Clockwork Twist : Missing (27 page)

Twist stared into the hazy, blue horizon, wishing dearly that he had Jonas’s gift of vision. The fishing boat had been following Arabel’s directions for nearly two hours, but Twist’s eyes still couldn’t pick out anything in the distant water. He didn’t notice as Alistair walked up beside him to stare into the horizon as well.

“I’ve got to ask you something,” Alistair said after a pause. Twist jerked at the sudden sound of his voice, looking to him quickly. Alistair’s face was pensive. “Approximately how many lies have you actually told me?” he asked carefully.

“I’m sorry?” Twist asked, frowning.

“Well, not malicious lies, surely,” Alistair said quickly. “Perhaps I should rather ask how many of those ridiculous things you told me were not…actually…you know…because I mean,” he added, “one of your friends has a tail, and the girl is made of metal, and that boy’s eyes are pink, for heaven’s sake. Pink!”

Twist smiled as he turned back to watch the horizon and thought briefly over all of the things he had told Alistair. “I’m not an accountant, and I didn’t come to Australia to see kangaroos,” he said gently. “Other than those two points, I don’t believe I’ve ever lied to you. And I only allowed you to think that they were lies so that you wouldn’t think I was a nutter.”

“Right…” Alistair said, nodding slowly. “So, you
have
met people who live in the moon?” he asked tightly.

“Well, it was an airship that looks exactly like the moon,” Twist amended with a shrug. “It was Kima’s people. She and Storm used to live in a village that floats on a cloud, but now they both live in Australia. You can ask them about it, if you like.”

“I see…so, that monkey who’s named Jeffrey? The one that was made by a genie?”

“Myra wished for him,” Twist said with a nod. “His name is Jeffrey Simian. He speaks English and wears a suit and monocle. Simply crazy about bananas.”

“Yes, but seriously,” Alistair said, looking to Twist with an amiable smile, “that’s not all true, is it? It can’t be. I mean, you hear about crazy things happening in the world, but they never actually happen to
you
, or people you know. Surely…”

Twist looked back at him with a sigh. “I killed a dragon yesterday.”

“A dragon,” Alistair echoed flatly. He looked into Twist’s eyes, searching desperately.

“A blue one. His name was Kazan.” Twist suppressed the shiver that followed the sound of the name. “He tried to eat me, so I threw a bomb down his throat, and he exploded. I’m told he’ll recover. Dragons aren’t exactly physical beings, you see.”

“But that’s…too fantastic,” Alistair said, clearly battling for clarity.

“I’m sorry, Alistair,” Twist said gently. “I never meant to confuse you. My nerves were on edge, and I needed to speak my mind before I lost it completely. Then you listened to me and kept asking for more. I never minded if you didn’t really believe me. It was just sort of nice to talk with you, is all.”

Alistair stared out to sea for a long, silent moment. Twist wanted to say something else, to somehow explain more fully, but couldn’t manage to come up with anything. Finally, Alistair reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small silver card case.

“Right,” he said with some stability, as he drew one of the cards and held it out to Twist. “I’ll forgive you just so long as you take this and write me a letter once in a while, when all this is over.” Twist took the card and saw a name and address on it.

“Wait, what?” Twist asked, looking back to him.

“All those crazy things one hears about happening to people, are actually happening to someone I know. I intend to enjoy the stories.”

“You want me to write to you and tell you all the crazy things that happen to me?” Twist asked slowly.

“And if you’re ever in London, do stop in for tea,” Alistair added with a smile.

Twist stared back at him in bewilderment. The concept that he had managed to actually, truly, and independently befriend another Londoner his own age was too fantastic for him to accept. He carefully slipped the card into a pocket and nodded as he smiled back to Alistair. In a moment, however, Twist’s attention snapped onto a different subject. The base of his neck started to tingle, ever so slightly.

