by Sam Ryan
“And that’s pretty much everything,” Sophia finished, taking in a long breath.
“So why did you wait until after we boarded the train before explaining all of this?” Madilyn asked, speaking up for the first time since Sophia started over an hour ago.
“One, because I wanted to make sure you were sitting down,” Sophia said. “And two, because I wanted to make sure we weren’t interrupted and were alone with no distractions.”
Madilyn gave a slow nod of the head, accepting that answer but her expression was still blank. Max’s gaze shifted to Madilyn’s sword resting in-between her and Max. She worried that Madilyn might suddenly draw it and run Sophia through.
“Then Stella intended from the beginning to use the Legendary Relic to offset Trevelia’s dwindling coal supply?” Madilyn continued.
“Correct,” Sophia said.
“And you learned all of this from a journal you took from her room?” Madilyn asked, pointing at Tara.
“Found,” Tara corrected. “If you would. Took has such harsh conno-tations.”
“And why did you not tell me this last night, instead of making up that lie about investigation reports?” Madilyn asked, keeping her voice flat.
“Because I was not sure what Sophia wanted to do,” Tara said, giving Madilyn a cocky stare, no hint of remorse or shame. “I also knew that you had no idea about Stella and her involvement with Trevelia and did not think it my place to tell you.”
Again Madilyn nodded, accepting the answer. “Alright then.” Madilyn leaned back in her seat, uncrossing her legs. “I have said that I will chose to trust you. So then if you tell me that you had no idea of your sister’s involvement, then I will believe you. I also understand why you would be hesitant to tell me, as I would be hesitant to tell you should our positions be reversed. But I would appreciate it if from now on you were completely honest with me. Especially when Legendary Relics are involved.”
“Hey,” Sophia raised her finger in protest. “I only learned about that last night.” She lowered her hand, her expression softening. “But you’re right. You’ve been nothing but helpful and trusting, despite having every reason not to be. I will do better to trust you from here on.”
Max saw Tara roll her eyes and shake her head but she kept any quips to herself. Max got the impression that Tara was still not happy about having them along. Not that Max could fully blame her. Max was not all that happy to be along either.
“Do you think it’s possible that your sister was murdered over something concerning the Legendary Relic?” Madilyn asked.
Tara and Madilyn exchanged glances with each other as if conversing mentally with each other.
“We don’t rightly know,” Sophia said with a sigh. She leaned forward in her seat slightly, clasping her hands tightly together. “But it is not outside the realm of possibility. All we know for sure is that she had gone to the ruins of Albion in search for one and a few months later, she was killed.”
“And that is why we are now heading for Glanum?” Madilyn affirmed.
“Correct.” Sophia gave another nod. “We are hoping to retrace her steps and maybe find some clue as to who her killer is.”
Madilyn crossed her arms and glared at the two. “I still feel as though you are not telling me something,” she stated.
“I’ve told you everything,” Tara scoffed, leaning back into the corner of the cart staring at Madilyn. Her smug demeanor never fading. “Not my fault if you don’t believe me.”
“I’m going to go head to the privy while you gals continue to talk,” Max stated, pointing a finger at the cabin door. “
Madilyn wordlessly shifted her knees out of the way, giving Max room to walk past her.
“You want me to come with?” Tara offered.
“I’m not two,” Max said, looking back at Tara before sliding the door open and stepping out into the cart.
Closing the door behind her, Max let out a shiver and a breath, just glad to be away from whatever that was. Max did think she understood why Madilyn was taking this revelation so well. Madilyn had been trying to somehow tie Stella’s murder and the Legendary Relics together to better manipulate Sophia and she was sure that Madilyn was overjoyed to find out they already were. Sophia had done all the work for Madilyn and she could still claim that she was merely helping Sophia out as promised.
