Tansy and Mallow hurried back into the woods and led the horses out. Aster and Clementine traded places once again, so Aster was riding with Violet and Clementine was riding with Zee. Then they made their way down the ridge until they were on the edge of town and rode parallel to the tracks, sticking to the woodland for cover. They weren’t going to get on the train at the station, Zee explained—too many eyes. Instead, they would jump on as it rounded the first bend. The train would have to slow down there to make the turn.
Still … it would be moving. Aster didn’t care for that. This was a rushed plan, like the bank robbery. Something was bound to go wrong.
The train let out its first whistle. It was leaving the station.
“Come on, we can’t let it get ahead of us,” Zee urged. But their horses were tired, and they couldn’t be coaxed to go any faster. It wasn’t long before the train began to overtake them, its engine bulling ahead on the tracks twenty feet to their left. Some of the cars were wooden, their paint fading into the grain. Others were open at the top, carrying mountains of coal. Black smoke belched from the chimney. The wheels gathered speed with a sound like rolling thunder. Aster felt as if they were chasing down a demon from hell.
The bend in the tracks was just ahead.
“All right, get ready to dismount!” Zee called back. He angled closer to the tracks, until they were riding right alongside the train. The cars roared past them, the wind tearing at their hair and clothes.
It’s going too fast. We’ll never be able to catch it, Aster thought desperately. Unwanted images flashed in her mind: Tansy dragged under the train’s wheels, Mallow dashed against its sides. She gritted her teeth and shook her head.
Zee brought his horse to a stop as they reached the bend. Climbed down from the saddle.
“Take only what you can carry on your back,” he shouted over the noise. “Where’s the shine?”
Aster and Violet exchanged glances. The shine was with Adeline and her aunt.
“We’ve got it,” Violet said to the others, reading Aster’s face.
They had all dismounted now and were filling their knapsacks as quickly as they could. The end of the train was in sight.
“There, 24–67,” Zee yelled, wetting his lips. He pointed out the next upcoming boxcar, bloodred paint peeling from its wood. Someone would have to climb the ladder on the side, he explained hurriedly, in both shouted words and gestures, unlatch the door, then slide it open for the rest of them.
And obviously, with his arm, Zee wasn’t going to be the one to do it.
Aster glanced at Mal, but Mal was still injured, too. And so was Aster herself, with her leg—
“I’ll do it,” Clementine said in a voice barely audible over the roar.
“Clem, no,” Aster began, her heart kicking.
But her sister was already stepping forward, climbing through the knee-high grass and onto the spit of gravel that lined the tracks. The rocks crunched beneath her boots. She closed her eyes, mouthing a prayer. The boxcar was three lengths away, coming around the corner at about the speed of a cantering horse.
Or a person running near as fast as they could.
“Everybody get ready to run!” Mal cried.
The boxcar rattled past them. Clem ran with it, leapt up, and grabbed the ladder, flakes of rust falling from beneath her fingers. She climbed quickly up to the top. The others kept pace with the car, Aster hobbling as fast as she could with her injured leg. As soon as the train was around the bend, it would speed back up.
Aster would never catch it then.
Now on the roof of the car, Clem lowered herself onto her belly, unclasped the latches at the top of the door. Tried to lug it open.
“It—it’s stuck,” she yelled, stammering.
“Unstick it then!” Violet barked.
The train was beginning to accelerate.
Clem finally forced the door free. It slid open with a crash. She climbed down from the roof and swung inside, landing in the hay that lined the floor.
“Tansy, come on! I’ve got you,” she shouted, holding out her hand.
Tansy was leading the group. She pumped her knees faster, grabbed Clementine’s hand, and jumped. Clementine pulled her into the car safely.
Violet was next.
“Shit, shit, shit,” she yelled with every step, pushing herself into a sprint. She held out her hand and Clem and Tansy pulled her into the car, too. Mallow took her turn, then Zee. He let out a loud yelp as they grabbed him by his injured arm.
