After Twist and Arabel left the library, they continued on to finish their errand. They met Zayle again when the sun started to fall. Unbelievably to Twist, the city became even more crowded and the festivities even more energetic as the darkness grew. Parties poured out of houses and common buildings with their golden light and music. Dances sprang into existence wherever there was room on the streets and plazas. Wines of all types found their way into every glass, and the volume of all conversation grew to such a constant din that Twist gave up trying to speak at all.

  Thanks to Zayle's diligence, Twist drank enough to give up complaining as well. Leaning over an empty spot of ivy-covered balustrade, Twist looked out over the world far below as the moon rose into a velvet sky. Though his vision swam when he looked straight down to the terrestrial section of Venice—glowing now with golden fires and lamps in its own version of the Carnival spirit—the height didn't bother him anymore.

  “Are you having fun yet?” Aazzi's voice asked, stepping beside him while Zayle and Arabel danced together in the crowd behind them.

  “This is my version of fun,” Twist said, gesturing to the vista.

  “I thought you didn't like heights,” Aazzi said.

  “I don't,” Twist said thoughtfully. “I think Zayle might have gotten me a bit drunk after all. Either way, I just don't care at the moment.”

  “Good,” Aazzi said, her smile apparent in her voice, though it was hidden behind her moon-shaped mask. “Then I don't have to bite you.”

  Twist looked to her and narrowed his eyes. “Didn't you want to? I mean, isn't that how you eat, after all?”

  “You probably wouldn't taste very good.”

  “Why not?” Twist asked, suddenly affronted.

  Aazzi laughed. “You haven't lived enough yet, little one. But if you keep going to Carnivals and traveling around the world to bring myths back to life, I'm sure you'll be very tasty in no time.”

  “Naturally,” Twist said. “I'm sure I'd already taste good now...”

  Aazzi's form stilled suddenly, growing tight and poised in such a flash that it startled Twist. She pulled her mask away and turned slowly, looking over the crowd behind them with intent eyes.

  “What is it?” Twist asked, seeing nothing changed in the crowd.

  “I smell something,” Aazzi said, her voice almost as soft as his. “We have to leave. Now.”

  “I don't smell anything,” Twist muttered, still searching over the masked crowd. Aazzi took hold of the cloth at his collar again, pulling his face close to hers. Twist's numbed mind cleared sharply, feeling her breath on his skin, and he instantly pulled at her grip.

  “Listen to me,” Aazzi said, her voice still low. “There are dangerous people here. If they find us, they'll steal your lovely little clockwork girl away and sell her for parts.”

  “That's monstrous!” Twist gasped.

  “Don't look at anyone, and come with me, quietly,” Aazzi said, releasing his collar to grab his sleeve, and heading into the crowd.

  Twist hurried to keep up with her, his heart beating quickly. His vision still swam slightly from the wine, but he kept his footing as he carefully made his way through the dense crowds at Aazzi's heels. As they walked, a small buzzing sensation began to tingle at the base of his neck, growing stronger and taking on a high, electrical whine. Twist shook his head to try to clear the strange sensation, but it grew steadily, all the same.

  Without explanation, Twist's head turned sharply—as if on its own—and his eyes stuck on a single figure in the crowd. Black-lensed goggles were pulled off eyes so like Arabel's that for a moment in his confusion, Twist thought that it was her. The moment Twist's eyes fell on the stranger's, his senses flashed to a burning-hot brightness that blinded him for an instant. The buzzing sensation at the base of his neck exploded through his veins like a lightning strike, before disappearing altogether. Twist fell to the ground, gasping to catch his breath as his senses flooded back to him.

  “Twist, are you all right?” Aazzi was asking, standing beside him.

  “I tripped,” Twist said, standing quickly. “I'm fine,” he said, wondering why he felt so deeply that he needed to lie.

  “Come along,” Aazzi said, scanning the masked faces in the crowd but not apparently seeing what she was looking for. Twist looked back to the figure he'd seen, but now it was gone. He began to wonder if the person had been real at all, as they continued on.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Ara,” Aazzi called, beckoning Arabel and Zayle closer as they danced together.

  “What is it?” Arabel asked. “Want to cut in?”

  “Quay is here,” Aazzi said quickly. Arabel pulled her mask off, her face mirthless and intent while Zayle turned quickly to look around. “I'm taking George, here, back to the ship,” she said, nodding to Twist. “It's getting late. Go find the others.” Zayle and Arabel nodded.

  “Come on, George,” Aazzi said to Twist, taking hold of his sleeve. Twist was understandably confused about the sudden change in his name, but he remained silent and let her lead him on.

