Chapter Four
Vacationing in Heaven
"Nita… hey, Nita!"
Nita cracked an eye opened and discovered it was daylight, and there were birds singing.
So she jammed a pillow over her head.
"Nnnnhhh…" she mumbled, desperately trying to catch those last fringes of sleep that were rapidly trailing away from her.
"Ni-TA!"
Nita lost her temper at that.
"What, Kit?!" she snapped irritably, her eyes snapping open and sparking with irritation and grogginess.
Kit backed off, looking apologetic, and Nita instantly felt bad. But the fact that she had been so close to regaining some sleep still irritated her, and so she didn't feel extremely bad. Which took her morality notch down a few clicks and made her feel even worse.
Struggling to keep her voice calm and even, she forced a smile and asked, "Go ahead, Kit…"
Her partner in wizardry shuffled cautiously around her, keeping his distance as if afraid she might kill him.
And he has a right to be afraid, Nita thought bitterly.
"I'm just unloading everything here… I got permits while you were asleep and set up camp here."
Nita squinted against the glare of the sun filtering down through the numerous deciduous and evergreen trees that surrounded the peaceful campsite, and, rubbing her eyes, sat up slowly.
The first thing she saw was a well-constructed gray and black Coleman tent for two people, sitting in a ray of dying evening sunlight, a fluorescent bulb lantern hanging from a piece of twine strung up between two oak trees. The second thing she saw took her breath away.
A clear, moderately wide, rather slow-moving creek bubbled its merry way out of a small copse and cascaded over a six-foot waterfall just behind where the tent stood, and then chuckled and burbled out across the campsite and into the forest bordering the other side of the grounds. About thirty feet after the six-footer falls, the creek widened into a true stream, about four feet at its deepest point, because of another creek that ran into it. As Nita followed the tributary upstream, her eyes widened as she beheld what that creek came off of.
About a half-mile from where the two creeks converged, a grand sight met her eyes; a huge, glistening curtain of water cascading down at least twenty feet before it crashed into the deep pool below. Nita looked at Kit, who grinned at her and ducked back into the Element, lugging out a tackle box and fishing poles. She rolled her eyes as he winked at her, then placed them back inside the Honda.
Struck by a sudden thought, Nita looked over her shoulder, then all around her.
"Kit, where're Emily and Ponch?"
Kit shrugged nonchalantly.
"They're out somewhere. D'you want me to bring them back?"
Nita shook her head.
"Nah, s'okay."
She climbed out of the Element and slammed the doors shut. She looked up at the sky and the sun position, then muttered, "S'almost eight thirty."
Kit nodded.
"Yup. Twelve hours of driving, two fillups on the way here. I dunno about you, but I'm hungry," he said, picking the last remark out of thin air.
Nita suddenly realized she hadn't eaten since last night's clam chowder and cornbread, and her stomach growled.
"Oh, geez… Kit, yeah, I'm hungry."
Kit unzipped his otherspace claudication once more, then pulled out a small cooler.
"Ham sandwich?" he asked her, a smile sliding across his face.
She grinned back at him, stuffing her hands in her jean pockets and scuffing the ground with one worn sneaker.
"Please and thank you," she said quietly.
Kit nodded kindly and set about making it for her.
Nita walked over to the river's edge and sat down in the dirt, wrapping her arms around her knees and pulling them up to her chest. She gazed into the cold, clear waters of the creek, then realized there were fish in the calm pool of water on her right. She leaned over, being careful not to cast any shadows onto the water, and looked into the deep, still water that spun off from the river.
Indeed, a few good-sized trout and perch circled around the rocky bottom of the pool, nibbling on the miniscule bits of algae that littered the bottom. A few crayfish finned lazily about, skimming in and out of crevices amongst the rocks and boulders scattered around the pond.
Kit looked over his shoulder at Nita's back, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she gazed into the streamside pool, her eyes sparkling at the prospect of two days alone here. His thoughts turned wistfully to Nita herself as a gentle breeze blew a few strands of her reddish-brown hair over one shoulder, rippling the supple strands gently in the cool wind.
