The Wilds (Reign and Ruin 1) (7 page)

But as the sun
reached higher in the sky, the hidden life of the forest revealed
itself. Animals appeared out of the underbrush, creatures that had
only graced the illustrations of story books.

I watched in
fascination as a hundred-legged centipede with red brush atop its
head hummed melodies through its abdomen, curling up and up a tree
trunk until disappearing amongst the leaves. There was a snake with
such transparent skin that all its organs and veins were displayed
like a lab professor's dream. A little heart was even visible
pumping the blood through its journey to the head and around the
body.

It would have
been hard to describe the moment. It was a sensation of pure
insignificance. I sat down on the bare ground and just stared. Was
this Cirrus's work? I know I had never dreamt but this beauty could
not have been from a nightmare. Whoever, or whatever, had made
these was no monster. As a butterfly with wings of blue-spun silk
landed gracefully on my arm, I could almost feel the earth stand
still. This must be the Painter's work; my uncle's.

Suddenly, the
forest serenity was shattered into bits as a train whistle pierced
it through. It shook leaves down from the tree tops and birds
shrieked upwards from their branches. I clamped my hands over my
ears and ducked down to the ground. Even as the screech ended I
could hear it echo in my ears and feel the vibrations emanating
through the arches of my feet.

Crouching
forward on my knees, I moved tentatively though the trees towards
the sound. I brushed aside leaves and watery branches, following
the chug of an unseen train that got louder and louder until
finally, another whistle sounded into the air. It was frighteningly
close.

I straightened
up to step forward out of the underbrush and found myself by the
steps up to a train platform. There didn't seem to be any station
building or even ticket kiosk, simply a slightly raised wooden area
polished from hundreds of traveling feet. The little island shook
as a steam train came into view, black metal and old fashioned. The
smoke that rose up out of the pipes was black and thick and the
wheels ripped up trees and bushes that had grown amongst the tracks
over the years. It was like an angry rhinoceros as it charged
towards the platform.

I quickly
crashed ungainly back into the trees. Hiding seemed the best first
move, in case the train happened to carry Cirrus. I still hadn't
thought about how to simultaneously avoid Cirrus and get close
enough to take his watch. Hell, I didn't even have a weapon yet and
this train had arrived before I had even gotten to grips with a
plan. Play it safe.
I must never forget the Walk is in
motion.

The train let
out one last screech as it came to a halt, shivering sparks rising
up around the brakes. It settled down next to the platform, heaving
and smoking as the old silence of the forest once again enveloped
the trees and the sky.

I doubled over
with coughing as the smoke found its way through my throat and into
my lungs. I didn't even notice when the door of the train swung
open to reveal the conductor. His mustache bristled annoyingly as
he looked around the empty platform.

"Come on then,
I know you're out there. We've looked for you at every station and
when we saw you run off the platform I was afraid we'd miss you
again. It is going rather out of our way, you know," he said
impatiently. He was dressed smartly in a fitting black suit with
gold buttons. His tie was knotted a bit too tightly around his fat
neck so that a few extra chins had freed themselves over the collar
of his white shirt. His train conductor's hat was perched smartly
on his dubious looking toupee and his shoes were polished to a
shiny black.

When I didn't
emerge the conductor sighed and pulled out a small revolver. It was
literally the most pathetic weapon I had ever seen, all the more
for how proud he seemed to be of it. He aimed it a few feet from
where I was and spoke again to the trees.

"Right, so now
I have a gun. Do you see my
gun
?" Silence. But yes, I did
see his extremely small gun. "Come out and board the train. I have
been told to use force."

I heard a
rustle behind me and my slight amusement at the conductor's bravado
was cut short as I felt the cold metal of a knife being pushed up
the back of my shirt. Before I could turn around a man's arm
wrapped around my waist and pushed the knife harder into my
spine.

