The Clockwork Crown

 

 

D
EDICATION

To Mrs. Quist, my fourth and fifth grade teacher at Lee Richmond Elementary, and Mr. Quist, my seventh and eighth grade newspaper teacher at Woodrow Wilson Junior High. You both told me, “Write whatever you want.” I never forgot.

 

C
ONTENTS

 

M
AP

 

C
HAPTER
1

As she rode through
the snowy wilderness of far southern Caskentia, Octavia Leander's spirits were buoyed by three thoughts: that although she fled from assassination and capture, she was undoubtedly in one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen; that thus far they had survived a full week without any sign of pursuit by horse or buzzer; and that her companion in the hard journey was Alonzo Garret, a man who had forfeited his career as a Clockwork Dagger—­and possibly his life—­in order to keep her alive.

Considering the dire circumstances, he made for delightful company.

Alonzo rode ahead on a chestnut bay stallion, their gray packhorse following close behind. This far from civilization, the world was utterly quiet but for the jingling of tack, the horses' breathing and the steady rhythm of their hooves, and the radiant life songs of the horses, Alonzo, and any wildlife within close range. In particular, she took comfort in the ever-­present marching-­band brasses of Alonzo's life essence; she would recognize his particular notes in any crowd.

Since childhood, she had known ­people's and animals' health woes by their music, but only in a generic sense. She didn't hear specifics unless they had an open wound or she placed the patient in a circle to ask for the Lady's direct intervention.

The Lady's Tree moored its roots to the very spirit of the earth. Through the Tree, Octavia could heal with prowess beyond any other known medician. Lately, however, the Lady's magic had changed. Octavia had changed. Her power through the Lady had increased, and she wasn't sure if it was truly for the better.

As if he sensed her attention, Alonzo glanced back. A Waster's fur-­fringed hood framed his face and contrasted with the warm nutmeg tone of his skin. A coarse black beard lined his jaw. His song was ragged in weariness, his heart steady in its anxiety. His mechanical leg—­though masterfully designed—­could not help but grind the joint against the flesh below his knee. She had treated him with pampria and heskool root over the past few days to ward against infection. His leg pained him again now, but even so, his smile to her was tender. Heat bloomed in her own chest, along with a sense of terrible sadness.

She had told Alonzo that she wanted to search the famed libraries of the southern nations to find out where the Lady's Tree might be found. Alonzo knew that Octavia sought a greater understanding of her own magic through the Lady, but he didn't know of all the ways that her power was changing. Or how it terrified her.

How had Octavia's blood, combined with a true branch from the Lady's Tree, caused a massive tree to grow temporarily? That tree had acted in her defense and torn apart the men of the Waste who had tried to hold her captive. The branch that had done that was now tied to her saddlebag. It was green, as if freshly cut, and hummed with life like any person or animal.

Then there had been the moment after she had pulled Alonzo from the edge of death. She had kissed him, and with the touch of her lips she had gone beyond her knowledge of his body's song. It was as if she had become immersed in his very soul, as if she could pry apart his body's instruments and manipulate his health without any restrictions from the Lady's herbs.

That had frightened her even more than the persistent threats of both Caskentia and the Waste.

A flock of birds fluttered overhead, anxiety driving them as if they were pursued. Octavia craned around. The sky was a blanket of gray, the wind sharpened by early winter.

“What is the matter?” called Alonzo.

“Something alarmed the birds.”

“To the trees, quickly.”

Their horses pounded down the hill, the action reverberating through her constantly aching leg muscles. Thin snow sloshed underfoot. The forest welcomed them with a slap of branches and a shower of pine needles and ice. Roads had been scarce, signs of humanity scarcer. A good thing, in truth, though the long days of slow progress had permanently imprinted the saddle's curve into her backside.

“We should be nearing the Caskentian border. 'Tis a likely place for patrols to be wary for us.” Alonzo reined up.

Octavia listened past the songs of wildlife around her. “I hear a buzzer.”
That's what I get for counting my blessings. I jinxed us.

“Yes. He is likely flying amongst the low clouds. Our tracks are bold on the snow.” Alonzo pressed his horse onward, staying in the trees. She followed, brush scraping her legs. Trees crowded close.

