Clockwork Twist : Missing (21 page)

A wide, new land had begun to slip up from the south by the time the sun began to fall into afternoon. As the airship sailed closer, Twist admired the dense green forests that clung to the coast. Behind them, vast red deserts stretched out to the horizon. The forests occasionally gave way to clear, dusty-looking red patches and small coastal cities. Well before the rest of the passengers had finished devouring the lunch buffet, Twist packed his things quickly away into his luggage. The others had agreed to do the same and meet at the bow once again before the crowds built up.

Before long, the bustling city of Melbourne slipped into view—all straight and orderly streets against the wild land around it. To Twist, the bustling city looked scant and brand new, like the Western American towns he’d read of in his books. Once again, there was a huge crowd of people waiting on the docks—air and sea combined into a complex structure of wood and stone jetties—to welcome the
Aeolus
to Australia. Once again, Twist and his companions waited until most of the other passengers had disembarked before they joined the line.

Stepping back onto solid ground, Twist took a breath of the moist, heavy air. Even having seen them with his own eyes, it seemed ridiculous to think that most of the continent he now stood on was covered in arid desert plains. Skye led them all through the fading crowds and along a busy avenue between the very modern and mostly wooden buildings. The people Twist saw hurrying about now wore none of the finery or elegance he’d seen in Europe, but favored rugged and utilitarian fare. While nearly every voice he heard spoke boldly and loudly in English, they seemed to use vowels in a way his ear wasn’t used to.

Skye led them to one of the taller buildings in the city, which stood seven stories high with a wide plaza out front and a proud, ornate face. Every window was surrounded in stone figures and carvings of vines. Every eave was crusted with filigree and gilding. The enormous front doors stood open, welcoming them into the lavish and lush lobby of what was clearly a very high-class hotel. As he glanced over the velvet-cushioned couches, potted ferns, and golden gas chandeliers, Twist somehow felt that he’d been in this room before, or one very much like it. He shook his head. He’d been traveling far too much. One of the porters, in a sharp green uniform and very shiny shoes, came eagerly to meet them as they strolled across the carpet toward the front desk.

“Hello, and welcome to The Elizabethan,” the young man said in the clearest Australian accent Twist had heard yet. “Are you checking in?”

Twist turned to whisper to Myra. “Wasn’t the hotel in London called The Elizabethan as well?”

“Yes, I think it was,” she whispered back in a serious tone. “Is that a popular name?”

“No, thanks,” Skye was saying pleasantly to the porter. “We just want to visit Hudson’s.”

The porter’s face snapped into a cautious expression. “Hudson’s?” he asked in a hushed voice. Skye nodded, still smiling pleasantly. “I see,” the porter said, looking them all over quickly. “You’ll find the door in the back,” he said, gesturing past the milling guests, couches, and potted ferns. Before Skye could thank him, he vanished away to tend to a new group of guests who had walked into the lobby behind Twist and his companions.

“This way,” Skye said, drawing them deeper into the lobby.

“Wasn’t that lovely cafe we went to with Tasha in New York also called Hudson’s?” Myra asked Twist softly.

“I’m sure it was,” he answered, nodding.

“What are you two whispering about?” Vane asked, appearing at Twist’s shoulder as they walked. Twist jumped in surprise.

“Stop that!” he snapped at the fox. Vane laughed lightly, his dark eyes sparkling with mirth as he smiled at Twist’s reaction. Arabel sighed and shook her head.

“Knock it off, you two,” Skye said to them, having stopped before a closed door at the back of the lobby. The word “Hudson’s” was engraved into a golden plate on the face of it.

Skye knocked and then waited. A moment later, the door opened slightly to reveal a young man within, with very bright blond hair, intent gray eyes, and a small silver pistol in his black-gloved hand. He glanced over each of them and then looked to Skye.

“This club is private, love,” he told her in a clearly Welsh accent. “Have you got the password?”

“A word in earnest is as good as a speech,” Skye said with firm conviction. Twist found himself rather impressed to hear a quote from
Bleak House
come from Skye.

The young Welshman smiled and opened the door wide before dipping into an inviting gesture. “Welcome to Hudson’s,” he said, waiting for all of them to enter before he shut the door again behind them.

