There was a knock at the door to Twist's cabin. He slipped the watch back into his pocket and pushed his wild black hair mostly into place before he opened the door. A woman stood outside it, her skin as dark as mahogany and her eyes as bright as silver. Red-and-gold silk was wrapped around her shoulders in a hooded shawl, over a tight bodice, and her strong arms were wrapped in black cloth all the way to her fingertips. A long, black lace skirt fell almost to the floor, where it met black boots with talon-like high heels. Her long silver hair hung in thin braids from a single tail bound at the crown of her head. Twist stared at her silently, fighting to hide the awe in his own eyes.

  “Are you hungry?” the woman asked, her voice rich, dark, and colored with an accent unlike any Twist had ever heard.

  “I suppose,” he said, unsure.

  “We are having tea,” the woman said coolly, crossing her arms over her chest. “You are welcome to join us.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Twist said with a nod.

  He closed the door behind him as he followed the woman along the hallway and back to the stairs. She put the hood of her red-and-gold shawl over her head before climbing the stairs, leaving the cloth to hang far over her face. She took Twist out into the brilliant sunlight of the open deck, and then into the room at the stern of the ship.

  It was a large, open room, rimmed with windows and richly decorated with rugs on the wood floor, paintings on the papered walls, and ornate-looking items of brass, gold, and silver placed on every open surface. A large table sat in the center of the room, its legs bolted to the floor, with a number of chairs placed around it and also bolted down. There was an array of food and drink laid out on the table, and the rest of the crew was already seated to enjoy it.

  While his guide took a seat with the others, Arabel turned to Twist with a smile and insisted that he sit beside her. She began to pour him a cup of tea before he had time to object.

  “So, Twist,” said a man with gray eyes, sitting across the table from Twist, “where have you traveled to before?”

  “I've never traveled,” Twist responded.

  All of the others at the table stopped whatever they were doing to stare at him.

  “Told you,” Arabel said brightly. “Isn't it wonderful?” Twist looked at her uncertainly.

  “You're serious?” Zayle asked, pausing in his reach for a biscuit. “You've never been anywhere?”

  Twist gave a shrug. “I like London.”

  “Why?” Zayle asked, confusion rampant on his face.

  “Zayle, be polite,” said the man with gray eyes. “This trip must be quite the treat for you, Twist,” he said, sipping at his tea.

  “Yes, it must all be very exciting!” Zayle agreed, nibbling at his biscuit.

  The woman with the silver eyes laughed lightly to herself, sipping at a glass of red wine, the bright silk hanging gently at the side of her face.

  “You don't think so, ma chérie?” asked a man with a strong French accent, sitting beside her. He wore gold, wire-rimmed glasses, a very well-trimmed beard, and decidedly the best-looking and most stylish clothes of the lot.

  “He's terrified,” the woman said smoothly. Something about the way she said it made Twist shiver. She glanced at him with a wicked gleam in her silver eyes.

  “Aazzi, you be nice now, too,” said the man with gray eyes. “Don't let them bother you,” he said to Twist. “They both get bored too easily.” Aazzi gave him a dangerous glance.

  “Crumpet?” Arabel asked, offering Twist one on a small plate. Twist took it purely out of politeness, keeping an eye on Aazzi all the while. Her fingers looked like sharp claws on the delicate glass of wine.

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  “Well, shall we have some proper introductions?” asked the man with gray eyes. He then introduced himself as Howell Davis, the owner and captain of this airship, the Vimana. Arabel, his niece, was the ship's rigging expert. Zayle was the ship's engineer, while Dr. Philippe Rodés, the smartly dressed man with the glasses, was the ship's doctor. Aazzi was introduced as Dr. Rodés's wife and the ship's defense and security expert.

  “Don't be alarmed, but she is also a vampire,” Captain Davis said aside.

  Twist almost choked on his tea and looked at Aazzi in shock and fright. She only smiled back at him, holding her glass of wine to her lips.

  “It's nothing you need to worry about,” Dr. Rodés said evenly.

