Twist awoke the next morning to a muffled concussion about his head. Blinking his eyes open quickly, he found a woman standing over his bed with the corner of a pillow in one hand and a bland expression on her face.

  “Come on, get up or I'll whack you again,” she said with an American accent as she brandished the pillow as if to strike him with it. “I haven't got all day, sugar.”

  Twist pushed on stiff arms to sit himself up, as he struggled to make sense of the woman before him. She was tall and her form looked capable and firm, with wide shoulders. She was standing in the way only a man should, and wearing clothing that looked entirely male as well. Her blond hair—flecked gently with a hint of gray—was hanging in a braid down her back under a wide-rimmed leather hat. Brown eyes in a face that bore evidence of many hard years stared down at Twist without even a hint at pleasantries.

  “Who are you?” Twist asked her. “What are you doing in my room?”

  “I sure as hell ain't your damn babysitter, you limey little whelp,” she snarled. “But Jiran is invisible like always, Vane's an idiot, and the other two are too bloody high and blooming mighty—as you limeys might say—to bother with getting you out of bed. So, here I am,” she added with a mirthless smile.

  “You're a member of Quay's crew?” Twist asked slowly.

  “Ding, ding, ding! Give the boy a prize.”

  Twist pushed himself to the edge of the bed to put his slippers on again. “Madam, I—” he began pleasantly. He didn't finish, however, because the pillow she'd been holding flew and struck him suddenly.

  “I ain't running a brothel either!” she bellowed angrily. “The name is Cybele, thank you very much. Call me 'madam' again and I'll have your skin for a new pair of boots.” She looked him over critically as he stared back at her in shock. “Well, one boot anyway. God you're tiny.”

  Twist realized quickly that it would be much better not to argue with her. He did as he was told, and hurried to get himself ready to leave, no matter how groggy his head still felt from his fitful sleep. When he went to the wardrobe to get dressed, however, he had to pause as Cybele was still in the room, watching him impatiently.

  “What's the matter, sonny?” she asked with a nasty little grin. “You think you've got anything I'd want to see? Get your britches on and let’s go!” she snapped, examining her fingernails idly.

  Having no other option, Twist turned his back and got himself dressed as quickly as he possibly could. The clothes inside the wardrobe were all new to him, but they fit better than anything he'd ever worn before. Well-tailored, heavy black trousers, a soft white cotton shirt, and a waistcoat of a deep-blue silk that shined in the light, all fit him as if they had been made only for him. He found a pair of sturdy and tasteful black boots as well, which fit right up his legs almost to his knees with a number of silver buckles on the sides. There was also a long, thin, scarf of silver cotton, which he looped hurriedly around his throat.

  He took the black jacket off the hook quickly, as Cybele continued to huff impatiently behind him, but he paused when he saw the color of the lapel; the same exact color of his own eyes. Silver buttons ran up the front, while a blue cord laced up the back, pulling the fabric in down to the waist, where the ends of the cord hung over the long black tails of the jacket. Slipping the garment on, Twist was astonished by how good it felt to wear—not clumping or pulling anywhere, but clinging to his small form perfectly. There were two last pieces inside the wardrobe: a black silk top hat and a pair of silver goggles with a black leather band and deep-blue lenses that were almost as dark as Jonas's. Looking through them for a moment, Twist saw that while they were not opaque, they blocked out most of the light.

  Slipping the goggles on to hang around his neck and popping the top hat onto his head, Twist left the silks that he'd been wearing in a mess on the bed. He snatched his pocket watch off his pillow, stuffed his house key into his pocket, and headed out of the room with Cybele drastically in the lead. After all but running down three flights of stairs after her, he finally caught up to her in the lobby of the hotel, on the ground floor.

  The lobby was decorated just as lavishly as the rooms had been, with more of the same brilliant reds, shiny black wood, gold, flowers, and intricate designs spilling over every inch of the large room. Sets of couches and chairs sat in small circles around the lobby, and Twist recognized Vane and Jiran sitting together not far off.

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  “Go wait with Vane,” Cybele said to him quickly. “I'll check you out of the room.”

