by Tara Sim
When she opened the door, she froze. Prema and Anish stood near the large glass window. Akash was with them. They all chatted in English, as Prema only spoke Tamil, Anish spoke Punjabi, and Akash spoke Hindi. Akash said something that made the other two laugh, but when he turned and saw Daphne lingering in the doorway, his eyes went wide.
Prema noticed and cleared her throat, touching Anish lightly on the arm. The two of them excused themselves and left Akash by the window. But as Daphne stepped back to let them pass, Prema hesitated. Anish, behind her, did the same.
“We heard that you are part Indian,” Prema said with a tentative smile. “It must have been difficult, when you were in India. Especially with Zavier being … well, Zavier.”
A small, surprised smile made it to Daphne’s face. “It was, but … I enjoyed it.” She briefly bit her lower lip. “Why did you two agree to be part of Zavier’s crew when you knew he was targeting Indian towers?”
Prema and Anish exchanged a glance. “The towers don’t represent India to us,” Prema said. “If anything, they remind us of captivity. At least, that’s what it always felt like to me. The others in my village who could sense time enjoyed it, but I never did. It was too powerful, too easily broken.”
“Easy for the British to take control of,” Anish said in his low, rumbling voice.
Daphne supposed that made sense. Still, raised within the Mechanics Union, she couldn’t wrap her mind around it. It had been her entire life. What did she have left, once that was gone?
“I hope you go back to India,” Prema said. “It still has lots to show you.”
“I’m needed at home.”
The girl shrugged. “You can have more than one home.”
The other two left her outside the doorway, her fingers pressed to the cold metal wall. Home had always been an image to her, a unique feeling—the loud melancholy of London. Gray soot and copper gears and white steam. A hint of gold when she sensed the time threads running through the city, that familiar constant.
She tried to imagine a home of green palms and blue skies and golden temple domes. Wondered, if only for a fleeting moment, if that were even possible.
Akash still stood at the large window looking out at the clouds. She remembered the sight of him carrying Danny back from Prague, the way his shirt had stuck to him as the blood dried, his wide vacant stare. He almost looked that way again, like he wanted to run, too.
But there was nowhere to go. And this silence had gone on long enough.
Daphne closed the door behind her and walked toward the window, keeping a few feet between them. She put her hand against the cool glass, wondering what those clouds must feel like.
“When I was little, I thought they were like candy floss.” She nodded at the clouds. “I wanted my father to get some for me so I could try it. He just laughed.”
A tentative smile crept across Akash’s face, but it fell almost immediately. “Miss Richards, I …” He blew out a frustrated breath. “I would apologize again, but I’ve apologized enough.”
“You’re right.” Dropping her hand, she turned to face him. He looked tired, his dark eyes seeking out hers with something akin to hope. “It’s me who should be apologizing. I’ve been unfair to you. I’m sorry.”
He took a moment to gaze at the clouds, her words hanging over them like condensation. “I did try to stop Danny. But it’s also true that I didn’t help him.”
“You couldn’t control what would happen. You couldn’t predict what he’d do.” One of her eyebrows lifted. “No one can.”
“He seems happy now. With Colton. They were so sad before. In some ways, they still are.” Akash slipped his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t know what I wanted. I hate the British. After the way they’ve treated me in the past, like I’m some savage who miraculously learned how to fly a plane … and after what they did to Meena …” He clenched his jaw. “We’re just bodies for them to shove about. But then I met you, and you were so different. You respect our culture, wanted to understand it more. You’re part of it in a way they never will be.
“I didn’t know if I wanted the rebels to succeed or not. After getting to know you, I … I didn’t think I wanted that any longer. But Daphne’s England is different from their England.”
“It’s a little less crowded in mine.”
He laughed, a soft miracle. They stood in contemplative silence, the silence of the clouds swallowing them, secluding them from an angry world. They stood in a new country, neither India nor England. They were their own nation.
You can have more than one home. Daphne thought she understood, now.
Akash moved closer, and she let him. He raised callused fingers to her jaw, tracing it with the lightest touch. “Do you forgive me?”
“Yes. I’m sorry I took so long.”
He moved his fingers up, touching the diamond tattoo by her eye, then skimmed her cheek in a way that made her eyes flutter.
“Miss Richards …”
“Daphne.”
He smiled. “Daphne.”
He leaned in and kissed her.
Something swooped in her stomach, like a plane taking an unexpected dive—frightening and exhilarating. Akash’s lips were soft, his mouth warm and tasting vaguely of cinnamon. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drank him in, the fresh smell of him, the solidness of his body. If they walked out into those clouds right now she would be in danger of drifting off, and he would anchor her.
He kissed her tattoo, her jaw, the spot under her ear. Eyes closed, she existed for each fleeting touch, to feel every little spot he found. Her hand dove into his thick hair, down the column of his neck, and he shivered.
“I was so afraid,” he murmured between kisses. “I thought I had ruined everything, that you would never talk to me again.”
She wanted to tell him that was ridiculous, especially when they were doing much more than talking, but something snagged in her mind.
Talking.
Her eyes flew open. “I have an idea.”
