Clockwork Twist : Missing (19 page)

Once Twist, Myra, and Kali returned to the surface with Vane, they joined Arabel and Skye, who were waiting for them on the path that ran through the sparse woods. After their previous encounters, Arabel was clearly anything but pleased to see the pirate fox once again.

“Hey, there. My name’s Vane,” he said smoothly, offering a handshake to Skye.

Skye narrowed her keen eyes at him and Kali, standing at Skye’s side, gave a low growl. All of Vane’s sultry charm evaporated as he looked nervously at the tiger.

“Oh!” Twist gasped as the thought occurred to him. “Skye, don’t say your own name in front of him!” he said, pointing an accusing finger at Vane. “If you do, he’ll be able to put on your face.”

“Thanks a lot, Twist!” Vane snapped at him angrily. “This girl’s got a lovely face, and now I can’t have it.”

“So he’s a kitsune?” Skye asked slowly, looking Vane over critically. “You just said he was a fox.”

“Beautiful
and
bright,” Vane toned smoothly, smiling at her. “I love a girl who knows her mythology.” Kali growled again, a low, deep, and restrained warning. Vane gulped, his charm waning again.

“Kitsunes are notoriously mischievous,” Skye said thoughtfully. “I heard of a myth once that said they seduce and then kill anyone stupid enough to fall for their charms.”

“I never!” Vane gasped, affronted. “Well…” he amended, drawing a look of horror from Twist. “I’m not going to kill any of you!” he added quickly. “I know you. It would be terribly awkward. Where did you hear such a mean-spirited myth?”

“Why do we need his help, anyway?” Arabel asked, her arms crossed.

“Storm said we did,” Myra offered with a shrug.

Twist’s mind filled with a new idea. “Vane?” Twist said, turning to him pleasantly.

“Yes, Twisty dear?” Vane returned sweetly. Twist’s face dropped into a frown.

“Please don’t call me that,” he muttered before returning to his point. “Since you do remember Jonas, would you please tell Arabel that she does in fact have a brother, and that I’m not the only one who remembers him?”

“Oh,” Vane sighed. He looked to Arabel, who wore a grim and hesitant expression. “You do have a brother,” he said easily. “Your twin, actually. And I’m afraid he’s the pretty one.”

“Knowing your taste, I’ll take that as a compliment, you scruffy little scoundrel,” Arabel spat at him acidly.

“Hey!” Skye snapped at her. Twist felt oddly affronted as well but did what he could to hide it. The thought of taking pride in Vane’s flirtatious attention was a highly confusing one.

“Oh, I hate talking to you!” Arabel growled at Vane. “You always mix everything up.” Vane put on a smile. “And how do I know you’re not lying to me about this mysterious brother of mine, just as some evil plot?” she demanded angrily.

“Evil?” Vane asked, looking shocked. “Fluffy, adorable, lovely me? Surely I’m not capable of evil…”

“You’re a thief, a rogue, and a scoundrel,” Arabel said, glaring at him. “You and the rest of your bloody pirate crew have been the bane of my family’s life for years.”

“Your brother joined us,” Vane replied.

“If I actually had a brother, then I can assure you he would sooner die!”

In an instant, Vane’s form rippled with a source-less black smoke and then dissolved into a flawless replica of Jonas—though the furry black fox tail remained, hanging from under Jonas’s brown jacket. Twist’s chest tightened sharply. The buzz in his neck was still absent, and the sea-green eyes in the false face didn’t glow or shift in color at all. He knew the truth, but his eyes assured him that Jonas was now standing before him. The false Jonas gave Arabel a clever grin.

“I’d rather live as a pirate,” Vane said in a perfect copy of Jonas’s voice, “than die on this lousy, stinking ship.” Skye’s fine red eyebrows lifted as she watched the false Jonas speak.

Arabel stared back at him in obvious shock, and then closed her eyes as her body shuddered. Fear began to bloom slowly in her eyes when she opened them again. “Oh God, I remember that…”

The fake Jonas smiled smugly and glanced at Twist. “There’s always a few holes in memory spells,” he said lightly, still in Jonas’s voice. “The right stimuli can usually jog it a bit.”

