Chainbreaker (Timekeeper) by Tara Sim (17)

Christopher and Colton went to the office the next morning to show the Lead how the holder worked. The man was impressed, and promised that Christopher and the smiths would be generously compensated for their work and discretion.

“That’s not necessary, sir. I’m just glad to do my part.”

“Nonsense, your family does outstanding work and I want to see that rewarded. Well now, Colton, are you feeling better?”

Colton looked up from where he’d been glaring at the carpet. “What? Oh, yes. I feel almost as strong as I would in my tower.”

“Brilliant.” The Lead still sounded a little hesitant speaking directly to a spirit, but the fact that Colton now looked like a human boy eased some of the awkwardness. “We’re still investigating, but we’ll get to the bottom of this soon. There’s been shadowy activity in India as well, and I’m sure Daniel and the others are hard at work.”

Colton sensed something furtive about the way the man said it. Apparently, Colton wasn’t the only one keeping upsetting news from the Harts.

After that, Colton’s day was torture. He couldn’t stop reading the note or staring at the photograph. It was of poor quality, the image grainy, but it was clearly Danny. There was no mistaking him.

The next day Colton anxiously waited for his meeting with Brandon. He’d called Cassie over as well. She arrived first, and Colton led her to the back room.

“I wish I knew how to make you tea,” he said. She laughed and touched his arm affectionately.

“That’s all right. You look much better than you did before. Well, more solid, I should say. Have you told them?”

He shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Colton—”

“Just wait until Brandon gets here. Then I’ll explain.”

The apprentice arrived ten minutes later, surprised to see Cassie. Colton introduced them, since he didn’t think the two had ever met.

“He’s mentioned you,” Brandon said, taking a seat in the armchair where Cassie had sat last time. Colton settled on the couch, wearing the cog holder on his back. He had become used to its weight already. “The auto mechanic.”

“That’s me. Nice to finally meet you.”

“I assume you’re here for the same reason I am.” Brandon gave Colton a pointed look.

“I’ll have to start from the beginning,” Colton warned.

“Maybe I’ll go make that tea, then,” Cassie said.

She came back with a small tray just as Colton finished up. Brandon thanked Cassie for the cup she held out to him, taking a few sips as he considered Colton’s words.

“Don’t you think someone should tell Danny?” he said at last. “About Enfield and all that? I mean, if he kept that note from everyone, he already knows something’s up. He’ll want to know.”

“The India assignment is important, and they trusted Danny with it,” Colton argued. “I don’t want him hurrying back here for my sake. And there’s … something else.”

Colton hesitated. The note had warned him not to tell anyone. He went to close the drapes, then laid the note and photograph facedown on the table. “I’m going to leave the room for a minute,” he said. “Don’t touch these.” He mimed flipping the letter and photo over, nodding his head. Brandon was reaching for them as Colton left the room.

He heard Cassie’s gasp and Brandon’s muttered curse. Giving them exactly a minute, he walked back into the room. The letter and photo were as he’d left them. Cassie was white as a freshly laundered sheet, and Brandon’s eyebrows were furrowed.

“I have to go to him,” Colton whispered. “They’ll kill him if I don’t.”

“Bloody idiot, can’t you see this is a trap?” Brandon whispered back. “These people know something about you. About Danny. If they get you where they want you—”

“I don’t care. I’m not risking Danny’s life to save my own. I promised his father that I would never put Danny in danger.”

Cassie twisted her hands in her lap and looked at him pleadingly. “Colton, let’s just tell someone. Please. There has to be another way.”

But he shook his head. “I will not risk his life. They want me to go to India.” He touched the small cog Big Ben had given him, secure in his pocket. “So I’ll go.”

“What about Enfield?” Brandon demanded.

“They’ll be safer this way. Time will start again when I come back, and then we can fix my tower.”

“If you come back at all! The Lead should know—”

“No!” Colton banged his fist against the wall and the entire frame shook. Brandon and Cassie jumped. “You two are the only ones I can trust right now. If you tell the Lead, or anyone else, they’ll do something to Danny. I can’t have that happen.”

“But how would you even get to India?” Cassie demanded.

Brandon opened his mouth, then immediately closed it. Colton stared at him, and Brandon stared back, eyes shifting in indecision. Finally, he exhaled a long breath.

