Andy growled in annoyance and threw his journal across his bunk into the wall.

"That bad, hu?"

The young man's head whipped around to find Sandra hovering in the passageway leading to the little sitting room area of the bus. Of course she was hovering. Meddling little pain in the ass.

"Just can't concentrate."

The drummer stalked over and plopped herself into the bunk opposite Andy. "What's got your goat, kiddio?"

"Ashley's been avoiding me all week. Did I do something wrong?"

Understanding flickered in the half bloods eyes. "Avoiding you, hu?"

Andy nodded.

She smiled deviously. "It'll work out," she quipped.

"Sandy? What are you planning?" Andy's voice held a note of alarming suspicion.

"Oh nothing. You'll thank me later." The vampiress stood and disappeared into the sitting area. She plopped down next to Jinxx, glancing over his shoulder at his phone.

"Yes, Sandra?"

"What are you planning for when get stopped this afternoon?"

Jinxx blinked up at her. They had the night off, for once, but would be stopping for an interview the next morning. "Was gonna get a room with Sammi. Why?"

"Oh, just checking." Her voice held that sing song tone that meant trouble.

"Whatever you're planning, leave me the hell out of it," Jinxx sighed with an air of indifference. He stood and stalked back towards the bunks.

Sandra slid across the couch and leaned across the narrow walkway to Jake. "What are you up to once we stop?"

Jake rolled his eyes. "Being as far away from whatever you're planning as possible."

"Great!" Sandra exclaimed. "Then you can come out drinking with me."

Jake sighed irritably. He took a moment to put his thoughts in order. "What about the others?"

"Nope. Just us. Jinxx has plans."

A slow blink. "Ash and Andy?"

The corners of Sandra's mouth quirked up in a wicked grin. "We are leaving them here."

Jake's eyes glazed over as he tried to process just what about that would make Sandra so gleeful. The rasp of voices, long since faded from the world, seemed to claw at the inside of his mind in a way that made connecting the dots of Sandra's plan a bit difficult. "You're not.. "

"Ashley is almost at breaking point. They just need a little shove."

Jake sighed. "Sure. But we gotta stop at an esoteric shop first. I'll need a sedative if I'm gonna drink. Otherwise, you'll lose drunk me in the sea of voices."

Sandra giggled in an anticipatory bout of glee. "Excellent," she sighed.

Jake shook his head again and returned his attention to the mindless shuffling of his tarot cards. Satisfied with the number of times he'd separated and bridged the cards back together, he began laying them out on the small table before him. Most cards said the same things he was accustomed to. There was the small prod for information he assumed was linked to the Mystic on board. A few cards noting loss, fear, desperation that always popped up when the dead were most active before and during a new moon. Then one he wasn't expecting turned over. The Lovers. Jake sighed. No doubt it had to do with whatever shit Sandra was about to pull. He reshuffled his deck 21 times, then started laying again, this time specifically asking the fates for contact with the dead. Sometimes the spirits found it easier to talk through the cards than echoing through his mind. Especially when there were so many.

The Mourner was so focused on his cards, his conversation with a rather sweet young woman who'd been murdered, that he hasn't noticed when the bus stopped moving. He was startled back to the world of the living by a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Best to get out of here before Sandra starts scheming."

Jake glanced up into the shifting gold eyes of the band's other guitarist. He gave a soft nod, and quickly packed away his cards. He whispered a soft goodbye to the spirit of the woman, then seemed to float away off the bus.

"So, what's she talked you into?" Jinxx started.

Jake's head shook a bit as if to clear it. "Drinking," he muttered.

The Mystic bent down to collect a bit of dirt from the ground, and with a nudge of his energy, a tall yellow centered white flower stretched from his palm. "Chamomile. Should silence them for a few hours."

The taller man nodded his thanks, taking the flower and popping it under his tongue.

"Ready to go?" the way too excited voice of Sandra filtered down from the bus.

"Suppose so," Jake responded.

Another bus had pulled into the large field that would be hosting the next festival. "There's my cue to leave," Jinxx said with a small shake of his hand. He set off across to the silvery bus that My Satellite had rented for this tour.

A strangled sound issued from the cracked window behind him, and Jake figured that meant it was time to vacate. "Jinxx gave me some chamomile. I'm good to go."

"Great!" Sandra dropped down from the bus and hooked an arm in Jake's, leading them towards the city.