Actions must be guided by reason, not emotion.The moment decisions become based on feelings, one will err.
Jack steadied his horse and shoved a foot in the stirrup. His guard mounted and the group moved farther west and south in the outer territory. He nodded to his guard and shouted down the line. “We’ve lost time, but at least we know exactly where this train is going. To Moorshead!”
With a curse, Jasper Hollow mounted his mechanical horse. He rolled his shoulder and neck. “We’d get there faster if you lot didn’t handicap yourselves with flesh instead of metal.”
After a darting glance sideways at the worthless reaper, Jack clenched his jaw and turned his horse toward the road along the railroad track. Most of the roads in the outer territory were dirt and clay rather than stones and cobbles. He set the pace at a solid trot to stretch the horses’ legs after their train ride. After a short while, he pushed them forward into a hard canter. He’d press the horses as hard as they would allow. The train ride from Westmoreland to Moorshead lasted no longer than two hours. The ride on their horses could take as long as four. He wouldn’t give them more than a two-hour head start. The end of this hunt was in sight.
But what then? Could he really bring himself to follow the duke’s orders? To return his son to the court, where Jack knew what it would mean for the boy? He’d be taking Darius to his death.
The sound of the hooves pounding against the hard clay gave him no comfort. It used to. He focused on his breathing, hoping to drown out the thoughts crowding his head. When his reins had become covered with foam from the horse’s sweat, and the horse’s sides were heaving beneath him, he slowed the horse to a walk for a short break.
Steam poured from the nostrils of Jasper’s brass machine. He started past Jack and yelled back, “You are too slow for me—I’m going on ahead.” The automated horse throttled into a higher gear, and it whined as it continued over the next hill.
Part of Jack was jealous. He preferred a steam-powered machine over a flesh horse himself. But with the incident caused by the unpredictable spells the young baron had, he couldn’t risk it again.
Rupert pulled up his mount next to Jack. The fiery look in Rupert’s eyes showed his displeasure with the reaper, and he shook his head in the direction of the Jasper’s retreat. “Good riddance.”
Jack agreed. He turned about in his saddle to the rest of his guard. Harry, Smith, and Bradley rode astride each other, their horses’ heads carried low. Behind them, Colton took up the rear. He stayed alert, darting his eyes to both sides of the road rather than conversing like the other three. The younger guard members tended to treat every portion of the mission as if it were a road trip. Jack grew tired of it, but at least knew he could rely on Colton and Rupert. He turned back into his saddle and felt his gelding’s neck. “What do you think, Rupert? My horse is no longer heaving. Should we risk a trot?”
Rupert nodded, nudging his horse in response. Jack clucked his horse on without looking behind. The others would follow their lead. He caught up to his bouncing friend. Rupert always gave away his feelings through his expression. It helped Jack to understand him, trust him. The dark skinned second-in-command never spoke an unnecessary word, never repeated an intimate counsel.
The sun hovered just above the horizon as the crested the next hill. It melted slowly from the sky, leaving streaks of itself in its wake. The wispy clouds didn’t block a single ray. Jack shielded his squinted eyes as they rode directly into the sun.
Because of an issue with some cattle on the tracks, the train had been detained. They arrived at the station fifteen minutes late. Raven wondered how hard the Duke’s Guard would have to ride to catch them. Did they have flesh horses or mechanical? If mechanical, she would need to quicken her pace.
Only six passengers exited the train, including Darius and herself. She herded the boy off the train, knowing the old man followed right behind them. They headed directly for the cargo hold. The boy needed his dog, and she needed her weapons. The limited number she’d been able to carry on the train would not be enough for the trek to and through Preston Woods.
Gypsies and highwaymen would scour the roads for unlucky travelers. She only hoped that with the little traveled road, the marauders would move on for better resources. After securing her bag from a porter, she gave him a quick smile and a copper. She nodded to Darius, who had Nikki on a leash. “I’ll only be a moment in the ladies’ room. Stay right here on the platform.” Her eyes met the ragged reaper’s. “Don’t go anywhere with that man.”
“Monroe?” Darius asked innocently. He’d already taken an obvious liking to the older man who had played a few magic tricks for the boy on the train.
“Keep an eye on him, but don’t go anywhere.” She leveled her eyes at Darius. “Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, his spine straighter, and his grin gone.
She nodded once and dashed for the ladies’ room, nearly bumping into an older woman with a cane. After scanning the crowd for a constable or any other obvious difficulties, she found none. Relieved, she rushed to the facilities. The moment she entered the public restroom, she locked the door behind her. She’d worn her moleskin breeches beneath the travelling skirts, and her leather corset. After yanking off the tan dress, she slipped into her black button up shirt with ruffles on the sleeves. Her larger travel bag also held both the red corded sword and her crossbow. With great relief, she snapped both to the magnets on her back.
