Midnight Train

by Angie Sage

  But the king was having none of it. “You take me for an utter fool, RavenStarr!” he yelled.

  Like a snail curling into its shell, Benn shrank into himself, wrapping his arms over his head.

  Now came the voice of the king, no longer aggrieved but fully in command. “Open that door, RavenStarr. Open it.”

  “I will not,” came Hagos’s voice.

  “Then I shall kill you,” the king said, so slowly and deliberately that the hairs on the back of Benn’s neck prickled. “The Hawke Meister I shall let live until the Engenderment is done. But you, RavenStarr, are finished. Unless you open this door right now.”

  Benn could stand it no longer. He could not bear it if Alex—wherever she was—lost her father now. He took a deep breath and banged on the door, yelling, “Let me out. It’s only me, Benn Markham. There’s no one else in here. No one! Let me out!”

  There was a fumbling of the latch and the door swung open. Benn fell out onto the rug and landed hard on the pointy toes of the king’s blue silk shoes.

  The king gave a screech of pain and leaped back. “Beguiler’s brat! It is the Beguiler’s brat!”

  Oblivious to Benn, who was curled up into a ball on the rug and being clawed at by the Jackal, Hagos stared into the darkness of the open cupboard. Slowly, he registered the fact that his daughter was not there. He could not feel her presence. She was gone. The king’s hand landed heavily upon his shoulder and, his mind racing, Hagos swung around to face him.

  “You are dead, RavenStarr, do you hear?” King Belamus snarled. “Dead!”

  Hagos stared at Belamus, taking in the viciousness in the king’s eyes. How, Hagos wondered, had this man ever been his friend?

  “Conspiring against me, that is all you have ever done!” the king was ranting, the wings of his crown wobbling in indignation. “And now harboring a Beguiler’s brat under my nose!”

  Suddenly Deela’s voice cut through the noise. “Brat? This is no brat!”

  The king wheeled around and stared at Deela with narrowed eyes. Haughtily, Deela returned the stare. Belamus turned back to Hagos and said accusingly, “You said, RavenStarr, that this Min spoke only the language of the Hawke.”

  Hagos thought fast. “Surely, Your Majesty, you did not think it would take such a powerful being as Min any longer than twenty-four hours to imbibe our modest tongue?”

  “What?” said Belamus.

  Hagos had recently had practice translating his words for Danny, who had a simpler approach to life, and he now made good use of it. “Min learned to speak our language last night. It is not difficult. Is it, Min?”

  “It is simple,” replied Deela. “And I demand the king keep his white dogs off my young assistant.”

  “Assistant?” Hagos and Belamus said together.

  “My assistant,” said Deela firmly.

  Belamus narrowed his eyes and stared at Benn, who lay curled up at his feet. “That is the Beguiler’s brat I saw last night.”

  Hagos hurriedly stepped in. “Your Majesty. It is a known ploy of”—he stopped, took a deep breath and forced himself to say the hated words—“Beguiler’s brats to personate innocent assistants.”

  “What?” asked Belamus.

  “Beguiler’s brats,” said Deela. “Everyone knows they pretend to be other kids.” Without waiting for another objection, she pulled Benn to his feet. “Min’s assistant has been with Min all the time. He is here in the closet doing his job of guarding Min’s tools of Engenderment,” she said. “Min suggests to the king that if he desires to possess the most powerful and beautiful Hawke he has ever seen, he calls his white dogs off Min’s assistant at once.”

  The king gave in. He shooed the Jackal away, leaving Deela gently wiping away their sticky spittle from Benn’s face and hands.

  “Where is Alex?” Hagos whispered to Benn.

  Benn shook his head. He wished he knew.

  Alex was on the gluey hammock of a giant spider’s web, watching two lines of glowing red eyes staring at her. She saw the shadowy outline of the spider slowly rearing up, its two front legs waving in the air, and she threw herself facedown onto the sticky threads. The web gave a great shudder and Alex felt the rough scales of the spider’s legs brush against her. Desperately she scrabbled against the threads, pulling them aside. A small gap appeared, through which—to the shock of both Alex and the spider—a beam of brilliant blue light shone upward. The spider reared up and Alex’s spirits soared. Some distance below, she could see a tiny, pulsating T shape. The Tau.

