“Enough yammering. It’s time to chow down,” said Durros. “I’ve got crab apples and beans. What else is there?”
“We can talk while we eat.” The woman smiled. “My name is Cerci.”
An empty hamper turned on its side made a table. There was a wide selection: hard-boiled duck eggs, fried rice, a container of ripe berries. Eli handed over some of the food bars, which Durros cut into little squares for dessert.
Eli showed Cerci the papers Sela had hidden in the pouch. “I think these are important but I’m not sure how.” She explained what she had learned about the Baroness’ exile.
“Sela told me I had to keep hiding until we reached Dongor. Then the new leader of the Rassa House is supposed to meet us. I don’t even know what he looks like, or how he’ll know us.”
“The Rassa House? That is even more interesting,” remarked Cerci, looking over to where Willin and Rinatta were playing with Durros.
“I mean, why come back at all?” sighed Eli. “The children were happy in Ugara, even if it was the middle of nowhere. What better life could there be in Dongorland if she’d have to hide all the time?”
“No, I’m afraid your Baroness is too cunning for that,” said Cerci. “Politics, dear. It all comes down to politics.”
“I am so sick of hearing that. It’s politics, it’s business. What difference does it make if nothing makes sense?” Eli rubbed her eyes.
“It may make a big difference. An enterprise as all-encompassing as The Train is necessarily a matter of great importance and of great wealth.” Cerci leaned closer and spoke in a low voice. “Next week, all the leaders of the major Houses will gather in Dongor. The Train will stop there overnight, delivering people who wish to attend.”
That was news to Eli. “So the Baroness didn’t want to be left out?”
“I wonder.” Cerci pursed her lips. “They are meeting to choose the new leader for the Rassa House. I’m afraid their Director passed away over a month ago, unexpectedly. He left no immediate heir, and the selection of a new Director must be voted upon. I believe several cousins are all claiming a right to it.”
“What?” Eli was shocked. “They haven’t picked a new Director yet? Who will meet us at the station?”
“The Rassa family is the biggest and most powerful clan of magic users. Dongor marks the first station in parts of the world where magic runs strong, and they control a lot of property there. But if I remember the rumors, it was the Rassa House that the Vashanis tried to seize, only a few years ago. Perhaps your Baroness thought the Director’s death would be an ideal time to beg forgiveness?”
Eli could not imagine the Baroness begging forgiveness from anyone. She said so.
“Even if not, the conductors will surely hand the Baroness over to the Rassa House as soon as they arrive. That cannot be helpful to her plans, whatever they are. I doubt she will be welcomed after breaking Exile.”
Eli frowned. “What about these papers, then? Birth certificates? Willin was born in Ugara. Will that make him exempt from any punishments? Oh, and there was also these.” She reached in the bag and took out the little green bottles.
“What are they?” asked Cerci.
“I was hoping you knew,” said Eli. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to do something with them or not.”
“Those are for blood magic.” Majenta had come over from the other side of the car.
“Gross.” Eli made a face.
“At least they’re empty,” Lucca remarked. “What do the labels say?”
Majenta took a closer look. “Blood of the woman. Blood of the man,” she read, touching each bottle in turn. “Blood magic is very, very strong. Nothing breaks the ties of blood.”
Eli nodded. She remembered Pria had told her the other Houses would blame Rinatta and Willin just for being the Baroness’ kinfolk.
“What a messed up world,” she muttered.
“It makes slinking look better,” said Lucca. “You don’t have to bother with other people’s messes. You’re free, really free, just to ride and go anywhere.”
Eli took issue with that, too. “You aren’t free. You make your own rules, but you still have to spend all this time getting around the rules for the rest of us.”
Lucca shrugged. “Feels better, anyway. Slinkers keep to themselves, but they also look out for each other. Take something, leave something for the next person to come along. Use what you need, share what you can.”
Cerci smiled at him. “Talk like that Lucca, it just reminds us of the first Road Kid we met. This one had the wanderlust in him from birth, I expect. It just took a few years to catch The Train.”
