Clockworkers

by Ramsey Isler

  “People make mistakes, Akida.”

  “Yes, people do,” Akida said. “And some mistakes can’t be fixed.”

  “That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear just before a daring attempt to save all our lives,” Sam said.

  “It may not be what you wanted to hear, but it is what you needed to hear.”

  “And how do you figure that?”

  “Because,” Akida said, lowering his voice to a tone that was nearly sensual, “in a few moments we’re going to be safely away from here, and then you’re going to spend the rest of your life trying to prove that I’m wrong.”

  “You’re damn right,” Sam said.

  Akida nodded, then he repositioned Piv’s motionless form over his shoulder and said, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  * * *

  Akida reared back and kicked the decrepit door with every bit of strength he could manage. The door jamb exploded into a cloud of wood dust and the door flung open. Sam held up three fingers. Akida adjusted Piv’s body on his shoulder, and nodded.

  Then they ran.

  Sam reached the security panel first, as planned. She jabbed the keys hard and fast. Maybe a little too fast. Her first attempt at entering the lockout code failed. She’d hit a wrong button.

  “Son of a bitch,” Sam muttered between clenched teeth. She tried again. The narrow LED screen lit up “CODE ACCEPTED.” The door clicked open. Sam turned to give Akida the go ahead signal, and froze.

  Hax was standing right behind them.

  Then a series of terrifying events happened so fast Sam didn’t have time to scream. Hax kicked Akida in the back of his knees. Akida bellowed in agony, lost his grip on Piv, and slumped forwards. Piv’s head smacked against the white tiled floor and he crumpled into a pile. Akida tumbled headfirst into the metal loading door. His skull and the door fought a brief battle. The door won. Akida stopped moving.

  Sam reached for him, then she realized that Hax had something in his hand. It was thin and gray and the fluorescent lamps above them gave the object’s flat matte finish a sallow hue. It was a pair of ceramic watchmaker’s tweezers with ultra-sharp tips. Sam recognized the tool right before Hax jammed it into her ribs.

  For a second, Sam’s world was all shooting pain and spurts of blood. She screamed, and a rush of potent fear fueled her escape reflex. She clutched her side to hold in the blood, and turned to the door. That’s when she heard the heavy thuds of massive steel plates sliding into place.

  Her three seconds were up. She was locked in...with Hax.

  * * *

  Sam fell to her knees. It took a moment for her to realize she was trembling. Her stomach wasn’t feeling too good either. Maybe the trauma of the wound was creating a sense of nausea. Or maybe this was what it felt like to die.

  Hax stood over her. His impromptu weapon was in his right hand, dripping with Sam’s blood.

  “It’s rude for guests to leave the party so early,” Hax said. “You have to stay a little longer.”

  “Stop gloating, you little bastard,” Sam said with as much venom as she could muster. “Just get this over with.”

  Hax frowned and said, “This is quite sad. Very sad. I had intended for you to go into the nest. You would make a fine Kith, I think. It would take a while longer for you, of course. I’ve been told that girly innards make the process much trickier. Much trickier. Still, you would have been worth the wait.”

  “Thanks,” Sam said.

  “But now you won’t be able to have that honor,” Hax continued. “I’m going to have to kill you, and your friend. That is also rather sad. Noc Noc really likes him.”

  “I triggered the alarm,” Sam said. “The police will be here soon.”

  Hax shrugged. “No matter. Kith are very good at hiding things, as you know. The police will never find your bodies.”

  “And what happens when I turn up missing? You won’t have control of the company.”

  “Who said you’d be missing?” Hax said. Sam gave him a confused stare. Hax threw his head back and laughed heartily.

  He said, “You don’t seem to understand what’s going on here.” The words sent icy sensations down Sam’s spine, because when Hax spoke it wasn’t his usually boyish voice that she heard. It was her own voice. Hax had mimicked her perfectly.

  “I didn’t...know you could do that,” Sam said.

  “The Kith master the voices of many creatures,” Hax said. “What would make you think humans would be any different?”

