Chapter 99
The hotel claimed to have exactly two rooms left, both of them more expensive than the other rooms that they had advertised on the sign out front because they were slightly larger. When Rain followed Seth into the room she’d be sharing with him, she wondered what a small room looked like. This one appeared to only be about half the size of the room she shared with Mist and the other girls back home.
Seth seemed more impressed. “Not bad,” he said, dropping his bag near the door. “Nice view. Two beds. This will work.”
Rain took her backpack off and set it on one of the beds. “Really?” she asked, walking over to the window. She could see a sliver of the Gate from here, but mostly just other tall buildings. It was getting dark, and she expected not to be able to see anything at all soon enough.
“Yeah, at least it doesn’t smell like horse shit, cigars, or anything,” he said with a shrug.
“True,” Rain agreed. “I guess it beats sleeping in a tent in the woods, too, for that matter. I guess I got spoiled sleeping at your house.”
He smiled at her. “You’ve hardly slept at all since we left.”
“I know.” She’d taken an energy pill earlier in the day when she’d started to doze off. She hadn’t wanted to sleep then because they hadn’t had a report on the Mothers for a while, and she wanted to keep her eyes open. All of Seth’s friends had turned back long ago. As far as they could tell, the Mothers were regrouping near the mountains where they’d pulled Seth over. The ones that had been tracking Adam were still combing the river, but once they found the tracker, who knows what they might do. Meanwhile, they’d heard on the radio on the drive that Michaelanburg and Spanish-America were exchanging fire along the southern border. The fact that the Mothers hadn’t pulled all of their available forces out of Oklasaw to fight that threat was troublesome. Why were they so intent on finding a small band of rebels who likely couldn’t do anything on their own? Even if they reached the Nation of Quebec, the chances that they could convince the prime minister to fight against Michaelanburg was slim to none.
“Why don’t you take a nap, and I’ll go find us something to eat?” Seth proposed, some of the change from the gold coin he’d used to rent the rooms for two nights jingling in his pocket.
A nap sounded like a wonderful idea, even though Rain was worried about Adam. She doubted he’d arrive that day, but she hoped he’d be there the next one. If he wasn’t there by the day after that, they’d have to go on without him. That was the plan, anyway. She hoped she could persuade Seth to stay at least one more night. Still, they had a plan, and it was important to stick to it.
Deciding she wouldn’t be of any use if she was tired, she nodded. “You don't mind?”
“Not at all. The door will automatically lock behind me, and I have the keycard, so don’t open it for anyone. You should be fine, but just in case. If you wake up in a couple of hours, and I’m not back, you know how to call me?” He gestured at a device on the table between the two beds.
Rain shook her head. She’d never seen a phone like that before. With a grin on his face, Seth walked over and wrote his number down on a piece of paper and picked up part of the phone. “You have to dial nine first to get an outside line. Then, dial the numbers on the paper.”
She nodded. That seemed easy enough. “Okay--but… just don’t get lost or anything, all right?”
He set the part of the phone down and grinned at her. “I’ll try not to. There’s a restaurant downstairs, so I shouldn’t even have to leave the building. You just never know.” When he stood, he was so close to her, Rain thought he might kiss her again. He didn’t, only squeezed her upper arm, as if he’d come to the realization that something had changed between them without her having to tell them.
Removing her bag from the bed, and her weapon from her back, Rain set them both in a chair. “Be careful,” she said.
Seth paused with his hand on the door and smiled at her, but he didn’t say anything, which made her think he might not be so careful. He laughed and walked out, and she sank down on the bed, wondering what sort of trouble he could get into without leaving the hotel. Hopefully none. She didn’t want to find out.
Exhaustion hit her like a rogue wave in the ocean. Rain lay back, pulling the edge of the covers over her shoulder and leaving her boots on so that she was ready if she needed to hop up to defend herself. If someone broke in, they would have to do it loudly, though, because in a matter of moments, she was out to the world.
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