Brett went to Austin, Texas, in search of the travel vloggers who shot the video he’d seen bits of on the internet. It was clearly an amateur production, but judging from its popularity, that was a big part of its charm.
There were five people in the shoot that night. The four that ran the vlog and another female he couldn’t identify. Her face was always out of the light or her back was to the camera. Why the secrecy? Maybe because of her extreme reaction to that last pit. She’d had some sort of a vision, he was certain, though he’d only seen a seconds-long preview.
Brett wanted to know what she saw.
He met up with the video bloggers at their small rented studio in a garage one of their parents owned. They were excited to chat with him, especially given the fake credentials he showed them and the money he promised if the clips were useful.
The guy named Larry played the same video that had been published online, but Brett wanted to see all of their footage. They’d planned to roll it out slowly, in fifteen-minute portions that were to culminate with the unknown woman’s episode in the pit, which they’d shown teasers of in several clips.
Brett asked them to jump to that portion of the video. He had them zoom closer. He could sometimes read a person’s mind just by the energy surrounding them at the time the footage was shot, but not this time.
“Who is the girl?” Brett asked.
“Just another traveler who tagged along with us to Valle de Lágrimas.”
Brett turned his full attention on Larry. “Her name, please.”
“Ashlyn DeWinter. She’s from Colorado.”
Brett got up. “Thank you.”
“Wait,” Larry said, stopping him. “What about the video? Are you interested? You can remix it how you like.”
“I’ll let you know.”
Brett left. It was a short cab ride to the state capitol downtown, where he could catch a pod ride north. He would soon learn how useful Ashlyn would be.
It was Wednesday again. This week, Ash had asked the girls for a quiet get-together at her place. She forced a smile as she looked at Summer and Kiera sitting in her living room, reminding herself to act like everything was fine, like it was perfectly normal to have an infatuation with an imaginary lover.
At her age.
Or at all.
She set a charcuterie tray next to the hummus and crudités she’d prepared. After refilling their wine glasses, she sat next to Kiera on the sofa.
“This is a nice treat,” Summer said. “I don’t know why we don’t do quiet evenings more often.”
“It’s so relaxing here,” Kiera said as she curled her feet under her. “Your garden is going to be beautiful this year. I can already see some spring flowers trying to come up.”
Ash rubbed the glass medallion around her neck. She couldn’t do this. Nothing was normal. She was not fine. “How easy is it to lose one’s mind?”
Summer choked on her celery. Kiera dabbed at a bit of wine she’d spat out.
“I can’t get that guy from Colombia out of my mind. I just can’t. I dream about him. Lucid dreams. He feels real.”
“Oh,” Summer said as she and Kiera exchanged glances.
“Exercise helps,” Kiera offered.
“I’m spending an hour or more at the gym every night after work.”
“Look, come out to the fort this weekend,” Summer said. “We’ll have a pool party. Everyone’s home, so you can meet the whole crew. They’re all really nice. It’ll be a good distraction.”
“That sounds nice.” Kiera smiled. “Let’s do that.”
“I’m not done avoiding people,” Ash said.
“But that’s letting you live in your head too much,” Summer said.
Ash gave her friends a worried look. “I’m not making him up.” She unfastened her necklace. “I should have shown this to you before. I bought this at the market the day after my vision in the pit. Supposedly, it contains the saint’s blood. You know I can sense things sometimes when I touch them; well, I get a powerful hit every time I hold this.” She handed it to Summer.
“Huh.” Summer handed it to Kiera.
“And I have proof that guy was once real.” Ash went to her bookshelf and picked up the utility knife. “I found this in the pit, right after my vision. It has his name carved on the side, the same name as the village saint.”
Summer gasped. “Oh. My. God.” She handed it to Kiera.
“What the hell?” Kiera growled after reading the inscription.
Why were they acting as if they finally believed her?
Summer sent her a worried look. “Ash, Merc is real. He’s one of Sam’s friends. He lives at the fort. I had no idea it was he you’ve been referring to.”
Ash began pacing around the room. Oh God. He was real. “He’s alive? He’s okay? He didn’t die?”
Summer shook her head. “He came back from Colombia very sick. He’s been recovering for weeks. He’s still weak.”
“Was he in Valle de Lágrimas?” Ash asked.
“I don’t know. I can find out.”
Kiera put Ash’s necklace on the table. “The knife would seem proof he was there. But, Summer, it still doesn’t explain what happened in the village. Sam’s friend can’t set miracles or curses. No one can do that.”
Summer and Kiera exchanged a long look. What was it that they knew that Ash didn’t?
“Okay,” Summer said, her voice determined. “For real. We are having a pool party. You can meet Merc and see for yourself who and what he is.”
Ash bit her upper lip to keep herself from smiling. “I would really love not to be crazy, but I’m scared to meet him.”
“Why?” Kiera asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve made him into something—someone—so much bigger than life.”
“It’s settled, then.” Kiera laughed. “Dig out your skimpiest bikini, and we’ll all see his reaction to you.”
13
Ash rode with Kiera out to the pool party at the fort. Her excitement grew the further from town they drove. The fort was almost an hour east. When they finally arrived, Summer came running out. It was late afternoon on a Saturday, and though the days were longer than they had been all winter, the sky was already softening toward dusk. They had purposely come out during the daylight—it was strangely easy to miss the right dirt roads at night on the drive out.
That buzz Ash had been feeling grew to a hum in her ears as she got out of the van. She didn’t give it much attention, figuring it was her own nerves that caused her energy to tighten. She wondered if Merc knew she was coming, but that was silly. Of course he knew, and why would he care? For all he knew, she was just another of Summer’s friends.
Summer hugged both of them, then stood back and gave Ash a once-over. “You look stunning! He won’t be able to keep his eyes off you.” She giggled in excitement.
Ash wore a slim, dark blue sundress that had a print of pink and white flower sprigs, spaghetti straps, and a scoop neck. Over it, she wore a short white cotton sweater. She was a little cold at the moment, but they’d be inside, where it was warm. It had taken her hours to decide what to wear. Her bed was loaded with discarded options. She smoothed her hands over her hips. “I don’t know if I can do this.”