by Tasha Black
“Yes,” Rexx said. “They were afraid the Sons of Sirius and their sympathizers would try to overpower the marshals.”
“So, what’s going on now?” Tilden asked.
“They’re trying to attack the train,” Rexx told her.
He didn’t like upsetting them, but there was no way to pull that punch. They were going to find out at some point.
“So, what we heard…?” Verat trailed off.
“Those were rocks,” Rexx said. “And a couple of gunshots.”
“Rings of Saturn,” Tilden said, her eyes wide.
“The porter accurately pointed out that the train has a state-of-the-art energy shield,” he told her. “And of course at this speed, there’s not a mount alive that could keep up.”
“Of course, dear,” Tilden said, calming down visibly. “This is the great Iron Peregrine. We’re in no real danger from a bunch of thugs with pop-guns.”
Verat thumped Tilden’s leg encouragingly.
Abigail wanted to know more, but there was a knock on the door before she could ask any follow up questions.
“Come in,” Tilden called.
The door opened and Lanny stepped inside.
“Pardon the intrusion,” the porter said, tipping her cap. “Your honor, the marshal’s asking for you in the dining car.”
Rexx looked interested, but not surprised.
“You kids go on,” Verat said. “We’ll keep an eye on the little fellow.”
Abigail glanced over to where Rio was sleeping.
“We’ll come get you the minute he wakes up,” Verat said.
“You sure you don’t mind babysitting?” Abigail asked.
“We thought you’d never ask,” Tilden told her with a smile.
“Let’s go,” Rexx said.
They followed Lanny into the corridor. Someone must have convinced the crowd that was out there before to dissipate. There was no one in the corridor as they passed through to the dining car.
When they arrived, the first thing they saw was the conductor nursing a drink at the bar. Maybe it was just his oversized uniform, but Abigail felt he had a defeated look.
It had to be tough to have a cushy job as the conductor of a luxury train and wind up under attack with criminals on board.
The marshal got up from his table to greet them.
“Thanks for coming,” he said, offering Rexx his arm.
Rexx grasped it and they shook once.
“I was hoping we could talk, soldier to soldier,” the marshal said gruffly.
“You served?” Rexx asked.
“Third wedge, second line of the Intergalactic Guard,” he replied.
Rexx nodded back, respect in his eyes.
“Conductor Taggart, come on over,” Marshal Sanders called to the unlucky man.
The conductor put down his drink in a resigned way and headed over.
“And who’s this?” Sanders asked, turning to Abigail.
Rexx frowned, as if trying to decide how to explain her role.
“I’m an elementary school teacher,” she volunteered. “I can leave if you don’t want me here.”
“No, we can probably use you,” he said. “You certainly have experience with crowd control if you work with the little ones. And in times of stress, adults tend to act more like children than they’d like to admit.”
“Tough, but fair,” she acknowledged.
“Let’s get down to titanium bolts,” he said, addressing the small group. He gestured to the chairs around his table, and everyone sat.
“We’ve got problems going on outside this train, and problems inside it,” Sanders announced. “Outside the train, I’ve got a passel of hopped-up hill-dwellers convinced that Muncy Reeves is their new savior. They’ve been dealt a bad hand, and they’re itching for someone to tell them who to direct all that pent up venom at. They believe, against all good sense, that Muncy might be that someone. So, they’re shooting and tossing rocks, and who knows what they’ll come up with next? The passengers won’t like it, but we’re not going to stop at the highlands at all. They’re liable to bust down the doors if we do.”
Lanny winced but nodded. The conductor looked over at her and he nodded too.
“We also have problems inside the train,” Sanders went on.
“Trouble with the prisoner?” Rexx asked.
“There’s always trouble with prisoners,” Sanders replied. “But nothing beyond the usual. The trouble inside the train is that I hear a passenger is missing, and I don’t like it.”
“Just to clarify, that happened before we picked you up,” the conductor put in.
“But the train didn’t stop, correct?” Sanders asked.
The conductor nodded and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.
“In my mind, that’s a major security issue,” Sanders went on. “Particularly in light of what is on this train.”
The conductor frowned and nodded again. Abigail assumed they were referring to whatever was being kept under wraps in that last car. Whatever it was, they certainly didn’t want anyone messing with it.
“Can you do a door-to-door search?” Rexx suggested.
A shrill, pulsing alarm began to sound before the marshal could answer.
“Oh Gods,” Abigail gasped as she recognized the sound for what it was. “That alarm. One of the car toggles is being uncoupled.”
They all looked to the conductor.
He nodded, eyes wide in horrified agreement.
“The prisoner,” the marshal cried, leaping to his feet and dashing in the direction of their car.
The others followed as quickly as they could.
Abigail tried to imagine what they would even be able to do. If the back cars were uncoupled, it was going to be beyond human ability to rejoin them without stopping the train. And stopping the train would leave them at the mercy of the attackers.
Her grandfather had told her all about how dangerous runaway cars could be on the tracks. She hoped no other trains used this route.
