Not to mention, neither of them were very familiar with the area. Both Montana and Idaho were more wilderness than city, even along the main highways. If they wound up missing a motel, it was entirely possible that they wouldn’t pass another for several hours. Eva didn’t want to rely on her darkness spell any more than Serena wanted to if only because it would be exceedingly dull to sit around all day long inside the blacked-out vehicle.
Most motels were just off the side of the highway. This one was no different. As such, it didn’t take long to reach.
A bright neon sign handily informed them that not only did the motel have vacancies, but it was also open twenty-four hours. Which was excellent news. Serena had been concerned that they might have to break into one if they couldn’t find an open motel at the late times of the night that they were traveling at.
Leaving Nel behind in the truck, Eva and Serena walked up to the reception counter. The bell on the door startled awake a pimply faced young man at the counter. He had a bright red mark running across his forehead from the edge of a computer keyboard.
“Welcome to–” His voice caught in his throat with a loud hiccup as he caught sight of Eva. Scrambling backwards, the guy tipped over his chair and fell to the floor.
It didn’t take Eva long to figure out the reason for the reaction. “I should have brought my blindfold,” she hissed under her breath. Walking around Brakket wasn’t a big deal. Out here, that was definitely not the case.
“We’re not here to hurt you,” Eva said, louder. “We just want a room. We’ll be gone tomorrow at dusk.”
Two wide eyes peeked up over the edge of the counter. As far as Eva could tell, he hadn’t even noticed Serena.
Not until she stepped forwards with a kind smile. “Hey there,” she said in a sweet tone of voice that definitely did not fit her. “How much for a single room until tomorrow night for three people?”
His eyes swiveled over to meet with Serena’s. Immediately, he started to calm down. She was probably up to more mind control things.
Eva didn’t bother asking. Whatever worked.
“Eight–” His voice cracked. “Eighty-four dollars.”
Serena glanced over towards Eva. “Eighty-four, he says.”
“I can–” Eva paused. Her words turned to a sigh.
Eva had money. Anti-scrying packets, though she hadn’t made any in a while—Juliana had been the main driving force behind their continued business—had provided her with a decent income for her first year and a half at Brakket Academy. All that money was back at Brakket.
“I knew I was forgetting something.”
Serena rolled her eyes. “I’ll pay.”
Meeting with the clerk’s eyes, she reached back behind her dress and pulled out…
Nothing.
She didn’t even have pockets on the back of her dress.
From the thin air held in her hands, she started miming as if she were counting out dollar bills. Eventually, she held out her hand and offered absolutely nothing to the clerk.
He accepted and started counting it out as well.
“There’s an extra ten here,” he said as he reached the end. One of his hands held up some more empty air.
“For you,” Serena said with a sickeningly sweet smile. “For putting up with us. Also, because we value our privacy and would appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone we were here.”
His eyes shifted towards Eva for just a moment. “I can do that,” he squeaked out in his cracking voice. The one hand drifted to his back pocket, slipping nothing into it. He put the rest of the nothing into the cash register.
Reaching under the counter, he pulled out a very real key. “One-oh-eight,” he said as he held it out to Serena.
“Thank you my dear.” She took the key and turned. Her smile vanished before her back was fully facing him. “Come on,” she said to Eva. “Let’s get Nel and get the blankets set up around the windows.”
Eva waited until they were back out at the truck before whispering to Serena. “Won’t they notice that the register is short by almost a hundred dollars?”
“You didn’t notice?” Serena asked with an eyebrow raised. “He forgot to actually record our stay. When they go to empty the register, the amount contained within should be the same as whatever it is supposed to be had we not been here. Unless someone has been embezzling.”
“Let’s hope that they don’t come knocking at the door in the middle of the day.”
Serena frowned, but shrugged after a moment. “If they do, I’ll hide out in the bathroom. They probably won’t have windows in there. You can scare them off.”
“Oh. Joy.”
“You’re the one who didn’t bring money,” Serena said as she pulled a roll of duct tape and a large bag of thick blankets from the back of the truck.
Inside the truck, Nel looked to be struggling with escaping. It seemed that she couldn’t find the lever to push the seat forwards and allow her exit.