  “Besides, you're too small to make much of a meal,” Aazzi said with a wink and false sweetness to Twist. Pure animal terror shot up Twist's spine, rooting him to his chair. He forced himself to speak, just to keep from screaming.

  “Why does this ship need to employ a doctor or a ...” Twist paused, staring at Aazzi, “A defense expert? Arabel told me you that weren't pirates.” Some of them laughed lightly.

  “What a townie,” Dr. Rodés said, shaking his head.

  “We're not, really,” Arabel said, catching his eye and clearly trying to look as trustworthy as she could. “Besides, what's wrong with having a crew of useful people?”

  “It's the use to which you employ them that concerns me,” Twist said back quickly. While Arabel waved a dismissive hand, new questions and fears bloomed in Twist's mind. “Wait, why are any of you even undertaking his journey? What value does the clockwork princess have for you? And when you say you found her—” he continued, his small voice speeding up.

  “Twist,” Captain Davis said gently, “why are you here? You're obviously troubled by most of this journey. Yet, here you are, sipping tea in the sky with the rest of us.”

  Twist's gaze lowered to his tea, though he hardly saw it. He knew she was alone, broken and forgotten in the dark, waiting for someone to put her back together. She'd always been loved, but now... Twist's fear dimmed at the thought, and he could hardly contain the unwavering, ravenous need to help her.

  “She needs me,” he said, softly even for him. No one seemed to hear him. “I have my own reasons,” he said more loudly.

  “So do we,” Captain Davis said. “And so, here we all are.”

  Twist stared back at him coldly, his frustration breaking free of his clamoring defenses. “That's as much an answer as this tea cup is an elephant.”

  “My goodness,” said Dr. Rodés, looking to his wife. “He hides his teeth as well as you do, my dear.”

  “He's smarter than you think, Howell,” Aazzi said, smiling at Twist approvingly.

  Captain Davis let out a thoughtful breath, staring at Twist carefully. “I can assure your safety on the journey to Nepal, whatever help you may need to repair the clockwork girl, and then a safe return to London. What else would you have from me?”

  “Considering that, I suppose an explanation really is asking too much,” Twist said, sipping at his tea bitterly. Talking with people had never worked out well for him. He'd almost forgotten this, in all the time he'd spent alone with his clocks.

  “How is our progress?” Captain Davis asked Arabel.

  “We'll be over the continent in less than an hour,” she responded. “We should reach Venice by tomorrow.”

  “Good,” Captain Davis said, looking to Zayle next. “And how is the boiler holding up?”

  “Well, it's running,” Zayle said with a light sigh. “It'll get us to Venice for sure, and maybe as far as Constantinople without restocking our oil.” Twist frowned in thought, wondering which country Constantinople was in. Sure, he'd heard the name of the city … or was Constantinople a country?

  “Well, at least that's a good place to pick up more oil,” Captain Davis said. “Remind me again why you haven't been able to fix it?” he added.

  “I've been all through it,” Zayle said. “I can patch it up all day, but until I find the source of the leak, it's only a stopgap.”

  “Wait!” Arabel said suddenly. Twist jumped slightly and looked at her, wide-eyed, to find her smiling at him brightly. “Twist, can't your Sight help with the engine?”

  “How's that?” Zayle asked.

  “Well, I heard that that's exactly what he's good at,” Arabel said quickly. “His Sight shows him the problems in things. That's why he can fix complicated things like watches so well, because he can clearly see the cause of the problem, just by touching them. Right, Twist?”

  Twist shrugged awkwardly, unnerved to hear his Sight talked about so casually. “I suppose.”

  “Then what, he just touches the engine and he can find the leak?” Zayle asked, his face awash with amazement. “That's just plain cheating!” he snapped, staring at Twist accusingly.

  “Would you mind giving it a look, Mr. Twist?” Captain Davis asked. “It could speed up our progress. We'd then be able to get you back to London all the sooner.” By now, the rest of the people at the table were all watching him. The weight of their gazes fell heavily on Twist's slight shoulders.

  “I suppose,” he muttered, shifting in his seat.