Birdie was behind the wheel when they passed under the grand sign welcoming them to California. Her brother was sleeping with the jacket their mom had given him over his face. He looked so peaceful when he slept. When he was awake he looked older and more withdrawn, mostly because he rarely smiled when he wasn’t with family. Birdie new that her brother was just a giant teddy bear with a sweet heart, but from the outside he was a scruffy six-foot something giant who never spoke. Birdie remembered back in high school when he had gone through his first growth spurt. All the sudden girls she had never spoken to wanted to be her friend so that they could get to Basil. There was nothing worse than listen to girls describe her brother as “hot” or “sexy”. It made her want to gag. She knew what a soft-hearted dork he was.

She turned up the radio to drown out Basil’s snoring. He seriously sounded like a growling bear. If she weren’t so used to the sound she would be annoyed and maybe even a bit afraid. Birdie looked out the windows and in the rear-view mirror. It was nearly 3 am. This late at night there was not a car to be seen, just the clear skies and twinkling stars. She hit the gas pedal, determined to go as fast as she could to get to Yosemite as fast as possible. Unfortunately, their old Ford maxed out at around 85 miles per hour. If Birdie could get her hands on a sports car she would definitely be cruising over 100. For now, 85 would have to do. She had a full tank of gas and clear roads. She looked out and watched the landscape change as she drove. It slowly changed from flat and desolated to hilly and full of vegetation.

Birdie kept driving until she looked down and saw that the gas tank was slowly getting closer to empty. When she spied an exit sign indicating that there was a gas station she took got off the highway and slowly pulled into the parking lot, turning off the truck when she was next to a pump. She smacked Basil on the chest to wake him up before hopping out of the cab to fill up. Birdie watched Basil wake up from outside the cab. When he sat up the jacket fell from his face and landed in his lap. He looked around for her before spotting her outside of the truck. He waved. She returned the gesture. She never understood how he could be so together just after waking up. She watched him stretch his arms over his head before he hopped out of the cab.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom,” he signed to her from across the truck’s bed. “Do you want anything?”

“Can you fill my tumbler with coffee?” Birdie requested. Basil nodded and reached back into the cab to grab her tumbler before going inside.

A golden sports car screeched to a stop at the pump next to her while Basil was in the gas station. Birdie watched a young Asian guy just shorter than Basil step out of the car. He was dressed casually in jeans, black t-shirt, black bomber jacket, and black timberlands. His aviator sun glasses rested on top of his head. Even from far away Birdie could tell that he was down-right hot. He had a stylish short haircut and light stubble growing on his face. However, it wasn’t his looks that kept Birdie staring at the man. There was something else. It was like he had an aura of confidence and strength surrounding him like a magical pull. He seemed to have an inhuman golden glow surrounding him. Birdie had to shake her head and look away. She felt that if she continued to look at him she wouldn’t be able to stop.

While Birdie was looking away she failed to notice that the man was watching her just as closely as she watched him. The man had been driving down the highway when he felt a pull of magic strong enough to make him follow. That was how he had ended up at this shitty gas station in the middle of nowhere staring at a girl kicking off more magic than he had felt in a long time. He could smell it coming off her. It was almost intoxicating. It also didn’t help that the young woman was gorgeous in her black t-shirt and leather jacket. Even the long braid that rested on her shoulder and fell to her waist was glossy and attractive. Her eyes looked anywhere but at him, which was more proof of her power. Mortals generally couldn’t resist him.

When Birdie thought it was safe she looked back up at the other gas and saw that the man was gone. She heard a cough and turned to find him leaning against the bed of her truck with a smirk. He was even hotter up close. She had to force herself to focus.

“Hi,” she said, staring at the arm that rested on her truck. “Would you mind getting off my truck?”

The guy just smiled, not even bothering to comply. He tilted his head to the side. “My names Jun, like the month, what’s yours?”

For some reason Birdie felt the urge to look into his eyes. They were a golden-brown color, but for a moment they flashed gold. Birdie wondered if she was seeing things or if this guy was messing with her head somehow.

“Why?” she asked rather than telling him.

“You’ve got enough magic coming off you to pull me off the road, Hun,” he said taking a step closer. Then he breathed in deeply leaning in her direction.