He leaned back, surprised. “You do?”
“I’ve just thought of something we can try.” He blushed, and heat rushed to her face. “Oh, God, no! I didn’t mean—”
Akash laughed nervously and ruffled his hair before smoothing it again. “Why don’t you tell me what you do mean?”
“It’s complicated. Find Meena. I’ll meet you at her room.” She pulled him back down for another kiss. It took a minute for them to part, and when they did, she felt dizzy. “I’ll be there in a moment.”
She hurried down the corridors, touching her lips, which had formed a small smile. Her chest and stomach felt weightless and hollow, like nothing filled her body except for light and clouds.
But she had to put that feeling aside for now. She knocked three times on Danny’s door, then bit her thumb to keep from pacing the hall.
The door opened to reveal a mostly naked Colton on the other side, his blond hair disheveled, kept decent only by the pillow he held to his hips. But what flustered her more was the large scar on his side.
“What on earth are you doing?” She held up a hand. “Stop, never mind. Don’t answer that. Where’s Danny?”
“He’s indecent,” Colton said. An embarrassed groan came from inside the room.
“Well, I need both of you dressed. I just thought of something we can try to get one up on the Builders.”
Colton’s amber eyes flashed. “What is it?”
“Put your trousers on and you’ll see.”
A few minutes later, they joined her in the hall. Danny’s face was red as a lobster, though Colton seemed unfazed as he held Danny’s hand. Daphne wondered if he possessed any shame.
When they reached Meena’s room, they all shared a confused look. Akash’s gaze lingered on her, and she turned as red as Danny before she cleared her throat.
“The residue of Aetas’s water is still on the plane, yes?” she asked Akash. He nodded; he’d delivered the last of it to Prague. “Colton
, Danny told me about what happened in Khurja. How you could hear the spirit’s voice in your mind. What if you could speak to the clock spirits through the water?”
Colton leaned back on his heels as Danny frowned. “How?”
“I don’t know—I’m not sure if it would even work—but something struck me as odd. You were able to speak to the foreign clock spirits without knowing their languages. You could hear them even though you weren’t in their towers. What if that’s because of Aetas’s power? What if it gives all spirits the ability to communicate with one another, like how you all started remembering your pasts at once? If you were close to the water—”
“No.”
Danny’s blush was gone, and he met Daphne’s gaze straight on. His shoulders were squared as if ready for a fight.
“He’s not going near that water. You don’t know what it could do to him.”
“It’s only the tower that would be affected, right?” Meena broke in. “Wouldn’t Colton be safe?”
“But how would that even help us? Would he be spying on the Builders?”
“Essentially,” Daphne said.
Danny shook his head. “I’m not going to risk—”
“I want to try it.”
They all turned to Colton, who was looking thoughtfully at the floor. He lifted his eyes to Daphne.
“I’d like to try it.”
“Colton—” Danny began, but the spirit put his hand on his arm.
“I’ll be all right. I think Meena’s correct. The water might only react if it came near my tower. I won’t even touch it.”
Danny took a deep breath. He looked miserable, but also like he didn’t want to weather another argument.
Akash led them to the storage tanks in the belly of the ship. With little outside light, they stumbled around as Akash tried to remember which turns to take.
“They had a special hose I attached to the Silver Hawk that connected to a smaller tank,” he whispered, his voice echoing slightly against the metal walls. “They had to fill it from the bigger tanks. I think they’re in here.”
He opened a set of double doors and looked for a light. Meena found and lit a gas lamp in the corner. The room was cast in shadow, but the two large metal tanks before them shone eerily in the darkness. The glow was faint, like Colton away from his tower, but Daphne felt the strange, sharp pull of the power inside of them.
“There’s only a little left,” Akash said, rapping a knuckle against the side of one of the tanks. If Daphne listened hard enough, she could hear the last of the water sloshing with the subtle motions of the Prometheus. “How would Colton use it, Daphne?”
Danny raised both eyebrows at the use of her Christian name. He mouthed Daphne’s name at her knowingly, and she scowled.
“I thought maybe if he just touches the tank.” She turned to the spirit. “What do you think?”
Colton started to tilt his head to one side, but snapped it straight again. “I think that’ll be enough. I won’t touch the water,” he assured Danny when he opened his mouth to protest. “What should I do? Just think about another spirit?”
“Maybe one you’ve already met.”
Colton nodded and approached the nearest tank.
Meena came up behind her. “Did you and my brother …?”
She snapped her head around. “What?”
“I keep seeing the looks you two give each other.” Meena gave a Cheshire cat grin. “You two made up, didn’t you?”
“Not important right now.”
“Oh, I disagree—”
“If you’d like me to concentrate,” Colton said over his shoulder, “gossiping should probably wait.”
Sufficiently admonished, they lapsed into silence as Colton placed his hands on the softly glowing tank. He waited a moment, and although nothing substantial happened, the cogs on his back glowed a little brighter.
Danny released a tense breath.
They waited while Colton bowed his head and closed his eyes in concentration. The light of the tank pulsed a few times, and Colton jerked. Danny made to go to him, but Daphne held him back.