  Twist did as he was told and took a seat opposite Vane and Jiran in their circle of couches and chairs. Vane's half-reclining form lay limply on the couch, his legs crossed lazily over the edge of the seat and his head resting on the back while he spoke to the ninja, who looked his total opposite; Jiran sat with such stiff posture and stillness that she looked more like a statue than a living person. To Twist's mild surprise, Vane's fingers wound through Jiran's playfully.

  “How about Sabang then?” Vane said sweetly to her, smiling gently. “Let's have a tropical drink with exotic fruit in it, and walk the beach. You know what they call that beach, just outside Sabang? Pantai Kasih, that means 'Love Beach'.” Jiran seemed to giggle at that, but no sound left her smiling lips as her dark eyes gleamed, looking down at his.

  “Oh no, are they flirting again?” Jonas said, beckoning Twist's attention.

  “Then, we can watch the sunset over the far western tip of the island,” Vane said to Jiran, as if he hadn't heard Jonas at all. Jonas perched himself on the armrest of Twist's couch and made sure that his opaque black goggles were securely in place.

  “Sometimes, blindness in a blessing,” Jonas said seriously to Twist. Twist noticed that Jonas was wearing new clothes as well, though all in shades of soft copper and white, with pale-green accents that attracted the eye. “Who went to get you this morning?” Jonas asked Twist. “Don't tell me you've been stuck with these two all morning.”

  “It was a woman named Cybele,” Twist said, shaking his head.

  “Are you all right?” Jonas asked quickly. “Did she hurt you? Don't tell me she touched you! God, I could only imagine...”

  “I'm fine,” Twist said, putting on a smile and raising a hand to calm him. “She just…hit me with a pillow a few times.”

  “Wow, you got off light,” Jonas said. “She gave me a black eye the first time we met.”

  “Then she's always that charming?” Twist asked.

  “Only on the good days,” Jonas said with a sigh. “Or if she is simply bored to death of you. Otherwise, she's far worse than I'm sure you saw. I mean, you're not bleeding, so I can assume so.”

  “Saying nice things about me again?” Cybele asked, appearing beside Jonas like a cold, sudden wind.

  “Always,” Jonas said brightly, smiling widely to her. “You know I love you, right? And might I say, you're looking simply ravishing today.”

  “You asking for trouble?” Cybele snapped.

  “Have you lost weight?” Jonas asked, with a pleased gasp.

  “Oh knock it off,” Cybele snapped, though her fists seemed to unclench. “Can't even see, and he's giving me compliments...” she muttered to herself.

  “Good morning, everyone,” Quay said pleasantly as he walked towards them. “I hope you all rested well, because we are off again, to Indonesia, if you haven't heard.”

  “I hate humid weather,” Cybele grumbled.

  “Idris has found the origin of the broken crystal that we need to complete the clockwork doll,” Quay continued. “Once we finish this last leg of the trip, we're all going to be very rich men and women, I assure you.” Twist's jaw tightened but he kept it closed.

  “Tell me again, how much we're going to get for all the trouble this job has turned into?” Vane asked, still lounging lazily beside Jiran as he spoke.

  “Enough for you to buy yourself a lifetime supply of mice, to entertain yourself with,” Quay said lavishly.

  “You know I'm immortal, right?” Vane asked back.

  “Well you'll be full up on mice until you get your second tail, then,” Quay said, almost impatiently. When Vane's face took on a grin at the news, Quay turned to Twist.

  “Ah, I'm so glad they got that blue right,” he said with a smile, pointing to Twist's jacket. “How does that all fit?”

  “Very well, actually,” Twist answered. “How'd you do that?”

  “It's called tailoring,” Quay said with a wink. “I thought that you'd like to feel a bit more like a gentleman after all the traumatic experiences you've been through lately. Your other clothes smelled a bit like the Caspian Sea, after all. And as I said,” he added with a gleam in his eyes again, “I take care of my own.”

  Jonas pulled his goggles off and looked Twist over quickly before putting them back on. “Ah, the new-guy special,” he toned, turning to Quay. “How come I never got a top hat?”

  “You're not a gentleman,” Quay said simply, to which Jonas gave a reluctant nod. “Now, are we all ready to leave Hong Kong?” he asked the others, looking excited himself.

  “You know I am,” Cybele grumbled, already heading for the door. The others got up and followed after her, while Jonas and Twist drifted to the back of the group.