  After a rather long walk through the throngs of party goers, they finally made it back to the docks and onto the ship. Aazzi took Twist up to the open third deck.

  “Your name is George, you're my husband's nephew and the ship's cabin boy,” Aazzi whispered to him quickly. “No matter who asks you, that's who you are.”

  “Sure, why not?” Twist asked dryly. “Who are you looking for?” he asked, pulling his mask off to see better.

  “A captain named Quay, and his crew,” she said, pulling her mask off too. Twist was slightly startled to see the intensity of her grim expression. She drew a small pistol from the back of her bodice and directed Twist to sit on the low railing behind the ship's helm. She stood before him, watching over the rest of the ship, and the docks beyond, from her vantage point.

  “Who is he?” Twist asked.

  “A cut-throat pirate,” Aazzi answered bitterly.

  “And you're a nice sort of pirate?” Twist asked.

  “I don't cheat or steal against my own kind,” she said, her silver eyes electric and cold when they snapped on to his. “And at the moment, I'm protecting you.”

  “And right well that you do,” Twist said, crossing his arms. “If I were killed by cut-throat pirates, my mother would just about kill Uncle ...”

  “Philippe,” Aazzi said, bitterly.

  “Uncle Philippe, yes,” Twist said. “I'm drunk, not stupid, Aunt Aazzi.”

  “I think I like you better sober, after all,” Aazzi said.

  Before Twist could retort, Arabel and Zayle returned with Captain Davis and Dr. Rodés. They all boarded the ship quickly and Zayle disappeared instantly down the stairs to the engine room. Arabel began to climb into the rigging the moment she was aboard. Aazzi brought Twist to join the captain.

  “Well, what say we call it a night?” Captain Davis said, looking over the edges of the ship.

  “I don't sense anyone near,” Aazzi said softly.

  “Better safe than sorry,” Captain Davis said. “George, I think it's time you went to bed,” he said to Twist.

  “I'll see him to his room,” Dr. Rodés said. “Can't have him walking into things in his state,” he said, adjusting the fit of the five-shot revolver in his hand.

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Captain Davis said.

  Dr. Rodés said nothing else to Twist until he had led him all the way back to his cabin, shut the door behind him, and looked out both windows.

  “Did you tell anyone that you were leaving London, or where you were going?” he asked Twist, stowing his pistol under his coat.

  “Who are you asking?” Twist asked. “George or Twist?”

  “Don't be a fool,” Dr. Rodés snapped. “Did you say anything about this trip to anyone in London?”

  “No,” Twist answered, sitting heavily on the closed chest against the wall. “I didn't speak to anyone after Arabel came to see me.”

  “It might not even seem important,” Dr. Rodés said. “Did you say hello to anyone on the street, or tell the milkman that you weren't going to be round?”

  “I didn't speak to a human soul after Arabel came to see me,” Twist said. “I usually don't anyway. Why? Who is this pirate, Quay, and what makes him so dreadful? You all seem terrified of him.”

  “We're concerned,” Dr. Rodés said. “We're not scared of that lowlife. He's a thief and a scoundrel. He's tried to steal finds from us before, and he's succeeded a few times, too.”

  “Aazzi said he and his crew would try to steal the clockwork princess if they found us. Does that mean he already knows about her?”

  “I don't know,” Dr. Rodés said. “He might not know anything. We're just being careful because this find is much bigger than our usual ones. Arabel really outdid herself this time,” he added with a bitter touch to his words. “But if Quay finds out what we're up to, he'll definitely try to steal her from us,” he said. “That man's greed knows no bounds.”

  “That would be bad,” Twist said, his mind still too numb for anything more eloquent.

  “Yes, very,” Dr. Rodés agreed.

  “So, what do we do now?” Twist asked. As if in answer, the soft rumble of the engines began to pulse through the wood of the ship.

  “We're going to try to slip away,” Dr. Rodés said. “If they haven't spotted the Vimana yet, then they'll never know we were here.”

  “And if they have spotted it?”

  “We'll keep a good watch, and blow holes in any ship we catch following us,” Dr. Rodés said with a smirk.

  “Right, because you're nice pirates,” Twist said. “Now I remember.”

  “Who said we were pirates at all?” he asked back.

  “Whatever,” Twist said with a dismissive wave.

  Though he grumbled to himself a bit in what sounded to Twist like French, the doctor left it there. It was only a moment before the Vimana threw off her moorings and left Venice at top speed, flying silently through the night.