Queen of the Night (Book One of the Elementals)

XVI. Kalisa

The short walk to Lausane became longer from helping wounded Rovaneim to the town. Eventually, all of them were burdened with a limping man or assisted in pulling a litter. They were further delayed in Lausane because of the need for Zelenia's healing skills. There was such a need they had a day and a half furlough; as soon as Zelenia wasn't needed, they quickly boarded the train.

Taking the electric-powered train over to Kefa wasn't quite the experience Kalisa had imagined. Normally, the distance between the mainlands of Elemonsina and Kefalon would take two-and-a-half days by sea, but with the train, it took one hour. The most surprising was that she didn't feel any movement or shaking from the three-hundred miles per hour speed.

The patchwork frame of various sheets of metal welded together wasn't what she had pictured when she heard they were going on the train. Inside looked better but still appeared to be a work in progress—different textures of carpet supplied the floor, the seats had mismatched cushions, and the glass were various tints.

Kefalon wasn't precisely poor—like Volentia—the nation was primarily industrial and mechanical; the city of Kefa was nothing but a huge scrapyard city. A lot of swindlers came from Kefa; the people were known as being shifty, con-men, and having silver tongues.

But the fast trip probably would have been more enjoyable—at least to everyone else, she enjoyed the silence—if Aeris hadn't had been so silent and unresponsive in her mourning. She was mourning in her own way by not wailing over Heela's death like a weak-willed woman. Besides, Kalisa didn't like tears: they were a show put on for others to have pity for them.

Coming onto the train, Kalisa watched Aeris drift over to a seat distanced from the others like a ghost, not leaving any type of presence. Thinking back to the first meeting of her, as pretty as she was, Kalisa had expected her to be like every other beauty: snooty and selfish—someone who always craved attention from being so used to it. But Aeris had proven her wrong by being polite to everyone, but preferring Heela's company. She had wondered if they held feelings for each other, but no deep affection was ever passed back and forth, only a strong bond of friendship.

Kalisa had liked Heela—he had been very open and kind—so she felt for the woman losing someone very close to her. She felt no pity for her, but her admiration of Aeris had grown by her strength to keep it together. Though her posture betrayed nothing of her feelings, her eyes did: Aeris now looked to be lost, turned around by her own wind blowing in multiple directions and not having a clear headway.

Not much of a conversation took place in the hour ride and all filed out without adding words. As soon as they stepped out onto the platform, they were bombarded with men slinking up to them, advertising scratchy-looking clothing and dysfunctioning technology. With the rough brushing-off of two merchants on Geryon and the one worded order from Tegen, the charlatans abandoned them and went to snare other disembarking passengers. Once free, they actually got their first view of Kefa, which wasn't a sight to see.

The city, the atmosphere—even the skyline—belonged to another planet. The sky seemed to be stuck in evening of deep orange and black—dark because of the smoke constantly billowing out of the many smokestacks. Bland metal factories crowded one another, every single window in the multitude of buildings were on, more in-progress trains zipped here and there, and flying cars followed an invisible but orderly line. The noise was annoying with constant honks, buzzers, and hums of the factories, and the air was thick with smoke and the tangs of rust.

"Let us leave soon," Tegen said, arms crossing and face scowling in disgust.

"I hope we can," Helian said with the same amount of dislike, then began walking from the train station toward the city.