by Libba Bray
“Yeah,” Sam said, wincing as he scooted to the edge of the bed. Evie helped him into his shoes. He grinned. “Hey. My hat.”
Evie took it from her head and placed it on his. And just like that, it was wild love again.
“Wait a minute. We’ve gotta find my mother. I’m not leaving without her,” Sam said. “Marlowe’s keeping her here. He’s using her power to balance the energy of the Eye. He’s hurting her.”
A wave of hatred rose up in Evie. Ten years. Ten years Marlowe’s machine had kept her brother in a state of suffering. “Where is the Eye?”
“On the roof. The solarium.”
Evie remembered the button in the elevator marked S. It was that easy, then. A quick trip up and she’d end her brother’s misery for good. The breach would close. The King of Crows would hold no more power. It would all be over. That she would be the one to smash Jake Marlowe’s precious invention was the icing on the cake.
“Marlowe’s been making some changes to it,” Sam said. “It’s much more powerful than before.”
“I’m sorry, Sam, but the Shadow Men took your mother in their car,” Theta said.
“Where?”
“I don’t know. But she told us to find you and go.”
“I want to see it,” Evie said, jumping to her feet. “I want to see the machine that’s trapped my brother. And then I want to destroy it.”
“Baby Vamp, you can’t,” Sam said quietly.
“I can’t what?” Evie challenged. If it was the last thing she did, she would destroy that terrible machine.
“Destroy it,” Sam said.
“Sure I can. A hammer. A screwdriver. Anything will do,” Evie insisted.
“I’m telling you, I know. I’ve been hooked up to it. It’s… it’s beyond our comprehension, connected to that other world, and more worlds besides. We don’t know how that machine works. We don’t know what happens to your brother and all those soldiers if you break it. For all we know, it could trap them in that same loop forever.”
Evie wanted to scream. “Are you telling me I’ve made it this far, all the way to Marlowe’s house, and I can’t even help my brother?”
“I’m sorry, Baby Vamp.”
“Why can’t just one thing be simple?” Evie said, pressing the backs of her hands to her eyes, which were threatening to erupt again.
“Hey, Evil? We’d better blouse. Those Shadow Men or a creepy butler could find us, and then we’re really stuck,” Theta said.
“I’m sorry, Baby Vamp.” Sam laced his fingers with hers. “I promise we’ll figure it out. We’ll save your brother and my ma.”
Evie nodded. They’d found Sam. It wasn’t nothing.
“Alley-oop,” she said. Evie and Theta helped Sam to his feet. Isaiah opened the door.
“Hey. You folks are really top drawer. Thanks for coming to my rescue,” Sam said. “Honestly? I wouldn’t want anybody else to do it.”
“Swell. We’ll send the bill later,” Theta said.
On their way out, Evie stopped at Marlowe’s desk. “Is this where he sits to make all of his terrible decisions?” Evie asked. She let her hand hover above the carefully curated objects there, all of them expensive, she knew. None of them imbued with real meaning.
“Don’t do it. You don’t want that man’s memories in your head,” Sam warned.
Evie took Sam’s point. She put on her gloves to block sensation, and then she sat in Marlowe’s antique wingback chair and scratched out a note. “Dear Mr. Marlowe, What you are doing will have devastating”—Evie sounded the word out, making sure she’d gotten all the letters right—“consequences for the nation. Diviners are your only chance of stopping the Army of the Dead and the King of Crows before it’s too late. Sincerely…”
Theta read over her shoulder. “‘A concerned citizen’? Evil. He will know you wrote that letter.”
“I don’t mind if he does,” Evie said with a toss of her head. “If he wants to hunt us down, kidnap us off the streets, and feed us to his machine, I want him to know that I was in his house. That I touched all of his precious things with my awful Diviner powers.” Evie wiggled her fingers like a jazz baby. She eyed the pen once more, then put it in her pocket.
“That’s stealing,” Isaiah said.
Evie patted her pocket. “So it is.”
Somewhere in the grand house, the servants were stirring. Voices drifted out from the kitchen. Pots and pans clanked.
