“You can still see them from Amicae.”
“Because a blue shadow is so interesting. You can only see them on a good day anyway. Everything you can see clearly is crops. Crops, crops, and more crops. I’m sick of looking at crops and walls.”
“So become a Ranger. What are you doing working as a Sweeper if you’re sick of walls?” Clae scoffed.
“You hired me.”
“You asked for the job.”
This was true. Laura dropped the topic. “If this is an annual meeting, you must’ve been on trains before. Is it all like this outside the cities?”
“In the area around Amicae it typically is. Go further and there are flat areas, valleys, and cliffs. They need somewhere to record their films.”
“I never thought of that. Some are filmed in the wilds, aren’t they?”
“They have high security for those, but yes.”
“Have you ever seen any? Are they visible from the train?”
“No.”
“Then how—”
“It’s common sense.”
“What’s it like around Puer, then?”
“Flat.”
“That’s helpful.”
“If you want to know about the damn landscape, go out and stand on the back of the car, look all you want. Just let me sleep already.”
“Fine. Go ahead and waste the experience,” Laura grouched as she drew the curtains again.
“Family business,” he called after her.
Laura shut the compartment door behind her. She found it hard to balance on this train now that she thought about it. It shook enough to make her unsteady, but she stumbled down the mauve aisle to the back door. She could see a little of the outside through a round window, but it wasn’t enough. She hesitated, but set her hand on the handle. It took a moment to work up the nerve, but she opened the door. The balcony on the back of the car provided enough room for her to step out. She set her hands on the railing and leaned out to look at the mountains. The air was fresh. It didn’t smell like baking bread, or the inside of the city, or anything else she could think of. It was kind of wonderful.
“It would be interesting to live out here,” she mumbled to herself.
“Not particularly.”
The voice made her jump. The attendant from earlier stood in the open doorway, looking apologetic.
“Didn’t mean to scare you, miss. Just saw the door open and thought I’d check. I don’t want anyone falling off the train.”
“People have fallen off?”
“Mostly drunk ones,” the attendant admitted. “They try to jump off, claim they’re off to conquer the wilds. We catch them, though.”
“I just came out to get a better look at the view.”
“Did you? Well, watch your step anyway. The railing’s there for a reason, but it’s not foolproof.”
The attendant made to go inside and shut the door, but paused halfway through. After some hesitation he asked, “I don’t mean to be a bother, but how did you get to traveling with that airedale?”
“Airedale?”
It took a moment, but he realized she had no idea what he was talking about. “Oh, sorry. Hobo term. It means ‘extreme loner.’ Guy who doesn’t travel with anyone else. In all the time I’ve worked here, whenever I see him he’s always been alone.”
Family business rang in Laura’s head again, and she asked, “How long have you been working here?”
“Ten years.”
“Oh. Well, I work with him. This is sort of a business trip. He only hired me a few months ago.”
“That makes sense.” The attendant nodded. “If nothing else, he’s more tolerable with company. If you don’t mind me saying so. Have a nice ride, miss.”
He shut the door.
After a while, Laura left. The mountains continued to be amazing, but there was only so long she could look at something that, while varying, tended to stay pretty similar. Tree-covered mountains looked beautiful but got repetitive. She went back to the compartment in time to catch the attendant when he brought lunch (another grand spread she had to wake Clae for), and ended up falling asleep again. The train was like an uncomfortably rocking cradle. She woke a few times, peeked out the window, and dropped off again. There wasn’t anything to do beyond look or sleep.
Eventually the land outside melted flatter as they went through dips and channels between mountains. Over the day Laura saw many plants and animals, including several canir in a pack, deerlike creatures with broad white stripes down their sides and black tufts of fur at the eyes that scattered across a valley as the train approached, and dark shadows of wheeling birds. The ruins of a city long abandoned could be glimpsed through a gap between mountains, and Clae informed her the place was called Thrax. Laura had heard of Thrax in her history books, so actually seeing it was exciting.
Thrax was once a thriving city, but it was host to a lot of native refugees and welcomed their influence. The surrounding cities weren’t fond of their policies or their plainly Immortalist leanings, so no one was motivated to help when Rex swooped in to attack them. Everyone thought they’d fight Rex off and life would go on as usual, but Thrax was razed and its people slaughtered. That sent the rest of Orien into an uproar and paved the way for the current alliances. The cities weren’t irrevocably bound to each other, but there were conditions now so if any city was attacked, others would come to its aid. They already had monsters to worry about; they didn’t need the threat of extermination via neighbors hanging over their heads too.
“Clae?” she muttered, still staring out the window at the ruins of Thrax. “What kind of ceremony is it that we have to do in Puer?”
Clae shuffled under his blanket, scowling. “We exchange Gin. That’s the most ceremonial part of the deal. It’s a delicate matter and only the head Sweepers can do it properly, but it doesn’t take very long.”
“And the part about my promotion?”
