Geographic Isolation

Compared to the past few nights and the strange, awkward feelings that John had about being on the road again, the rest of their journey proceeded almost too smoothly. Miles were lost along with words, as easily forgotten as each other, and every tense night spent in an underpriced hotel room, burdened by the speed that they were **** to travel to avoid scrutiny, was matched only by the intensity of the feelings of his lovers slowly growing with pent-up frustrations and needs as he found himself bound once more to the mortal realm by Layla's presence.

The sudden and rather oppressive inability of John and his lovers to spend their time in each other's company was unexpected... though, John had to admit, not entirely unwelcome. The tension and annoyance he could feel himself – and that he was sure his lovers were feeling themselves – added a certain awareness and focus to their mission, without growing frustrating enough to become a source of mistakes or uninformed decisions in itself. In short, the rampant desire now going unfulfilled was forcing John and his lovers to maximum alertness, whether they were particularly thrilled about it or not.

Of course, Layla's presence had its own benefits in and of itself. Her aura-reading skills gave them yet another layer of security at night, as well as the ability to be forewarned of dangers along their path during the day. Vallya's illusions were powerful but not sustainable at their maximum efficiency; with Layla able to forewarn them of the most powerful mages in their path, they passed through every checkpoint unmolested, every state's border without hindrance. John had to admit a certain ease that he felt in their trip with Layla's skills added to their arsenal; though their objective was still borderline (if not entirely) suicidal, the road to their eventual destination no longer made him feel as if he were waiting each moment for the trap to be sprung.

Of course, every journey had its surprises. John felt most at home in isolation, as he had well proven over the past year. Which was why he was so unnerved when, on the southeastern edges of the Great Basin Desert...

"Less than two hours and we'll reach the border of Himiko's territory," Arista explained as they crossed some unmarked boundary that must have triggered one of the many commands John had given to Arista. Wanting to cover as many events as possible, he had unfortunately turned her into something resembling a human GPS that couldn't be turned off.

"Good. I'm tired of feeling so constantly stressed..." John said, doing his best to ignore that entering Himiko's territory would result in perhaps the greatest spike of stress for him, if less sustained. "Layla, once we get close to the border, you should really reconsider staying behind. I know that-"

"I'm not staying behind this far," Layla interjected, shaking her head. "I'd be in danger being alone this far from home, regardless. And if Himiko wants to hunt me down, do you really think a few miles-"

"I'm trying not to think about the consequences of you tagging along," John replied with a barely-restrained growl. He wasn't actually annoyed at Layla, more at the fact that he had yet to devise a way to keep her safe if Himiko proved hostile that didn't involve letting her into his private world but also didn't involve making her into a sitting target for enemy mages.

Even letting her into his private world would just be trapping her there forever if something happened to him, though... along with all his family and lovers. Yet another thing John had desperately tried not to think about during their trip, and a reminder of how **** the situation actually was.

"Although it might be easier to push aside for now, we should deal with any complications before we get to Himiko's territory. Even if they do know you by sight, if we run into any of her men, then your bickering can only hurt our case," Arista interjected.

"I'm well aware of that," John sighed. "But these things aren't simple. If I leave Layla behind at the border, then she's alone and ****, and if I take her with me, she could be in even greater danger. The only reason I didn't have this dilemma with you is your constant reminder you'd rather-"

"John, we need to move faster," Layla urged from the back seat. John glanced briefly into the rearview mirror, not only to look at Layla but to check the road and skies behind them. There was no one else around that John could see, whether on the road or in the areas surrounding it. He even glanced out the side mirrors into the sky to see if perhaps someone was tailing them from above.

"I don't see anyone, Layla," John said, though he stepped on the gas all the same, accelerating them into the triple digit range – though it still felt too slow for John.

"You can't see them," Layla said, her eyes locked on the floor of the car, staring into an unseen distance. "They're following us underground."

"Shit, a geomancer? Arista, any major geomancy organizations around here?"

"Multiple mercenary groups operate in the area, but usually none of them so close to this region," Arista said. "I wouldn't think-"

"It might not be a geomancer. Whatever it is, I can't sense any mages underneath us," Layla said, closing her eyes as she concentrated. "It's not the aura of a person... it's some kind of magical object. Long, thin, burrowing through the ground and following us. It was getting closer, but now it's just trailing behind us; I can't tell if it can't keep up, or if it's just monitoring us."

