The Dragon Men

“There is no reason we could not look for a cure.” Lady Orchid spoke slowly, as if the words were difficult to say. “If my son were on the throne, and I were regent, I could order it done.”

“I don’t understand,” Alice said. “You just said-”

“The Dragon Men haven’t found a cure in large part because the emperor has never ordered them to look for one. If my son sat on the throne, I could tell him to order all the Dragon Men in the empire to look for a cure. Since China would not be at war, the Dragon Men would be. . unoccupied. Imagine how much they might accomplish if the Jade Hand forced them all to work together.”

“Oh. I–I don’t think so,” Alice said. “Frankly, I don’t know that I can trust you, Lady Orchid, rude as that sounds.”

“I understand fully, but what other options do you have, Lady Michaels?”

“Gavin is brilliant. He might find a cure on his own.”

“Perhaps.” Lady Orchid’s tone was languid now. “Does he have a full laboratory on that ship of his? We didn’t see one. Has he shown any expertise at working with the blessing of dragons? I don’t recall hearing of any.”

“No,” Alice admitted. “But we could go look for someone who does have it. Unless you plan to keep us here.”

“Of course not. You are not prisoners. You are free to leave at any time.” She paused. “How much time does your fiance have before the blessing takes him, more or less?”

“I don’t know. A month, we think. Two at most.”

“And in that time, you think you can find a Dragon Man, persuade him to begin research, and create this cure you seek.” Lady Orchid examined her nails. “That would be quite an accomplishment.”

“She’s toying with you,” Phipps added after the translation.

“I’m aware of that. I don’t like it.”

“You won’t find any such Dragon Man in China, of course,” Lady Orchid continued as if there had been no interruption. “No Chinese Dragon Man would work on a cure. So you must spend a certain amount of time traveling back the way you came. That may prove difficult. Your ship is rather conspicuous. You yourself do not blend in with Chinese. And you do not speak our language. I wonder how far such a lady could run before Su Shun found her, especially with so many people seeking her.”

Alice sighed. “Let’s cut through the treacle.”

“I don’t know how to translate that,” Phipps put in.

“You are saying that if I don’t help you,” Alice said, “then we have no chance of finding a cure before Gavin. . succumbs, and I stand a good chance of being captured and killed. But if we do help you, you’ll put all your resources toward creating a cure.”

“I give you my sworn word as a member of the Imperial Court, Lady Michaels. I swear to you by the spirits of my ancestors and as a lady of the Yehenara clan that if you help me, I will fulfill this obligation to you.”

And she bowed low before Alice.

“She is bowing as if before a lord,” Phipps said. “Either she means every word, or she is the most skilled liar in all of China.”

Alice still didn’t trust Lady Orchid, but neither did she see an alternative. “All right,” she said. “I agree to your terms.”

A look of palpable relief crossed Lady Orchid’s face. “Thank you, honored lady.”

“I would like to see Gavin now.”

Here, Lady Orchid hesitated. “That may not be wise.”

Alice tensed. “What’s wrong?” She bolted out of the bed and realized for the first time she wore no shoes or stockings. The maid bustled forward to slip her feet into a pair of soft white slippers. “You said-”

“It is possible to see him,” Lady Orchid said quickly. “I am just uncertain that you truly wish it.”

“Lady-”

“Very well.” She said something to the mute maid, who scurried out. Moments later, the door opened again and a strange chair entered. Alice had seen wheelchairs before, but this one walked on delicate spider legs. White curtains shrouded the occupant. Alice strode forward and thrust them aside. Gavin sat within. In stark contrast to all the white clothing Alice had seen so far, Gavin wore plain black silk from neck to ankle. A round cap that flared out on all sides covered his hair. A day’s worth of pale stubble covered his chin, and the ugly salamander still curled around his left ear. He didn’t look up when Alice yanked the curtains away. His attention was rooted on a small painting in his lap. On the canvas, a woman with a white face and tiny ruby lips in a trailing red robe fanned herself near a shimmering brook. Chinese characters flowed down one side of the painting. Gavin stared at the painting as if he might fall into it.

“Gavin?” Alice touched his arm. “Gavin!”

He didn’t respond. Alice’s heart twisted and sank. It was his first fugue state in quite some time, and she had been hoping that the plague might have somehow left him. A foolish hope.

“The painting hung on the wall of his room,” Lady Orchid supplied. “If he is like other Dragon Men, he will eventually come out of this state and work on something fantastic.”

“And burn out his mind all the faster,” Alice retorted. “Gavin! Darling, speak to me!”

But Gavin continued staring at the painting. Alice licked her lips. Clockworkers experienced two kinds of fugue states. The first, often triggered by an odd idea or a piece of machinery that needed repair or even a stray word, sent them into a frenzy of experimentation, designing, and building. The second, often triggered by something beautiful, usually something with a pattern to it, drew them into a trance. Music was a favorite trigger, but artwork or the spreading pattern in a droplet of blood could do the trick as well. Both fugues disturbed Alice greatly. During a building fugue, clockworkers turned into snarling monsters that treated even their closest loved ones like filth, and during a trance fugue, clockworkers stared and drooled. Alice always feared Gavin might not come back from whatever place he was visiting.

“Gavin,” she repeated.

“He is speaking with dragons,” Lady Orchid said through Phipps. “It is very bad luck to disturb him.”

Alice ignored this. She shook Gavin’s shoulder. “Gavin! Darling, listen to my voice. Come back to me. Please, Gavin. Follow my voice and come back to me.”

Still no response. Disregarding the presence of Phipps and Lady Orchid, Alice leaned into the chair and kissed him. The kiss went delicate and deep. She felt like a single leaf landing on a pool to create tiny ripples that flowed out in all directions. Gavin jerked and gasped for breath. He blinked and looked around.

“What-?” he said. “Alice?”

Alice sighed with relief. “I’ll explain in a moment. Can you stand up?”

“Yes.” He started to glance down at the painting in his lap. “What is-?” Alice took the artwork away from him.

Lady Orchid’s face was hard with disapproval, but she only said, “It is not good to discuss powerful ideas with the door open.”

Gavin scrambled out of the chair, looking like his old self. He snatched the cap off his head and stared at it. “What happened? What’s going on? Why am I wearing black pajamas and a hat indoors?”

Alice quickly explained the situation to him. When she finished, Gavin nodded. “We need to work with her, then. Where’s my ship?”

“Prince Kung’s men deflated your ship and brought it here under cover of darkness last night. It and all the automatons aboard it are safely hidden on the palace grounds.”

“What about Lieutenant Li and his men?”

Alice had completely forgotten about them, and she felt a little guilty that she hadn’t asked after them.