Clockwork Twist : Waking (12 page)

“Then I should get to work,” Twist said with a heavy breath.

Twist decided to start with her hands.  With his candle burning beside him, he carefully took the broken clockwork hand in his own.  The moment his fingers touched the tarnished copper, his mind flooded with hundreds of tiny fractures, loose gears, broken springs, and many other points of damage.  For a moment he only waited, letting the information settle in his mind and fall into order.  Unlike other clocks and watches that he'd repaired before, memories started to echo at the edges of his vision as well.  He saw the hand clapping happily, holding a cup of tea, petting a beautiful bird with brilliant green feathers, and running through soft silks.  Twist pushed those images away and focused on what needed fixing.

He set to work by first removing the damaged pieces and then carefully repairing the outer case of the hand.  As he worked, Aazzi sat silently near him on one of the stairs, her eyes closed and her form still.  When a distant sound echoed in the shadows or the air changed temperature outside of the candlelight, she would look up and mutter something in a language Twist couldn't recognize.  Finally, curiosity took hold.

“Aazzi,” Twist said softly in the echoing quiet, “what are you doing?”

Aazzi smiled slightly. “The candle is helping,” she said, “but I'm afraid it's not enough.  I can feel a lot of anger on the air.”

“What am I doing to anger her?” Twist asked, looking up to her quickly.

“You're meddling, I guess,” Aazzi said with a shrug.

“But I'm trying to help,” Twist said, frowning bitterly into the shadows.

“Maybe she can't see us clearly,” Aazzi said. “She may be trapped in her memories and unable to see our reality.”

Twist gave a sigh. “I wish I could just explain.”

“Don't worry, little Twist.  I'll watch out for you and keep the ghost at bay.”

Twist wasn't sure about this new pet name, but he did his best to ignore it for the sake of the added protection.  By the time night fell completely on the chilly, crumbling palace, Twist had fully reconstructed the clockwork hand in all its minute and intricate detail.  The copper, silver, and fine pale gold now gleamed in the candlelight, inside and out.  When Twist did one last test of the finger articulation, there were no problems with the mechanism to hold back the flood of images and flashing sparks of disembodied emotion.

Twist lost himself for a long, timeless moment, drowning in a sea of tiny sensory memories that didn't belong to him.  There was no continuity, no sense, and nothing strong enough to shock him or show him a way out.  After what could have been years or an instant, an electric murmur grew loud enough to hear.  Twist clung to it instantly, pulling hard to drag his attention closer.

“Twist?” Jonas asked, kneeling close beside him, looking at him curiously with uncovered eyes.

With a sharp breath, Twist threw his eyes open and looked to Jonas quickly.  Jonas reeled back onto his feet, turning away before their eyes could meet.

“Watch it!” Jonas snapped.

“I'm sorry,” Twist said on his still ragged breath, pulling his eyes away.  He could still feel the memories trying to pull him back in.  He put the clockwork hand carefully down and got to his feet, backing away.  The pull dissipated instantly, leaving only the buzz of Jonas's presence behind at the base of Twist's neck.

“Are you all right?” Aazzi asked, watching him from her seat on the stair.

“You were glowing again,” Jonas said, looking at him with his goggles back on.

“I was just—” Twist began, gesturing to the clockwork girl.  He paused and looked to Jonas. “Wait, what?”

“You know,” Jonas said with a shrug. “You were glowing.  Like you do whenever you get a vision off of something.  But you weren't moving at all.  I thought you might be stuck.”

“What do you mean I was glowing?” Twist asked.

“I've never seen him glow,” Aazzi said with a frown.

“Sure you have,” Jonas said to Aazzi. “Whenever he uses his Sight.  His skin glows a little.”  Aazzi and Twist shared a confused glance.

“What color?” Twist asked slowly.

“Blue or purple mostly,” Jonas said, sounding a little tired of this charade. “But it changes.”

“So, it's like when your eyes glow, then,” Twist said.

“Jonas's eyes never glow, either,” Aazzi said flatly. “What are you two on about?”

Twist and Jonas looked to each other, despite Jonas's goggles, each one coming to the same conclusion.

“Same as the buzz then,” Twist said, nodding.

“That's just bloody strange,” Jonas decided.

“Well, thank you anyway, Jonas,” Twist said, looking to the clockwork girl.  Her right hand and wrist were now complete and cleaned, gleaming brightly in the candlelight, while the rest of her still lay in ruins. “I did get sort of stuck.”

“You'd best be careful of that,” Jonas said with a sigh. “But you haven't eaten in a very long time,” he said, changing his tone. “Join me for dinner?”

“That's not a bad idea,” Aazzi said, stooping to extinguish the candle with moistened fingertips. “I'm hungry too,” she added, stepping close behind Jonas silently.

“I've gone anemic!” Jonas said quickly, spinning and taking three steps away from her. “It just started after I left.  I'd taste just terrible, I'm sure.”

“Such a poor liar,” Aazzi said, shaking her head with a wicked smile.

“Can we go now?” Jonas asked Twist, already stepping closer to the door as he kept his covered eyes trained on Aazzi intently.

“Certainly,” Twist said, watching Aazzi as well as he followed after Jonas.

Aazzi laughed lightly at the both of them and walked easily past, into the deepening night.  The moment Twist crossed the threshold, out into the chilly air, he felt an enormous weight lift from him.  The haunting emotions that had been peering at him from the shadows inside the hall fell so quiet on his senses that he wasn't sure he could feel them at all anymore.  There was only the briefest echo of past memory in the shadows of the overgrown garden, and no anger or fear in the still night air.

