Chapter 6

If only Zorro would show up now, but at last, the fates aren't so kind to this dame.

Kal 'Vilas' Inkk was heading for New Rockwell, New Mexico, to get some more rest. The city with one of the biggest airports right across the state line wasn't too far out of the way of I-40, and she could maybe hide for a few days in the large city or get a ticket for an airship from anywhere in the world. The city was started after a massive earthquake hit this part of the state, causing several towns to be devoured by the earth. Many people blamed it on the native magic of these states to the point where whole gangs of people started to hunt them down. They were killing natives by the thousands until two people stepped in. The first was the army rushing in to save people's lives, and the second was the hero known as Zorro. He seemed to come out of nowhere, saved many of the natives, and faded back into the sky as a hero.

Air Marshal Ian Rockwell built a new Rockwell for a staging area for the United States Army and airship fleet, which turned into a haven for anyone trying to escape the Cleansing after the earthquake. It turned into one of the biggest cities in the state and became a large military base.

Zorro was the one who found out the truth of the earthquake. It was caused by a group of European mages who were trying to clean out one of the native clans who had deep magic. The mages were from some old cult from the old world, trying to steal as much magic from the new world as they could. They caused the earthquake and then spread the false story about the native's magic.

The plan worked until Zorro got in the middle of it all.

She had always wanted to meet Zorro as she pulled into the massive city, gaslight lamps along the stone streets and many airships hanging above the thousands of buildings. The airships were private traders, along with privateers and military ships. A few military planes were flying in the air, heading for the base, which seemed to be at the center of the city.

The Circus had been to the city before. Azrael wanted to come to New Rockwell, which was a great place to earn a lot of money. They would spend almost three months in the city with so many travelers coming to the airports. The problem with staying in one place too long was that the people around the area got bored of the show and had to move on to find new people.

Once every couple of years, they took six months off from traveling to practice new acts and gather new people at the Circus. It was the only time they got off from the traveling, and Azrael would take them back to his homeland, which was in the middle of nowhere in the state of Wyoming.

No one was sure if Azrael was from Wyoming, and he never said he was, but it was the only place they would set up for a while. It was the only time the acts were allowed to travel freely where they wished and the only time they could renegotiate their contracts.

She didn't have to worry about the contract anymore as she drove down the city street, seeing a few of the police walking along the Main Street that circled the airport and then flowered out. She was on South Main Street heading to an old friend's house.

She pulled the car into the driveway of a small hotel far from the center of the city and moved to the back of the two-story house. She parked behind the hotel, knowing her car would be hidden from the street, and sat there for a moment, staring at the back door. She held onto the steering wheel, thinking back to the two outlaws she had met miles ago. They were kind to her. They knew she was on the run from something bad and gave her twenty bucks to help her get farther away from her trouble. They had no idea what she was running from, and more importantly, they didn't ask.

Bonnie asked Kal to come with them, but Kal couldn't go with them. It would be the death of them. It was sweet, and a kindness she needed to know was still in the world. It was nice to see even outlaws who like to rob banks could be kind to people.

She sat in the car, staring at the green door of the house, thinking about the outlaws now. When she first got to the Circus before she and Thomas became a thing and they were in Wyoming, she had to travel to New Rockwell to meet up with an old friend from her childhood. A man named Hugh Vatatzes was good on the back of a horse and better with a gun. She stayed with him for a few weeks, falling into bed with him a couple of times until he was gunned down at a bar. He was a gambler, and some airmen got into a nasty fight with Hugh when a gun came out, shooting Hugh in the back. The bullet blew out the other side of his body, hitting the airmen as well.

Hugh died before he hit the ground. Kal ran back to the Circus after they had buried him. It was a hard day. It was a harder day when she left, and she dropped her head, not letting go of the wheel. She wasn't sure she could knock on the door. She didn't have anywhere to go. She was truly lost and scared in the world. She sat there, letting the tears fall down her long chin and then crashing onto her dress, shaking her head.

She started to weep until a soft knock came to the window. She jumped, looking over at a long woman who looked like a shadow with deep black hair and bright blue eyes staring at her. The half-white and native woman was the sister of Hugh, and her sweet name was Vecher. She signaled for Kal to roll down the window.

"Are ya goin' to sit in the car the whole damn time, Kal?" Vecher asked, holding a bag of food from the store, from the corner. "Or come help me with dinner, hm?"

"I," Kal said, taking a deep breath and then asking, "What are we cooking?"

"Not sure yet," Vecher said, "was hopin' you would help."