The Last Warrior (Shifters Unbound #13) - Jennifer Ashley Page 0,21
accelerating as they turned.
If she’d thought they’d moved swiftly before, their subsequent speed took Rhianne’s breath away. Ben leaned forward, pulling her with him, and the motorcycle raced along. The trees to either side of the road were a blur, as were the giant buildings that smelled of metal, oil, and decay.
More vehicles came straight at them. Rhianne cringed against Ben, but the other conveyances whipped past them, the wind of their passing sharp. Rhianne realized that the continuously paved road had a stripe down its middle. The drivers kept their vehicles going one way on one side and the opposite direction on the other.
Still, only a painted stripe separated them from the gargantuan conveyances, which could easily come over the line and scatter her and Ben across the meadow beyond. The purpose of the helmet became clear.
They sped by open fields, some green, some fallow. Dampness and mud lay everywhere. The road wound over gullies and washes and passed lanes reaching from the fields, sometimes with vehicles in these lanes waiting to join them on the road.
More and more conveyances surrounded them as buildings crowded closer together, until they reached a large city, with many houses, vehicles, and people everywhere.
Ben slowed as they left the road, which had widened into many of the striped divisions, and went down a narrower lane. The sun had reached its zenith, the air hot and sticky.
The bike inched over a bump into a place where many vehicles sat silently. Ben slid the motorcycle to a halt and turned off its engine. The roar died, but Rhianne thought she’d have a ringing in her ears for a long time.
Ben gestured for Rhianne to climb off first, which Rhianne attempted to do, hopping on her left foot that hit the ground until Ben grasped her ankle and helped her pull her right leg over the seat. The twinkle in his eyes told her she amused him.
Rhianne unfastened the helmet and pried it from her head. “Where are we?”
Ben swung off the bike and hung the helmet from the seat. He spread his arms. “New Orleans, baby. Welcome to The Big Easy.”
Chapter Six
Rhianne wasn’t certain why Ben assigned the phrase The Big Easy to the city, but she admitted he showed her a wonder.
They left the motorcycle behind and moved on foot through narrow streets teeming with people, far more than she’d see gathered in one place in Faerie. Rain began as they walked, but no one seemed to mind. It pattered down lightly then drifted off.
The number of shops amazed her. Ben took her first to find shoes—she walked into a room full of them in all shapes and colors. Rhianne rarely paid much attention to her footwear. She had boots made for comfortable walking and slippers for the occasional ball she attended, and those were enough. Now her eyes were opened to the possibilities.
Ben lounged on a chair with another man who had come in with his girlfriend. Soon Ben was conversing with him, coaxing laughs from the man.
The young woman with bright eyes and an eager smile who waited on Rhianne bubbled with enthusiasm that Rhianne soon caught. There was something refreshing about examining the shoes and trying on each pair, then surveying herself in the mirror the saleswoman ushered her toward.
Rhianne thought she looked very odd. The leather leggings hugged her calves, and the blue tunic flowed over her thighs. She had no cloak, hood, or fur-lined boots, and her single thick braid hung loose, when she usually pinned up her hair in a looped style. She felt open and exposed without her many layers of clothing. At the same time, she appeared to be … cute. Fun. Playful. Everything Rhianne, the dignified Tuil Erdannan, was not.
“How about these?” The saleswoman returned with her hands full of hot pink straps. “They’re adorable, but wanna know a secret? They’re so comfortable.”
She said it as though comfort was a shameful thing. Rhianne slid on the shoes with the young woman’s help. The heels were higher than Rhianne was used to, but the straps formed a pleasing design on her foot and matched the glittery stripe on her pants. They were, as claimed, surprisingly comfortable.
“I have two pairs,” the young woman whispered to Rhianne in confidence.
“Then I, too, will have two pairs,” Rhianne announced.
“Sure thing, honey. Tell you what, you wear those out of here, and I’ll bag up the boxes. I’ll take you right over here.”