Rome shocked some of the fear out of me when he answered my previous question. “They built the train platform closer to the gods, Willa. Everyone wants to be closer to the gods.”
I still wouldn’t take my eyes from the train-monster, but I did manage to murmur back, “Someone should tell those idiots the gods live at the end of a dingy cave.”
Siret, who was close enough to hear that, laughed. “That was just the dingy back entrance, the other one is much nicer. Of course, very few will ever get to see that.”
I definitely wouldn’t, that was for sure. Unless of course they rolled out the welcome wagon for the Jeffreys, lured them in with a false sense of shiny awesomeness, and then once they got them inside it was all about the mind-washing, shaved heads, and degrading, ugly skin-clothes.
“You know they aren’t all called Jeffrey, right?” Yael had apparently picked up on pieces of my inner chatter, and was once again amusing himself with what he had heard. “Last time we were there, there was definitely a Bob and a Linda helping out.”
“Sandy and Mitchy, too, if I remember correctly,” Aros added.
Seriously … Now this was something that was going to steal my full attention. “How is it that you five know so much about Topia? Like you even know the names of the servers?”
They had far too much knowledge for a bunch of rebels who occasionally broke through the dingy back entrance into Topia.
Yael just shook his head at me, that damn amused smile still on his lips. “We have friends in Topia. We know how to cultivate relationships. All of which will help to keep you safe, Willa-toy.”
Blah, blah … sounded like a whole lot of deflection, which was something that worked very well on me. Deflection and distraction. Which happened then as the train-monster let out a loud whooshing sound, and steam suddenly filled the air above us. And I was back to staring at the beast. It looked like a massive, metal furline—one of those fuzzy, cylindrical-shaped bugs, with way too many creepy little legs. The train-monster had way too many legs too, but they were more like hollow metal wheels, hooking over the metal tracks that ran along the base of the bridge. Its body was hairless, too, the shape long and bulbous, with carts scattered back along the path which led out over the water and into the distance.
“Come on, Soldier.” Siret placed his hand on the small of my back, pushing me toward the door which was now open on the second carriage. “Time for a little trip into Soldel.”
My breath caught in my throat and I wondered if the air had gotten even thinner all of a sudden. There were three small steps leading up to the door, and I couldn’t stop thinking about what I was going to find inside.
“This is not natural.” I tried to backtrack, but Siret wouldn’t let me move an inch. “Like how does it move? Why is no one driving it like the carts? Why are no bullsen pulling it like the carts? Can’t we just take the damn carts?”
Arms wrapped around me and before I got a single answer to my very important questions, I was hauled up and into the dark interior. My shriek was stuck in my throat, but that didn’t stop my panicked hands from clawing at whichever sol held me.
“Pain will get you nowhere with me, dweller.”
Coen’s low, growly voice was enough to have my hands calming. My body calmed too. In fact … I felt downright calm as he strode with me down the cart, dropping me into one of the chairs which spanned along each side of the carriage. Yael smirked at me as I sat down, indicating that my sudden calmness had much more to do with his sneaky Persuasion than my own adaptability. A huge window stretched along the wall beside me, and I was gifted an absolutely jaw-dropping view of the valley below. And … wow, Blesswood was huge. Despite having been there for a few dozen sun-cycles now, I’d had no idea that it was that size. I certainly had not explored even a small percentage of it. But I had been to Topia, so I was officially the most well-travelled dweller in the world. Unless you counted the Jeffreys.
Warmth settled into the seat beside me, and I turned to find Rome. His huge body was blocking out the sight of his brothers, but somehow I knew they were sitting in the seats in front and behind me. Thanks, soul stealers.
I turned back to the view, pressing my hands to the glass. “Is this what the gods see every sun-cycle?” My words were low, husky. For a click, I let myself bathe in the beauty which was right before me.
Rome leaned in closer, his head resting close to mine as he followed my line of sight. “The gods rarely look beyond their own noses. Sols are the same, always striving to become gods. That’s all either of them see. It’s always the dwellers who stop and appreciate the beauty. The gifts. Why do you think that is?”