  Hope gave Alex renewed strength. She wrenched the threads apart and dropped through the gap, landing on the spiral steps that wound around the inside wall of the Iron Tower. Battling through the Wraiths, guided by the light of the Tau, she fought her way down, and as she descended the blue light grew ever brighter, until at last she arrived in the middle of such brilliance that she had to shield her eyes.

  The Tau lay in front of the huge iron door that led out of the tower. Alex crouched down and tentatively curled her fingers around it. It was cool and smooth to the touch. The blue enamel shone within sinuous bands of silver and gold, and she could feel its power. A quiet voice came into her mind saying, I am Tau.

  “I am Alex RavenStarr,” she whispered in return.

  I am with you, you are with me. We are Two with the Power of Three. Please, take me from this place, the voice murmured in her thoughts.

  “I will, I will,” Alex whispered. She got to her feet, heart pounding with excitement. Now all she had to do was get out. But how?

  With me. I am the key, came the answer to her question.

  Alex looked at the door, which towered above her, dark and looming like a massive gravestone, flat and featureless. She could see no keyhole. “Where do you go?” she whispered.

  Below.

  Alex knelt down, and in the blue light she saw in the bottom corner of the door a tarnished circle of silver.

  There, the voice told her.

  With the hem of her sleeve, Alex rubbed away the tarnish so that the silver glimmered in the blue light of the Tau. Fingers trembling, Alex pushed the Tau against the silver. She felt a buzz of Enchantment run through her fingertips and then deep within the door she felt the complex barrels in the lock turning, followed by a final kerrr-plick as they whirred into place and drew back the bolt. Alex stood up and pushed the door. It did not move. She leaned against it and shoved with all her might. It did not shift. As the Wraiths swirled around her, sensing her despair, Alex felt all hope drain away.

  And then she heard the Tau: This door, it whispered, will always open toward you.

  Chapter 19

  Lurking

  ZERRA WAS LURKING. NOT, THOUGHT Zerra, that there was any reason to lurk—Rekadom must be the most boring place in the whole world, where nothing ever happened—but she took her job as King’s Spy seriously and hoped that eventually she would find something worth lurking for.

  Zerra was at the foot of the Iron Tower, of which she approved. There was something about its rusted iron door with the streaks of red running down the pitted metal and its tiny windows covered with thick iron plates that felt real. And what lay within fascinated Zerra; she could feel its power seeping out, no matter how many rivets secured the windows and how massive the slab of iron was that formed the door.

  In the dusty warmth of the afternoon sun, Zerra kicked at the litter that had collected around the unswept edges of the tower and scuffed at the weeds that grew unnibbled by rabbits or goats. In the shadows of the deep-set iron doorway she idly watched a bevy of young rabbits hop carelessly toward the brilliant enticing green of the weeds. She chuckled when, as they reached the shadows of the Iron Tower, they leaped backward, as if hit by an electric shock, and scooted away, their little white bobtails bouncing as they went.

  Blending into the darkness of the ice-cold archway, Zerra saw a flurry of activity emerging from the Silver Tower. Four Jackal came bounding out, closely followed by none other than King Belamus. Bother, though
t Zerra, him again. She stepped back into the shadows and watched the king stride past, his winged crown catching the sun, his bright silks flowing behind him, the tinny tap of his metal-heeled shoes striking the cobbles. She wondered what it must be like to have only those creepy Jackal for company. Who did he talk to? Did he have any friends at all? Zerra supposed not. She pushed away a sneaking thought that she didn’t have any friends either. She was an important spy, so what did stupid friends matter anyway?

  Zerra was leaning back against the iron door, admiring her new wristband, when suddenly the door was no longer there, something shoved her in the back, and she went flying off the step and landed on the cobbles. She lay winded for a few moments, her bandaged arm throbbing with the force of the fall. Slowly, she got to her feet and turned to see what had hit her. “Alex!” she gasped.

  The door to the Iron Tower clanged shut behind her and Alex stood blinking in the sunlight, watching a smoky wisp of Wraith that had escaped with her curl itself up like a small black snake and slide off into the shadows at the base of the tower. Suddenly something leaped up and threw itself at her.

