Clockwork Twist : Waking (20 page)

“Can I ask you something?” Twist asked Jonas as they all stepped out onto the cobblestone streets, under the shade of advertisements and signs that hung off the buildings around them.  Jonas nodded. “Vane is immortal?” Twist asked, keeping his voice low.

“Foxes can live forever,” Jonas said, “but they aren't invincible, or anything.  They can be killed as easily as anyone else.  After a hundred years or so, they usually move on to the next stage of their existence and grow another tail.  You can tell Vane is young because he only has one.”

“I see,” Twist said, filing the information away to work on understanding it later. “And Jiran,” he said, keeping his voice low again, “is she a mute?”

A laugh escaped Jonas for a moment, before he caught it. “No, she's just quiet,” he said, smiling as he spoke.  Ahead of them, Twist thought he saw Jiran glance over her shoulder for an instant. “It's a big deal if she decides to speak,” Jonas said. “But she certainly can.  And her hearing is way above normal as well.”

In obvious response, Jiran turned back and gave Twist a wink as the group turned a corner.  Twist felt a brush of heat in his cheeks and looked away.  Ahead of the others, Twist spotted tall sailing ships and steamers at the end of the long street, while clouds of airships floated in the air above them.

“Got any more questions?” Jonas asked lightly.

“A few,” Twist said. “Arabel told me that they left Quay's airship at the bottom of the Caspian Sea.  So how did they get to Nepal, and then here?”

“They probably stole another ship,” Jonas said with a shrug. “In fact, I'm sure that's why they brought us to Hong Kong.  This is the biggest airship port in Asia.  It's full of sky pirates and the last of the old fashioned sea pirates as well.  If you're in Asia and you need something illegal done well and quickly—like forged airship ownership papers—this is the place.”

“So, we're surrounded by pirates right now?” Twist asked, his eyes searching faces in the crowds nearer the docks.  Each one looked rather foreign, battle hardened, and suspicious to him.

“I'm sorry,” Jonas said with a sigh. “I know you don't like pirates.”

“Thank you,” Twist muttered. “Last question,” he said, pulling himself steady again.

“Are you sure it's the last one?” Jonas asked.  When Twist glanced at him, he found a smile playing at the edge of his mouth.

“For the moment, yes,” Twist muttered. “What about the
Vimana
?”  The mirth faded from Jonas's face. “Quay said that something happened to the ship, but what about the crew?”

“I know Ara is all right,” he said softly.

“Do you remember more than I do?” Twist asked.

“Probably not.  I just remember trying to hold onto you while my mind exploded into that white light.  But, I know that Ara is going to live for a while yet.  I saw her future once.  She was old, with white hair and years of sunlight and life on her face.”

“Ah, then you can control your visions sometimes,” Twist said. “I thought you always saw someone's death when you looked into their eyes.”

Jonas didn't respond, though his face showed not even a glimmer of light in it.

“Well, that's good though,” Twist said, changing the subject quickly. “If she's alive, then you and I have a chance to be found.”

“True,” Jonas said, nodding. “There's no telling what happened to the
Vimana
, or any of the others, but if Ara's alive then she'll probably try to find us.  She's tenacious, that one.”

In London, the airship docks had reached high above the rooftops in the center of the city, on thin limbs of strong, reinforced ironwork.  In Venice, the docks had look much like docks on water, hanging as they did at the edges of the flying section of the city.  Here in Hong Kong, the airship docks were different still.  Tall towers, barely wide enough to house the stairways within them, stood at the edges of the water docks in progressive layers of thinning red walls and wide, black tile roofs that curved upward at each level.  Ships floated around these towers for what looked like over a hundred feet up into the sky.  Twist looked up into the heights with a frown.

“Is no one else in the world afraid of heights?” Twist asked as he and the others walked under the shadow of the airships that clustered around a tower like gigantic hummingbirds.

“Sure there is,” Jonas said, grinning at him as he walked through the arc at the base of a tower and began to climb after the others. “They just never go anywhere.”

“I liked not going anywhere,” Twist said as he followed him. “It was very pleasant.  I never got attacked, or kidnapped, or enslaved, and I always knew what to expect from my day.”

“How dreadfully boring,” Jonas said with a wrinkle of his nose.

“You vastly underestimate boring,” Twist said.

Jonas laughed and shook his head.  As Twist focused on his steps and did all he could not to let himself look down, they passed landing after landing.  The group soon reached a landing at which they stopped.  They then walked out to a thin bridge that hung from the tower on thin ropes, stretching out the deck of an airship.

This ship looked smaller than the
Vimana
, but it was still massive.  The two enclosed decks of the wooden hull hung in a long curve beneath a set of three tall, round, white balloons that floated above two masts and their single-piece, huge, red sails.  Thin black supporting bars lay over the surface of the sails in a ray shape that reminded Twist of the sun.  A giant copper propeller hung under the keel on a long, articulated arm.  The ship's top deck was also rimmed with cannons.

Enamored by the look of this new airship, Twist continued to step forward until his foot landed on the thin, long, bridge that hung over empty space.  The sudden difference in the sound drew his gaze down to see that the bridge was made of thin metal bars, all linked together like a basket, through which he could easily see the enormous drop beneath him.

Twist leaped backwards onto the tower, where he clung tightly to the edge of the archway, staring down into the abyss, while his heart pounded loudly in his chest as if it were trying to escape.

“What's the matter?” Cybele asked from the deck of the ship, looking back at Twist.

“It's all right,” Jonas said, already walking back over the bridge to him. “I'll get him.”

