* * *
We came to a halt four times before dawn the next day. The first time was at about ten in the evening. The tannoy informed us that we were waiting for wind speeds to ease before crossing the Scarno Gorge Bridge and that there was no cause for concern. Less than five minutes later, we were on our way again.
I was still awake at one when we gently coasted to a stop again. I felt uneasy, and after fifteen minutes, tucked the autopistol into my belt, strapped Barbarisater to my hip and covered them both with Aemos's long green over-robe.
The hallway was dark, the lights dimmed to an auxiliary amber. Little green cue lights glowed on the staff-only monitor display that was set in the panelled wall at the end of the car.
I heard someone coming up the spiral stairs from the car's lower deck and turned to see a steward who regarded me quizzically.
'Is everything all right, sir?' he asked.
'That was my question. I was wondering why we'd stopped.'
'It's just routine, sir. We're just coming over the Scarno Gradient and the Master Engineman has ordered a check of the braking elements in case of excess icing.'
'I see. Just routine.'
'Everything's perfectly safe, sir/ he said with well-rehearsed assurance.
As if to prove him right, the lights flickered and we were moving again. He smiled. 'There we are, sir.'
I went back to my cabin. I barely marked the two further stops we made that night. But I kept my weapons to hand.
The second full day of travel passed without incident. The weather alternated between long, furious blizzards and quick, glorious episodes of sunlit calm. We stopped five more times before supper. Five more routine hesitations. The tannoy whispered that though we were behind schedule, we were likely to make up time once we were clear of the mountains and crossing the Southern Plateau in the latter part of the following day.
I was growing impatient. I found myself pacing the train a lot, end to end. I even took Crezia to the salon for lunch and stayed long enough to play a board or two of regicide with her.
Medea was gaining strength. By the afternoon, she was sitting up and eating for herself. The cyber-skulls disconnected all her drips except the vital monitor. We took turns to sit with her. I let Eleena tell her the details of what had happened since the attack on Spaeton House. Medea listened intently, increasingly dismayed.
When it was my turn to spend an hour at her side, she said, 'You came back for me.'
'Yes.'
'You might have been killed.'
You would have been.'