Clip skidded to a halt. Burning tears filled her eyes as she was forced to watch Xavi bleed out on the floor. He had avoided death several times today, but it had finally caught up with him. Already she could see the light fading from his eyes.

  I love you. I love you, Xavi.

  Paul marched down the aisle, knives in both hands. “You’re a dead man, Dan.”

  Dan pressed the bloody dagger, some kind of ceremonial blade, against Harley’s windpipe and made the boy squeal. Harley was holding onto his Rubik’s Cube with both hands for dear life, as if he thought it might keep him safe. “Stay where you are,” Dan warned, “or I’ll kill him. By now, it should be quite clear that I’m capable.”

  “Why?” asked Paul, staying in place but quaking visibly with rage. “Why do this to innocent people?”

  “You’ve already figured it out. Your lives in exchange for what I need. As for innocent, is that a joke? Do you know how many years I’ve been running people back and forth in this country? I’ve seen better behaviour at a zoo. People are filthy and inconsiderate, and the worst have no conscience at all. I knew I could pick any group of people at random and be confident that none would be innocent. Mudz…” he spat the word like it tasted bad, “proves my point most of all.”

  Clip shook her head. “But why? What do you want?”

  “What do you think? I want my wife to live.” He shook his head and sighed. “I researched her cancer, and I’ll be lucky to have six more months with her. It’s not enough. We have too many plans. I won’t lose her.”

  Clip was shocked to see tears in the man’s eyes. He couldn’t claim to be a remorseless monster or a psychopath. If he could feel love for his wife, then he could feel guilt for his actions. He was willing to murder a dozen people anyway. “So what happens now?” she demanded. “What do you get for this? Another fifteen, twenty years of growing old and decrepit? Is it worth the lives of everyone on this train?”

  “Fifty more years,” he corrected her. “Fifty joyous years for Sharon and me, with every desire taken care of. The retirement to end all retirements. That is the trade I am making with the Sacrificed Spouse. Your lives, your potential. She’ll take the former, and me the latter.”

  Jay slumped sideways against the seats. So far, he had remained silent. “Sacrificed Spouse? The woman in the cage? Who is she?”

  Dan adjusted his grip on Harley, who was frozen stiff and barely blinking. His milky left eye twitched. “Do you really need to know? Seems like you might be stalling for time, but you won’t change anything.”

  “I want to know,” said Clip. “I want to know who she is, why she’s doing this. Earlier, she made me see her memories. She wants me to know. Dan, please, who is she? Who was she?”

  Dan cleared his throat. “A pregnant woman named Elmflaed, who lived during Saxon times. When the Vikings first arrived in East Anglia many centuries ago, Elmflaed’s husband offered her up as tribute, to spare the lives of everyone in her village.”

  Paul tutted. “What is this? A history lesson?”

  “I want to know,” said Clip firmly. She was stalling for time, but she also wanted to understand. She needed to understand. “What did the Vikings do to her?”

  Dan took a step back with Harley. The only person behind him was Grant, but the man showed no signs of being a hero. “None of this will help you, girl.”

  “Tell me.”

  “Fine. They accepted the deal and took the poor woman in exchange for leaving the villagers be.”

  Clip nodded. “I saw it. She showed it to me. They clamped her ankles with wooden boards and paraded her around as some kind of perverted mascot. They kept her alive like that for several months. Then…”

  Dan sighed, as if the tale sickened him. “Then she gave birth to her child. Stillborn. The Vikings took it as a bad omen and cut off Elmflaed’s head, hanging it in a rusty iron cage from a tree. Her husband and his family back at the village – eleven members in total – went on to become influential lords in what would eventually become the Kingdom of England.”

  “Lovely story,” said Grant at the rear of the carriage. “Roald Dahl eat your heart out.”

  Clip grimaced. “Two shall live. All shall die. It’s like a reversal of what happened to her.”

  Jay grunted. “The nature of her death. She’s trying to fix her fate by sacrificing eleven in favour of the two.”

  Clip looked to Dan. “So two get to live? Not just you?”

  “No,” he said. “Not just me.”

