Chapter Two
The blank spots in Nox’s memory were unsettling but at the same time familiar. He was sure this wasn’t the first time it had happened because it was the result of an event. Or an aftereffect of…
Straps crossed over his wrists, elbows and upper arms. Another set of three started at his ankles, going to his thighs. With one bracing his head, the other pinning his ribs, he could barely move. But just in case, a woman in a HAZMAT suit standing next to him held a pneumonic injector. Apparently, they weren’t sure three injections were enough to keep him down.
No not him … the Anubis.
“Nox.” The fear in Luca’s scent spiked, and Nox jerked his head up. Horns blared, cars weaved. He yanked the wheel, pulling the truck back between the lines.
“Sorry.”
“Do you need to pull over?”
“Not yet.” They needed a few more miles.
“Falling asleep at the wheel won’t do either of us any good.”
“I won’t fall asleep.”
Passing headlights and highway halogens were enough light to give some color to Luca’s dark brown eyes as he narrowed them.
“I promise, I won’t.” The void infecting Nox didn’t need things like sleep. It only engaged in those activities because Nox’s body required it to heal, which was also the only reason why he ate.
A fresh rush of rain fractured the world outside the windshield. Nox flipped on the wipers. He turned his wrist up. N-O-X stamped his skin just below his palm. He was pretty sure it wasn’t his name, but since he didn’t have anything else to call himself, it would do.
Luca leaned against the passenger door. Dark circles cut under his eyes.
“I’ll stop in a bit and find someplace to rest for the night.”
“How?” Luca’s voice was small. “I don’t have my wallet, and unless you have money….” He shrugged.
“I’ll find a place.”
Luca nodded.
But he was right, they didn’t have any money. While important details like who Nox was, his age, where he came from, and how he’d gotten to Luca’s house were missing, knowledge about how much of a disadvantage they were without something as simple as cash wasn’t.
The highway cut a path through downtown, past factories, skyscrapers, and shopping malls. He pulled into a grocery store parking lot, cut across two fast food restaurants, and around the back of a dollar store.
An off-site ATM sat at the upper end of the parking lot of a busy line of strip malls. He circled the parking lot. No cop cars and an empty bus stop fifty yards to the right.
“What are you doing?” Luca looked around.
“I’m trying to find the best place to park.”
“We can’t stay the night here. They’ll tow the truck.”
“We’re not staying the night.” Nox would never let Luca sleep out in the elements.
Nox pulled into a space next to a clump of neglected shrubbery in one of the many concrete islands dividing up the parking lot.
“Then why are we here?”
“We need money.”
Luca furrowed his brow. His gaze skipped over the tops of the bushes to the ATM sitting under a burned-out street lamp. He widened his eyes. “No.”
Nox cut the engine. “You have a better idea?”