Clockwork Twist : Waking (30 page)

~ oOo ~

Congratulations!

You have just finished the very first book in the Clockwork Twist series, you intrepid darling, you.  Thank you for joining Twist and I on his first foray into the wide world!  It's been simply marvelous to have you along.  Just remember, though, this is only the beginning.  Read on below to get a glimpse of the next volume in this series,
Clockwork Twist, Book Two : Trick
…

Bonus Content

Myra danced in the middle of the busy bazaar, surrounded by sprightly small children, in the clustered back streets of Bombay.  The copper plates of her skin glinted in the sunlight and thickly scented air.  The bright purple and gold sari that Twist had bought her twirled around her dancing form like sweet smoke.  As Twist watched her, the sight of her blissful copper smile stole all his other cares away, and her bright childlike laughs tingled on his skin.  He took another sip of his warm, creamy chai and savored the multitude of delights before him.

“Twist?” Jonas asked with an insistent tone, as if he had been repeating himself.

“Yes?” Twist asked, looking to him.  Jonas stood beside him at the side of the bazaar with his own small cup of chai.  Against the dark amber and chocolate tones of the crowded human landscape around them, Jonas's pale skin, short golden hair, and sharp sea green eyes stood out nearly as much as Myra's clockwork form.  The cut of his sturdy but worn, European attire—brown trousers and jacket, white cotton shirt, and leather boots—didn't help.

“You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?” Jonas asked with an accusing glare.  His eyes shifted from green to a chilly gray as Twist watched.

“No, no, I was listening,” Twist lied.

“What did I say, then?”

“I think you're absolutely right,” Twist said, nodding earnestly. “Whatever you said.”

“Uh huh.” Jonas glanced at Myra.  Two children were holding her copper hands now, spinning around her in time to their own song. “So, I can get you to agree to anything while you're gazing blissfully at your clockwork girlfriend.  Good to know.”

“She's hardly my girlfriend,” Twist snapped.

“Right.”

“Now see here,” Twist said, pointing a finger at Jonas's smug certainty.

“Can you focus for a moment?” Jonas asked, finally in possession of Twist's full attention. “Howell said he's taking the
Vimana
off to Perth from here.  But I just know we should head to America with Myra.  California still has lots of gold just lying around, and a population that's in love with novelty.  There's no money in Australia these days.  It's too new.”

“So, what do you want to do?” Twist asked reluctantly.  He glanced back at Myra, wishing he could neglect the rest of his life—the simple fact that he was half way around the world from his home, without even the slightest idea where he might find himself tomorrow—just for a few moments more.  She tilted her shining body into an elegant arc and swung through the children's melody as carelessly graceful as a willow in a summer breeze.

“Like I said,” Jonas went on, “we can probably catch a trading ship as far as Japan.  From there, I know people in Osaka who could get us to California.”

“Fine.”  Twist took another sip of his tea.  In the back of his mind he tried to remember if California was still full of ruffians and bandits, or if the place had been civilized yet.

“But,” Jonas continued, “if Arabel or Howell find out that we're leaving the ship, they'll try to stop us and that will be difficult and annoying.  So, we need to pretend that we're staying on board, gather our things, and disappear quietly.  Night would be best.”

“You want to run away?”

“Of course.  I hate my family.  You know that.”

“Well yes, but...” Twist faltered.  He'd always heard that families stayed together, no matter how much they hated each other.  They always did in novels, anyway.

“Life is too short to suffer fools,” Jonas said, shaking his head.

Twist gave a shrug. “Your family, your choice, I suppose.”

Looking to Myra again, Twist gave a subtle sigh.  She loved the idea of traveling around the world with Jonas and Twist, dancing for audiences while collecting a steady income from ticket sales.  Twist couldn't bear to disappoint her.  Of course, he knew that he would be entirely out of his depth without Jonas's help.  Though the idea of relying on anyone but himself was foreign and uncomfortable to Twist, he found that he now had no choice but to accept that he was at the mercy of Jonas's whim.  He could only hope that he'd be able to see London again, someday.

