Desmond teleported from the tunnels beneath New York City immediately, eager to be as far from all that had happened there. He pictured Herald Falls, far north of the city, the last town Arianna had lived in, and closed his eyes. When he opened them he stood before the trailer she’d shared with her mother just two weeks ago.
The trailer was empty. He did not need to knock or look in a window to be certain. He did not feel Arianna’s energy, and knew she was gone. He stood for a moment and was about to concentrate on locating her when someone spoke unexpectedly.
“You lookin’ for the girls?” a voice called.
Desmond turned and saw a head peeking out from the door of the neighboring trailer, and a rather unfortunate looking head at that.
“Excuse me?” Desmond replied and bought himself time by pretending he hadn’t heard the man.
“I was just askin’ if you were lookin’ for the pretty ladies that used to live there is all,” he said and lowered his eyes as if he’d just been reprimanded.
“Oh, yes, I was looking for them actually,” Desmond said and smiled. “They moved though, huh?”
“Yep, yes they did. They moved outta here. Such a shame too ‘cause they was real nice ladies,” he said and took a small step outside.
In full view, Desmond saw that the man wore a stained T-shirt, fleece pajama bottoms with a yellow, grinning cartoon character printed on them and knee-high rain boots despite the fact that no rain had fallen. His hair stood on end and looked as though it could use a thorough washing and combing, and his overall appearance was unkempt. But his appearance meant little to Desmond. He simply wanted to find Arianna as quickly as possible.
“Did they say where they were going?” Desmond asked.
He knew there was no “they,” that Cathy Rose was dead. Arianna was alone and he doubted she’d disclosed where she was going to anyone, let alone a random neighbor.
“Nope. No sir they did not. And no disrespectin’ to you, but I don’t suppose they’d be wanting me to tell just any ole body where they moved to, so I wouldn’t tell you even if I did know.”
He’d assumed the man would not know of her whereabouts and hadn’t expected to hear any news. The fact that he would have refused to give information had he had any came as a pleasant surprise to Desmond. Yet, the man waited tensely, as if bracing himself for a scolding. With his head bowed, he stole sidelong glances at Desmond.
“I’m not offended,” Desmond said reassuringly and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder, hoping to convey that he wasn’t angry in the least. “In fact, I think you’re a good friend for keeping their whereabouts to yourself, if you knew them.”
The man raised his head and beamed, and when he did, he revealed a mouth full of greenish-brown teeth that looked as though they were all fighting for a single spot in his mouth.
“Thank you, sir,” he said and nodded enthusiastically.
Judging from the way the man reacted, Desmond got the impression he had never received a compliment in his life.
“Thank you for looking out for them,” Desmond replied sincerely.
“Oh you’re absolutely welcome! Absolutely! Say, are you headin’ out to look for Miss Cathy and Miss Arianna now?”
“Yes, yes I am as a matter of fact.”
“Well, you tell I said hi!”
“Will do,” Desmond assured him.
He turned and faced Arianna’s former home once again, intent on tuning into her energy as if he were a satellite picking up a signal. He could not remember a time he’d been without her for more than a day or so. Zeroing in on her energy had never been an issue, and attempting to do so was utterly foreign to him.
He closed his eyes and focused, picturing her in his mind’s eye. Immediately, her image popped into his brain. Lengths of straight raven-hued hair framed an olive complexion. Large eyes so dark they almost matched her hair dominated the rest of her delicate features. Her face was before him, so real he resisted the urge to reach out and brush his knuckles against her cheek. He felt instantly calmed by the vision of her, and was able to concentrate. As he did, the world fell silent before falling away from him altogether. White light filled his field of vision. He bathed in it as it rushed at him, swirling and speeding, as though he were traveling inside a bolt of lightning.
When finally the ride ended, he found himself standing on a dirt road before a small cottage. The cottage sat atop a steep hill and overlooked a forest filled with trees stripped of their leaves. They looked like a haggard frontline of soldiers that had long-since been beaten and ridded of their armor. Behind them, however, waited an endless sea of pines and cedars as far as they eye could see, readied with their barbed spines. It seemed a more fitting locale for Arianna, stunning and breathtaking, just like her.
With excitement swarming inside him so strongly it threatened to spontaneously surge from his body like a sunburst, he walked up the narrow stone pathway to the front door and knocked lightly.