Odd Girl Out

previous day. Probably a subregional or maybe even a regional capital. 'A lot less harmful, too.'

'I know,' she said. 'But try telling them that.'

I eyed the buildings laid out between the various train platforms. If there was a recurring key motif hidden in there, you sure couldn't prove it by me. Of course, I was too far away to see anything subtle.

I lowered my eyes to the thirty or so passengers awaiting us on the platform. Most of them were Juriani and Halkas, but I spotted a pair of slender Tra'ho'seej at the third-class end of the platform and a lone Human at the other end, where our first-class cars would be stopping.

And then, behind me, I heard Rebekah's fork clatter onto her plate. 'What is it?' I demanded, spinning around.

Her eyes were wide and horrified, her hands gripping the edge of the crate, her face gone suddenly pale. 'There's coral out there,' she whispered. 'He's bringing coral onto the train.'

A chill ran up my back as I turned back to the window, cursing silently. I should have guessed the Modhri wouldn't simply wait around and see if I carried out my end of the bargain.

In fact, not only should I have anticipated it, but I'd even had a giant clue practically dropped on my foot. Part of the reason we'd cooled our heels for six hours at Jurskala Station was so that he could shuffle Bayta back and forth between trains. Now I realized he must have also used those hours to get one of his outposts moving down the line where it could intercept our train.

I looked back at the platform, my eyes and brain performing a quick evaluation of each carrybag, shoulder case, and rolling trunk sitting beside or behind the waiting passengers. The hell of it was the coral could be in any of them. For that matter, it could be split among several—there was nothing to stop the Modhri from dividing up the outpost the same way Rebekah had done with her Melding coral.

My gaze reached the lone Human and the large, trunk-shaped box beside him. Rather like a smaller version of our own crate, now that I thought about it. I glanced up at his face.

And froze. It was Braithewick, the minor UN diplomat and Modhran walker who had accosted Bayta and me at the Yandro transfer station. The one who'd offered us free rein in exchange for finding and destroying the Abomination.

For maybe two seconds I just stood there, my brain working furiously. My lurking suspicions about Braithewick …but there was no time for that now. We had to get out, and we had to get out now.

With a squeal of brakes the train came to a halt. At the edges of my vision as I gazed out the window I saw conductors step out the door of our car and the door of the car behind us, stiffening to Spiderly attention as a handful of exiting passengers filed past them. The brief trickle ended, and the line on the platform began to come aboard. Braithewick, I noted, was hanging back, courteously allowing his fellow travelers to board ahead of him.

As he might well do if his trunk was especially heavy. Heavy enough with coral and water to roll especially slowly …

Abruptly, I stepped away from the window. 'Come on,' I told Rebekah, grabbing her arm and taking a quick look around as I pulled her toward the compartment door. There was nothing here we couldn't do without.

'Where are we going?' she asked as she stumbled after me.

'Down around and under the ground and out in the rain,' I murmured, pressing my ear against the door and listening to the faint sound of the newly arrived passengers as they moved down the corridor toward their compartments. The timing here would have to be perfect.

'What?'

''The Ants Go Marching,'' I explained. 'Children's song Never mind. Stay close, and be ready to run when I do.'

The footsteps faded away I gave it two more beats, then opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.

At the front of the car Braithewick was halfway onto the train, watching as his trunk rolled slowly across the corridor toward the number-one compartment directly across from him. Standing in the open compartment doorway was a Juri, also watching the trunk's progress. Both he and Braithewick looked up as I walked casually toward them. 'Well, hello there, Mr. Braithewick,' I said as I came up. 'Small universe, isn't—?'

And in the middle of my sentence, I pivoted on my left foot and drove the edge of my right into Braithewick's stomach.

He gave an agonized cough and folded over, the impact of the kick throwing him back to slam into the edge of the car's doorway. The Juri, whom I hadn't touched, gave a pair of jerks in unison with Braithewick as the pain from my attack flowed into his nervous system via the Modhri group mind. 'Stay close,' I told Rebekah, and without breaking stride sidled past the groaning Juri into the compartment.

Bayta was sitting on the bed, looking pale and disheveled but otherwise unharmed. 'Time to go,' I said as I crossed to her. Her hands were out of sight behind her back, but from the cuffs glittering on her ankles I could guess her wrists were similarly pinioned. 'Where are the keys?'

'I don't know,' she said, her eyes flicking to Rebekah peeking out from behind me. 'Frank, are you sure —?'

'I'm sure,' I cut her off. 'Lean forward.'

She did so. I ducked down, got my hands under her thighs, and hauled her up onto my left shoulder in a modified fireman's carry, her head hanging down behind me, her legs in front with her upper thighs pressed against my chest. 'Feet in close; kick straight out when I say kick,' I told her as I curled my left hand around her thighs to hold her in place. Without waiting for an answer, I turned back around and headed to the door.

The Juri had moved to block me, his scaled face still screwed up in shared pain. I threw a kick into his upper leg, then scraped the sole of my shoe down along his shin to his three-toed foot. He howled in pain as the leg gave way and dumped him onto the floor. I stepped past his quivering body and out into the corridor.

A handful of other passengers had emerged from their compartments, weaving slightly as they headed toward me with pain and rage in their faces. First in line was one of the new Halkan arrivals, charging forward in a clear attempt to cut us off before we could make it out the door. I turned toward him and loosened my grip on Bayta's legs. 'Kick,' I said quietly.

Bayta's legs straightened out convulsively, her heels catching the Halka squarely in the upper chest. I added a kick of my own to his lower abdomen, grabbing Bayta's legs as I did so to keep her from rolling off my shoulder. 'Rebekah?' I called.

'Here,' the girl's voice came from behind me.

'Grab my arm,' I said, and turned toward the car door.

Braithewick was still hunched over in the entryway, his face turned toward me, a deadly fury smoldering in his eyes. 'You can move, or you can get kicked again,' I told him. 'You've got two seconds to decide.'

He used up both seconds glaring at me. I gave him one more, then kicked him again in the stomach. He folded a little tighter, and I stepped carefully past him. Rebekah held on tight the whole time, gripping my upper arm like it was a life ring and she was adrift in the North Atlantic. 'Bayta, get the door closed,' I ordered as we reached the platform. 'No, leave the Spider out here,' I said as the conductor standing beside the door started to move back toward the car. 'He can get aboard once we're clear.'

Behind me, I heard the door iris shut. 'Now what?' Bayta asked, her voice muffled against my back.

I looked around. That was, I realized, a damn good question. On a smaller Quadrail station, where there would be only a few other people around, none of whom were walkers, we could have just left the train sealed and sent it merrily on its way with the Modhran mind segment pounding its collective fists furiously against the windows.

But this was a subregional capital, and there were a hundred or more Juriani and other aliens standing around gawking at us. More importantly, eight of those hundred were already on the move toward us from spots all over the station. Their expressions were hard to make out, but I had no doubt they were alien equivalents of the look I'd just seen on Braithewick's face.

Which left us exactly one option. 'Close all the first- and second-class car doors,' I ordered Bayta, turning toward the rear of the train and heading off at the fastest jog I could manage.

'What about the Spiders?' she asked. 'They have to get aboard before the train leaves.'

'They will,' I promised.