  Sam exhaled and all energy left her body. The nausea faded and turned into a sudden, overwhelming fatigue. She wanted to reach out and strangle Hax, to let her last moments mean something at least. But the pool of blood beside her was steadily growing. Her eyelids were getting heavy. She just wanted to sleep.

  Fortunately her eyes stayed open just long enough for her to see Piv stand up.

  Hax saw her expression change, and his attention instantly shifted to Piv. “Oh hi,” he said.

  “Hallo,” Piv said in a groggy voice. “My head smarts.”

  “That tends to happen when you fall on your face,” Hax said.

  Piv smiled for a fleeting moment before his eyes found Sam sitting in a pool of her own blood. “What’s going on here?”

  “I’m getting rid of a problem,” Hax said. He said it plainly, as if his actions were no more remarkable than changing a light bulb.

  Sam’s withering mind woke with a spark of hope. Piv was awake! He would solve everything. He’d beat up Hax, find a way to open the security doors, and get her healed. It all made perfect sense in her head. Then again, she was also starting to see little spots of white light all over. Piv opened his mouth to speak, and Sam strained to stay conscious to hear what he would say.

  But Piv just shrugged and said, “Very well then.”

  Sam deflated. All the pensive breath whooshed out of her body, leaving her slumped over and nearly lifeless. Piv didn’t care anymore. After all, Sam had used him. She’d even experimented on him with a potion she wasn’t sure wouldn’t have side effects.

  “I knew you’d see things my way,” Hax said.

  “Forsooth,” Piv said. Then he pointed at the cooler lying at Sam’s side. “Now hand me that potion over there.”

  Hax paused a moment before he asked, “Why?”

  “Why do you care?” Piv said. “Just gimme.”

  Hax gave Piv a suspicious glare. Then he reached over and grabbed the cooler, then the bowl inside. The mercury had settled at the bottom, creating a silvery layer of sediment. “Why would you interrupt me at this moment to get this silly...potion, did you call it? What kind of potion is it?”

  “Nothing you would be interested in,” Piv said. “Now hand it over before you drop it, butterfingers.”

  Hax’s eyes jumped over to Sam. He saw her pensive face, and smiled. “No”, he said. “You should share.”

  Piv shook his head emphatically. “It’s mine, and I want it.”

  “I’m sure you do,” Hax said with a sly grin. “But Sam said it was for me. So I think you are out of luck.” Hax opened the cooler and ripped the top off the cold bowl inside.

  “Oh no. Stop.” Piv said with not a hint of conviction.

  Hax tilted the bowl to his lips and drank deeply. He gulped the mixture down until broth and liquid mercury trickled down his chin.

  “I can see why you wanted that,” Hax said. “It was quite delicious. And I feel wonderful!” He turned to Sam and asked, “Did that come from you? Was it some odd African mumbo jumbo from your boyfriend? Do tell.”

  Sam didn’t say anything. Piv just stood there with a smug grin on his face. Hax was visibly confused.

  “Why are you two so mum?” Hax said. “Cat got...your...”

  Hax paused. His confident smile melted away, replaced by a quizzical expression. He turned to Piv. Then he turned to Sam. His mouth opened, slowly.

  “Oh...dammit,” he said. Then he fell flat on his face.

  For several long moments, t
here was no sound in the room. Piv and Sam didn’t move. They just stared at Hax, waiting for him to stir.

  “GOT HIM!” Piv yelled suddenly, causing Sam to jerk and clutch her wound. Piv laughed maniacally and pranced around Hax. “I got him I got him I got him!”

  Sam swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Is he...”

  “Asleep?” Piv said. “Oh my yes. He’ll probably be asleep for an awful long time. Awful long.”

  “Good,” Sam said. “I could use...some sleep too.”

  “That would not be a good idea,” Piv said as he approached her. “Not a good idea at all.” He knelt by her side, lifted her shirt, and examined the dripping wound. “Stay awake while I go get some things for this. I’ll be right back.”

  “Huh?” Sam said. “You’re not a doctor, Piv.”

  “Shh,” Piv said, placing a finger to her lips. “I can fix this. I can fix anything.”

