Clockwork Twist : Missing (15 page)

“I know. That’s why we’re on this journey.”

“No, I mean right now,” Skye said, slipping her locket chain over her head to hold the small pocket watch out to him on her palm. “He called Aden a few minutes ago, and insisted on being connected to me. I don’t know what it’s about. He just said he has to speak to you.”

“Wait, you mean I can talk to him through that? Right now?” Twist asked, pointing to the little pocket watch. Skye opened the face and then touched a hidden switch. The clock face flipped over once again, and the same blue light shone out.

“Okay, Twist can hear you,” she said to the watch. “Go ahead.”

“
Twist
?
” Storm’s voice said from out of the blue light.

“Storm?” Twist asked the watch.

“
It’s so good to hear your voice
!
” Storm’s voice said quickly. “
Twist, listen, I’ve had a couple of Jon’s dreams. They’re all over the place—I think he’s really upset about what’s happening—but I’m pretty sure I know where he is.
”

“You do?” Twist asked back, his heart thundering in anticipation.

“
Yes,
” Storm answered with confidence. “
Now, I know this might sound crazy, but I think he’s been kidnapped by dragons. And yes, I mean real ones.
”

Skye glanced meaningfully at Twist. Twist shook his head, barely able to believe that any of this could be real.

“All right, then, where is he now?” Twist asked the watch.

“
You believe me
?
” Storm asked in return, sounding astonished. “
That’s fantastic! All right, so here’s the really crazy part. In Jon’s dreams, he’s been taken to outer space and the dragons are forcing him to help them get to Jupiter. Apparently, they want to take a vacation on a moon.
”

Twist took a deep breath, stunned to hear his own mad visions repeated back to him. It sounded utterly ridiculous. And yet, Storm’s findings were the exactly the same. As insane as it all was, it simply had to be true.

“
Twist
?
”
Storm’s voice asked. “
Are you still with me
?
”

“Yes, yes, I am,” Twist answered. “Storm, thank you. I keep dreaming about him, too,” Twist added with a sigh. “I tried to talk to him, but he can’t hear me. And I’m not with him in the dreams like that one we shared before, with you. I’m inside his mind, looking through his eyes.” Twist could sense the women in the room watching him intently as he spoke, but he kept his attention on the watch.

“
You mean, you’re seeing him when he’s awake
?
”

“I suppose,” Twist answered.

“
Lucky…I only get his dreams, like always. But I can’t talk to him either. Now, I don’t think they’ve left Earth yet. If we can get to him, we might still be able to get him back. But the hard part will be finding out exactly where he is in space. We have some telescopes here, but it’s still going to be hard to find him. We need all the help we can get.
”

“Who else could help us?” Twist asked. “Only you and I even know who Jonas is.”

“
Vane is in Japan right now, and he still remembers him too,
” Storm’s voice said. “
Long story. I’ll explain later. Once your ship gets to Tokyo, go find him. It shouldn’t take long if Arabel is with you.
”

“Vane?” Twist scoffed. “What does he have to do with any of this?”

“
He knows dragons and, like I said, I know he still remembers Jonas. I got into one of his dreams yesterday, and Jon was right there. I know you’re not fond of Vane, but we haven’t got a lot of options here. I have a backup idea, but it’s riskier. Either way, Vane might be the best one to help us
.”

“This is a little kid?” Skye asked, staring at the watch in confusion.

“He’s not that little,” Twist said, careful to be sure that Storm could hear him too.

“
Yeah, I’m ten and a half
,” Storm said, sounding very proud.

“All right, Storm,” Twist said, smiling at the watch. “I’ll find Vane, and then I’ll come to you.”

“
That’s great
,” Storm said, sounding relieved. “
I’ll keep sleeping as much as I can. I can’t wait to see you.
”

“Neither can I,” Twist said, smiling at the soft blue glow.

Twist stood at the railing, at the bow of the ship, in a torrent of chilly wind. His eyes were closed as he let the subtle heat of the sunlight soak into his skin. Even here above eastern Siberia, where the sun once again rose and set, the light was dim and golden. But after all the days in the dark, even this pale light was delicious to his senses.

The other passengers had flocked to the promenade deck early in the morning and filled it to bursting. But now that the day was all but spent, the sun had already lost its charm to them. Twist was grateful for their fickle natures, as he could now enjoy the evening light in peace and near solitude. He could hear other passengers chatting as they walked by, but the chill of the air thinned the crowds to almost nothing at all.

Hearing in London that Storm had also retained his memories of Jonas, and was just as concerned for him as Twist was, had done much to steady Twist’s resolve. But hearing the boy mention dragons and spaceships had banished all of Twist’s worries for his own sanity. Now, maybe even Vane—troubling as he was—would join him in the fight to save Jonas. There was a plan before him, and the road was clear. Yesterday’s moment of fear felt a million miles behind him now.

