The delight I found just yesterday in the streets of Nokon is gone today. The exotic city that was an escape from the mundanities of life on the Talavar takes on a new, darker, tone now that I must learn to survive in it alone.

  I spend the first day of my exile wandering in a fog, unable to fully parse the fact of my new reality. I’ve been banned from the Talavar—my home for more than 20 years. I keep seeing Charlie’s expression as he turns his back on me and my mind rebels. I stay near the tunnel bazaar, half expecting to see the train returning and Charlie pouring from its guts in a cloud of remorse. Surely once he’s calmed down he’ll rethink this absurdity.

  But as night approaches and the air chills, my situation begins to solidify. The concrete realities of bodily needs interrupts my haze and give my thoughts a focal point. I need to find somewhere to stay. Something to eat. I have only the limited funds I set out with yesterday morning and that won’t support me for long.

  With the revival of my clarity comes the onslaught of rage I have been half-consciously waiting for since my world pulled away from the train station leaving me in its wake. This isn’t a misunderstanding or a huge mistake. This was done to me intentionally by Nevalya and her minion. But why? Surely my presence on the Talavar didn’t pose that much of a threat to her designs on Charlie.

  Unless she has more in mind than romantic interest. She must want to do something to him as well—something she knows I will try to protect him from.

  Now that I’ve had the thought it seems so obvious. I can’t believe I didn’t see it immediately. I was too lost in the shock of my exile, but now… all the despair and helplessness of the day’s events begins to crystallize into a writhing anger.

  I don’t know if I’m more outraged at the thought of Nevalya plotting something against Charlie, or the insult of thinking she could dispose of me so easily, but it hardly matters. It all goes into the same cauldron of fury churning in my gut and emerges as hot determination. I am not going to let her succeed. I am going to get my life back.

  The guide is waiting for me when I duck into the noodle shop at the city’s edge. He is the only customer: a short, stocky man with sharp eyes and a head of unruly gray hair. He waves me over to the counter, where he is eating a bowl of noodles.

  “Noodles?” he asks.

  “I’m not really hungry.”

  He shrugs. “Neither am I, but take it from me. You’ll regret passing up your last chance at a decent meal.”

  I look past him through the window, where the day is decidedly gray in a way that usually means the weather is about to turn ugly. “I’d rather just get going.”

  “Oh! Okay, let me just drop my food and be at your service then.”

  I glance back at him, but there’s no rancor in his expression. He remains steadfastly planted on his barstool. There are a lot of noodles left in his bowl.

  I sigh and shrug out of the pack slung across my shoulder before taking a seat two stools over. I order noodles. The guide nods his approval and returns his attention to his food.

  “I’m Tali,” I inform him.

  He nods. “Yanto. Pleased to meet you.”

  I’ve been in Nokon city for a month and every day of it felt like a year. It took me longer than I had hoped to learn day-to-day survival in the unfamiliar city, and on top of that to plan my next steps.

  I still had a little money on me when I was exiled, but with no job and no foreseeable income, I needed to make it stretch. I splurged on a hostel once a week for the shower and hot food. The rest of the time I slept on the streets. I was far from the only person doing so, and others were more than willing to lend me a blanket, a cot, or a few square feet inside their tents most nights.

  I spent more than I should on a mod to suppress my period. I know they’re terrible for my body, but so is cramping and bleeding on a long trip you’re taking by foot. The first time I used it I felt the low hum of magic and then it fizzled, out so I bought another one, making another dent in my dwindling resources because of my unnatural bad luck with mods.

  I ate as cheaply as I could and shared whatever I had with my homeless hosts in return for their generosity. These Nokon street campers were also in possession of a wealth of knowledge about the city they were only too willing to share. I guess they could tell I was floundering.

  An old woman who sells flowers for pennies a day shared her rice with me in the evenings, and told me where to find the nearest charities for a chance to get clean clothes, and the nearest place to find any meds or mods I might need.

  Finding a traveling guide whom I could both afford and trust was a little more difficult. Of the few people I met with the means to afford one, many had been scammed by unscrupulous travel agents. Still, patient and consistent questioning both in the homeless camps and the hostels had yielded a short list of names, of which Yanto was last.