“That’s not so much a ceremony as it is a formality? Or maybe not even formality. It’s not even an official rule for the cities. It’s just a rule among Sweepers. Before an apprentice can move up to a regular Sweeper position, they have to be recognized by the wider community. They’re presented at another city, to another group, by their head Sweeper. So I’ll introduce you to them, and they’ll get the message that you’re important and pass it on to other cities themselves. You might not know it, but Sweepers are horrible gossips.”
“Why do I have to be presented at another city? Why not just Amicae?”
“Because I could introduce anyone in Amicae. I could introduce a Sweeper to the Keedlers if I wanted to, but that doesn’t mean anything to them. I could introduce a baby, but that doesn’t make them recognize it as a Sweeper. You have to go out of your way for it. If you aren’t presented to them properly they won’t accept your status when you’re promoted. Amicae could make you head Sweeper, but that doesn’t mean any other Sweepers will listen to you if they think you weren’t presented right or not worthy of the position. Appease them if you want to succeed, because once you’re introduced they’ll start networking with you too, and the more friends you have in other cities the more help you’ll get if you find yourself in trouble. So, you’re being presented. You don’t have to do anything, so long as you’re there and they learn your name.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. It’s worth it in the long run, believe me.”
“But you seriously network with other cities? Seems kind of out of character for you.”
“How else am I getting news on Rex and infestation movements?” he retorted, sour. “There, I talked.”
“But—”
“I refuse to face that woman unless I am completely alert. Now let me be.”
“That woman”? He must’ve made enemies out of some of his contacts after all.
Laura turned back to the window while he rolled over. The train took a turn and the wreckage of Thrax vanished behind a small mountain.
The sun
reached its zenith and descended, more and more until the sky bled pinkish orange and it vanished entirely. With the gathering darkness it grew easier to sleep undisturbed.
19
DERAILING
Laura lazed about until it was very dark. During one of her light dozes, Clae’s eyes snapped open again. He stared straight forward.
“Something’s wrong.”
“Huh?” Laura mumbled intelligently.
Clae stood, shucking off the blanket as he did. He put a hand to the amulet on his belt and frowned.
“Something’s happening back in the storage cars.”
A moment of hesitation, then he pulled the Gin back down, making for the door.
“What do you mean? How do you know that?” Laura tottered after him.
Clae opened the door and stalked down the hallway. “There’s very little spell work that can actually be practiced, and I used one on the Eggs. Sends a signal to my amulets if something’s wrong.”
“Something like what?” Laura woke quickly. She’d had more than enough time to sleep.
“Like an infestation, or if it senses it’s going into the wrong hands. I placed it in case any thieves did try to pull something. We can catch them. Probably Rex, the bastards. Gaudium isn’t far from Amicae, but it’s still southerly and they range far. Maybe the Amicae invasion was just a distraction for a larger operation.”
“But how can Eggs tell any of that? They don’t have a brain or hive mind to think with.”
“Eggs take on the will of their parent Gin. Gin is somewhat sentient, not on the level of a person or an animal, but enough to know it likes something and enough to sense danger.”
“So this ‘will of the Gin’ is sending you an SOS right now.”
“That’s right.”
“Hang on, if it’s really Rex causing trouble, shouldn’t we be staying away? They won’t be getting the Gin anyway, and the police were really adamant about keeping us away from them.”
“They’ll check the bag before they leave the train, obviously. We’ll get the drop on them before they come looking for us.”
“But the police—”
“They don’t want to lose us, but Rex knows my reputation. Idiots or not, they’ll retreat if they don’t have proper backup. Besides, I’ve got a gun. It may be for kin, but if I aim right I can kill the bastards.”
He opened the car door. Outside it was pitch black, but a lamp on the back of this car and another on the front of the one connected gave enough illumination for them to cross over the gap without trouble. Smoke filtered back from the engine—Laura nearly choked on it. The door to the storage car opened easily and they walked in. It looked much the same as the other one they’d seen, crates and bags of supplies bound for the north, with faint lights on the ceiling. No one visible.
“Did you see where that man put it?” Laura looked around at the cargo. None looked like the supply bag.
“Two more cars back. I can track it with the amulets.”
They crossed into the next car, and were barely through the door when somebody ran smack into them. It was the man they’d met earlier, the one who took the bag. Another baggage handler came just behind him. Clae caught him by the jacket.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“The hell out of here!” The man tried to wrestle free.
“Didn’t I say that bag was more important than your life? What are you running from?”
“The monster, obviously!” the man spat.
“A monster?” Laura echoed. “What kind?”
“It was black,” said the other handler, terrified. “It was big and black and it was everywhere and gaining on us—”
“Did it have a shape?”
“You mean beyond slimy?”
“So it’s just an infestation,” Clae growled, letting go.
“Infestation. We can deal with that.” Laura gave a shuddering sigh of relief.
“And of course it has the backups. Did you bring equipment?”
“I’ve got two Eggs and a couple Bijou.”
“So you’ve taken that lesson to heart.” Clae sounded pleased. “That makes three Eggs between us, a stock of Bijou, and a few rounds of bullets. I’ve dealt with worse.”
