Sleight (41 page)

At last, the “al aboard” sounded from the platform, and exterior doors slid closed. The engines at the front of the train purred louder and louder until a sharp squeak indicated the brakes were loosening their grip on the steel wheels. Henry and I stared at one another within the temporary sanctuary of the cabin. We breathed in slow, measured beats while we waited for the jarring yank of the engines to chug into motion. The wals on the cabin were dense enough that I didn’t have to struggle against the conversations of neighbors or of those passing by in the hal. The relative silence was golden.

Only when we could feel the locomotive inching forward did Henry shrug out of his backpack. I waited for another few moments before doing the same, afraid to jinx it, afraid the train would lurch to a stop. I dared only to peek out the side of the closed blind to confirm we were truly moving forward. Once I could see that we were for sure advancing, I took an exhausted, overwhelmed breath and sat back against my seat.

As expected, a conductor knocked on the cabin door, making his rounds to ensure passengers were stowed in their proper seat assignments. He stamped our tickets and informed us that guest services would be by with blankets and pilows. Henry thanked him and relocked the door as the man moved on to the next cabin.

Though we were alone, Henry whispered. He knew I could hear him, even above the dul rumble of the train’s movement along the tracks.

“You doing okay, Gemma? Are you hungry?” He unzipped his pack and handed me a banana before I could answer.

“I’m so tired. I don’t think I’m going to be able to stay awake forever.” The banana tasted delicious, and my gut growled its appreciation after the first bite dropped into the emptiness. “That was a close cal. Why is Ash involved with this?” I took another bite. “And we had no warning.” I puled the amulet out from my coat, careful not to upset the squishy blisters on my fingertips.

Henry puled his coat off and then helped me out of mine. “I don’t understand, either. At least we know now that the amulet won’t always give us a fail-safe warning.”

“I feel so…betrayed.”

Henry sat on the bench next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He puled the hat off my head, careful as he unknotted and finger-combed my tangled hair. I didn’t care that I must’ve looked a mess. Henry’s touch was soothing. But I couldn’t stop thinking about Ash, replaying memories of better times when he and Junie and I were as close as siblings. At one time, we were al we had, until we’d started at Eaglefern. I missed those days, when we were like the Three Amigos of the circus world. We ate our meals together, timed one another as we raced through chores, chalenged each other to get assignments done and impress our tutors. There were other circus kids in our tiny peer group, but no one interfered with our friendship, no one tried to break us apart or impose themselves upon our triad. There had been a time in the not-too-distant past when Ash had been a nice guy, compassionate toward the younger kids, considerate of our elders.

Of course, once puberty arrived, the change in Ash was quick and obvious. He complained about everything, argued with his parents and sister and sometimes even Ted, locked horns with local hires who would come on to help with set-up and takedown in any number of stopover towns. Junie and I endured the brunt of his moody tantrums and instead of hanging out and goofing around with us, he preferred to criticize and mock us. We had become stupid and immature in his eyes, unimportant to his new worldly ways, unless of course he was lonely or wanted something. From Junie, he’d ask for money; he’d manipulate me into doing his homework, begging me in his honeyed, hormone-cracked voice to write his essays or finish his biology questions. Because I’d had such a crush on him, I’d often cave and do what he’d asked because I wanted him to like me as more than a friend.

And now, he was using his innate gifts of deceit and connivance to help Lucian. The worst part, even more disturbing than his blatant betrayal of our friendship, was that I doubted he even understood the gravity of the situation he had involved himself in. I couldn’t imagine that Ash had been briefed on the complexities surrounding the AVRA-K. Lucian couldn’t have told Ash everything; the risk would be too great. And what about Summer? Did Ash know anything about her duplicity? Would Lucian risk it?

Lucian’s sudden interest in Ash would’ve served Ash’s insatiate need for attention, and Lucian recognized Ash’s weakness of character from a mile away. He was the perfect recruit for Lucian’s mission of mayhem, an al-too-wiling yes-man who would act as instructed with minimal information. On top of everything else, I now had to mourn the death of a decade-old friendship. And it sucked.

“I just can’t believe that Ash would be helping Lucian. What about Ash’s parents? And Junie? I wonder what is going on at the fairgrounds, right now, at this moment,” I said, tossing the banana peel aside. “They al probably think I’m a murderer.”