Eli grinned, and Lucca looked sheepish.
“Hey, Cerci!” Durros shouted from across the room. He was standing, arms curled like thick branches, a child dangling from each bicep. “These kids are something else. Let’s keep ’em.” Rinatta and Willin shrieked in delight.
“It appears you’ve added another ally,” Cerci observed. “Two, in fact,” she added, quietly counting herself in.
Majenta rolled her eyes. “Well, that’s it for all of us then. No one will cross Cerci.”
Cerci grinned, her teeth fierce and white below her black veil. “I thank you for it, old friend,” she replied.
The rest of the meeting, as far as Eli could tell, was simply for the slinkers to relax and enjoy each other’s company. Eli enjoyed herself, too. They were strange comrades, but honest and devoted to their ways. The love they felt for The Train, Eli realized, was no less than that of folks like Pria and Uma, who spent entire lives saving for this rite of passage. They simply saw things differently, lived things differently. For slinkers, to ride was a right for all.
In the blue air of evening, they faded away, back to their own hideaways and sleeping spots. And then it was Eli’s turn. She and the children vanished into the shadows of The Train.
She could never entirely remember the next few days. They were a blur to her, like the scenery flashing by outside The Train’s windows, too swift to hold on to for more than a few seconds. She never slept longer than a few hours at a time, which no doubt accounted for much of the problem. When she thought about it, strange things stood out to her. An empty boxcar, dim and cavernous as a tomb, light filtering in through the slits of the ceiling. The smell of grease, on the night when she slept in the unoccupied cooks’ car. Willin, giggling hysterically, as he peed off the side of a moving freight car. Or Lucca, cheerfully setting a match to a crumpled collection of slinker warnings and Wanted signs.
It was night when Eli felt The Train change again. A dreamy, wonderful feeling, rich and terrible all at the same time. The Train screeched and shuddered at the pull of new magic. The lanterns shivered from their usual amber glow and changed into flecks of blue-white light that drifted and moved across the ceiling with nothing to tether them. They glimmered along, like lost fish scales. To look at one, it did not seem to give off much light, but somehow, all together, their shine lit the car well enough.
“Will-o’-the-wisps,” Lucca told her. “We’ll reach Dongor tomorrow.” He gave her hand a comforting squeeze.
Hope blew through her, and she knew they would make it. They had to.
But by morning, she was not so sure. There was an uneasy feeling on The Train, and the conductors were making rounds, examining tickets. Lucca slipped off to check in with the other slinkers. He did not return with good news.
“Durros says they got a tip on you. They know this is where you’re planning to get off, since it’s where they’ll be handing over your Baroness. The conductors will be at every carriage door, monitoring who gets on and off. They’re telling the passengers it’s extra security because of The Train Houses gathering together, but Durros was convinced it’s a set-up. They’re going to nab you guys.”
Eli wanted to stamp her foot, like Rinatta in the middle of a tantrum. “I’ve had enough of those conductors. How did they figure that out? Did they squeeze it out of Sela? They’d better not have hurt
her.”
“Durros says they’re in an even bigger frenzy because you haven’t turned up. They thought the kids would make it easy. You’re making them look bad,” Lucca replied.
“How are we going to get off? Go back through the roof, to the blindman’s nest?” Eli said.
Lucca shook his head. “Coming down that ladder would be too risky for you guys. Dongor station is always packed and we’d be easy to spot.”
“Well, there must be ways of getting out besides doors,” said Eli.
“Oh, sure, there’s plenty, but it’s hard to say what’s visible from the station sometimes.” Lucca rubbed his eyes.
“How about we climb out the windows?” said Rinatta. Eli and Lucca stared at her, unaware she had been listening.
“Don’t be silly,” Eli chided her. “We’d look so ridiculous, everyone would come have a look.”
Rinatta pouted.