“Clear the halls,” Lanny called out from the front of the group.
But it was no use, the passengers were already pouring out of their compartments again, terrified at the sound of the alarm and what it might mean.
16
Rexx
Rexx slipped past the King brothers, managing to stay right behind the marshal in the narrow corridor despite his large size.
But when they reached the door to the car where the prisoner was being kept, it wouldn’t unseal.
“It’s a failsafe,” Abigail panted, catching up. “When the cars are uncoupling, the door seals automatically.”
“Shit,” the marshal said.
Rexx studied the ceiling and found what he was looking for. One of the decorative ceiling panels was slightly less decorative than its neighbors.
He reached up and pressed on it and it unsealed with a pop and a hiss.
“Son, this train is traveling at over three hundred kilometers per hour,” Sanders warned him.
“Three hundred and twenty-seven,” Lanny chimed in.
“You may see the heroes fighting the baddies on top of trains in the holograms,” the marshal continued. “But in real life…”
But Rexx was already pulling himself up through the hatch.
Cold air smashed into him, and he closed his eyes against it, calling to the dragon.
When he opened them again, they were the hooded eyes of the dragon and his hands had extended into massive claws, which he used to grip the railed roof of the train.
He could see the uncoupled cars, still moving fast, but already falling behind the rest of the train.
He scanned the surroundings, but there was no one else nearby.
Rexx shifted a bit further, his tail providing excellent ballast as he eased his way forward. But even if he shifted fully, he wouldn’t be able to catch the other cars at this distance.
Unless…
He spread his arms out wide as he completed his shi
ft. His wings extended out like the sails of a ship.
Despite the blast of air buffeting him, he could hear the tiny gasp of his mate inside the train. The dragon’s senses were expanding, showing him every color in the rainbow, letting him scent every living thing for miles.
The air was fighting against his wings now and he curved them inward to form a sort of parachute, slowing the train just enough.
The strain on his wings was intense, but a dragon was not some fragile thing, and the uncoupled cars were catching up.
He exhaled through his snout to focus his efforts, releasing the tiniest bit of smoke.
At last, the runaway cars were close enough. He leaned forward and reached out with a talon to hook onto the roof of the nearest one and pulled.
He could hear the magnetic clank as the cars sealed to the rest of the train once more.
There was applause from inside the train.
The dragon shook himself and then lowered his snout to allow the man the use of their form once more.
17
Abigail
Abigail gazed up at Rexx as he lowered himself through the hatch.
As soon as he went up, Lanny had activated the scenic mode. The whole train had gone transparent, and Abigail had seen it all - his bravery, the beauty of those sapphire scales, the wingspan, so wide it defied logic.
How was it possible that all that might and terror could be contained in the body of the man she was surely falling in love with?
Rexx landed resoundingly on the floor before her, his hair windswept, his expression furious.
Though he was back in his form, the cold haze of the dragon clung to his eyes for a moment.
She felt her heart pounding, sweat beading on her upper lip, a pulse at her core.
“Abigail,” he said.
“I don’t know whether to kiss you or hit you,” she growled.
“No reason you can’t do both,” he replied with a smirk.
“You could have been killed,” she said.
“No one was out there,” he told the marshal. “Whatever caused those cars to unhook didn’t come from outside the train.”
“The only internal control is in the engine room,” Lanny said.
“Oh, hell,” Sanders said.
Then they were all running again, Lanny taking the lead encouraging the passengers to stay in their compartments.
Rexx and Abigail brought up the rear.
“So, you saw me shift into a predator the size of a wingship and your first instinct was to be scared for me,” he murmured to her in a low voice that made her heart pound all over again.
“You could have been killed,” she repeated. But this time it sounded like a faint echo of the first time.
Could something that large be killed? She wasn’t really sure.
“Well, I’m glad you’ve got my back, baby,” he told her.
“Oh, dear,” Lanny’s voice got Abigail’s attention.
The others were gathered around the engine room door. Broken glass littered the floor and the door hung open.
“Someone broke in?” the conductor asked hopelessly.
The poor guy really couldn’t catch a break.
“So now it could be anybody,” Abigail realized out loud.
The marshal frowned and pulled up a holo-note on his wrist, typing into it, then swiping it out of the air.
18
Rexx
An hour later, Rexx sat in the dining car with baby Rio in his arms.
Abigail was scrambling around with Lanny, helping to set out food for all the passengers.
The easy way she had with people warmed his heart. It wasn’t just Tilden and Verat, who were lovely women to begin with. She put everyone at ease.
“Is this it?” Duke King drawled in a dissatisfied voice when she set down the soup and crackers in front of him.
“You want to get back there and cook something better?” she demanded. Then she slipped him an extra packet of crackers from the apron she must have borrowed from the kitchen.
He grinned at her while his brother scowled.
“Don’t worry, you get extra too,” she told Earl, placing his plate down and slipping him a packet. “But I expect you two to behave yourselves. There’s real danger afoot. No more family feuds.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Duke said.
