He shook his head. “I don’t think I can explain it in words. But I can see why Dr. Clef and the others went there. It’s beautiful.”
“Don’t speak that way!” She grabbed his hand. “It frightens me when you do. I’m losing more and more of you every day.”
He looked at her concerned, beautiful face, trying to etch every feature into his mind so he wouldn’t forget her, no matter how much of his mind the plague burned away-her honey brown hair and her small nose and her pointed chin and her warm eyes. He couldn’t possibly forget any of it. Could he? He fingered the salamander that circled his ear and felt a sorrow that threatened to crush him. He had learned of his status as a clockworker only a few months ago, but it felt as if a lifetime had passed, as if he couldn’t remember a time before it. His back ached where the pirate’s whip had left deep, ropy scars after the attack on the Juniper.
“I’m trying to stop,” he said. “I am. It’s very hard to stay aloft.”
“Would you play, then?” She pointed at his fiddle case, which was lying on the deck near his wing harness. “Perhaps it’ll keep you focused. Certainly it gives me pleasure.”
“I wouldn’t mind, either,” Phipps said, “and I’m not in love with you.”
Gavin flashed a smile at that. He set bow to strings and played “The Wild Hunt,” letting the music slide and soar. The song rushed and roared about the deck, pushing at the ropes and rebounding from the envelope. Alice closed her eyes and Phipps tapped her feet. Gavin’s smile widened. He loved getting a listener lost in the music, towing someone along and sharing the beauty. Provided he didn’t make a mistake and spoil the loveliness. A faint hot draft wafted over him, whispering over black silk, and for a moment he was in another place. Cobblestones, clopping horses, and the smell of open sewers. A man with pale hair played flawless fiddle, his fingers flying over the neck. He grinned down at Gavin and started to say something. Then the memory was gone. The song ended, and Gavin lowered the fiddle.
“You were thinking of your father again,” Alice said, not quite accusingly.
“More and more often,” Gavin admitted. His back still ached. For a moment, the spot where the mechanical nightingale had pecked him itched, and he scratched it idly. “When I’m not thinking of you.”
“You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you use flattery, Gavin Ennock,” Phipps said, and Alice laughed.
“All women like flattery,” Alice said, “even when they’re waiting to hear from-”
“Lady Orchid!” Phipps interrupted.
They all turned. Lady Orchid and a worried-looking man in a white cap were coming up the gangplank. Lieutenant Li preceded them, holding a phosphorescent lantern in one hand. In the other, he held a black box with dragons on it.
“We would like to speak,” Lady Orchid said.
Chapter Twelve
Dragons embossed in gold twisted across the surface of the box, and they engaged Alice’s eye. Hypnotic, really. Rather like the Impossible Cube, but pleasant, without inducing a headache.
Everyone got to his feet as the new trio boarded the ship. Gavin attempted a bow in the Oriental fashion. A smile quirked at the edges of Lady Orchid’s mouth, though Alice couldn’t tell whether it was a smile of approval or disdain. Since they were trying to be optimistic, she settled on approval.
Gavin scrambled about for chairs for everyone. Kung hesitated a moment, but Orchid settled into hers as if she had used them all her life, though Alice didn’t remember seeing anything but a low stool in the grand house, and Yeh had sat on pillows back in Tehran. Did the Orientals even use chairs? Li was the only one who remained standing. He set the box on the table in front of Lady Orchid. The dragons looked as though they were dancing. Gavin was avoiding looking directly at the box, and Alice wondered nervously if the dragons might draw him into one of those awful fugues.
“I am Prince Kung,” the man said. “Emperor Xianfeng was my half brother.”
“I am sorry to hear of your loss, sir,” Alice said formally.
“Thank you.” He took a breath. “It is. . strange to speak with foreigners, but still interesting.”
“In what way?” Phipps asked.
