Clockwork Twist : Missing (26 page)

“Sweetheart, tell me you have a brilliant plan,” Skye said to Jonas as she watched the dragons continue to advance behind them.

“Do you feel strong enough to take the controls?” Jonas said, staring forward as the huge, crescent of glowing daylight-blue and night-blackened Earth loomed larger and larger.

“Keep treating me like a delicate little flower and I’ll knock you flat,” Skye grumbled.

“You stopped breathing!” Jonas snapped at her, his frustration taking hold. “I just want to know if you’re all right. Because if we hit the atmosphere this directly, we’ll be killed.”

“Oh,” Skye muttered sheepishly. “Yeah, I’m fine. How do any of these work?” she asked, gesturing to the array of controls before her.

“Watch that gauge,” Jonas said, pointing to a needle quivering behind glass. “Hold that lever,” he said, pointing again, “and that one, too. This one adjusts the pitch, and the other the roll. Keep us from spinning and watch that gauge. Keep the needle on forty degrees.”

“Should I ask how you know all this?” Skye asked, already attempting to do as he said.

“They’re almost on us,” Jonas said, watching the dragons again. “Just try not to kill us, and I’ll try to keep them away.”

“Aye, aye, Captain Grumpy Butt,” Skye said with conviction.

Jonas blinked a few times and seemed to pause again. Twist watched him push his annoyance away before he turned his attention back to the dragons. As he watched them come closer—still not nearly within reach but closing fast—Twist saw his vision shift back to what was left of the ship. Some of the dragons had remained behind to push the disjointed pieces back together. Twist felt Jonas’s excitement sparkle at the edges of his awareness as inspiration struck.

Twist watched Jonas’s vision dive into the section of the ship that held the huge engine room, which was of a confusing design and unlike anything Twist had ever seen. He watched as the machines sprang to life as if of their own accord. Valves opened, latches slammed shut, and the whole section of the ship began to move slowly away from the Earth. Twist somehow understood that its speed would begin to pick up steadily in a matter of moments. The dragons near it rushed to stop it, but Twist guessed that they wouldn’t be able to easily.

Jonas’s vision returned to the dragons as the closest one reached out a claw to strike at the glass canopy of the little craft. The shining red beast tumbled back the moment Jonas saw it, rolling into a few of its fellows. Others closed in and Jonas pushed them away, one after another, with the merest glance. The battle intensified as the dragons advanced together, almost too fast for Jonas to acknowledge. Suddenly, the craft began to tremble. In a moment, thin, long, seemingly sourceless flames burst to cover the craft as it dove headlong into the atmosphere. The dragons struggled to follow them in, but their attacks came slower and slower. Skye gave a frightened cry as she struggled to hold the controls against the impossible torrent of air.

The dragons’ attacks slowed further as a few of them seemed to notice that the engine of their ship was leaving without the rest of it, despite all that their fellows did to stop it. With a few last furious but silent howls, they all turned off to catch their ship and left the little craft to its own fate. Jonas instantly turned back to find Skye pulling on the controls with all her strength: one foot up on the console to help her pull the lever backward. Nevertheless, the gauge read nearly thirty-seven degrees instead of forty. Jonas reached out to help her. Twist felt his muscles burn as he and Skye managed to steady the descent together. Twist also noticed that the air around the pod seemed to slow as Jonas looked at the chaotic currents before them and bent his will to the effort of slowing the craft.

It felt like a very long time before they managed to regain control. Jonas and Skye remained silent as they guided the ship down to the wide, blue Pacific Ocean. The sun now reached past Japan to brush at the edge of China and nearly half of the vast continental island of Australia. Jonas’s attention found a deep, dark-blue trench in the ocean that started off the east side of Japan and then reached down into the southern ocean. He leaned closer to Skye to take another control, and guided their ship farther south and also toward the deepest center of the trench.

“Yes, that’s perfect!” Skye said, very close now to his ear. “Twist is in Australia.”

“I know,” Jonas said, smiling slightly as he nudged the delicate control gently into place. “Almost there…” he toned, watching the air again.

Still hurtling down at an amazing speed, the little craft finally slammed into the ocean with a tremendous crash. Skye shrieked and dropped her hold of the controls to throw her arms around Jonas. He held her head against his chest as Twist felt his will hold the glass firm and steady against the sudden pressure of the ocean. After a long moment of nervous tension, the craft finally stopped moving, hanging still in the deep, dark, cold water. Then, it slowly began to rise back to the surface on its own.

