Azalea was gone when I got back, and the family was too. I stopped at the threshold, staring at the empty seats, then up to the scenery rolling past. Chasing the lavender-haired menace down was my first instinct; instead, I sat down where I’d been, leaned over to rest against the wall, and watched the world roll by.

  Most likely, she’d have gone to the dining car. One of them, anyway. But I wasn’t hungry—not in the human sense—and being around food would just make me feel worse. More than anything, I needed a moment’s rest, just a few sweet minutes of quiet solitude.

  When was the last time I’d had that? The mountain counted, in a sense. Perhaps those few moments before Kobel had attacked me? The bath I’d taken?

  Both of those times, there was something immediate hanging over my head like a blade ready to come down. Not that I’d escaped such a feeling, not completely, but right now was different. This train was moving all the way to Hearthome, and it would get there at a speed out of my control.

  Investigating, gaining strength, all of that could wait for just a moment. Parts of me rebelled at the idea that a lack of control could be comforting. The rest? Well, the rest of me was tired. Exhausted.

  I’d slept on cold ground and rough tree branches for the past few days. The cushion here was lovely and warm, and even the horrid grinding of metal that my ears picked up as the train moved along was punctuated by the clacking thumps of each rail segment. A heartbeat-like lullaby.

  Outside, trees flashed by, glimpses of larger panoramas visible as we crawled through hills. Right now, a small river flowed beyond the line of trees, the tracks following its course. Many a wise saying had been written about flowing water, erosion, and the nature of inevitability.

  For all my mistakes, and I could see them more now than ever, I’d survived. Mother had accepted me, cast me out only to save my life. Azalea, for all her aggrandizing, seemed ready to stand by me. Even Shale had perhaps ignited a brighter future for himself.

  And me?

  Well, I had a path forward. Strength, etc. And several other things like housing and money that Azalea and I would need to plan for. Right now, though, well, right now I could use a nap.

  I dreamt of my garden, vibrant and flourishing. In the dream, I was different. The weight on my back was gone, at my sides, and I worked in tandem; more hands than two were busy trimming, arranging, perfecting.

  Predictably, Azalea shook me awake. How long I was out, I didn’t know, but the sun was low in the sky. An hour, perhaps?

  “Hey, sleepyhead!” She had the gall to pull on my shoulder. “I found something; let’s go!”

  “It can wait a minute,” I replied groggily, still half in the dream. “We need to talk about money and—”

  “But it’s big, I promise! And we gotta act before something happens.”

  “Azalea. It can wait two minutes. While we have privacy, we are going to talk.”

  She stared at me, extending the moment into an awkward silence as though waiting for some serendipitous event to prove her point. None came, just the clacking and grinding of the rails.

  At last, she sat down, pulling the door closed behind her. She leaned in, and whispered, “Alright, but talking means talking and I gotta tell you what I saw.”

  “...What, Azalea?” I gave in; at least this should only take a moment.

  “Some shifty guy was in the dining hall talking to this shady looking woman. In the corner seat and everything. They passed something between themselves and then went different directions, one to the front and one to the back.”

  “What did they pass?”

  “An envelope, but it had a bulge in it, like there was something more than a letter in it.”

  “That’s unusual, but it could very well be nothing.” I bit my lip; unfortunately, she had me interested. “Did you see anything unusual about them? What made them shifty?”

  “They were dressed nicely, but it was off I guess? And they spoke in whispers?”

  “Azalea…” I sighed, shoulders drooping.

  “I followed the guy back this way, but he ducked into the bathroom and I didn’t want to be awkward and wait around outside.”

  I sighed and rolled my eyes. When I spoke, I tried to practice the lower way of speaking Azalea had been helping me with. “I’ll keep an eye out, but we really need to check the cargo cars. And before all of that, I want to know what our plan is when we get to Heart—”

  Something caught my eye in the trees beyond. It was just for a moment, something I wouldn’t have seen if I were weaker, but a figure flashed between two treetops. And then it was gone.

  “Silk?” Azalea slid next to me, face close and half-reflected in the glass..

  Nothing of what I’d glimpsed a moment ago was visible when I looked again. Nothing but trees and the occasional lonely farm.

  With a glance at the closed door, I kept my voice to a whisper as I replied. “I saw something outside the train just now. Something moved between the trees.”

  “Like, in an unusual way?”

  I hissed softly. “Yes, in an unusual way. Otherwise I wouldn’t be pointing it out..”

  “You don’t have to snap at me.”

  “We have limited time and none for your games.”

  She threw both hands up defensively. “Sorry I asked for clarification. You know, you could stand to be a little nicer sometimes, Silk.”

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “I could say the same about you. But fine, I’ll keep things professional. I’m worried it’s something related to this train. Which means the future is here now and we need to find what’s on the train, if it’s what we think it is, and anything we can gain about who’s to receive it.”

  “Do you know where the cargo cars are?”

  “Back of the train, I think. There might be one up front too.” I wanted to blame Azalea for not getting a better look in the time we’d had, but truthfully it was my fault. “The doors out of the luxury cabins that way will probably be locked, and the doors into cargo definitely will be.”

  “I can pick locks.” Azalea rolled her eyes.

  “Which means I’ll watch for us.” I furrowed my brow. “And I want you to teach me later.”

  She giggled. “Not a week estranged and already looking for criminal teachings. Can’t say I don’t approve.”

  “Speaking of criminal teachings, actually, I think I do want to take Enic up on his offer when we get to Hearthome. We need money and connections. It’s a risk because whoever he’s leading us to will hold all the cards, but they also don’t know that they do. We can work with that.”

