She relaxed her shoulders until she realized that now the Major was free to interrogate her for the rest of the trip. His piercing eyes watched, waited.
“I don’t know what, I can’t . . .” She stumbled over the thoughts running through her mind and finally settled on the truth. “I’ve never slipped up like that before.”
Talia looked away and rubbed the necklace between her fingers.
Jaron sensed the magic in the air and immediately found the source, watching as the woman transformed in front of him. He knew she had mage blood, and it was possible the man did as well. Werner really was a fool if he believed the mages had completely died out.
Too bad I can’t save either of them, but there must be others.
Moving quickly through the cars he found the one he needed. The tram designers had not thought out the security measure for tramlines well enough. Each automated tram placed the command car in a different location—this was the only security measure.
Once Jaron found that car, it was a simple matter to break the lock and enter. He increased tram speed and disconnected the power to the brake lines and doors.
He regretted the deaths he was about to cause, but for the most part the demon had numbed him to guilt. Jaron’s whole planet had died at the hands of the Dragumon, and now he’d get his revenge. What were a few more lives on the only path that would bring him peace?
He quickly set up the jammer Werner had given him. It would prevent the controllers from accessing the computer remotely and making repairs. Once it was on, Jaron took a deep calming breath and focused his energy on opening a portal.
When he opened his eyes again, he stood safely on the ground and the tram sped out of sight.
Chapter 17
Do you feel that?” Major Sutton turned to the window.
“We’re speeding up.”
“Yes, but we shouldn’t be. Trams have a fail-safe to prevent them from going faster than eighty miles an hour. We reached that speed minutes after leaving the station.” The Major walked to the far side of the car to get a better look at the front of the tram.
“That guy never came back. Do you think he has something to do with it?”
“Maybe. I should have followed him.” He tried the door. “We’re locked in.”
Talia pushed the emergency button, hoping to trigger the brakes. The train didn’t slow but a loud siren wailed. She clasped her hands over her ears while Sutton pointed to the message board on the bulkhead.
The scrolling words reported the Kiyan Bridge was out. That was along their route.
“We have to slow the tram,” Landry yelled. “You’re good with electronics, right? See if you can get the brakes working, or the doors. We’ve got to jump.”
“Jump! Are you crazy?” This wasn’t how she was supposed to die. It didn’t feel real.
“No one will survive going over the ravine.” Sutton tried to loosen one of the support poles, but it wouldn’t budge. His eyes scanned the rest of the tram.
“We must stop the tram, not jump,” Talia yelled over the siren.
“No time at this speed, even if the brakes worked. The fastest fix is to get the doors open. The panel is over there.” He pointed to a control box beside the side door.
Talia ran to the box. It was screwed on tight. She grabbed her bag and dumped the contents on the seat, a few things clattering to the floor. She rummaged through; the finger nail file would have to work.
It broke on the second screw, but by then Talia could wiggle her fingers under both sides of the thin metal. Just like in the dreams, she pulled from a deep well of strength to keep fighting. Adrenaline gave her the strength to pry the cover off the bulkhead.
The box contained the standard wires and microchips familiar to Talia. She located the alarm and quickly pulled the wire. The silence was staggering as the siren stopped wailing. Now that she could think clearly, she searched for the door’s power supply and the brakes.
“I’m rerouting power from the message board to trigger the brakes. They’ll lock in place, and then I can use the same power supply to open the doors.” Her fingers pulled wires and rerouted them. She talked to remain calm. “We have to lose speed if we want to survive the jump.”
The tram shuddered as the brakes tried to gain a grip on the rails. Talia glanced out the window as the friction worked its magic. The scenery flew by, but the tram trembled and slowed.
Too little, too late. The edge of the Acaran mountain range and the ravine waiting to swallow them rushed closer. Swallowing hard, Talia turned back to the wires and concentrated on the doors.
Sutton was beside her. “Open the doors now!”
She connected the last wire and exhaled with the swish of the opening door.
Electricity shot through Talia as Sutton grabbed her around the waist and jumped. The whispers of his mind didn’t have time to register before everything went black.
When the tram door opened, Landry only had a second to take in their situation. The cliff edge was a few hundred feet away with the first four cars already over the precipice. He grabbed Talia and they jumped. Instinct took over as he tucked his head and crashed into the ground. He rolled and flipped several times before stopping in the brush.
The squeal of the tram stopped abruptly as the last car left the rails. A thunderous crash rumbled up from the ravine. The explosions that followed were eerily muffled.
Landry slowly got to his feet and headed for the cliff edge, eyes scanning the sides of the rail for any survivors. Thick black smoke billowed up from the ravine, obscuring the bottom and the train. Closing his eyes, Landry stretched his mind downward searching for any signs of life.
Nothing.
He redirected his search along the rails. Still nothing. There were no survivors.
He walked back toward Miss Zaryn, to wait as she gained consciousness.
Talia was aware of only one thing—she hurt all over. The last thing she remembered was connecting the wire, a jolt of electricity, and flying. No, falling. She was falling. They were falling.