When she finally stepped out of the ladies’ room, she felt like a reaper again. She pulled her long black curls into a quick bun and placed in it two long sticks with green balls of glass at each end. She hadn’t used the chemicals in the sticks for over a year. But the hunt after her now felt more threatening because of Jasper Hollow. She needed to be prepared for any eventuality. She placed her night vision goggles on her head and pulled the strap tight around the bun in her hair.
The sun sank over the horizon, leaving the sky a shade of midnight blue to the west, and stars were clearly visible to the east. Moorshead had no gas-lamp streetlights; the farming town had no need of them. The station the train stopped at was little more than an outpost. The general store, the barber, the bank, and the blacksmith were the only four buildings surrounding the station.
The other three passengers had family to greet them and take them in. By the time Raven stepped up to Darius and the ragged reaper, the train had gone and they were the only ones remaining on the platform.
Monroe sat cross-legged next to Nikki on the platform, one arm around the dog. “I believe the general store has a few rooms above it for rent.”
“We have no time for rooms. We must hurry.” She grabbed the boy by the arm a little harder than she’d meant to.
He cried out. His eyes glistened with tears, even in the limited light.
Raven released him, feeling her temper mounting. Frustration ate at her insides and made heat flush to her face. She was letting it overtake her. A reaper must never do that. Clenching her hands into fists at her sides, she took deep breaths counting to three in each inhale and in each exhale. She relaxed her fists and stretched her fingers out.
Crickets chirped a chorus all around her, their orchestra overwhelming. In the distance, a tree branch cracked as a heavy owl shifted its weight from talon to talon. Though no longer visible, the train’s brakes squealed as it rounded a turn in the distance. The calm of knowing her surroundings washed over her.
When she opened her eyes again, she felt in control. “I’m sorry, Darius. I didn’t mean to grasp you so hard.”
He swiped his eyes and lifted his chin. “It’s all right.” His smile was genuine. She wished she could have the sense of forgiveness found in the eyes of that child.
“I really am very sorry, but we also really need to go.”
Darius nodded and pulled on Nikki’s leash. The dog jumped to its feet. The ragged reaper grabbed the Great Dane by the collar and allowed her momentum to help him up. The moment the dog pulled him to a standing position, he released her. Nikki had shown no hindrance of the man’s burden. He dusted off his breeches and asked, “So where to, boss?”
Raven seethed. She had never had a partner except her father. When she was with him, he was in charge. Honestly, she’d never given orders to anyone. She just didn’t feel comfortable with that kind of control. It was easy dragging a child around with her, the object of her protection. Dragging around this old man was another thing all together. She shook her head. Could she really stop the elder reaper from doing anything he wanted? She sighed. “Preston Woods is southeast of here. I think it will be best if we stick to the wooded paths rather than main roads. The guard is coming, but they will likely adhere to the known means of transportation.”
“So we’re taking the road less travelled.” He grinned, his white teeth shining in the moonlight.
The full moon washed out the stars and created abundant light along the way to the woods off the main road. A path ran alongside the road, a few yards in, and Raven felt that they’d be safest on it. She could keep an eye on the road from there and remain unseen, as well. She reached into her bag and pulled out a two headlamps. The lights were powered by clockwork key. With each thirty winds, the lamps produced ten minutes of light. She took one and placed it on her forehead with the strap toward the back. For a moment she was unsure whether to give the other to Darius as she’d originally intended, or if it would be more appropriate to offer it to the ragged reaper.
Monroe lifted a hand and shook his head, pulling a hand out of his overcoat. “No need, I have my own.”
Of course he did. She handed the other to Darius. The boy asked, “How come we’re not using the night vision goggles instead?”
Raven tilted her head. “Firstly, I only have one set. It’s much easier to procure one of these from a mechanist than goggles from an alchemist. Secondly, the visual in the goggles leaves you with a greenish tint that makes it harder to determine friend, foe, animal, or plant without extensive training.”
“I remember looking through them and seeing all green.”
“Right.”
Darius took the headlamp and began winding the key on the side.
“If we get into any trouble, and need to douse the light, take the key and turn it counter-clockwise. It will stop the mechanism. Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Darius answered, shielding his eyes from Raven’s headlamp.
She smiled and started forward. The light on the trail kept her from tripping over roots. As a child, she had developed a fear of spiders. Her father had told her that she was never more than a meter away from one at anytime. She didn’t want to believe it, but the first time they walked in the woods with headlamps on proved it.