Finally, after about fifteen minutes, Colton lowered his hands and staggered away from the tank. Akash caught him before he collapsed, but Danny was there in a second, wrapping his arm protectively around Colton’s waist.
“What happened?” Meena asked. “Did you find another spirit?”
Colton looked dazed. Danny gripped his chin so he could see his face. When Colton’s eyes cleared, he turned to take in the rest of the group.
“I found her. The one in Khurja. Her name is Lalita.”
“The one you spoke to before,” Daphne clarified. “The … new spirit.”
“Yes. I asked her about the Builders, though she doesn’t know what they’re called. I asked about their leader, Phoebe Archer. The name didn’t sound familiar, but she told me about a woman with short yellow hair.” He nodded to Danny. “The one you saw before, right?”
“Right. But what’s she doing there? I thought she’d be in Prague by now.”
“Lalita told me this Archer woman was having a conversation the other day while inspecting her tower. She said something about it being the first success, and that they had permission to begin the next tower.”
Daphne’s stomach tightened. “The next tower … where?”
“I think she said Meerut.”
Frowning, Meena touched her scar, and Akash put a hand on her shoulder.
“So they’re going to kill another mechanic in Meerut.” Daphne took a deep breath. “I think we need to tell Zavier.”
Danny reluctantly nodded. “I think we do, too.”
Zavier wasn’t very happy to learn about what they’d done.
“I gave you clearance to roam freely about the ship, but that doesn’t mean you can poke your noses in places you shouldn’t,” he complained. Sally was in the office, too, her gray eyes flitting between their mouths as they spoke. If Daphne didn’t know any better, she’d say the girl was amused. “Why the hell did you go down there, anyway?”
Colton took a step forward. “I spoke with the new Khurja clock spirit,” he said.
Zavier stared at him as if he’d just declared himself the next Tsar of Russia.
Danny sighed. “What he means is that he used the power of Aetas’s water to communicate with her. Through their minds.”
“She was a little taken aback, and it was hard to hear, but I got through eventually,” Colton explained. “Anyway, this Archer woman was at her tower recently, and said something about a new tower in Meerut.”
Zavier’s head jerked back as if someone had taken a swing at him. Sally frowned and looked at her brother.
“Meerut? I thought you overheard her saying she was going to Prague?”
“Maybe her plans changed.”
“Whatever may have happened, we have to stop them,” Daphne said. “We can’t let them create another area of time.”
Zavier ran a hand over his neat hair, narrowing his eyes. “I agree they should be stopped, but I’m a little confused about why you’re not defending them. If past experience is anything to go by, you lot don’t want Aetas freed.”
She shared a look with Danny. “Not like this. We don’t want these new, ugly towers built. We don’t want new spirits being created just to die when you release Aetas.”
When Zavier looked at Colton again, it was with a hint of guilt. Then he turned his focus to Danny, who stared back defiantly.
“I’m only agreeing to this because I want to know how they’re building the towers. We’ll try to get our hands on Archer herself. Then”—he glanced between Danny and Colton—“we’ll see who can tell me their secret first.”
After Zavier announced to the rest of the crew that they’d be returning to Meerut, Colton tugged Danny’s arm and led him back to his room. It was getting late, and Danny looked tired.
As Colton closed the door, Danny took out his timepiece and set it on the nightstand, staring at it for a melan
choly moment. Colton knew his father had given it to him a long time ago.
Colton came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Danny’s waist. “You’ll see them soon.”
Danny closed his eyes. Colton leaned in and kissed the scar on his chin.
“You need sleep,” he said.
But sleep wasn’t only what Colton had in mind. He laid Danny back and stole his thoughts away with kisses. Still, there was a heaviness in his touch, in the way Danny kissed him back. Colton brushed his lips across Danny’s throat and he made a small sound, an intimate vibration against his mouth. He felt that sound as a beginning to something bigger, a distant peal of thunder, the pulse beating on his tongue like the rhythm of the tide.
When Danny finally fell asleep, Colton outlined his body in lines and grooves and contours, filling in the shadows and the soft falls of his hair. He studied the way Danny’s eyelashes quivered against his cheek, the softness of his mouth when he wasn’t frowning. The heartbreaking way his fingers curled inward toward his palm, as if trying to grasp something intangible.
Colton wanted to keep him this way forever, to trap him in amber and force time to stop moving, if only to stay like this.
But it had to end, and dawn eventually broke the spell. Danny opened his eyes, smiling to see Colton beside him.
“I dreamed we were back in Enfield,” he murmured as he stretched. “It was peaceful.”
Colton brushed a thumb against his cheek. “That does sound nice.”
Danny heard the sadness in his voice. “Don’t worry, we’re going back soon.”
If it was even possible. Colton clung to so little; he couldn’t even grasp at the hope that they could both came out of this whole, alive, together. The weight of all that could and could not be descended on him, and would have stolen his breath away had he any to be stolen, that simple yet unfathomable currency that came with being human.
He wanted to remind Danny just how impossible it was to ever return to how they had once been, but that would be cruel. Instead, he continued to caress the side of his face, trying to memorize this moment while it lasted. “I know we will.”