Now it was just Aster.
The train had rounded the bend. It was picking up speed. Aster forced herself to keep up, even as her leg stabbed with pain.
“Come on, Aster, you’re almost there!” Clementine cried, though Aster saw the fear in her eyes.
Aster cursed herself, cursed the burning in her lungs and throat, cursed the throbbing pain in her leg. She reached out for Clementine’s hand. Grabbed it.
She stumbled.
Her legs gave way.
She screamed.
Clem held on tight as Aster tried to scramble to her feet. Her legs burned, dragged behind her, gravel tearing at her clothes and skin.
The wheels were terrifyingly close, sparks flying by her face. The roar of them drowned out all thought other than pure, wordless fear. Aster tried again to regain her footing, but the train was moving too fast. She was going to be dragged to death, or cut in half on the tracks.
And if she didn’t let go, she would bring Clementine with her.
I’m sorry, Grace, Aster thought, loosening her grip. I’m so sorry.
Then, suddenly, she felt a strong hand clamp down around her wrist. Zee’s. And then Violet’s hand over Zee’s. Mallow’s and Tansy’s.
“PULL!” Clementine shouted.
Aster felt herself lifted up. They drew her up into the car.
Aster let out a sob as she landed flat on her stomach, the wood scraping against her skin. She crawled forward, and Clementine closed the door behind them, sealing them in the dark. A rush of relief coursed through her, a heady euphoria that, for an instant, overwhelmed all her pain.
How many times, how many ways, had the Scab tried to beat her over the years? To beat all of them?
Now, at last, they were leaving it behind for good.
“That was dangerous,” Aster coughed once she’d recovered enough to sit up. Her head still swam with giddy disbelief, but she tried to regain her composure. “You should have left me behind.”
Violet rolled her eyes—Aster couldn’t see it, but she sensed it. “You’re welcome,” Violet snorted, as if in confirmation.
Aster smiled. Thank you, she thought. All of you.
19
It wasn’t exactly comfortable riding in the boxcar. The air was dark and dusty, the cargo rattled in its crates, and the floor shook with every bump on the tracks. There was a remnant in there, too, the foglike figure of a rail worker who sat in the corner, having a smoke and casting a vague but overwhelming sense of longing. But Aster was too tired to care, and she fell asleep within minutes.
When she woke, Aster didn’t know how many hours later, Clementine was the only other one up. Keeping watch. She sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, staring at the remnant—not with fear, but curiosity. Aster sat up straighter against the crate she’d been leaning against, wincing at the stiffness in her leg.
“Talking to ghosts again, Clem?” Aster asked softly.
Clementine offered a faint smile that was just visible in the light streaming through the slats in the wood.
“Listening, more like,” she said. “This one’s name is Calvin. He’s been here a long time.”
“Well, if you all hadn’t saved me, I might’ve ended up a ghost on this train, too,” Aster said. “Thanks again for … you know…”
“Oh, please. As if I would ever leave you behind. Can you believe we’ve almost made it?”
“Well don’t go and jinx us, we’re not there yet,” Aster said. There was stil
l the small matter of all the shine they had to make up, not that Aster was ready to talk about that yet. She wasn’t even ready to think about it. “You really believe we’re going to find Lady Ghost at the other end of this train ride?”
“I know we will.”
“What are you going to do once you get your favor removed?”
Clementine’s fingers went to the side of her neck. “I think the first thing I’m going to do is go into a cake shop. Get one with buttercream frosting.”
Aster snorted. “What, to celebrate?”
But Clem wasn’t laughing. “No, just—just to do something normal. Something other girls get to do. Go shopping in the city, order something from a bakery, walk around freely. And all of it without everyone staring at you and—and hating you.”
There will still be plenty of hate left to go around for a couple of dustblood girls, Aster thought, but she kept it to herself. Because Clementine was right.
Whatever else happened, at least they’d be free.
“What about you?” Clementine asked. “What are you doing once your favor’s gone?”