“Oliver, my boy!” a voice said cheerfully, drawing Twist’s attention. He turned to find Alistair smiling at him, flanked by two other young men who Twist didn’t know. “How are you?” Alistair asked brightly.

“I’m doing well,” Twist answered, pleased to find that he meant it. “How are you?”

“Grand, grand,” Alistair said dismissively. “Listen, Ollie, these chaps and I were just going to have a game of cards. Can I tempt you to join us?”

Twist had learned poker from the
Vimana
crew, but he thought it rather telling that his best game was solitaire. He couldn’t, however, come up with any reason why he shouldn’t join Alistair and his friends. The sun would set in a matter of minutes, and he would have to wait through the night to see it again, anyway. He gave Alistair a shrug and stepped away from the rail.

“All right,” he said brightly. “Why not. Thank you for the invitation.”

“Wonderful,” Alistair said happily as he and the others led Twist away.

He was introduced along the way—as Oliver Twist, to his dismay—to Nielsen Higgins and Jeffrey Bradford. The two men were dressed as fashionably as Alistair, and seemed to both be freshly free from university. As far as Twist could tell from their manner and bearing, they seemed to be rather wealthy Londoners. While Nielsen had dark hair and wore a green suit, Jeffrey was blond and wore blue.

“I know a baboon named Jeffrey,” Twist mentioned.

“I’m sorry?” Jeffrey Bradford asked with a frown.

Alistair laughed and pointed accusingly at Twist. “This man is hilarious,” he said to his friends. “You can’t believe a word he says, but it’s ever so entertaining.”

The others gave Twist friendly smiles as they stepped into the gaming parlor. It looked just like the dining room to Twist—high ceilings filled with hanging chandeliers, tall pillars of oak, and a wide floor full of tables. Rather than white tablecloths and cutlery, Twist saw roulette wheels and painted felt. Alistair took them to an unused round table in a corner, which was surrounded by a few comfortable-looking chairs. As they all took their seats, Nielsen pulled a deck of cards out of his coat pocket.

“Now that is never a good sign, using your own deck,” Alistair said. “How do we know you haven’t marked those?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

“Do you want to inspect them, then?” Nielsen asked, offering the deck over the table.

“I couldn’t be bothered,” Alistair said, waving them away. Jeffrey laughed lightly and Twist smiled as Nielsen took his cards back and began to shuffle them.

In moments, the game had begun. A set of painted wooden poker chips—which had been with the table—were split up evenly among them, though no one offered any real money to account for them. Twist took his first hand and found absolutely nothing of value in it. As no one else had anything good either, Jeffrey won the pot with a pair of jacks. As the game progressed, the players grew more comfortable and playful in their banter.

“I’m out,” Twist said, tossing his cards down.

“That’s the third time you’ve folded,” Alistair pointed out. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to at least pretend to have a good hand, even when you haven’t one? It’s more fun. Who taught you to play poker?”

“I learned poker from a bunch of pirates,” Twist said with shrug. “They all cheated.”

“Pirates?” Nielsen asked.

“Well,
nice
pirates,” Twist amended. “They prefer to be called treasure hunters.”

“I see…” Jeffrey said as he shuffled the cards.

“Come now, Ollie,” Alistair toned. “You’re losing your touch. That’s only a slightly odd thing to say. What’s happened to the utter madness you usually speak?”

Twist looked at him sideways. “What if I told you I learned to play whist from a genie, with a deck of cards that he made out of a tiny elephant, which he first made from a teaspoon? Would that be mad enough for you?”

Alistair gave a hearty laugh. “That’s the Oliver Twist I know!” he declared happily, while his companions sniggered into their cards. Twist shook his head and picked up his new cards.

“All right, how many do you want?” Jeffrey asked Twist.

Twist gave a sigh, considering yet another nearly useless hand. He kept the pair of sevens—the first pair he’d seen in his own hand—and traded the three other cards for two kings, and another seven. Twist stared at his cards. Three of a kind was a good hand on its own, but the two kings made it a full house. He couldn’t remember how many points that would get him, but he knew it was a very good hand. As the bet came back around to him, Twist was silently grateful that his face was not a naturally expressive one.

“So, are you going to fold again?” Alistair asked him.

Twist placed his cards on the table, face down, and gave a sigh. “No, I’ll go around once,” he said casually. He picked up a matching bet and then paused. “Oh, what the hell. I’ll raise,” he said lightly, tossing another two chips into the pot.

“Now we’re talking,” Alistair said happily. “I’ll see that,” he said, tossing in his own chips. Then he paused too, looking at Twist pointedly. “Actually, I’ll raise as well.” He tossed in another three chips. The others met the bets, leaving Twist once again with the next play.