Twist felt Jonas’s will loosen as he let out his held breath. Skye pulled away just far enough to look out through the glass, at the strange, shifting world of water around them. A curtain of sliver bubbles rose off of the hot metal, lit only by the soft glow of the electric lights that burned inside some of the gauges and buttons. When she looked back to Jonas, Twist saw her amazement melt into a brilliant, and thrilling glee. Jonas stared back at her silently, while his heart beat quickly in his chest.

“We survived all that?” she asked, clearly astonished.

Jonas opened his mouth to respond, but only a few disordered sounds managed to leave him. Even with his heightened mental ability, something primal was muddying his mind as he looked at Skye’s face from so very near. Skye gave him a fiery smile, which silenced him totally. She then reached up to grab the back of his neck in both hands and pressed a warm and luscious kiss to his lips. Twist felt Jonas melt into her, and he wished that he could have turned his attention away for propriety’s sake. Skye pulled away and took a deep breath before she laughed lightly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jonas Davis,” she said brightly. “I’m very glad you actually exist.”

“Thank you,” Jonas answered with a laugh of his own. “That’s a lovely thing to hear.”

“You know,” Skye said musingly as she toyed with the strap of Jonas’s goggles, which hung forgotten around his neck, “you’re lucky as hell to have a friend as loyal as Twist. He just about lost it, missing you.” Twist wished dearly that he could speak up in his own defense.

“Twist!” Jonas said suddenly, as if just remembering him. “I have to give him back.”

“Give him what back?” Skye asked.

“What color are my eyes?” Jonas asked her, looking into hers as her life and memories wafted gently behind them.

“A bluish kind of teal…” she said slowly. “Don’t you know your own eye color?”

“They’re supposed to be green,” he said, looking away as his attention shifted. “The drug is still affecting me. I have to give Twist back. It might be dangerous to stay like this for too long.” He looked back to her. “I might, sort of, pass out for a little bit. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine when I wake up.”

“Wait, what?” she asked, looking at him in confusion.

“Just don’t look me in the eye when I wake up again,” he said.

As she looked back at him, still obviously confused, Jonas paused once again as if to take in her image. He gave a sigh and then closed his eyes. Twist felt Jonas’s attention wander about in his mind, as if searching for something. Then, suddenly, Twist felt his own mind move, rushing quickly away from Jonas and Skye.

“I think he’s coming around!” a voice said somewhere in the darkness that surrounded Twist’s thoughts. “Twist? Dear, can you hear me?”

Twist was slightly surprised to find that his eyes opened when he asked them to. There was pale, ruddy light around him and a blurry face hanging above him. He blinked as his mind and vision cleared together. He was lying on a sofa in a parlor, as early-morning light brushed the room with gold. Myra’s concerned, shining, copper face was leaning over him.

“It worked!” Twist gasped. He sat up like a shot and wrapped her in his arms. “Oh darling, it worked! He’s on the Earth!” He pulled back sharply. “But he’s in the ocean.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Myra said brightly, smiling at him warmly. “Arabel said the same thing, just a moment ago.” Twist and Myra both turned to look at her.

She was standing near a modest marble fireplace, and Storm and Kima were both standing just behind Myra, watching Twist. Orad sat in a nearby armchair, holding a small device that spilled a soft blue glow over his face. Twist jerked in surprise to find Vane leaning over the armrest of the couch, only a few inches from where Twist’s head had been.

“I just felt Skye fall into the Pacific,” Arabel said, staring intently into the air before her. “She’s in some kind of ship, and it’s floating up toward the surface now.” She looked to Twist with a soft, almost shamed smile. “And Jon is with her. I can see him.”

Twist’s heart nearly broke to hear her words. “You remember him?”

Arabel nodded. “I can’t believe I forgot my own brother,” she muttered.

“I remember him too,” Myra announced brightly to Twist. “Kima said the same,” she added, glancing over her shoulder.

Kima nodded, smiling sadly. “I can’t believe I forgot him, after all you have both done for me.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Twist said with a smile.

“Well, I never forgot him!” Vane added with a raised finger. In his joy, Twist spared Vane a smile as well.

