Chronicles of Steele: Raven: The Complete Story

by Pauline Creeden

  Her camel-colored cropped jacket had become a burden. The warm air of the southern town hinted at early autumn, even though it was nearly November. When they’d left New Haven, they had predicted snow for the night in the almanac.

  With a lilting step, she followed the boy to the cargo terminal. The airship had been delayed as they flew over a storm. It had dampened her mood, but her cheery disposition returned upon arrival, even though the sky was overcast. The hills of Westmoreland made the houses and streets roll up and down. Green trees marked each house like hatpins among the city’s businesses. The culture of home business drove Westmoreland into becoming one of the major stops in the shipping industry.

  “Nikki!” Darius darted for the kennel as two strong men pulled it from the belly of the ship.

  Raven smiled, gave each man a copper, and leaned toward them. “Could you please have this crate delivered to the train station?”

  The men grinned and nodded as she clicked a leather leash on the dog and released it from the cage. The dog’s reserved demeanor exploded into excitement as it stepped into the open. Nikki jerked Raven forward as she bounded toward young Darius. When Raven handed the young boy the leather leash, she stepped back, narrowly missing the whip of the animal’s tail.

  “Well then, the train won’t arrive from Channing until this evening. We have about two hours to spend here until then. Should we get an early dinner?”

  “Is there anywhere we can go with Nikki?”

  “Typically, an outdoor café will allow us to have her at our table, provided she lies quietly at our feet.”

  “That’s what Reginald trained her to do at meals.”

  Raven furrowed her brows. “Reginald?”

  “He’s my tutor and caretaker.” He smiled wider and giggled a bit. “I call him my nanny because he gets uptight when I do.”

  “The man with the bowtie?”

  “Yes, he always wears them. The guards make fun of him for it behind his back.”

  “I’m not surprised.” She shook her head. “Either way, let’s find a café near the train station so we won’t be late.”

  “All right. Nikki will be happy to stretch her legs, I’m sure!” He wrapped the leash a few times around his hand, and the caramel-colored Great Dane came to his side in obedience.

  Raven held her carpetbag close to her chest as she started down the first hill toward the station. When she reached the crest, she judged that they would climb three more hills before they reached it. The breeze from the river to their right kept perspiration from collecting and dripping down her cheek. Her limp grew more pronounced. As they trudged up the hill after hill, her right thigh burned and she noticed she’d been rubbing it. Her earlier cheerfulness disintegrated with each step.

  At the top of the last hill, Darius and his Great Dane waited for her. She felt like an old lady and part of her despaired that the limp would be permanent. Realistically, she knew her mind condemned her to the worst life imaginable because of the pain. She tried to stifle the thoughts but they dogged each painful step. The cool iron of the lamppost she leaned against pulled the heat away from her shoulder. To the east of the station sat an outdoor café with umbrellas sprouting from white metal tables like merry, blue flowers.

  Raven studied the patrons of the café with more diligence as they approached. Her senses were dulled by the pain in her leg, and she needed to force herself to stay focused on keeping her charge safe. Patrons occupied three tables out of seven. A young woman laughed when her beau pulled the teacup from his nose and had a bit of white milk on his mustache. A grandmother and toddler sat at the far end.

  At the table closest to the train station, a man dressed in many layers sipped his tea with a grace that disagreed with the torn, dirty rags he wore. Raven’s hair stood on end. When two characteristics about a person opposed each other, it usually meant the person hid something. She clenched her jaw and sat two tables from the contradiction and near the street so she could make a quick escape if necessary. She chose the seat facing the man. Darius told Nikki to lie at his side. She obeyed instantly.

  Like a gentleman in a suit, the man ate his tea and biscuits with the same graceful gestures Darius had used. Raven caught herself staring in a manner too easily noticed. The waiter came to the table and took their order. With her mind only partly fixed on the man across from her, she made a quick order of finger sandwiches, tea, and a slice of lemon pound cake for the boy.