“Then we should head back now,” Jonas said before he finished the last of his chai. “We can catch dinner and then turn in early, say we're tired or something.  Then we can sneak out just after midnight.”

“All right,” Twist said with another sigh.

He finished his chai as well and then walked closer to Myra in the pool of colorful, whirling, children.  Looking now, he saw that a large number of shoppers had gathered to watch her as well, standing to the side of the open center of the bazaar.  Their faces showed shifting shades of curiosity, wonder and enchantment as they watched Myra's magical movements.  Twist couldn't help but feel a tiny jolt of pride as he called out to her.

“Myra, we should go,” he said as loudly as his small voice would allow over the children's song and laughter.  He caught her eye and beckoned with a hand.

Myra paused in mid-turn to look at him, her purple sari and long, maroon, wire hair finishing the swirl exquisitely, while her blue jewel eyes glinted brightly in her copper smile.  Twist's breath caught in the face of such a beautiful and careless display.  When she rushed to him and took both of his hands in hers, he was too stunned to realize that she was pulling him into her dance.  At her touch, his Sight flashed to life, filling his mind to the brim with all of her innocent and heady joy.

“Dance with me,” she said, her voice ringing as bright as a bell.

She held tightly to his hands and swung him around in the midst of the children.  His feet complied, as if on their own, while his mind whirled even faster with the sudden and startlingly powerful high of her emotions.  Shivers ran down his spine as she pulled closer, wrapping her slender arms around his neck as the twirl came to a stop.  Twist's arms curled around her back, while he stood helpless in her joy, watching her smile from so very near.  There was sound, scent, and color everywhere around them, but for a moment Twist saw only her.

Then, she turned and spoke to the children around them.  At first, Twist thought that there was something wrong with his hearing because he couldn't make sense of a single word.  Then, he realized that she wasn't speaking English.  Some of the children made unhappy, pouting faces, but others only waved and turned away.  Myra waved back to them, and then threaded her arm around Twist's and led him out of the crowd.

“I like India,” she said, as if the words tasted sweet on her silver tongue. “Where are we going next, my dear?”  she asked, smiling excitedly.  It took a moment for Twist to form an answer.

“Japan,” he said finally. “Jonas wants to go to Japan.”

“Oh!” Myra gasped, looking to Jonas.  Twist was somewhat surprised to find him suddenly standing before them, and that Twist and Myra seemed to have arrived at the edge of the bazaar. “I'd like to see Japan,” she said. “I've heard very nice stories about it.  They say the Sun lives there.”

“It's a fun place,” Jonas said with a nod.  He looked to Twist with a knowing smile. “Are you all right?”

Twist frowned at him, confused.  He couldn't find a single reason for anything in the world to be wrong.  Myra glanced to him, then back to Jonas with apparently the same thought.

“Myra, could you just let go of him for a second?” Jonas asked her pleasantly.

“Oh...” Myra muttered, removing her hands from Twist.

Twist watched curiously as she did this, at a total loss of why she ever would.  The instant the contact was broken, however, the sun-bright joy and heady content vanished from his mind as a wave of fear, confusion, and cold unease washed over him.  The last few moments re-played in his mind, in a wholly new light: Myra had swept him into the middle of a crowd.  He'd been a breath away from touching the children; and suffering stabbing, burning visions of pain and fear from each one of them.

A shuddering gasp escaped him as his body trembled for an instant in an effort to process the violent change in his emotions.  All of the new fright poured through his blood as his heartbeat jumped into very high speed.

“Yeah...” Jonas muttered apologetically.

“Twist?” Myra asked, her expression suddenly concerned. “Darling, are you all right?” She reached out a hand to his shoulder.

“Yes, yes, I just...” Twist said, slipping ever so slightly away from her touch.  He took a breath to calm himself as he tried to finish his sentence coherently.

“He's fine,” Jonas said gently to Myra. “Just give him a moment.”

