The Wind Merchant (36 page)

“One I can’t tell I have.”

“You’ll be faster than everyone else in The Wild,” she said.

“I’d be perfectly content not to see that in action,” Ras said. Something glinted along the floor of the cave near the entrance. As the sun crept higher, the glint became two illuminated lines. “What is that?”

“What is what?” Callie asked.

“There.” Ras pointed to the lines and Callie pulled Ras over to the edge of the bridge to investigate.

“It looks like train tracks,” she said casually, then paused. Her eyes widened. “Ras, it looks like train tracks!” Her eyes hungrily searched the floor of the cave far beneath them for more information. She looked over at Ras, then at the green goggles dangling around his neck. She nearly ripped the strap off as she pulled them up over his head.

“Hey!” Ras said, rubbing a maligned ear.

Without bothering to strap the goggles on, Callie placed the green circles over her eyes. “Put the ship down! Put the ship down!” she shouted, then whipped around, still mad-eyed with goggles.

“Hang on, what did you see?” Ras asked.

“A white train.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The White Train

The smooth metal gave the large locomotive a sleek look, soaking up and reflecting the little bit of light filtering into the cavern. Callie stood directly in front of the lifeless machine on the cave floor, staring it down as she squeezed Ras’ hand tightly.

“Have you ever seen one of these outside of your dreams?” Ras asked, “Like in a book or something?”

“Hal had a model of it on his desk,” Callie said, bathing Ras with the glow of her goggles.

Ras paused. “So, this is mind-boggling and everything, but what are we doing besides looking at it?”

“I don’t know if I can make myself go in,” Callie said, stepping to the side of the tracks to inspect the multi-car train.

“I hate to rush you, but I also hate
The Fox
sitting there when Elders might be just outside the cave,” Ras said quietly.

“We’d run into them eventually, right?”

“I’m glad we’re being optimistic…”

Callie stepped purposefully toward the second car, pulling Ras along. The train looked fresh off the assembly line, free of rust or wear. She took a hesitant step up to the doorway.

“I don’t like this,” Ras said. “What if there are Elders, just waiting to activate when someone comes onboard? I mean, who else would ride this from The Wild?”

“I don’t know, but there has to be a reason I keep dreaming about this,” she said. She tugged on Ras’ hand and pulled herself up into the entrance of the passenger car.

“May I remind you I promised to keep you safe?”

“You are, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Ras said, stepping up into the train. His KnackVisions did next to nothing to pierce the darkness. “But part of protecting you means not letting you walk into dangerous situations.”

“It’s empty, Ras,” Callie said. “There’s nothing in here but seats.”

Ras stepped in and steadied himself by clamping his free hand on the fine leather back of one of the padded benches. He wondered when machines had begun appreciating the finer comforts. “All right, so why would someone abandon a train in a cave?”

“They built a railroad through here, so they obviously meant to use it,” Callie said.

“Do you think it ran to Bogues?”

“Maybe it shuttled supplies during the war,” Callie said, continuing her slow walk and inspecting each seat.

“Airships would have been more effective,” Ras said. “People? How big are the seats?”

“I guess Elder sized,” she said. She hoisted herself up to sit on one of the seats. “It’s bigger in my dreams though.”

“Mind if I borrow your eyes?” Ras asked.

Callie removed her goggles and offered them to Ras.

The interior of the train came into view. He saw Callie sitting, nervously swinging her legs off the edge of the seat. The floor and ceiling held ornate matching patterns. Still gripping Callie’s hand, he knelt, inspecting the space underneath the benches.

Four seats down lie an abandoned box.

“Found something,” Ras said, pulling Callie from her seat and guiding her further down the train.

“What?” Callie asked excitedly, almost tripping in the darkness.

Ras leaned underneath the bench and hefted the two-foot wide box by its handle, then placed it on the seat in front of him. He extracted the goggles from his head, held the left half to his right eye, and pulled Callie in close until the sides of their heads leaned against one another. He placed one lens over her left eye.

“It’s a suitcase!” Callie said, her words reverberating through Ras’ head. She eagerly reached her free hand to work the latches. With two clicks, the restraints snapped open, revealing a small treasure trove of information.

