon or of stars. The light turned green, and Steph drove through the intersection, continuing on straight, probably because I hadn’t told her to turn.
“Umm . . . Have I been giving you directions?” I asked.
Steph glanced over at me again. More raindrops spattered down, and she was forced to turn on the windshield wipers.
“Yeah,” she confirmed. “You’ve been kind of mumbling to yourself for a while. I thought you’d fallen asleep, only your eyes were open. Don’t you remember?”
I rubbed my eyes, but I knew I hadn’t been asleep. “I remember daydreaming, or something, about being in a hedge maze.”
I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. “Let me guess: the clouds rolled in, and that’s when I stopped giving you directions.” The rain came down harder as if to emphasize the point that I wouldn’t be getting any more moon-fueled hunches tonight.
“Yeah.”
I was so frustrated I wanted to kick something. If I’d been able to get into the zone before the rain had started . . .
“We wouldn’t have gotten here any faster if you’d started directing me earlier,” Steph said, guessing my line of thought. “We were stuck in traffic, remember?”
I made a sound of grudging acceptance. I knew she was right, but it didn’t make me any less frustrated. Two nights in a row, I’d been on Konstantin’s scent, and two nights in a row, I’d failed to find him. I was not the happiest of campers.
Steph and I drove around the area a little while longer, just to be thorough, but the rain had settled in to stay, and the moon
Similar Books
