Chapter 67 THE MAGMA LINE
The locomotive named "Inferno" didn't depart like an ordinary train. It launched like a rocket.
The moment Dorian pulled the lever, liquid fire, not steam, erupted from the engines. Everyone was pinned to their seats (or whatever iron handles they could find) as the train surged forward with a pressure three times the force of gravity.
"Slow down!" Lukas shouted, clinging to his tablet. "These rails are five hundred years old! They can't handle this speed!"
"The brakes aren't working!" Dorian replied, watching the needles on the control panel turn red. "And I have no intention of slowing down anyway. If we have to punch through walls, we will."
The train moved through the dark tunnel like a virus in the veins of the earth. Looking out the windows, only blurred rock walls and the occasional orange glow of passing magma rivers were visible.
In the center of the carriage, Serra had secured Atlas in his stroller (that metal cage which was now slightly melted and warped).
Atlas wasn't crying. His eyes were closed. But his right hand constantly pointed north, the direction the train was heading. And a thin laser light shooting from his fingertips pierced the darkness of the tunnel, illuminating the path ahead of the locomotive.
"He's not just showing the way," Kael said, cleaning his gun. "He's increasing the train's speed. His energy is flowing into the engine."
(THE TUNNEL RAID)
Twenty minutes into the journey, sounds began to come from the tunnel ceiling.
Metallic scraping sounds. And screams.
"Dorian!" Serra said, looking up at the roof. "We aren't alone."
Black shadows began to jump from the stalactites on the ceiling down onto the train.
These weren't "zombie soldiers." These were the "Ash Bats" Valerius had created for the tunnels. Human-sized, skinless, winged, and blind creatures.
BAM. BAM. BAM.
The creatures landed on the roof of the carriage, trying to tear through the metal plates with their claws.
"They're trying to get in!" Valeria shouted.
The metal plate on the ceiling was ripped open with a sharp claw strike. A black, drooling head poked inside.
Kael raised his rifle and fired into the creature's mouth. The creature fell onto the tracks screaming and was crushed under the train.
"There are too many of them!" Kael said. "Use ammo sparingly!"
"I'll handle it," Serra said.
Serra picked up not the special gun Dorian gave her, but a chain that could transform into a whip. This chain must have been a gift from the Crystal City; every link shone as if made of ice.
Serra leaped up through the torn ceiling, onto the roof of the moving train.
(DANCE ON THE ROOF)
The wind was so violent that a normal human would have been blown away instantly. But Serra was a Luna. She dug her claws into the roof of the carriage to steady herself.
The top of the train was swarming with creatures.
Serra swung the icy chain. The chain traced a blue arc in the air and sliced through three creatures at once. Where the chain touched, flesh froze and then shattered.
"Stay away from my son!" Serra roared.
Maternal instinct had turned her into a death machine.
Below, in the locomotive, Dorian saw the end of the tunnel. But the path wasn't clear.
A massive block of rock had been dropped onto the tracks. Valerius had blocked the way.
"We're going to crash!" Lukas shouted.
"No," Dorian said. "Atlas! Now!"
Dorian reached out to his son with his mind.
Inside the carriage, Atlas opened his eyes. That explosion of silver light happened again. But this time it wasn't burning; it was repulsive.
A gravity wave generated by Atlas shot out from the front of the train.
The wave hit the rock block on the tracks. The rock, weighing tons, disintegrated like a dust cloud. The train passed through the dust undamaged.
(FINAL STOP: RAVEN CASTLE)
The tunnel ended abruptly. The train emerged into daylight (or rather, ash-light).
This wasn't a station.
This was the base of Raven Castle, built on steep cliffs and piercing the sky like a spear.
The castle wasn't made of stone. It was made of pitch-black volcanic glass and bone. An ash tornado constantly swirled around it.
The train skidded to a halt at the old mine entrance beneath the castle, sparks flying under the influence of the brakes (or whatever friction remained).
Everyone got off the train. Serra jumped down from the roof, her hair messy but without a single scratch. She ran immediately to Atlas.
"Where is Lyra?" Serra asked.
Atlas pointed to the highest tower in the castle. A faint, ice-blue light was flickering in the tower.
"She's there," Dorian said. He drew his sword. His seal had digested the black energy taken from Kael and turned back to gold, but it was a darker, more dangerous shade.
"We are not walking through the front door of this castle," Dorian said, looking at his team. "We are going to shake this castle to its foundations."
Kael grinned. "Shall I bring the explosives, boss?"
"Bring them all," Dorian said. "If the King of Ash lives in a glass house... it's time to bring that house down on his head."
Dorian took the first step toward the castle.
"Lyra!" he roared. His voice echoed like thunder. "Daddy's home!"