The Doomsday Vault

transporting it to headquarters via dirigible. The automaton is too powerful to leave running about, and we’ve deactivated it so we can put it into the Doo-” He shot another glance at Louisa. “Into permanent storage. The ship carrying it will reach London airspace any moment.”

“What has this to do with me?” Alice asked.

“If that war machine falls into the wrong hands, thousands of lives could be lost,” Simon continued. “But we’ve received word from an anonymous source that a clockworker intends to steal it en route. We can’t allow a lunatic to control such a machine, Miss Michaels.”

“I agree, Mr. d’Arco,” Alice said with a nod. “But I repeat: What has this to do-”

“Our information says the clockworker intends to use your automatons to capture the device.”

“What?” Alice leapt to her feet. “That’s impossible!”

“Where’s Click?” Louisa asked.

A frantic search turned up no sign of Click or of any of Alice’s little automatons, though all Norbert’s automatons seemed to be present. Alice remembered her whirligigs fleeing out the window with Click on their heels, but she hadn’t thought anything of it at the time.

“Hurry!” Simon towed Alice’s toward the door before she could even snatch up her hat. “The W-our associates are meeting us halfway.”

“I’ll just let myself out, darling,” Louisa called. “Have fun!”

Chapter Fourteen

In moments, Alice found herself on a horse behind Simon, clutching his waist as they galloped through the streets of London. She nearly let loose with a little whoop. Perhaps this was how Queen Boadicea felt, though the ancient warrior queen probably hadn’t ridden sidesaddle on the back of someone else’s mount. Still, it was much more fun than drinking tea in a parlor.

Alice had no idea how Simon managed to negotiate traffic, but in very little time they arrived at the park. Hovering above it was the same little airship that had brought Alice and Gavin to Ward headquarters all those months ago. A short climb up a rope ladder brought her and Simon to the tiny bridge. Alice wasn’t surprised in the least to find Gavin at the helm. Her heart did a little skip at seeing him there, his strong hands on the wheel and his black leathers contrasting sharply with his white-blond hair. His blue eyes held hers for a moment.

“Miss Michaels,” he said.

“Mr. Ennock.” No, she told herself firmly. She was eloping with Norbert, and that was that.

“I’m here, too,” Glenda spoke up. Alice hadn’t even noticed her. “Simon, cast off. We’re out of time.”

The propellers whirred madly, and the airship swung round to the east. Below, people went about their business. Airships over London were nothing special. Alice did wonder what was going to happen to Simon’s horse.

“I don’t understand any of this,” Alice said aloud. “All my windup automatons ran off, including Click, and now you tell me that you received a. . a ‘tip’ about it?”

“An anonymous telegram.” Glenda opened a hatchway and started pulling equipment from the little hold below. She handed bits to Simon, who assembled the pieces. “We decided to act as if the information were good. So far, it has been. The telegram mentioned the war machine-that’s been a secret until now-and it mentioned your automatons getting involved.”

“How is that possible?”

Glenda shook her head. She was wearing trousers that clashed terribly with her woman’s white blouse. “We don’t know yet.”

The blocky city slid past below them, and the dirty gray scales of the Thames twisted across the landscape. Gavin was following its course. Up here, the air smelled cleaner, with no hint of coal smoke or manure. A flock of ravens tore through the air under the ship with their harsh caws and croaks. Perhaps two miles ahead glided a much larger dirigible, gray and slow as a pregnant whale.

“That’s our transport,” Glenda said, pointing. “They’re only lightly armed-weapons draw attention, and this was supposed to be a secret mission. We’re right over Greenwich, so if our informant has it right, the attack will come at any minute.”

“Why are we the only ones out here?” Alice demanded. “Where’s the rest of the Ward?”

“More agents are on the way,” Simon said, “but it takes a while to get from London to Greenwich on horseback, and this was the only dirigible available. Gavin, can’t this ship go any faster?”

“We’re too heavy,” he said. “I’ve been working on a ship design of my own, but-”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Glenda lifted a harness with folded batlike wings attached to it. “You’ll need to put this on, Alice.”

“Miss Michaels, please.” She eyed it dubiously. “What is it?”

“A glider.” Glenda spun Alice around and started buckling. The harness was heavy, but the weight was distributed well, so it also felt strangely light. “Think of a giant kite. When you lean left, you’ll turn left. Lean right to turn right. Raise your torso to climb. Lean forward to dive. Watch out for downdrafts. The bottle of compressed air on your back provides thrust. When the light on your control bar turns red, you’re nearly out, so come back immediately or you’ll be dependent on whatever the wind decides to do with you. It won’t be hard for someone of your intelligence to master it all.”

“But what am I supposed to do?” Alice nearly wailed.

“You know your windup machines better than anyone else.” Simon was shrugging into a glider harness of his own. “Stop them, defeat them, destroy them. Don’t you have a special code or switch to shut them down?”

“Each one has a switch, yes,” Alice said. “But they’re all custom-made, and each machine’s switch is in a different place, so-”

“Exactly why we need you,” Simon said.

“How many machines have you?” Glenda was now buckling Simon in.

“Twenty,” she said instantly. “Twenty-one, counting Click. But I can’t imagine Click would disobey me.”

“Of course not.” Glenda turned. “Simon, buckle me in. Miss Michaels, use those clips to fasten your skirts round your ankles and preserve your modesty while you’re in the air. Next time, I suggest trousers. And you’ll want these goggles to protect your eyes.”

Alice drew on the proffered eyewear. “Next time?”

The big ship was already looming large, perhaps two hundred yards away.

“Off we go, Simon.” Glenda caught up a fat pistol and leapt over the side. Alice gasped in automatic fear for her, but there was a hiss as the bottle on Glenda’s back came to life and the batlike wings snapped fully open with a whump. She caught the wind and glided away. Simon snatched a large pistol of his own and jumped after her to glide toward the larger ship, leaving Alice alone with Gavin on the tiny deck.

“Aren’t you coming, G-Mr. Ennock?” Alice asked.

Gavin’s mouth was set, and his fingers tightened on the helm. “I don’t fly that way. Pirates do. Come back if you need an air refill.”

She nodded in understanding. “Wish me luck, then.”

“Good luck, miss,” he said stonily.

His stiffness slapped her hard. “Are you angry at me, Mr. Ennock?”

“Nope. You’d better fly.”

“You are angry at me.”

“You made your choice. I’m happy for you. Marry him. Be well.”

Alice’s mouth fell open. “Does everyone know about that?”

“Anonymous telegram from someone named ‘L.’ ”

“I’ll murder her,” Alice muttered. “Listen, Mr. Ennock, I-”

“You’d better go,” Gavin said. “Look!”

A glittering line of tiny brass machines rushed toward the ship. Even at this distance, Alice recognized them