  Sam opened her mouth to protest, but she couldn’t summon the energy. “Just...be quick.”

  “Of course,” Piv said. He stood and turned to leave.

  “Piv,” Sam said.

  Piv stopped. “Yes?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Piv smiled, nodded, and ran off to fetch whatever it was that he needed.

  Sam’s eyes lost focus and she felt a wave of nausea hit her. She heard a shuffling to her right, and through her cloudy vision she could see Akida stirring. He was alive and able to move, and Sam suddenly felt relaxed. Perhaps it was relief, or maybe it was because of the severe loss of blood. She was leaking like a busted hydraulic cable. For a moment, she wondered if she’d bleed out by the time Piv got back. But her concern was unwarranted. Piv, as always, was lightning fast. He appeared at her side with a first aid kit and a glass full of blue liquid. “Drink this,” he said. Sam obeyed, and the pain in her side dulled.

  “Hax was kidnapping people,” Sam said to him. “He was going to make more elves like him. They’re in the attic at the other workshop.”

  “How frightful,” Piv said as he removed items from the first aid kit. “He was up to no good all along.”

  “I’m sorry,” Sam said.

  “You already said that,” Piv said.

  “I know...but...”

  “Don’t be sorry for being who you are,” Piv said. “You did what humans do. We never apologized for taking Hamilton. We saw no need to. We did what Kith do. The wolf makes no apologies to the lamb. It is just the nature of things.”

  Piv got to work on her wound with the efficiency of a practiced surgeon. He stopped the bleeding and finished bandaging the wound just as the droning sound of sirens reached Sam’s ears.

  “You have to go away now,” Sam said. “It’s over.”

  “Why?” Piv said. “I can hide from the police.”

  “No,” Sam said. “I meant you have to go. Forever. Our arrangement is over. ”

  “Oh,” Piv said, frowning. “But...we were having such an adventure.”

  “All adventures come to an end,” Sam said. “This is our end.”

  “Very well,” Piv said. He jumped over to Hax and hefted his unconscious body onto his back. He gave Sam a smile—a kind, wistful smile—and then he covered his face with his hands.

  Sam understood, and covered her own face with her hands. She held them there until she heard the noise of policemen opening the factory’s steel doors, and when she lowered her hands, the Kith were gone.

  Chapter 27

  Michigan summers can be uncomfortably hot.

  Although the state spends most of the year under a gloomy shroud of cloud cover and below freezing temperatures, the summers can be surprisingly warm. There are days when Michigan is actually hotter than states in the Deep South.

  Today was one of those days, and it was making Sam’s life hell.

  At the moment, she was covered in dust and wearing an old t-shirt. Her jeans were splattered with several shades of paint. She stood in the middle of a rectangular building with bare Sheetrock walls crossed with putty and painter’s tape. The floor was nothing but a giant slab of gray concrete, and the ceiling was freshly painted in a flat white. In front of her was a new bakery display case, with perfectly clear curved glass and a solid mahogany base. The case by itself could be considered a work of art, and for a fleeting moment Sam wondered how a set of fancy watches would look in there. Then she shook her head and chased the thought from her mind. She wasn’t in that business anymore.

  She wiped the dripping sweat from her brow and picked up her nail gun. She was just deciding on which piece of drywall to put up next when a tall shadow appeared on the floor. She turned and found a familiar dark figure silhouetted in the bright burning sunlight.

  “Hello, Sam,” Akida said.

  Sam dropped the nail gun and took a quick step towards him, but then she stopped. “How did you know about this place?”

  “I asked some questions,” Akida said. “And when I didn’t get answers I just did some spying. I figured you’d escape the Detroit area, but I never thought you’d stay so close to home. Although I must say, this Ann Arbor place is fairly nice. I can see why you went to university here.”

  Sam shrugged. “Some things change. Some things don’t.”

  “That is a truism,” Akida said. “But why are you here?”

  “This is my new life,” Sam said, gesturing around the room. “This is damn near everything I own.”