“I doubt that. Those people, they’re your family. They know you better than that.”

“No, they don’t. I heard their chatter last week, after they found me in the field. They al think I’m crazy…like my mother.”

“It doesn’t matter right now. Finding character witnesses is pretty low on our list of priorities,” he said, stroking my hair. “And I knew Ash didn’t like me, but it’s bizarre that he would be so eager to jump into Lucian’s arms. If he thinks for one second that Lucian wil grant him any sort of loyalty, poor Ash is in for the disappointment of a lifetime.”

“I just don’t get it.” I sighed.

“There’s nothing to get, G. I’m sure Lucian did what he’s always done to get his way,” he said, adjusting his position on the seat.

“Money talks.”

“Not nearly as loudly as that godforsaken book.”

“The AVRA-K was designed to prevent this sort of thing from happening,” Henry said.

“Yeah, but it didn’t work, did it…? Lucian found his way through just fine. It’s sickening.”

“You have to understand him to see why he’s doing this. He thinks his actions are justified. Look at La Una. He’s speled it al out for the world. But no one sees it, even though it’s staring them right in the bloody face. He doesn’t think people should believe in anything but him. That’s why he wrote La Una. That’s why he’s been spreading it like a mutant virus al over the world. That’s why so many people in Eaglefern and in dozens of other smal communities al over the place are turning their backs on one another. They’re practicaly eating each other alive, Gemma, which is exactly what Lucian wants,” Henry said. “If he can’t be the top of the heap, he wil level the heap.”

“That’s what he’s doing. But it’s so ilogical—the AVRA-K is the reason that he’s lived so long.”

“Yes, but he’s lived as a follower, not a leader. And that’s not what he wants.”

“But your kind—Marku, you, me, I guess—we’re decent people. Marku loves humanity. He loves the world. How could Lucian want to turn everyone against that, something so pure?”

“Power. That’s it. Lucian is wiling to do anything to get public sentiment on his side. People are dense—they believe whatever you tel them, if you tel them often enough and with enough shiny objects to stare at. Lucian has searched for a chink in the armor, and it wasn’t that hard to find. Tel people what they want to hear, and they’l do anything you say. And, yeah, he’s a bastard, but he’s also a dynamic leader—he has that thing that other successful tyrants have tried to copy, that thing that makes people listen and believe. Lucian has a distinct vision about what the world should look like, who it should include. He truly believes that what he is doing is right.”

“How murder justifies any end, any goal, is beyond me. And if these fools just knew what Lucian realy is! The guy is deranged! I mean, the fact that he murdered Alicia, stole you, probably had something to do with Jonah dying, then kiled Delia, and is responsible for the deaths of Bradley and Marlene? How many others have there been who we don’t even know about? He’s an effing serial kiler, not a prophet!” Henry put his finger to his lips. I was getting too worked up, too loud. Someone was going to hear us.

“There have been many who’ve lost their lives for Lucian’s

‘cause.’ A lot of others just got in his way, and we know how that goes. Think about it—two thousand years is a long time to live, Gemma.”

I sighed. Even if I’d wanted to cry, to scream, to run, I was depleted. “I can’t even begin to think about what he wil do to us if he catches up before we can get to your grandparents.” Whereas a week ago, I would’ve made myself sick upon facing this degree of terror, now I felt only seething, vicious contempt.

Lucian had transformed my family into wounded and dead soldiers on the battlefield. Biology or otherwise, my connection to the AVRA-K and my devotion to Henry would lead me to the ends of the earth before I would rol over in defeat.

A knock on the cabin door made us jump. Henry stood, his posture stiff as he moved to answer the knock.

“Who is it?”

“Guest services. Blankets and pilows, sir,” a woman’s voice said. Henry took a deep breath and opened the door, his foot wedged at the base to prevent it from swinging open from the train’s gentle rocking.

“Thank you,” he said, accepting the bundle of linens. “Also, if I could make a request,” he reached into his pocket and puled out yet another twenty-dolar bil, “no additional services for a few hours. I’m going to try to get some rest.”