"Move forward.
You'll want to get on this train," a voice said quietly. I had no
choice but to walk as calmly as I could out of the forest and into
the open air. I looked down at the arm, which was covered in black
coal and bulged with cord and muscle.

The conductor
saw us approach and shot a reproving look at the man behind me.

"Well, nicely
done, I guess. Bring her on board, if you please. And don't touch
the necklace. The Walk is corrupt if you do."

I was pushed up
the steps and through a door held open by the conductor. He gave me
a small smile as he slipped the gun back into his front coat
pocket.

"Welcome
Maggie. I do apologize for the manner of your apprehending." The
conductor followed us into the first compartment and nearly
immediately I felt the rumble of the train's engine starting up
again.

The pressure of
the knife left my back and the arm guided me gently onto a plush,
blue upholstered train seat. The man dropped down on the bench
across from mine as the conductor kept walking through to the
engine room.

It wasn't just
the man's arm that was covered in black coal. The rest of the skin
was smeared with the stuff and his eyes shone through the dirt with
a fierce brightness that was at once intelligent and menacing. His
jumpsuit hung loosely on shoulders used to shoveling fuel and the
flat cap was pushed right up to the edge of his hairline. He
considered me causally, picking his nails with the edge of the
knife only so recently held against my back.

"So you're the
girl everyone is so concerned with," he stated, looking me up and
down. "Got Painter's blood in ya?" He snorted. "What a load of
bullshit."

"What's
bullshit?" I asked defensively.

He shrugged.
"The Painter ain't got an heir. Because everyone knows that there
isn't a Painter." He leaned across the compartment and hooked the
edge of the necklace with the point of the knife.

"Not the
religious type?" I asked, watching him carefully as he stretched
the dreamcatcher up from my chest.

"Nah. We were
born from the earth and to the earth we shall return." He let the
necklace fall back and deftly slipped the knife into a side pocket.
"You're an imposter."

"More of an
imposter than Cirrus?"

"Cirrus is just
a man, but as good a king as anyone else." The coal man shrugged
again, as seemed to be his habit, and crossed his arms behind his
head. The train rocked back and forth and the green hues of forest
flashed by the window. "Plus he pays me." His teeth were as bright
as his eyes when he grinned, white and wide through the dark mask
of his face.

I leaned my
face against the cold glass and sighed. So this was it. The Walk
was over before it has even fully begun. What a cheat.

I bet if I had
a train I could have kidnapped him, too.

The coal man
was staring off into space and eventually I felt my mind dozing
off. The click clack of the train started to become a comforting
repetition, like the ticking of a clock, and the small amount of
rest I had the night before overcame me. But as I slipped away into
sleep, I felt something slide into my jacket pocket and heard a
whisper in my ear.

"
The Reign
Walk is not lost. Riders are assembling and the storm is gathering
speed.
"

The train
rocked me to blackness and it wasn't until much later that I
remembered those warnings.

The Riders are
coming . . .

Chapter
8

Marty was sitting outside in the Council anteroom,
waiting to be called in. He squeezed his hands together and looked
over at the closed door of the assembly room.

The Council was
a bunch of old fools set on formalities and paperwork. They were
taking a long time in discussing the "moral politics" the Walk. It
would take days for them to process Maggie's fall and even longer
to use any small influence they had to look for her. What would he
do if this all resulted in death? What would keep Cirrus from going
absolutely mental, as only Marty from firsthand experience knew he
could?

The Council
made it clear to Marty in their letter that they didn't wish to
take sides in the matter. Technically speaking, the government
couldn't back a player in the Reign Walk. But as Marty was quickly
finding out, they didn't actually seem to care much. Politics are
politics, when all is said and done. Whoever ruled Palet wouldn't
change things much. This was still a republic, don't you know?

But they didn't
know. No one knew Cirrus's history like Marty did. How long would
they sit in their own sweat before realizing Cirrus had siphoned
off their power and their republic had shriveled like a grape left
out in the sun?