  “Really?” Akida asked. “What did you do with your money from Better?”

  “I gave the Kith someplace to stay,” Sam said. “Hax was a psychopath, but he was right about one thing. The Kith need their own place. Humanity keeps encroaching on them. Eventually, it would get messy. So I bought them land. It’s right here in Michigan too. The state is pretty rural in the middle, you know.”

  “How much land?” Akida asked.

  “About eight square miles,” Sam said. “The area has a lake and wild deer and there’s not a single house anywhere near it.”

  “Impressive,” Akida said. “That would certainly cost a pretty penny.”

  Sam nodded. “I transferred ownership into a trust for a dummy corporation the Kith can manage themselves. None of that land belongs to me. The rest of the cash went to generous severance packages for the remaining Better Timepieces employees, settling accounts with the various suppliers and retailers that we worked with, and some anonymous charitable donations to the families of Hax’s victim’s.”

  Akida’s eyes widened. “That’s...very good of you.”

  “It was the least I could do,” Sam said.

  “What happened to those unfortunate people anyway?” Akida asked.

  “We let them finish...hatching,” Sam said. “There was nothing else that could safely be done. They’re all happy Kith now. At least there’s that.”

  “Their lives are gone,” Akida said. His face was suddenly serious.

  “They have new lives,” Sam said. “It was the best I could do.”

  Then there was a moment of awkward silence. Akida stared at her, impassively. Sam did her best to stare back, even though she had to fight the urge to escape his accusatory gaze.

  “So now you have this place,” Akida said as he shifted his eyes from her and examined his surroundings more closely. “What is this place, anyway?”

  “My new life,” Sam said. “Right now it’s just a little nondescript building in a fancy Michigan suburb. But in about three weeks it’s going to be a doughnut shop.”

  Akida tried to stifle a laugh; tried, but failed. “A doughnut shop? Really?”

  “Really,” Sam said. “I like doughnuts. Most Americans like doughnuts. Freaking love doughnuts.”

  “Yes,” Akida said. “Americans also have a number of national and regional chains that have the doughnut market cornered.”

  “Those store-bought doughnuts don’t compare to mine,” Sam said. “It’s not even close.” Sam stepped behind the counter and retrieved a round plastic container. She opened it, went back to Akida, and
let his senses inspect the contents.

  “Doughnuts,” Akida said. “They smell incredible.”

  “They just came out of the fryer,” Sam said. “They’re filled with the signature Chablon custard.”

  Akida grabbed one and took a cautious bite. Then he closed his eyes and hummed. “My word, that is something special.”

  “That’s fresh vanilla in that custard,” Sam said. “And nutmeg that I ground myself this morning.”

  “Surely you don’t plan to do all this by yourself,” Akida said.

  “Of course not,” Sam said. “I have two little hands helping me.”

  Akida raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Little hands?”

  Jessica appeared from the kitchen. She was wearing a head scarf, overalls, and a frown. “My hands are not that little.”

  “Ah,” Akida said. “I see. I’m glad to see you two back together.”

  Jessica nodded and skipped over to Akida. “Speaking of getting back together...”

  “Jess,” Sam said, “Don’t you have some baking supplies to go pick up?”

  “I didn’t think I did but apparently I do,” Jess said as she checked her reflection in a mirror on the wall. “Maybe I’ll meet some nice house painter who’s into this look.” She sauntered out of the shop with one last wink at Akida.

  Akida watched her leave and said, “She is a fun one.”

  “I don’t know where I’d be without her,” Sam said. “She’s helped me through everything.”

  “Everything?” Akida asked.

  “Well, I guess not everything. Obviously there are certain things that only a few people will ever understand.”

  Akida nodded. “Hard to believe you’re still sane. The things you’ve seen...”

  “I’m holding on,” Sam said, “but just barely. I’m keeping it together to make it through the days. There’s only one thing that keeps me going.”

  “What would that be?” Akida asked.

  “You.”

  Akida pointed at his chest. “Me? But I haven’t seen you in months.”

  “It doesn’t matter where you are,” Sam said. “You’re always with me.”