“But we all remembered at the same moment,” Myra said. “How can that be?”

“Of course you all remember him,” Twist said, grinning ear to ear. “Jonas killed Bob.”

“Bob?” Vane asked, cocking his head curiously to one side.

“The dragon that cast the spell,” Twist clarified quickly. “Kali swallowed a bomb herself and then dove down the dragon’s throat before it exploded. I saw the whole thing.”

“Oh, wow!” Storm said excitedly. “I can’t wait for that dream!”

“You’ll love it, I’m sure,” Twist said, almost laughing. “It was quite a daring escape.”

“Wonderful,” Vane toned flatly, standing up with crossed arms and a sullen expression. “The last thing Jonas needs is more to boast about.”

“Yes, sir,” Orad said, looking to the device in his hand, “it’s confirmed.”

“
Tell them to get the coach ready
,” the device said with Aden’s voice. “
I’ll see that the coast guard ignores the spacecraft’s landing, but there’s no time to lose.
”

“What’s happening now?” Twist asked Myra as Orad confirmed his orders.

“Aden is arranging to go and get them,” she answered. Orad nodded and switched off the light with the flick of his thumb. He placed the device down on the coffee table and got to his feet.

“You’ll be able to head to the coast in a few minutes,” he said to Twist. “Aden said that you should catch a ship from there. Hopefully, you can get to your friends before anyone else does. I want that pod,” he added with a greedy smile as he left the room.

“We’ve already decided to go together,” Arabel said to Twist with a glance to the others. “Twist, are you feeling up to coming along?” she asked, smiling softly to him.

“Nothing in the world could keep me here,” Twist said, getting to his feet.

Myra moved instantly to help him, but Twist was pleasantly surprised to find no tension or stiffness in his limbs at all. Rather than most of the other times he’d suddenly lost consciousness, his mind was now perfectly clear. In moments, Twist and the others were all climbing aboard the large, rumbling, engine-driven coach once again. Monti took the wheel and the strange convenience set off into the morning light. Myra held Twist’s hand, spilling a thrilling delight of her own into his excited emotions. After so very long apart, he was finally on his way to see Jonas again.

“Hey, Twist,” Arabel said, sitting beside him on one of the long, padded benches of the coach. He looked at her to find a sheepish look on her face. “I just wanted to say…I’m sorry,” she said, forcing the words out in earnest over the roar of the engine. “I would have lost my brother forever, if it wasn’t for you. And I was awful to you the entire time. Thank you for not listening to me. He’s very lucky to have you as his friend.”

Twist could hardly contain his joy in the face of such vindication. “Arabel, you are most welcome,” he said. “I’m only glad that he’s back on Earth, and that my sanity is no longer in question.” Twist felt Myra’s pride burn brilliantly through her touch as she watched them.

“Thanks, Twist,” Arabel said, seeming to relax as she smiled. “Oh, and Aden said that you’ve brought a very serious threat to his attention through this whole business. Now that he knows dragons can steal people so easily, he’s worried that they’ve done it before. There’s really no telling how many people they have stolen from our collective memory. But now that Aden knows that there’s a problem, he said that the Rooks have a fighting chance. They’re going to put a stop to it.”

“I’m very glad to hear that,” Twist said earnestly.

“You may have saved more than just Jonas,” Myra added, drawing Twist’s attention. “Aden said that he’s once again in your debt,” she said with glowing pride. “Storm’s too.”

“What about me?” Storm called, turning back to look at her with a smile.

“You’re glorious!” Twist yelled to him on the edge of a laugh. “Without your help, Aden never would have listened to me.”

Storm’s face filled with a proud smile. “What else are sidekicks for?”

“Sidekick?” Twist asked, frowning.

“You and Jonas are the daring heroes, and I’m the loveable sidekick,” Storm explained.

“Oh, I can see that…” Myra said thoughtfully.

Twist looked to her uncertainly. Storm laughed, turning back to watch as the coach thundered quickly over the red land and drew them closer to the coast. Though it wasn’t long at all, it felt like forever to Twist before they finally made it back to Melbourne. They all dismounted the coach and hurried to the docks in search of the quickest way out into the sea.