“She may have an idea there,” Lucca said slowly. “Only half The Train faces the platform. The other half goes down on the side of the tracks. It’s not the easiest way to get back on The Train, but if you’re looking to get off—The Train cars would completely obscure the view for anyone looking out from the station.”
“What if it’s a station with a raised platform?” protested Eli. “What are we supposed to do, tie bedsheets from the sleeper car into a rope? That only works in stories, Rinatta.”
Lucca chuckled. “Wouldn’t that make the old crooks lose their lunch when they came back aboard and figured out how we got away? But, no, I’ve been through Dongor enough times to tell you, the station is on flat ground. You kids can meet up with your mysterious Director and I’ll have plenty of chances over the next day to slip back on board.”
“But where can we get through unseen? Which windows aren’t near the carriage doors?” Eli wondered out loud.
Lucca reviewed his knowledge of Train windows. “The third-class ones are the easiest to open, but there’s sure to be conductors around. Second and first-class have air systems that help keep their cars cool or warm, so I rarely see windows open there. But I know they can open, in case the air system breaks down.”
“I wonder…” She hesitated. “I wonder if they’d still be checking first-class compartments. Our old compartment was in a car that didn’t have a main door.”
Lucca’s eyes lit. “That’s it. Though it’s hard to say which ones will be empty. It won’t be sleeping time, so some of the passengers might stay in their seats.”
It was Eli’s turn to grin. “We don’t need an empty car. Just one with people who won’t turn us in right away.”
As soon as The Train’s wheels began to squeal and slow, they were on the move, making their way toward first-class one last time. They split up, hoping not to attract the attention of conductors keeping their eyes peeled for a young woman with two little ones. Eli and Willin went first, and Lucca and Rinatta followed more slowly.
The Train pulled into the station. Eli could hear voices shouting, “Dongor. This stop is Dongor. The Train rests here overnight.” She rapped softly on the door to compartment fifteen. It seemed like years since she had been here last.
Nassan opened the door, his mouth falling in surprise when he saw her. Without a word, he beckoned her in. Eli felt her heart leap in gratitude.
“Eli! Willin!” Pria exclaimed when she saw them. She and Uma were in their regular spots. “Where’s Rinatta?” the older woman added, her face growing worried.
“She’s coming. She’ll be here in a minute. We’re so sorry to impose on you again. I promise, this is the last you’ll see of us. You won’t even have to lie if a conductor asks if you saw us.”
“No apologies!” Nassan waved her words away. “You are friends. Am I correct?” He looked severely at the Ahns, who both, after a moment, nodded.
“It’s good to see you,” Pria admitted.
After a worrisome little while, Lucca and Rinatta joined them. Lucca surveyed the view from the window. The tracks were set in a narrow trench below them. “Perfect,” he declared. “Now how do we open it?”
It proved tricky, for the window had been sealed a long time. With some force, Lucca managed to pry the clamps open and push the glass panel up.
“It’s still a bit of a drop, if you’re not used to that sort of thing. Perhaps those bedsheets would have been useful after all,” Lucca joked. “I’ll go first. Hopefully I can catch the rest of you as you fall.”
His slinker feet climbed the wall of the car and he positioned himself on the window ledge. He leapt out, like a black bird taking flight.
“Rinatta, you’re next. This was all your idea, remember,” Eli told her.
“I’m not scared,” proclaimed the girl. They hoisted her out the window and then dangled her as far down as they could. Lucca grabbed her legs and lowered her onto the gravel beside him. They bundled Willin out the same way.
“You have come all this way, protecting these children. I take pride in having known you. I am glad to have seen you one more time,” Nassan told her with genuine feeling.
“Thank you,” was all Eli could say. She felt moved almost to tears.
“Good luck,” chirped Pria. “Oh Eli, be careful.”
“I will. It’s almost over.”
Nassan offered her his hand, and she went out the window. She dropped awkwardly to the ground. The Train cast a deep shadow across them. There was no one else around.
