Shifting Life

17. Rush

***Warning***

Mature content, 18+. Delicate souls, stay clear of this chapter. The rest of you be advised: Do not try this in RL. Trespassing is a criminal offense. The California Highway Police do not take kindly to desecration of a national monument.

---the Author

***

Matt turned off the ramp to the Vista Point on the north right side of the Golden Gate Bridge. There was plenty of parking. There were still a handful tourists trying to get the hair out of their eyes for night pictures.

Matt parked the car. She sensed urgency. He was over on her side, opening the door for her before she'd even thought of it. Matt took her hand and headed back toward the road. He walked fast on longer legs than hers. She had to put in high gear to keep up.

There was a small road under the freeway, leading in serpentine ways to the vista points on the west side where you got the bridge as well as the city in your picture.

Matt veered left toward the water. They were not here for sightseeing.

They climbed grassy hills full of trash, plastic and abandoned drinking cups. They passed two signs with dire warnings for trespassers.

Matt didn't heed the warnings.

Jacklyn followed, already out of breath.

The concrete foundation of the bridge began towering over them, almost as dark as the night. Matt stopped when the bridge stopped them. He turned.

The wind died down. Sounds seemed to fade. Jacklyn sensed the bridge's latent power buzzing, like she was too close to a live wire.

The Venetian was smarter than she'd guessed. He probably had a major in kick ass research. He'd figured out a possibility she still couldn't see.

"This is a bad place to play with magic," she said. "There's a lot of..."

Jacklyn shivered.

"Mojo?" He ran a hand through his hair, looking up at the breathtaking construction with a triumphant smile. "You're positive?"

"Matt, there's death here," she said. "I heard the screams when we drove across. There's so much pain."

She couldn't read his gaze in the dark. His feels were all over. There was fear, stark and cold like an undercurrent, but it was drowned by anticipation. He'd dug into the present, focused, ready to go. Excited. If she licked him she'd taste the adrenaline.

For claiming to not know anything about magic, the Venetian had an uncanny intuition.

She glanced at him. Tall and tousled, wicked smile. All that and brains, too.

He was right. Absolutely right.

This was the place. Every cell in her body told her so.

"It's bad energy," she pleaded, "so much death."

Matt shook his head.