Twist looked around him. It seemed like the smallest parlor he’d ever seen, with a single chair and table under the glaring gaslights and no windows in sight. There was a thick, green carpet under his feet, elegant wallpaper on the walls, and just enough room for about ten people to stand without pressing against each other. There was a lattice wall of thin metal bars cutting the room in half, with a large, empty, three-walled cage of brass filling the space on the other side of it. Twist backed up against the closed door to give himself a little more room and tried not to let his nerves get the better of him in these tight quarters.

The Welshman excused himself repeatedly as he moved through the crowded space to the lattice. He then pulled at a handle that collapsed the lattice into itself, opening it like a curtain. Skye thanked him and then stepped through into the brass cage, telling the others to follow her. They all did as instructed, filling the empty cage, while Twist struggled to keep to his own personal space. He pressed up against one wall of the brass bars and Myra instantly put herself between him and the others. The Welshman waited until everyone was inside before he closed the lattice again.

“What the devil are we doing in a cage?” Arabel asked, voicing Twist’s anxieties as well.

“Have a pleasant day,” the Welshman said, pulling a lever that was set into the wall beside the lattice.

The cage gave a shudder, startling everyone within it. Then, it began to move upward with a distant sound of powerful machinery. Twist looked up to find that there was no ceiling above them, and that the cage itself was being pulled upward by a set of heavy-looking chains attached at each corner. A tall, shadowed shaft stood above them, with a milky skylight at the very top. As the cage continued to move smoothly up toward the light, Twist saw another opening in the wall near the very top.

“Oh, an ascending room!” Arabel said brightly, looking up in wonder. “I’ve never ridden one before.”

“It’s better than taking the stairs,” Skye said, clearly at ease with the technology.

“Is it magic?” Myra asked in hushed excitement.

Skye smiled at her. “No, it’s just mechanics.”

The moment the cage reached the very top of the shaft—the top floor of the building coming to rest level with the floor of the cage—another young man in a black suit stood waiting to open another wall of metal lattice to let them out onto the seventh floor. He welcomed them politely with a light Italian accent and asked if they’d like a table. Skye shook her head.

“We need to use a mirror,” she told him. “Aden is expecting us.”

“Oh, right this way,” he said, turning to lead her quickly on.

Twist and the others followed Skye and the Italian into what Twist found to be a very stylish-looking cafe. Just like the Hudson’s in New York, this cafe was a forest of potted ferns, tall and decorative cages that housed large, black birds, and cozy tables nestled into semi-private clearings. This time, however, the cafe was quiet and hardly any of the tables appeared to be taken. Only a few small groups sat around a handful of the tables, speaking together over their coffees in hushed or languid tones.

Twist heard a gasp from a nearby table as they passed. He looked to the sound and was startled to find a boy running quickly toward him. The boy’s snowy-white hair, copper-colored skin, and brilliant smile were unmistakable. As always, over one of his vibrant pink eyes he wore the strange contraption he’d made to see Twist with.

“Twist!” Storm yelled with unabashed joy, running to Twist with open arms. Everyone stopped in the middle of a walkway that led down the center of the cafe.

Twist backed away when it became apparent that Storm wasn’t planning to slow down. Storm followed him. Twist picked up his pace and began to trot around the others in a circle as Storm chased him with an enormous smile.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Storm said as he ran after Twist. “I was so worried. This has been like a nightmare! Will you stand still?” he added, his smile wafting over with annoyance.

“Not if you intend to accost me!” Twist snapped back on his quick breaths. Laughing quietly, Myra caught him and held her arms out protectively as she placed herself clearly between Twist and Storm.

“Oh.” Storm pulled himself to a sudden stop with a sheepish expression. “Sorry. I forgot. I’m just so glad to see you!”

“Well, you can hug me, if you like,” Myra said, smiling to him brightly.

Storm’s smile returned instantly when Myra leaned down to wrap her copper arms around him. Twist saw relief bloom on Storm’s young face as he nuzzled into Myra’s embrace. Another figure drifted into view. Twist glanced up to find Storm’s mother, Kima, standing to one side as she watched her son with a saddened expression.