  Azalea nodded thoughtfully. “My house would be too obvious—don’t want to corrupt my little sister before she goes to the Sect. What about mercenary work?”

  “We’d get exposed the moment one of us needs to do something a little more. The Sects don’t exactly like unaffiliated cultivators roaming around. Best case we’d get monitored, worst case…”

  “We get killed. Yeah, got it. So… front or back of the train?”

  “Front. They’re less likely to keep other cargo near it.”

  She wagged a finger at me. “Nope, wrong!”

  “What?”

  “They’re gonna bury anything illicit in amongst legit cargo. Haven’t you dealt with this stuff before?”

  “From a distance and behind a pen. But would they really think of that?”

  “Yes, they would. Now come on.”

  Together, we moved down toward the back of the train. Despite the high ticket prices, the train felt mostly full. Muffled conversation leaked out of cabins and we slid past enough well-dressed people for me to be reminded of a noble’s party. Not that I’d been to more than a handful since coming of age.

  Focus split between mission and metrics, I very nearly missed a very important detail. One man we passed, dressed like a member of the train’s crew, slid out of a luxury cabin just after Azalea passed it. His clothes must have been ill-fitting; his sleeve slid down enough to expose his forearm for just a moment.

  On it, I saw the head of the same snake that was on Enic’s arm. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a clear look at his face.

  The moment passed, and he was three steps down the aisle before my mind caught up. My hand shot out to grab Azalea’s arm a little too fast for someone mundane.

  She whipped around, wide-eyed. “What?”

  I held the word “snake” on my tongue, and looked behind me. The man was already through the door, but… What if he could still hear us? What if it was just a coincidence, some popular artist?

  So, I forced back the feeling of unease and just shook my head. “Nothing, just jumping at shadows.”

  “Well grab less hard when you do it next time, okay?” She took her wrist back and massaged it.

  Still, I couldn’t get that image out of my mind the short rest of the way to the train’s front. More and more I was certain it was the same design. That would mean whatever group Enic was a part of was still operating in his absence.

  It made sense, right? He probably wasn’t at the top, and the timeline just didn’t work for him to be here. Assuming he knew the exact direction and kept to game trails, he’d had less than a week to get back to Grayriver and his people would have even less time to organize.

  Unless he had some way to send messages… I shook my head—this was all paranoia. Even if he did, he was in our debt and he certainly wouldn’t be on the side of anyone in the… bloodstone trade. Celestials, I hated the concept of that.

  “Huh,” Azalea mumbled, hand on the luxury car’s exit handle. “It’s unlocked.”

  A shiver ran all the way down my spine. My jaw locked, and I practically had to pry it open to speak. “There was a man, thin, unassuming. He was wearing a crew uniform and he slipped out of a luxury room right as we passed. He had a serpent like Enic’s on his arm.”

  Azalea blinked. “Enic had a serpent on his arm? And wait, what did this guy look like? Was he shifty?”

  “Yes. And… yes he was. But he was wearing…”

  “He went to the bathroom to change.” Azalea’s eyes lit up above a manic grin. “I knew I was onto something! And I’d bet this is all connected to whatever group Enic’s from. They’ve got to be after what we’re after too!” At least she caught on quickly.

  I nodded. “Perhaps. But we’ll need to feel them out. We can’t assume we’ve got the same objective—or the same goals.”

  She looked down at the doorhandle. “Sure, sure. Let’s try the cargo car.”

  “I’m serious, Azalea.” I took another look down the empty hallway: all clear. We slipped out together, mindful of the window, and made our way through the frigid, rushing air across to the cargo car’s door. This one was all metal with no windows.

  “I know,” she replied.

  And like the luxury car’s door, this was unlocked as well. I wracked my brain, but I couldn’t remember if this was procedure—if I’d heard, I hadn’t remembered. Azalea raised an eyebrow and we shared a look, silent since the only other option was shouting.

  Under us the train thundered over the rails, and I watched the individual beams flit by. There was a chance the first lock was the only one that was supposed to be locked: the crew might need to move more freely; this might be normal.

  Or it was a very, very bad sign.

  I gestured back to the previous car and we entered without issue. “Do you remember that man’s face?” I whispered. “From when you saw him with an accomplice in the dining car?”

  Azalea nodded.

  “Do you think you can go find him?” I pointed at the shadows.

  She put a finger to her chin, made an exaggerated face, then nodded again, drills bouncing. “What about you?”

  “I’m not wasting this chance. I’ll have a look around the cargo area, and if I get caught I’ll say it was unlocked and I was curious.”

  “Not a bad plan. Except for splitting up.”

  I shook my head. “It’s fine. Once you find out what you can, we’ll meet back in the dining car.”

  She pursed her lips and looked like she was about to disagree. Instead, she straightened as the cabin door next to us slid open.

  “You really think it’s fine if we’re just standing around up here?” she asked suddenly, voice pitched up.

  I blinked, but it felt like my new instincts gave me a shove in the back. “We just wanted to explore the train. Not like this place is locked.”

  A rather rotund, finely dressed man exited the cabin. He gave us a disapproving look, huffed, and ambled down the hallway that was barely wide enough for him.

  “You’re pretty quick on the uptake, ya know.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, fine, good job with the quick thinking. But we’re wasting a window of time we don’t know the size of.”

  “You sure you want to split up? It’s a train and it’s got no stops until Hearthome, right? The guy’s not going anywhere, and he could’ve already slipped into a cabin.”

  “I don’t want to take any chances,” I replied. “And if you’re quick, I’d bet he hasn’t.”

  Brows furrowed, Azalea nodded, pulled the shadows around herself and darted silently away. I stared after her, listened for any footsteps, then slipped out of the cabin and back into the wind.