"Some kind of magical tech? Something like the drones that Tricia uses?"

"I don't know... I hope so," Layla mumbled, still staring a hole into the floor of the car. "If not, then there are seriously troubling implications."

"Such as?" John asked, trying to resist looking into the rearview mirror every few seconds even though he knew he wouldn't see anything.

"I can't feel any trace of a living aura, not as far out as I can sense," Layla murmured. "This place is mostly deserted; even a trace of an aura should stand out. In these conditions I can read auras for miles out, so either someone is there and powerful enough to conceal themselves even from me..."

"...or they're not there, and they're powerful enough to sense us, and control something this far out well enough to follow us," John finished. His foot hit the floor entirely then, as he sent the car's engine barreling into the redline. They drove in silence for several minutes, with everyone's body tensed and alert for what could become frantic combat at any moment. Eventually though, after nearly ten miles travelled along the road, Layla's fists slowly uncurled.

"It's gone. Or rather, it's leaving. It just started to retract, but I can still feel it slowly receding back from wherever it came."

"Can you tell where it originated from?" John asked tersely, still fighting to keep his eyes on the road ahead of them. "We need to know whether to expect anything or not."

"Off to the southwest of us, but without knowing where the end is, I can't give you a distance," Layla said, sounding remorseful. "I'm sorry, John, no one has ever been able to outrange my abilities like this... I've failed you."

"You haven't failed anything; we would have never even known that something was amiss without you. I just wish we knew what was following us... and why. Arista, are there any nearby bases or factions southwest of us that might be hostile to travelers, or to me specifically?" John asked, turning his eyes to the passenger seat.

"There isn't anyone within a ten mile radius of us," Arista said, shaking her head. "At least, not the last I was aware. This region has been abandoned since Zingze was destroyed; no one who has tried to settle in this region has ever succeeded. Some have even disappeared."

"I'm starting to see why," John grumbled. "How long until we hit the border of Himiko's territory, Arista?"

"If you keep driving at these speeds, either half an hour or until we get pulled over. If you obey the speed limit, another hour and a half," Arista noted sourly. John grit his teeth, but he began to slow down as his eyes travelled toward the horizon. The sun was low on the horizon; they were on schedule. John had planned on stopping just outside of the Nevada border, at the very edge of Himiko's territory... getting to spend one last night at home before plunging himself into the hornet's nest that awaited him.

But after that encounter, not knowing if someone was now aware of them and potentially on their tail...

"Vallya, Sophia, change of plans. It's not safe out here, we're going to have to cross the border... tonight."

The words hung in the air of the car's cabin. Neither Vallya nor Sophia spoke a word – had it been any of his other lovers, he worried there might have been voices raised. Even Sophia's usually steadfast expression was tinged with a hint of repressed words, things left unsaid that the loyal harpy was bursting to express. Vallya looked conflicted, but had the smile on her face she always wore when she was thinking heavily about something.

"Get some rest. If... if something goes wrong, I'll call you if I want backup."

John left the rest unspoken, but it didn't need to be said. It had already been discussed too many times. If Himiko wanted him – imprisoned, tortured, or dead – they couldn't stop her. John wouldn't be calling for backup until they were outside of Himiko's territory once more.

"Goodbye, Father."

"The stars will always watch over you!"

John surged a tiny burst of mana, and both of them were gone from the backseat, leaving Layla alone in the rear.

"Layla, given what you felt back there... I'm going to leave this one to you," John said, grimacing. "I can leave you at the border... but we have no idea what's roaming around out here, or how far it will travel. Would you rather-"

John felt a hand on his arm, fingers brushing just below where his sleeve ended, quivering ever so slightly with every contact they made. Now that they were travelling at more mundane speeds, John glanced back over his shoulder. Layla was gently gripping his bicep and had her eyes locked with his in a way she did so very often, but with even more intensity. It reminded him of the first time they'd met, the moment that she approached him unexpectedly, back in that tea shop...

"I'll go with you as far as you'll let me," Layla said, nodding. "I want to keep you safe, John."

"If you wanted that," John said wryly, "you'd have knocked me out before we left and tied me up in a basement. But... thank you."

Layla looked away sheepishly at John's words, and let her fingers linger on his arm perhaps just a little too long before she settled against the backrest again. John sighed and tried to **** his tense muscles to relax as they cruised into the slowly setting sun. He checked his GPS for the address that Arista had given him as the last known location of Himiko's primary base.