Circus Freak - Untitled Chapter

 A chill was creeping through the night, carrying flurries and bleak wind to the tops of the mountains. Shadow was the peak's shawl, drawn tightly around its crags and cliffs that jutted out into darkness. The snow did a poor job of sticking to the dry, dead grass, and patches of coarse yellow appeared where the white was melted away into the cold dew. Weaving through the fabric of night was a chugging locomotive picking its lonely way up into the mountains. There were a few cargo cars attached, and only one was occupied.

Luca sat silently, his back against the cold steel, staring into nowhere. For the moment, Lilith didn't seem to feel like talking, but that could easily change. He only briefly regarded his companion: a fair-looking, slim woman with straight dark hair and impeccable posture in the most trying of situations. She was the least of his concerns. Another face framed with dark locks haunted his thoughts, storming in his mind incessantly, like the dead grass in the wind as the train slugged east, making the slow climb into the heights, towards a temporary residence for the winter, and apparently very close to where they needed to be. He toyed with the image in his mind, of the young face he had known his whole life, with red lips and black hair cut straight around her jaw, and round, perceiving eyes shining a clear blue. He reached instinctively into his pocket until his fingers brushed Jenny's earrings: two oblong silver pendants, glittering with gems the same thoughtful color as the sea on a gray morning. Touching them gave him a measure of assurance, the same they had when he found them among her possessions after she was gone, but uncertainty still stirred in the depths of his mind. Lilith watched him as his knuckles alternated from white to peach and back again.

"Luca," she purred, pulling his shoulders to hers in an embrace that he resisted, "Worrying and fretting over Jenny won't help her. She will be returned to you, in due time." He pulled away from her stiffly, to which she pretended not to notice and went back to walking up and down the length of the empty train car, just as occupied as Luca. He wanted to question as to why he was going through with Lilith, but it was too late for him to turn back. Even as he mulled the prospects over, the train was pulling farther and farther away from Surica, from Victoria, a bait line laid carefully to lead them to his current destination. For a moment, he wished he hadn't agreed; he wanted to have told Lilith to leave him alone, to tell Lance or Victoria or Surica or somebody the truth...

But Jenny was still trapped. And Lilith was the means to free her, after so long of searching for a way. He longed to see her face, to hear her voice, and the thought occurred to him how different her voice might sound after the 10 years since they last saw each other. She would be taller. More mature. They had only been kids at the time she was claimed, and by now, the beginnings of womanhood would be settling comfortably with her. He sighed and shut his weary eyes, letting his head fall back against the wall, rubbing his thumb gently on the earrings in his pocket. He had to believe the others would forgive a little deception if it would pull his sister away from the pools of the dead.

Luca's neck whipped forward as the train suddenly hit the brakes, screeching to a halt on the metal tracks. He was ungracefully thrown on the floor. Lilith leapt to her feet and walked to the window slats on the side of the car with poised balance. Luca whispered something about the train driver and going to hell. Gazing into the dark snow, Lilith spotted outlines of silent houses settled among the cliffs maybe 20 minutes away. The train lurched to a final stop. He clambered to his feet, brushing off what dirt he could, while Lilith pulled back the door, flurries and biting wind rushing in. Luca adjusted his scarf and gloves and hopped onto the hard, wet soil. He offered a hand down to his companion, though he doubted she needed it. To say Lilith stepped out would undermine her dramatic flourishes she added, and though melodramatic, she moved with a confident grace most women envied.

"Thank you." She smiled and curtsied with her long, thick skirts (which Luca honestly did not understand why she insisted on wearing them instead of pants like a regular person). "Our escorts should be waiting for us at the front of the train," she stated. "Come on! It's rude to keep them waiting." She cheerfully plodded forward towards the distant beam from the front of the train.

"I'm not a dog," Luca muttered before trudging after her. He was forced to follow what he could see of her bouncing figure with the oppressive night dimming what his steel blue eyes could see. At the front, the driver was tipping his hat to Lilith. Standing opposite were two heavily bundled figures by a covered wagon pulled by a pair of woolly, bovine creatures. Lilith smiled and waved at them, but they stood still at attention. Luca took her arm and led her around to the back, helping her up and settling next to her among boxes and piles of thick, furry fabric, likely their supplies for the winter. Their escorts snapped the animals into motion towards the village nestled in shadow: a silent transaction, and Luca knew that he had crossed his final threshold. He couldn't leave now even if he wanted to. Beside him, as he carefully held Jenny's earrings, praying for forgiveness from his family, Lilith's presence darkened like the shawl of midnight. She sighed in satisfaction as Luca's mood dwindled while they drew nearer to the village. Nearer to Jenny. Nearer to what was owed by right.

Nobody cared if a few people got hurt along the way, right?