The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson

Author:Jaleigh Johnson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780385376464
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Published: 2014-03-25T07:00:00+00:00

Gee stood on the open-air observation deck at the back of the train, leaning against the iron rail as a grove of cypress trees rushed past. They had entered the southern territories—the Dragonfly territories—King Aron’s country. Before long, the air would grow unbearably hot and thick with the tang of salt water. He’d never liked the coast. Gee preferred the north countries—the cold, solid mountains and the pewter color of the sky before it snowed. He loved to fly in that weather.

He shifted, Piper’s coat draped over his right arm. It was far too big for her, Gee noticed, but that hardly mattered. She wouldn’t need to wear it in the south.

Behind him, the door slid open. Gee didn’t have to look to know that it was Trimble. Even in Gee’s weaker form, the smell of the fireman’s sweat was like a beacon.

“Off to scout?” Trimble asked.

“In a minute,” Gee replied. “I was resting.”

“You sure you got all the dust out of your lungs?” The fireman stood next to him, fingering one of the glass vials at his belt. Thick yellow liquid filled the vial, and when Trimble popped the stopper with his thumb, Gee smelled burnt peanuts. “This antidote’s good enough for humans. It might be a little weaker inside you, but it’ll help the burning.”

“I’m all right,” Gee said. He coughed once. “If that stuff tastes as bad as it smells, I’d rather have the burning cough.”

“Suit yourself.” Trimble put the vial back on his belt. “Jeyne says not to go too far tonight, and I agree. You need to rest.”

“We’ll be in Cutting Gap in three days,” Gee answered. “None of us has time to rest.”

“The cargo will be safe,” Trimble said. He ran a hand through his sooty hair. “The defenses are working perfectly—fact is, everything on this train is humming along better than I’ve ever seen it—and there’ll be guards in just about every car.”

Gee shook his head. “You’d think they were guarding solid gold, not machine parts. I don’t know why we don’t just give the raiders some. They’ll sell the stuff for scrap and be able to feed themselves decently for once. It’d save King Aron a lot of coin in the end. He wouldn’t have to hire so many guards.”

Trimble raised an eyebrow. “You think they’d sell the parts to buy food? More likely they’d use them to build a dozen more gliders and hit us even harder next run. There’s no room for compromise in this game, friend.”

“No, not when they’re willing to die for the cargo—or kill for it.” Gee shot him a sidelong glance. “Each and every run, we have to boost our defenses. The train’s becoming a weapon in itself. Things didn’t used to be like this, did they?”

“I can’t remember anymore.” Trimble blew out a sigh. “All I know is if we don’t do our jobs, by the end of this run we won’t have jobs. They’ll replace us with crueler people, the ones who shoot back even when they don’t need to.

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