The Bone Roses
Page 29
“What happened?” The hoarse words struggle to break a whisper.
“Rondo’s purification happened.” He draws a long breath and tries to smile. “Not the way Hyperion wanted, but people will be talking about this one for a long time. Not every day a rustler girl bests the Kingdom in the most spectacular fashion.”
I stare down at the floorboards.
“They escaped by the way.” He looks up at the wooden ceiling. “What little didn’t get caught up in the avalanche couldn’t find any tracks. We got caught though and I’m not gonna lie, I’d give anything to be buried under that snow instead of on this train right now.”
A little part of me jumps with joy and relief that Sadie and the others got away. No one caught them. They’ll be okay and safe. Another little part of me shivers and I look around at my new prison.
“Train?”
“Yep, Frost Flea. The one train you really don’t want to end up on. Destination, Threshing Floor, aka, Hell on earth.”
The way he says it scares me. He watches me across the fading daylight sneaking between slats.
“If we’re fortunate, Hyperion will put a bullet in my brain and you’ll stagger off to grab an electric fence the moment we’re herded off this train. The only way out is the furnace and after what happened in Rondo, you’ll be wishing Henny didn’t feel merciful enough to dig you out of that snowdrift. Being wounded does you no favors at the Threshing Floor.”
“He tried to save me.” The memories flash through my mind as I grabbed his jacket and huddled close to my enemy.
“You did us both a favor by killing Hunter. Son of a bitch shouldn’t have dressed in his old K. C. uniform, spooked Xanthos, and stolen that rifle off Henny when he surprised him up on the ridge that morning. It was an ugly fight between them. Henny tried to stop that shot from being fired, but he couldn’t without being trampled to death. Hunter dropped the rifle and took cover in the rest of the advancing K. C. and well, Matty paid the price,” Colton nods. “Henny may have destroyed your life in Rondo but he’s a good guy at heart. Scared guy now too. Those fancy roses he took off you when he dug you out makes it look like he wrestled with a mountain bear. Clawed his left eye up good.”
The bone roses . . . He took them. I look down, defeat creeping in at the overwhelming losses this week. All I had left of Matthew, now in the hands of my enemy.
“I know you hate him and blame him for Matty, but he really didn’t do it. He tried his damnedest to stop it from happening. So while you hate him for Rondo, don’t hold Matty against him. They were close friends, adopted brothers, part of my family, and he deserves that much, even if he’s still your enemy.”
A single tear creeps down my bruised cheek and over the thin scar. I close my eyes, a rattling sigh shaking me. My trembling hands clench the blanket and I lean against the slatted wall. “I know, Colton. It’s hard, though. And I’m scared.”
“Me too, Frost Flea. Me too. But it’ll be okay.” Colton’s arm snakes around my midsection, making the wound Hunter landed on me flare with the others. He draws me to his side and rests his chin on my shoulder, warm against the frigid air invading the rail car. I huddle closer, thankful that I’m not alone right now. “Just gotta try not to let it get to you too much.”
Easier said than done . . . He’s not the one with a bounty and a Crops mark on him.
“We’ll figure something out. Not sure what that something will be, but we survived Rondo. We can get through this.”
“I hope so . . .”
“Hey now.” He keeps his voice soft and turns slightly to offer me a glance. “Can’t be thinking like that, all right.”
I hold back a tired scowl. But he just . . . not even a few minutes ago said . . . oh forget it. Arguing with him right now is pointless.
He nuzzles my neck, the light stubble around his chin tickling my skin. I sense him reach down with his free hand, grabbing the blanket and draping it around my shoulders before pulling away and casting me a confident look. “We’ll get through this, Frost Flea. Just trust me. That’s all I’m asking.”
Trust him? I don’t exactly get a choice in the matter now do I? Right now, he’s probably just as much of a criminal as I am with odds just as bad. Something tells me the Kingdom won’t take what happened in Rondo lightly. But right now, he’s an ally I can’t afford to lose.
I offer a silent nod and stare down at the straw.
“By the way, your freaking mule hates trains.” He rolls his eyes. “Just thought you should know he made an ass of Henny and me. Took twenty men to get him on this train. If he’s luckier than us, Hyperion will put him to work pulling the death carts.”
I shiver, half thankful they took the wounded mule, half afraid of just what a death cart might be. Whatever it is can’t be pleasant at all.
Something glows through the slats. A glowing pinprick in the early evening darkness. It vanishes as quickly as it appears.
“Frost Flea?”
I crawl away from Colton and slip my fingers between boards, struggling to see better. Trees and hills roll gently through the wilderness.
Something white bounds below the tracks. A stag, strong legs propelling him through the snowdrifts, curved antlers catching the wind races the train. He eyes the train once and vanishes down into a gully just as quickly.
The pinprick returns on the horizon. A faint glow, headed south, like someone holds a lantern in hand, leading his charges into a destiny that will only be known to those privileged to see it.
I’ll find you, somewhere, even if I have to walk the entire world until I do. I grip the sturdy boards, letting the tears fall as the lantern vanishes behind the trees and snowdrifts, the train curving on tracks headed for a terrifying place somewhere in the unknown.
About the Author
Kathryn Lee Martin, known as 'Ryn' by friends and colleagues, spends her days saddling up the literary horse and hitting the “what if” trails on a quest to tell the outlaws’ and underdogs’ stories. Not one to shy away from the darker side of stories for the older young adult audience, her works often explore impossible odds and dire futures, falling into a fusion of post-apocalyptic science fiction meets the gritty lawlessness of the old west with a dash of fantasy and steampunk. Putting her unfortunate characters in situations where faith and fighting often go hand in hand, she’s not afraid to make things difficult for them and when she’s not corrupting society on paper, she’s usually leading the rebellion to save it.
An avid outdoors woman at heart, Kathryn spends her days living a quiet, faith-filled life on her family’s small farmstead where she can usually be found working in her vegetable garden, spending time with her family, and playing the role of ‘critter mom’ to a border collie, several cats, three goats, and a donkey. Prior to choosing to follow her dream of becoming an author, she spent almost a decade joyfully working at a small town, local gourd farm as a parts maker, part of the finishing department, and a proud member of its seasonal field crew.
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