You have no idea how uncomfortable sitting on a cold hard wooden floor, your hands cuffed behind your back, for five hours actually is. Then again, I don't think anyone else could ever say they had gone through something like that, unless that's how you conduct your business and then I'm not shaming anyone. But that being said, I did share some sympathy with the criminal in the back of a police car as this was far from pleasant.

After our prompt discovery, and I had been de-beasted, all three of us had been marched down the train to what seemed to be a storage car. Heavy boxes and lines of chains were strewn haphazardly in a way that meant one of us had a very likely chance of getting squashed. But our captors didn't seem to mind that as they searched our pockets and took away everything except the clothes on our backs. Our gear, backpacks, tools and most alarmingly our weapons and our amulets had all been taken away further up the train, presumably to this 'Boss' they kept referring to.

We all started kicking up a bit more of a fight when I felt someone fiddling with the straps of my scabbard, so naturally I kicked the guy in the crotch only to be restrained by three other dudes, one of whom fully removed my scabbard from my belt and another one actually pulled my amulet from over my head. The other two were in a similar state of screaming profanities right up until we were all thrown into a corner and the door was slammed in front of us, locking us all in. Sheira tried to comfort me by saying that there was no way they could hurt Flame and even Shadow said that Incaendium had a few defence measures in place but that wouldn't take away my misery at losing two friends.

But even if we did have our weapons at hand we still had the teensy, weensy little problem of being handcuffed. Shadow did attempt to pick the lock at one point, but he quickly got frustrated and started slamming his bindings against an iron post shouting between crunches that the cuffs didn't even have a key hole and when he finally calmed down and sank to the floor next to us he said that the cuffs were Unalocked and only one master key could let us all out. In other words, we were stuck until the big boss decided to free us and we had no idea how long that was going to take.

Time was also proving to be another issue, mainly we had no way of telling when it was. There were no clocks, no windows and even when we peered through the cracks between the wooden panels all we saw was a constant shade of blackness. We also couldn't tell where the train was going as it seemed that every five minutes it would lurch to a stop, hover in place for god knows how long and then suddenly race off only to repeat the whole process a few minutes later. Add to the fact that we didn't know how fast we were going meant that it felt like they were purposefully trying to disorientate us.

Since we didn't have much else to do all three of us took it in turns to take small naps and tried to let our body clocks take care of the rest. I went last only to be nudged awake by Sheira who pointed out the thin beam of dawn light pushing through the cracks. Even I knew that it meant it was about 5am at this time of year. I was about to shuffle forwards and peer through the wall when the door to our prison swung open and two men strode through. One was a crap your pants type scary and would have made Shadow look short, and the other one was a weedy little kid who wouldn't have lasted five minutes, scratch that, five seconds on my estate before being snapped in half.

The big dude hauled us too our feet and shoved us towards the blinding sunshine and down into the rest of the train itself. The insides looked like a war documentary. Almost every carriage we walked through, at least fifteen if I had to make a guess, were filled to the brim with people, all huddled against the walls wearing ragged clothes and thin blankets to keep out the damp and the cold. There were at least a hundred per carriage and they were all packed as tightly as possible like sardines in a tin. So, this is where all those people went, I thought sadly as we were pushed on through door after door.

After that the inside became significantly more luxurious. The crew bedroom was away from the hovel in the back while the polished kitchen prepped a breakfast of fluffy pancakes and bowls of fruit while next to it were bubbling pots of gruel and tea, undoubtably for the people in transport. A plush living room was decked to the nines with silks and precious stones, the heavy scent of roses hung thickly in the air and I was severely resisting the urge to gag on the sickly sweetness. The door that led onto the next car had gemstones pressed into the wood and gold sweeping round the edge like flowers and pink quartz spelling out a giant letter S. Was that an inflated ego I could sense?

The weedy one knocked briskly on the door and a loud, fruity, self-important voice ordered us in. I hate to admit this, but my jaw did drop at the sight of something so excessive. Everything, and I mean everything, was covered in jewels. From the curtains which had rhinestones and crystals sewed onto the fabric, to the eye wateringly pink king size bed which had flowers made from rubies in the frame, to the wardrobe that was embellished with emeralds and even the secretary bird in the corner who had welcomed us in had a heavy collar made of diamonds, a tiara and even more bands of diamonds encircling her legs. How much would all that weigh?

I glanced up and gasped as I caught sight of the crystal chandelier hanging above us against a ceiling of a sky, but not made out of paint, not in this house, in this place the only form of decoration came in the form of millions of gems sparkling like stars. The best way to explain this place was to imagine the inside of Buckingham palace and then scrap that idea because even I don't think that her majesty had the income to afford that. Also, quick side note, did I mention that everything in sight was pink? From the carpet to the light switches everything was a constant, unending, eyewatering shade of pink.

