29. Train Talk

A creature from the purple line was floating in the center of the train car. It looked a bit like a collection of black smoke had been gathered into a vaguely spherical shape, and a single large, round eyeball sat in the center of the wispy substance, spinning every which way. It was rather small, and as Isaac stared at it from where he was seated, he had to begrudgingly admit that it was kind of cute. Large eyes (or eye, in this case) and a lack of a mouth generally led to things being cute, in his experience. It was certainly much less intimidating than the other purple line creatures.

The doors slid shut and the train began to roll away from the platform, first in a few sharp, jerky movements that soon smoothed into a steady rolling rhythm over the rails. From the corner of his eyes, Isaac spotted the tablet screen glow from where he’d placed it on the neighboring seat. He frowned down at it, picking the device up and tapping on the screen to accept the call.

“What is it now?”

“Goodness, you’re in a right mood, aren’t you? I just wanted to check up on you, silly! See how it was in the Woodlands!”

Isaac silently stood up and moved over a few seats so that he wasn’t directly facing the purple line creature. He could feel its eyeball following his movements with a sharp focus. Scratch that, maybe not so cute after all.

“I didn’t find anything.” Nothing useful for the charisma problem, at least.

“Oh really? You were there for quite some time, so I had high hopes!”

“And I’m telling you to stop with that.” He sighed, exasperated. “This shit takes time, especially when you’re being as vague as a charisma stat.”

He heard Lilith hum in acknowledgement. Isaac waited for her to add something, but she didn’t. Instead, the glowing golden tablet screen remained quiet. Isaac’s eyes darted over to the purple line creature, which was still looking in his direction, but hadn’t moved from where it was hovering. Turning back to the tablet, Isaac paused, hesitating, before finally speaking. “I ran into fey royalty earlier. A kid named Gloriana.” He shifted to a more comfortable position in his seat. “She was trying to find the old Woodlands sky, apparently it’s from before the Collapse.”

A long silence followed the statement. Lilith’s response came after. “I see.”

Isaac frowned down at the glowing golden device. “Look, I don’t get everything about fey politics and all that, but it looks like she’s not aging until she gets closure or something like that. Can you, I don’t know, change the sky to the old one for like a day?”

“Aw, well that’s awfully sweet of you to suggest, Isaac dear!”

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He snorted. “It’s just practical.” If what Yarrow said was true, then it sounded like there’d be trouble once the old king died. Logically the fey couldn’t fight or kill with the system in place, but still, he’d rather not risk anything happening if it could be avoided.

Lilith’s voice shifted. Her usual tone was singsong and frustratingly light, but when she responded, it was less rhythmic, more grounded. “I would help if I could, but something like that would take too much magic at once. I’d need to release the system for a few moments, which I can’t do, I’m afraid. You know how it is.”

“Not even for a few minutes? I mean, it’s not like you’d have to tell people the system’s down. Most people probably wouldn’t even notice.”

He could practically hear the smile in the woman’s reply. “Ah, you say that, Isaac dear, but I’m not so certain myself.” Her voice sounded a bit muffled, and he instinctively leaned closer to hear better. “It really is a shame. Gloriana’s a sweet girl. You say she looked like a child? Is her hair the same red?”

Isaac blinked a few times. “Yeah, it is. I didn’t know you knew her.”

“Oh I don’t know her well, of course not! I just like to keep track of people!”

“Kind of creepy, but okay.”

Lilith’s laughter rang, bright and clear around the train car. It was a familiar sound, one that he couldn’t count how many times he’d heard before, with an undercurrent of warmth supporting the loudness. The purple line creature’s eyeball spun around a few times, as though tracking the sound. It still hadn’t moved from its spot, and Isaac steadfastly ignored it.

He leaned back in his seat, and his head bumped into the cool train window behind him. The dark tunnel whizzed past the windows in blurred lines and shifting shapes. If not for the presence of the purple line creature in his peripheral vision, he could easily believe he was still in the Upper World.

“Hey, Lilith?” he found himself asking.

“Yes, dearie?”

“What actually happened with the Collapse?”

Lilith paused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I know you said it was about peace and shit, but I don’t really know anything more than that.”

The rhythmic rumble of the subway train resounded around the quiet train car, a constant presence lingering in the background. “I thought you weren’t interested in learning more about the Underside,” Lilith’s voice finally said. Isaac furrowed his brow.

“I’m not. It’s not like I need a deep explanation or anything. I was just wondering about it.”

“Aw, did you finally realize what a wonderful, exceptional, absolutely stupendous place this—“

“You know what, never mind.” He clearly wasn’t going to get any more information out of her. Isaac stared into the glowing gold tablet screen. He hadn’t noticed it in the past, but the glow actually flickered slightly, brightening and dimming so faintly that it was nearly imperceptible. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, absentmindedly tugging on a few limp brown strands. “Whatever. Anyway, I’ll call you again if I figure something out.”

“Thank you.” Though her voice was a bit muffled, Lilith sounded sincere. Isaac blinked down at the device a few times and pursed his lips.

“Don’t mention it.”