Twist suddenly recalled his first dream of Jonas in the space ship, when Jonas had spoken to himself to retain his own calm. In that desperate and terrifying moment, Jonas had spoken of Kima, of seeing her again. Twist hadn’t been able to understand this at the time. After all, Kima and Jonas hardly knew each other. They didn’t seem to be close. But even so, Kima’s dark eyes were now edged with red, and her usually stoic features betrayed fatigue.

When she caught his gaze—while Storm reveled in Myra’s kindness and spoke brightly with her—Twist suddenly realized that her memories of Jonas had been stolen as well. Storm, like Twist himself, had also been alone in wanting to rescue him. Storm hadn’t had Myra, or even Skye, to help him to keep a grip on his sanity during this ordeal. Twist wondered with a cold dread if Kima had called Storm crazy, as well.

Twist’s memory flashed quickly back to the quiet and dire conversation Kima had had with Jonas and him, all the way back in the flying village in the clouds over America. He remembered Jonas making her a promise to free Storm from the Cyphers who had been using the boy to their own nefarious ends. Did she now remember that conversation without Jonas? Could she remember his promise without remembering him? Kima leaned closer to Twist.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said softly to him while the others took no notice. “Storm has been…” Her words faded off, and she gave a silent sigh. Twist felt a sudden compulsion to speak, to quiet her fears, but he struggled to think of anything that might suffice.

“Don’t worry,” he said when the pause grew too long to allow him to remain quiet. Kima glanced to him hesitantly. Twist gave her a smile. “Everything will be fine,” he assured her as confidently as he could.

The Italian Rook led everyone through a door at the back of the cafe. Inside, Twist was surprised to find that the relatively large room was windowless and dim. The walls were bare and painted black. Heavy black curtains hung from the shadowy ceiling to divide the room into three spaces, each of which seemed to hold the same familiar collection of items: a table against the far wall on which a pair of lit candles stood, a few chairs scattered around it, and a large, gold-framed mirror hanging on the wall above the table. Twist instantly recognized this as a copy of the dark mirror room Aden had taken them to in London.

Their guide told them to take their time and then left, closing the door behind him. Skye moved closer to one of the three mirrors and asked everyone else to take a seat. Twist and the others did as they were told, watching as she stood before the mirror and took off the small watch that she wore on the chain around her neck. She opened the face, flipped it over to reveal the strange blue light inside, and then held it flush to the glass of the mirror, near a corner.

The blue light poured into the mirror, rippling out as if through water, to cover the whole of the surface. Then the light began to slowly clear until a new image filled the looking glass. Aden stood clearly on the other side of the frame, in another black room lit only by two candles, as if the mirror had become a window instead. He was already holding his own silver pocket watch to the glass as if he’d been waiting to be connected.

“Agent Blue,” Aden’s image said pleasantly to Skye with a nod, his voice sounding only slightly distant and echoing.

“Sir,” Skye responded with a nod of her own.

Vane stood and moved closer, peering at the mirror that now failed to show his own reflection. He reached up to tap at the glass, which responded as a solid surface and gave a very glass-like ring against his tap. Aden and Skye watched him with slightly confused expressions. Vane gave an amused tone and sat back down, glancing at Skye’s watch, which remained held against the looking glass.

“Has there been any change since your last report?” Aden’s image asked, returning to more pressing matters.

Skye shook her head. “None, sir.”

Twist’s fingers itched to touch Skye’s watch, or the looking glass itself, and to understand how this marvel was created, but he resisted the urge. His poor mind had already had to contend with enough strangeness in recent days.

“No, Aden is still in London,” Arabel whispered to answer Vane’s quietly spoken question.

“Thank you, Agent.” Aden turned his gaze on Storm. “How about you, Storm? Have you learned anything more from your dreams?”

“Just what I told you,” Storm said with a listless sigh. “Jon is still in orbit, surrounded by dragons that keep threatening to eat him. But they are going to take him to Jupiter if we don’t stop them.”

“I understand,” Aden said with a thoughtful nod.

“You see, Mom?” Storm said, giving his mother a knowing smirk. “I’m
not
crazy.”

“I never said you were crazy,” Kima hissed quickly, her voice strained in her effort to keep it soft.

“You thought it,” Storm grumbled, crossing his arms.