"Do you like it?" asked a rich female voice.

I looked down and saw that enclosed within a ring of soft rose-coloured curtains directly in front of us sat a woman in front of one of those giant movie star mirrors. She was carefully sweeping a makeup brush over her face, not looking over at us but from what I could tell she had long blonde hair that fell down towards her mid back. She finished with the brush, set it aside and then got up which was promptly followed by a small squeaking noise and my own gaze fixing back onto another corner of the room.

The woman looked like a supermodel. She had a willowy, slender frame that looked like it would snap under any excess weight. Her lips were pouty, her smile was sweet but her bright blue eyes were teasing and wicked, something did not feel right about her and I instantly found myself on edge for more than one reason. One of those reasons involved the fact that she was wearing a very thin chiffon dressing gown, and not much else. Seriously. I could see everything that I really didn't want to be looking at, which is why I was carefully studying a nice-looking lampshade in the corner.

The woman giggled flirtishly, "oh don't worry, I don't bite, unless you want me to of course."

"Oh, spare us from your flirtation it doesn't work," Shadow growled. He wasn't being as obvious as Sheira and I when it came to looking anywhere but this woman but he was keeping his eyes up, fixing his gaze with hers.

She pouted, "spoilsport. Where did we find these three again?" she asked the weedy blonde kid.

"Outside the trainyard at midnight," (Of course his voice sounds like someone drilling a bag of cats) "there was some...disturbance before we found these three in one of the storage cars– what's up with you?"

He must have caught me shuddering from his 'Nails on a chalk board' voice. Quick Nick, think of something funny. "Don't mind me I'm re-enacting the townhouse scene from Jaws with your voice," I paused for effect, "oh yeah, screeching wildly is perfect for you."

The woman giggled again while the weedy one looked as outraged as an angry ferret. "I like you, what's your name?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"So, we'll be friends of course."

"That sounds ominous," mumbled Sheira.

The woman wrapped one finger around her blonde ringlets, "I'll go first. My names Scarlett, with a double T, and this is my train, and these are my boys, Axel," she gestured to the big guy behind me, "and Miles," ferret face scowled down at me. "Your turn, introduce yourself."

Think quickly. "I'm Jonathan."

The other two were quick to pick up what I was doing. "I'm Alicia," said Sheira.

"Dean," Shadow growled.

Scarlett clapped her hands in delight, "excellent! Now we're all acquainted we can get down to business of the slight matter that you haven't payed for your ticket to board and that's a big no-no round here."

"Well to be fair its not exactly like your flyers advertised the ticket price," I muttered.

She shrugged, "there isn't really a price, it just depends on what you give me. For example, all three of you could earn your way on if this pretty boy wants too...have some fun. Oh, and honey, you can take a look at the merchandise if you want."

Wait, was she talking to me? Holy Christ she was! "I'm only sixteen!" I said aghast.

"That is legal, but I can see that its probably not going to happen. What a bummer," she sighed as she flounced away. I shared a look of horror with my companions as she rounded on a dark, bejewelled table with all our stuff strewn neatly across it. "I had a look at your gear but I'm sorry to say that there's nothing valuable here at all. A handful of dime a dozen elemental stones, your amulets aren't useful to me and while I usually can't abide weapons unless they're pretty enough, this sword looked particularly interesting. But I can say that it wasn't...how do I put this? Interested in me." She pulled the sleeve of her robe down to reveal a ring of bandages, sitting stark against her pale skin, surrounding her forearm no doubt from Incaendium's self defence mechanisms.

Shadow chuckled, "serves you right for going through our stuff."

Scarlett turned and waltzed towards Shadow. "Funny you say that because it seems that my boys didn't quite get everything, did they?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about the Void Star hanging round your neck. How did you hide it? Perception filter? Gaze distorter?"

I turned to Shadow and spotted what Boobs McGee was looking at. It was a tiny black stone embedded into a rounded piece of metal. I tried to crane my neck to see it, but since I wasn't a giraffe I wasn't going anywhere, and anyway even if I did have a super long neck I was a hundred percent positive I'd never seen the thing before. But Scarlett was eyeing the stone up like a person starving on a desert island, and that the look in her eyes made her seem crazed, like she was just about to reach out and grab it.

"That would pay quite well for you guys, yes it would..."