“Time to go,” Theta whispered.
The four of them slipped out into the rose garden and made their way back to the clearing. Evie shivered as she crossed the spot where her brother’s fate had been sealed. She felt like a failure for not destroying the Eye. We’re coming, James, she thought.
Once they’d cleared the branches from the car and Evie got behind the wheel, she realized she really didn’t have a plan beyond “rescue Sam.” It occurred to her that driving a dead man’s car might get them noticed.
“We need a disguise,” Evie said, more to herself than to anyone else.
“I thought that’s why we stole—”
“Borrowed,” Theta said.
“—borrowed these costumes,” Isaiah finished.
“I mean a disguise on the road. A way of going to Bountiful without having to look over our shoulders every minute.”
From the backseat, Sam said, “Baby Doll’s right. I say it’s time we run away and join the circus.”
“Oh, Sam, be serious,” Evie grumbled.
“I am serious!”
“Sam! Please.”
“Look, we’re not too far from Cooperstown. That’s where we’ll find my old circus buddies. They’ll just be getting ready to hit the road for the season. And we’ll be going with them.”
“Are you pulling my leg?” Theta asked. “Evie, is he pulling my leg?”
“Theta, I honestly haven’t the foggiest.”
“The circus circus?” Isaiah asked, sounding excited for the first time since they’d left New York.
“The one and only,” Sam said, managing a smirk. “Come on, everybody. Didn’t you always want to run away and join the circus? What better way to disappear?”
WANTED
Henry chanced another look out the window. The Pinkerton agents were boarding.
“How are we gonna get off this train?” Memphis asked.
“They’ll be checking the crew, too, most likely.”
“No one’s looking for me,” Henry said. “Remember? I didn’t even get second billing. Here.” Henry put a bathrobe on over his clothes and removed his shoes. “Nelson, can you bring a tray of coffee and a covered dish in here?”
“I was just clearing the breakfast trays.” He returned with a used one, placing the silver dome back over the messy plate. “It’ll be fine as long as nobody lifts that lid.”
“Memphis. Into the sleeper. Quickly,” Henry directed.
Memphis climbed up. He looked over his shoulder at Henry.
“I hope you’re not claustrophobic,” Henry said.
“I am.”
“Then I’m truly sorry,” Henry said, closing him up inside. “Just hold tight for a few minutes,” he said from the outside.
Memphis’s response was muffled, but it did not sound happy. Henry drew the drapes and settled himself on the seat like a gentleman at leisure.
“What about me?” Bill asked.
“Hold on a minute.” Nelson raced out and returned a moment later with another porter’s uniform. “Put this on. It’s Stephen’s. He’s the biggest man we have.”
The jacket fit snugly across Bill’s broad chest and shoulders, and the sleeves were a little short, but it would pass muster if nobody looked too closely. Bill had barely finished fastening the last button when there was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” Henry said.
The agent opened the compartment door to find Henry reading a newspaper, his feet up on the seat while Bill poured coffee and Nelson stood by. Henry looked up from his newspaper with a s
mile. He stood to greet the detectives. “Mornin’, gentlemen. If you’re looking for the privy, it’s down the hall on your left.”
The men flashed their badges. “Pinkertons, sir. We don’t see a name registered for this compartment.”
Henry forced a smile. “No. I imagine you don’t. I’m afraid, gentlemen, that I’m here under false pretenses. You see, I’m William Kissam Vanderbilt III.”
“Of the railroad Vanderbilts?” the Pinkerton agent asked.
“The same. I’m here unannounced to see how things are running so that I can make a report for the family. We’re looking to make big changes next year, by golly. Big changes! But may I ask what all this is about?”
“Well, sir, we have it on good authority that there’re some wanted criminals aboard.”
“On this train?” Henry said. He wished Theta were here to watch his performance. He hoped he’d have the chance to tell her about it.
“Yes, sir.”
“Mercy me. What are they wanted for?”
“Treason. They’re some of the anarchists responsible for that tragedy at Mr. Marlowe’s Future of America Exhibition, the one that killed Miss Sarah Snow.”