“You do not know our manners, just as we do not know yours, though it was good of Lord Ennock to make an attempt.” He nodded at Gavin, who flushed slightly. “You speak too bluntly for us, too forthrightly. On the other hand, we have little time, and our usual ways to discuss will fail. So I will be. . forthright. I have learned English because I feel our two worlds, East and West, would be better off in cooperation than at war. My half brother did not feel as I do, and General Su Shun definitely does not. He intends to invade the West as soon as he can confirm the death of Lady Michaels.”
He repeated this in Chinese for Orchid’s benefit.
“We know this,” Gavin said. “We also know that Lady Orchid wants to put her son on the throne so she can rule as regent.”
“That is so,” Kung replied with a nod. “Normally, we would work out a careful, subtle plan to discredit Su Shun and push him off the throne, or even assassinate him through a careful campaign of poisons. But we simply do not have time.”
“He is already partly discredited,” Orchid said in Chinese, with Kung translating. “The emperor cannot be one who is disfigured by the blessing of dragons. He must be unsullied so his body may accept the power of the Jade Hand.”
Phipps crossed her arms in a familiar gesture. “So the emperor must be physically perfect, but once he ascends the throne, he becomes disfigured. Interesting.”
“Not disfigured,” Kung replied. “Enhanced. The Jade Hand is a piece of heaven. Therefore, it does not mar. It improves.”
“But my arm and my eye”-Phipps held out the former and tapped the latter-“are disfigurements?”
“They are not the Jade Hand.”
“It makes as much sense as declaring a bit of glassy carbon valuable,” Gavin said. “I think the point Prince Kung wants to make is that the fastest way to change power is to steal the Jade Hand and give it to Lady Orchid’s son.”
“Wouldn’t that mean. . cutting off the boy’s hand?” Alice asked in a hesitant voice.
“Yes,” Orchid said simply.
A moment of silence followed.
“Su Shun cut his own off when Xianfeng died,” Kung said at last. “It’s been that way since the time of Lung Fei.”
“Wait,” Alice said as something occurred to her. “If you are-were-Emperor Xianfeng’s half brother, you must also be half brother to Jun Lung, the Chinese ambassador to England.”
“Ah, yes.” Kung nodded. “My brother shares my views on East-West cooperation, though he was more or less exiled for his pains.”
“Was he a Dragon Man?” Gavin asked. “His family name was Lung.”
Kung shook his head. “Coincidence. Lung was once common as a family name until it became customary for Dragon Men to take that name, but here and there you will still find a Lung who has not received the blessing of dragons. Xianfeng was a Lung before he took his Celestial name. My brother is even more aggressive about cooperation with the West than I, and the ambassador position was granted him to get him out of Peking, I am sorry to say.”
“Along with his son, Feng,” Alice said leadingly.
“Feng, yes.” A vague look of distaste crossed Kung’s face. “We do not speak of my nephew.”
Alice leaned forward. “Because he was disgraced for not being able to follow into Jun Lung’s profession.”
“You know of this?” Kung looked startled.
“Feng was my friend,” Gavin said. “I saved his life, and he saved mine. More than once.”
“Where he is now?” Kung demanded.
Alice and Gavin exchanged glances. There was an uncomfortable pause, and then Gavin finally said, “Sir, I regret to inform you that Feng has died.”
“Has he?” Kung didn’t look distressed. Rather, he calmly steepled his fingers. “How?”
“It is a long and co
mplicated story,” Alice said. “And we will gladly give you every detail at a more opportune time. However, suffice it to say that Feng sacrificed his own life to save mine and Gavin’s.”
“Actually,” Phipps said, “his sacrifice saved the entire world.”
At this, Kung raised both eyebrows. “The world?”
“Perhaps even more,” Phipps said. “Far from being ashamed of your nephew, sir, you should be proud of him.”
“I see. Then I am most eager to hear this entire story.” Kung resettled himself. “But as Lady Michaels has pointed out, first we must finish our current business.”
“We have a number of problems to overcome if we wish to steal the Jade Hand,” Lady Orchid said. “Su Shun has barricaded himself in the Forbidden City, and I don’t think we can lure him out.”