She reached forwards entranced, but Shadow moved faster. I heard her cry out in pain as Shadow tightened his grip around her wrist to the point I could hear the cracking of bones. "You even think about touching that again and I will break every bone in your body until you're just a skin sack of broken glass. I've done it before and believe me it is slow, and it is agony, well for you at least, I ensure you that I'll be enjoying every second. Do I make myself clear?"

You know, every now and again I forgot how completely terrifying Shadow could be.

Scarlett looked terrified at least. She actually retreated a few steps back, massaging her wrist in the process. "Okay, point noted, don't take the pretty boy's shiny thing. Besides, that Void Star probably isn't big enough to be valuable, and the earthen steel casing really doesn't shift its price," she shuddered at the thought of something not having an a thousand-pound price tag attached to it. "But that still leaves you with the problem of not having any payment."

"Or anything up to your standards at least," said Sheira. "Most people don't carry around precious gemstones for fun."

Scarlett smirked, "worked it out, have we?"

Sheira nodded. "All you have to do is look at this place to know that you're not just a magpie collecting shiny things, you're a Jewel, the more you have the more powerful you become. I'm also willing to bet that you've got a vault behind that dressing table, there's drag marks on the floor from the door swinging open. That's why that jewellery store was picked clean, it wasn't thieves, it was the owner paying for a ticket."

Scarlett clapped her manicured hands in delight. "Well done, bravo! I must congratulate you on your skills of observation. Yes, I am a Jewel, and the power I receive from my gems is what powers the train so in a way you have to pay for the fuel."

"Most people don't have that sort of stuff," I pointed out.

"They find a way," Scarlett said with a shrug, "I mean, take a look at my latest additions to my collection." She glided over to dark wooden table with diamonds encrusted into the top, the surface was covered in priceless jewelry and glittering gems. "This emerald was in the families possession for over four hundred years and was worn by Anne Boleyn on her wedding day, and the day she lost her head. This string of Russian diamonds belonged to one of the princesses and was claimed by a farmer during the fall of the Tsars. And this block of amethyst was part of the British Museums collection, until a little friend of mine stole it just for me."

"So that's it, you force them to hand over their family heirlooms, priceless memories and you just take them? And if they can't afford it you drive them to steal for you. That's just evil," I said a cocktail of horror and rage burning in my throat.

Scarlett turned to face me with a look of fury, "I don't make them do anything Johnny, I name a price and they hand it over, it's just business."

"I'm afraid I've got to agree with that idiot," said Shadow, "you're preying on the weak and the vulnerable, taking what isn't yours and those that can't pay are left to Molly and her lack of mercy to suffer. The rich survive and the poor die, what do you call that?"

"Population control," Scarlett snapped.

Sheira gasped in disgust beside me, "no one has the right to choose who lives and who dies, that just makes you a monster."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shadow's head dip slightly. That's what he'd been doing these past few months, exercising his own brand of justice onto the Army, not choosing who'd live but simply slaughtering them all just because they wore those black leathers. I couldn't claim to know what was going on in his head but even if he had been forced to go through Hell under the Army and their orders it didn't exempt him from murder. Maybe he knew that too.

Scarlett waved a hand dismissively, "whatever. Payment is payment and it's something you can't offer me but luckily for you I, the great and merciful Scarlett–"

"Referring to yourself in the first person," Shadow smirked, "that's not weird at all."

"Shall offer you a way to earn your payment," she continued stiffly. She turned around, removed her gown which caused an uncomfortable squeak to emanate from all three of us, and stepped behind a folding screen to finally put some clothes on.

We all exchanged a glance before Sheira said cautiously, "what do you want us to do."

I couldn't see Scarlett's face, but I could only presume she was grinning. "Well, there is something I've had my eye on for quite some time now, a gemstone that lies in the hands of someone who could never fully appreciate it." She stepped out, now fully dressed in a low-cut pink crop top, very tight ripped jeans and knee-high white boots, with a flourish and clasped her hands together ad gazed dreamily into thin air. "The Vulcan Star," she crooned.

I heard Shadow say "What?" under his breath, and from Sheira's face she didn't have the foggiest idea what the hell that was. I shrugged and asked, "what's the Vulcan Star?"

"The Vulcan Star is a gem like no other. Its not a ruby or a diamond but it is from our world, just not from the road we walk down."

"Any chance you could stop speaking in riddles?"

She ignored me. "My old friend has had it in their possession for far too long, I spent years trying to reclaim it myself but after a while I realised that I could simply have willing volunteers go and get it for me."

"You force them," Sheira muttered.

"I give them an ultimatum which instantly changes their tune."

"And that's what you're offering us," said Shadow, "go get it and we get a free ticket?"

"Exactly, all three of you get safe passage to the north."

