Oh my god. This girl won't shut up. She is being admirably careful not to ask me a question, but fills the silence with a nonstop cascade of information about herself.
Witches are a big deal in this world. I vaguely remember they existed in my old one but here they are a major religion comparable to Christianity and with just as many off shoots.
It's actually interesting. The makeup of the religion is 90% women and only females can "practice magic". The festival we are headed to serves as seasonal observance and coming of age ceremony. Stepping away from your family and completing a pilgrimage is part of it.
I've been trying to avoid history, but with some holes filled in by motor mouth I think this world must have deviated sometime around the Napoleonic era, or rather the lack of it. That's not fair of me. Maybe the old world was the offshoot and this one was the first one. Maybe it's neither. Doesn't matter.
I learn a lot about New England as well. Her family is from Connecticut. They sound like a nice family, so it's strange to me they let a teen hitch across the country alone. We are grabbing some clothes for her at Walmart when I say, "It seems dangerous to force you out on the road by yourselves. Plenty of bad people out here."
"Not every family does it the same way. Plus, Stacy was SUPPOSED to watch my back. Instead she brought her stupid boyfriend and ruined the whole thing. Besides I have my self defense Athame." She floursihes out a small metal contraption from somewhere and slides one of two needles out of it. I can see a little drop of some ominous looking liquid on it. "One for knockout and one to kill."
Oh damn. That's pretty badass. More practical than a rosary too. "So you guys do potions and poisons and all that stuff? Neat."
"Even an apprentice like me can make this stuff. It's fun, but not real magic."
"…Yeah. So, when you say magic, what do you actually mean by that?"
She gives me a look. "You ask a lot of questions for someone that won't answer them." Damn it. Fair point.
She laughs, "I'm just kidding! I don't get to know everything that goes on till the coming-of-age ceremony. I'll have to learn more but generally speaking its communal rituals to effect various positive changes in the world. My family isn't really involved in any dark stuff." I want to ask about "dark stuff", but I'm embarrassed now.
We have been driving for a while when it starts to get on towards evening. "Let's grab some food." I pull off at the next truck stop and we grab some burgers from the attached diner. The food is terrible, but that's why they call them greasy spoons, I guess. I hit the bathroom and when I come out I see a couple trucker types standing too close to Primrose. She pulls out a necklace, is shaking her finger in their face, and cursing at them. They hurry away.
She has a silver ankh on the chain. The symbol of her particular witchcraft. I guess they recognized it. Their hearts sped up in fear as they left. That's quite a reputation. I may have worried too much about her hitchhiking. She meets me at the car and is watching me as I pull handfuls of junk food from my pockets and fill the console.
"I watched you, you know. You didn't go to the counter to pay for this stuff." She reaches into my jacket pocket and checks the depth. "No way all this stuff fit in there. I'm ready to ask today's question. How are you getting all this stuff out of the stores?"
"Magic. Basically, it's a kind of magic. Let's hit the road." We hit the road. My spirit feels like it's soaking in warm honey when I honor our agreement and I tell her the truth. I can feel it healing, but my instincts are buzzing with danger.
"Did you know your car sometimes starts before you pretend to turn the key? Also, there's no key."
I shrug and speed up. The sooner we get to Black Rock the better. I'm flipping through the road atlas, looking for a shortcut. She is watching me and smiling.
"Secret finding and keeping are foundational tenets of my family's creed of Witchcraft. Isn't that interesting?"
Shit. I invited a cute little snake into my car! This is how they get you. Under the radar. I glance at the sign for the next town. Twelve miles. I know I said I'd take her the whole way, but maybe…
"You're thinking about dumping me out and leaving me."
What the fuck?!
"But you won't do it. I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up if we stop again."
She really is a Witchy kind of woman. It makes me a little nervous to meet the women who raised her. In my experience, woman gets more dangerous as they age. I was curious to look around the festival, but it might be best to make a quick drop and get back on the road to Las Vegas.
*Ding!*
*New Quest: Fulfill your oath. Enter and leave the Black Rock Playa Festival alive and without exposing your System. No time limit. Completion unlocks starting class feature from random class.*
I glance over at Primrose. Her face is shadowed within her hoodie as she is curled up in the passenger seat. If a person couldn't see in the dark, they would never see her crescent moon slitted eyes and little grin as she watches me drive.
I crack a beer and pretend I don't feel a shiver up my spine.