We both stopped for a second. He hadn’t asked to come along. He had probably seen how many seats there were in the plane. I extended my cane to him.

  “This was a gift, too, sir. Please look after it until I return,” I told him as he took my blade.

  “Good man,” he told me as our group stepped through the portal.

  Chapter 51

  ✶

  Rescue Begins

  It took only minutes for the plane to be back in working order, and I looked at our runway.

  “It’s short,” Grandpa said.

  “It’s what we have, and it should be long enough,” I replied; but he was right, it was shorter than I’d have liked.

  “We go then?”

  “We go.”

  Things were worse here than I could’ve feared. The people here had been caught just as unprepared, and Father—no, Parkov—hadn’t held back. He and his group had slaughtered dozens and dozens, bodies laid out in rows. Now it was our time to take him down.

  Grandpa gunned it, and we sped down the road that was our only runway. Feet sped by around us, shopfronts appearing and disappearing as we went faster and faster, until I finally felt the wheels leave the ground. Just in time, too, as we barely cleared the roof of an old inn, a mermaid sign hanging over its door.

  Higher and higher we climbed, needing to see to get our bearings properly and orient via the maps we’d been given. Exion was massive, but this city was on another level entirely, making my home look like a small town in comparison. It was old, too, lacking the more grid-like layout of the island city and following more organic paths instead, grids only appearing in the outer sections of the settlement.

  There was no time to waste. Once we had our bearings we set off. Finding the train station was easy enough, and the tracks that led off from it not much harder. Even then we didn’t follow it exactly. This particular train had been made early on and wasn’t particularly straight, curving a bit around hills and valleys carved into the landscape. We had no need to do so, instead pulling ahead to where it would be.

  “We should’ve seen it by now!” Grandpa shouted over the wind.

  He was right. Trains only went so fast, so where was it? My eyes followed the track, and soon I saw a cloud of steam in the distance, a few miles ahead.

  “They’re going fast!” I said. “We need to do the same to catch up!”

  That worried me. This plane was only designed for short flights, and not for speed, but Grandpa didn’t flinch, pushing us forward even faster. For a moment I worried, knowing that we were going to be at the upper end of our range with all these flights, but one look at the gauges told me that we had no issue at all. The amount of mana left in our engine wasn’t full, but it was far higher than I might have expected.

  “We’re using less mana!” I told him, the roar of the air taking my words.

  “No, you fool boy! I’m feeding it. Now hold on!”

  We closed in, a silent falcon slowly approaching its prey from behind, ready to strike. Their billowing steam clouds hid our approach as much as they could, and the fact that we were silent meant they’d have no warning.

  As our plane got close enough, I shoved myself out of my seat, holding on with all my strength and scooted forward, speaking in Grandpa’s ear.

  “Provide me air support,” I said. “Keep the plane close, and once I’ve cleared a car, I’ll cut it free from the train. None of them escape.” He nodded at my words and pulled us as close as sanity allowed.

  A boy sat in the back of the train, and as we neared, I saw his eyes widen in shock. His face, streaked with tears, blinked at me. How strange we must look, an old man and a boy who was barely a man, flying behind them on a craft he’d never even imagined. I met his eyes, nodded, smiled, and leapt forward with sword in hand and ready for battle.

  Ten feet had never felt further. A leap so small was something I could practically do in my sleep, but with the wind whipping at my coat and hair and the roar of the wheels on the track, it felt so far to the ground that flowed below us, like it wasn’t even real.

  I didn’t even land before my blade began to move. The headmaster had claimed it could cut steel like paper, and it was time to test that out, for I didn’t want anyone warning the other goblins that I had arrived before I had a chance to begin. My borrowed blade arced up and through the door before me an instant before my foot landed on the railing behind it, and I catapulted forward.

  “Mommy!” I heard the boy cry out as I blasted through the doorway, taking in the scene as quickly as I could.

  All along the train car men and women were sitting, scared, and they pulled back, while in the aisle stood a green humanoid, looking toward the front. There was only one enemy here, so I kept on with my charge, feet slamming down as fast as I could work them. He didn’t even have time to turn before I reached him, a flash of steel separating his head from his body before he even realized I’d begun.

  There was a collective gasp around me as time returned to normal. A goblin head thunked upon the floor before a spray of blood blasted across the aisle, pumping as the creature’s heart kept going for a few seconds, trying to keep him alive.

  I looked down at my enemy, and he was different. More human, less bestial, and the ears. All goblins had slightly pointed ears, but his were … more, the shape different, more graceful, more … elven. That was bad. That was very, very bad. With makeup on his skin, he could have passed for human even, or at least a partly elven human.

  “Are there others in this car?” I asked, seeing none myself but not foolish enough to think I knew better.

  “I-I sir, there, but—” a woman stammered.

  “Answer quickly, for time is of the essence,” I pressed, trying to be firm but not too harsh.

  “No, sir, just the one.”