"And what if we refuse?" Sheira asked carefully.

Scarlett turned to us with a devilish and incredibly unsettling glimmer in her eyes. "You get thrown off the train of course."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"Oh, we'll be moving at top speed and you'll be going off the front, so you'll be sucked under the wheels. Some people do get lucky and simply get decapitated or sliced in half, but others aren't so fortunate. Sometimes the injuries aren't fatal, not automatically anyway, but loosing at least one limb and then bleeding to death by the sides of the tracks will still be excruciatingly painful."

"Its also very fun to watch. We send a tracker to make sure that they're dead. We also watch them in their final moments, crying out for help and praying for death, it's pathetic, but very entertaining."

"Shut it Weaselton," I snapped at the ferret boy Miles.

His face turned as red as a beetroot, as his whole body trembled in rage. But before he could put that long hunting knife into the base of my neck, Scarlett stepped forwards and placed a hand on his.

"Relax Miles, there's no need to go to extremes yet, let's hear their answer first. So, tell me, what's it going to be? Go get my gem for me or get off this train a little faster than you would like?"

All three of us exchanged a glance and then sighed. There wasn't really an option here and she knew that, so yet again we were being diverged from our mission. I'm beginning to hate these tedious side quests.

"Its not like we have much of a choice," Shadow growled.

That was good enough for Scarlett as she squealed like a little girl and clapped her hands n delight. "Yay! I'm so glad we could come to an agreement, cleaning up after the objectors is a messy and unnecessary process. We'll be reaching your drop-off point in an hour or so, in the meantime you can get your gear and get ready. Its going to be a long day."

***

"Well this sucks," I muttered miserably as the blazing sun persisted in its attempt to peel the skin away from my neck.

"Ditto," I heard Sheira say from behind her map. Shadow grunted in agreement from behind Sheira's shoulder. A dark umbrella was hovering over their heads, bobbing along in the gentle breeze.

The map she was carrying had been one of the three things given to us by Scarlett after she waved us off from the train after it stopped for some reason I didn't care about. A large X marked the place where we were trekking to which was about a half an hours slog through baked fields and Sahara like valleys, which in hindsight wasn't all that long, but we only had three hours to get there, get the jewel, and make our way back, no doubt with some unfriendly people on our tails.

Three hours didn't seem like enough in my personal opinion, but Scarlett and her goons assured us that it was enough time as they pressed the map, a box and a strange hourglass filled with green water and told us to get a move on and rather ominously told us to not be late. That foreboding message led me to believe that they were going to leave us behind if we didn't show up, gemstone in hand or not.

I sighed and marched onwards, hands in pockets and my hood pulled up, willing the worst of the heat away from me. If I was sat on the beach or strolling through London in shorts and a t-shirt and an ice cream in one hand then this would be quite a nice day with the cornflower blue sky, the breeze cooling you slightly with every blast, the clouds looking like marshmallows and the sun just a burning ball of white light. Instead of that paradise we were walking through mountains, sweating profusely and the nearest place of refreshment was twenty miles in either direction. Fun, fun, fun!

I jogged slightly to catch up with the other two, which in retrospect wasn't a good idea as all my pores decided to open the flood gates at the start of exercise, so I was now walking side by side with them. "Well, what do you guys think? Is this a good thing or a very, very bad thing that we are going to regret almost instantly."

"I'm voting the latter," Shadow shrugged, "at our current rate I wouldn't be surprised if every old lady on the street wanted to stab us in the back. Also, good thinking with those names back there, might have just saved us a lot of trouble."

"Do you trust her?"

"Not as far as I can throw her."

"Then she doesn't need to know what she doesn't need to know. For all we know she might not be on our side. By the way where the heck did Alicia and Dean come from?"

"It's my middle name," Sheira said with a shrug, "Sheira Alicia Winterton."

"It was the first name that came to my head," Shadow waved a nonchalant hand.

"Supernatural?"

"What?"

"Never mind." I'll make that note, Shadow doesn't understand all pop culture references you freaking nerd.

"Okay... But here's the thing, I don't think she's on anyone's side. I think she's what's known by the Army as a Newt, someone who's in the grey area until something pulls them over to one, like money, protection, or someone you want. Its quite ironic actually, the last Newt I knew was also a blonde bitch."

I leaned back and shared a puzzled look with Sheira, that was also laced with concern and intrigue. It was a very strange looking expression. "Well, whoever sides she's on I think we can all agree that I don't trust her, something about her whole operation feels...off. Somethings not right and I just feel like I'm missing a huge piece that will show us what's really going on," said Sheira

I nodded vigorously. "Because let's be honest here, she's riding around in a train decked to the nines in the Natural History Museum's entire vault, she doesn't need anymore and yet she's travelling round the country picking up poor people. Something doesn't match up because I am willing to bet that she isn't doing this out of the goodness of her heart."