  “Then let Harley live,” she begged. “He’s just a child.”

  Harley looked at her, his expression suddenly hopeful.

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that,” said Dan. “As a child, Harley has the most untapped potential. He’s the real treasure aboard this train.”

  Harley whimpered. Gina sobbed and begged Dan for mercy, but Dan was unmoved. While he didn’t seem to relish what he was doing, he was in no way reluctant. “Now,” he said. “While I’ve really enjoyed our little story time, I’m afraid I need to get on with this. You all need to die.”

  Clip felt her palms sweating, her heart beating fast. For the first time in her life, she craved violence. She found the anger inside of herself and let it breathe, begged it to come out. “Does Sharon know she married a monster? Would she even choose to live another fifty years if she knew the cost?”

  “She didn’t burden me with her cancer. I won’t burden her with this.”

  Clip sneered. “What, you’re not going to clue her in when she miraculously survives cancer and lives to be a hundred and ten?”

  “I’ll tell her not to look a gift horse in the mouth. As long as she’s alive, that’s all that matters.”

  Clip stared down at Xavi’s body and clenched her fists. “This is going to end with you bleeding out on the floor. Sorry to break it to you.”

  “It will end, yes, but only once I get what I want.”

  “That ain’t happening,” said Paul, and he lunged forward, both knives out in front of him.

  Dan pulled the dagger away from Harley’s throat and pointed it at Paul. “Stop!”

  With the blade no longer at his throat, Harley reacted, biting down on Dan’s wrist. Dan cried out in pain, but before he could strike the child, Harley swung his Rubik’s Cube and smashed him right in the mouth.

  “Harley,” Gina cried out. “Get back.”

  Dan stumbled, spitting blood. “You little brat!”

  “Fuck you!” Harley shouted, which caused Gina to gasp, but she didn’t remain shocked for long, because she leapt out of her seat and grabbed him, enveloping him in her arms and pulling him away from danger.

  Paul and Jay rushed forward, while Clip dropped down beside Xavi, wishing she had the power to make him not dead. His beautiful brown eyes were open, but stared at nothing. Blood pumped from his throat, each gush weaker than the last. A metallic tang filled the air. His life force slipping away.

  Will the Sacrificed Spouse take his soul? Does such a thing exist?

  “Kill the bastard,” Clip roared. “Tear him apart.”

  Paul chased after Dan, who was retreating up the aisle, but someone leapt out at him from the seats and blindsided him, smashing a hammer against the back of his head.

  Clip gasped. What the…?

  Paul collapsed in a heap. Not dead, but knocked senseless. Both knives fell from his hands and skittered under the seats. One of them ended up near Clip. She quickly gathered it up and shoved it under her belt.

  Grant stood over Paul’s unconscious body, slicking back his hair and letting out an excited whoop! “Well, finger my asshole, darling. That was better than sex.”

  Dan halted his retreat and turned the dagger on Jay, who backed off immediately with his hands in the air. “Make sure he’s not going to be a problem,” he told Grant, nodding towards Paul.

  Grant grabbed Paul by the back of the jumper and dragged him over to the space by the exit doors, then kept guard on him with his hammer. “He’s out for the count, boss. I could do anything to him right now.”

  Clip shook her head, once again confused. “Grant? You’re in on this?”

  Grant did a twirl, ending it with jazz hands, which looked ever more inappropriate with a hammer in one hand. “Showbiz, darling. You do whatever it takes to get ahead.”

  Dan rolled his eyes. “Grant is Sharon’s brother, not that they’re anything alike. It was he who told me about the dark web, and a site where certain celebrities go to learn rituals. Love spells, success spells, curses. It’s all there for people to find if they have the stomach for it.”

  Grant grinned, his skin growing even tauter. “There can be ninety-nine websites full of bullshit, but it only takes one to make a difference. I’m going to be a star, darling.”

  Jay’s eyes bugged out of his head. “You did this for your career? You’re killing a bunch of folks just to get ahead?”

