At nightfall everyone – but Jesper – followed the Conductor to his supposed way across the Fold. Jesper hadn't shown up at the meeting point and he was running very late. I could only suspect what type of trouble he found himself in. Hours had passed, by now. The moon was bright as we walked, the Conductor leading.
'We're almost there,' he said. 'Just a little further.'
Kaz fell back a bit causing Inej and I to slow and match his stride. He kept his voice low. 'Where the hell is Jesper?'
'Someone should've gone with him,' I sigh. 'He's too unreliable. Weirdly, Kaz, you have too much trust in him.'
Kaz ignored me with a huff. The Conductor approached a sign, barely lit up by his torch. He continued walking past it, but the three of us stopped.
'Landmines,' Inej says.
Kaz gave us a glance. 'We'll wait. Follow the path that you carve.'
'Oh, that sign, it was my idea to keep people away,' the Conductor states. 'Can't be too careful. We're fine. Come.'
With a shared sigh, Inej and I follow the footsteps the conductor had set. Kaz followed after another second, trying to corral the goat closer to him. Seeing him with a goat was still hilarious.
The Fold was a wall, a giant black mass, with eerie groans and high-pitched screeches coming from the inside. It was just as big as I remember it being way back when. The others didn't know, but I've entered the Fold before. Nikolai and his crew loved to go in and kill as many Volcra as they could. I controlled the winds, would get them out faster. Staring at it now, when there were no weapons and no crew, I start to feel nauseous. Without the moon giving us light the Fold is going to become an empty, pitch-black, void.
Inej was warily glancing around. 'It's one thing hearing about it, but this is—'
'Nothing compared to what lies within,' Arken said.
I take a shaky breath. 'We are walking into our deaths. Say a prayer.'
We all watched Arken slowly crank a handle, a dingy train emerging from the edge of the Fold. 'There. So, goat, jurda, thank you. Now we're just waiting on—'
Gunshots emerged on the other side of the field and when I turned, I saw Jesper sprinting in our direction, a crowd of men right on his heels. 'Wait for me!'
'They can't see the train!'
The Conductor took the torch from Inej, putting it out in the sand.
Kaz was growing angrier by the second. 'Jesper! Get here now!'
'Put out the lantern!' Inej called out.
Jesper stopped, reading the landmines sign. 'Landmines!' He quickly picked up the pace when another gunshot flew over his head. 'Oh, wait for me! Don't you go without me! Wait!'
We all pulled ourselves onto the train and I grabbed Jesper's arm and pulled him in when he got close enough. I glared at him. 'You are the most irresponsible person to live, asshole!'
The men were still advancing, and Inej began pulling the door shut, checking to make sure everything was secure.
'Please tell me you have 20 pounds of alabaster coal?' Arken said, messing with a bunch of levers.
Jesper turned to us. 'Slight snag in the plan. Turns out that the kid who was helping me buy the coal, didn't exactly know how to, uh, buy coal.'
Kaz nodded, unimpressed. 'We know you gambled it away.'
