Page 7 of Rafe

“We’ve got company,” Rafe said suddenly, his eyes narrowing.

An older gentleman dressed all in black had appeared at the other end of the platform. He looked very dignified, and also basically harmless.

But Rafe looked like he had just stuck his finger in a laser socket. He was on high alert, muscles rippling as he took stock of their surroundings.

“More are coming,” he said, under his breath.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and she found herself tensing, her arms forming a protective cradle around Gus, who was now sleeping on her shoulder.

“No, Zarick,” a woman’s voice snapped loudly.

Jade instinctively stepped behind Rafe just as he moved himself between her and the voice coming up the steps to the platform on their side.

“No, this way,” the woman continued. “No. No. No, no, no. This way. Yes. Yes, that’s right. Everyone stay together and follow the line-leader. Won’t this be fun? I know I sure can’t wait to ride on that train.”

Feeling relieved, and more than a little foolish, Jade stepped out from behind Rafe just in time to see a pretty schoolteacher with a line of small pupils filing up the stairs and onto the platform.

She smiled up at Rafe, but he didn’t look the least bit ashamed.

If anything, his expression was even more vigilant than before. He searched the platform, steely, green eyes sliding from one side to the other, nostrils slightly flared.

“Is there supposed to be danger here?” she asked, suddenly worried. The agency had said this moon was dangerous. Surely if the train platform was okay for those kids, it was okay for Gus.

“There is danger everywhere,” he replied, without ever taking his eyes from the search. “And during these transitional moments between conveyances, we are at our most vulnerable.”

Two bedraggled looking men stepped onto the platform, and she found herself shrinking back once more.

“Harmless,” Rafe said without looking at her. “Most likely. Humanoid with no weapons.”

“They look pretty strong,” she said defensively. “I’m sure they could do some damage.”

“Not to you, with me here,” he said. “And most likely not to the workings of the train itself. Other threats don’t concern me.”

“And this is why you’re with us,” she realized out loud. “To protect us during these transitions so we get home safely.”

“Protection is my life,” he said. “Though I’m used to doing it from the air.”

“In dragon form,” she acknowledged.

“No,” he said. “Though that’s the most fun part of the job. Unless I’m protecting the homeland, I use a spacecraft.”

“You’re a fighter pilot,” she said, nodding.

“Some say I’m the best,” he said, the ghost of a smile curving up his lips.

She nodded, deciding not to ask him what he was doing here if he really was the best. It would only hurt his feelings, and right now, she was pretty darned grateful to have him with her.

They waited on the platform together in silence, the cold threatening to creep in through her fur-lined cloak. Jade snuggled Gus, but he seemed unbothered. She wondered if Iberians were more cold-tolerant than Terrans.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, a distant sound cut through the air, hanging hauntingly for a moment before it repeated.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“The whistle,” he said, not taking his eyes from the platform. “The train is coming.”

The ground began to rumble, and it hit her that she had only ever seen pictures of trains in history books and fairytales.

A few of the little kids farther down the platform began to cry.

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