Chapter 17 · Catch the Black Train

The train's already moving.

I don't think. I just run. The recall gate's still shimmering behind Rowan, a slice of black light cutting through the loading dock, and the train on the other side is pulling away from a platform I've never seen before. Underground, maybe. Or somewhere that doesn't show up on any map.

I hit the gate at full speed.

The world flips. My stomach tries to stay behind. Then I'm through, stumbling onto slick concrete, and the train's twenty feet ahead and accelerating. No windows. Just smooth black panels and a single open door halfway down the last car, spilling cold white light.

Rowan's silhouette is framed in that light. She's not moving. Just standing there, one hand on the frame, looking back.

Looking at me.

"Rowan!" I don't have breath for it but I scream anyway.

She doesn't answer. The door starts to slide shut.

I sprint. My boots slip on the platform edge. The train's faster than it looks, that silent maglev glide eating up distance, and I'm not gonna make it. I know I'm not.