Before them lie baby clothes, photos of a man and woman holding a child, papers, and several small plush toys.

“They were taking children from Bogues?” Ras asked.

“No, look at these papers,” she said, “I recognize this writing.”

Ras picked up one of the pieces of paper, inspecting the funny looking scrawling. “Hal?”

“Hal.”

“I’m going to have a lot of questions for that man when we get back,” Ras said. He pulled away from the lens and noted a little more daylight spilling into the cabin through the window curtains. Something caught his eye and he brushed open the thick material, revealing three metal figures standing along the cave wall.

Elders.

“Callie?”

“Yes?” she asked, lost in the pictures.

“I think we should go.”

“Can’t we see what else is in here?” Callie asked while closely inspecting the contents of the case.

Ras tapped her on the shoulder. She turned her attention to the window, then gasped.

“Why aren’t they moving?”

“I don’t know, but that seems like the kind of question you ask in a story and then they start moving,” Ras said.

A pause. “But we can’t leave yet,” she said. “Not when I still have no idea why I’ve dreamed about this place.”

“Maybe you saw pictures of trains when you were little.”

“No, the details are exactly the same.” She ran her hand over the paneling around the window, taking a fistful of curtains.

“What sort of answers could there be? There are Elders out there and there’s confusion in here,” Ras said, pointing to the contents of the case. “I’d feel a lot better mulling over our clues with a tankful of Wild air.”

“But then we can come here on our way out?” Callie asked.

“You’re the only one who knows how to get here, so I think it’s safe to say this all will be here any time we want to visit.” Ras gave one last look to the Elders, wondering if he was just imagining the machines having stepped closer. He moved away from the window, gently bringing Callie with him.

“Ras, what am I?” Callie asked, resisting his pull.

“You’re a beautiful girl who is reading way too much into a train.”

Callie stared at Ras blankly. “You think I’m beautiful?”

Ras’ expression softened and he gave a faint laugh. “Have you ever looked in a mirror?” He took a deep breath. “All of this we can talk about while moving.”

She nodded, not meeting Ras’ eye, then shut the case with her free hand, allowing Ras to guide her away from her dream train.

As they exited the passenger car, the metal men still stood fifty yards away, stationary. Regardless, Ras started into a jog toward the gangplank of
The Brass Fox
and quickly boarded.

Dixie sat slumped against the bridge’s railing, head cradled in her hands. “Find anything?”

Callie held up the suitcase with a melancholic look on her face. “More questions.”

“Well, life’s no fun when you run out of those,” Dixie said. Her eyes narrowed at the pair and a sad grin grew. “Aww, you’re holding hands now.”

“Medicinal purposes,” Ras said. “Right?” He looked to Callie, who nodded.

Moments later, Ras pulled
The Brass Fox
back into the sky and headed for daylight. Ras worked the controls one-handed while Callie silently studied the photos in the suitcase.

As they glided through the mouth of the cavern, The Wild met them in all its barren, craggy glory. The parched ground extended beyond the cliffs to a horizon scattered with mesas and jagged mountains. Ras wondered if it had always been so bleak or if being cut off from Energy had killed the vegetation.

“No wonder The Elders wanted to escape,” said Callie.

“Seems fine for automatons. Sparse on amenities…but I guess all you’d need is an oil can,” Ras said.

Dixie furtively fished something out of her pocked and rolled a piece of paper into it. She then pulled a pistol from her bag.

“Ah, Dixie? Where’d you get that?” Ras asked.

She loaded the gun with something that looked like a tube. Conflict played across her face as she pulled back the hammer. “I am so, so sorry.” She lifted her arm to the sky.

“No!” Ras dove for the pistol, but even in his slightly faster state he couldn’t reach her in time. She pulled the trigger and two things fired out of the barrels. One of them Ras couldn’t see, but the other was a flare.

“You really shouldn’t have come back for me,” said Dixie.

Ras clenched his jaw, backpedaling. “Who did you send that to?”

“What’s going on?” Callie asked.

“That gun fires off a flare and a tube with a message that will travel to a predetermined place if it’s within range. Smart,” said Ras. “The Collective wanted to get into The Wild, and I’m guessing we just brought one of their couriers.”