  I tracked down the Nokon City library and pored over maps, trying to guess the Talavar’s most likely next stop. Nokon is a hub from which the train can go nearly any direction, and I, fool that I am, have never paid attention to our routes. After much thought, several educated guesses, several more highly uneducated ones, and some time spent cross-referencing my extremely spotty memory, I narrowed it down to the two most likely routes.

  From there, it was a matter of finding a travel agent who could get me to a train station along one of the routes by a more direct path than the train itself would be taking. Since physically seeking out every agent on my list would require weeks of walking, or money I couldn’t afford to spend on cabs, I instead left messages on every community message board I could find, roughly outlining my inquiry. I checked the boards obsessively and started getting answers within a few days.

  Many negotiations and a few painfully expensive shopping trips later, I find myself here with a meager bag of supplies, eating noodles with Yanto. I no longer possess quite the amount we agreed to in credits, but as it will be a few months before we reach our destination, I have decided to worry about that later.

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  “We have to wait for the others anyway,” he tells me.

  I frown. “The others?”

  He looks at me like I might have only recently arrived on the planet.

  “What, you thought it was just you I’d be escorting? For that price?”

  Of course. I should have realized. Travel between train stops is rare and dangerous, hence the need for an agent. There are so many reasons it makes more sense to travel in groups.

  I smile a little sheepishly. “Right, no, I just meant… How many are we waiting for?”

  Before he can answer, one of the others walks in the door. A tall, good-looking man with blond hair pulled back into a bun grins at Yanto and me as he sits on the stool next to mine.

  “‘Lo Yanto!” he says, and to me, “I’m Matthew. I take it you’re a fellow traveler?”

  I nod. “Tali.”

  He seems pleasant enough, if a little talkative. He orders noodles with no spice, a decision to which I cannot remotely relate, and chats animatedly with Yanto and me about the weather, the upcoming trip, all the other trips he’s been on, and asks how many I’ve been on. I tell him it’s my first, but don’t elaborate or correct him when he exclaims, “Oh, you’re a Nokon City native!”

  The door opens again, and I turn to see two more travelers enter. I’m surprised to instantly recognize the two female members of the hostel party from my first night. Ren greets me with a bright, “Oh! Hello!” and Amiyah a friendly nod.

  The next traveler to enter, stretching the bounds of my credulity. The tall, dangerous-looking woman who ran the proprietor off so she could sleep is called Xan, and apparently she works as a sort of bodyguard for Yanto and his groups. Makes sense, I guess. I have heard rumors my whole life about the dangerous men, beasts, and possibly even man-beasts that inhabit the lands between the stations.

  I’m anxious to get started, but Yanto says we’re waiting on three more. The rest of us make small talk in the meantime (excepting Xan, who just watches us appraisingly), and after an impossibly long time, two more travelers appear: a married couple who introduce themselves as Khalid and Rissa.

  By the time Yanto announces, “There he is!” I’m more than ready to bid the now-crowded noodle shop goodbye. As the last traveler enters I stand and pick up my bag, my hands moving mechanically even as my brain registers the face it’s seeing and I feel my body go cold with shock and anger.

  Looking equally surprised, and even a little pleased (the audacity!), Lucas meets my gaze.

  “Get some noodles while you’ve got the chance, and then we’ll go,” Yanto instructs Lucas.

  “No,” I say flatly, moving to block Lucas from proceeding into the shop.

  “No, he… can’t have noodles?” Matthew ventures after an awkward silence.

  “No he can’t come.” I turn to Yanto. “There’s no cogging way I’m traveling with this person.”

  Yanto shrugs. “Then stay. Trip’s optional.”

  I’m shaking my head before he finishes. “I have to go. He doesn’t. He is the reason I’m here to begin with…”

  “Tali…” Lucas interjects, but I turn on him with a look fierce enough to make him rethink whatever he was about to say. The others are watching with interest now, and some apparent trepidation. I suppose it’s not a great sign if one of your companions starts a fight with another before the journey even begins.

  Yanto sighs and folds his arms. “Listen, kid. If you decide to stay here, that’s up to you, so long as you pay what we agreed on. That’s part of the deal. If I leave him behind and it’s not his choice, I can’t very well expect him to pay me, can I? So unless you can pay his portion to make up my losses, I suggest you keep your grievances to yourself and let the boy have some damn noodles.”