Twist stared back at him, his heart feeling as still as stone and twice as heavy. He looked into the false Jonas’s eyes and struggled not to reach out to him. There was no soothing, cool, white fog in this man’s touch. There was no subtle pull between them. But the illusion was staggeringly prefect. After fighting to prove his own sanity, solid proof now stood before him.

“You all right?” Vane asked, Jonas’s eyes taking on a hint of concern.

Twist finally mastered his will and turned away from Vane. His eyes had gone damp, but he blinked them quickly rather than lift his hand to wipe at them. He didn’t want Vane to see.

“Shit,” Vane muttered in his own voice once again. “Here, look, I took it off, okay?” Twist glanced back to find that Vane had changed back into his own face and form. Twist took a steadying breath. “Damn, Twisty baby,” Vane cooed gently, drifting closer. “I didn’t realize you’d react like that.” He lifted a hand as if to reach out and touch Twist.

Twist moved back a step, and Myra batted Vane’s hand away with a terse slap. She stepped up in front of Twist and took his hand, peering at him with equal measures of concern and kindness. He gave her a brave smile and tried to hide the fear he felt at his own unexpected reaction. The illusion wasn’t Jonas. He knew it wasn’t. But it hadn’t mattered.

“Thank you,” he said softly to her. He then forced his voice level as he looked to Arabel. “Anyway, do you believe me now?”

Arabel seemed deep in thought. “I’ve seen that face before, and I’ve heard that man say those exact words to me. Only, at the time, he’d been livid. And he hadn’t looked me in the eye. But I can’t think of anywhere else I’ve seen him.”

“There’s probably a few other memories floating around,” Vane said with a shrug. “Dragon magic is all flash and fizz, with very little follow-through. The spell is only intended to keep you from looking for the missing people. If you poke enough holes in it, it’ll unravel.”

“So you know about dragon magic?” Skye asked him.

“I know what I’ve heard,” Vane answered. “Kaz-chan and I have been friends for a while. He doesn’t try to hide anything from me. I mean, he’s a dragon and I’m just a cute little fox. What could I ever do to him?”

“Do you know how to break the spell?” Skye asked.

“Maybe…” Vane answered, smiling again. “Why don’t you and I discuss it over dinner?”

“Why don’t you tell me what you know,” Skye responded with a devious smile, “or I’ll let Kali have you for a chew toy.” Vane’s eyes grew wide with fright. He glanced down at the tiger as she bared her fangs at him menacingly. Vane took a step away from her.

“Now, now,” Vane said with a tight but amiable smile as he raised his hands submissively. “There’s no need for all that. Really, you should take my interest as a compliment. You’re a very charming young woman, you know.”

“Let’s keep to the task at hand,” Skye said with a sigh.

“All right, fine,” Vane said, his frustration oddly gratifying to Twist. “I don’t know how to break the spell. I’m sure if you killed the dragon who cast it, then the effect of the spell would probably disappear, but that’s just a general law of magic. And believe me, dragons aren’t easy to kill. It’s not even possible to actually destroy them completely. The best you can hope for is to disperse their energies for a while, until they recoalesce, come back, and take revenge.”

“How long does it take for them to come back from something like that?” Skye asked.

“I think about a hundred years or so,” Vane said vaguely. “No one’s tried in quite a while, so I don’t know for sure.”

“Can I ask something?” Twist asked, drawing the group’s attention.

“Sure you can, Twisty—”

“Cut that out!” Twist snapped at the fox. “I’m not ‘Twisty’ anything! If you don’t stop using these incessant pet names I shall ignore you again.”

“No! Don’t do that!” Vane gasped, looking frightened. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop. Don’t ignore me, please! I couldn’t stand it…”

“Anyway,” Twist said with a heavy sigh. “If dragons are real, and I have no choice but to accept that they are after meeting two of them in the last week, then why the devil does everyone think they’re only a myth? Why isn’t dragon gold a commodity in the stock exchange? Why don’t I read about the latest dragon attacks in the evening post?”

“Well, because they don’t want to deal with humanity anymore,” Vane said simply. “They hate humans. I mean sure, they like you well enough as a light snack, but that doesn’t mean they want to interact. Whenever they did in the past, there was always some knight or horde of dwarfs showing up to bother them. And these days, humanity has better weapons. But with their memory spells, the dragons can steal all the maidens they want and no one will come looking for them.”