Wobbling with the movement of the cart, Max glided a hand along the wall to help keep her balance as she wandered into the joining carts. She had been lying about needing to go to the privy, using it only as an excuse to get away. She passed through the nearly empty dining cart, nodding at the man in a white button up coat standing behind a bar before continuing on.
Max was in the mood for a drink but taking a look at the drinks on the shelf behind the bartender told her that she would not find the kind of drinks that she was after here. So she continued down the cart, the décor lessening with each cart she passed through. She was getting into the grungy passenger area now. Her kind of people area.
Opening the door to the next cart she was immediately met with the loud roar of laughter. All around her were people sitting in a less refined dining cart, playing cards, smoking cigars and of course drinking from frothy mugs. Max grinned upon seeing the sight. She took a deep breath, taking in the scent of beer and grease.
Confidently she walked up to the bar, slamming a few copper pieces on the counter and ordering herself a drink.
A man wearing an outfit that resembled Max’s, including the long leather coat, came up beside her and started speaking to her in Creep.
“Sorry,” Max said, not even looking at the man. “Besides a few choice words, I don’t speak Creep.”
She thanked the bartender as she grasped the mug in front of her and took a drink.
“Don’t speak Creep?” the man scoffed in a thick accent. “You must be a southerner. Practically Learians.”
“I’m from New Dentin actually.” Max smiled, turning to look at the guy over while taking another drink from her mug. “I haven’t spent enough time on the ground for it to really matter though.”
The man turned his head seeming intrigued. “Sailor?” he guessed.
“Airship.” Max nodded. “Mechanic, Helmsman, Deckhand. You name it, I’ve done it.”
“Is that right?” The man gave a grin, his mind obviously not on airships anymore.
“It is.” Max pushed her coat back so she could rest her hand on her hip, flashing him her tone bear abs and giving him a wag of her eyebrows. She really had no interest in the man and he probably knew it, but it was still fun all the same.
“Then why are you on a train?” he asked. “Your ship in one of the freight carts?”
“I’m in-between ships at the moment,” Max said. Her mood turned bitter as she took a longer sip of her drink. She still felt bad about leaving the Trinket behind like they had. She understood why they had to do it but she still hated it. “My last voyage ran into some complications as it were and we had to scuttle her.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like a tale worth hearing.” He raised a hand ordering himself a drink.
Max pursed her lips together pondering the situation. She knew she should be careful what she said but she also wanted to vent. She had not gotten the chance to unburden herself since this increasingly ridiculous mission started.
The door across from the dining cart opened and several men in Trevelian uniforms marched in, grabbing Max’s attention. They were all armed but their rifles were lowered and they did not seem to be looking for trouble. But they did seem to be looking for something. They fanned out and started asking everyone to show them their tickets.
“Yeah,” the man sighed noticing the soldiers. “They’ve been pestering passengers ever since we left Noxiss.” He rested his arms against the bar, not seeming to be bothered by them. “They’re just checking people’s tickets and identification papers. They say that it’s a new security measure but you don’t send the Lightning Brigade
out for security.”
Max’s eyes went wide. “The Lightning Brigade?” she gasped, turning to look at the soldiers, this time spotting the lightning bolt patch on each of their shoulders.
“Yeah.” He sighed, taking a sip from his drink. “Weird right? Shouldn’t they be off saving a noble’s daughter or something?”
“You two,” a soldier said, getting their attention. “Tickets and papers.”
“Right.” The man dragged out the word bitterly, reaching into his back pocket and handing the soldier his papers over his shoulder. He continued to sip from his drink not giving the soldier a single look. “Third time you’ve asked me by the way,” he mumbled into his mug.
The soldier looked through the papers making sure everything was in order. Not finding anything wrong, he nodded and handed it back to the man who took it and shoved them back into his pocket.
“And you ma’am,” he turned to Max.
“Yeah.” Max unfroze and dug inside her pocket. Pulling out her ticket she handed it to the soldier. “My papers are back in my cabin.” Max gestured her thumb over her shoulder back the way she had come. “I’ll go get them now and be right back.”