Aster thought back to her conversation with Eli. Sometimes you wish you could start your whole life over.
“It’s hard to even imagine,” Aster said, her voice barely carrying above the rattle of the wheels below. The air was thick with the scent of sawdust, starting a tickle in her throat. “I know we can’t have children, but maybe … I don’t know … I like the idea of giving a girl the kind of life we didn’t get to have.”
“Well, it’s not as if it’s too late for you to have that life,” Clementine said, looking at her oddly. “We’re still young.”
But it did feel too late, Aster realized, and the thought filled her with an unbearable sadness. She shoved it away forcefully. There wasn’t time for that.
“Aster—Dawn—” Clementine began, but then the train went over a big bump, shaking everyone else awake.
Thank the dead, Aster thought, relieved she’d been freed from the heavy turn the conversation had taken. Tansy and Mallow, who had been curled up against each other, both sat upright with a jolt. Violet cursed as she was sent rolling across the floor. Zee snorted like a startled bull.
“Did we jump the ripping tracks?” Violet asked.
“No, but we’re really flying,” Zee admitted, rubbing his eye with the heel of his hand. “We must be crossing through the Goldsea now.”
The Goldsea was a flat stretch of prairie near Arketta’s northern border, where forests dominated once more.
It meant they were almost there.
“Did we miss anything interesting while we were out?” Tansy asked.
“Not really,” Clementine answered. “Aster and I were just talking about Lady Ghost, and what we’re gonna do once these favors are gone.”
“Did Aster mention anything else about Lady Ghost?” Violet asked.
Aster glared at her. Clementine wrinkled her nose. “Like what?”
“Like how you’re supposed to pay her now that all the shine is gone.”
The words hung in the air, the truth of it suddenly heavy in Aster’s chest.
“But I thought you said you two—isn’t it in the—?” Tansy stammered, before Aster had managed to speak.
“What the hell are you talking about, Violet?” Mallow asked more impatiently.
Aster sighed. “I’ve been meaning to tell you all…”
And then she told them everything—about how Ruth’s joy at seeing Adeline had turned to fear once she understood what would happen to them if they couldn’t escape. About how, without the shine, Adeline would have been even worse off for them having saved her.
“I never would’ve made such a big decision without you all, but it was life or death for them,” Aster finished.
But it’ll be life or death for us, too, if we can’t make up for it, she thought. When she made the decision she was certain the others would have done the same, or at least she told herself that. But now, trying her best in the almost dark to gauge her friends’ reactions, fresh doubt seized her. Tansy looked stunned. Mallow was scowling. Clementine stared at her hands.
“You were there, Violet,” Aster said desperately. “Tell them how it was.”
“Oh, it was the right thing to do, I don’t doubt that,” Violet replied. “Even if it wasn’t the smart thing. But now we have to figure out what to do next.”
They were all quiet for a moment. Aster’s heart hung at the top of her throat.
Then Mallow nodded, slowly but surely. “I’m glad you all did it,” she said. “I would’ve done the same. But without that shine…”
“Without the shine, we came all this way for nothing,” Tansy said, her voice thick.
Clementine shook her head. “No, we’ll make those eagles back. We’ll find a way. We always do. Rob another bank—”
“What, in Northrock?” Mal asked. “This isn’t the Scab anymore. All the banks up here will have top-of-the-line security—”
“Well, what else are we supposed to do?”
“—and look at us now. I’ve been tossed around like a rag doll, Aster got her leg chewed half off, Zee’s been shot to hell—”
Zee spoke up for the first time then, as if his name had shaken him out of his stupor.
“Use the ring,” he said.
They all stared. When no one spoke, Zee repeated himself.
“Use the theomite ring to pay Lady Ghost,” he said more firmly. “It’s worth at least five thousand eagles. Maybe more. She’ll take it.”
“Zee—no,” Clementine said immediately. “We’re supposed to use the ring to pay you.”
