Sleight of Hand: The Final Card

Chapter 18

The sun was setting by the time they made it to Denver, but the traffic and bustling of the city made up for it with honking cars and blaring headlights and skyscrapers lit up with countless squares of indi­vidual offices. The sunset in the background shrouded the buildings with marvelous orange and pink hues.

"I know this is gonna sound weird," Trebor said, gazing out of the car window on his side, "but this is kind of... beautiful."

His hand rested against the door, and his nose was probably less than an inch from the window. The different colored lights from cars and streetlamps and stoplights and skyscrapers reflected so clearly in his green eyes, they almost seemed to light up themselves. It wasn't like when they glowed with power, either. This was purer, more fascinated, more genuine light.

"I suppose after living in the Superhumans' quaint little community, a busy city would be a novel sight," Kurtis mused, studying the tall buildings himself through the windshield. Blitz was on Aivilo's side, studying the outdoors with her paws braced on the door and mur­muring her own fascinations to Aivilo mentally.

It was true, what Kurtis had said. Not many of the Superhumans had left their homes to venture into the nearby city of Charleston, so not many of them really understood what a human city was like. Of course, there were the few who decided to brave living among humans... but that was before this war.

"It would be nicer if cities weren't so loud," Rae grumbled, suctioning her headphones over her ears and slumping down in her seat. Trebor chuckled, and Aivilo chose to forget what had happened earlier in the day. Why should she have to be embarrassed about things that didn't even happen? Trebor seemed to come to the same conclusion too—or maybe he just read her mind—because he deliberately looked back at her and smiled.

Aivilo didn't know what it was, but seeing him in this moment, with the lights of the city trapped in his eyes and the sunset framing his dark curls, she all at once felt completely at ease and nervously fluttery at the same time. She felt like she was seeing a part of him for the first time... a part of him that was full of wonder and youth and adventure. A part that she'd never seen before because he couldn't be that way when circumstances required him to be grown up and mature and safe and cautious and smart and hidden. Aivilo had no doubt there were many sides to Trebor she didn't know because of what they were trying to combat.

It didn't help her fluttering when he said, "Maybe once this is all over, we can come back and explore... really take in a city."

Aivilo knew he was really talking to everyone in the car, but the way his gaze had gained some sort of inten­sity, and he stared right into her eyes made her wonder if he'd meant just the two of them.

Together.

Kurtis saved her by replying, "That would be inter­esting, to say the least. New York has a plethora of things to see and do."

Trebor finally looked away, focusing on Kurtis.

"You've been to New York?"

Kurtis nodded.

"A very long time ago."

Aivilo couldn't see his expression very well in the fading light, but his tone sounded a bit melancholy. She was about to ask him about it when he abruptly changed the subject.

"We have a little more than two hours until we actu­ally reach Mount Elbert... do you all want to stop for the night?"

Aivilo glanced at the time. It was just before 8 pm.

"No, I think we should keep going," Trebor voiced for all of them. "If there's only two more hours, I don't see why we should stop. Especially if Hali and the Mage are trying to get to the same place we are. The closer we are, the more chance we'll have at... succeeding."