  The waiter headed over to the raggedy man after taking their order. The man’s salt and pepper beard belied the crisp young voice she heard. “No, thank you. The tea was quite enough.” He paid the waiter in paper bills rather than coins.

  Completely perplexed, Raven caught herself staring again. Had her senses been so dulled by the pain in her leg? Somehow, since she discovered the anomaly in the café, the ache was receding.

  The café clock struck three, and she needed to buy tickets for the train. She decided that the man’s practices did not seem to pose a danger to her mission. Still, she’d need to keep an eye on him. She stood. “Darius, could you and Nikki wait here for the food? I’ll be right back.”

  The boy nodded and the dog lifted its head from its paws. Its droopy eyes watched her as she made her way around the table. Raven passed the ragged man slowly as he leaned back in his chair and wound his watch. A plain wooden cane leaned against the man’s knee. She prepared herself to give him a nod in greeting, but he never looked up as she drew near. In the deep breath she took as she passed, she detected alfalfa and corn grain. Either the man had been working on a farm or he’d slept in a barn the night before. She shook her head and continued.

  As she stood in line behind two gentlemen and their lady companions, she immediately dismissed them as nonthreatening. Half her attention stayed with the anomaly and watched that her charge remained seated. When she stepped up to the counter, she’d lost sight of the café through the windows. Her full concentration on the task would guarantee the fastest return.

  “Two tickets for the 4:00 train to Moorshead. Will it be arriving on time?”

  The conductor’s red cheeks flushed as he pulled his cap off to reveal his scarlet curls. “Yes, ma’am. I believe it might even be early. There’s been some sort of rush on the trip here from Channing. The train skipped its stop in Grafton.”

  “Great.” She slid the coins across the counter.

  “Will your husband be joining you?”

  Raven blinked hard at the personal question. She shook her head. “No, my student.” She forced a smile. Of all her sins, she still hated to lie. She’d have to teach Darius something so that it wouldn’t count as one.

  “Oh.” His freckled cheeks scrunched as he grinned and slid the tickets across the counter. “It’s too bad you’d be leaving before my break. I would have loved to treat you to dinner.”

  Her jaw snapped closed fast, and her teeth clicked together. She stammered. “How very kind of you. Yes, it’s too bad.” With the tickets in her hand, she stepped away with a curt nod.

  Relief washed over her as Darius came into view of the window. The anomaly still sat at his table, arms behind his head, and legs stretched out on the chair across from him. In the distance a train’s whistle blew. Raven’s ears pulled back instinctively. She knew that it was unlikely anyone else had heard the sound. But the anomaly dropped his arms and looked to the south. He’d heard the whistle, too.

  When a pit is averted and assurance grows,

  a pit deeper than the one avoided awaits.

  “WE’RE APPROACHING THE station, Captain Grant.” The train conductor wrung his hat in his hands as he eyed Jasper Hollow. Jack's eyes followed the conductor's gaze to where the gruff man snored like a bear in the seat across the aisle.

  Sunlight poured through the wide windows on both sides of the travel car. One of the horses in the cargo hold behind them whinnied. Jack nodded to the conductor and scrunched down in the leather seat. Excitement built in his chest. Usually the steady rocking of a t
rain put him to sleep. But he’d been too nervous since they’d skipped the stop in Grafton. His nerves heightened with the realization that Westmorland was in the outer territories. The Duke’s Guard held no jurisdiction there.

  His palms sweated in the anticipation of seeing the woman. The feeling confused him. If he followed his commands to the letter, he’d have to kill her, or watch as Jasper did it. Raven Steele was a trained assassin after all. A danger to society. But part of him remembered the salty smell of her hair as she sat on his horse in front of him and the fact that she had killed none of his guard that day on the street. Was she really a danger? He had his doubts.

  “Sir, there’s the station.” Rupert pointed toward the front of the windows as the building came into view. Blue umbrellas from the café next to the station pulled in bits of color against the white back drop. “Should I wake the bear?”