  I didn’t speak again, nor did I give the rest of the car time to panic as I sped toward the far doorway, the connector between this car and the next. One door opened, then closed behind me, and I looked at the connections. They were rather thorough with these—a large metal hooking mechanism between the cars and backup chains hanging all around it, just to make sure. I had to hope the sword would cut these as easily as it had the doorway.

  With wide sweeps I slashed through the chains, and then, with some trepidation and both hands, I tried my luck with the connector. The results convinced me I needed one of these, as true to the advertisement, it hardly slowed down, feeling almost natural as a near foot-thick section of steel parted, a clean slice through it.

  “One down,” I declared, as friction began to slowly pull the caboose away, eyes looking forward to me from inside as mouths began to shout. If nothing else, I’d managed to save at least those people. Now for the rest of them.

  Chapter 52

  ✶

  Children at War

  The train lurched as the first of the cars fell away. That had not been intended, nor was it welcome in the least. Had I known … no, I probably still would have cut the car away, no need to expose those people to any further risk.

  It did, however, make the people in the car before me scream and look about in panic as I entered from the back.

  “Is anyone hurt?” I asked as I strode in, looking for enemies and finding none.

  My question was answered before anyone spoke. On one of the seats was a man, bleeding profusely from a wound to his gut, the slash covered with cloth and tied tight, but it wasn’t stopping. It was a nasty injury. On Earth it might well have been a slow way to die. If he didn’t get to someone to aid him soon, he certainly would. A risk, but I had to leave him behind.

  “Tried to stop them, but …” he began, grey hairs sticking to his forehead from the sweat.

  “Everything will be all right. I’m here to help,” I told him.

  “Where’s the rest of your team?” the elderly woman beside him asked, worriedly.

  “Not here at the moment, but worry not, help will be here before long.” I didn’t bother telling them that help was a pretty loose definition, and we might soon have soldiers trying to destroy the train outright. They didn’t need that kind of stress.

  A few people seemed a bit put off by that answer, maybe seeing the deflection.

  “What do we do?” a little girl asked, still clearly afraid.

  “Sit tight, I’ll take care of it,” I reassured her.

  We’d heard there were nine goblins total. With one down, that meant eight more to go, and I didn’t have time to waste. I made my way to the opening between cars once more, but before I could cut the primary connection, there was a scream of rage.

  I turned in time to see her, for it was decidedly a her, making a throwing motion toward me. Instinct took over, and I ducked under what looked like a ball of lightning. It slammed through the window, letting people see the other cars and melting the glass. It struck the car I’d just left, sending a wave of energy out that even through my resistance made my skin tingle.

  That attack against anyone else would be quite deadly, more than what I’d seen from the other goblins. All the people inside the cars should be fine, for the same reason that you’d be okay if lightning hit your car—they were basically sitting inside faraday cages. Nor was her attack that much a problem for me. My resistance to magic should protect me, not that I wanted to get hit.

  However, she didn’t follow up with another blow. Interesting. Either she was waiting for something, or she couldn’t. As the door to the car she was in slammed open, and before she had a chance to do anything, I put my blade through her. As her face realized that there was now a sword piercing her chest, I saw that she was young. Not just young, but almost childlike. If she’d been a human, perhaps fourteen, maybe fifteen? Thinking back, the other one was like that too. I was effectively fighting children. Even though I was in the body of a very young man, that struck me.

  I had no choice though. Two down, seven to go.

  After cutting the previous car away, I moved ahead again. People called out to me, but there really was no time. The train shook with each one I released, and I noticed something else. We were moving faster. As I cut away the weights, it had less pulling it back.

  One car with nothing, then I saw the next. The goblin there was bulkier, with a large metal club, like the ones Japanese demons were always depicted with. He was kind enough to let me actually enter before doing anything. This was a dining car, too, with no people; it was just the two of us, tables, chairs, and a bar.

  “What you doing?” he asked.

  “Saving these people,” I responded. “If you surrender, I’ll do what I can for you too.”

  “No, Father save these people,” he replied. “You a danger and have to go. No hard feelings.” His grammar was poor, but he did at least sound like he didn’t hate me.

  We both charged, and I was surprised. The initial attack looked like it was simple, an attempt to crush, but before the clash, his weapon turned, striking the flat of my sword and slamming it hard enough that it flew from my hand.

  For an instant I felt panic. I watched as he raised his club again, ready to kill me. With nothing to meet his strike, I wasn’t in a good position, but there were options. I charged, moving too close for him to get his weapon swinging again and began to punch. It seemed counterintuitive but was something our classes had taught us to keep the enemy from generating any power with their weapons, and here it would work. There was no time for anything else.

  My face was inches from him as I tried to land blows anywhere I could in quick succession. Kidney, stomach. Getting a shot at his solar plexus would be perfect, but I couldn’t get the angle right. Before we reached the floor, though, he used the pommel of his weapon to slam me in the side, sending me sprawling over the nearby bar.

  As I hit the floor I rolled, reaching for the pistol at my waist now that I had room. Just in time, too, as the club came down where I’d landed a second earlier, sending broken glass and liquor everywhere. I popped up, aiming quickly and pulling the trigger.