Earl tipped his cap.
She moved on to Harla, setting her plate down gently without comment.
“Thanks,” Harla said. “How’d they rope you into this?”
“I used to be a teacher,” Abigail said, shrugging. “I guess I’m good at herding cats.”
“Ha,” Harla barked out a rusty sounding laugh. “That’s a good one.”
“All right, go ahead and enjoy your lunch,” Marshal Sanders said, addressing the group. “I’ll talk while you eat.”
There were nods and the clinks and clanks of spoons hitting bowls.
“Lanny informs me that we’re heading into the underwater leg of our journey now,” Sanders went on. “So, it’d be a tough time for anyone from the outside to try to bust out our prisoner. I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity to interview each of you.”
“Why are we being interviewed?” Harla asked in a flirty way.
Rexx was just glad she wasn’t directing it at him anymore.
“Someone on this train has committed a crime,” Sanders said. “I’d like to find out who it was before they can cause any more mischief.”
That got everyone’s attention. The dining car went silent.
“And if anyone saw anything, or heard anything, anything at all, I’d like to hear about it,” Sanders continued. “Until this person is apprehended, every one of us could be in very real danger.”
“I… might have seen something,” Dr. Twinnly said, raising his hand as if he were in class.
“Excellent. Then come speak with me first,” Sanders said. “Rexx, Abigail.”
They all headed over to his table and joined Conductor Taggart.
Dr. Twinnly crossed his legs, nervously bouncing the foot on top that hung in the air.
“Shield,” Sanders said.
A small origami droid emerged from his vest pocket and unfolded into a screen the size of a windshield, partially sheltering them from view of the rest of the car.
“That’ll provide minimal sound protection,” he said. “So speak low.”
“Why are they here?” Dr. Twinnly asked, glancing at Rexx and Abigail.
“Does your information concern either of those people?” Sanders asked.
“No,” Twinnly said, shaking his head.
“Then please proceed,” Sanders said, without explaining.
“Fine,” Twinnly said. “Anyway, it’s probably nothing, but when the train was under attack, everyone was coming out of their compartments.”
“Sure,” Sanders said, nodding.
“Well, the guy with the suit and the blue hair,” Twinnly said. “Dyrk, I think it was, he came out too. But he was walking down the corridor from the wrong direction.”
Rexx thought back.
“He’s right,” Rexx said. “I saw him too. Coming from the front of the train. Didn’t think much of it at the time.”
“Could he have been coming from the dining car?” Sanders asked. “Or someplace else?”
“He was looking kind of disheveled,” Twinnly said.
“Disheveled how?” Sanders pressed.
“I don’t know,” Twinnly said. “His hair was kind of messed up, his tie was loose.”
“Hm.” Sanders fingers were dancing in the air on his holo-pad. “Thank you. Anything else you noticed?”
“Not particularly,” Twinnly said. “Do you really think we’re in danger?”
“Have you ever seen a litter of kittens find an injured bird?” Sanders asked.
Twinnly shook his head.
“At first they’re all just playing with it,” Sanders said. “Tapping it with a paw, scampering closer and backing away. But
as soon as the first one draws blood, they fall on it like a pack of grown lions.”
Twinnly swallowed audibly.
“Right now, this train is that bird,” Sanders said. “And those hoodlums are the kittens. They might be playing with us with their stones and rifles. But if they manage to stop this train, mark my words, we’ll have a bloodbath.”
Twinnly blinked at him in horror.
“That’s why we appreciate you sharing what you saw,” Sanders said with a smile, clapping the terrified writer on the shoulder. “Go on and have some soup. You’ll feel better.”
“Was that really necessary?” Abigail asked Sanders, as Twinnly scurried away looking terrified.
“It was truthful,” Sanders told her. “And if he sees anything else, you can be sure he’ll tell us.”
“Anybody else have anything unusual to report?” Sanders asked, standing to address the room.
No one moved to answer.
“All right then,” he said. “We’ll go in order of compartments. You’re in compartment one, correct?”
Dyrk nodded and headed over.
“Excellent,” Sanders said, sitting down.
“Why are they here?” Dyrk asked.
“They’re here to assist,” Sanders said.
“And the baby?” Dyrk said doubtfully.
“His lunch date canceled,” Abigail said with a deadpan expression.
Rexx suppressed his laughter.
“Do you mind walking me through exactly what your movements were this morning?” Sanders asked Dyrk.
“Why?” Dyrk asked, narrowing his eyes.
“We need to establish where everyone was at all times leading up to that alarm going off,” Sanders said.
“Am I under any obligation to cooperate?” Dyrk asked.
“No, son, but if you opt to wait for a lawyer, it’s not gonna look real good for you,” Sanders said. “In fact, I think I might have to suggest you spend the rest of the trip in my car, along with the prisoner. For your own safety, of course.”
Dyrk rolled his eyes. “Fine, what do you want to know?”
“What exactly did you do today?” Sanders asked.