Kit realized Nita was still waiting for her sandwich, and he quickly laid it out, added lettuce, mustard, and mayo, tossed another piece of seedless rye on top of it all. He looked at it carefully, then smiled.
"Nita, come on over. Dinner's here."
Nita made a noise somewhat between a squeak and an indignant 'Hey!' as Kit finished Saran wrapping the sandwich and tossed it to her. She caught it, unwrapped it, and tore into the sandwich ravenously.
She closed her eyes dreamily and savored the rich flavor of the sandwich as Kit yawned widely and ducked into the tent. Nita ate slowly, enjoying every bite of the food and the warmth of the sun's rays as they shone through the trees, bathing her in a dying golden light. Nita finished off the sandwich within a few more moments, tossed the Saran Wrap into a trash can, and ducked into the tent, kicking off her shoes before she did so.
Kit lay on his sleeping bag, his nose buried in the June/July issue of Hot Rod Magazine. He looked up briefly as Nita entered and said quickly, "Uhm, Neets, you might want to watch where you put your head…"
Nita looked, smiled halfheartedly, and moved the indignant Emily off her pillow, then put her head down and looked up at the sky from inside the tent. She heard a bear come prowling by, and was surprised to her Kit say softly, "Hey, Bill. How'd your honey raid go?"
The bear poked its furry brown head into the tent and yawned widely. Emily looked at the huge animal, then promptly curled back up and went to sleep again.
The bear sniffed elegantly. Fine. Two sections of honeycomb I obtained. Tell me I'm not good.
Kit grinned widely and ruffled the bear's fur gently. "You're good, you're good. Now, off with you, you great furry lump of fur."
The bear rolled its eyes and, with a final snort, lumbered off. Nita looked at Kit, who grinned after the bear, then returned to his magazine. Nita looked curiously at the cover, then asked, "You gonna touch the '97 1500s your uncle handed down to you?"
Kit nodded.
"Uhh… yeah. I'm lowering and tuning the working one. My current car project."
This was acknowledged with a derisive snort from Nita. "And so your aunt bought you a brand new Silverado?"
Kit shrugged. "Hey. I bought the F-150 four days before this all happened. I had no idea, alright?"
Nita looked ashamed of herself, and avoided his gaze, her face flushing. "I'm sorry, Kit… I'm just a bit tired. No hard feelings, alright?"
Her longtime friend and wizardry partner blinked at her, then laughed, surprised.
"Was that really something to be sorry about? I mean, well, hey, maybe I deserved that," he smiled. "If anything, I should be tired; I'm the one that drove all the way here."
Nita looked embarrassed now, her shame ebbing away as she realized Kit had just forgiven her.
"Oh… um…" she stammered, her cheeks going red as she realized just how stupid she sounded. "…Okay… uh, thanks."
An awkward silence fell inside the tent, broken by the crinkle of paper as Kit turned the pages of the magazine, and a few occasional yips from Ponch and the angry chitter of the squirrels he was chasing. The creek burbled its way on behind the tent, and Nita was unsurprised to see the outline of a mountain lion come around to the opening of the tent and paw gently at the unzipped flaps.
Kit looked up from his magazine. "Dai'stiho, brother," he said in the Speech.
The big cougar looked at Kit, growled, and padded over to him, entering the tent.
Have you come in Life's name, and in Life's Sake, to use the Art…
"…for nothing but the service of that Life, that I will guard growth and ease pain, and that I will fight to preserve what lives and grows in its own way?" Kit finished.
The cougar placed its paws on Kit's chest, pinning him to the ground.
I will tolerate no insolence from junior wizards, it snarled, then, it grinned broadly and moved off, letting Kit off. But of course, Christopher, you are n junior wizard. And neither are you, Juanita, it added as a sidelong comment, with a glance and smile to Nita, who grinned back and said brightly, "Evening, Bryce. What brings you here?"
Bryce curled up inside the tent, placing his head on his front paws.
Boredom, mainly. I got tired of Paradise Beach, and so I came up here. Adirondack Park is much nicer.
Kit nodded. "Gotta agree. The hunters leave finally?"
Bryce shook his feline head again, his emerald eyes moist with grief and sparking with rage.
They set up permanent residence. Some of Paradise Beach is now a hunting range.