  Grant’s expression darkened, and his mock levity went away. “Do you know what it’s like to be a reality TV star? Do you have any idea? It’s the pits. You get used up and spat out, presented for a bit of cheap entertainment. After that, no one will give you a serious role. Your name becomes mud, a punchline. But after this all ends, I’ll be starring alongside Tom Cruise and Paddy Considine.”

  Jay frowned. “Paddy Considine?”

  “Have you not seen Dead Man’s Shoes, darling? Oh, you simply must. It’s a triumph.”

  “You’re a monster,” said Clip.

  Dan rolled his eyes and nodded. “Grant is just… extravagant, but he loves his sister and wants her to live as much as I do, despite his more selfish ambitions. That’s why I told him about her cancer. I knew he would want to help. I assumed he would pay for private treatment, but he went the extra mile.”

  “Life’s all about family, right?” said Grant.

  Clip was inclined to agree. She spent so much time resenting Richard and her parents, but right now, she longed to be with them. Love or hate them, they were hers, and she was theirs. Richard had never once brought up the fact that she had once tried to kill him.

  I tried to kill my brother.

  I deserve this. I deserve to go to Hell.

  But not for Dan’s benefit.

  “Did you like what I did with the rabbits?” Grant asked.

  Dan grimaced. “Did you have to make such a mess? All you had to do was smother them or break their necks. It looked like a scene from a horror movie.”

  “I have a flair for the macabre, darling. What can I say?”

  Clip growled. “You’re both insane.”

  Grant rolled his eyes. “Oh, what even is insanity? Working ten hours a day in an office is my idea of madness.” He nodded at Dan. “Or driving a train.”

  “Operating a train,” said Dan testily. “Anyway,” he tapped the flat of his dagger against the side of his head, “can we please get this over with? I’d like to get home at a decent hour tonight.”

  “Yay,” said Grant, waving his hammer. “More violence.”

  CHAPTER 10

  “Okay,” said Dan wearily. “How do you people want to do this? I’m willing to make it quick.”

  “Please,” begged Gina. “You can kill me, but leave Harley alone. He’s had such a hard life.”

  “Probably best I end it, then.”

  “You’re evil,” said Harley in a whimper as he clutched Gina’s side.

  Dan huffed. “Evil doesn’t exist, young man. It’s just a word for people being people. Have you not already learned that from your useless mother?”

  “You don’t know my mum.”

  “No, we don’t,” said Grant, “but she sounds delightful.”

  Gina wrapped her arms around Harley and squeezed him. “You don’t have to do this, Dan. There’s still a chance for you to be a decent human being.”

  “Quit your begging,” he bellowed, suddenly possessed by a fury. He was getting frustrated, and he seemed reluctant to get on with what he was planning to do. Having to kill people himself, up close and personal, was clearly harder than he had bargained for. He was red in the face and visibly trembling. “I won’t say goodbye to my wife.”

  “And I’m not saying goodbye to Hollywood,” said Grant. “It would be unfair to millions of people.”

  Clip stood up and stepped away from Xavi’s cooling body. An angry demon was hatching inside of her, telling her to tear out Dan’s eyes and to strangle Grant with his own intestines.

  But they’ll kill me first. I have a knife, but they’re ready for me. I can see it in their posture, their expressions. They’re expecting us to attack.

  I should do something they don’t expect.

  “Did you use your own blood to draw the symbols on the train?” she asked. “Your arm… It’s been bleeding a lot.”

  “My blood mixed with Sharon’s. Blood of the loved and blood of the lover. There’s a certain romance to black magic.” He held up his bloody wrist. The plaster was soaked and coming loose. “I should have made the deep cut after I warded myself with healing magic. You live and learn.”

  “I was the one who actually drew the symbols,” said Grant. “I always had the artistic flair in our family.”

  “So the blood symbols are important,” said Clip. “That’s good to know. Thanks.” She turned and looked at Jay, who seemed to understand what she was thinking because he gave her a tiny nod and moved into the aisle.

  Clip turned and sprinted for the operator’s cabin.

  Dan yelled at her to stop. He suddenly sounded worried.

  “I got you,” said Jay, bracing himself in the aisle as she passed and ready to play defence.