Marty sighed
and tried really hard to stop juggling his foot. It was hard. Even
worse, he felt the cold sweats start creeping up at the edges of
his hairline. How long had it been since he's had a hit? Two days?
Only one? He wished he knew something, anything.

The phone at
the reception desk started to ring. The secretary picked it up and
murmured into the receiver. There was a pause.

"Is there a Mr.
Kleizenberg here?" she asked. Marty looked up and the secretary
held out the phone. "It's for you." Marty walked to the desk and
took the phone from over the counter. He raised it tentatively to
his ear.

"Yes?"

Cirrus's voice
came from the other end of the receiver. "We've found her."

***

When I opened my eyes
I immediately saw that the train had left the forest far behind. We
were flying along the bottom of a valley, ringed with gnarled hills
tanned from the sun's glare. The fields spread out over the land to
meet the hills like the patchwork on a giant quilt and there were
men and women working, presumably sowing and cultivating different
kinds of agriculture or whatever people grew out in the sticks. I
blinked at the sunlight shining out over the land and looked
quickly to the seat across from me. The coal man was gone.

The farmers
stood up as the train rushed past and raised their arms to shield
the glare that ricocheted off the black metal in short bursts of
brilliance. Their working clothes looked ragged and frequently
patched. Some wore straw hats. They waved rather mechanically as we
sped past. None of them cracked a smile or a frown. Their faces
remained as tanned and smooth as the top of my mom's polished
dining room table.

I began to
notice our speed decreasing, which I assumed meant we were at our
destination. Which meant Cirrus. I strained my neck around the
corner into the walkway, but there was no sign of anyone. The train
car seemed deserted, which struck me as odd because . . . well,
obviously.

Well, screw
this then, I'm getting off.

As I made my
way down the car, I could see the front train ahead pulling slowly
into a station. The sides of the valley were much closer on either
side and densely wooded with strong, dark green fir trees. But the
station seemed civilized enough and I wagered that if I jumped off
just before the train stopped moving, I could run fast enough to
get lost again in the trees. As long as the coal man didn't see
me.

And that's when
I suddenly remembered the feel of cold metal through fabric and the
weight of something slip along the side of my jacket.

My hands
fumbled for my pocket and pulled out a short knife. It was a silver
switch blade and shiny as a mirror. Had the coal man given me a
weapon after nearly sticking me like a roast pig? Why would he do
something like that?

In my wonder of
finding something so unexpected in my pocket, I didn't notice until
it was too late that the train had stopped and the car door had
been thrown open.

"Are you
Maggie?" I jumped and whipped the blade behind my back. I looked
down to see a young man standing nonchalantly with his hands tucked
into the pockets of his pants, regarding me with a curious smile.
His light brown hair was straggly and cut unevenly and his dress
shirt was untucked. His skin was a healthy pink and he looked
positively, utterly normal.

"Yes, I am," I
replied slowly. The man's smile broke into a grin that showed his
crooked teeth. He strode the rest of the way across the platform
and took my hand in both of his.

"Well, thank
goodness we got to you in time. This train was on its way to
Cirrus, wasn't it?"

"What do you
know about Cirrus?" The man tapped his nose and winked.

"You two might
be the main players but you didn't think Cirrus was the only one
who could use pawns, did you?" He shook his head and laughed. Oh,
he sounded so happy. It was infectious and there was a moment
before I realized my face had relaxed into a cautious smile.

"Where am
I?"

"Maggie, I have
the distinct honor of welcoming you to Lucky Creek. And of
introducing you to the Mayor." The man bowed and then shrugged
awkwardly. "That's me. Fifth time elected."

He took my hand
and led me down onto the platform. His eyes lingered on the gold
dreamcatcher, but when he saw me notice he looked quickly away. "My
name is Tyler. At your service. Bless you, you're a long way from
the Middle Canvas. But we can get you fed and rested and set you
back on your way again, how does that sound? You must be exhausted
. . ."