The docks were nestled in along both sides of the sprawling mouth of a river, while a few small islands lay farther out, still wrapped snug in the morning mist. Much like the other ports that Twist had seen in his travels, these were filled with ships from all over the world. He saw huge steamships, small sailing crafts, passenger liners, freight ships, and quite a few fishing boats that were already bringing in the day’s catch.

As speed was a bit of a concern, Monti urged Twist and his companions toward the smaller private ships and yachts. Apparently, the Rooks kept no seafaring craft of their own at this dock, as most of their traveling was done by air. Instead, they would have to hire the fastest craft they could find. They gathered together on an open pier and began to discuss their options, when Twist heard a familiar voice call out in a jovial tone.

“Heavens above!” he gasped, staring after the source of the sound. “That’s Alistair, isn’t it?” he asked the others, pointing.

“Is it?” Myra asked, peering after his indication.

“Who’s Alistair?” Storm asked.

Twist smiled as he saw his acquaintance—talking happily with the same two friends Twist had met on the
Aeolus—
now on the bow of a small but fashionably quick-looking fishing boat that appeared to be just about ready to leave. Sailors stoked the steam engine that was buried in the back of the craft, while Alistair and his friends sat lounging at the front.

“Hang on,” Twist said, hurrying closer. He walked up to the side of the ship—floating as it did along the pier—to where he could just see Alistair over the edge of the railing around the bow. “Hello Alistair!” he called as loudly as his naturally soft voice would allow. Alistair’s eyes caught him.

“Ollie, old boy!” he called back, coming to lean over the railing toward Twist. “What the devil are you doing here?”

“Wombat hunting, naturally,” Twist responded brightly. Alistair laughed, giving Twist a knowing look. “Where are you off to?” Twist asked, glancing over the boat.

“Oh, well, the lads and I are just out for a spot of fishing. We’ve hired this little darling for the day.” He paused as a bright smile took up his face. “Say, would you like to join us?”

“Actually,” Twist said, smiling back as his plan fell easily into place, “did you happen to see a comet fall into the ocean not long ago?”

“You know, I did,” Alistair said, nodding. “It was terribly exciting. Jeff nearly fainted from the shock of it,” he added with a laugh.

“Here now, I did not!” Jeffery snapped; he and Neil had come to appear at Alistair’s side.

“Well, you see,” Twist said quickly, “that wasn’t just some lump of rock. It was a spaceship that my friends were using to escape from a pack of dragons.” Twist noticed that his companions had also come to join him on the pier and were listening quietly.

“Fantastic,” Alistair responded with a smile and a shake of his head. “That was a good one, Ollie.”

“But, that ship can’t fly on its own,” Twist went on. “I need to go and get my friends before they get into any more trouble.”

“Right, right, of course,” Alistair said with a nod.

“And you owe me a favor,” Twist added with a pleasant smile.

Alistair’s smile faded slightly. “Hold on now. Don’t tell me there was any truth hiding in all of that delightful nonsense you just said.”

“I need a boat to take me to a specific spot in the ocean so that I can rescue my friends,” Twist said measuredly. “You have a ship, and you owe me a favor. Please tell me which part is confusing you, and I’ll gladly try to clear it up,” he added brightly. Vane began to laugh quietly under his breath. Alistair looked at him carefully.

“Al…does that bloke have a tail?” Neil asked Alistair softly.

“Of course I have a tail,” Vane said sharply. “I’m a fox.”

“Am I going a bit funny, or does that girl appear to be made of metal?” Jeffrey asked Alistair. Myra giggled behind a copper hand.

“Right, Ollie, what’s going on?” Alistair asked, appearing genuinely confused.

“Are you going to honor your debt or not, Alistair?” Twist asked. “You can still go fishing, of course. I just need to pick up my friends.”

“And where are these friends of yours, exactly?” Alistair asked.

Twist looked to Arabel.

“That way,” she said instantly, pointing out to sea. “They’re on the surface, about two hours out at fifty knots. The current is dragging them south.”

“Right…” Alistair said, blinking a few times. Twist waited patiently, with a light smile on his face. “Well, I’ll not let it be said that Alistair Harding is a man who can’t pay his debts,” he said with tentative certainty. “You’re welcome aboard, Oliver. You and your…companions.”

“Thank you,” Twist said with a short bow. “Consider your reputation untarnished.”

Alistair gave a laugh that didn’t quite take the uncertainty from his eyes.