He turned quickly, searching the ocean with renewed vigor. He heard Arabel call out instructions to the crew, to gently adjust the course. The others on board hurried to the sides of the little fishing boat, searching the sea as a sudden, excited tension filled the air. Twist’s gaze swept over the horizon eagerly until the buzz in his neck grew suddenly sharp. He held still, staring into the haze open-eyed, and felt his heartbeat grow faster as the ship continued on at a quick pace.

In moments, the mist cleared enough to show Twist a small, dark spot in the distance. Once his eyes managed to catch the image, it was suddenly clear to him. It looked like a small boat, bobbing gently on the surface, while a figure stood at the edge waving its arms. Twist’s breath caught in his chest as his ears snatched at the slightest hint of Jonas’s voice on the wind.

The fishing boat closed on the little ship quickly, but it still felt like days to Twist before the Australian sailors were asking him to step back so that they could lower ropes to pull in the two people from the water below. Myra, Storm, and Kima all stood beside Twist as they watched the fishermen struggle. Twist’s hands itched to dive in to help, but he feared touching anyone else. Myra put a hand on his shoulder with a supportive pat, enhancing his excitement with her own.

“That’s it…” Jonas’s voice sounded strained as he hoisted himself over the edge of the fishing boat’s railing with the help of the sailors. Skye appeared in the fray as well, pulling herself up on the rope.

Jonas stumbled onto the deck and scanned the feet around him quickly with uncovered eyes. Twist felt himself rush forward as if he’d been shot from a cannon. Jonas’s gaze turned to the motion and found Twist in an instant. His eyes shifted to a deep, rich purple as a wide smile bloomed on his face, and he met Twist with open arms. Twist leaped into him and drowned his Sight in the bright, clear, refreshingly cool, staggeringly delicious wave of white fog that instantly filled his mind to the brim.

All of the dull pains that had plagued his Sight vanished instantly in Jonas’s arms. All his fear, confusion, loneliness, and doubt were forgotten in one breath as he savored the delicious pulse of Jonas’s quick heartbeat pouring down his spine. It was a long, glorious moment before Jonas pulled back and put both hands on Twist’s shoulders to look into his eyes. Twist’s hands lingered on Jonas’s jacket, as he couldn’t manage to find a single reason to move them.

Twist held his friend’s deep-purple gaze and enjoyed the tightened buzz in his neck under the full force of Jonas’s Sight. Jonas smiled warmly back at him and reached into a pocket with one hand—leaving the other on Twist’s shoulder—to retrieve his handkerchief. It was only when Jonas silently gave it to him that Twist noticed that a few blissful tears had escaped his own eyes. His pride didn’t seem to mind, and so he only gave a light laugh at the thought as he wiped them away. Jonas laughed too, and his eyes lightened to pure, brilliant blue.

“My turn, my turn!” Storm said, bobbing on his toes a few inches behind Twist.

“Storm?” Jonas asked, looking startled.

Twist let one hand fall away from Jonas, but the thought of letting him go entirely seemed absurd. The moment Twist left enough room, Storm flung his arms around Jonas’s waist.

“Thank heaven you’re all right!” Storm gasped, his voice muffled as he clung tightly to Jonas. “You hardly slept at all. I was so worried!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Jonas said, staring at the boy, perplexed. He petted awkwardly at his snowy hair and looked to Twist for help.

“He helped rescue you,” Twist said brightly.

“Well…thanks,” Jonas said, still a bit confused. Storm looked up at him with a wide smile.

“I’m very glad you’re all right,” Kima offered, smiling softly to Jonas.

Jonas looked to her for a fleeting instant, his gaze falling dangerously near her eyes, but Twist felt no trepidation in him because of it. Instead, a grounding and comforting calm murmured through the fog in Twist’s Sight as Jonas nodded to her and smiled lightly.

“Jonas!” Myra said suddenly, stepping closer with a brilliant smile.

“Myra!” Jonas responded brightly. Storm finally released him and moved a step away with Kima, leaving room for her.

