“I agree.” Q glanced at Rasmus’s satchel. “And this time, we have the tools to get rid of it for good.”
Rasmus tensed. “But Lily—”
“—is wrong,” Raya said. “Like I was. This is still the same monster that destroyed the Lake and killed all those songs no matter what it looks like.”
Q
Q closed his eyes and poised a dry black paintbrush over the wall at the foot of the hospital bed. He did not require paint nor his sight for this piece. A dark palette flowed through his veins and the painting’s shape lived in his hands. His brush flew across the sterile canvas, guided by all that simmered inside him.
He dropped the brush, panting, empty, and done. Rasmus had asked him to trap the stowaway in a void, but his darkest thoughts had other plans.
Q took a step back from the dark swarm and let it take flight. The painted burnt moths swept across the hospital room, descended on the bandaged figure, and consumed it.
Nothing remained of the stowaway or the hospital room. The moths, having had their fill, fell to the floor and dissolved into specks of paint in every shade of gray. A grass carpet grew over the stains and every piece of broken furniture was replaced. Two chocolate mints and a good-night note lay on a pillow on the freshly made bed. A story coiled up from the incense and drifted in the air.
Once upon a time…
Rasmus silenced the incense in a glass of water. It protested witha hiss. “There’ll be time for bedtime stories and rest later. We need to find the other stowaway.”
“What we need is a song that can trap it in a helpless and broken form, the way my song for Jace transformed the first stowaway. I allowed the stowaway to escape once and put everyone on this train in danger. And Abbie—” Raya’s throat tightened. “I’ll write the song. I just need my guitar.” She looked at Rasmus. “But it’s in the MMD.”
Rasmus pulled a key from his pocket. “Then you’ll need to unlock it.”
“Where do I leave my coat?”
Frequently Asked Questions
The Elsewhere Express
Passenger Handbook
Raya
“There must be other guitars on the train that you could use.” Q climbed out of the crystal train and into the train’s cloakroom.
“They’re not what I need,” Raya said.
“You don’t need that old guitar either.” Q slipped the miniature train into her pocket. “Youmade the song, not your guitar.”
“I’m not that person anymore, Q. That guitar is all that’s left of the girl I used to be. That girl made the song strong. I’m just the one who’s broken.”
Two loud chimes rang through the hallway.
“Good evening, passengers.”A voice spilled out of the loudspeaker.“We would like to request Mr. Philips Jr. and Ms. Sia to proceed to the boarding car. The conductor will meet you there. Thank you.”
“There’s only one reason Lily would tell us to drop everything and head there,” Raya said. “They’ve found the stowaway.”
Q nodded. “But there’s no point in even trying to stop the stowaway without that song.”
“I’ll be quick.” Raya looked through a rack of dusty coats and sneezed. “I wonder why no one comes back for their things?”
Q sifted through another rack. “No one wants to be reminded ofthe times they felt cold. Not when you’re living a perfectly comfortable new life.”
“Here it is.” Raya pulled out a green raincoat that Rasmus had told them to find. “The side door should be in its hood.” She took Rasmus’s key from her tote.
Q grabbed an umbrella from a cubby behind the cloakroom’s counter. “I’ll go first in case it’s raining phones.”
“No.” Raya set her tote down and took the umbrella from him. “You need to stay here.”