From what Laura remembered, that kind of ammunition could take out a smaller infestation easily. Of course, if this was a big infestation and they had no cover, they might be screwed. If Okane had come along he would’ve sensed the monster and they wouldn’t have to deal with this at all.
“You’re going to fight it?” cried the man, incredulous. “You’re not ERA Sweepers!”
“It’s our job, regardless of location. Stay back here.” Clae pulled out one of his guns with his free hand. He paused, a muscle jumping in his cheek, and set down the Gin bag. He gave the handlers the meanest glare Laura had seen him make. “Don’t touch that bag. If I get back to find you sifting through my drawers, I will not hesitate to shoot you. If I’m out of bullets, I’ll gouge your eyes out.” He brandished the gun, and the men drew back in fear.
Laura followed him over to the next balcony, but they hesitated by the door. Clae glanced through the window and let out a frustrated noise.
“It’s all over the cargo.”
“So it’s a big one.”
“It must’ve been festering in some of the luggage. They loaded it on without realizing what was in there. Like those mobsters earlier.”
“So this is just coincidence?”
“Gin only travels once a year, so I’m not believing in coincidence. Might still be Rex after all, using an infestation to do their dirty work and waiting to pick up the spoils at the next stop.”
“You did say they were after our Sweeper secrets.” Laura took a steadying breath. “So what’s our plan?”
Clae looked all around, back to the door, and after a moment of consideration, slammed his elbow into the window. The glass smashed and he pulled out an Egg, nicking it against his amulet before lobbing it through the hole. Laura heard it clatter against the floor and ducked down to the side of the platform. There was a pause, and then it blew. The explosion made the entire car buck. Wood burst up and out from the back of the car, twenty feet into the air before raining down. Two sets of screeching rent the air, one the monster cry Laura was used to, the other more metallic. She leaned out, looking down the side of their car, to see that the back end was completely mutilated. The force of the blast had snapped the connection between the train cars. The one behind theirs actually reared up into the air. It twisted, creating that metallic shriek as the rest of the cars derailed. The cacophony fell behind quickly, out of earshot and out of sight.
“Holy crap,” Laura breathed. “Did that—did we blow up the backups just then?”
“Stop staring and start attacking!”
The door had burst open too, and they slipped in quickly. Starting halfway down the car, the ceiling and walls were missing. Much of the cargo had been blown off too, though one of the remaining bags was ripped open and leaking letters. The creature itself remained, clinging to a pile of crates just out of the way of the blast area.
Clae lifted his arm and shot. The creature pulled out of the line of fire just in time, and the bullet buried itself into a crate with a flash and a crash of splintering wood. The monster scuttled on a multitude of legs that stretched just enough to reach the ground, its body twisting long like a millipede.
“Ugh, that’s nasty.”
“It’s not moving far.” Clae’s eyes tracked its movement. “The source is in that pile.”
The creature bunched together. It grew larger on one side, then the other, a spiraling kind of movement that made Laura think of swirling batter in a frying pan. Its top surface began to bubble.
“Get out your Eggs.”
Laura reached back to the bag on her belt to grab them, but all her fingers found was the soft cloth of the bag. Horror dawned as she searched more desperately, craning her head around to look as she sifted through. The Egg
s weren’t in her bag. All that was left was a pair of Bijou.
“They’re gone! I had them just a second ago!” She checked all her other pockets and dug into the bag again to no avail. “I think one of those people pickpocketed me!”
She expected Clae to be very unhappy with this, but didn’t expect him to grab her arm and heave her to the other side of the car. As it turned out, that was a good thing. The creature’s bubbling had burst into a black smokescreen. All its many legs split apart and surged along the car, ripping up the wood floor and sending the luggage crashing down. They narrowly avoided one of these legs, only for it to curl and heave the planking up behind them. The sudden hole showed off the welded framework of the car and the ground flashing below; Laura leapt to avoid it. The rest of the legs wreaked havoc. She heard what was left of the side door wrench away, almost deafening her to Clae’s shout.
“Get back to the other car!”
“Don’t have to tell me twice!”
They dashed out the open door and leapt across the gap into the forward car again. There was a shout. They ducked down just in time for something to sail over their heads. Inside the car they ran into the baggage handlers again.
“Did you see that?” cried the younger, ecstatic. “I told you I had great aim!”
Confused, Laura looked back. There was shattered glass by the doorway of the other car, with gold liquid pooled on the ground with it. The Eggs. They hadn’t been armed properly. The creature stopped short by the mess, skirting the edges before realizing that the fragments were harmless and plowing straight over them.
“You stole those?” Laura demanded, glaring at the handler.
His smile faltered. “Yes? But look, I helped out—”
Laura stared at him in incredulity for a moment, then punched him in the face. Almost immediately she regretted it, because that hurt. He reeled in surprise and his friend stepped up, furious. Clae caught him.
“Let go of me! You can’t attack railroad personnel!”
“Considering it was obvious theft, I don’t think the railroad will be taking your side on this one.”
“It’s life or death, there’s a monster on board!” the man roared.
City of Broken Magic Page 30