“Keep close to The Train,” advised Lucca. “We don’t want anyone to look out the window and see us. We can’t get cornered down here. Most stations like this have steps to get up to the rest of the station. We can slink onto the platform while they still think we stayed on board.”
They hurried along, down past the passenger cars, toward the engine.
The Train snorted and snuffed, belching out a huge blast of air. Was it about to leave again, Eli thought in confusion?
“Dragons!” yelped Willin in terror.
Just beyond the first passenger car were harnessed two great dragons. Their hides were tough and scaled, like Nassan’s lizard, only a hundred, a thousand, times larger. Their long jaws were crowded with teeth. They rolled their great bronze eyes almost to the back of their heads to look at the tiny humans. One coughed deep in its throat, and then both looked away, almost bored.
“Let’s, uh, let’s try the other way,” Lucca stammered. “I should have remembered, it’s not just will-o’-the-wisps that come after Dongorland. Magic runs all parts of The Train now.”
“Do they eat people?” Willin asked as they hurried along.
“I don’t want to find out,” replied Lucca, most sincerely.
They went down the entire length of The Train. Boxcars, freight cars, cook cars. At last, the caboose, and just beyond it—yes! The stairs!
The rat-faced conductor stepped out from behind a car.
Everyone froze.
His mouth was pulled in a grim line. His eyes were black and empty. He carried a short club. “All of you are under arrest,” he said. “Surrender now and maybe no one will get hurt.”
Eli felt a chill run through her. She didn’t want to think about what that club could do to a little boy like Willin. Lucca seemed to have similar thoughts, as he slowly pushed the toddler to stand behind him. Eli was impressed; he didn’t even try to weasel away.
“We’re, we’re not on The Train anymore,” Eli said, desperately. “What authority do you have over us here?”
“The station belongs to the Railroad just as much,” the conductor answered. “I answer to the Railroad. I answer to its laws.”
Eli snorted. Somehow, things seemed ridiculous all of a sudden. To have come so far, only to be caught at the last second! What difference had it made?
“I might not have traveled as long or as far as other passengers, but I lived next to the Railroad all my life. The only law is to go on. Sure, there are some folks who think that money or family names make the laws, but those could change a thousand times and the Road wi
ll still be here. Still going on. Waiting for the next Train to pass and tear off the moss that covered the tracks since the last one came along. The moss will just grow back and the Road will just go on.”
She stopped for breath. The conductor was looking at her curiously, as if he had never been spoken to like this before. Well, fine! Eli was downright annoyed by now. She was achy, and frightened, and tired beyond belief. Fine. If that meant coming along to jail, she might as well go, as long as she could get a full night’s sleep there! At least this mess would be over.
She suspected the conductor, in his own way, must feel the same. His skin had that unhealthy color and his eyes were rimmed with shadows. With his hunt victorious at last, he could return to his normal Train duties.
He looks like he could use a nap too, Eli thought, with some small sympathy.
Naptime. Sleep. Yes, yes, yes!
Some place quiet and restful. You can be at peace for a few hours. Imagining the soft space of sleep, Eli began to sing her mother’s soothe-charm at the conductor.
His body tensed, instantly suspicious. “Stop singing,” he ordered.
But Eli kept on.
“Stop singing,” he repeated. “Now!” He raised his club to strike her, but then his arm fell limp at his side. His fingers uncurled and the stick clanged to the floor. He gave a yawning cry of outrage, but his body crumpled, stricken by the blast of her spell.
“You killed him!” Lucca was appalled.
“Don’t be silly!” Eli said. “He’s only asleep. I always wondered how that charm would work in a place with real magic.”
“You can do magic! I didn’t know you could do magic!”
“Well, this was really my first try at anything, you know, important. I had no idea if it would work,” she admitted.
“Apparently, you should always trust your crazy ideas,” Lucca told her in deep appreciation.
“Come on! We have to get to the platform to meet up with this new Director. If he doesn’t see us, maybe he’ll leave.” Eli wanted to get them back on track.
On the Train Page 17