“I’m still not sure how this is more fun than folding,” Twist said, putting on a confused expression as he met the bet and then raised another two chips.

“Well, how about I make it even more fun, then?” Alistair asked. He counted up his remaining chips and then placed all but five of them into the pot together. “I’ll raise you twenty.”

“I’m out,” Nielsen said, tossing his cards down and putting his hands in the air.

“I’ll see your bet,” Jeffrey said, placing twenty of his own chips into the pot. He looked to Twist as the others did. Twist felt their attention fall on him, but he only smiled thoughtfully at his pile of chips. Then he looked up to Alistair with the same light smile.

“All in.”

“Ho ho!” Nielsen toned with an excited smile. “He’s got you now, chaps.”

Alistair narrowed his eyes at Twist and tossed his last five chips into the pot. “I’ll see that,” he said, sounding defiant.

“Real money or no, this is too rich for my blood,” Jeffrey announced, tossing his pair of fours on the table and shaking his head.

“All right, then,” Alistair said with a gleam in his eye.

“Now, now,” Twist said, shaking a finger. “It’s still my turn.” Alistair had been quite right, he now realized. This was much more fun. He didn’t want to let it end before he managed to make Alistair honestly nervous.

“You’re all in,” Nielsen said with a frown. “We agreed: no real money. What else can you bet?”

“We’re not going to stoop to betting pocket watches, are we?” Jeffrey asked.

“Oh Lord no, never,” Twist said quickly. “But I’ve got something else in mind…”

“You don’t want the deed to my house, do you?” Alistair asked with a nervous chuckle. Twist smiled at the sound of it. He knew that Jonas would be proud of him for it.

“I read far too much,” Twist said seriously. “Magical creatures in fantastic novels like to use favors for currency. I live a strange life full of vampires, ninjas, genies, talking animals, and, most recently, dragons.” Alistair began to laugh again, while the other two chuckled. Twist leaned his elbows on the table and looked intently at Alistair over his clasped hands. “I’ll raise you one favor. You can ask my assistance on any one thing in the future. Meet my bet and lose, and you’ll owe me the same. What do you say?”

“I’d say that you’re just about the strangest fellow I’ve ever met,” Alistair said, glancing at his own hand of cards again. He looked back up to Twist with a smile. “But that is why I like you. I’ll see your bet, and I call.”

Twist smiled back at him and turned over his cards. “I believe that’s a full house.”

“My word!” Jeffrey gasped, staring at the cards. Nielsen clapped heartily, laughing.

“Hold on a moment!” Alistair said, turning over his own cards. He had a five, a four, a three, a two, and an ace of varying suits. “I’ve a straight. A straight doesn’t beat a full house, does it?” he asked his friends. “Did he just beat me?”

“A straight flush beats a full house,” Jeffrey said, nodding. “But you’ve only got a normal straight. By Jove, I think he’s beaten you!”

“He has!” Nielsen said, grinning at Twist. “Well played, sir!”

Twist laughed and smiled at Alistair. “I’ll let you know when I want that favor,” he said smoothly.

“Why, you devil!” Alistair bellowed, laughing even as he did. “You’re a swindler!”

“You told me not to fold anymore,” Twist said with an innocent shrug.

The others laughed and smiled at him, and Twist suddenly realized that he had successfully made three new friends. The knowledge startled him far more than the luck of his poker hand. These weren’t magical beings, or even Sighted people. These were ordinary men near his own age. He had given up all hope in his own social abilities long ago, and yet, here he was, making people he barely knew laugh and smile.

“Well, that was definitely the highlight of that game,” Jeffrey said as he gathered up the chips from the pot and passed the cards to Nielsen. “What do you say we all keep our valuables and stop now?”

“Good idea,” Nielsen said with a nod as he put his cards back into his coat pocket. “I don’t want to lose my firstborn to Oliver Twist. That sounds both ironic and absurd, all at once.”

“Don’t give him any ideas!” Alistair snapped, mocking a nervous smile. Twist laughed, savoring the strange flavor of camaraderie. “Come, let’s go get a drink instead. Ollie can tell us tall tales,” he added with a wink to Twist.

“Oh sure,” Twist agreed as they all got to their feet. “I can tell you about the Indians who fly about on the moon. Or the time I was kidnapped by pirates in a submersible in the Caspian Sea. Or the time I was attacked by stone gargoyles when I tried to escape from Big Ben.”

“You’re not a writer, are you?” Nielsen asked suspiciously as they walked out of the gaming parlor together. “I can’t afford to drink with a writer.”

“No, I’m a clock-maker,” Twist said with a shake of his head.

The others laughed again, and Twist smiled.