Across the ground, the night-shine in the eyes of a dozen spiders glistened in the light of the lamps. One glittered green and gold like a multifaceted jewel. When the light shined upon it as she passed, Raven found it to be a mother wolf spider with an uncountable number of offspring clinging to its back in a defensive position. Raven shivered, clenched her jaw, and did her best to ignore the shimmering points of reflection in their eyes.
As a reaper, she trained to conquer her fear. Yet the thought of eight hairy legs creeping across her skin made her cringe. She swallowed hard and cleared her throat. “Right then, we’ll travel until we find a safe place to make camp for the night.”
“I still don’t see why we didn’t stay at the inn,” Monroe said in sing-song voice.
Raven glared at the ragged reaper, but his head lamp pointed in another direction and he couldn’t have seen it. She turned and marched down the trodden animal trail. As they walked, they heard an occasional rustle of an animal in the woods. A deer darted across the path. It took her mind off the spiders.
After an hour of travel, they hadn’t yet found a clearing of any kind. The pathway continued to keep them close to the main thoroughfare to Moorshead. The dirt road to their left remained empty. Not one horse, carriage, or hiker broke the silence on the road.
The frogs and crickets’ songs filled the night air. As the night drew on, the air turned cooler. At least they didn’t have to deal with mosquitoes and bugs. The tree canopy here in the south created a dense ceiling. Silver flashes of moonlight occasionally filtered through to the path, but without their headlamps, the going would have been much slower.
Then a rumbling sounded in the distance. At first, Raven wondered if it might be thunder. But as it continued unabated, she realized the sound came from the steam engine of a single mechanical horse. She clenched her jaw and darted her eyes, taking a measure of the brush to be certain they had enough cover. She found the expression on the ragged reaper’s face had lost all its mirth, and grew an edge of seriousness. His eyes had become the cold grey of a winter’s sky. “Douse the lights.” His words came out in a harsh whisper.
Raven agreed and nodded to Darius whose nervous hand turned the crank on his lamp the wrong direction at first, making the light brighter. He winced and then corrected himself.
Spots of light fluttered before Raven’s eyes, and it took her a moment to adjust to the darkness. She slid the night vision goggles on, and the setting of the road washed in green. The rumbling grew in volume. Nikki whimpered and drew close. “Darius, put your dog back on the leash. We can’t have her jumping out.”
“Right.” The boy pulled the leather strap from his pocket and snapped it to the Great Dane’s collar.
“Get down.” Monroe grasped Darius by the arm and pulled him toward the path.
With the goggles on her face, Raven could see not only the glowing eyes of the spiders, but their full form. As she crouched in the path, a full web glistened green next to her face, with an enormous Orb Weaver stretched out in the center of it. Raven swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth and did her best to ignore the eight-legged monster inches from her face.
The rumbling drew nearer, and the light of a headlamp came into view. A lone automated horse squealed to a slower gait as the rotund man atop sketched a shape that she recognized though she could not make out facial features. Jasper Hollow came to a stop less than fifty feet from the portion of path on which they crouched. How had he known?
Jack Grant reached the train station in Moorshead long after dark. The full moon sat a quarter of the way up the sky. He’d never have seen so many stars from the city. The abandoned station was as unpopulated as the small town surrounding it.
“Which way do you believe we should go, Captain?” Colton asked, rubbing a hand over his red hair. His eyes scanned the surrounding fields and farms.
From twenty yards away, Rupert stood up, his skin nearly invisible in the darkness. “Captain, I believe we should follow these tracks. The tracks of a mechanical horse carrying a heavy rider came through recently. And occasionally, I’m finding the prints of a large dog.”
Jack rubbed his sore legs. The flesh horses made for a rougher ride than the smooth mechanical ones. It felt good to stretch and stand on his own two feet. The horses were clipping the grass on the roadside. They were hungry and tired. His stomach growled, but all they had in the saddle bags was jerky and hardtack. The town didn’t even seem to have an inn, much less a tavern.
Bradley teetered on his mount, slumping over the horse’s neck. His men were spent. Rupert’s stamina surpassed his own. Jack could feel how close they were to finishing the goal and knew they must press on. Besides, Jasper had an enormous head start on them. What would the reaper do if he found them first? Could Jack trust the man to at least leave the young baron alive? Somehow, Jack doubted it. He didn’t trust the man as far as he could throw him.
He reached into his saddle bag and pulled out a stick of jerky. After shoving it into his mouth, he nodded to Rupert and mounted. “Lead the way.”