Claus

Forty-Five

It was a relief the horses knew what they were doing more than Faryn. She managed to steer them around the last carriage in view. A blue glow seeped into the corner of her eye. Peter's magic.

         How long until—

         Peter stumbled, catching himself just in time to keep himself from falling over the side. One of the riders used the chance to draw his horse up beside the carriage. The rider wore all black, and a hood was pulled over his head, the cloak billowing out behind him.

         Faryn sucked in a breath ready to do . . . something. Her magic was going to have to work.

         "Faryn," the rider said. Cassian. "Move over."

         "There's not really a lot of—"       

         Cassian launched himself from the horse and up onto the bench.

         "Well, isn't this cozy?" Peter muttered as he adjusted his stance.

         Though the horses' load was heavier, Peter's magic kept the other riders at bay. "Where's Clíodhna?"

         Something landed behind them on the carriage roof.

         "Here."

         Faryn spared a glance over her shoulder. The Leprechaun crouched on the roof of the carriage.

         "Where the hell did you—"

         Clíodhna tilted her head up to where the branches of the trees hung over their heads. 

         "Let me." Cassian held out his hands for the reins. Faryn was more than happy to hand them over.

         Their carriage barreled into a tunnel and burst out into the predawn world of New Corinth. Overhead, the sky was a grayish blue.

         Cars were parked on the sides of streets, but they didn't pass anyone driving. There wasn't anyone out for an early morning walk either.

         "Cassian." Peter sat down on the other side of the Fata and took the reins, and as he steered the carriage down a side street, Cassian grabbed hold of Faryn, his arms tightening around her. She didn't have time to ask him what they were doing because in the next moment he threw them off the carriage, using his wings to ease their landing down onto the cobblestone.

         Without pausing, he dragged her down into a thin alley. Seconds later horseshoes clattered against the pavers outside their hiding spot. Faryn held her breath, willing the riders to continue past. Cassian's grip on her didn't loosen.

         Once they sound of the horses faded, Cassian sagged against her, leaning his head against the wall beside her head. At some point his wings had disappeared. "There's a train leaving for Maladh in half an hour. It will go on to Franavik."

         "Can you get us on it?"

         "I'm going to try."

         He led her through the back streets of New Corinth. He seemed to know them well enough that on his other visits to the city he must have utilized them.

When they reached the train station, she didn't see Peter, Clíodhna, or the carriage or any other carriages from Ruhnerium. Those must have been detained in an attempt to stop Faryn from getting out.

         The train to Maladh was already in the station. A few people milled about the black columned platform. No one was currently boarding though. The train itself was sleek and green.

         The two of them snuck around to the other side of the train and down into where it rested on the tracks. Cassian located a hatch and opened it.

Faryn studied it. Even crawling, it would be a tight squeeze for either of them.

         Cassian went first and disappeared into the dark hole. There could be train crew waiting on the other side. She would be locked up again.

         But surely if there were crew on the other side, Cassian would have made some noise in order to warn her.

         Ducking her head and letting out a breath, she climbed up into the hatch. At the end of it, she felt a hand brush hers. She grasped at the fingers, the palm, and was pulled the rest of the way into what was a baggage car. As far as she could tell, there wasn't any order to how the bags were stowed. Some stood up right and strapped to the wall. Others were laid on their sides, and some of the bags like that were stacked and tied together. They'd at least have places to hide behind. She searched for security cameras but didn't find any.

         Cassian's phone was the only source of light. He typed something out on it, probably letting Peter and Clíodhna know where they ended up. Wordlessly, Faryn tucked herself behind a barricade of luggage. The crew might not be done yet loading the baggage car.

         Looking at the stickers on the bags around her, she only saw Franavik listed. Maybe there was a separate car for the bags of the passengers getting off at Maladh. If she asked Cassian what the other bags said, she'd risk bringing in a crew member.

         She managed to sit down, so her head would be hidden from view, but this meant that her knees were shoved up against her chest. Once the train started moving, it would be a little bit safer for them to move about.

Had her mother and grandfather started to worry why she had not yet returned? Or did they think her questioning would take a while?  She for sure had made an enemy out of Father Winter.

Cassian shut his phone off, stealing away the light. She heard him moving around the car, and she could only assume he was finding a hiding place of his own.

She closed her eyes. Her legs tingled as they already started to go to sleep.

         "Did they hurt you?" Cassian's voice was low enough that no one outside the car should be able to hear him. He let out a bit of a growl at the end. 

         "No." The only one who had hurt her was her grandfather. Despite her mother having willingly let Faryn take the blame for Nick's disappearance, she didn't think she would out right hurt her.

         There was a rustle to her right, and Clíodhna's scent brushed past her and then Peter's. She waited for them to say something, to confirm they were in the right space. But all Faryn heard was a few minutes of shuffling and a light thud before silence.

         They were all together. They might get caught. But they were together.

         Which only meant that when they did get caught, there would be no one to rescue them.

I just wanted to say that I'm so grateful for all of you and for the support you've shown this story. Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you Monday!