Major Sutton must have pulled me from the tram. The last bits of memory clicked into place and she opened her eyes.
Talia lay still, because it hurt too much to move. The sky above was so blue, so beautiful, but when she turned her head to the left, she could see the black smoke rising from the ravine. She moved her head to the right and almost cried in relief. Her neck wasn’t broken. One by one, she tested her limbs to see if they worked. The pain added up to cuts and bruises, no broken bones.
Major Sutton knelt beside her.
“Talia, are you okay? Is anything broken?” Sutton spoke softly, concerned.
“I’m fine. Did anyone else make it off?”
His silence said everything. Talia closed her eyes. She gagged on the taste of burning fuel, flesh, and textiles. This wasn’t a dream.
“Keeta!” Talia scrambled to the edge of the cliff, ignoring the pain in her aching body.
“What?”
“No, no, no.” She lay on her stomach and peered over the edge at the jumbled pile of train cars that peeked through the thick smoke. Even if Keeta had survived there was no way for her to get down there.
Her eyesight blurred, and her hands shook as she reached for the necklace and came away empty. The sob that escaped carried all her pain. She crawled along the ground looking for the necklace.
“Miss Zaryn?”
“Everything is gone. There’s nothing left of them.”
She ran her fingers through the grass and over the rocks, but the necklace was nowhere to be found. Her mind clung to the image of the necklace and refused to think of Keeta’s small body burning in the ravine.
Talia curled up on the ground with her eyes squeezed shut. A steadying current flowed through her as Sutton pulled her into his arms. She tried to push him away, but he held on tightly. His voice entered her mind again.
Talk to me.
Talia watched herself and Landry clasped in an embrace inside their
shared mind space as if she floated above. His brow was wrinkled, and he stroked her back. She stopped fighting him. If only for a short time, she wanted someone to take care of her, to share her pain.
With her reservations gone, she melted into him; clung to him as if he could save her from everything she had ever lost or feared.
Years ago I found a baby treeb. He cooed and trilled and all I wanted was to take care of him. She pictured the small brown and cream fuzz ball with his tail fanned out in a happy moment so Landry could see him.
My mom said I couldn’t keep him, but every time I set him free he came back to me. She showed Landry an image of herself, eight years old, sitting under a large tree in the moonslight. Keeta hopped from a low branch and landed in her lap while she laughed. He crawled up her arm and onto her shoulder where he licked the tracks of her dried tears. He’s been with me all these years, my only true friend. He was on the tram.
I’m sorry. So sorry. Landry rubbed her back and prompted, And your necklace?
A gift from my mother. There’s nothing left of them. Having thought out the words, Talia immediately felt guilty. How many people had just lost their lives?
You did all that you could to save them. If it helps, concentrate on the fact that you did more than I did.
With his admission of guilt they both fell silent. Talia found herself firmly in her own body again, aware of the strong arms that held her and the beating of another’s heart beneath her ear.
She thought of Keeta, of the people on the tram. Who would miss them, hurt because they were no longer a part of their lives? She knew how the spouses and children would feel, and she cried for them.
Landry followed her line of thinking. How can you feel so deeply for people that never made a place for you in their lives?
Talia sensed that his was a sorrow for failing in his duty, not necessarily for the lives that had ended.
When did you stop caring about other people’s deaths?
The image of a small boy standing on the steps of the palace came to her mind. He watched soldiers carry a man up the stairs on a stretcher. They stopped in front of him and the man reached out a hand as blood bubbled from his mouth. Talia descended to a familiar pain, the sense of complete loss. Then the scene was gone, as Landry shielded his mind from her.
Sorry, I didn’t mean for you to see that.
Who was he?
Landry released her from his grip and got to his feet. He stood with his back to her, looking away from the smoke.
“My father. The man was my father.”
Talia went to him. He had been alone longer than she had.
“You needed a treeb in your life too, but you didn’t have one.” She reached for him, but he stepped farther away.
“Miss Zaryn, we can’t stay here. If the Signum are responsible for this, they may have a scout out here to make sure no one survived. Do you think you can walk, or run?”
Talia did another mental check of her body. Her breathing had returned to normal and as she prodded her ribs with her fingers, she was confident they were all intact.
Run Talia. There is still danger here. The healing power of the trees flowed through her body, removing the soreness from the fall. Putting her trust in their wisdom, she nodded to Landry.
“Let’s run.”
Landry pointed down the track toward the city. “They may check that direction thinking people will travel toward the city.” Then he turned ninety degrees and pointed into the woods. “So we’ll go that way. It isn’t toward anything so it isn’t a logical escape route.”
“How will we get rescued if no one will look for us that way?”
“Don’t worry; I have a plan. For now let’s just get away from here.”
He started jogging and Talia glanced once more at the dark smoke rising. She hated to leave Keeta behind, but there was nothing else she could do. She forced her body into motion and followed Landry into the trees.