  Jack nodded. Each soldier made ready, and soon the commotion in the car outstripped the clatter of the horses behind it.

  Raven had to be mistaken. Maybe the whistle came from closer than she thought, or maybe the old man just had keen hearing? Either way, it made no difference.

  “We saved you one.” Darius smiled wide and held out the plate with one small finger sandwich remaining on the eggshell colored porcelain.

  Her stomach growled as she took the sandwich. “Did you just hear the train’s whistle?” she asked him and stuffed the sandwich in her mouth. The grandmother across the way blinked at her, eyes wide in shock. Raven did her best to smile at the woman with her mouth full.

  “Train whistle?” As he asked, the whistle sounded again, closer this time. “There it is!”

  The black smoke from the steam engine rose above the treetops. Raven glanced toward the anomaly. The man continued tinkering with his pocket watch and held it to his ear. Behind him, a porter she recognized from the airship station waved at her and pointed to the kennel. She smiled—this time, her mouth was empty.

  Raven raised a hand and called the waiter. After giving him a few coins for payment, she downed the lukewarm tea in her cup. The waiter gave her the same wide-eyed look as the grandmother.

  “Sorry,” she offered in a noncommittal way and shrugged.

  With so many strange occurrences, she had no time for pretending to be lady-like. After she placed a hand on Darius’s back, she guided him past the anomaly to the kennel. The porter greeted her with a wide smile and helped them load Nikki in the kennel. A gruff cough came from behind them. She stiffened, and kept an eye on the café and the gentleman in rags.

  The train pulled into the station and Raven gave the porter another copper. He tipped his hat and said, “I’ll see to it that this crate is given a good, airy place in the compartment.” He nodded again and pushed the dolly toward the cargo area near the back of the train.

  Raven gripped the handles on her carpetbag and joined the gathering crowd collecting at the front of the train. A woman waited on tiptoes, trying to catch a glimpse within each of the travelling cars’ windows. The sun shone against the panes of glass. It wasn’t until the cars pulled completely into the station under the cover of the overhang that Raven could see into a window.

  In the fourth car back, just before the first cargo car, people stood at the windows, scanning the crowd. In the closest window to her, she found Captain Jack Grant. Her breath hitched, and she swung her back to him. A sharp pain shot through her leg as she twisted on it. She grimaced and squeezed her eyes shut. Her pulse raced.

  “Is something wrong?” Darius asked.

  She opened her eyes found that she’d been gripping the boy’s arm. She released it. “I’m sorry.” She shook her head and set the hand on his back again. “Let’s go this way, all right?”

  He nodded and followed. They weaved their way through the crowd and found a woman selling hats and scarves. The woman behind the merchant’s cart looked bored. Her wiry red hair reminded Raven of her first trip to Westmoreland. She wondered how that girl had been doing since.

  Raven stepped up. She didn’t have time to talk. What she needed was to sound calm. “Not much business today?”

  The woman sat up straight and smiled, her eyes eager. “Unfortunately not. The winter’s not been on us enough yet for any real sales.”

  Raven picked up a wide brimmed burgundy hat. She checked the price and found it was the most expensive item on the cart. The woman’s rags told her that she could really use the sale. She now had two reasons to buy the hat.

  “That one there will keep the sun off your skin and goes nicely with your bag, don’t you think?” The cart girl leaned forward and licked her lips, betraying her hunger for the potential of a sale.

  “Yes, but do you have a scarf to match, something with a nice print?”

  The woman held up a finger and pulled out a few drawers. The brakes on the train squealed behind them as it pulled to a complete stop. Raven stiffened further. The saleslady returned with a woven silk burgundy and camel striped scarf. Raven nodded and leaned toward Darius. “Pick out a hat.”

  Darius looked up at her with questioning eyes and whispered, “But I’ve never worn one before. I’m not cold.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Sometimes we must try something for the first time.”

  He nodded and looked back at the cart. He chose a blue and red striped knit beanie and held it up to the lady to show her. The sales lady smiled wider, almost jumping up and down in giddiness as she took the coins.