“All right, thank you,” Aden said, drawing the group’s attention. He was speaking to another glowing blue pocket watch, which he then placed on the table on his side of the mirror. “Well, I don’t have any ships that can traverse the stars,” he said, looking to Twist and Storm. “But, as Storm suggested before, I do have another possible solution. My brightest boffins have been working hard on getting our transporter operational, and they told me just last night that they are ready for a human test subject.”

“What’s this?” Arabel asked.

Before anyone could form an answer, there was a sudden, sharp gust of wind in the dark, windowless room and a sound not unlike a thunderclap. Startled, everyone turned to see a man now standing behind them, just before the closed door. He was dressed in a simple shirt and trousers, without any waistcoat, hat, or jacket. It only took a moment for Twist to recognize him as Henry, the first Rook he’d ever met through a mirror. He was clearly out of breath, holding a hand to his chest. Henry also seemed to be somewhat blurry for a moment before his form solidified. Twist rubbed at his eyes.

“Aden,” Henry said, seeming to catch his breath. He patted himself quickly with his hands. “I appear to be all here, sir. You there, do I look blurry to you?” he asked of Arabel.

“You did for a second…” Arabel toned, looking at him wide-eyed. “But you look all right now.”

Henry counted his fingers and ran a hand through his short brown hair. “Yes, I do indeed seem to be in one piece,” he told Aden with more conviction.

“How do you feel, Henry?” Aden asked him. “Any dizziness? Any pain?”

“Nothing of it,” Henry replied with a shake of his head. “It was rather thrilling, if I’m honest, but I’m sure I’m fine.”

“Glad to hear it,” Aden said, appearing relieved. He picked up his glowing watch again. “Test one is a success,” he said to it. “Send the second test whenever you’re ready.”

“I’m sorry,” Arabel said to Henry as he took a chair from around one of the black curtains to sit with the others. “But where the devil did you come from?” Everyone else looked to him with naked curiosity.

Henry laughed lightly, smiling at her as he took a casual seat and patted at his neck with a pocket handkerchief. “Why, I came out of thin air, of course.”

“Isn’t it awesome?” Storm asked Twist brightly. “I’ve been watching them run other tests for the past few days.”

“But I still don’t understand,” Myra said, her face filled with concentration.

Before anyone could answer her, there was another thunderclap. This time, Twist managed to look to the source of the sound more quickly. His eyes caught sight of a quivering, shimmering shape just beginning to appear behind Aden, on the other side of the mirror. In an instant, the shape solidified into the form of another man. Everyone who saw the apparition let out a gasp. Once he appeared solid again, the new man also seemed out of breath but unharmed.

“Florin?” Aden asked, approaching him. “Are you all right?”

Florin nodded, still struggling to catch his breath. He was dressed the same as Henry, but his features appeared slightly foreign to Twist’s eye. He too checked himself over quickly, looking at his hands and touching his head and face before he looked to Aden and gave a thin smile.

“Yes, sir,” he said in a light Germanic accent. “I think I’m okay.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Aden said, giving him a hearty pat on the shoulder. He then turned back to the mirror and spoke to his glowing watch once again. “Florin is here,” he said to it. “He seems right as rain. The second test is a success as well. Check your results and collect your findings. I want to be ready to send someone as far as near orbit in a few hours at the latest.”

“Wow, you people just have all the best toys,” Vane remarked with a smile.

Aden's expression took on a smug shade. “Well, we’ve just sent the very first two human subjects through space by our new matter transporter. Henry a few miles,” Aden said with a gesture to him, “and Florin to the other side of the world,” he added, glancing back to Florin. “This an historic day indeed.”

“How’d you manage something so magical?” Vane asked curiously.

“We’re using djinn magic,” Aden answered, “controlled by Cypher science, to send things and people to another place in an instant. As long as we have exact coordinates, we seem to be able to send anything, or anyone, anywhere we like. Now, it’s going to be tricky to pinpoint exactly where your friend is, but if we can, then we will send help directly to him.

“Now, gentlemen,” Aden said with a glance in turn to Henry and Florin. “I’d like you both to take your physicals without delay. I want to be sure you’re unharmed.” Florin gave Aden a cordial nod before he walked out of view of the mirror. “Henry,” Aden said, turning to him, “these people are heading to the facility, so stay with them.”