“How in the world could I ever forget you?” Myra mused, smiling as she reached out to him. Jonas gave her a half hug as she wrapped both arms around his neck, and he left a kiss on her shining forehead before she pulled away with a bright giggle.

“Wait, you remember me now?” Jonas asked her quickly. “Did killing Bob really do the trick?”

“It seemed to,” she said happily. “I can’t believe I forgot him at all,” she added to Twist, taking his hand. The touch brought her sparkling emotions to splash over the white fog at the edges of Twist’s mind with a delightful effect. “All the pranks,” she went on. “All the silly jokes. And all that teasing!” she added, growing more and more cross as she looked at Jonas.

Jonas laughed and casually took Twist’s other hand, as if it were a perfectly natural action. “I missed you, too, poppet,” he said amiably to Myra.

Twist’s smile barely fit on his face as he looked between them and let his Sight wander among their equally bright emotions. His heart felt too small to contain all of his relief. Even after all the trouble, pain, and fear of the previous week, Twist could never have imagined how good it would feel to have his friends together again.

“Jon…” Arabel’s voice toned softly. Twist and Myra turned to see her stare at her brother in wonder. Jonas, however, could only look at her for the merest instant.

“Did you forget me too, Ara?” Jonas asked lightly, as if only bemused. Twist caught the flash of darker thoughts in his Sight.

“Oh, shut up, you scoundrel,” she snapped with a smile on her face, as she moved closer.

Myra and Twist pulled away, but Jonas’s touch never left Twist. He held onto Twist’s hand even as Arabel hugged him, too. Jonas’s eyes snapped closed, but Twist felt the warmth that her attention left on his heart. She then moved back to look at his closed eyes sternly.

“Now, no more of this nonexistence, nonsense!” she snapped in a tight voice. Jonas fought to contain a laugh. “I mean it, young man!” she went on, smiling now, though her voice still sounded slightly angry. “You’re going to keep yourself on this planet, from now on. Got it?”

“Sorry, Ara…” he muttered sheepishly around his smile. “I’ll do my best not to be taken to other planets by dragons…”

“See that you do,” she added, leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek before moving away again.

“Hey, where’s my hugs and kisses?” Skye asked suddenly. She was now standing on the deck with a pouting expression on her face. “I did most of the saving, you know.” Behind her, Twist saw Monti in rapt discussion with the sailors on how to hoist the pod onto the ship.

“Skye!” Myra gasped, bounding to her with a bright smile. She took Skye’s hands in her own and hopped in a circle around her. “Oh, you’re brilliant! You’re wonderful! We love you!”

“Yes, we do!” Storm added, joining Myra. “You’re fantastic! I hope I get your dreams!”

Skye’s pout broke into a laugh instantly, while Arabel joined in to congratulate her on her heroics. Monti gave her a hearty pat on the back, and Alistair and his friends gave her a round of applause, despite the fact that they didn’t really know what she’d done to deserve it all. Vane offered something in a whisper to her that got him a swift slap and made everyone laugh, Vane included.

Twist and Jonas watched from one side, where Twist wouldn’t get caught in the fray. Skye caught Twist’s eye and gave him a smile and wink before turning back to speak with Myra. Twist looked to Jonas again and found him smiling at Twist warmly, his eyes shifting gently to lilac in Twist’s Sight. Twist took in a deep, full breath, and let it out slowly as he basked in the familiar attention.

Once Jonas and Skye had been recovered safe and sound, and everyone—even Vane—had been given a chance to greet Jonas, Alistair and his friends invited everyone to join in with their original plans to spend the day fishing. As no one had any other plans for the rest of the day—the escape pod was now lashed securely to the side of the ship for Orad to study later—they accepted Alistair’s offer. The ship left for a quiet spot nearer to its port without delay.