  In a smooth motion, Raven yanked the beanie out of Darius hands and shoved it on his head. She leaned toward him. “You’ll need to wear it now, understand?”

  He nodded and adjusted it so that it sat over his head appropriately. Raven put on her own hat and wrapped the scarf around her chin. She glanced back toward the train cars. Grant and his team of guards spilled into the station and spread out. Among them was a large, bald, bear-like man with a brass ocular. She blinked hard. There had been only one man she remembered from her childhood who had one. Jasper Hollow.

  Behind her, a man coughed. She stiffened and turned slightly toward the anomaly in rags. “Excuse me, miss, but would you mind taking care of this for me?” He leaned on his cane and held out the black metal chronometer. A glass circle on the back of the timepiece exposed its gears and springs. Darius reached a hand toward the watch.

  With a quick motion, she snatched his arm back and stepped in front of the boy. “I don’t believe we will, sir. We do not want to be held responsible for such an item.”

  He scratched his stubble and held the watch to his ear. “I’m afraid I have some business to attend to. An old friend of mine just arrived unexpectedly, and I’m going to need to meet with him.” He tilted his head toward the guards and their rotund associate. “I’d hate for anything to happen to this heirloom. And I’d trust a lady who cares so much for her…son to keep care of it on the train while I attend to my old acquaintance?”

  The man’s smile made his eyes into half moons. Their icy blue color didn’t seem to hold any animosity. Their distinct color reminded her of her father’s, but was missing the slightly violet vein. His smile seemed genuine, but it surprised Raven when she found her hand outstretched, and the black pocket watch placed in it. The man nodded and snapped his heels together before turning and striding onto the platform, directly into the thick of brown coats and Jasper Hollow.

  The navy blue-clad conductor popped out from the nearest car and shouted down the platform. “Have your tickets ready as you board please.”

  Raven shook her head to clear it and shoved the watch into her carpet bag as she dug for the tickets. All the while her eyes never left the ragged man for more than a moment.

  “Did you know him?” Darius asked.

  She shook her head as she pulled the tickets out.

  “He acted like he knew you.”

  She nodded and stepped up to the conductor, tearing her eyes away from the situation brewing down the platform. When she handed the conductor her papers, he used a paper punch
to stamp them and offered Raven a hand as she mounted the step. When the conductor gripped her hand, the commotion intensified. She stiffened but did her best not to look.

  Darius gaped at the upheaval as the conductor started toward the tumult. Raven reached back and snapped one of his suspenders. “Let’s go.”

  “But he moves as fast as you.” His eyes were wide with both wonder and horror. “I saw him. He had weapons hidden under the rags, and he’s attacking the brown coats.”

  Raven nodded and pushed him into the train car, afraid to look. The last thing she wanted was to see the killing ways of another reaper. A pang of remorse struck her heart at the thought of seeing Captain Grant die.

  Jack stepped off the train before the rest of his guard, but stood on the platform to survey the crowd standing in the station. Not one person dressed in all black. Either Raven wore a disguise, or she wasn’t there. A man in leather and rags approached, waving an arm to get their attention. His eyes were fixed on Jasper. The bald bear of a reaper noticed the ragged man at nearly the same moment. The sinews on Jasper’s neck stood out as he tensed. Jack’s eyes darted between the pair in momentary shock

  “Monroe Striker,” Jasper said through clenched teeth. “It’s been a long time.”

  “Still the sharp shooter, Jasper?” The ragged man smiled wide and tipped his head.

  Jasper’s nostrils flared, and he lifted his chin.

  “The only reaper to choose a gun as his weapon of choice,” Monroe continued, “and loved the weapon so much, he had a doctor of alchemy replace his eye with an ocular to help with long range aim.”

  “There’re not many reapers anymore, Monroe.”

  “I heard tell you were training new recruits.”

  Jasper harrumphed. “No true believers—no real reapers.”