“But that’s monstrous!” Myra said, aghast.

“Well, yeah,” Vane said with a nod. “Exactly.”

“And now they want to visit Jupiter?” Twist asked, clinging to the tiny threads of logic that still remained in the conversation.

“They’ve been talking about relocating for centuries,” Vane said with a wave of his hand. “Some of them, like Kazan, don’t see the point, but others think it would be nice to get away from everything. If they’re talking about Jupiter, then they likely mean the moon Io. It’s volcanic, and not as far away as Mercury.”

Twist nodded slowly, trying to file this information away with the rest. He glanced up and noticed that Skye was quickly jotting something down in a small notebook.

“Well, this is all making my head spin,” Arabel declared with a sigh. “Didn’t your dragon friend want us to meet him somewhere?”

“Oh yes, the inn,” Vane said brightly. “I can’t imagine why he wants to help you. As I said, dragons don’t consider human troubles as deserving of their attention. But still,” he declared with a smile to Twist, “never look a gift dragon in the maw.”

Vane took them all to a small, quiet inn nearer to Shinjuku. As they didn’t expect any information from Kazan until nightfall, Myra, Arabel, and Skye all decided to go for a walk to explore more of Tokyo while they waited. Twist, however, cringed at the idea. After all of the chaos in the strange club and the conversations that had followed, he found himself in desperate need of a moment’s peace. As Arabel and Myra were the best speakers of Japanese, and Skye was well armed with Kali, it was easily decided that Twist, along with Vane, would wait at the inn for Kazan while the others went out. Twist consoled himself that the sun hadn’t set, and that the
Aeolus
wouldn’t be departing for Australia for some hours yet.

The inn took the shape of a single, large, sprawling house with a wide garden behind. After he complied with the curious request to take off his shoes at the door, Twist settled into a quiet space at the edge of the room that Vane and Kazan had been sharing. The room was paved with a thick, blond set of woven mats that smelled of summer grass. The four sliding walls appeared to Twist to be made of white paper, crossed tightly by dark wooden slats like a leaded window. The only furniture in the room was a single low table and a collection of flat cushions, similar to the decor in Jonas’s cabin on the
Vimana
. A few of the paper-and-wood partitions that made up the back wall had been slid away to open the room to the garden behind. Twist sat himself down cross-legged on a cushion, gazing out into the well-manicured but still slightly wild-looking garden.

Even though the walls were made of paper, Twist couldn’t hear any sounds from outside the inn. He heard none of the other guests nor any of the staff speaking or moving. The city outside seemed completely nonexistent as his tired eyes traced the winding lines of the pink-flowered tree that stood to one side of the soft, green moss that covered the garden floor, and he listened to the murmurs of the thin stream that wandered among the low bushes just below his view. As he watched the tiny pink blossoms rustle gently in the cool breeze, Twist felt peace and comfort soak into his exhausted nerves.

“So, how're things?” Vane’s voice asked softly in the quiet. Twist turned to see him lounging on the open floor, toying with a folding paper fan.

“Fine,” Twist said, turning back to the garden.

“Are you sure?” Vane asked with a lilting edge to his voice. “Your lover is being held prisoner by dragons in outer space. That would certainly put me off.”

Twist took a tight breath and tried to focus on the peaceful view before him.

“Oh come on, Twist,” Vane said after it became obvious that he wasn’t going to respond. “You’re not really going to try ignoring me again, are you? You remember what happened last time. Of course,” he toned leadingly, “last time, Jonas was there to jump down my throat for trying to touch you. He’s not here right now. I might just have a chance.”

“Vane,” Twist said with a sigh, as his head sank into a hand. “You can’t possibly imagine how tired I am right now. I feel like I haven’t had a breath of fresh air in weeks. I’ve had people on all sides for days. When I actually sleep, I dream of all the threats that surround Jonas. I’ve been fighting for sanity since this began, and I’m honestly not certain of anything anymore. For heaven’s sake, I was insulted by a talking giraffe today! If you have a single shred of decency in you, leave me the hell alone.”

