Chapter Five

I trudged through the rapidly freezing mud, willing the change to happen faster. With each step in wet muck I slipped back half a step, but my weight drove my feet through ice like it was glass, giving me traction. Cold also let me drive my pitchblende chamber higher, let me push just another erg of power from my boiler and pistons.

"Marshal Tina! Marshal Tina!"

Angela had been calling me for the past several seconds. I'd been so focused on my footing that I hadn't been able to reply. I took a moment to adjust my grip on the slick leather straps while I answered her.

"Yes, Angela?"

"It's getting colder. I think it's about to start snowing." Her teeth chattered as she spoke.

I looked around; the girls huddled close to one another, trying to stay out of the wind that was our constant companion at this elevation. The only ones looking around were Angela, who rubbed her hands against her cheeks as she watched me, and Evelyn, who still stared behind us. A column of black smoke smudged the sky; the pyre had spread. The rain and snow would put it out soon enough, but in the meanwhile it bought us just a little more time.

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"Evelyn!"

She turned slowly, ice crackling in her hair as she did. When she met my gaze, I knew what it meant to see desolation in someone's eyes. She stared at me, ignoring the flecks of ice that pelted her face.

"Evelyn, get out the tarp and pull it over the top of the wagon!" It was a calculated risk. Girls might suffocate under the thick leather backed canvas tarp, but they would freeze if they were exposed any longer.

Angela grabbed the tarp. Frozen, it resisted her efforts. "I need your help, Marshal!"

I trudged another few steps while I replied, "I cannot. If I let go, you will all start rolling backward toward the forest fire."

Her gaze snapped to me. Whatever she saw in my kidskin covered face, it convinced her I was serious. She hollered at Evelyn to help her. When the Jennings girl moved, I turned my attention back to the path. I had two options at this point; I could double back and try to avoid the fire and Cartwright's men, or I could try and cross Devil's Gate to get to the Native States beyond. The tribes who had banded together to present the Union with Constitutions had strange customs and could seem as harsh to outsiders as the deserts they inhabited, but they were renowned for their fearless pursuit of justice.

I trudged forward another few steps. My wax and wire still calculated, but my feet had already decided. We headed for Devil's Gate Pass, and the Devil himself could take Cartwright if he tried to follow us.