“Yes, sir,” Henry said, giving a lazy-looking salute but remaining in his chair.

“But if I may,” Skye said, drawing Aden’s attention, “what kind of help are you planning to send? Assuming you can pinpoint Jonas’s position, are you going to send a team to rescue him?”

“Actually,” Aden answered, “I’m not sure that sending a whole team is a good idea. Storm, have you collected any more information about the ship that Jonas is in?”

Storm shook his head. “Jon tried to make a break for one of the escape pods in my dream last night, but Bob—that big, silver dragon—caught him just at the last second, again. Jon saw the inside of the pod, and it looks like it can only hold two or three people. He hasn’t seen much more of the ship than that. Bob’s keeping a close watch on him.”

“Thank you,” Aden said, nodding with a thoughtful expression. “At the moment,” he went on, speaking to Skye, “I’m planning to send just one person to rescue him, and then they can both use one of the dragons’ own small pods to escape back to the surface of the Earth.”

“Two people against a load of dragons, sir?” Skye asked, sounding concerned.

“I know,” Aden sighed. “But with no other way back home, it’s reckless to send too many people. Besides, Storm has suggested an interesting tactic. Storm, would you like to explain?”

“Whoever they send up to Jon,” Storm began excitedly, with a wide smile, “will take the Cypher Sight-enhancing drug with them and inject Jon with it.”

“What?” Twist gasped. “Why would you do that?”

“Don’t you remember what happened when Loki gave you the drug, in his airship over the Caribbean?” Storm asked, looking startled by his reaction.

“Oh…” Arabel said suddenly. “You mean when he gave Twist that drug that…” She paused, looking to Twist as if in a new light. “That turned him into a demigod.” Vane looked at Twist in shock and a new level of interest.

“It what?” Twist asked back, frowning.

“You were tossing people about with your mind,” Arabel said. “You could unlock doors just by looking at them. Hell, you were thinking so fast that no one could keep up with you.”

“Oh, that…” Twist muttered. He could still remember looking down at Loki, calmly and coldly reasoning through the pros and cons of snuffing his life out like a candle. He shuddered to think of how the Cypher drug had stripped him of his compassion, but he had to admit that the added benefits had been quite useful at the time.

“I’m sure it’ll do the same thing to Jon,” Storm said. “If someone goes up to the spaceship and gives him the drug, he can save himself, easy.”

“That’s a pretty good plan,” Vane said, smiling at Storm. “You’re smarter than you look, little one.”

“I’m not that little,” Storm snapped instantly.

“I have to agree with…” Aden began and then paused, looking at Vane. “Who are you?”

Skye spoke before Vane could. “He’s the sleazy kitsune pirate that Storm told us to pick up in Japan.”

“Sleazy?” Vane echoed, sounding hurt.

Skye turned a cold gaze to him. “Very sleazy.”

Sitting quietly behind them all, Henry gave Vane a critical glance. Vane grumbled to himself, looking down and dejected. Storm spared Vane a sympathetic look, but he was the only one to do so.

“I see,” Aden said. “Well, anyway, I do agree that Storm’s plan sounds feasible. More than that, it limits the amount of risk considerably, compared to the other options that my tacticians have come up with. All we need now is to decide who to send.”

“I’ll go, naturally,” Twist said. Myra looked to him in shock and horror. “He’s my friend,” he said softly to her. “I’m the one who wants him back.”

“Surely there’s a reason not to send him,” Myra said quickly to Aden, her tone pleading.

“Myra—” Twist began, confused by her reaction.

“Please don’t go,” Myra said, taking his hand and cutting him off. Twist’s Sight burned with her terror and desperation, making him wince. “Anything could happen, and you’d be lost forever. You can’t!”

“Myra, it’s all right,” Aden said, drawing her attention. “I don’t want to send him, either.”

“Why not?” Twist asked, struggling to keep his thoughts clear under the chaos of Myra’s fear. He’d assumed from the very beginning that he’d be the one to rescue Jonas.

“Twist, if you go, then we can’t use the drug,” Storm said gently to him. “Remember? Jon blacked out as soon as Loki gave it to you. If you’re both up there, then one of you will end up being totally useless.”