Vane paused for a moment before he spoke again. “Kirin.”

“What?” Twist asked, turning to frown at him.

Vane looked back at him, his head now lying flat on the grass mat as he lay on his back and twirled the fan about in the air on the tips of his fingers. “You were insulted by a kirin, not a giraffe. Giraffes can’t talk.”

“My mistake,” Twist muttered, turning away again.

“You really do seem upset,” Vane said, his voice softer now. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Twist gave a heavy sigh.

“It might help, you know,” Vane offered hopefully.

“No.”

Not turning, Twist waited for the next remark. To his great surprise, Vane made none. Neither did he move from his spot on the floor. After a few more moments of silence, Twist slowly began to realize that Vane really was going to leave him alone. The thought seemed mad to him, but—as with everything else that had happened to him today—he tried to let it go.

By the time Myra, Arabel, and Skye returned, Twist was surprised to find his nerves quite well soothed by the rest and the quiet. When Myra stepped into the room, Twist was once again ready to be astonished by what she was now wearing.

Her sari had been replaced by a robe-like dress exactly like those Twist had seen in the rest of Tokyo. The front edges crossed themselves over her heart, and two long sleeves fell nearly to the floor, while her middle was tightly bound with wide swaths of shimmering white, black, and purple fabric that were tied into a huge bow at the small of her back. The dress itself was made of a soft, red cotton, and patterned all over with the image of the five-petaled pink flowers on the tree in the garden, in shades of white and pink. Her wire hair was also bound up on her head in the style that seemed popular here, and a tiny curtain of clear beads hung beside her right eye on a long, golden pin.

“Well, aren’t you just darling!” Vane yelped the moment he saw her.

“I know, isn’t she though?” Arabel said, entering the room behind her with Skye.

Myra spared Vane a smile before looking to Twist. “What do you think, dear?”

“Why, you look just like one of those beautiful little porcelain dolls,” Twist remarked, taking in the details of Myra’s new appearance.

Myra tilted her head into a fetching angle, her deeply pleased smile warming Twist’s senses before he took her hand, and his Sight filled his mind with her pride and delight.

“I just had to try one of these dresses,” she said to him excitedly. “Do you like it?” she asked, spinning herself around on the spot while he held her fingers above her head.

“I like it very much,” Twist said, smiling at her gentle innocence. Even with all the madness around him, at least Myra was consistent. “My dear, you are always lovely enough to soothe all my ills.”

“Ooo, nice line!” Skye hissed under her breath.

Myra only smiled deeper, while a sense of satisfaction bloomed in Twist’s Sight. He felt his heart ease just a little more as he realized that she had changed her look simply to please him. His mind flitted quickly over other moments of kindness that she had shown him: cookies made of all his favorite flavors, a highly fashionable English dress meant to impress only Twist, and all those compliments she had insisted on giving to London. As honestly as he wanted to take care of her, she always did a much better job of looking after him, and in all the sweetest ways. It was a long moment of quiet regard before Twist realized that Skye and the others were talking.

“He said something about a plan,” Skye was saying to Vane. “But beyond finding you, I haven’t heard any of it. I guess we’ll hear more when we get to Australia.”

“And who is this blustery-sounding person, again?” Vane asked idly, now kneeling on a cushion on the floor.

“He’s a very insightful little boy,” Arabel answered as she sat on another cushion. “He has other people’s dreams. He said he’s had all of Twist’s.”

“Not mine,” Twist said, still holding Myra’s hand. “Storm’s had Jonas’s dreams. He can’t find me when I dream.” Arabel looked uncertainly to Twist.

“And you honestly don’t remember your own brother?” Vane asked Arabel with a light grin. “I’m sure he’d enjoy that idea. He’s been running from you for years.”

“Honestly,” Arabel sighed. “How can I have a brother and not remember a thing about him? Magic or no, it still seems absurd.”

“Well,” Vane said with a shrug. “I could tell you about him. He likes rum, he’s a decent surfer, has a solid right hook…” Vane grimaced on the last remark, and rubbed at his jaw with a hand. “He’s a bastard, but I like him all right. Just don’t tell him I said that or he’ll have my pelt.”