“It’s fine,” he said, handing back her ticket. “If your cabin is that way then just go there and wait. We’ll be there soon enough. We have to check everyone, so we’ll get there eventually.”
“Sounds good,” Max nodded, taking her ticket and putting it back in her pocket. “Sorry,” she said to the man at the bar. “Guess you will have to wait to hear that story for another time.”
With that Max gave the soldier a nod and a salute with her two fingers as she headed back through the carts towards their cabin. She had been lying when she said that identification papers were in her cabin. In truth, she did not have any. None of them did. While she was not here illegally, she was sure those soldiers had orders to detain anyone without them. And if they were detained it would not take long for them to figure out who they were. Once that happened, the best she could hope for was a painful death.
She did her best not to run but her anxiety made her pace quicken all the same. She was almost out of breath by the time she opened the door to their cabin.
“There you are,” Tara said, looking up at her. “Thought you might have gotten lost. Or fallen in. Or stuck, that would have been funny.”
“What’s wrong?” Madilyn asked, noticing the look on Max’s face.
“We got soldiers on board checking everyone’s tickets and papers,” Max said, slamming the door shut behind her.
“Looks like they aren’t taking any chances,” Tara sighed. “Guess we should have gone on foot after all.”
“There’s more,” Max said, still standing in front of the door. “The soldiers are all a part of the Lightning Brigade.”
There were blank expressions from everyone, none of them seeming to know why that was significant.
“Really?” Max said. “How do you not know about the Lightning Brigade?”
“Commoner.”
“Vagabond.”
Tara and Sophia said simultaneously, raising a hand in the air.
“What’s the Lightning Brigade?” Madilyn asked, sounding impatient.
Max shook her head in disbelief. “They’re Trevelia’s most elite Soldiers,” she said. “They are a quick attack Brigade that uses airships for transport. They are said to be quick as lightning, hence the name. During war times they will fly deep behind enemy lines at maximum altitude and then drop from their airships using parachutes.”
“That’s…” Sophia leaned back in her seat as she thought it over. “Really clever actually.”
“Yeah, and they are trained to be able to survive on their own for months, even years, doing damage to enemy supply lines and bases. Disrup-ting any efforts at the front.”
“Were those the guys at the test site?” Sophia asked. She reached up and pointed at her shoulder. “With the lightning bolts on their arms?”
“That’s them.” Max nodded.
“That probably also means that they were the Galleys we gave the slip back in New Dentin,” Madilyn stated. “They’re probably a bit sore that we got the better of them.”
“How long before they get here?” Tara asked, seeming rather apathetic about their perilous situation.
“They seem to be starting at the back of the train and working their way forward,” Max said.
“Assuming they didn’t start at both ends and are meeting in the middle,” Madilyn said. “How long until our next stop?”
Tara thought it over, her head bobbing slightly. “About half an hour,” she guessed. “There is a fifteen minute stop in Boulder. It’s a decent size city, though it is known for being a haven for the less desirable types.”
“So we should keep an eye out for Jezebel,” Sophia stated.
“Actually I heard a rumor.” Tara started, turning in her seat to face Sophia so they could better talk.
“Then I think it best we get off in Boulder,” Madilyn stated, cutting Tara off and leaving no real room for debate. Not that she needed to bother as all of them seemed to agree.
“We should probably also split up and regroup later,” Sophia stated. “If we all stick together, we’ll only draw more attention to ourselves.”
“Agreed.” Madilyn nodded. “But I think it best if we pair off. That way we can keep an eye out for each other.”
“Good,” Tara said, linking her arm with Sophia. “Me and Sophie will be a team.”
“Rejected,” Madilyn said instantly. Her voice firm. “Max and I are military so we will pair off with both of you. Max, you go with Sophia and I will stay with Tara.”