“I'll bet you're glad to be out of that place for a moment,” Jonas said, giving the black doorway behind them a disapproving glance.

“I hadn't realized how oppressive it was,” Twist said softly, shivering slightly against the chill.  Ahead of them, Aazzi stepped easily into the darkened sitting room on her way to the ship. “Jonas, can I ask you something?” Twist asked, slowing his steps.

“Something about the vampire we live with?” Jonas asked, keeping his voice low.

“I have yet to see her … feed,” Twist said carefully.

“You're not likely to see it,” Jonas said. “She fancies herself above all that.”

“But she needs to eat, doesn't she?” Twist asked, coming to a stop at the edge of the garden. “Or can she live on food like we can?”

“Have you seen her drinking wine?”

“Yes, many times,” Twist answered. “She seems to have it with every meal.”

“It's not wine.”

“Oh...” Twist toned.

“She keeps her own supply with her, on the airship,” Jonas explained. “I don't know where she gets it, or from what creatures, but she always has it.”

“That's highly disturbing.”

“Oh yes,” Jonas said with a nod and a smile. “Shall we talk of nicer things now?” he asked, gesturing for them to continue on.

“What do you have in mind?” Twist asked, walking with him again.

“Something that doesn't have to do with grotesqueries or death,” Jonas said brightly.

The two boarded the ship in brighter spirits and found the others just finishing with their own meals in the main common room of the airship.  Upon seeing Jonas, many of them readied to leave.  Arabel and Capt. Davis said nothing as they left the room, while Zayle remained, seemingly only halfway finished with his dessert.  Dr. Rodés excused himself shortly afterward, leaving Twist, Jonas, and Zayle alone with the last of the meal left out on the table.

Jonas didn't appear at all distressed with the coldness of his reception, lazily taking a seat and immediately helping himself to the leftovers.  Twist followed his example and poured them each a cup of still warm tea.

“I'm telling you, Twist,” Jonas continued from the previous conversation, “it's the absolute best place for surfing.”

“Surfing?” Twist asked as he reached for a roll. “What's that?”

“Surfing!” Jonas said with a bright smile. “Come on, it's the best sport on earth!  Well, unless you count swallow racing.  But seriously, don't tell me you've never even heard of it.”

“This is the first time he's been out of London,” Zayle said to his mulberry pie.

“Wait, you've never been anywhere with warm water?” Jonas asked Twist gravely from behind his black lens goggles.

“Why is it such a shock to all of you that I haven't traveled?” Twist asked back. “There are plenty of people around the world who never stray beyond their own neighborhoods.  It's perfectly natural.”

“But it's so...” Jonas paused, grasping silently at adjectives.

“Weird?” Zayle offered. “Boring?  Soul dissolving?”

“Yes, exactly!” Jonas said. “I've spent my whole life traveling.  I can hardly imagine what it would be like to live in just one place,” he said, sounding wistful.

“Isn't that exactly what you want?” Zayle asked him.

“Not at all,” Jonas said. “I'm not looking for a house or a piece of land.  I just want to be able to be alone when I want to be.”  Zayle made a slightly bitter face and returned his attention to his pie.

“You want to be alone?” Twist asked Jonas. “But you're the most social person I've ever met.” Zayle gave a sudden, sharp laugh.

“Social?  Jonas?” Zayle asked Twist with an astonished expression.

“He's spends an awful lot of time with me,” Twist said. “You seek me out whenever I'm not with you,” he added to Jonas.

“Really?” Zayle asked Jonas.

“Well he's a reasonable human being,” Jonas said quickly to Zayle.

“And no one else on this ship is reasonable?” Zayle asked.

“Not in my experience,” Jonas said with a falsely even tone, staring sightless at Zayle.  Zayle looked back at him bitterly.

“Oh dear,” Twist said with a heavy sigh, drawing their attention. “I don't even like people, but you'd still rather spend your time with me than anyone else on the ship,” he said sympathetically to Jonas. “That's very sad.”

“You see?' Jonas said to Zayle, gesturing to Twist. “This man gets me.”

“Yes, you're a wonderful match,” Zayle said flatly. “You're both bloody strange.”

Twist gave a shrug, having been called far worse in his past, while Jonas puffed slightly with a show of pride.  Zayle shook his head and got up from his now empty dessert plate.

“I'm going to go talk to the engine,” Zayle said as he headed for the door.

After a pleasant dinner together, Twist and Jonas parted to retire for the night.  Twist found himself gazing out the windows in his cabin, watching as the stars turned slowly through the blackest night sky he had ever seen.  Here in the mountains of Nepal, so far from any city lights and so close to the sky itself, there were so many brilliantly bright stars that Twist couldn't find a single familiar constellation.  The sky was filled to the bursting with light, even on this moonless night, that every familiar point was surrounded and confused beyond all recognition, and bathed in the full light of the galaxy around them.

Twist opened his pocket watch and set it on the windowsill near him.  Its familiar heartbeat ticked gently in the quiet, calling out now distant memories of his home.  London felt like a universe away.  Twist had been through so much just to get here, and had traveled so far in such a short amount of time that even the thought of home was starting to feel foreign.  A new fear crept slowly into the back of his mind.  It was a thought that he had never imagined, and for a long while he was too confused by it to recognize it at all.

What if he didn't want to go home at the end of this journey?  What would he do if he grew and changed too much out here, in the rest of the world, to feel comfortable in London again?  The unexpectedness of the fear itself put him more on edge than anything else.