Because of the unusual strength of Octavia's skills, the settlers of the rogue territory known as the Waste had sought to capture her and use her against Caskentia. The Caskentian royal court caught wind of this plot and, true to form, thought the tidiest solution was Octavia's death.

She had known all her life that her government was as rotten as unsalted meat left out on a summer afternoon—­the sort that looks fine to eat, and makes you pray for a merciful end hours later—­but she had never expected them to send Clockwork Daggers to assassinate her. But Alonzo Garret, in the guise of an airship steward, had refused to carry out his assigned task.

“It could be normal Caskentian border patrol, right? Perhaps they don't know to look for us?”

The buzzer roared overhead. Alonzo looked up with a grimace. “ 'Tis my hope that our feint will last longer, but I dare not be too positive. Our circuitous route has taken us a week. By now they are well aware of what transpired aboard the
Argus
and have tracked the Wasters' trail to where we did battle. If they suspect we are alive and free, our choices of destination are few.”

“Well, we certainly couldn't go to the Waste, though that's where most criminals would flee. That leaves the southern nations as the obvious choice.”

“An obvious choice, but not the only. There is always Mercia. 'Tis a warren. A person could lose their own shadow in those environs, and within a stone's throw of the palace.”

And many stones are being thrown that way, I'm sure, knowing how ­people feel about Queen Evandia.

Mercia was Caskentia's capital, a sprawling city of half a million, a place of countless factories and miserable refugees. Octavia had never been there—­never wished to go there, with its reputation for foul air, sickness, and utter lack of vegetation. Such denseness of humanity was the stuff of her nightmares; considering how she could hear Alonzo's song now, she dreaded to think of what it would be like to be surrounded by the starving and sick.

No trees lay ahead. Alonzo sucked in a sharp breath and reined up. “Damn.”

She knew it had to be bad if he used that sort of language in front of her. She drew up alongside him. “What is—­? Oh.”

They had reached the end of Caskentia.

The ravine had to be some five hundred feet across, the basin of it far beyond sight. Sedimentary-­rock layers rippled in various tones of red and brown. On the far side, and farther south, steam clouds billowed into the chilly afternoon. “Factories,” Alonzo said. “There are said to be many on their side of the border.”

“I don't see any signs of bridges or roads.”

Alonzo cast a grim glance at the sky. The sound of the buzzer had faded again. “No, and if there are, they will be well guarded. The southern nations have taken in many Caskentian refugees, but with restrictions.”

“If all the unemployed and starving fled Caskentia, there'd be scarcely anyone left.”

“Indeed.”

They urged their horses to trot into the woods parallel to the ravine. The horses knew their anxiety; it showed in their quickened hearts and flickering ears. Octavia stroked her mare again. The white horse appeared delicate with her tapered legs and quick stride, but had revealed incredible endurance and a steady temperament over their long trek. Octavia's growing fondness for the mare was bothersome.

I must resist naming her. Maybe that will make our eventual parting that much easier—­a lesson I should have learned with Leaf.

The thought of the little gremlin caused her to glance up in case she might see him for the first time in a week. Birds cawed, but there were no mews or chitters from man-­made biological constructs.

The trees thinned out and showed open ground to the west. With another wary look to the clouds, they rode into the open. Clicking her tongue, Octavia encouraged her horse to gallop. Melted snow created thick mud that spattered her legs and chest; the enchantment on her robes would wick away the filth within minutes. Another stand of trees loomed a quarter mile away.

That high mechanical buzz returned to the clouds.

Octavia lifted herself higher in the stirrups, crouching low over the horse's neck. Mane lashed her face. She gritted her teeth against the burning tension in her thighs.

Alonzo looked over his shoulder. His hood had blown flat against his back, his bound hair blowing out like a miniature horse's tail. His mouth was a hard line. She almost expected the buzzer to be mounted with an automatic gun like the one that pursued them in the marsh outside of Leffen, for gunfire to follow them into the woods. They slowed as they entered the tree cover. Alonzo wheeled around. The buzzing grew louder yet.