“What exactly is the Forbidden City?” Gavin asked. “I’ve heard of it but don’t know anything about it.”
“The Forbidden City is the official palace compound of the emperor in Peking,” Kung explained. “It is located in the northeastern part of Peking and is surrounded by a moat and a high wall pierced by four gates. It covers many acres, including a river, and contains many buildings. A second wall surrounds the Palace of Heavenly Purity, where the emperor once lived, but after the great Emperor Yongzheng died, the emperor’s residence moved just outside the second wall to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, which is fortunate for us. The difficulty is that only a handful of people are allowed to go in or out of the city itself. Concubines are not allowed to leave the Forbidden City without special permission, and only recognized concubines are allowed to go in. The same applies to general maidservants-everyone is scrutinized upon entering and leaving.”
“What about men?” Gavin asked.
Lady Orchid looked shocked. “The only men allowed into the Forbidden City are close friends or advisers to the emperor, and even they must leave after sundown. No man but the emperor passes the night in the Forbidden City.”
“Why is that?” said Alice.
“To ensure proper succession, of course,” Kung replied. “No one can doubt that Lady Orchid’s son is anyone but the emperor’s issue because no man has ever been allowed to spend time in Lady Orchid’s presence. Until she fled, at any rate.”
“But you mentioned eunuchs,” Phipps put in.
“Of course there are eunuchs.” Lady Orchid pulled a fan from her belt and waved it. “The Forbidden City couldn’t function without them. They run everything. They guard the gates, they collect the taxes, they keep inventory, they cook, they clean, they entertain, they transcribe messages-everything.”
Gavin shifted. “When you say eunuch, you mean a man who’s been-”
“Yes.” Li spoke for the first time, and when Kung looked reluctant to translate for a mere lieutenant, Phipps stepped in to translate, though Alice was the only one at the table who couldn’t understand him. It was growing frustrating, and she wished she understood the strange, singsong language. “A male whose three preciouses have been removed. Usually in boyhood, at age seven or eight, though a few have the procedure done in adulthood. The eunuchs maintain a special chair with a hole in the bottom for-”
“Thank you,” Gavin interrupted shortly. He looked ill.
“Good heavens!” Alice felt sickened herself. “Why on earth would parents do such a thing to their own child?”
Lady Orchid cocked her head. “The Forbidden City needs thousands of eunuchs, and they hire more than a hundred every year. Any such boy-or man-who presents himself to the city gates is guaranteed a position. At the beginning, that includes plenty of food, clothing, a small amount of money, and a chance to attain real power. It does not matter what family one is born into or what one’s father has done-all eunuchs have an equal chance. What chance do you offer the poor in your country?”
“Certainly not a chance at mutilation,” Alice snapped.
“Your poor starve in the streets, from what I hear.” Lady Orchid waved her fan. “Along with those who contract the blessing of dragons. Here, we cherish such people.”
“You cherish the Dragon Men,” Gavin corrected. “What about zombies?”
“They are rounded up and put in a place where they can await their time. They certainly don’t wander like lost toddlers.”
“Now, look,” Alice began.
“I think,” Li put in, “it might be best if we discussed these things at another time. We need a plan for the Jade Hand.”
Alice glanced at Gavin. He had grown up half starved in the streets himself. Would he willingly have traded that part of himself for the guarantee of a job? Given the chance, would his mother have allowed it? No, of course not. She was being ridiculous.
“You said the Forbidden City has thousands of people in it,” Gavin was saying. “They have to eat. How does food get in? And messages?”
“Food, cloth, animals, and other market items are brought to the gates.” Lady Orchid continued to fan herself. “The eunuchs receive everything and make payments at the gate. Merchants and messengers never set foot inside the city. Not only are they male; they are not worthy. The only other way in is through the Passage of Silken Footsteps.”
Click jumped into Alice’s lap. She idly touched his head. “And what might that be?”
“A secret passage that leads out of the Forbidden City. It was built in case the emperor needed a hasty emergency exit. But it is also heavily guarded by both eunuchs and machines. No one is allowed near it. I am one of the few people who even know it exists.”
