“Sit down,” he suggested as a loud whistle screeched from outside of the train. Tay took an involuntary step forward as the train jolted into motion, and she caught hold of the bartop to steady herself. With careful steps, she crossed the carriage and dropped into one of the chairs. The engine picked up pace, and soon they were flying through the landscape at much faster speeds than before. Tay chanced a look out of the window, only to be disappointed at the high embankments that laid on either side of them. With nowhere else to place her gaze, her eyes returned to Darius.
“Does this happen often?” she asked, more out of a need to fill the uncomfortable silence than for anything else.
“More often than you think.” Darius reached out and picked up a slender book from the table before him. “Here.” He beckoned her forward, flipping open the book as he did so. Tay leant forward and stared down at the line drawing in front of her.
“What is it?” she asked, looking at the curious shapes and notations that covered the double page of the book.
“Haven’t you ever seen a map before?” She shook her head as he traced his fingers across the surface of the page, following a line in bold, shaped like a ladder. “This is the railway,” he said, his voice soft and instructional. “The Factory and its surrounding district are up here.” Tay followed the direction of his finger to the large dot at the top of the ladder. “All of this is farmland.” He swept across the map, indicating the terrain to either side of the track, from the Factory southward. “And here”－Tay looked down at the section of map labelled ‘Borderland’－“is the area we’re currently travelling through.”
Tay reached out and drew the map closer, staring at the landmarks and locations that she had only heard about. The City laid on the far-eastern edge of the map. The Factory and Mine were in the Northernmost section. Several other settlements were dotted about the landscape in a haphazard fashion.
“And as you can see, we’re quite a distance away from help,” he finished, watching her face as her eyes scanned the book before her.
“Is that the forest?” She pointed to the light green shading that edged the map close to the city. Darius nodded, and Tay thought back to the scant lessons in geography that had been given at her school. The forest surrounded the country, save on the western border which opened to the sea, and no one knew what laid beyond. Her fingers timidly reached out and, when Darius made no protest, settled against the page. “Do you know what’s beyond?” she asked, her voice almost a whisper.
“No.” he answered just as softly. “Only the King and his top advisors know what is beyond the Forest.”
“Do they know about the Coils of Copper and Brass?” Tay mused, lost in contemplation of the map before her.
“You mean the fairy tale?” Her head jerked upward at the sharpness in his voice. He was staring straight at her and, as she met his eyes, he shook his head.
“Yes,” she replied, taking note of his warning. “I guess I’d like to believe it was true.” Her eyes found the window again, and she continued, “I can’t imagine a blue sky.”
“No”－Darius reached forward and closed the book－“I can’t either.” Quiet descended between them, leaving only the clatter of wheels on rails. With a sigh, Darius settled back against his chair and closed his eyes. Taking advantage of his inattention, Tay took the opportunity to cease her contemplation of the world beyond the train window and regard Darius with nervous curiosity. Why had her question about the Coils rattled him so much? She had never considered the tale anything other than a fairy story related to her by her mother, and his reaction troubled her.
“Why don’t you sleep?” She jumped as his eyes snapped open and fixed on her. “It’s been a disturbing trip so far.”
“I’d rather stay here,” Tay answered, unwilling to return to her cabin just yet. “I can’t sleep during the day,” she lied. Though the thought of sleeping through the remainder of the train journey appealed to her, she couldn’t risk losing the opportunity to discover fresh information. “You were talking about the forest…” she prompted, delaying his efforts to feign sleep.
“I don’t know much about it,” he replied, bringing his fingers to rest beneath his chin as he leant forward. “It’s one of the few places that’s only accessible to the royal family, and select members of the Clockwork Temple.” A stray strand of hair fell in front of his eyes, and he brushed it away with a careless gesture. “Information is very scarce concerning the forest.”
Tay turned the information over in her mind. Her teachers had known little about the woods, it was generally assumed that the merchant families had full and exclusive access, which Darius had effectively denied. It was entirely possible that he had lied, but she didn’t think so.
“Are any of the rumours true?” Curiosity won out over nerves as she asked one of the questions that raced through her mind. Rumours abounded about the forest, they ranged from the mundane, with tales of great wealth, to the ludicrous and stories of monsters. To her knowledge, no one had managed to confirm any of the claims made about the woods, They were as big a mystery as the Coils of Copper and Brass.
“Which ones?” His eyes fell on hers, and she was startled by the sparkle of humour she saw there.
“Monsters?” She decided to start with the most ludicrous claim.
“Ahh, yes.” An amused chuckle escaped his lips. “That’s the story we were told as children.”
“So is it true?” she pressed, her nerves forgotten as she joined in the laughter that spilt from his mouth.
“Not that I’ve seen, but”－he forestalled her next question with a raise of his hand－“I wouldn’t put it past the King.”
“Is he that bad?” She sobered slightly with the thought of the next few days in royal company.
Darius did not answer, but she caught the look he levelled at her and swallowed nervously. Tendrils of fear coiled about her as she focused on the next few days, and the small measure of hilarity between them died.
“I didn’t mean to upset you.” Darius’ voice interrupted her train of thought, and she looked back at him. “Will you be alright?”