He moved in front of her with fluid ease. Why wasn’t he sore? Had his military training turned him to stone so completely? Talia remembered the image of his father dying before his eyes and couldn’t fault him for shutting out emotions. She did the same thing for similar reasons.
They started slowly at first, increasing speed a little at a time until they found a comfortable pace. They didn’t talk, but Talia was grateful for the distraction of the exercise. Concentrating on relaxing her body to breathe easier and run more efficiently became her only thought.
Chapter 18
The Royalist headquarters was a hive of activity. Two bombs had detonated within the city and the third took out the Kiyan Bridge. Prince Stefan stayed busy dispersing aid and additional security teams to the sites.
The casualty lists filtered in, but Stefan waited for one report in particular. A young Lieutenant brought him the news ten minutes after the tram plunged over the ravine.
“Your Highness.” The Lieutenant saluted and waited for permission to speak.
“Report.” Stefan held his breath.
“Major Sutton’s life tracker is functioning. It reports he is alive, well, and on the move, but he has not called for pick up.”
Prince Stefan breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Lieutenant. Take no action until he calls for it, but have your team ready. On second thought, gather your team and head to the mountain facility. I want you close when he does call for pick up.” Stefan turned back to the chaos within the city limits, more at ease now that he knew Landry was alive. “Wait, has Rankin reported in yet?”
“No, sir. He’s not responding to his com.”
“Well, find him. We need him here.”
“Yes, sir.”
The tram crashed in the clear blue of morning, but the sky turned gray with clouds as the hours passed. The drizzle matched Talia’s mood. She had stopped pulling energy from the trees, determined to hold her own without magic. Her legs were numb, but her hips sent new jolts of pain through her with each step.
Landry set the pace, but he didn’t talk at all. That was fine with Talia. She concentrated on forcing her feet to lift off the ground.
By nightfall, the rain fell steadily and Talia shivered. She pictured the rain falling on the bodies in the ravine. Did rivulets of black water run into the river? How long would it take before someone came to retrieve the bodies from the elements? Talia pushed the image from her mind by staring at Major Sutton’s back. He slowed to a walk in front of her.
Tired and hungry, she lifted feet of stone. With each step, her calf muscles threatened to spasm and her quads twitched. Talia feared she would collapse if she stopped.
“How much further?”
“Not far. There’s a cave in that hill over on the right.” He pointed to a gray green hill that was barely visible in the rain. “I keep it stocked with firewood and food.”
It took another ten minutes to reach the cave. A door with a coded lock lay hidden behind vines that draped over the mouth of the entrance. Landry punched in the code and when they stepped inside an automated lighting system flickered on.
The cave was oval in shape, with the far side retreating into darkness. The Major had stocked the front half with sleeping bags, cots, chairs, a huge pile of wood, and a cabinet full of food. There was a fire pit in the center with a ventilation system installed above it.
“Where does the smoke go?” Talia peered at the place where the pipe disappeared into the cave ceiling.
“Through a diffuser and out the top near the cliff.”
Talia nodded and looked toward the kitchenette. Sink, cooler, cabinets, and an old-fashioned burner unit for cooking.
“What? No metabolizer?” It popped out before she could think. Talia rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Sorry.”
Landry scowled but didn’t comment. Instead, he walked to a storage cabinet and pulled out dry clothes.
“These will be big but dry.” He tossed them at Talia and pointed toward the back of the cave where she could have some
privacy.
Talia rolled up the waist and the pant legs to keep them from dragging on the ground, but she wasn’t sure how to keep them from slipping off. She folded back the shirt sleeves until her hands were free and then held the pants up while she walked back toward the fire.
She stood in the shadows and watched Landry, finding comfort in his steady work. There was purpose to each movement.
Landry looked up and noticed her. Talia blushed at getting caught lurking. She stepped out into the light, still holding onto the pants.
His clothes fit perfectly, which sent a blaze of irritation through Talia until she remembered they were his clothes. The thought made her blush.
“Do you have a belt or something I can tie the pants on with?”
Landry tossed another log on the fire and considered her. A smile twitched in the corner of his lips.
“I think I’ve got some rope.” He returned to the cabinet and dug around. “Hey, you’re in luck, there’s a belt in here.”
He tossed it to Talia. She turned away and wrapped it around her waist just below the roll of fabric. When she was sure she wouldn’t lose the pants, she retrieved her own clothes and set them around the fire to dry.
“I’ll get us something to eat. It shouldn’t take long.” Landry pulled food out of another cabinet.
Talia sat by the fire and let the warmth sink in. In an effort to keep from thinking about the tram, she concentrated on the crackle of the wood as the flames devoured it. The soft sizzle and the tangy smell of the food cooking calmed her and before she knew it, Landry handed her a plate of food.
They ate in silence, but when she finished, Talia was ready for some answers.
“Major Sutton—”
“Please, call me Landry. I think after all we’ve been through we can move to first names?” His eyes watched her face even though his head stayed bent over his plate.
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