Necromancy for the Greater Good

first, and then you have an annual,” she replied.

  “I didn't write the brochure,” Maryann said, sounding annoyed.

  “It's like a poor man's Burning Man crossed with a poor man's Bonnaroo,” Isabella explained.

  “That explains why we needed the RV,” Leah said. “We're lucky Abuela decided to spend a couple of weeks in San Francisco on her yearly trek. By the way, if anything happens to this, I'm so dead.”

  “It's fine,” Isabella said, navigating the small recreational vehicle down the highway. “But thing has blind spots on top of blind spots.”

  “So Mr. Rafel couldn't book us for something big?” Nora asked.

  “No.”

  “Figures.”

  “He gets us the jobs,” Maryann said.

  “I hope people aren't trying to set everything on fire like they do at Burning Man,” Leah said.

  “Then they shouldn't have named the festival after the capital of Hell,” she replied. When they looked blank, she sighed. “That's from Milton's 'Paradise Lost.'”

  “When did you read something like that?”

  “High school.”

  “You went to some high school.”

  “Well, I'm sure it'll be an interesting experience,” Maryann said. “We should make the best of it. We'll have a chance to get new fans.”

  “If we don't suffer heatstroke in the Mojave Desert,” Leah replied. “Only Mr. Rafel would book us a gig in the desert in July.”

  “Maybe they should have named it the Dis Festival,” Nora said. The others looked blank again. “The last six circles of Hell were in the city of Dis, according to Dante, and Dis was very hot.”

  “Oh, that's where the whole sinners will burn thing comes from?” Maryann asked.

  “Well, that's one place that kind of imagery was popularized.”

  “When did you read that?” Leah asked.

  “High school.”

  “Wow.”

  The band drove on, following the directions they were given to one of California's many state parks. They had to stop at a ranger station and register, and then were given strict instructions on what was allowed and what was not. They privately thought all of the rules were probably going to be ignored. They were given a camping permit and sent on their way.

  Most of the stage and performance art areas already constructed, or at least marked off. The performers and vendors' campground was to the west of the all the stage and vendor areas and farthest from the entrance. Isabella navigated the small RV through a maze of haphazardly parked vans, trucks with trailers, and full RVs until she found a spot that she thought she could get out of later.

  “So you parked us in the middle of nowhere?” Leah said, stepping out of van.

  “I want to be able to leave when we're done. There's clearly no organization here,” she replied. “Also, I think this is the most direct path to the bathrooms. I don't know about you, but I don't want to empty the RV's dump tank.”

  “Good thinking,” Nora said. “Ugh. So we're leaving after the show, right?”

  “Yes, if we can get out, but we might be stuck another night. Let's just stay in the RV tonight. We'll get up early and figure out where we're supposed to be.”

  “Ugh again. I never like the idea of camping. The great outdoors is either too cold or too hot and full of bugs.”

  “I agree. And there's no bathrooms,” Leah said.

  “This will be fun. I love camping. I remember camping with my family,” Maryann said.

  “Didn't you tell me your brother almost set the forest on fire with a flaming marshmallow?” Leah asked.

  “The key word is 'almost,'” she replied stiffly. “He shouldn't have been trying to put the marshmallow out by flinging it around anyway.”

  “That's something I could see happening here,” Nora said. “Anyway, let's break out the food and get some sleep. I'll bet we have to wake up real early tomorrow.”

  “You'd bet right,” Isabella said.

  “And I don't know about the rest of you, but I lost reception at least an hour ago, so I don't have a lot to do.”

  “I brought cards,” Maryann said brightly.

  “Oh joy, a night of playing hearts or spades,” Nora replied dryly.

  Most of the room in the RV was taken up by their instruments and other assorted gear, including much of the pantry and closet space. Their camping gear was secured to the roof of the RV. Food was limited by space in the refrigerator and the pantry. There was a stove, but they didn't plan on using it just in case they set the RV on fire. Fortunately, there was also a mini-microwave. Food was peanut butter, bread, homemade granola, and the leftovers Leah's grandmother had insisted they take with them. The paper plates and disposable cutlery had also been stored with the camping gear to save space.

  “Your grandmother is a great cook,” Maryann said with a mouth full of enchiladas.

  “I know. But grandmothers always are,” she replied.

