10 Highway of Tears

     The Dodge Charger rolled through the Caribou Interior, of British Columbia. Nerea decided to take Highway Sixteen.  Once upon a time logging trucks and heavy machinery ruled the area. Government legislation changed all that. The logging industry took a nasty downturn in the ’90s and many towns suffered the consequences. 

    The highway itself was a curiosity. Among the hills and valleys, ghostly figures floated on the shoulder of the lonely stretch of road. Their incorporeal bodies mimicked their death state. The visceral display added a heaviness to the interior. The engine revved into high gear and Nerea sped up.

    Plume gripped the handle on the roof. His knuckles were white, “Why did you have to take Highway Sixteen?” The Seelie spent much of the trip tense and terrified of the death trap he rode in.

    “I am not thrilled about our road choice either, Highway sixteen is the shortest route to the west coast,” She flicked the flood lamps on.

    The eidolon, a magical entity attached to Warren on a soul level, shared similar feelings to the Seelie, “The eidolon is getting antsy. Why are there so many spirits?”

   Plume lowered his voice and spoke in a tone so low, Nerea and Warren had to lean in just to hear him. “We did extensive research on your country. Highway Sixteen was flagged for potential sluagh activity and you do not want to be caught in a storm of sluagh.”

   Warren cocked his head to the side, “Sluagh?”

   “Restless and angry souls, they seek only to feed off the life energy of the living. They say auramancers like you can grasp their ectoplasmic forms and battle them as if they were alive,” Plumes tone went educational, and his hands talked more than he did.

   “You mean Ghosts?” Nerea looked over from the driver’s seat.

  “Sluagh is our word for ghosts. The highway has claimed forty lives, maybe more for all we know. None of them died peacefully, and many will want vengeance for their grizzly deaths. This doesn’t include murderer’s souls eager to return to the sites of their carnal pleasures,” Plume let the thought sink in. 

    Nerea said a prayer and made a cross with her hands, “It’s a bit late to change routes. We will make sure to travel during the day. Keep your eyes out for the nearest town.”

    The towns along highway sixteen took a firm stance against the night. Stadium lights lit the entrances and exits to the little villages and iron hung over doorways. The once welcome signs to the little hamlets now read, Don’t overstay your welcome, and we have loaded twelve gauges. The motels and hotels closed their doors, only the necessary shops remained open.

     When they reached Burns Lake and found no open hotel Nerea growled, “We are stopping at the nearest gas station. We will see if there are any more towns between here and Prince Rupert.”

     Warren and Plume stretched their legs, “Plume, if I learn how to control the eidolon can I help these people?”

   “Yes, you could.” Plume arched his back, “Do humans travel like this often?”

    “A bunch of people in a car? Yeah, some families plan whole summer trips and have adventures across the continent. Some of the small towns, like this one, erect some ridiculous attraction, like the world's largest pair of skis. Mom lived for that stuff.” Warren remembered the old polaroid camera his mom used to take on their trips. Each ridiculous attraction was entered into the book of journeys. Which included bizarre road signs.

   Plume put his slender arm around Warren, “Maybe you should carry on in her honor. You smiled at the memory.” 

   Warren ruffled Plume’s silly bowl-cut hair, “You know that’s not a bad idea. What is with your hair? It feels like silk, but looks like straw.” The eidolon touched his mind, a sense of panic tingled along Warren’s spine, “The eidolon is worried about something.” 

    The plume reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a strange powder, “Let’s find out.” Plume began to trace patterns in the air, he spread the powder on the gentle wind. Plume’s fingertips glowed and the patterns formed symbols in the air. Another second passed, his whole hand started to shine. His erect digits passed over each symbol they vanished until one remained. The mysterious symbol glowed forest green.

  “What does it mean?” Warren stared at it, the eidolon sat on the forefront of his mind eager to hear the explanation. “Why doesn’t the eidolon know what you did?”

   “The eidolon only knows what you do. It will know magic when it senses it, but will only be able to identify what kind after you’ve learned it. Think of it like a child trying to understand the world around it. As for what it means, there is a magical animal nearby, it’s passing through.” Plum clapped his hands.

   Warren relaxed the eidolon did not, the spiritual beast still sensed something else. That something else made it nervous. “Why is it still nervous?” If it wasn’t reacting to the creature what was it reacting to?

   Plume leaned against the passenger door, “Your spiritual companion is a part of you. It remembers everything you do. It’s nervous about magic because you are. I can’t blame you, the first encounter wasn’t exactly whimsical or fun.”

   “I don’t feel nervous or scared at the moment.”

   “Ahh, but the eidolon looks deeper than the surface. It knows your pain, your joy, all of your secret fears and desires. Your goal is not to dominate the eidolon, but to form a partnership of sorts with it. This is what you will learn in New Avalon,” Plume smiled a little.

    “Something funny?”

    “I love the family I come from, but you humans give the word depth and meaning. When you are immortal hellos and goodbyes don’t mean as much. Gatherings and reunions are less joyful because you will see them again. I appreciate you allowing me to experience this journey with you,” Plume blushed to the tips of his pointed ears and his pointed shoes left a trail in the dirt and gravel.

     “Were you immortal?” Warren asked. His curiosity attracted the eidolons attention who seemed eager to know the answer itself. He leaned against the car next to Plume.

    

     “Sometimes a Seelie would grow tired of the endless years. When that happens they would travel to an elder grove and join the sacred ground as trees. We call it the changing. The elder groves followed us to the earth realm. We settled near them so we may speak to our loved ones.”

     Nerea emerged from the convenience store with road snacks, and some refreshments, “We have at least another hour and a half drive. A small town called Houston may have a place for us to stay. The people are terrified of the forests and what lives in them.” She saw Warren and Plume leaned against the car, “Everything okay?

   Plume nodded, “Yes, we should get going. New Avalon awaits”