She nodded, determined to not let him see too much of her fear.
“In any case,” Darius continued, “it’ll be dinner soon, and we can continue this conversation later.”
Tay nodded as she recognised the clear dismissal in his voice. What she wished to discuss clearly laid in the realm of those secretive conversations that were only to be discussed in absolute privacy. She stood and walked toward the rear of the carriage and her cabin. The rest of the trip promised to be strange, stilted and awkward, filled with topics that she was forbidden to discuss. As she fell on the bed, she once again wondered why she had agreed to this charade.
Chapter 12
Snow drifted across the platform as she stepped down from the train, and into the hustle and bustle of the crowded terminal. As the servants unloaded the luggage they had brought with them, Tay stared about in wonder. Unlike at the station near the Factory, people here swarmed across the surface of the platform, moving briskly from one train to another. Porters and servants were in evidence, but the biggest crowd were those of the merchant class. Women in small, pillbox hats carrying umbrellas mingled with aristocratic-looking gentlemen, and harried-looking Centre workers.
“Don’t get lost.” Darius caught hold of her hand and drew her away from the train. Several porters trailed behind them, lugging the heavy suitcases and trunks toward the station’s exit.
“I had no idea there were so many destinations,” Tay whispered, her eyes wide at the sights and sounds around her.
“This is the hub for the country.” His fingers tightened on her arm as he led her from the station and onto the main street. “Trains go from here all the way to the sea.” Bitingly cold winds swept across her skin as they walked toward a small building just outside the station. Horseless carriages moved along the road, the noise and smoke reminded Tay of the Factory, yet these carriages ferri
ed the wealthy from place to place. Across from the station, a large building dominated the skyline, and Tay stared in disbelief at the heavily ornamented spires that seemed to brush the sky. Used as she was to buildings of only two or three stories, the sight of a twenty story construct boggled her mind, and it took all of Tay’s self-control not to stare in fascination.
Despite Tay’s tendency to stare at everything she saw, they reached the waiting area in no time and stepped out of the bitter wind. Darius immediately walked to the counter on the other side of the room and requested a taxi. Tay, feeling dwarfed by the experience, sank into one of the comfortable chairs. A fire burned brightly in the hearth, and the room was deliciously warm in contrast to the weather outside. A quiet servant placed warm drinks on the small side table, and Tay sipped carefully as Darius returned to her side.
“So, how long are we going to be here?”
“Not long.” A gust of wind rattled the windows as Darius picked up his own cup and took a drink. “Long enough to finish our drinks, then we head to the Palace.”
Liquid slopped over the edge of the cup, scalding her fingers, as his words forcibly reminded her of her task. Several small tremors rippled through her body and shook her fingers. The cup landed back in its saucer with a loud clunk, as Tay shakily set it down.
“We’re going to the Palace now?” A scared squeak escaped her lips, and Darius raised his eyebrows at her.
“Of course,” he answered calmly as he placed the cup into its rightful place. “You need to be settled before the ball.”
“Give me a moment.” Tay stood, and tried not to race across the room toward the toilets. She pushed open the door and headed for the ladies. Her heart thumped like a hammer in her chest, and she felt sick. The door to the waiting area opened behind her, and with several long strides Darius caught up to her. As the door swung closed behind them, his fingers dug into her shoulder and turned her to face him.
“Look at me.” She raised her head, her breath catching as she looked straight into the intense blue of his eyes. Time stopped for a moment as he looked down at her, gaze softening as he took in the panic in her eyes. “It will be fine.” Gentle and reassuring, his voice drifted across her ears, and she craved to hear more. “You won’t be abandoned.”
“But…” The door opened behind them, and she choked back the words, conscious of who she was pretending to be. “I don’t know the court,” she managed, almost choking with the weight of the lies on her tongue.
“All you need to know, I’ll teach you.” Approval at her quick-thinking shone in his eyes, and he smiled. He dropped his hands from her shoulders and handed her a handkerchief. “I have as much riding on this as you do.” A soft reminder of his own danger drifted between them, as she reached up and took the square of white cotton.
“Do you promise?” Much as she didn’t want to, Tay needed the reassurance that only he could give.
“I do.” With that simple statement, he stepped away from her and nodded back at the waiting room. “Shall we go back in?”
Tay hesitated for several long moments before she nodded and headed back toward the waiting area.
“I understand your worry, sis,” Darius declared as they walked over the threshold, and back into the room, “but you’ll be fine.”
“I know,” Tay forced herself to answer, as he pulled out her chair for her, and she sat down. Sipping the remnants of the rapidly cooling drink, Tay spent the rest of the time in deep thought. Darius was an enigma, the menace and power that he wielded were easier to deal with than this gentle reassurance. The memory of his fingers pressed against her upper arms lingered in her mind, and she cast a covert glance over the top of her coffee cup at him. With his face hidden behind a large paper, only his hands were visible, with those fine-boned fingers that had gripped her upper arms with such strength. When the door opened to announce the arrival of the taxi, she dragged her eyes away, strangely troubled by the thoughts that had begun to run through her head.