With a grunt, he heaved himself out of the saddle. Octavia scrambled to do the same, and landed just in time to provide him with an arm for extra balance. His half leg warbled with strain. Octavia grabbed both bridles.

“My thanks,” he said. His walk was stiff as he headed toward the edge of the woods.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to get a good look at the pilot.” He unholstered the Gadsden .45 from his belt.

“That's a particular kind of look. This—­this likely isn't a Clockwork Dagger. It's probably just a soldier.”

“A soldier must perform his duty. Our whereabouts will be reported.” His expression carried both regret and resolve. He walked on.

Alonzo had reminded her more than once that Caskentia would pursue them across the border. That land across the ravine was their destination for the sake of information, not as a haven.

She calmed both horses, shushing and rubbing their muzzles as if she could soothe herself as well. This pilot would be like any of the thousands she had tended at the front—­a boy who simply drew a bad billet this morning.

The gunshot jolted her and the horses.

She turned as Alonzo fired again. He had crouched at the tree line.

“ 'Tis going down,” he said.

Treetops snapped in the canopy above as the craft roared by. As awed as she was by his marksmanship, her stomach twisted with guilt.
Another life lost because of us. Lady, be with the pilot. Show him mercy at the end, please.

“Come! Let us follow.”

Grief gnawed at her as they rode through the woods. “Octavia.” Alonzo seemed to read her thoughts. “With fair winds and a good engine, 'tis a mere two days from Mercia to the southern nations. If he landed and relayed a telegraph, our odds would be more dismal by the hour.”

“If the pilot's hurt—­” The whine of the buzzer continued, though the sound did not seem farther away. Odd.

“You know the state of your supplies better than I.”

Octavia grimaced.
The deplorable state.
After her brief journey on the
Argus,
she was low on everything except wet Linsom berries to restore skin. Her supply of her most vital herb, pampria, was very low, and though she had a full bag of the dry herb she had had no chance to grind any.

“I'll try to use discretion,” she said. Alonzo arched an eyebrow, clearly not believing she was capable of such a thing.

The buzzer had landed in a small clearing, engine on and roaring. Alonzo dismounted, gun drawn. Octavia followed suit, but her first priority was to untie her satchel from the saddlebag. Only with that secured across her torso, bandolier-­style, did she reach for the gun in her trench-­coat pocket. It was one of the Wasters' pistols, the crosshatching on the grip almost worn smooth by use. She took both reins as Alonzo edged forward.

The buzzer's motor revved at full speed, the propeller a blur of movement atop its eight-­foot pole. The base resembled a somewhat flattened tricycle, all three wheels resting on the ground. The pilot had slumped over in the single seat.

“Alonzo. He's dead.” From thirty feet away, she knew. His blood still wailed with its need to live, though the instruments of the full body had already been rendered mute. Octavia clenched and unclenched her fists.
I have the tree leaves, but . . . I can't. I can't. I can't heal everyone willy-­nilly. Lady, please let this person deserve this fate.

In her apron pocket, she kept four leaves from the tree that had grown from her own blood. A fifth leaf had already been used to return Alonzo from death. According to legend, all aspects of the Lady's Tree were endowed with incredible healing powers: the leaves, to bring back the recently dead; the bark, as a healing balm; the seeds, to resurrect the “fully” deceased.

Alonzo still advanced with care to check on the man. “Indeed,” he said. “He lived long enough to make a proper landing, and only that.”

He unstrapped the pilot and dragged him from the seat. The man wore a full brown leather suit, Caskentian standard for pilots. Octavia looked away and mouthed a prayer.

A few minutes later, Alonzo spoke again. “I found his papers. He is indeed a border monitor, though he is far beyond the normal route for his patrol. This bodes ill.”

Everything about this journey bodes ill.
She blinked up at the bleary sky. Clouds had plagued them in recent days. Winter's full brunt loomed far too close for comfort.

Something glinted up on high.

“Alonzo!” She yelled to be heard over the propeller. “This isn't the only buzzer!”

“Grab my bag!”

She rushed to his saddlebag. A few motions and she had his hefty pack unbuckled. She could hear the new buzzer over the sound of the landed craft.