  “Zerra!” Wondering how come Zerra seemed to lurk behind most of the doors in Rekadom, Alex neatly sidestepped her foster sister, who went stumbling into the wall, bounced off and grabbed Alex once more.

  With all her strength, Alex pushed Zerra away and sent her sprawling to the ground. Hurriedly, she tucked the Tau into the secret pocket of her sash and set off at a run.

  Alex longed to head back to the Silver Tower and return the Tau to its rightful place inside the codex, but she did not dare. King Belamus was probably still up there, and even if he weren’t, Zerra would follow her and betray them all to him. Alex knew that before she could safely go home—she loved the new meaning the word “home” had for her—she must lose Zerra.

  Taking the only route she knew—the way that she and Benn had come into the Inner Star—Alex raced across Star Court with Zerra in pursuit. Rabbits scuttling out of her way, Alex headed down the deserted street and almost at the end, where it narrowed to a point, she scooted into the ginnel that led to the door into Mews Court. Behind her came the echo of Zerra’s footsteps, fast upon the cobbles—but they were not fast enough.

  Alex wrenched down the lever in the wall, the little plank door to the Outer Star flew open, and she hurtled through and slammed it shut. Out in Mews Court, Alex ran past the falconry mews and headed across the open courtyard for the Star Snicket. If only she could get through it before Zerra rounded the end of the mews and saw her, she would be okay. She threw herself through the snicket into Gate Court, hid in the shadows and tried to catch her breath so that she could begin a Fade.

  From Mews Court, Alex could hear Zerra yelling, “Beguiler! Beguiler!” As she shrank back, Zerra’s yells suddenly changed to “Get off me! Let me go!” Intrigued, Alex could not resist peering through the snicket to see what was happening. She was just in time to see the highly satisfying sight of Zerra being marched into the mews by a steely-looking young woman wearing a falconer’s leather jerkin. Alex almost laughed out loud with relief—now she could get back to the Silver Tower.

  Alex slipped easily into her Fade, then she set off back into Mews Court, past the falconry mews—which was oddly quiet—to the door to the Inner Star. When she got to the door, Alex pushed it hard, but it did not move. Of course it didn’t, she thought. Not only had she slammed it shut, but Zerra obviously had too. She was going to have to find another way back. Deciding to try the court with the orchards that she had seen yesterday, Alex ran back into Gate Court and then walked quietly toward the Rekadom gates, where the two gate guards from the previous day, the aunt and nephew, had just come back on duty. A flock of crows was perched on the elegant iron hoop that spanned the gates and from which hung the large Beguiler Bell. Alex knew that the bell was Enchanted—by her father, of course—and would ring a warning whenever an Enchanter passed beneath it. A new wave of anger came over Alex with her father for all the Enchantments he had created that made her life so difficult. Right then, it felt like a personal betrayal. Doubts began to creep into her mind. If she took the Tau to him now, would he really Disenchant all the wicked things he had created? Or would he just smile in his inscrutable way and do nothing?

  A flash of red on the far side of Gate Court took Alex’s attention—it was the coat of a Jackal. Keeping to the shadows of the city wall, her gaze fixed upon the Jackal, which was now tinkering with one of the chariots, Alex crept nearer to the city gates. She needed to go past them to get to the next snicket, but as she inched around the tall pillar that formed the side of the gateway, the flock of crows took to the air with loud warning cries. Thinking she must have made a noise to disturb them, she stopped and waited for them to settle. What Alex did not know was that crows were spooked by Enchantment, and it was her Fade, which had a buzz that made the crows’ beaks rattle, that was upsetting the birds. Suddenly, two crows dived at her, pulling up at the last moment. Alex ducked, throwing her hands up over her head to protect herself. Then more crows dropped toward her and circled, cawing a warning, sending the flock above into a loud, echoing caw-fest.

  The Jackal stopped what it was doing and watched the crows with great interest. The nearest gate guard—the aunt—put her javelin at the ready and began walking slowly toward the crows. Alex felt as visible as if she were glowing bright orange. Suddenly, the Jackal dropped down on all fours and broke into a run, heading straight for her and the crows. Alex made a decision. Knowing that Jackal were not allowed outside the city walls without the king’s permission, she dodged around the approaching aunt, raced past the Jackal and took a sharp right at the open gates, leaving the crows to turn their attentions to another unsettling source of Enchantment—the hapless Jackal, which was now rolling on the cobbles covered with a black blanket of pecking birds.

