An Exquisite Lie: Zodiac (Still Under Construction)

Chapter Eight Part Two

Eight

VINE STALLION

After a voyage on the ice laden sea, the group of young heirs then hit the snowy road leading to the heart of Daynehurst. This leg of their trip, however, is done on cars, maglev cars, two scientific marvels which were rented from Portmann Rentals Incorporated.

The red-haired sisters proved worthy after all. They’ve taken them to the rental service company, which was apparently owned by their family.

When the company’s agents had shown them to the maglevs; extremely expensive looking autos with magnet pads instead of wheels, interiors with seats fit for VIP’s, and engines that ran on mysterious alternative energy, Syle was immediately lost in another lecture. He had obsessively checked out every angle of the machines.

Zauri did not care about the technical stuff though; she only cared about solving the mystery of flirt benefits. The Portmann sisters had given them an impossible discount.

The agents, on the other hand, tried to persuade them into buying the high-end models instead. Apparently, the ones they rented were the cheapest that they offer, but if Mercedes-Benz were the cheap ones, what could possibly be the expensive ones?

“Don’t fall for that,” Lily had warned. “They’re just taking advantage of you foreigners.”

Zauri, in turn, had asked for the reason why she warned them about that if it was their own business. Surely they’ll gain more profit if they had let their agents persuade their customers. Daniella answered that they were never interested in the business.

“There are more – interesting things,” she had said. Both girls had been staring at Will like predators.

From that moment, Zauri started to pertain to them as the “Blood Sisters”; attractive with their impossibly red hair, disgusting with their flirty accents. They were only edible to vampires and mosquitoes.

Zauri snapped out of her flashback as Fal clinged to her arm.

“Make him stop!” she said, groaning. “Venson drives like his father! I guess lunatic driving runs in the family”

“He’s doing us a favor,” explained Zauri. “None of us here knows how to drive a maglev.”

“Well, why didn’t we just hire a second driver?”

Zauri shrugged. The other maglev which was occupied by Will, Matt, and Syle was handled by a hired driver. Venson took the liberty to drive theirs. Mars followed them from above. Unfortunately, the poor hawk wasn’t allowed inside.

“Deal with it,” commented Venson from the driver’s seat. “It’s not my driving. It’s your motion sickness.”

With a defeated groan, Fallanine fell onto Zauri’s laps with her palms flattened on her face. Zauri massaged her friend’s temples while observing the moderately snowy landscape beyond the window.

She dug deeper into the soft seats to feel a lot warmer. The now sunlit elements of Vanjeide were laid out to please her curious eyes. For about seven kilometers that they had covered, all that visited her eyes were trees invading the opposite sides of the road. From a bird’s-eye view, the road to the center of Daynehurst was like a straight line cutting through thick green fabric.

Zauri’s eyes grew. The surrounding scene was a fantasy world. Minute clumps of snow sprinkled one after the other in long intervals. It seemed that every snowflake was dragged by time.

The sunlight was even more breathtaking. Somehow, it was both lucid and blurry at the same time. However, the opposing traits were balanced, having a tone that was dreamy and visually pleasing. Also, bits of blinking lights like fireflies fluttering about created a mystical setting.