  Fuck. I can’t even pay my own way, much less his. A dozen questions crowd my mind as I glare furiously in Lucas’ direction. What is he even doing here? Why isn’t he on the train? How did he end up in this specific group? Is he… watching me? Following me?

  I consider pressing the issue, demanding Lucas find another group to travel with, but that doesn’t solve any of the problems Yanto just presented. And I really want to get on the road.

  Begrudgingly, I step aside to let him pass.

  Matthew attempts to ease the tension by cheerfully introducing himself. With the exception of Xan, who continues to watch in stoic silence, the others follow suit. The introductions and handshakes are a bit muted in the aftermath of my outburst but I don’t care. If we’re going to have a slimy, scheming asshole with us, everyone might as well know about it up front.

  I decide to wait for the others outside. Stepping out into the street is a relief after the stuffy, spice-laden scent of the noodle shop. The air outside is heavy with the promise of future rain, however, and I find myself hoping it doesn’t delay us. It feels like we’ve already spent so much unnecessary time getting everyone gathered here. Seriously, did everyone need to get noodles? This does not bode well for the rest of the journey.

  After a few minutes, the door swings open and Khalid and Rissa join me, each carrying a large pack on their back and lugging an even larger one between them. I wonder how they’ll manage the trip with all that luggage. I wonder how I will manage the trip with so few supplies.

  As with every other obstacle I’ve encountered so far, I mentally file this problem under L for Later I’ll figure it out probably.

  Ren and Amiyah emerge next, and five minutes later, we’re all assembled once more. Yanto faces us and lays out a few ground rules, many of which were already included in my previous communications with him.

  “Alright, my Konetae,” he begins. I raise an eyebrow, recognizing the Koltari word for cargo, but say nothing. Rissa recognizes it too and snorts a laugh. “We’re heading to Cabe’s Falls. I would show you the route I plan to take on a map, but that would be a waste of my time, and it sounds annoying. It’s not going to be an easy walk, but don’t worry, bandit and wolf sightings are rare.”

  Several of the group look a little nervous at this. I’m probably one of the several. Annoyingly, Amiyah is not.

  “If for some reason we do end up in trouble along the way, well… that’s what Xan’s for,” Yanto continues, jerking his head in her direction. “She is not for helping carry your things. That honor belongs to Professor Blackhoof, whom you’ll meet shortly.

  “We’re going to be in close company for the next few weeks so I have a few rules. Follow them and we’ll get along great. First, no fucking.” He points at Khalid and Rissa. The latter goes slightly red but keeps steady eye contact with him. “Even for you two. No one wants to be part of that. Second, no fighting.” He glares first at me and then at Lucas with this one. “Third, this is not a committee. I’m the guide, you’re the konetae. Xan’s the mercenary. If we’re in danger, she’s in charge. Otherwise, I’m in charge. If we both go missing, you can draw lots and eat each other, I don’t care. Everyone agreed?”

  We all agree. I have no intention of heeding his warnings and staying away from Lucas but I can bide my time until we’re well and truly on our way. Rissa winks at Khalid and I suspect I’m not the only one planning to largely ignore these rules.

  We walk a few blocks to where Yanto says we will meet Professor Blackhoof. The professor is, it turns out, a bal-ghoro. I’ve never seen one in person before, and I’m a little taken aback at the creature’s immense size. I’ve only ever seen pictures of his ancient ancestors, the horse and the ox, but I recognize them both in his bulky shoulders and forelegs, the curved horns that emerge from the top of his oblong head, and his long, black beard. None of his four hooves is black, which strikes me as funny.

  We each keep our smaller packs on our persons, and load any larger bags on the beast’s back, where Xan and Yanto tie them down with practiced efficiency.

  “Are we not taking a wagon or trailer?” Khalid asks.

  Yanto shakes his head. “Terrain’s not friendly to wheeled vehicles, and gliders don’t go that far. We walk.”

  With that, he takes Professor Blackfoot’s lead rope, and we turn our backs on Nokon City. For the first time since the Talavar left me in its wake, I feel a sense of relief. I am finally on my way back to my home and life. I can’t wait to see the look in Nevalya’s traitorous, scheming eyes when the train pulls into a station and my face is the first one she sees.