The taxi had no horses hitched to the front of its dark green and brass chassis. A liveried footman from the waiting area held the door, and she climbed inside, grateful that the real Lyana had covered this aspect of ladylike behaviour in her week of training. The door closed as Darius took the seat opposite and with a jolt, the vehicle began to move. She stiffened at the strangely smooth motion, and stared out of the window, watching the streets go by in a blur of snow and colour. The City was larger than she could ever have dreamed. Shops, homes and businesses began to blur into one as the minutes passed.
“There’s the academy over there,” Darius interrupted her train of thought, as he pointed to the left-hand side of the road. An ornately carved, stone building rose up from a crowd of smaller ones, its gates padlocked shut. “Term starts again in March.”
“So far ahead?” Tay asked, interested despite herself as the main gates drifted out of sight.
“With all the social events through the winter, it isn’t viable to keep it open.”
Tay craned her head to stare back at the forbidding structure, she had heard many tales about the Academy. Unlike the people in the Factory area, the children of the Merchant set were educated at the Academy. It took students from four to twenty-one and trained them in the ways of power.
“Do you still go?” She glanced up, curious as to his actual age.
“I’ve got a year to go,” he said, causing Tay to glance up at him in interest. He was only two years older than she was. They drove away from the campus, and soon they turned onto a broad, yet strangely empty boulevard. The buildings on either side of the road were large and set in tree-filled grounds.
“Palace District,” he answered her unasked question, as they travelled past mansions that could house half of Tay’s street. As with the station area, the streets here were populated by the wealthy. Even though snow fell heavily over the City, the rich and famous still paraded themselves as they preened in warm, expensive furs. The taxi pulled up at a stop sign, and Tay stared out of the window in disbelief.
“It’s freezing,” she declared in shock. “Why are they outside?”
“To show off.” Darius moved and sat beside her. “You should know that feeling sister.” Tay flicked her eyes at him, but he ignored her as he began to point out the different families and their most pertinent secrets.
“The Palace is just ahead,” the taxi driver called over his shoulder, and both Tay and Darius fell silent as they approached a set of tall and wide double gates. As the taxi drew to a close, a man dressed in the garb of a soldier walked out of the gatehouse and approached the vehicle.
“I’ll do the talking.” Tay nodded, as the driver wound down the window and let a flurry of snow drift into the carriage.
Darius leant forward and began to talk to the guard, as Tay let her eyes wander. The gate was set into an even taller, deep, wall that stretched off into the distance on either side. Beyond the gate, a long road led out of sight through the largest park she had ever seen. Snow-covered trees and hedgerows were dotted across the vast expanse, and she was reminded of the farmland they had travelled through to get here. Stunned by the space before her, she barely noticed when the guard shut the door and waved them through.
The driveway was long and sweeping. On either side of the road, snow-covered fields laid in an unbroken line to the edge of a forest. Stunned by the quiet, and sheer beauty, Tay said little as the carriage rolled toward the large, imposing building in the distance. Made of a golden stone, the building was a large, square, three storey structure with turrets on each corner. As they drew nearer, Tay pressed her nose to the cold glass, struck dumb by the magnificence before her.
They came to a halt before a large set of double doors. Several porters rushed out of the building to remove the trunks from the back of the taxi. Still petrified by the building before her, Tay said little, as Darius took hold of her arm and helped her exit the vehicle. The building loomed above her, and she shrank back against Darius’ arm, intimidated
by the structure.
“This is Lloyd.” He indicated a slender man dressed in a dull grey suit. “He’s been assigned to run our staff while we’re here.” Tay suppressed a wild giggle as the man bent into a deep bow. “He’ll make sure that our stay runs smoothly.”
“This way sir, miss.” Lloyd led them up steps swept free of snow, to the main door which remained closed.
“How do we get in?” Tay asked, shivering as another blast of bitterly cold, snow-laden air buffeted them.
“Like this miss,” Lloyd replied, as he reached into a pocket, and removed a small, elegantly carved fob watch. With his thumb and forefinger gripping the edges of the watch, he reached forward and pressed it into a small indentation that laid on the side of the door. A click sounded, and he began to rotate the small brass case, first to the right and then to the left.
“It’s a combination,” Darius whispered at Tay’s look of curiosity. “No keys, just the fob watch and a memorised set of rotations.”
“I see.” As Lloyd continued to turn the watch, Tay’s thoughts drifted back to Lars and Cody. How could they have thought it would be easy to steal information from the Palace? As the watch clicked from right to left, Tay began to wonder how she would be able to seek out any information, if all of the doors within the Palace were locked in this fashion.
The clicking noise stopped, and Lloyd straightened up. Pressing his palm against the door, he gave a gentle push, and the door swung noiselessly open. Grateful for the opportunity to escape the wind, Tay followed the man inside, only to stop in stunned wonder at the sight of the hallway beyond the door.
Criss-crossed with wrought iron, a vaulted glass ceiling arched over their heads and bathed the hall in natural light.
“How do they keep it clear of snow?” Tay asked in a hushed whisper, as they followed the servant toward a set of double doors.
Amber Sky (C.O.I.L.S Of Copper and Brass Book 1) Page 12