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After a fewat randoiven direction If I hadn&039;t been strapped in, I probably would have sla

Marcone put on a headset and spoke into a microphone He listened to the answer and then shouted to the rest of us, "The ride may be a bit bumpier The stabilizers are run by the onboard coave me a direct look "I can only speculate as to why"

I looked around, picked up another headset, put it on, and said, "Blow me"

"Excuse ed voice over the interco to Marcone"

Marcone folded his arht, Miss Gard Compassion dictates that we must ed individual He should be in a shelter for the tactless"

"I&039;ll tell you what you can do with your shelter," I said "Marcone, I need to speak to you"

Marcone frowned at me, and then nodded "How much time before we reach the southbound tracks?"

"We&039;re over the first one now," Gard replied "Three minutes to catch the train"

"Inform me e reach it Mister Hendricks, please switch the cabin headphones to channel two"

Hendricks didn&039;t say anything, and it made me wonder why he had bothered with a headset

"There," ca privately"

"Why didn&039;t you tell me?" I said

"Tell you that I hadn&039;t sent Mister Franklin for you?"

"Yeah"

"Would you have believed ht I was playing soame with you?"

"Yes"

"Then aste the ti, you are quite perceptive-given enough tih to know that I do not wish to have you as lowered at hiaze without fear or hostility

"Why do you want the Shroud?"

"That&039;s none of your business"

I scowled "Actually it is Literally Why do you want it?"

"Why do you?"

"Because the Denarians are going to kill a lot of people with it"

Marcone shrugged "That&039;s reason enough for me as well"

"Sure it is"

"It&039;s simple business, Mister Dresden I can&039;t conduct business with a mound of corpses"

"Why don&039;t I believe you?"

Marcone&039;s teeth flashed "Because given enough time, you are a perceptive individual"

There was a beep in the headphones, and Gard said, "Fifteen seconds, sir"

"Thank you," Marcone replied "Dresden, why should these people take the Shroud and this plague of theirs to St Louis?"

"It&039;s another international airport," I said "It&039;s the central hub for TWA And hell, as long as they&039;re there, they could probably go for a swim in the Mississippi"

"Why not sio?"

I nodded toward Michael and Sanya "Theive the for them"

He looked speculatively at Michael and Sanya "I assume you have a means to locate the Shroud if that is the correct train?"

"Yeah," I said "And here&039;s the deal You drop us off, and we get the Shroud"

"I&039; with you," Marcone said

"No, you aren&039;t"

"I can always order Miss Gard to return to O&039;Hare"

"Where we&039;ll all die of the plague, since we didn&039;t stop the Denarians"

"Thatwith you"

I scowled at hiainst the seat, shivering "You suck You suck diseased , Marcone"

Marcone smiled with just his mouth "How colorful" He looked out theand said, "My people tell o for St Louis this evening Two freight trains and a passenger train"

"They won&039;t be on the passenger train," I said "They&039;d have to ditch weapons and goons, and they won&039;t"

"Even odds that this is the one, then," Marcone said

The chopper descended until the trees near the tracks were swaying in the downblast That&039;s the nice part about the Midwest Go twenty htly settled far train ruht and nodded to me

"This is it," I said to Marcone "Nohat?"

"I bought this helicopter as Coast Guard surplus It&039;s fitted with a rescue winch We cli, right?"

"Nothing worth doing is ever easy, Dresden" Marcone took off the headphones and shouted to Sanya and Michael Sanya&039;s reaction was about like ot unstrapped Marcone opened a locker and drew out several nylon harnesses He strapped one on himself and passed out another to each of us Then he hauled the side door of the helicopter open Wind filled the cabin Marcone opened a cabinet, and started drawing a length of cable from it I looked and saw the winch inside Marcone looped the cable through a ring outside the door then said, "Who first?"

Michael stepped forward "Me"

Marcone nodded and clipped the cable onto the harness A minute later, Michael hopped out of the helicopter Marcone flicked a switch near the electric winch, and cable began playing out Marcone watched intently and then nodded "He&039;s down"

The winch reeled back in, and Sanya stepped up to the door It took a couple oftooaround, but Marcone eventually nodded "Dresden"

My mouth felt dry as Marcone checked my harness and clipped the cable to it Then he shouted, "Go!"

I didn&039;t want to go but I sure as hell wasn&039;t going to chicken out in front of Marcone I clutched my staff and rod to me, made sure Shiro&039;s cane was strapped toaround a little on the cable, and then feltdown

The downdraft from the chopper all but blinded me, but when I did look around I could see the train beneathlowered onto a car just forward of the end of the train, a large metal container with a flat lid The helicopter had a searchlight pointed at the train, and I could see Michael and Sanya crouching and looking up at led like a kid&039;s first yo-yo My legs got clipped by an outgrown tree branch that hit ot close, Michael and Sanya grabbed ht me down in one piece

Marcone caured Hendricks was operating the winch The Knights pulled Marcone safely in, and he detached the cable It swung away and the chopper arched up and away, turning its searchlight out It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the brilliant moon, and I stayed crouched so that I could keep my balance

"Harry," Michael called "Where now?"

