Rami

Chapter 16

I stalk through the darkness until I reach the railway station.  The door is locked, but yellow light spills from the windows.  My cloak leaps and shudders in the wind.  Branches crash against iron rooftops and goosebumps rise on my arms.

I shiver.  Then I raise my hand, gather my courage and knock on the door.

A moment passes.  Footfalls ring against the floorboards.  It swings open without so much as a whisper; somebody must have oiled the hinges.

A woman with braided hair is standing inside, clutching a broom in her hands.

"I'm sorry, we aren't open yet-"

"Is anyone else here?" I cut her off.

She shakes her head.  "Are you lost?"

I don't answer.  Instead, I walk towards the counter where tickets are sold in daylight.  The night is alive with sound, but this room is quiet and brooding.  Chandeliers hang from the ceilings, aglow with a thousand scented candles.

"What are you doing?" the woman says.  There's no fear in her voice.  For the first time I can remember, I'm thankful that people see me as a helpless child.

I reach onto the counter, grab a ticket, bury it in my pocket.

"You can't take it without paying," she says.

Adrenaline boils inside me.  I run towards the door.  She grabs my wrist.

I snarl at her.

"Please stop.  You can't take that."

Her grip tightens.  I wince.  And I gather electricity from deep inside me.

"I'm sorry." 

I shock her with the lightest jolt I can manage.  The woman cries out.  Her fingers twitch and contort, but she doesn't let me go.

"Please," I say, "Just let me have it or I'll hurt you."

"I... I can't."

I shock her again, and this time she collapses.  Her eyes dart madly, bloodshot and terrified.  I slip her fingers off my arm.

"Look, I'm sorry.  I'm... I'm sorry.  But I need this."

I open the door and walk out into the dawn, her cry still echoing in my head.  My face is scrunched, my hands balled into fists.  My breath comes out in ragged, broken gasps.  I start to run.  Grey streets rush past me.  I can't bring myself to stop until the railway station is little more than a shadow in the distance.  My pulse thunders in my ears. 

I slip my pack off and check on the baherst.  It's fast asleep.  I stroke its fur, but it doesn't wake or even move.  My heart twists with fear.  I stay deathly still, watching, praying.  I can only just make out the rise and fall of the poor creature's chest.  I blink back tears and sit down with a building to my back.

I got a train ticket.  I've done it.  I can finally reach Birra and speak to someone who knows what's happening in the world.  My mind races as sunlight reclaims the town and colour returns; what if the woman tells someone what happened?  Would anyone believe her?  Would they come after me?  And even if I reach Birra unscathed, how in the world do I plan to speak to the emperor?

I sigh.  The world wavers between light and darkness, the wind has fallen still.  No branches tremble now, no dry leaves race across the cobblestones.  It's as if the day is holding its breath, waiting, watching.

I reach into my pocket and run my fingers over the train ticket, frightened for a moment that it might have vanished.

Then I become aware of hushed voices.  Something is scraping the iron roof above me.