Twist’s full attention was naturally claimed by Jonas without contest. When Twist began to explain everything that had happened since Jonas’s disappearance, he quickly found that Skye had already told Jonas most of it while they’d waited to be found and picked up. Neither Jonas nor Skye had doubted for a moment that Arabel would be able to find them, and so rescue had seemed certain.

“What I don’t understand,” Jonas said, as he and Twist sat together on the little viewing-perch that hung above the fishing boat’s wheelhouse, and watched the others ready their fishing poles on the deck below, “is how you can believe that you’re really not good at interacting with people.”

“Well, I’m not…” Twist said, looking to him in confusion. He hardly noticed anymore that Jonas still hadn’t let go of his hand yet, even for an instant.

Jonas turned to him with a knowing look. “How many people are on this boat?”

Twist gave him a confused look.

“Not even counting the crew, you, me, or Myra, there are nine people on this boat, from four different countries, who
you
managed to pull together, nearly single-handedly, just to save my sorry skin, when none of them had anything to gain personally in the venture.”

Twist shrugged. “I was rather desperate…”

“But you did it,” Jonas said, shaking his head. “If you had no social skills, you’d never have gotten anywhere, and I’d be on my way to Jupiter.”

“I suppose I did make a friend,” Twist mused, looking to Alistair, who was currently standing with Storm and explaining something about casting a good line.

“Yeah, Skye’s quite interesting,” Jonas said, looking to her as she slapped Vane again and shouted at him. Arabel seemed unable to breathe for laughter.

“Oh yes…I suppose I made two friends. Three if you count Kali.”

“See what I mean?” Jonas asked with a sigh. “You’re losing count.”

“Well, technically, I think it’s more accurate to say that Skye chose me. I never tried to be friendly with her. She just…sort of decided to be nice to me. Insistently.”

“Yeah, she told me some of what she saw you go through on that cruise,” he said softly. “I’m grateful to her for all the help she gave you. I don’t think she even knows how much she really did help. I could see you, you know,” Jonas said, looking to him. “I watched you from the moment I got into orbit. That cruise looked like hell for you.”

“I’m not traveling like that again,” Twist said with a shudder. “I mean, the aurora was nice to look at, but if I ever see another buffet I’m sure I’m going to run away screaming.”

Jonas laughed lightly and nodded. “Yeah, but that thunderstorm was pretty neat.”

“You did see us,” Twist said, smiling at the memory.

“Sure. I couldn’t hear you, of course, but I read your lips. I had no idea what you were planning, or why you were going to Japan or Australia of all places, but I knew you were up to something. It was good to see you looking happy for a moment, too.”

Twist smiled and nodded.

“And then there’s the dragon you slayed!” Jonas said suddenly. “That was amazing! I couldn’t believe it. I thought you were going to be eaten, for sure.”

“Oh, yes!” Twist said, returning to the memory. “You saw that as well?”

“Bloody spectacular, that was.”

“You really did watch me the whole time…” Twist said, looking at him sideways.

“What, you think you’re the only one getting anything out of this relationship?” Jonas asked, lifting their joined hands to show him. Twist turned away before Jonas could catch the blush of pride that he felt warm his own smile. “Besides,” Jonas went on, “it was pretty impressive to see you handle everything as well as you did. I mean, I knew I was going to get home eventually, even if I wasn’t sure how. But you didn’t know that, and you still did a brilliant job, all on your own.”

Twist’s pride wanted to shrug off the compliment, but for once, he only enjoyed it. He couldn’t deny the fact that what Jonas had said was, actually, true. Perhaps his social skills weren’t as bad as he thought, after all. Then Twist’s thoughts caught on something Jonas had said. He frowned in thought, looking to him.

“Wait, you knew you would be saved? Are you saying that you were perfectly certain that whatever I was up to was going to save you?”

“Oh, well…” Jonas muttered, the fog in Twist’s mind chilling ever so subtly. He put on a smile for Twist. “I do know that you’re bloody tenacious,” he said brightly. “You’re like an angry honey badger when you’ve got a goal in mind. Of course you’d get me home, somehow.”