“You’ve already sacrificed too much,” Tansy agreed. “You used up all your father’s shine on us, you got yourself in trouble with the law, you left your horse behind…”
“We owe you,” Mal finished.
“If I was only in this for the pay, I would’ve given up a long time ago,” Zee replied, leaning his head back against the wall. “You all are family to me now … maybe the only family I have left. So until I find my sisters…” He looked back at Clementine, twining their fingers together. “Let me get you to Lady Ghost, Clem.” Then his gaze swept around the circle. “All of you.”
Aster felt her old protectiveness rise up again—not of Clementine, this time, but of Zee. “We’re not letting you walk away empty-handed,” Aster insisted, surprising herself. “There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t,” Zee said, equally insistent. He held out the ring. “Please, Aster, just let me help you all. Let me finish this. Believe me, it’s the least I can do after…” He stopped himself. “… It’s the least I can do.”
Aster took the ring uncertainly, trying to see past the shadows to read Zee’s expression. What had he been about to say?
Something about whatever it is he’s been hiding from us.
Something so ugly he was willing to give up the theomite ring to atone for it.
Aster shifted, sitting up straighter.
“Zee,” she said, slowly and carefully, as if treading on broken glass. “Look, we all have secrets here, and you’re entitled to one or two of your own. I … I’ve made my peace with that. But if you’ve been trying to make up for something by helping us … if that’s the real reason you won’t take the ring … I think we have a right to know. Because I think of you as family now, too, and I need to know that it’s real.”
She swallowed, her face suddenly warm. She hadn’t been expecting to speak so honestly. Zee opened his mouth to answer, but Clementine beat him to it.
“For the love of the dead, Aster,” she demanded. “What more does Zee have to do to prove to you he’s a good man—”
Zee pulled his hand away from hers. “No—Clem—she’s right,” he said, speaking as if each word cut him. “I—I haven’t been completely honest with you all.”
Aster’s lips parted as she let out a sharp, pained breath. The others grew still, the air in the boxcar suddenly heavier
than it had been before.
“What do you mean, you haven’t been honest with us?” Clementine asked into the stunned silence. Aster couldn’t read her sister’s face in the dark, but she could hear the tremble of hurt in her voice. “Zee—”
“You are family to me,” Zee said, taking his hat off and turning to her. “Every word of that was true, Clem. It’s my first family I haven’t been entirely honest about. My parents. My father.” He looked around at all of them, the whites of his eyes shining. “He wasn’t a gambleman. He was a ravener.”
For an endless instant, no one spoke.
“Your father … what…?” Aster murmured.
“He hunted down welcome house runaways. And he used to take me with him. That’s how I learned how to track. That’s where we got all our shine,” Zee finished.
“And that’s why you’re so keen to help a bunch of welcome house runaways now,” Violet said through her teeth. “To clear your conscience.”
“That’s not the only reason—” Zee said desperately.
But Aster no longer heard his words, a hum rising in her skull. It was as if the Veil had dropped from in front of her eyes, and Aster saw Zee clearly for the first time.
The cloud of guilt that clung to him, no matter how selfless he acted.
The discomfort that seized him whenever someone asked him about his life before becoming a rangeman, the inconsistencies in his answers.
The panic that overwhelmed him whenever raveners were near—the only time he ever showed raw fear.
Aster’s stomach turned, and it wasn’t just the sway of the boxcar nauseating her.
Zee’s tone turned pleading. “I wanted to tell you all a thousand times. But I didn’t want you to think—I was just a boy, he made me go. But I never wanted to help him. I hated every minute of it—”
“Did you kill anyone?” Mallow asked tensely.
“No! Of course not.”
“But your father did. Your father killed girls like us,” Clementine persisted.
Zee faltered, then nodded. “Girls like you, and girls like my sisters,” he said helplessly, his voice growing thick. “I only wanted to do right by them. The shine was supposed to get us out of debt—”
The Good Luck Girls Page 25