Nita buried her face in her hands.
The previous year, they had met Bryce while on a minor errantry to the Paradise Beach area. Bryce, his mate, and his cub had joined Nita and Kit on relocating the hunter population away from that area, a renowned cougar habitat. Tragically, Bryce had lost his mate and his cub to the poachers, who skinned them and sold the bodies to museums across the US and Europe. Nita had been strongly emotionally affected by the slaying of the cougars, as Bryce's mate had carried the same name and a very close personality to Nita's late mother, Betty.
Bryce shrugged his muscular shoulders.
If I have any problems, it's okay if I come to you two?
Kit nodded.
"Yeah. Anytime. We'll be here for a while."
Bryce nodded, turned, and slunk out of the tent, disappearing with a bound into the woods.
Kit watched Nita for a while, then touched Nita's shoulder gently.
She raised her tear-stained face from her hands, looking thoroughly miserable, small, frightened, and alone in a huge world.
"Why did she have to leave, Kit? Why? Why did she leave me here, with Dad, with Dari? It's… just not fair!"
Nita shook her head in frustration, tears trickling slowly down her face. "He killed my mother. He killed her."
Kit knew all too well whom the he she was referring to was. The One Power who rebelled against the others, preferring instead to take refuge in the shelter of dark magic; the One who created entropy, and filled men's bones with his creation. The One who was responsible for all the miserable people and happenings in the world.
The One who had, indeed, killed her mother.
As all these thoughts and others chased themselves though Kit's mind, only one made itself clear to him.
It came from the small part of his mind that was fascinated with cars, with basketball, with NASCAR, and with girls his age; the part of his mind that had started 'revving up' when he hit thirteen.
The thought: She looks really good in that outfit.
Nita choked back a sob as Kit put a comforting arm around her, patting her back awkwardly, but reassuringly, telling her that he would be there for her whenever she needed a hand. She sniffed, wiped her eyes, and laid her head gently on Kit's shoulder, closing her eyes as she did so.
Behind their backs, Kit found Nita's hand, and touched it gently. She took it slowly, intertwining her fingers with his, and a ghost of a content smile flitted across her weary features as she began to drift off to sleep.
Kit tapped her shoulder gently, and she reluctantly opened one eye.
"Nnnnhhh?"
Kit rolled his eyes at her.
"You might want to take your contacts out before you go to sleep, Neets…" he pointed out, ever the practical one.
She gave him a small, genuine smile, stood up, and exited the tent, looking at herself in her Element's rearview mirror, picking her contacts out and dropping them into the saline capsule she carried in her purse. Finally succeeding in removing both contacts, she locked her car, crawled back into the tent, and zipped the flap up. She slid into her sleeping bag, giving a small, content sigh of relief as the sun finally dropped below the trees, and crickets started to chirp in the thickets around them.
Nita rolled over in her bag and looked across the tent at Kit, illuminated by the soft glow of the fluorescent lantern that was sitting in the middle of the tent. He was lying on his back, gazing up at the stars through the transparent mesh at the top of the tent.
"Nita?"
"Hmmm?"
"Isn't it amazing… the fact that we have to take care of this whole galaxy… our planet… and get on with the rest of our lives, without passing out?"
Nita laughed softly.
"Yeah, Kit. It is."
Kit smiled as well, looking at Nita from across the tent.
Nita grinned shyly back, keeping her gaze on the floor of the tent as she did so.
Oh, God…he does look good. I can't believe I'm crushing on my best friend!
Kit sniffed gently across the tent, and Nita watched him, then grinned.
"Hey, el niÔo…"
Kit threw a pillow at her, muttering darkly in Spanish.
"Cierra la boca y dormise," he laughed.
Nita raised an eyebrow.
"Shizukane, baka baka no niwatori!" she shot back, giggling like a schoolgirl.
Kit shook his head and, reaching out, turned off the lantern.
"I can't take Japanese. Spanish is my limit."
Nita touched his hand, and when he tapped hers in return, she slipped her hand into his. Kit smiled sleepily, then, with a yawn and a "G'night, Nita," dropped off into a deep, peaceful sleep; the first he'd had since tenth grade had started.