  As Alex ran beneath the Beguiler Bell, it gave a loud warning clang, and the nephew jumped forward, javelin outstretched. The young man stared at the flat, open desert beyond. He thought he saw a few disturbances in the dry, sandy soil, and he let loose his javelin toward them. The javelin landed with a soft thud, burying its tip in the ground only a few feet behind Alex, sending her running faster than she thought possible.

  Embarrassed at his useless throw, the nephew hurried out to retrieve his javelin, and then he and his aunt obeyed the Beguiler Bell protocol—they pulled the city gates closed and set the bar across.

  Locked out of Rekadom, Alex left the city walls behind her and headed toward the cliff top and the freedom of the ocean beyond.

  Chapter 20

  Alone

  ZERRA WAS IN RATCHET’S OFFICE, standing opposite Bartlett, who had taken possession of Ratchet’s desk and his swivel chair. “I am not a Beguiler’s brat,” Zerra spoke with a cold, calm fury. “But by grabbing me, you have let a real one escape. I will report you to the king.”

  This time Zerra’s trick of staring people down and speaking very slowly did not work. Bartlett sprang to her feet and grabbed Zerra’s collar. “You will do no such thing, you nasty little owl pellet. You may have fooled Ratchet with your lies, but you don’t fool me, girl. Beguiler’s brat or not, I know one thing for sure. You are no Dark.”

  Zerra knew she was on tricky ground here. She had twice watched Alex vanish before her eyes and knew very well she was no Dark. But there was no way she was going to let Bartlett know that. “I am the Flyer,” Zerra said, making her voice low and threatening. “And you will do well to remember that, Bartlett.” And then she turned around and walked out of the office. She did not get far.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” Bartlett had hold of her collar again.

  Zerra wheeled around angrily and, with her good arm, she grabbed at Bartlett’s sinewy hand. “Get off me!” she hissed. “You have no right to grab hold of me.”

  Bartlett smiled. “Oh, but there you are quite wrong. As deputy chief falconer, I have all kinds of rights over the Flyer—particularly a trainee Flyer. If you do
not wish for a practical demonstration of a few of them, I suggest that you modify your behavior right now. Understood?”

  The steel in Bartlett’s voice cut through Zerra’s anger. Slowly, she took her hand away from Bartlett’s clutching claw. “Good call,” said Bartlett.

  But Zerra, although quieter, was still fuming. “Where’s Ratchet?” she asked.

  “That’s ‘the chief falconer’ to you, girl.”

  Zerra pushed down her irritation. “The chief falconer. Where is he?”

  “Nosy little baggage, aren’t you? Well, seeing as you are so concerned for him, you will be pleased to know that the chief falconer is enjoying himself visiting his mother in Netters Cove. He took a horse this morning and will be gone for three days.”

  Zerra felt oddly bereft. Why hadn’t Ratchet told her he was going away? The thought of three days alone with Bartlett was not good.

  “So, girl,” Bartlett continued. “Let me tell you your schedule while the chief falconer is away. Four a.m. Falcon-Call. Four thirty, commence cleaning duties. The mews is filthy. I want every speck of bird poo removed from between the cobbles. Midday: fifteen-minute break for lunch, which you will take with the birds. Afternoon, continue cleaning. Six thirty, bread and cheese supper with the birds. Seven prompt, bed.”

  “But I’m a King’s Spy now,” objected Zerra. “I have to do that too.”

  “Tell that to the chief falconer,” said Bartlett.

  “But he’s not here,” Zerra said plaintively.

  “Exactly,” said Bartlett. She handed Zerra a tiny brush, a scraper and a bucket. “You can start on the cobbles under the nesting boxes. They’re thick with the stuff. I want them shining by supper, otherwise you’ll go to bed without. Understood?”

  What Zerra understood was that Bartlett would have to go—there was no way she was putting up with this for three whole days. Sulkily holding the poop-cleaning equipment, she stared down at the cobbles. What, she wondered, have those birds been eating?