“I think I’m starting to like this Jonas guy,” Skye said, smiling at Vane’s description.

Twist smiled too, enjoying the sound of Jonas’s name on other people’s voices.

Skye suddenly shivered, and her face snapped into concern. The tattoo on her back burst into light, and Kali coalesced quickly beside her. Before the tiger was fully formed, she began running out of the room. Skye stood still and closed her eyes tightly. Down the hallway, Twist heard one of the innkeepers shriek in fright.

“What’s gotten into Kali?” Myra asked Skye.

“I don’t know,” Skye said, shaking her head but keeping her eyes closed. “She sensed something outside…” Skye’s eyes flew open quickly in alarm. “We’re in trouble.”

“What?” Twist asked, as Vane and Arabel got to their feet. The sharp tone of her voice sent a chill of alarm up his spine. “What’s happening?”

“No idea,” Skye said, staring into space. “But something is trying to build a trap around this inn. It’s almost finished. It must have been building for a while now. And it’s old magic…but Kali can smell it, now that there’s enough of it.” Skye opened her shoulder bag to fish inside it.

“I don’t feel anything,” Vane said, frowning into space. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, very.” Skye paused and looked at Vane. “You’ve got crappy friends, by the way.” Vane stared at her, bewildered, as she turned her attention back to her bag. She pulled out a pair of small metal spheres and looked at them grimly. “Damn it. Only two.”

“What are those?” Twist asked.

“Come on,” Skye said, pulling a pistol out of a hidden holster under her jacket with her other hand. “We’ve got to get out of this building. Now.”

She hurried out of the room, and everyone followed behind her. Twist snatched his cane from the stand beside the door and struggled into his boots quickly, leaving most of the buckles undone, as he rushed out into the street after the others. Kali’s deep voice echoed off the street as she bellowed an angry roar at the man standing in the middle of the dusty road outside. Kazan looked back at her with mild interest before his orange eyes found Twist.

“There, there, kitty cat,” he said gently, with an unkind smile on his lips. His hands were held out before him and his fingers were pointed at the ground just in front of Kali’s paws. Twist’s eyes could just barely detect a soft, glowing light tracing out the faintest line in the surface of the dusty street. The line seemed to run down the center of the road and then curve around the corners of the inn.

“Kaz-chan, what’s going on?” Vane asked, his voice hesitantly curious. Kazan gave Vane a wide smile, while his hands remained in place.

“This is my lucky day. After nearly three decades of searching for the little whelp,” he toned smoothly as he looked back to Twist, “he found me. And at the same time, he told me exactly where to find the other one. Two for the price of one! I owe you a debt, Vane. You can’t imagine what this one alone is worth, not to mention the both of them together.”

Kali bellowed again and swiped her paws at the glowing line on the dusty road. The light seemed to sting her claws, and the effect forced her back slightly.

“Just about got it…” Kazan said, his face clouded with concentration. “Can’t risk letting him slip away, now can I?”

As the dragon spoke, Twist felt an electric, unearthly vibration build in the air around him. Somewhere deep in his primal and ancient unconscious, Twist knew that the magic the dragon was wielding would seal them all like mice in a trap. Skye moved suddenly, touching a button on one of the metal spheres as she rushed to Kali’s side. She put the sphere on the glowing line and then backed off, dragging Kali with her by the scruff of her neck.

“Cover your ears!” Skye said, taking her own advice. Kali vanished onto Skye’s back in a flash. Twist, Myra, Arabel, and Vane did as they were told.

“What is th—” Kazan began, before the sphere burst.

A torrent of blinding light and concussive sound erupted from the tiny sphere and pounded into Twist’s startled senses. He turned away, snapped his eyes shut, and pressed his hands over his ear to deaden the effect, but it only lasted for an instant. When he looked back, Kazan was lying on his back on the street, and the glowing line in the ground had vanished. Skye rushed toward the dragon while Kali reappeared at her side.

“In the name of the Rooks, I order you to cease all hostilities!” she said, her voice strong and solid as she stood a step away from Kazan and held her pistol aimed at his chest. Kazan leaned up into a sitting position slowly and shook his head as if to clear it. “If you continue to resist, your actions will be met with maximum force.”