“I know a way,” Brandon admitted. “My older brother’s a copilot on a transporter airship. He’s taking some cargo and soldiers to India at the end of the week. I can ask him if he’ll smuggle you on.”

Colton brightened at once. “Would you really? Do you promise?”

Brandon glanced at the photograph. He scratched his jaw and sighed. “Yes, I promise. Have to keep Danny alive, right? Since he’s so awful at doing it himself.”

Colton turned to Cassie. She blinked hard and met Colton’s gaze, fighting back tears. But as Colton watched, her expression slowly hardened into determination. “Brandon, if you tell me the flight details, I can drive Colton to your brother’s airship.”

Colton listened as they worked it out between them, wondering if this was another of his strange visions. He was going to India. He was going to save Danny. He was going to keep his promise to Christopher Hart.

Although Colton could read, he hadn’t had much experience in writing. He figured it would be a lot like reading, but in reverse: he would already know the words before they were put on paper.

He sat in Danny’s room for two nights in a row, anxious about what he was going to say and how the Harts would react upon finding the note. Colton didn’t want to give himself away. There was no telling if Christopher would follow him to India, or tell the Lead.

The words came out shaky but legible. His handwriting wasn’t as confident as Danny’s, but at least he wrote it himself, and he hadn’t needed to ask Cassie to do it for him. He wanted this message to come from him—his apology, his reasoning, everything.

Just before dawn, he finished the note and sat back, rereading it several times to make sure it was what he wanted.

It didn’t feel nearly enough. He knew he should mention that Danny was in danger, but he couldn’t get anyone else involved.

Feeling oddly heavy, Colton put on Danny’s clothes and the leather-covered cog holder. Big Ben’s cog still rested in his pocket. He wondered if the spirit had somehow known that Colton would be traveling and would need this extra strength.

He still had money, but discovered more of it squirreled away in one of Danny’s drawers. With a promise to repay Danny somehow, Colton added it to his traveling bag. He chose a spare shirt and trousers, just in case something happened to the ones he wore. He also packed the notes and both photographs of Danny.

Colton hesitated on the landing, looking at the Harts’ bedroom door. The letter sat on Danny’s desk, waiting to be found. They deserved better. But it was all he could give them for now.

Cassie waited for him outside, the sky dim and gray in the early clutches of the morning. She gave him a sad look when he got into her auto, and they took off down the quiet London lane.

They were mostly silent, though Cassie asked questions every now and then. “Do you have money? Do you need more? What about a map?” By the time they reached the docking station, Cassie held the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said when she’d parked. Colton could see the large airship being loaded several yards away. “I’m getting one of my bad feelings. There has to be another way.”

He took her freckled hand in his. “Cassie, thank you for everything you’ve done. If Christopher and Leila ask you questions, pretend you don’t know anything. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

She drew in a deep breath that shook as she released it. She squeezed his hand gently. “Danny is lucky to have you.”

“He’s also lucky to have friends like you and Brandon.” He looked back at the airship and found two people walking toward them. They got out of the car to meet them.

“Colton, this is David, my brother.” Brandon gestured to the tall young man beside him. They looked similar, though David had a wider mouth and forehead. He was dressed in a blue uniform with aviator goggles hanging around his neck.

“Crikey, s’true then,” David mumbled, looking Colton up and down.

“He’s going to smuggle you into the cargo hold when the crew leave, before the passengers come on.”

“I’ve never smuggled anything before, and I could lose my job if I’m caught,” David warned them. “I’m only doing this as a favor for my brother. If someone finds you, you’re on your own.”

“I understand,” Colton said, ignoring Cassie’s growl of displeasure.

“The loading crew looks like they’re about to take off,” David said, craning his head around to check. “Shall we?”

Cassie pulled Colton into a sudden, brief hug. “Come back with him, Colton.”

“I will.”

Brandon patted his shoulder. “Good luck, mate.”

Following David to the airship, Colton wondered if this was how Danny felt when he’d boarded his own airship: strangely alone, his excitement tempered with dread. He looked over his shoulder and waved to the others. Cassie waved back, and Brandon gave a single nod of encouragement.

The airship loomed above them, its propellers lazily circling, the engines warming up. Colton would be in there soon, climbing toward the sky. Heading for India. Running from Enfield.

He took out the photograph of Danny’s smiling face.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I can’t wait for you this time.”