As he spoke, Jonas placed a hand lightly on Twist's arm.  The contact numbed Twist's fears instantly in a thick cloud of chilly, impossibly white fog.  It ebbed away quickly to hang on the horizon of his thoughts, but it washed his fright away with it.  Twist let out a long breath as his heart began to calm down again.  Jonas's hand fell away, and the white chill fell away with it, but this time Twist's own emotions returned to him more gradually.

“Myra, do you remember that he can't bear to touch anyone but you or me?” Jonas asked her.  She nodded, though it was obvious she wasn't following him. “Children count as people,” Jonas offered.

Myra's face snapped into understanding and she turned to Twist. “I'm sorry!” she said in sudden fear. “I keep forgetting to be careful with you...”

“It's fine,” Twist said instantly, offering the best smile he could while his pride struggled to absorb the implications of her statement.  He reached out to take her clockwork hand.  The moment he did, a wave of worry washed over him through his Sight.  But as he smiled reassuringly at her, it ebbed away into calm. “Shall we go?”

Sunlight glinted brightly in the heavily scented air, rising high over Twist's shoulder, prompting him to adjust his black silk top hat so it cast a shadow over his pale, fine featured face.  The well-tailored, black and blue accented coat that a pirate had given him in Hong Kong, was of a light enough fabric to be comfortable even in the warmth of India.  His electrically powered silver and black walking stick made a pleasant click as it struck the ground in time with his steps and made it much easier for him to feel like a gentleman, no matter where he was.

Walking with Myra and Jonas through the semi-European styled, wide, and straight streets of Bombay, Twist finally got his mind into some kind of order.  Although the buildings were of a familiar design to Twist's eyes, with three stories each and a generally square appearance, the shop on the ground floor of each one spilled onto the street under cloth awnings in a seemingly disorganized and highly foreign way.  The innumerable people walking by looked no different from those in the bazaar, and were a constant reminder that he was far from home.

As they walked through the crowded streets, Jonas kept his gaze solidly on the ground, rather than accidentally catch anyone's eyes.  Myra's metal fingers still curled through Twist's, as if forgotten, as they walked and talked together under the occasional shade of palm trees planted along the streets.  Through constant force of will, Twist managed to hold his own thoughts and emotions in the forefront of his mind despite the effects of her touch on his Sight.  Twist was certain that he could learn to stop losing himself in her every time they touched—if he practiced diligently.

The three soon came to the imposing gothic facade of the Victoria Terminus railway station in the center of the city.  The enormous building, so recently finished in honor of Queen Victoria—the Empress of India, as she liked to be called—reminded Twist of drawings that he had seen of French palaces.  There were two huge three-story wings that opening out around a plaza before the central face of the building.  A single gray stone dome rose above the entrance, simply covered with statuary, stained glass, and gargoyles.  The proud figure of an ancient god stood in white stone on its zenith.  Above and behind the station hung the massive cloud of docked airships, all moored along the edges of the top floor ramparts.

Seeing such a sight in the center of a bustling city half way around the world from London, Twist allowed himself a moment of quiet patriotic pride.  Jonas glanced up at the building before he pinned his eyes on the ground again.

“You know,” he said as he took the lead, heading for the airship docks, “all this cocky colonizing is going to turn around and bite England in the rear one day.”

“How?” Twist asked as they walked into the cooler air inside the stone building and began to climb the stairs. “We have the widest sweeping empire the world has ever seen.  The sun never sets on it, after all.”

“Oh really?” Myra asked with great interest. “It's that big?”

“You know what they say about big things falling harder,” Jonas replied.  In the distance, a train whistle echoed off the stone, steel, and glass of the train platforms below them.

“What have you got against your homeland, anyway?” Twist asked sharply.

“My homeland is the sky,” Jonas answered with a smile as they reached the third floor and walked along the crowded open ramparts toward the docked
Vimana
, near the end. “All I ever got from England is my accent and a handful of ancestors.”