  Clip threw herself forward, skidding on her tummy towards the fuse cabinet inside the cabin. As soon as she came to a stop, she spat on her fingers and started rubbing at the bloody symbol on the plastic cover.

  Nothing happened.

  She rubbed harder, pushing away bloody flakes and using her fingernails to scratch.

  “Stop!” Dan shouted at her, then grunted as he fought to make it past Jay.

  Clip looked back and saw Jay falling backward onto the seats, narrowly avoiding being stabbed by Dan. He had bought her a couple of seconds.

  She continued scratching away at the bloody symbol. Come on. Come on!

  The lights flickered. Whispers floated through the carriage.

  All shall die.

  Help me, Clip-Clip.

  Clip went into her own mind, time seeming to pause.

  Richard was seven, having another one of his fits at the side of the road near where they lived. A twelve-year-old Clip had made the mistake of trying to take him to the shop to get some chocolate. On their way home, he had dropped the chocolate in a muddy puddle at the edge of the road, and when she had refused to let him pick it up and eat it, he had flown into a rage. He had been having them more and more often lately, barely able to control himself. And he was getting big. In fact, he had just struck Clip in the face hard enough to split her lip wide open. Blood filled her mouth.

  “Want chocolate. Want chocolate, Clip.”

  “No. You can’t have it.”

  He swung at her again.

  Clip growled. “Fuck off! Why do you have to be such a retard?”

  “You can’t call me that.” He launched at her again, grabbing her arm and twisting it. The pain was like a fire beneath her skin, but her anger burned even hotter. “Get off me, you freak. I hate you. I wish I wasn’t your sister.” She shoved him in the chest as hard as she could, letting out all her anger and fear.

  Richard stumbled off the curb and into the road.

  The Mini Cooper came out of nowhere, going faster than it should have been. By the time its brakes squealed, Richard was already rolling up and over the bonnet.

  Clip screamed in horror.

  Richard hit the road behind the skidding Mini and rolled ten feet, coming to a stop on his back, panting and wheezing. His body was a horror show of scrapes and cuts. One of his arms was snapped backwards at the elbow. Worst of all, he was still conscious. He turned his head, tears in his eyes and misery upon his quivering mouth. Clip stared back at him and thought something terrible.

  I hope you die.

  Richard’s lips moved silently for a moment, and he pushed out a series of pained words. “Help me, Clip-Clip. It hurts lots. Want Mummy.”

  Clip snapped back to reality inside the train, the lights overhead still flickering. Dan was racing down the aisle towards her, about to reach her, so she rolled onto her back and pulled up her legs. Once he reached her, she kicked out and struck him in the stomach, forcing the air out of his lungs. But it didn’t knock him down, and it only took him a second to recover.

  “Stop it,” he spat. “I need you to die, so just… stop it!”

  The lights flickered more aggressively, turning the carriage into a disco. It was distracting enough that Dan paused his attack and glanced upwards.

  The LED strips exploded all at once, engulfing the carriage in darkness.

  Dan squealed as plastic shards rained down on him.

  There followed an almighty screech, and Clip saw sparks dancing up outside the windows as the train’s brakes suddenly kicked in. The carriage rocked on its suspension, causing Dan to cry out and fall. The darkness retreated from the windows, sent away by dim orange lamps set into the tunnel’s walls.

  Clip hurried to her feet and turned to look out of the operator cabin’s front window as the train skidded to a stop.

  Light ahead. A bright arch of sunlight. The glint of metal tracks.

  The spell was broken.

  “All shall die,” a voice wailed.

  Clip turned back to face the carriage. The Sacrificed Spouse stood at the very end, the gloom lighting up around her as if she were made of flame, except there were no signs of heat or fire. Her sharp teeth flashed inside the metal cage. “I demand sacrifice. I demand the lives of the guilty.”

  Clip shook her head. The spell was broken. It was broken…

  So why is she still here?

  Xavi’s body lay in the aisle–and so did Pat, Eric’s, and the unknown heart attack sufferer. Their mangled corpses had rematerialized in the spots they had died in, or maybe they had always remained in the real world and it was Clip who had disappeared.

 

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