“The walls are also impregnable,” Li said. “A number of Dragon Man inventions keep watch round the perimeter. Anyone who tries to climb over is instantly killed. The only weak points are the gates, and they are just as heavily guarded with machinery.”
Gavin cracked his knuckles. “Machinery is our specialty.”
“But not if we have no chance to study it first,” Alice mused.
“There is, of course, a much simpler way,” Lady Orchid said.
Phipps raised an eyebrow, the one not covered by a monocle. “And?”
“Bribery. The eunuchs are quite corrupt. For the right price, anyone can gain entry to the Forbidden City.”
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?” Alice cried. “That makes everything much easier!”
Kung hesitated. “Sufficient funds are. . not available.”
“I have money,” Alice replied promptly. “More than enough, I’m sure.”
Here even Lady Orchid bolted upright. “You have?”
“Certainly.” And she explained about the reward. The silver bonds would easily provide enough to bribe their way into the Forbidden City, perhaps even get them close to Su Shun, and then-
“Unfortunately I do not believe that will work,” Kung said. His hands were clenched around a cup. He seemed to notice and made himself relax. “I have heard all about those reward bonds. They were issued outside China and can be used only outside China. The borders are sealed, as you may remember, and those bonds are actually illegal here. They are worthless.”
Alice wanted to slump in her chair. Why was it every time they came up with an idea, something happened to destroy it? Sometimes it felt as if the world didn’t want them to succeed. Even the clockwork plague had abandoned them-Gavin seemed to feel no urge to come up with a brilliant or outrageously creative plan.
And then something else occurred to her.
“Why did you bring up bribery at all,” she asked, “if you have no money?”
“I had money, but it seems to have. . vanished,” said Lady Orchid.
“Does it have something to do with that box?”
Here Lady Orchid hesitated. “It is called the Ebony Chamber.” And here she spun what seemed to Alice a very strange story about a box and a missing declaration for the heir to the throne and an equally missing lot of priceless jewelry.
“May I?” Alice said, and at Lady Orchid’s nod, she pulled the box to herself and picked it up to examine it from all sides. Her b
row furrowed as her hands wandered over it. Click put out a paw and batted at it.
“You’re a dear,” Alice told him, “but don’t touch, please.”
“What is she doing?” Li asked.
“Alice is talented with clockwor-Dragon Man inventions,” Gavin supplied. “She’s the only person we know of who can reassemble or repair them.”
Kung looked impressed. “We must keep this fact from Su Shun, or he will add her as a concubine.”
Alice decided she was too busy with the Chamber to react to this outrageous idea. She opened it and looked inside, then closed it again. There was much more to this box than a simple lock. Without knowing quite why, she brought the box up and lowered it over her own head. Instantly she became dizzy. Darkness swirled around her, but it was darkness with texture, like silk and sandpaper together. Layers of it slid over her, stealing her breath away. She felt hundreds of places all at once, and for a second she understood what a clockwork fugue was like for Gavin.
She jerked the box away, and the world abruptly returned to normal.
“Are you all right?” Gavin asked.
“Perfectly,” Alice replied, trying not to pant. “Though I am not in a hurry to try that again.” The dragons shimmered and twisted, laughing in their golden silence, and the phoenix latch glimmered enticingly. She ran her fingers over it. “Did you say the combination number was oh-one-eight?”
“Yes.”
“Because the latch is not set to oh-one-eight. The last number is set between seven and eight.”
“Why would that matter? The lock opened.”
“It matters quite a bit,” Gavin murmured. “Oh, how it matters.”
As if in a dream, he moved his finger toward the phoenix latch and flicked the number fully to 018. Sudden weight pulled the Ebony Chamber down, and it dropped from Alice’s hands to land with a thud on the table.
“Thank you, darling,” Alice said with satisfaction. “And now. .”
With a magician’s flourish she opened the box. Everyone crowded around to look. The phosphorescent light gleamed off a pile of jewels.
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