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“Should we?” I wondered.
“See? I told you those posters were no good,” his acquaintance scolded him.
The tall man recovered from his disappointment and cleared his throat. “Let’s not bother about that right now. My name’s Grant Pender, and these two fools-” He nodded at the man standing and then his limp comrade, “-are Chase Cobb and Paul Mallory.”
Paul’s grin widened. “Surely you know us now.” Ben and I shook our heads, and Paul slumped deeper into Ben’s grasp. “Damn. . .”
“Are you guys famous?” I guessed.
“Only on the three continents,” Grant assured us as he puffed out his chest a little. “We’re known for being-”
“Long-winded and not getting on our way,” Chase piped up as he shoved one set of reins in his friend’s hand. “Now let’s get going.”
Ben and I looked at each other, and a smile slipped onto both our lips before we shrugged. We’d found ourselves another adventure.
CHAPTERTWO
Grant and Chaseclimbed aboard their steeds and Ben helped Paul into our carriage. I slipped into the seat beside him as he slumped a little. His face was slightly haggard and his eyes were still unfocused.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked him.
He grinned up at me. “Never better.”
“Don’t feel too sorry for him,” Grant warned me as he trotted up beside the vehicle. “He’s been in more accidents than a toddler’s diaper.”
I glanced over to the ruins of the vehicle. “Will that be okay there?”
“Nobody’s going to steal it, if that’s what you mean,” Chase piped up as he came on the other side of the carriage. “It’s just a hunk of junk until we get it fixed up again.”
Ben gingerly climbed aboard Ferox’s back. The spirited steed eyed him with a sharp, ire-filled look, but Ben only smiled and patted the back of his neck. “I don’t like this any better than you, but it’s either that or walking.” Ferox bobbed his head up and down. Ben’s eyes twinkled as he grinned at the horse. “That will make you late for your afternoon grain.”
Ferox snorted, but faced forward and turned the carriage around. I looked wistfully down the road as we made a U-turn to go back to Validen. Some day we would reach Ben’s estate, but today was not that day.
Tomorrow didn’t look good, either.
We trotted back down the road while the two men on horseback bickered with each other.
“I told you we shouldn’t have let him behind the wheel,” Chase scolded his companion.
Grant rolled his eyes. “You know he wasn’t going to stop whining about it until we let him. How was I to know he would step on the fuel that hard?”
“Because he always does something stupid and almost gets himself killed,” Chase reminded him.
“So do you guys build, um, thunders a lot?” I spoke up.
Grant nodded. “It’s our calling.”
“They’re a lot more comfortable than this way, and a thunder won’t buck you off,” Chase chimed in with a sharp look at his companion. “If the Goon here wouldn’t stop messing about and wrecking our schedule.”
Grant glared back at him. “I keep telling you you’re too slow. Is it my fault if that’s the truth?”
Chase scoffed. “You wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you in the ass.”
“So have you three known each other for a long time?” I asked them.
“It feels like forever. . .” Grant mumbled.
“Unfortunately, we’ve been working together for about ten years now,” Chase told me with a frown still on his lips. “We broke into the circuit about seven years ago and were just going to show this at the Plaza in Validen when Mouse there-” He nodded at the man seated beside me, “-asked to take it out for a trip.”