“That's insane,” Twist said, pointing to the depths that Jonas walked over so easily. “I can't do that!”

“It's perfectly safe,” Jonas said, stopping beside him. “We all walked right across.”

“You're all insane!” Twist snapped, unable to take his eyes off the horror.

“Do you want me to pull you over?” Jonas offered, already taking a light hold of the edge of Twist's coat sleeve.

“Get off!” Twist said, waving his hand to free it. “Go have fun in Indonesian without me.  I'm going to stay right here on the ground, like the good Lord intended.”

“Indonesia has ground too, you know,” Jonas pointed out.

“Yeah, but that's in the way.”

“Look,” Jonas said, his voice growing heavy with impatience, “I'll push you over that bridge if I have to,” he said, stepping behind Twist.

“Get away from me, you maniac!” Twist yelped, leaping to the other side of the archway.

Jonas gave a sigh and pulled his goggles off. “I'm sorry Twist, but you give me no choice,” he said, stepping closer.  Twist felt the heat in his neck take on its buzzing sensation again as he came well within reach.

“Now, just a minute!” Twist closed his eyes tightly and clung to the wall with one arm, swatting the other blindly through the air, in the general direction of Jonas.

Nevertheless, he felt a small motion at his waistcoat pocket and then sensed Jonas move quickly away.  Realization struck him before he could even open his eyes to confirm his suspicion.  He stared at Jonas in totally shock and dismay as the other man stood halfway over the bridge.  He was holding Twist's pocket watch out in front of him by its chain, with a sorrowful expression on his face.

“You bloody damned traitor,” Twist hissed as darkly as his small voice would allow.

“Come on,” Jonas said, reluctantly. “I wouldn't drop it, but I'll keep it if you don't come and take it from me.”

“I hate you,” Twist hissed, stepping to the edge of the bridge.

“I know, I'm sorry,” Jonas said, stepping backward toward the air ship.

“I'm not going to forgive you for this,” Twist snapped, glaring daggers at him.

It took him a moment to realize that Jonas's eyes were still uncovered as he stared into them.  As he watched, Jonas’s eye color shifted from their natural green to a softly glowing, azure blue.  A flicker of confusion danced over Jonas's face as he stared back at Twist, not obviously affected by the visual contact.

“What the hell?” Jonas breathed in quiet disbelief, still staring into Twist's eyes.

“Why aren't you looking away?” Twist asked, his voice still hard.

“It's not … I don't have to,” Jonas said softly.  His eyes took on a soft lilac color. “Twist I can see you.  Just you.  Right now.  What the hell is going on?” he asked, his words taking on the color of fear.

“What do you mea—“ Twist began to ask until Jonas closed the gap between them in a rush and then reached out to take hold of Twist's arm. “No!  What are you doing?” Twist yelped, trying to move away.  Jonas was faster, and his hand gripped firmly over Twist wrist.

Twist braced for a vision, or for a strange and enormous white explosion, but none of it happened.  The warmth at the back of his neck rose in a wave and crashed over his whole body while thin white fog billowed in his mind, before both fell away harmlessly to leave nothing but a light-headed glimmer at the edges of his vision and a faint, blurry sort of buzz in the air.

“What the hell?” Twist breathed, staring at Jonas wide eyed.

“What's the hold up?” Cybele's voice asked from the airship.

“Come on,” Jonas said, turning and dragging Twist along behind him.  Twist's breath caught in his throat while his feet hurried to keep up, scurrying over the thin metal and onto the solid wooden deck of the ship.  The moment they were both on the deck, Jonas handed Twist back his watch.  He didn't let go of his arm.  Twist took the watch instantly, sparing Jonas another glare.  Jonas watched it with hesitance and disbelief still raging in his eyes, as they shifted from lilac to a deeper and darker purple.

Almost immediately after Twist and Jonas got on board, the ropes were all thrown off and the ship began to rise into the sky.  They both went to the bow of the ship to get out of the foot traffic while the rest of the crew manned the rigging or went bellow.  Quay took the ship's wheel, near the stern.

“Seriously, what's going on?” Jonas asked Twist, looking at him again.

“How long are you going to hold my wrist?” Twist asked him back.

“Does it hurt?” Jonas asked. “Are you getting anything off this touch?  You hand is glowing a little…”

“No,” Twist muttered, tugging at his grip and looking away from Jonas’s now piercing, azure blue eyes. “It does feel really strange, though.”

“Why?  How?” Jonas asked, trying to catch Twist's eyes again.  When he couldn't, he took hold of Twist's chin with his thumb and finger, pulling his gaze back.  Twist shivered from head to toe at the feeling of Jonas's warm fingers on his skin.  He stared back helplessly into the slowly changing colors of his eyes.

“I've never been touched, without a vision, for as long as I can remember,” Twist said quickly when Jonas let go of his chin. “Not in reality, anyway.  The princess could touch me, but that was a dream.  And her skin was cold.”

“Try,” Jonas said, staring unblinkingly into him.

“What?”

“Pull at your Sight,” Jonas said, taking his other hand in his own.  Jonas's skin felt so warm to Twist in the quickly chilling air that he could hardly focus on anything else in the world.  His fingers felt solid, rough, and so much stronger than his own. “Try to get a vision.”

“Are you completely mad?” Twist snapped back at him.

The color in Jonas’s eyes darkened suddenly, taking on a rich, deep, almost black purple for only a moment before he took in a sharp breath and snapped his eyes finally closed.

“What is it?  Are you all right?” Twist asked.