“Oh?” Tara slid her arm out from Sophia’s and sat back up, looking at Madilyn. “I figured you would want to be with Sophia. I didn’t know you cared about little old me.”
“Tara,” Sophia chided.
Tara flashed Sophia a smile. “What,” she shrugged. “I had thought I was just chopped liver to her. I feel honored.”
“Don’t be,” Madilyn said coldly, glaring at Tara. “There is no way I could think of you like chopped liver. I actually like liver.”
“Damn. Shots fired,” Max whispered, for the first time really noticing Madilyn’s animosity to Tara. When did that start, she wondered. They had only met the woman last night and in that time she had not said or done all that much.
“I trust Sophia,” Madilyn stated, her eyes locked with Tara’s. “I do not trust you. So this way I can keep an eye on you. Besides, Sophia has her magic so I know she can handle herself.”
“Alright,” Tara said, raising her hands in defeat. “I give. Me and Knighty. That’s fine.”
“Tara,” Sophia warned.
“Sorry,” Tara said, keeping her hands raised. “I’ll play nice.” Sophia intensified her glare. “Promise,” Tara said, using her finger to draw an X over her heart.
Max frowned, wanting to laugh at the gesture. What was that supposed to mean, she wondered.
“Though, I am not going to stop calling her Knighty,” Tara added. “As far as I’m concerned that is her name now.”
Madilyn did not seem to respond to Tara’s obvious jabs but Max could see her eye twitch ever so slightly, signaling to Max how she really thought about her new nickname.
“I am starting to get the impression that this is about more than people investigating a test sight,” Max stated. “This seems to be an overly large response for only that.”
“I was just thinking the same thing.” Sophia nodded, twirling her cane between her hands.
“Maybe they are really after you two,” Madilyn suggested. “Maybe they knew that you would come looking for whoever killed Stella and are trying to stop you.”
“That.” Sophia leaned back in her seat as she thought it over. “Is actually very likely.” She glanced over at Tara who nodded in agreement.
“That’s good to know and all,” Max said, resting her hands on her hips. “But what do we do if they check on us be
fore we reach Boulder?”
“Only one thing we can do,” Tara shrugged like it was obvious.
“If it comes to it.” Madilyn gave Tara a nod of agreement. “We will have to fight our way out.” She reached over, moving her saber from resting next to her and placed it between her legs. “The tight long corridors of the train will make finding cover impossible. But that goes both ways. But for now we need to sit and wait. We are already near the middle of the train, so if they are coming from both directions we are already in the best place.”
Max gurgled a sound of discontentment as she reached for the overhead compartment and pulled her pistol from her bag, tucking it into her waistband and covered it with her coat, plopping down next to Madilyn. She kicked her feet up, using the seat across from her as a stool. She hated waiting. When waiting for something to happen there was nothing to do. She preferred to at least be doing something, even if it was relatively pointless in the long run.
Deciding it was better than doing nothing, Max started muttering her good luck mantra under her breath. She could not help but be surprised at how calm Sophia and Tara were. Madilyn’s calm exterior Max could understand. She was a knight trained to deal with dangerous situations after all. But even then Max could still see beads of nervous sweat running down the side of Madilyn’s cheek.
Sophia and Tara, on the other hand, simply looked bored. Tara more so than Sophia. It was like they simply did not appreciate the danger they were in or how quickly things could go bad for them. That would change as soon as the fighting started.
She had noticed Sophia acting in a similar fashion when they were escaping New Dentin. At the time, Max had chocked it up to adrenaline and getting caught up in the moment, but now she thought it might be some-thing else altogether.
Were Tara and Sophia actually soldiers?
It was possible. But Max doubted they were soldiers of Trevelia or Lear but of somewhere else altogether. Maybe the Eternal Empire. That made its own kind of sense. She had heard the rumors about how the Eternal Empire had an information network that spread across the globe. That their agents would infiltrate all aspects of life, from nobles all the way down to coal miners.