“You don’t say!” Henry shook his head and clucked his tongue. “What is this world coming to? Why, I was just in New York City seeing to the steel business.”
Bill flashed Henry a glance: Don’t push this too far.
“We’re asking everyone on board if they’ve seen these people.”
The detective handed over a large poster with the word WANTED in big letters up top, along with $5,000 REWARD FOR THE CAPTURE OF THE FOLLOWING PERSONS OF INTEREST. There were small pictures of Memphis, Isaiah, Ling, Evie, and Theta. The poster mentioned that the criminals were considered highly dangerous due to their DIVINER POWERS.
“And have you managed to capture any of them yet?” Henry asked without looking up.
“Not as of yet, sir.”
Henry concentrated on keeping his hands from shaking. “What can these so-called Diviners do, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“All manner of impossible things, Mr. Vanderbilt. They can disrupt radio signals. Communicate with the enemy. They controlled people’s minds at a memorial service in New York City. One of them has the ability to start fires with her bare hands. Another of them, Memphis Campbell, murdered the curator of a museum at the urging of his partner, Margaret Walker, a dangerous anarchist agitator. The curator was going to turn them in for treason. Seems these Diviner types are tied in to that group that bombed Mr. Marlowe’s exhibit.”
Henry marveled at how easy it was for false information to be repeated and spread until everyone just assumed it was fact.
“And you’re certain these criminals are on this train?” Henry asked.
“Yes, sir. This was the last train out of New York City last night, and Mr. Campbell and others were spotted by a concerned citizen who reported it to the police. But we’ll catch ’em here.”
“I certainly hope so.” Henry pointed at the picture of Evie. “Now I think of it, I believe I saw this very little lady just last night in the dining car. She was performing some sort of party trick for a couple. Yes, now I remember! She claimed she could read their fortunes in an object. It all seemed rather harmless and silly at the time.”
Henry pretended to look at the poster. From the corner of his eye, he saw the agents nodding to each other. “We’d better go to that dining car and ask around. Thank you, Mr. Vanderbilt. You’ve been a great help. We’re sorry to have bothered you.”
“The pursuit of justice is no trouble at all, gentlemen. Good day.” Henry flicked his newspaper open again and Bill dropped a lump of sugar in the coffee cup.
“I’ll show you the way to the dining car, gentlemen,” Nelson said, seeing the detectives out. Henry counted to ten under his breath, and then he and Bill scrambled to let Memphis out of his hiding spot in the sleeper compartment. A woozy Memphis let Bill help him down the ladder to the seat and took several settling breaths. He glared at Henry. “Never do that again.”
“What? Save your life?”
Nelson gave the secret knock again and slipped into the compartment. “The Pinkertons are going to ride with us,” he whispered. “When we pull into Jackson, they’re not going to let anybody leave this train without checking every single person against that poster.”
“Then we’ve really got to get off now, while we can,” Memphis said.
Henry pushed the curtains open and looked out at the scrolling landscape. “In the middle of nowhere?”
“Either that or take your chances with the law.”
“Middle of nowhere,” Henry and Memphis said in unison.
“Can we catch another train at Jackson?” Memphis asked.
“Those men’ll be crawling all over the place till they catch somebody. If it was me? I’d go on foot. Stay off the main roads. Best to head north to Greenville or Yazoo City, catch a bus or a train there. But you won’t have us to look after you. You’ll have to look out for yourselves. I’m gonna ask the engineer for a slowdown. We’ll come up with some excuse—reports of branches on the tracks ahead, something. You get to the caboose, and then you jump over the railing and you run.”
“What if they see us getting off the train?” Memphis said.
“I’m still stuck on ‘jump over the railing,’” Henry said.
“We’ll try to keep them busy,” Nelson said. “Go on. Get to the back now.”
“Boy, I sure wish I had Theta’s or Sam’s powers right about now,” Henry said as he, Memphis, and Bill crept toward the caboose, hoping they weren’t spotted by a Pinkerton or an overzealous passenger. “Going invisible or throwing up a wall of fire sure would come in handy.”