We walked in silence for a bit more in contemplation. Or at least I was. What Sheira was getting at was right, it was like we only had the edges of a puzzle and we were making or way in, but still didn't have the remotest clue what the final image was going to be. Or whether we were going to like it for that matter, I had a feeling we weren't.

I kicked a rock in my path and watched it tumble down the hill, rolling away until it was just a speck of dust at the bottom of a ditch, and then gazed skywards at the cotton candy clouds racing against a cobalt blanket. "You know what I don't get?" I said eventually, "if she wants this jewel so badly, then why doesn't she get it for herself?"

"She has a constant stream of volunteers, why waste her own men when she can simply force her prisoners to go get this so-called Vulcan Star for her," said Shadow.

"Speaking of, do you two actually know what a Vulcan Star is?"

"Nope." The two spoke simultaneously in a way that was always going to be slightly creepy.

"I had a theory that might be the case," I sighed.

When Scarlett had started going on about her favourite new treasure after we had agreed to go on this side-quest, the two of them had shared a look that said, 'What the Hell is the crazy chick talking about?' but had both shrugged it off when we got our stuff back. But here's the thing, maybe Sheira wouldn't know what she was talking about but as for Shadow? The guy had his own personal jewel collection the size of my flat and yet he had never heard of it. Something weird was going on.

"Here's the thing," I tuned back into the conversation Shadow and Sheira were having, "there can only be two options why none of us, well besides you obviously Kid, don't know about it. Either it's a gemstone that has never been seen before or, and this is the far more likely option, she's got the name wrong."

"Exactly!" Sheira agreed, "I've heard of other names attached to Vulcan like the Hephaestus Irons, but I don't think she'd go after a few burning hot lumps of un-melting metal."

"That sounds epic."

Shadow shrugged. "There's something else it could be, but its officially counted as lost so its probably not it... maybe just use gloves to pick whatever this thing is up, or a very long pair of tongs."

"That doesn't sound epic...okay kind of. But if meat melting is what you're insinuating, then I'll stay clear."

"I never want to hear the phrase 'meat melting' ever again."

Sheira wrinkled her nose in disgust in front of us. "Okay, first of all, ew. Second of all there's something I kind of want to point out before we do this stupid thing. I think we kind of all know about it and no one wants to bring it up."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"You should because here's the thing, Scarlett has clearly sent other people off to get the stone for her, but she doesn't have it yet so–"

"Don't say it..." I begged.

"So, where the hell are they?"

There was a crippling groan from Shadow and I as the elephant in the room came and smacked us over the head. It was something we'd both noticed but had chosen to ignore as at this point we knew full well that if we just acknowledged the fact that we were walking into certain death it would prepare us for the surprise when we were inevitably chased down a road with something with lots of teeth in hot pursuit.

"Maybe they just changed their mind and ran for it?" I suggested.

"Maybe they're all dead."

"Optimist," I gestured to myself, "pessimist," I gestured to Shadow. "Spot the difference."

He rolled his eyes in his classic way. "I'm only saying that because you're literally about to step on a skull."

I looked down, saw the bleached white cranium that used to be attached to someone's body when they were, you know, still alive, and let out a hearty scream before darting behind Sheira at the other end of our little formation. I'd seen real skeletons before in like museums and stuff, but never just lying by the side of a path with birds picking away at the carrion and tattered rags lying limply against the bone. It really set the atmosphere from 'this is going to be tough' to 'we're all going to die'.

"Well that's horrifying."

"Count it as a warning," Sheira said gravely, "we're walking into unfriendly territory, this isn't going to be easy."

"When has it ever?"

Sheira smiled at my answer. "Let's make it seem easy then," she grinned.

And with that we walked the final few minutes in silence, hoping the last paces to crest the hill that obscured our goal. The giant black X was directly in front of us and while at first it seemed that there was nothing there, I knew better by now and took a few more cautious steps forwards through a broken fence. The same veil that had hidden Ashwood Dale from the rest of the world lifted with a ripple and revealed the building that had our target safely secluded within its walls

And of course, it was instantly clear that any chance of this being "Easy" had gone flying out of the window on a home run swing. All three of us gasped upon taking in what was in front of us and a millisecond later the realisation of what we were about to do flooded our minds, which was quickly followed by how we were almost certainly screwed. This was not, under any circumstances, going to be fun.