“What?” Callie asked.

“The fight in the alley, I bet that was staged,” Ras said, “Two co-workers drew the short straw so you could play up the sympathy and owe me a favor.”

“If it’s any consolation, I wasn’t lying about that,” Dixie said. “They were sky pirates, but I did pick the fight.”

Callie looked stunned. “Why would you do this? Entire cities are falling out of the sky because The Collective controls Energy. What do you think will happen when they can regulate Time too?”

“Hunt down and kill sky pirates. How many people don’t have to die if one side is frozen?”

Ras’s backtracking finally landed him at the console. He jammed the throttle forward and dashed down to the deck, disappearing into the Captain’s quarters to retrieve his grapple gun. He returned to see Dixie pointing a flintlock at him but he continued to lace up the straps.

“Stop the ship, Ras,” Dixie ordered.

Ras returned to the controls, ignoring the threat. “Have you ever been to
Verdant
, Dixie?”

“Oh, don’t start that,” she said. “
Verdant
sank before you left me at
Derailleur
. If I’d told you then you wouldn’t have kept going to The Wild.”

“You’re lying,” Callie said, turning to Ras. “She’s lying, right?”

“She had better be, because she’s trying to take away the last thing between me and desperation, and none of us wants to see what that looks like again.”

Callie stepped between Ras and the pistol. “If
Verdant
is gone, then he’s all I have left, and you’re not taking that from me.”

Ras looked up and sighed. “She can’t shoot you. You’re too valuable to The Collective.”

“Not anymore,” Dixie said. “They needed her to get into the Wild. It’s you they want now.” She kept the gun trained on Callie.

“Why would anyone want me?” Ras asked.

“You’re an anomaly. In a world where Time can be stopped, how much do you think people would pay to opt out of that system?” Dixie asked. “Stop the ship.” She gestured the gun at Ras, then returned her aim to Callie.

Ras angrily jerked the throttle back. “So what did you get for leading The Collective here?”

“Satisfaction.”

“Mmm…I would have bargained to get
Solaria
off the ground for something as impossible as breaching The Wild.”

Dixie stood silent.

“So you are Dr. O’s granddaughter,” Ras said, “and you’re doing what you had to do to save your city—”

“If I don’t get you back to
Derailleur
, Foster’s deal is off,” Dixie said.

“You accomplish your job and he makes his promises conditional on future tasks?” Callie asked.

“What?” Dixie asked.

“I’m just wondering how many things he’ll get you to do before he sends you on a suicide mission,” Callie said, “or just kills you when you decide you’ve had enough—”

“Shut up, both of you,” Dixie said. “We’re done talking.”

Hours passed before a voice boomed over distorted loudspeakers, “Surrender all arms peaceably and prepare for boarding. This is your only warning.”

A Collective ship exited the cave and glided to a stop alongside
The Brass Fox
, then extended its plank to bridge the gap for a dozen armed men. An officer from the other ship spoke in legalities that Ras summarily ignored as he watched Callie be restrained and dragged off his ship. Cuffs ratcheted too tightly around his wrists.

A slap to the face by the gaunt officer brought Ras’ attention upon him. “I said, are you ignoring me?”

“Yes. Yes, I am,” Ras said.

The officer motioned to one of his men, who stepped up and buried his fist deep into Ras’ stomach, forcing the wind merchant to suck for air and drop to his knees.

“Your ship is hereby property of The Collective, as it was discovered unmanned upon our arrival,” the officer said. “Correct, Higgins?”

The soldier chuckled darkly as he picked Ras up and manhandled him down to the deck and over the broad plank onto The Collective’s ship.

Callie stood guarded by two men on the far end of the deck. She looked pale, and any motion Ras made toward her was met with force.

“You’re killing her!” Ras shouted. “She can’t be away from me out here.”

She screamed in pain, closing her eyes.

“A rather romantic notion,” the officer said.

“He’s not lying,” Dixie said. “You should probably keep them together or—”

“I did not ask for your opinion, whelp.”

“Captain! Bogies inbound!” a crew member shouted, pointing upward. “Descending!”