Crystal Keepers by Brandon Mull

taken advantage of the opportunity.
    Cole silently willed the train to move forward. He didn’t think any patrolmen had seen him return to the monorail, but he couldn’t be sure. With the patrolmen chasing Joe, how much would they care that the kids who were with him had scattered? Would they bother to search the area?
    The nearest exit door slid closed, and the monorail glided forward. The soothing woman came on over the loudspeaker. “Sorry for the delay. Next stop, Rockford Station.”
    As the monorail picked up speed, Cole watched out the window, hoping for a glimpse of Joe, trusting the tinting to hide his face from any patrolmen outside the train. Toward the end of the platform, Cole saw a group of patrolmen gathered around a pair of people pinned to the ground by a ropy mass of gray webbing. Due to the increasing speed of the monorail and the presence of the surrounding patrolmen, Cole only caught a quick glimpse of the people beneath the webs. But he knew one of them had to be Joe.
    The train passed beyond the station, and once again Cole could see the sights of the city. But his gaze dropped to his lap. He felt guilty for escaping while Joe paid the price. He knew Joe wanted him to flee, but he still felt miserable. Why couldn’t Joe have gotten away? What would the patrolmen do to him?
    Cole stewed about his other friends. He assured himselfthey must have escaped. He couldn’t be the only one who had made it. Joe had led the patrolmen on a good chase. He had made it a long way down the platform. Dalton, Jace, and Mira should be long gone.
    From his current seat, Cole could see no patrolmen aboard the monorail. If he could make it past Rockford Station to the next stop, he could get off as planned and make his way to Axis. The others who got away would go there too. Then maybe they could contact the Unseen and figure out how to help Joe.
    Or maybe none of the others had escaped. Maybe Mira would be discovered. Maybe he had seen the last of his friends.
    Maybe he was alone.

C HAPTER
    8
    AXIS
    C ole stepped off the monorail at Hanover Station, the fourth stop inside the city. The bustling station had a high ceiling and an enormous platform. Cole flowed with the crowd of disembarking passengers toward a wide stairway. Off to one side he saw senders as well.
    It felt strange to be alone. He had traveled as part of a group for a long time. There had been others to rely on. When Joe was with him, he hadn’t worried about navigation at all. Now he felt the true enormity of the city.
    He was an outsider. He didn’t know the places or the customs. He needed to fit in. He couldn’t afford to draw attention. For the moment, that meant staying with the crowd.
    Two patrolmen wandered the platform, trapguns dangling from straps over their shoulders. Cole avoided paying special attention to them, and they returned the favor.
    As he reached the top of the stairs along with a funneling mass of other people, a hand clamped down on his shoulder from behind. “You’re coming with me.”
    Cole jumped and turned, breaking the grip, and was ready to dash down the crowded stairs before he recognized Jace. “Not a great time for jokes,” Cole said hotly.
    â€œSeems like the perfect time,” Jace replied. “It’s the best I’ve felt all day.”
    They started walking down the stairs together. As angry as Cole felt at being startled, he was also relieved. At least somebody else had slipped away. He wasn’t completely on his own. Cole noticed Jace still carried the travel bag. “Good job keeping the bag.”
    Jace glanced over. “Did you expect me to leave it? My golden rope is always in my pocket, but I didn’t want to lose the Jumping Swords and whatever else Joe stashed in this.”
    â€œHow’d you get here?” Cole asked in a hushed voice.
    â€œHow do you think?” Jace replied. “On the monorail.”
    â€œDid you see what