“Certainly, sir,” the woman said. “Have a pleasant sleep.” Henry locked the door again and set to making the benches into a bed. He gave the bench a solid tug and the singlewide bunk became a double, the backrest sliding down and clicking into position. He tucked the sheets around al four corners and placed the pilows side by side at the head of the bed. It looked so inviting.

How I longed for just a few hours of uninterrupted shuteye…

“You look like a starving puppy staring at a griled steak,” he teased.

“Wow. That must be beautiful, huh?”

“You’re always beautiful,” he said. I groaned. “But you do have to sleep at some point. You know that, right?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” The warmth and security of the tiny cabin, coupled with the gentle motion of the train, were eroding my wil.

“What about you? Are you going to sleep?”

“I’l sleep after you, or wait at least until I’m sure your dreams are safe,” he said.

I could no longer resist the temptation of the cozy bed, though before getting too comfortable, my teeth were in desperate need of brushing. Even after Henry had washed my hair on the roadside, I could stil feel tiny wayward chunks of safety glass in it from Bradley’s windows. I excused myself into the miniature bathroom, and as I stood in front of the sink scrubbing off the grime and fatigue from the day, a swirl of butterflies flitted to life in my gut. The double bed…I’d be sleeping next to Henry. Granted, I’d slept in his watchful presence a number of times before tonight, but that had been in the safety of my trailer, under the protective, regular intrusions of Marlene.

God, how I missed her, how I wished she were with us on the train to tel me everything was going to be okay.

But we were alone. Marlene wasn’t going to pop in and give me one of her sily pep talks. She wasn’t here to make sure we were behaving ourselves. Not even Alicia was floating in the wings. In the chaos of the last few days, my physical attraction to Henry had not waned but I also hadn’t had time to think about anything but staying alive. Romance had been the furthest thing from my mind.

As I didn’t have proper pajamas, I opted for my last pair of clean jeans and a fresh top, one devoid of scorch marks. Street clothes were safer, in case we had to make a quick escape. I changed, careful to not pul the amulet off with the shirt. Disrupting its connection would not work to our favor.

When I emerged from the bathroom, Henry was propped on the edge of the bed, waiting for me to scoot in against the wal.

“Do you have any problem sleeping on the inside? I just want to be ready, you know, if someone comes to the door.”

“It’s perfect, thank you.” I roled up my clothes and stuffed them into my backpack. I realized my hand was stil unbandaged when I moved a rol of fresh, unopened gauze aside in my bag. I examined the healing burn under the feeble reading light.

“Does it hurt? I should rewrap it for you,” he said, holding his hand out toward me.

“No, it doesn’t hurt. In fact,” I said, taking a step in his direction,

“it’s amazing how fast it’s healing. Look at it.” I was stunned by the progress my body had made in healing the burn.

Henry held my upturned palm in his own and inspected for signs of infection. “It’s the amulet. The charm itself was used for healing, remember.” I moved my hand to my cheekbone, where Bradley had punched me. I tested it with my fingertips, rubbing where before had been bruised and sore. The tenderness was almost gone.

“It’s incredible, seriously.” Though the edges of the burn were stil raised and a little sensitive, my fingertips were almost blister-free, and the Hebrew script on the flesh of my palm had settled into soft little nubs. It felt odd to rub my left index finger over the writing, the smal bumps not unlike the raised punches made by Irwin’s Braile machine.

Irwin. Lucian’s voice from the phone surged into my head. He’d removed Irwin’s fingers. Blind Irwin, who needed his fingers more than any of us… I plopped onto the edge of the bed and began to weep.

“What? What is it?”

I took Henry’s hand and ran his finger over the texture of the burn.

“Lucian cut off Irwin’s fingers,” I said. “Irwin reads through his fingers. His fingers…they were his eyes to the world.” Henry hugged me as I cried, soothing me as he had done on so many recent occasions. I wanted to be done crying, thought I was done crying, but my poor uncle. My poor, poor uncle who’d lived through so much already, his life now a precarious strand hanging from Lucian’s tangled web.

“He’l have you to read to him, Gemma,” Henry said. He released my burned hand. “Let’s bandage this up, just in case. And do you have a hairbrush?”

“A hairbrush?”

“I thought if I brushed your hair, it might help you relax. Maybe you’l fal asleep faster.”