The
Vimana
hung in the air beside the docks like a storm cloud.  The large, three-level hull seemed to absorb all the color around it into its gray wood, while the enormous gray balloon above shaded it from the sun.  The lay against the stone ramparts, inviting them back aboard, beside a number of large crates that hadn't yet been loaded.

“Someday,” Twist said to Myra softly, as they came under the shadow of the
Vimana's
balloon and flanking wing-like sails, “he's going to realize that he's just as much an Englishman as I am.  I'm sure it'll give him quite a fright.”  Myra giggled behind a hand, drawing's Jonas's suspicious attention as he reached the gangplank.

“Get back!” a voice hissed to them as a hand covered in black cloth snatched at Jonas's arm.  Aazzi Rodés pulled him behind a tower of large wooden crates to the side of the gangplank, and hurriedly gestured for Twist and Myra to hide as well.

“Ow, ow!”  Jonas winced and pulled at the vampire’s talon-like grip. “What's goin—“

Aazzi spun him around in an alarmingly fast movement and held him tightly from behind with one hand over his mouth and another pinning his arm to his stomach.  His eyes opened wide in shock as she turned her mouth close to his ear.  He let out a muffled sound and struggled to free himself, pulling at her immobile grip with his free hand.

“I'm not going to bite you,” Aazzi spat impatiently on a hushed voice. “Now be quiet.”  She looked to Myra with silver eyes, from the darkness of her shaded face, under the red shawl of silk over her head. “You're in trouble, little one.”

“What?  How?” Twist asked quickly.

“There are Rooks on board, talking to Howell,” Aazzi said.  Jonas reached up with a finger to tap on the hand over his mouth. “Are you going to behave?” Aazzi hissed, turning her voice to his ear.  Jonas's body shuddered visibly and his eyes flinched closed, but he nodded.  The instant Aazzi released him, he moved well out of her reach to stand on the other side of Twist.

“God you're terrifying!” Jonas whispered harshly through clenched teeth.  He rubbed at his neck, where her breath had been.  Aazzi smiled at him slightly. “So, why are we frightened of magpies, then?” he asked her quietly.

“Rooks?  Magpies?” Twist asked. “Why are we talking about birds?”

“Rooks, not magpies,” Aazzi amended quickly to Twist.

“Oh, so it’s just one kind of bird, then,” Twist said, starting to feel his level of annoyance rise quickly.

“Shut up,” Jonas said, holding a silencing finger before Twist's face as he spoke to Aazzi. “So, there are mags on the ship.  What of it?”

“Howell registered a 'life-sized clockwork puppet' as belonging to him, when he brought the British navy to Indonesia to catch Quay,” Aazzi explained quickly. “Apparently, the Rooks saw the report.  Now, they're here for Myra.”

“Shit,” Jonas hissed darkly. “Would Howell sell her out from under Twist?”

“What?” Twist snapped.  A jolt of Myra’s fear crept through Twist’s Sight as she wrapped both of her hands around his arm.

“Would he have a choice, is a better question,” Aazzi said.  She offered Twist a calming smile. “We all got paid well enough when we claimed the reward for Quay.  Howell and the rest of us can see very clearly how important Myra is to you.  We wouldn't take her from you.”  Twist nodded quietly, patting at Myra's nervous grip. “Howell might try to lie about her to the Rooks,” Aazzi said, looking back to Myra, “but if they see her...”

“We have to get out of here,” Jonas said to Twist, his tone now startlingly serious.

“We're not actually talking about birds, are we?” Twist asked slowly.

“Go to this cafe, and wait for me,” Aazzi said, handing Jonas a small slip of paper. “If it's clear, we can come back together.  If not, we can figure out our next move.  Either way, wait for me to tell you what the situation is before you act,” she added pointedly to Jonas.

“Sure,” Jonas said, nodding.

“I mean it, Jonas.”

“I get it,” Jonas snapped. “We'll wait for you.  Now go and figure out what's going on, will you?”

