“I’ve been walking all night,” says Beet. “We’re closer to what used to be the Mendocino National Forest. The trees all burned years ago during a forest fire, but it rained recently, and the grass grew over the ashes.”
I chuckle. I forgot about her. “Good morning, Beet.”
“Good morning, pet.”
Movement catches my attention at the far end of the landscape. Large animals with horns are running away from theBeetle.
“What are those?” I ask, nose crushed against the glass.
“A herd of bison. They’ve been thriving since the fall of the human civilization. They follow the apparition of grasslands.”
“Don’t the old gods eat them?”
“They do, but the bison reproduce faster. They’re fine, unlike you humans.”
I watch in awe as the herd swerves around a green hill before disappearing out of view. Life is barren in the dry land that has now taken over most of the Broken States of America. If it doesn’t rain enough this year, the grass will burn under the sun and the desert will cover what used to be a forest. Only the states up north fare better, near the border of Canada.
“Have we caught up with Vex’s captors?” I ask.
I feel bad about falling asleep so fast yesterday. My friend is out there, tied up inside a dark carriage. Luckily, the ropes can’t cut her blood flow, and she can survive imprisonment longer than humans. At least, until they rip her apart piece by piece.
“No, they crossed the water with the broken bridge,” Beet says. “I couldn’t follow. I’m too heavy for the makeshift wooden extension. We had to go all the way around. We found their tracks again on the opposite shore. They led to the coast. They took a boat.”
I step away from the window. “Shit.”
TheBeetle, no matter how cool of a machine she is, can’t swim. Have I really lost Vex already?
“It’s okay. We know where they’re heading. Vex gave me precious intel before we lost the connection. They’re going north, to Seattle. To a place they call the Temple.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. With your help, she might have a chance.”
“You’re welcome, pet. Go eat breakfast. I’ve told Helios and Griffin that you’re awake. They’re waiting for you in the galley.”
The wordbreakfastsparks joy in my soul. I haven’t eaten a decent meal in three days. I limp out of the room in a hurry.
Now that I’m well rested, I appreciate the fact that I’m staying in a machine of legends. Few people have had this chance, from what I’ve gathered. There are no retellings of what’s inside theBeetle. Most traveling merchants who met the Devil of the Wastes only ever stood below its six legs. Nobody went beyond the hatch—until me.
Or, I guess, Helios was first.
The passageways connecting the different rooms are narrow and made of different curving panels. This leads me to believe that they either put everything inside before finishing theBeetle’s construction, or that they brought everything in pieces to be reassembled later. I would have loved to see the process.
On my way, I walk past two hatches.
“Can I ask you what’s on the other side of that door?” I say to Beet.
Her voice echoes from the speakers above my head.“That’s the bathroom. You have access to it as you please. The other door is the lovebirds’ bedroom.”
I quickly open the bathroom door to take a peek inside. I’m delighted to find a sunken tub with ornate taps. On the Traveling Market, Stellan and I are lucky enough to have a shower stall. We use it only when the Market connects to a water source, such as a lake or spring. When water is scarce, we use a bucket. I guess theBeetletravels more easily, and they can refill their tanks more often.
“Hey Beet. How many gallons do you have?”
“Five hundred. But we also have gray water filtration to recycle the water for as long as possible.”
“Nice. We have the same system on the Traveling Market, but it’s a bitch to maintain,” I say.
“I, too, am a high-maintenance bitch,” she jokes.
I snort. “Marvelous is what you are.”