  After dinner they did in fact play some cards. Then, after much complaining about the lack of proper bathroom facilities, the band got to sleep. Nora and Isabella shared the real bed and Maryann and Leah laid down sleeping bags on the floor. They opened the vents and windows and used some battery powered fans to stay as cool as they could.

  The alarm went off shortly after dawn.

  “Ugh. I would kill for a decent shower right now,” Nora said.

  “I hear that,” Leah sighed.

  “Come on, it's fun!” Maryann said. “We're roughing it!”

  “In a RV?”

  “I was willing to sleep in a tent.”

  “You might get a chance tonight.”

  “Come on, ladies, we have work to do. We'll head out tomorrow evening,” Isabella said.

  “But we're playing tonight,” Nora said. “I thought we could leave when we were done.”

  “Yes, but if we make a good impression, we want to be around to capitalize on it,” Isabella countered.

  “Oh, fine.”

  They put the sleeping bags away, ate a cold breakfast of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and got their day started.

  “Lordy, it is already too hot and the sun barely came up an hour ago,” Isabella sighed, adjusting her gray fly-fisherman style hat over her ponytail. She was wearing a light gray t-shirt and khaki shorts.

  “We have plenty of sunscreen,” Maryann said, putting on a wide, straw hat with an orange ribbon and adjusting her ponytail. She was wearing a yellow tank-top and a pair of orange denim shorts.

  “Only Mr. Rafel would book us a gig in the desert in July,” Nora sighed. She wasn't wearing a hat, but she had her hair pulled back, which was unusual. She was wearing a stylish lavender linen dress.

  “Sometimes I think he does this on purpose,” Leah said. She was wearing a light green baseball-style cap over her long braid, a light green tank-top, and khaki shorts.

  “Well, let's figure out exactly which stage we're on and get to work. I'd like to get in some rehearsal time before the show tonight,” Isabella said.

  They headed to the stage area. Maryann's attention was caught by a young man approximately her age who was talking to some of the stage staff. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and a cute face. She stopped walking for a moment.

  “Maryann. Maryann,” Leah said.

  “Not this again,” Nora sighed.

  “But he's so dreamy,” Maryann said.

  “Ok, look, first of all, no one ever says that anymore,” Leah said, “and second of all, your crushes always get us in trouble.”

  The cute young man noticed Maryann looking at him and walked over to the band. “Hi,” he said brightly. He was wearing a light blue t-shirt and khaki shorts.

  “I'm Maryann,” she said.

  “I'm Alex,” he said with an easy smile.

  “This is my band, Nevermore and the Ravens. That's Leah, Nora, and Isabella.”

  “Hey, that's pretty cool. You guys are up on the Anarchy Stage ton
ight.”

  “Oh, we were trying to figure out where we were going to play.”

  “So what are you here for?” Isabella asked.

  “I'm a groupie.”

  “For which band?”

  “I'm in the market for one,” he answered.

  Maryann blushed a bit. “Well, we're in the market for groupies.”

  “Oh, well, maybe we'll get together then.”

  She blushed even more.

  “Listen, we need to go take care of some business,” Nora said.

  “No problem. We'll exchange numbers,” he said, pulling out his phone.

  “My phone isn't getting any signal,” she said, saving the number.

  “Neither is mine. Maybe I'd better stick with you.”

  Leah and Nora rolled their eyes.

  “Oh, that's fine by me. Do you guys mind?”

  Isabella shot warning looks at the other two and answered politely, “It's fine, but please don't think we're rude if we start to ignore you. We have work to do.”

  “Hey, it's no problem,” he said.

  They started to walk towards the indicated stage with Maryann hanging in the back with Alex.

  “He's trouble,” Nora said.

  “What, because he likes Maryann? A lot of guys have a thing for redheads,” Leah said.

  “It's just one of those feelings. You mark my words; he's going to be trouble.”

  “I think the desert has already baked your brain.”

  They encountered a lot of confusion trying to find the Anarchy Stage. Eventually they did find it, and found two other featured acts there as well. The stage manager was fielding questions with some frustration. Isabella joined in while the others hung back. Maryann wasn't paying much attention anyway. Nora and Leah sized up the other bands.

  “Ok, here's the situation,” Isabella said as she broke away from the stage manager. “Gates opened at 7:00 this morning,