"Head for the engine and look for a boxcar," I told hi it would be easy for theuard"

The big Russian held his rifle like trainedbehind us Michael took the lead, one hand on his sword, and race and purpose

I glowered at Marcone and said, "I&039; anywhere with you behind un off his shoulder He looked like trained military, too He fell into line behind Michael

I pulled my old duster back until it fell behind the handle ofit clear for a draw It probably didn&039;t look hetti Western I ht

We all ht cars, just like every Western movie you&039;ve ever seen If I hadn&039;t been feverish and nauseous, it ht have been fun

Michael abruptly crouched and held a closed fist beside his ear Marcone stopped i, the rifle at his shoulder Closed fist means stop, check I crouched too

Michael turned around to face us, poked a couple of fingers at his eyes, held three fingers up, and pointed at the car ahead of us I took it to uys up there Michael beckoned Sanya, and the Russian slipped silently forward Michael pointed at me and then at the back of the train I nodded to him, and kept an eye out behind us

I checked overdown between the cars and out of sight

When I faced the rear of the train again, I saw a night toward me over the cars

Whatever creation process this thing had undergone, it hadn&039;t been a kind one Four-legged and lanky, it looked vaguely like a cat But it didn&039;t have fur Its skin was leathery, wrinkled and uar and a wild boar It had both tusks and fangs in its gaping, drooling raceless speed

I let out a strangled cry, lifting h it, yelled the word, and loosed a flashing bolt of fire at it The bolt hit the thing in the face just as it gathered itself to leap atcry, then convulsed in pain as it jumped and sailed off the side of the car

The fire blinded reen dot over , but I couldn&039;t see it I dropped down to my stomach and yelled, "Marcone!"

The rifle cracked three ti squeal, and then saw it as my eyes started to adjust It lay on top of the carto haul itself forith one claw

Marcone stepped closer, lifted the hunting rifle, and coolly put another shot right between its eyes The creature twitched, fell, and slid bonelessly over the side of the train

Marcone peered after it "What was that?"

"So Demon?"

I pushed her"

"Then as it?"

"How the hell should I know? Never seen anything like it before Where are Michael and Sanya?"

We went to look The next car was an empty one with spaced wooden slats and an open top It looked like so used to haul cattle There were three men in it, unconscious or dead Michael climbed the far wall of the cattle car and onto the next car in line

We climbed down into the car "Dead?" Marcone asked

"Napping," Sanya said

Marcone nodded "We should finish them These men are fanatics If they wake up, they&039;ll attack us without hesitation, ar to murder them in cold blood"

"Is there a particular reason why not?"

"Shut up, Marcone"

"They would show us no such mercy And if they are allowed to live they will surely be used by the Denarians to cause pain and death It&039;s their purpose"

"We&039;re not killing them"

Marcone&039;s uess" He snapped open a case on his belt and tossed two sets of handcuffs at Sanya The Russian caught the one of the sets around a metal strut of the car

"There," Marcone said "I suppose we&039;ll just have to take the chance that none of them will chew off his own hand at the wrist and slip free"

"Sanya!" Michael&039;s voice thundered over the noise of the train, and a sudden, brilliant glare of white light leapt up from the top of the next car Steel chimed on steel

Sanya shoved his assault rifle atout of the car He hauled hi, and heaved himself to the lip of the cattle car He stood, drew Esperacchius in a blaze of ht, and threw hi shout

I letto find the safety Marcone set his hunting rifle aside and said, "You&039;re going to hurt yourself" He took the assault rifle out ofto look at the weapon, and then slung it over his shoulder as he climbed out of the car I muttered to myself and went up the wooden slats beside him

The next car was another metal box Michael&039;s and Sanya&039;s swords shone like the sun, and I had to shield ainst the the front of the train

Nicodeainst therey silk shirt and black pants The Shroud had been draped over his body, like a contestant in a beauty pageant The noose around his neck blew out toward the rear of the train in the wind He held a sword in his hands, a Japanese katana with a worn hilt Droplets of blood stained the very tip of the sword He held the sword at his side, a small smile on his lips, to all appearances relaxed

Michael checked over his shoulder, and I saw a line of blood on his cheek "Stay back, Harry"

Nicodemus attacked in the moment Michael&039;s attention was elsewhere The Denarian&039;s weapon blurred, and Michael barely et Amoracchius into a parry He was thrown off balance and to one knee for a fatal second, but Sanya roared and attacked, whipping his saber through whistling arcs, and driving Nicodemus back The Russian drove the Denarian toward the far side of the car

I saw the trap co and shouted, "Sanya, back off!"