Steven Harper: The Dragon Men

“Wait!” she cried. “These. . people have the clockwork plague!”

Before Gavin could respond to this news, Alice swiped at the arm that held her with the claws that tipped her left hand. The hollow claws sprayed her own blood over the wounds she created, mixing scarlet and azure. The squid man released her and reeled away. Two more stepped up to grab at her, but Alice swiped both of them with quick, darting motions. More blood mixed in the scratches, and they staggered away, too. The first squid man was now writhing on the deck. Soft clicking sounds emerged from either its neck or chest; Alice couldn’t tell which. The other two soon joined it. Their skin tone was changing, shifting from dark blue to a mottled pink.

All this happened in just a few seconds. Phipps had dispatched or driven back half a dozen squid men of her own. Her cutlass and metal arm dripped with blue blood, and she had lost her hat. A wild look had come over her eyes as more squid men crowded toward her. Gavin opened his mouth to roar again.

“That’s enough!”

The new voice echoed through the cave. The squid men all froze, except for those writhing and clicking on the deck because Alice had scratched them or Phipps had lopped pieces off. Alice turned. What now ?

Skimming across the channel that cut through the cave floor came a man. He was barefoot and wore a black bathing costume with short sleeves and leggings. Around his waist he had an elaborate, heavy-looking belt with a number of clunky pieces of machinery attached to it. Over everything, rather strangely, he wore a long gray cloak. He was standing sideways and seemed to be riding a low wave until he came closer and Alice realized he was standing on the back of another creature. How he kept his balance she couldn’t imagine until it came to her that, like Gavin, he was a clockworker and had the requisite enhanced reflexes that he would enjoy until plague burned out his brain. No doubt this was the man who had created both the giant squid and the squid men. Alice pursed her lips.

Gavin traded a look with Phipps while the scratched and wounded squid men squirmed on the deck. The ones Alice had slashed continued their metamorphosis, with their skin growing paler and their neck tentacles going still. Alice wanted to examine them, see if they were in pain, but she didn’t have the chance. The clockworker skimmed closer to the ship, and in moments he vaulted from his creature’s back and scrambled onto the deck, his gray cloak fluttering behind him. He had a Persian’s dark hair and complexion, and the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth put him somewhere in his forties, or perhaps near fifty.

“That’s enough,” he repeated in accented English. “Leave my poor men alone!”

Phipps, Gavin, and Alice stared. The crowd of squid men remained motionless. Alice recovered herself first.

“And you are?” she asked.

“You may call me Prince Mehrad al-Noor,” he said. “I already know who you are-or one of you, at any rate.”

“And that would be?” Phipps said.

“Alice, Lady Michaels, late of London,” al-Noor said. “You are the one with the cure to the clockwork plague, and you have demonstrated it on my poor men.”

“What are you talking about?” Alice said, still trying to get a full grip on herself. “Why did you bring us here? I assume that this creature”-she gestured at one of the tentacles still encircling the ship-“attacked us at your behest.”

“Yes, yes.” Al-Noor waved his hands in a series of complicated gestures, and several of the squid men dragged the ones Alice had scratched and those Phipps had wounded to the side and leaped overboard with them. Splashes followed. They left trails of blue blood on the deck. “Why else would a giant squid attack a passing airship?”

“How do you know the name Lady Michaels?” Gavin demanded.

“Everyone knows this name,” al-Noor replied with a white grin. “She is the angel with a sharp metal hand who spreads the cure to the clockwork plague. She coasts through the heavens in a glowing blue airship piloted by her lover, dropping to Earth to bestow her blessings wherever people are good and kind and deserving of her notice.”

Alice felt her face turn hot. “Gavin’s not-”

Phipps trod on her foot, cutting her off. “So you’ve heard of me,” she interrupted, holding up her metal arm. “I’m flattered. That doesn’t explain why you intercepted us and tried to destroy my ship.”

For a split second, Alice found herself wanting to correct Phipps. Then she shut herself up. Any advantage 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.