“You know I’m right, Q. You know what will happen if Raya comes with us. We’ll lose another train car. Maybe more. Is that what you want?”
Raya struggled against her bonds. “Q, look at me. I can talk to Jace. I won’t let him hurt anyone. He’ll listen to me.”
“If you want to stay with her, then stay, Q.” Rasmus gripped Q’s shoulder. “It’s your choice. But if you want to save this train and everyone in it, you know exactly what you need to do.”
Raya didn’t blame Rasmus or Q. Had their roles been reversed, she would have left them tied up under the guard of a spider too. Rasmus wasn’t wrong about her. She was not going to let Jace die a second time.
Abbie crawled up her arm and offered her a ginger biscuit, flashing a small smile as best a mechanical spider could.
Raya shook her head. “Thanks, Abbie, but I’m not hungry.”
Abbie nodded, left the biscuit on Rasmus’s desk, and crawled away.
Raya’s eyes scoured the room, searching for a way to cut Abbie’s web.
“Ms. Sia?” Lily climbed out of one of Rasmus’s abandoned teacups. “Why are you tied up? What’s going on?”
“Lily! Help!”
Lily ran over to Raya. Abbie scuttled toward her and launched herself into the air, slicing Lily’s cheek with the point of her leg. Lily winced. “What the—”
Abbie leapt onto Raya and spun more webs around her. Lily swatted her away. Abbie landed on her back. She flipped herself over, getting ready to jump toward Raya. Lily stomped on her with her heel with a loud crunch.
Raya gasped. “No—”
Lily picked up one of Abbie’s metal legs from the floor and slashed at Raya’s binds with it. The web fell away. “Are you all right?”
“What have you done?” Raya stared at the leg in Lily’s hand.
“My job. A conductor’s job is to keep the train and all its passengers safe.”
Raya’s eyes fell on Abbie’s metal remains. “But—”
“Spiders are not passengers. You are, Ms. Sia. My duty is to you. I apologize about what that spider did to you. That’s never happened before. But then again, that is the danger of anything built from grudges. They can be silent and invisible for so long then suddenly—” Lily glanced around. “Where’s Rasmus and Mr. Philips? Rasmus needs helpnow.”
“They…uh…went after the stowaway,” Raya said without looking at her. “Rasmus thought it would be safer if I stayed behind.”
Lily furrowed her brow. “Which bell rang?”
Raya pointed to a bell by the miniature railway.
Lily rushed to it. “The storm’s brewing in a very large train car. Rasmus and Mr. Philips are going to need all the help they can get. We can’t afford to let the stowaway escape again. You should catch up with them. I’ll follow as soon as I can. Tell Rasmus to send out a flare to let me know if the train car needs to be decoupled.”
“But I can’t see the map without Q,” Raya said.
“Why do you still need the map, Ms. Sia? The train’s songs have found their way inside you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I can hear the door’s songs wherever they pass through. Wood. Metal.” She steered her gaze to Raya’s chest. “Hearts. Yours is beating to them now. I heard it from four cars away. If your heart can hear them, there’s no reason that you can’t. If you listen well, you may even find a shortcut that will take you straight to the storm.”
“Where can I get more stationery and pens?”
Frequently Asked Questions
The Elsewhere Express
Passenger Handbook