“Did you just smell me?” Birdie scoffed. She thought he was extremely weird.

He ignored her question, but breathed in again. “There is no way that you are just gifted. You and the boy that you are with barely smell human. What are you?”

“I don’t know what your talking about,” Birdie replied. “How did you know that I’m with a guy?”

Jun just taped his nose and took another step closer. He couldn’t help it. She was too alluring.

“Listen Jun, you better back up,” she said. “I am a trained fighter and I will hurt you if I have to.”

“Oh, I’m sure you are,” he told her. He didn’t take her threat seriously. “You know, you kind of smell like someone I met once a long time ago.”

When he took another step towards her, Birdie took a step backwards. She wasn’t sure, but she somehow new that he wasn’t planning to hurt her. It was almost like he was playing with her. His eyes flashed gold once again. Before Jun could close the distance between them, they heard the jingle of bells. They both looked up to find Basil walking towards them. Jun turned back to Birdie.

“Let me know if you if you see the sign,” he said cryptically, handing her a card and walking away. Birdie slipped it into her pocket just as Basil came up to her.

“What was up with that guy?” Basil asked her. Birdie replied with a shrug of her shoulders. They stood together and watched Jun get into his car and drive off.

“I don’t know,” Birdie informed him. Her brother raised in eyebrow. She didn’t think he believed her. He could be very protective sometimes. “I’m fine.”

Birdie quickly change the subject. “We’re about 70 miles from Yosemite. Do you want to drive the last leg?”

“Sure,” he replied, handing Birdie her tumbler and jumping into the driver’s seat.

Birdie got in the truck and put on her seat belt. When Basil started up the car and started driving she pulled out the card Jun had given her. I was a black business card with a gold fox printed on the front. The back of the card was blank, which Birdie found odd.

***

About an hour later Basil pulled into the Yosemite National Park Visitor’s Center and parked. It was still early in the day, so the sun was shining. The ride had been quiet, but comfortable for both of them. Basil looked around with excitement. When they drove into the park they passed through the carved-out trunk of a towering redwood tree. Birdie hopped out of the truck first, taking her backpack and the food bag out as she did. Basil followed her lead. Birdie was glad her mom had given her the jacket she was wearing. It was cold here. Her brother obviously didn’t feel the same way because he took his off and tied it to his backpack.

“You ready?” he asked her, moving his eyebrows up and down. He motioned for Birdie to pass him the food bag, which she did.

“Let’s do it,” she signed back. They both walked over to a giant map of the park. People were crowded around it. Birdie couldn’t see, so they waited until the group in front of them finished and left before moving in closer. Together they planned the route that they would take into the interior of the park. They agreed to walk about two hours before going off trail.

They were about an hour into their walk when Birdie felt like she was being watched. However, every time she looked around she saw nothing. Sure, there were animals around and the trees were giant, but there weren’t any people. Birdie found that odd because they were still on the path. Nevertheless, she pushed on but stayed attentive. Basil was no use at the moment. She was certain he hadn’t looked down at her the entire time they were in park. He was too busy taking in the sights. She could only image what he would do if he were able to hear what was happening in the park. Animals passed unseen through the undergrowth rustling leaves, birds chirped overhead, and the wind whipped. Birdie suspected that he would be overwhelmed if he could hear in that moment. Birdie thought about what Basil had told her earlier while they walked. Was he really able to hear when he dream walked before, or was it just a trick? She would have to find out. She didn’t want him to get his hopes up.

It got later in the day the further they walked. Every once in a while, Basil would point something out to her or tell her something to make her laugh. They were enjoying their time. Eventually they reached the point where they had decided to leave the path. Birdie checked their surroundings to make sure that there were no people around and that they weren’t being followed. Once she was sure they were clear Birdie lead them deeper into the woods. They walked for about 10 minutes before stopping. Basil took the golden coin from his pocket and passed it to her reluctantly. She knew that he wanted to do it, but she had to be certain that Larue’s name was said properly.

She took the coin and flipped it end-over-end three times before saying, “Larue.”

“What now?” she asked Basil. He shrugged his shoulders.

“We wait.”