The Policeman of Secrets

Chapter 15 Part 3

Without another word, Balthazar leant out of his window and fired a grappling pistol. The thick barrel held a spiked stick attached to a long length of wire looped around a coil on its side. The spikes ripped into the Emperor’s roof and held fast. The wire was whipping back and forth, and Balthazar fought to tie it around a spar on the Phoenix. Reloading quickly, he passed the gun to the other attackers, and soon there were a set of cables stretching between airship and train.

Giving everybody a nod and his best smile, the count clambered onto the window’s edge, took the wire firmly in hand, and dropped out of the gondola. With little time to see if the others followed him, he slowly descended hand over hand to the pitch-black roof. From below, the Phoenix looked worryingly far away, but the roar of her engines was still a thumping presence in the sky, and he could see the watchful face of Bellman and Penelope moving to their own windows, rifles in hand.

The train’s wake buffeted the count hard, sending him swinging to and fro with his legs dangling uselessly beneath him. Any guard who appeared on the roof beneath him would have a fairly easy shot at this range, and Balthazar would be defenseless against him until the two rifles above him put the man down. It was a frightful thought but it inspired him to climb down faster.

It seemed like hours before his flailing boots touched the firm iron base beneath them. At the first feeling of contact, he released the cable and dropped face first onto the train. Despite the danger of his situation, the relief at being on a hard surface was palpable, and the count heard himself laugh in a combination of joy and surprise.

As he did so, a head appeared at the end of the carriage. A guard had clearly wondered at the thumping noise above the train and come to investigate. He and Balthazar exchanged a look, but then a bullet caught him in the head and his body tumbled out of sight. The count looked up at the Phoenix, and Penelope lowered her rifle to salute him.

A moment later, he lifted his head to see Solomon’s black boots beside him. The bookseller was breathing hard, but seemed otherwise unconcerned. Looking past him, Balthazar spotted Lily and Ferdinando dropping onto the carriage in front. Both landed safely and, after a moment’s pause to collect themselves, headed in the direction of the engines. Each was careful to stay in the center of the roof, wary of the edges and the vertiginous drop either side of them. The silver rail of rivets proved an effective guide, but it was still difficult to walk steadily, thanks to the train’s rapid movement and the flaws in the tracks that set each carriage trembling.

The count led Solomon in the opposite direction, towards the rear of their own carriage. The sight of the countryside racing past underneath them was a terrible reminder of their height and the fact that anybody falling could drop two stories and, even if they were not pulled to a terrible death beneath countless wheels, could be left seriously injured, alone, and helpless, beside a railway line used almost exclusively by their enemies.

Watching each footstep, the count and Solomon made steady progress. Crouching down, Balthazar saw a tin roof and archway surrounding the doorway into each carriage. The archways stretched far enough forward that there was only a slim space between them, too narrow for anybody to enter from above. Making a rapid assessment, Balthazar calculated that each time the train entered a sharp bend, one side of the two arches would touch, forming a solid wall. However, the other side would form a wide space, suitable (he hoped) for a person to clamber inside if they were quick.

Staring ahead, he saw Ferdinando and Lily crouched in a similar position. Catching their attention, he mimed his plan as best he could given the poor light and occasional clouds of smoke. Lily seemed to nod in understanding, but her comrade looked too nervous to make a gesture of any kind.