Castle of Flame

Chapter Fourteen: A Crow in the Castle

"They're asleep," said Ren, settling into her seat. "And there are only two of them."

Laric gazed into the space over her head as he thought. "I bet Corvus put a couple of adherents on different trains leaving Vienna. If he knew that we were on this one, there would be more of them. Still, we would be better off if we could lose them."

"Well, if you're suggesting jumping off the train, I'm not sure I'm up for it," said Ren.

Laric didn't smile, and Ren thought he might have been considering it. "No, that would draw attention to us. We just need to disappear at the next train change."

In Frankfurt, they disembarked from the train and split up. Ren, Elliott, and Oighria took one route to the new platform while Laric and Hunter took another, weaving through the crowd until they were out of sight. Ren kept turning around as she walked ahead of Elliott and Oighria, pretending to say something to them or laugh at a joke so that she could look for the adherents. She spotted them, wandering through the crowd, but from the way they were looking around, she didn't think they had located their targets.

They made it to the next train, and found Laric and Hunter in the third car, as they had arranged. They claimed seats and Ren perched on the edge of hers, scanning the platform for the adherents. The doors closed, but just as the train started to move, the adherents appeared, leaping onto the last car. Someone must have opened the door for them, because a moment later, Ren could no longer see them through the window.

Ren swore. "They're on the train. I don't know if they spotted us or it's just bad luck."

Laric scowled. "Well, we can get off at the next stop, but that's forty minutes from now."

"I don't think we have that long." Elliott was staring at the entrance to the cabin, and Ren followed his gaze to see the two adherents standing in the doorway.

"Wait," whispered Laric. "If there's any chance they haven't recognized us yet..." He turned to Hunter, and in a bright voice, said "So, Dylan, you were visiting Prague before you came through Frankfurt?"

"Oh, yes," Hunter said in a passable imitation of an American accent. "The Charles Bridge, you know, it's just as picturesque as they say. And they have these incredible mosaic tiles on the sidewalks, and the building exteriors are all painted. It just has so much life and color, you know?" As Hunter talked, the adherents made their way into the cabin, scanning faces. If they had been at Graf Corvus's residence the day before, then there was no way they wouldn't recognize the group at such close range, even if Hunter's tourist act was convincing.

Their luck held. The adherents walked past and exited the train car to pass into the next. Ren relaxed into her seat, and barked a laugh. "I take it you've really been to Prague?"

"Aye, Laric and I went last year. Although," said Hunter with a glance at Oighria, "I believe I wasnae supposed to tell anyone about that trip."

"I'm hardly in a position to tell you two what you can and can't do," said Oighria. "You've kept the kingdom running for seventeen years, after all."

"Well, it was down to Trevonna," said Laric. "Trust me, the kingdom would have crumpled many years ago without her."

Oighria gazed into space, a smile toying with her lips. "Trevonna is amazing. She's the best friend I ever had. I never meant to leave her with so much responsibility, but goodness knows she's always been up to the task."

The companions lapsed into silence, and the adherents did not reappear. In time, Oighria drifted off to sleep, her head resting on Laric's shoulder, and then so did he. Elliott asked Ren if she needed to sleep, but she refused. She had slept much better than the others the previous night, since she had been in her hospital bed knocked out on painkillers while they propped themselves up around her in plastic chairs. So Elliott fell asleep too, leaving Ren and Hunter watching the countryside fly past the window.