The Dragon Men

they could take, including a case of mistaken identity, could work in their favor.

“I apologize if I gave you that impression, Lady Michaels. I got wind that the very famous angel of mercy was coasting over my ocean, and I merely wanted to invite you for a visit. Unfortunately, giant squids are not good at subtlety. We will, of course, repair any damage to your fine ship.”

“And your. . men?” Gavin gestured at the crowded deck. The Impossible Cube glowed close to his chest.

“They guard the mouth of the cave and became too enthusiastic when your ship appeared. Again, I do apologize.” Al-Noor gave a little bow. “You will come with me, have a wonderful meal, spend the night in comfortable rooms, and in the morning, you will go on your way.”

“Oh?” Phipps said. “Well, if you-”

“Liar,” said Alice.

Al-Noor looked taken aback. “I do not understand. You refuse my hospitality?”

“Was I unclear?” Alice snapped. “Let me be blunt, then. You did not invite us here. You captured us, and now you’re acting polite to put us off our guard. Once we’ve eaten at your table, the laudanum you put into our food will send us to sleep, allowing you to do whatever you wish. So let’s skip over the bad food and the drugs and go straight to what you wish. What might that be, Mr. al-Noor?”

For a moment, al-Noor looked hurt and astonished, and Alice thought she had made a terrible mistake. Then a cool, calculating look slid over the man’s face. “You are a clever woman, Miss. .?”

“Susan Phipps,” said Alice. “At your service.”

“Miss Phipps,” al-Noor said. “Yes, very clever indeed.”

Phipps wiped her cutlass clean on a handkerchief. “Flattery from a liar doesn’t sit well, al-Noor. What do you want, then? Do tell, before my friend here blasts you into your component bits.”

At this, Gavin waved the Impossible Cube. It hummed softly and left a blue trail hanging in the air. His face was set hard. The squid men stood motionless on the deck, though their dark eyes seemed to be following the Cube.

“I think he will not.” Al-Noor pressed a switch on his belt, and a tremor went through the black tentacles wrapped round the Lady. Wood groaned and cracked.

Gavin cried out and lowered the Cube. “Wait!”

“Yes,” said al-Noor. “A flick of my finger, and electric impulses will force the squid to crush this ship to flinders. That famous metal arm of yours, Lady Michaels, will drag you to the bottom, and you will drown.”

Alice shot Gavin a hard look. He seemed upset, but was it over the idea that she was in danger or that the sea monster might destroy his ship? He was a clockworker and could get strange ideas about what was important. Her glance flicked about the deck, looking for solutions. Her gaze inevitably came back to the Impossible Cube resting in Gavin’s hands. It was the most powerful weapon on Earth, but the moment Gavin tried to use it, al-Noor would try to kill all three of them, and chances were better than even that he would succeed at least once. The Cube was useless in these circumstances.

There was one alternative. An obvious one, really. Alice could see that Gavin knew what it was, but he was hesitating to take it, waiting for her to give the word. One word. Alice started to speak, but her throat closed around the word, trapping it like hope at the bottom of a box. Gavin looked at her, his soul in pale blue eyes. Alice clamped her lips shut, and her chin trembled with the force of holding it in.

Phipps did it for her. “Fly,” she hissed.

Gavin gave her a sharp look.

“Fly,” Phipps hissed again.

He gave Alice a wild look, then ran for the gunwale through the gap in the crowd of squid men the Impossible Cube had created. Before the squid men could react, he hurled himself over the side. Alice held back a cry but still reached for him. She felt that her heart might spring out of her chest and follow after.

“Gavin!” Phipps cried, making a halfhearted leap after him that effectively covered Alice’s own movement. “Oh, what will I ever do?”

It would have been funny under other circumstances. Gavin’s wings snapped open. Still clutching the Impossible Cube to his chest, he caught the air with the grace of someone who had been flying all his life and glided away, trailing blue light behind him.

“You leave him alone, you awful, awful man,” Phipps simpered at al-Noor. Her monocle made the gesture even more ridiculous. “You have me. He can’t hurt you.”

“Indeed so, Lady.” Al-Noor looked after Gavin’s retreating form. He had already reached the mouth of the cave and vanished into bright light. “But you will pardon me for docking this ship and taking you somewhere more secure.”

“So, what is it you want from-from Lady Michaels?” Alice demanded.

“Exactly what is your position here, Miss Phipps?” al-Noor replied.

“I never go anywhere without her,” Phipps put in quickly. “She’s my maid.”

“Maid?” The word popped out before Alice could stop it.

“Well, you’re not a valet, Susan,” Phipps said pointedly. “And someone has to polish all this brass. You have to be my maid.”

Alice gritted her teeth. “Yes, mum,” she said between them.

“But regardless of her station, sir,” Phipps continued, “the question still stands. What exactly do you want?”

Al-Noor was still looking after the fading light trail left by Gavin’s wings. He thought a moment, then shrugged and turned back to the two women.

“I want all the tea in China,” he said. “Or perhaps its weight in silver.”

Phipps crossed her arms, flesh over metal. “No clockworker riddles. Be specific.”

“I noted your trajectory before I sent my pet to fetch you,” al-Noor said. “Based on that and on the rumors I have managed to intercept about you, I have decided you are trying to reach China. Is that correct?”

Alice kept her face expressionless, taking her cue from Phipps, though her insides were tight. Al-Noor had the right of it-they were indeed headed for China. A number of events allowed her and Gavin to hope that China could cure clockworkers. Weeks ago, Alice had discovered that over the years, a number of British clockworkers had found different cures for the clockwork plague-Alice wore the handiwork of one of them around her arm-but the Crown had suppressed them so the plague would continue to produce clockworkers, who would, in turn, produce useful inventions for the Crown. Never mind that the disease also slaughtered millions, including most of Alice’s family. What mattered to the Crown was that China was doing the same thing so its Dragon Men could produce similar inventions, maintaining a careful balance between the two empires.

Although the remedy Alice herself was spreading could heal the plague in zombies and in people who had recently fallen ill, no one in England had managed to cure a clockworker. That meant Gavin was doomed.

With Gavin’s help, Alice had ended the clockwork plague in England and was spreading the cure across Europe, though her ultimate goal was still China. Britain had never managed to cure a clockworker, but China. . the Oriental Empire was known for its introspection, doing research about research. If anyone had a clockwork cure, it was the Dragon Men.

“We are traveling to China, yes,” Phipps said cautiously. “What does it matter to you?”

“I am doing you a favor. China has recently closed its borders. No one gets in these days. Or out.”

A pang jolted Alice’s stomach. “What? They can’t do that!”

“Hm,” al-Noor said. “This is not the place to discuss such things. Come and eat, and I promise-no drugs.”

A few moments later, the Lady had been dragged to a little stone quay and a contingent of squid men with clammy hands was escorting Phipps and Alice-without her little mechanicals-down a cavern tunnel and into a chilly, high-ceilinged cavern the size of a formal dining room. Stalactites dripped water from the ceiling, and the sandy floor felt gritty under Alice’s feet. The squid men shut and barred a thick door at the entrance to the cavern and brought the two women to a low table surrounded by pillows. Foods Alice couldn’t begin to identify heaped the dishes and filled the air with strange, spicy smells that turned Alice’s stomach. Electric lights clung to the walls to cast a hard, unmoving light over everything. The whole place looked like a dining room designed by, well, a madman. Alice stood unhappily next to the table with Phipps while al-Noor, still in his damp swimsuit and belt, seated himself on a plump pillow. A squid man took his gray cloak, and Alice belatedly realized it was made of sharkskin.