Aazzi seemed to accept his promise, and turned to glance around the crate before walking around it and onto the
Vimana
.  The moment she was gone, Jonas nodded for Twist to follow him and turned to hurry farther down the ramparts behind the shelter of clustered piles of cargo.  When they were a good distance away, he stopped, took a steadying breath, and then quickly looked over the people around them: aeronauts, merchants, passengers, dock workers, and disguised pirates wandered among their own business, all along the ramparts and docked ships.  Jonas snapped his eyes closed and leaned back against the wall of the building to take a breath.

“Not a mag in sight,” he said. “We're safe for now.”  Twist took a quick glance as well, not seeing a single feathered creature anywhere.

“What is going on, Jonas?” Twist asked.  Beside him, Myra continued to hold to his hand tightly, sending a pulsing throb of worry wafting through his skin.

“It's a really long story,” Jonas said, looking to him. “Basically, it’s a huge secret society of people who steal strange or dangerous technology and remove it from the general populace.  They say it's so it can't hurt anyone, but we all know their game.  They always go for things that might cause more harm than good, like weapons or time machines.”

“Time machines?”

Jonas waved his words away. “Like I said, it's complicated.  They also try to police any magically inclined people, and generally cause strife and misery to anyone who they don't count as 'friendly.'  They're a damned bloody nuisance and we do not want them interested in Myra.”  Myra gave a soft, nervous sound.  Twist grimaced against her fear.

“What can we do about them?” Twist asked quickly.

“Not a lot, if they've got our scent,” Jonas said darkly. “Mags—“  He stopped suddenly. “Rooks, I mean, have a lot of money, a lot of power, and all of the dangerous items that they take away from people.  They also have the best information network on the planet, and people stationed all over the world.” 

Twist nodded, listening, and willed himself not to panic.  As he struggled to control his thoughts, a stray question slipped through his grasp.  “Any reason for the obsession with birds?” he asked.

Jonas gave a sigh. “They call themselves 'Rooks.'  It's probably because those birds are supposed to be mysterious, intelligent, and can predict death and whatnot, but the rest of the world calls these people 'magpies' behind their backs because they tend to steal and hoard all the best stuff.  And it's usually bad luck to see them unannounced.”

“They sound like something I should have heard about.”

“They don't interact with the normal world,” Jonas answered Twist. “You only see them when you get close to weirdness.  But, once they appear, they have a tendency to take control.  If they decide that Myra is high enough on the freaky scale—“ Myra's face took on an affronted expression. “Not that you are, of course,” Jonas amended. “We know that you're as harmless as a kitten.  But if they decide to say that you're dangerous, that would justify taking you.  And there'd be no way for us to stop them.”

“Taking her where?” Twist’s fingers tightened unconsciously on Myra’s.

“There are rumors of stockpiles all over the world, but no one has ever found them.  And believe me, plenty of pirates have tried.  We only have two options here,” he said, holding up a finger for each one. “One, we find some ridiculous way to prove to them that she's harmless enough to leave alone.  Two, we run and hide and hope they never find us.”

“Which one's better?” Twist asked.

“Neither,” Jonas said with a sigh. “They could both fail and then we might never see her again.”  Myra gasped and Twist felt a fresh rush of fear burn off of her. “But if we try to run and they catch us, then we can always try to convince them as a backup plan.”

Twist could already feel the future spinning wildly out of his limited control.  He took a breath and tried again to calm his fears. “There has to be something else,” he said. “I only just put her back together, for goodness sake!”

“I'm telling you right now, I had no idea they'd go this far out of their way for her,” Jonas said a little more gently. “Sure, they might be interested out of curiosity if we went and told them about her.  But the fact that they came here without being called proves that they already think she's valuable.”

“But she's not just some … thing,” Twist said, finding the very idea offensive. “She's a person.  They can't imprison her, can they?”

“Oh yeah, easily,” Jonas answered with a nod. “Hence the problem.”

“So, we're going to wait for Aazzi to return with good news, then, are we?” Twist asked on a heavy breath as he tried to accept this new reality.

“Does that sound like a good idea to you?”

“But you promised.”