They slipped out onto the narrow railing and looked down at the ground moving rapidly behind them. The train jerked slightly, then slowed to a fast crawl.
Henry threw one leg over the back railing, straddling it. “Funny how your entire notion of ‘slow’ changes when you’re looking down at some moving railroad tracks and a possible broken ankle or two.”
“Do you always talk this much and I never noticed before?” Memphis asked, climbing onto the back railing beside him.
“I don’t know. I’ve never had to escape from federal agents by leaping from a moving train before,” Henry snapped back.
“I’d like to shut you both up,” Bill said and jumped onto the tracks, landing solidly. He waved at the others to do the same. Memphis dropped down, rolling out into the tall grass running alongside the tracks. Henry positioned himself. The train lurched forward, picking up speed. Memphis gestured to him wildly.
“Here goes my piano career.…” Henry said. He let go, landing hard on his side and rolling out of the way. “Ow,” he said, wincing as he stood. His left arm smarted from the fall.
“If it’s broken, you’ll heal it, right?” Henry asked as Memphis ran over.
“Can you move it?” Bill asked.
It hurt, but Henry could, in fact, lift it.
“Ain’t broken, then,” Bill said. They scurried down the embankment, away from the tracks, hiding in the ticklish grass until the Crescent Limited chugged into the distance under a head of steam and disappeared around a curve. They stood and brushed the fluff and dirt from their clothes. Henry cupped a hand over his eyes to block the hazy daylight beating down on the fertile land of the Mississippi Delta.
“See anything?” Memphis asked.
“Yes. I can confirm, undoubtedly, that we are stuck in the middle of nowhere and a long way from where we need to be,” Henry said. “What do we do now?”
“We get to Greenville and catch another train,” Memphis said. He slapped a mosquito on his arm and scratched the place where it had bitten him.
“Great stuff!” Henry said. “Which way’s Greenville?”
“Beats me,” Memphis said. A pair of starlings hopped along the wires stretched between telephone poles. The railroad tracks. The telephone wires. They seemed to go
on forever.
“Whole lotta state between here and there,” Bill said ominously.
“What’s that mean?” Memphis asked.
“I mean you ain’t in Harlem no more. You in the Jim Crow South. There are rules about where black folks can and can’t be—mostly where we can’t be.”
“I’m not bowing and scraping for anybody,” Memphis grunted.
“Not telling you to bow and scrape. Telling you how not to get yourself killed.”
“Lot of ghosts between here and there, too,” Henry said.
“I saw Gabe in a dream,” Memphis confessed. “At least, I think it was a dream. It was awfully hard to tell. Felt like I was really living it.”
“Dreams can be that way sometimes,” Henry said. He had been so exhausted he hadn’t dreamed at all. “There’s an awful lot of mess to work through while we sleep.”
“S’pose,” Memphis said. He bore a fair amount of guilt over Gabe’s death. They’d fought about Theta at Alma’s party. Memphis had left him there. And Gabe, drunk, had staggered off and been murdered by the Pentacle Killer. Gabe was stubborn like that. Still, what if? Memphis wondered. What if he’d looked out better for his friend?
And then there was Gabe’s troubling warning: How long will you be able to heal? How much power do you really have? It had gone right to the heart of it for Memphis. Ever since what had happened with his mother, Memphis had harbored the fear that this gift could be taken from him at any time. After all, so many things had been taken from him already.
Memphis wiped the sheen from his forehead. He felt very small under the pitiless sun. “Gabe said they were getting stronger.”
“Who?”
“The dead.”
“It was just a bad dream. We got bigger fish to fry, seeing as we’ve got to walk to Greenville, Mississippi,” Bill said. “We go back, we’ll be at the depot we just left. We should keep going forward, reckon. Come on. We don’t wanna be on these roads after dark,” Bill said and set out to follow the ribbon of tracks, wherever it led.
“You think there might be cemeteries along here? Some of the King of Crows’s ghosts?” Henry asked, falling in behind.