Twist watched him curiously, noticing a whisper-thin shadow of nervousness hidden in the fog that filled his Sight. Twist’s suspicions clearly stated that something was amiss. In a flash of insight, Twist remembered that Jonas occasionally saw the future. He could have very easily seen some moment of his future, safe and sound on the Earth, which hadn’t yet come to pass, and so known that he would somehow be saved from the dragons’ ship. Wasn’t that practically what Jonas had said to himself in the moment of desperation in the dark?

Twist smiled back to him. “Well, I’m glad it all worked out,” Twist offered lightly, looking to the others before the silence between them grew awkward.

Twist also knew that Jonas never enjoyed speaking of his visions. If he didn’t want to speak of it, then he certainly didn’t have to. Twist was far too pleased to simply be in his company again to press. After all, Twist didn’t have to know all of the man’s secrets. Twist’s eyes touched on Kima—helping Storm to attempt his first toss of his fishing line—and he suddenly recalled that Jonas had spoken her name in his most desperate hour. Twist smiled lightly, realizing that, of course, whatever vision of the future Jonas had clung to, must somehow include her. It was a natural enough assumption.

He and Jonas remained together for a long while, chatting quietly or just listening to the others while they soaked in the calm sunlight. Eventually, Myra’s patience ran out. She called to them to come and join her and the others. Before Twist had a chance to refuse, Myra began to teach him all she had just learned about fishing.

“You’ve got to really throw the hook way out there,” she said, helping him to learn to cast by holding the rod with him. “There you go!” she said, as the hook and line flew far away into the water, with a final effort from Twist.

“There’s no fish over there,” Jonas said, peering over the side.

“Oh yeah?” Skye tsked at him. “You got some kinda magic fish powers too?”

“I can see them,” Jonas snapped back. “They’re all over there,” he said, pointing. “Twist, try that way.”

“Right, hang on…” Twist said, reeling in the line to have another go.

He let the line fly again, the way that Myra had showed him, and the hook fell into the water at a fair distance. Everyone seemed to wait and watch after Twist’s hook for a silent moment. Finally Skye gave a derisive tone.

“See?” she said smugly. “You can’t see everything…”

“Whoa!” Twist gasped as his fishing rod jerked sharply in his hands.

He gripped it as tightly as he could, but the line was being pulled with tremendous force. Jonas jumped in to help, planting one foot on the railing to pull back on the rod with Twist. Myra cheered as the two of them struggled to bring the line in. Skye stared in shock as they pulled a shimmering, silver-and-blue tuna onto the deck. The fish flapped and struggled so much that the boat began to rock under its motion. One of the sailors rushed in to kill the beast with a well-aimed stab of his knife, and the boat steadied again. Once the fish lay still on the deck, Twist stared down at it in amazement. It was easily one-and-a-half feet long.

“Dang, it’s a small one,” Jonas said with a sigh.

“That’s a small one?” Twist asked, pointing. His arms still ached from the strain of pulling it aboard.

“Sure, there’s bigger ones out there.”

“You’re going to get me killed,” Twist said, tossing the fishing rod at him. “Catch your own behemoths!”

“Oh come on,” Jonas whined. “Where’s your sense of adventure gone?” Twist narrowed his eyes at him.

“Hey, bright eyes, which way are the big ones?” Skye asked, looking out to sea with her rod ready to cast.

“See, Skye knows how to have fun,” Jonas said to Twist.

“I’m not going to kiss you, either,” Twist said, crossing his arms.

Everyone’s attention shot to Twist instantly, while Vane gave a laugh and Skye snickered softly. Twist glanced back at Vane uncomfortably.

“Fine,” Jonas said sharply, with a hint of pink on his cheeks. “Be no fun, then. Come on, Skye, try over that way,” he said, pointing.