  Once more my opponent used his club, bringing it before his body as I aimed and sending the bullet ricocheting, bringing his club around again. Once more I dove, firing off another shot as he took off all the taps on the bar and much of the display case behind it with a sweeping gesture.

  “You’re pretty good,” I said as I rolled out and hopped over a table.

  “You too,” he replied as he wrecked the small wooden barrier.

  A kick sent a chair flying at his face and he flinched. Whoever this goblin was, he had skill and potential, but nowhere near enough training. He was young, just like the others. That flinch allowed me to put two rounds in his center of mass.

  I thought it was over, but no such luck. He moved forward this time, but his charge was interrupted as the carriage shook, part of the ceiling being blown away. We looked briefly, seeing two halves of a lithe form flying away into the night, nothing connecting the top and bottom.

  “Cinna?” the goblin said, pain in his voice as his eyes widened in shock. It seemed he’d had a backup plan if he wasn’t able to handle me on his own.

  It felt dirty, but I took his momentary shock to put a bullet through his eye. I couldn’t let the innocents die. His body froze like he’d been shocked, then he fell over, brain destroyed in an instant.

  “Sorry, friend,” I said to him. “You seemed like a decent sort.”

  In the sky above I could see the plane, my grandfather sitting in the seat. Much like my enemy, I wasn’t alone.

  With a sigh I retrieved the sword, happy to see it wasn’t damaged. What if we’d managed to get to these goblins before they left? Could Sasha have convinced them not to follow in this madness? Clearly they, too, were victims, children pulled into a war they couldn’t possibly understand.

  There was no time for consideration though. Instead, I set my jaw, took my blade, and moved forward.

  Five left to go.

  Chapter 53

  ✶

  To Finish It

  There was no wind in my sails for my grim work. I reloaded and moved to the next cart, cutting one more free. I’d considered leaving it, but that was senseless. What if one of the goblins got back in there and hid or did something else foolish? No, it was better for me to make their area smaller and smaller, preventing me from having to deal with any issues from behind. The better option was to take away their places to run, like rats in a trap, then slaughter them.

  As for the large one I’d slain, I took a moment to leave a tablecloth over him. Regardless of the fact that we’d been enemies and he’d nearly killed me, he’d been civilized, so he deserved a civilized death. Had he not cared for the other one of his kind, he may well have won, but war was like that. Nobody knew who would die for sure, and nobody knew if they were coming back.

  The next car was a kitchen, and here I found another attacker, but not inside it. He saw me coming from the window on the far side, while he was between the cars. What a terror I must have been to him, with blood on my clothing and a blade still slick with the red life of his brother. We locked eyes and he turned, running for his life.

  I followed him, pausing only to cut loose the car as he sprinted through the first-class dining car and toward the very front of the train. It seemed on this particular train car they’d set things so that the front-riding passengers and the lower-class ones never needed to meet. It was not uncommon, but it pricked against my sensibilities a bit.

  As the last of the food-related cars began to fall back, I moved into the first-class car. It was the same size as the others but seemed more spacious. There were fewer people, of course, with larger areas for each. More expensive tickets, fancier placements.

  The people were huddled in a small, cleared space, and there were a total of ten of them. None of them bore the fancy clothing of the aristocracy; nor had they killed these beasts. So, if they had any magic, it wasn’t much. Around them were the last four of the lesser goblins, the one who’d run from me, heaving as he approached the other three. Before I could charge, he ripped a girl from her parents and held a blade to her throat.

  “Done fleeing?” I asked, tired of this.

  Outside, the landscapes flew past, the wheels making angry noises as the vehicle sped to levels it had never been designed for.

  “Stop! If you don’t, I’ll slit her throat! Drop the weapon!” he shouted.

  I did not drop my sword.

  “Do you know how far this has gone?” I asked.

  “I’m not lying!”

  Did he even hear me? “Soldiers are coming; they will kill everyone,” I told him.

  “Wait, hold on!” one of the three shouted to us. I noticed all of them were female; it seemed Father had chosen a large proportion of women for his new nest. “What do you mean?”

  “Men are coming,” I informed them calmly. “They will kill all of us. They will kill you, they will kill me, they will kill that child. Threatening her changes nothing. She will die, regardless, if I stop. The only way I can save anyone is to make sure you’re not around anymore.”

  “We need to tell Father,” one of the goblin girls said. “He’ll know what to do. Listen, human, when he gets here we can talk.”

  The male flinched.

  “Granen, don’t do something stupid!” she yelled as the little knife pricked the girl, making a drop of blood roll down her neck. “Wait till we get Father!”

  Granen must have been his name, for as she shouted at him he turned to look. It was enough for me, and in one fluid motion I drew my pistol and shot, unable to miss at this distance. I couldn’t let them get Father. I couldn’t let him plan anything.

  Everyone was screaming—the goblins, the terrified child, several of the passengers who thought I’d just killed her. The last three goblins charged, each conjuring a small projectile in their hands, some kind of minor spell. I wasn’t alone now though. Some of these men understood that my words hadn’t just been for the goblins.