Machinae mundi

xviii. the golden palace

WITHIN A MOMENT OF ARRIVING, HE WAS SURROUNDED.

Half a dozen spear points flashed at his neck. Mori looked up. Tall, elegant figures, dressed in gold-trimmed robes surrounded him. Gauzy cloth draped from their wide-brimmed hats, obscuring their faces. A golden sundial, fashioned from a coppery metal, dangled at their hips.

"Citizen, this is a restricted area." The lead figure spoke in an even tone, no trace of emotion in their voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I..."

They found the timepiece at his waist and drew back. "Look."

The figures shifted, exchanging glances behind their veils. "Off-plane," one of them murmured, and the rest nodded. "From Arkos."

The group tensed. "Bring him inside."

One of the figures wrenched his arms behind his back. Mori lacked the strength to struggle. He stumbled alongside them, trying to clear his mind. The scenery here was different to Aurelios, so he figured he'd been sent to a different plane.

Again. Not a week ago he'd thought Arkos was the only plane. Now it felt like he'd visited a new one every day for the past week. He ran through the ones he knew in his head, trying to figure out where he was. This must be the second or third plane.

Mori forced himself to think. Ren would still be on Aurelios. Where was Argent?

He had no idea. From the way the guards here were treating him, it seemed he was the first to arrive. Argent could be anywhere.

Mori sighed. At the very least, it looked like they were taking him to the clock tower. If he could persuade whoever was in charge here to let him back up, he might be able to reach Aurelios in time, before something awful happened to Ren.

The guards led him through a chandelier-dappled entrance hall and up a seemingly endless flight of marble steps to a long throne room. Gilded columns lined the room, leading the way to a short platform at the other end. Two channels lay either side of the path to the dais, filled with sparkling water. Swans glided lazily along them.

The guards pushed Mori in front of the dais and retreated back a few steps.

"Clockmaker Terza," one said. "We found him in the courtyard. It looks like he's from Arkos."

"Arkos?" The woman turned to face him. A dark robe draped over her body. Splashes of scarlet embroidery marked the sleeves and the shoulders, fashioned into elegant poppies. Her long dark hair was tied back with a red silk ribbon. In a flash, she withdrew a small, slightly curved blade from a wooden sheath at her waist.

"It seems another rat has crawled its way out of that gutter," she said. Her dark eyes narrowed with distaste. "What are you doing here?"

"I..." Mori kept his eyes on the blade. "I need to get back to Aurelios. Suria's trying to destroy the clock towers."

"Don't be absurd," Terza said. "I know Suria well. She would never do such a thing."

"I've just come from there," Mori insisted. "She let the void into the tower, then attacked us when we got her out and took Ren. Elete and Arkos have already fallen. If we don't do something about it, she'll destroy even more."

Terza tilted her head back and let out a bitter laugh. "Is that what Ren told you? So she's a liar as well as a menace."

Mori narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"It's obvious you've misread the situation, led astray by the mistruths of your mentor," Terza said. "Suria would do no such thing. And the one responsible for the fall of Elete is none other than Ren herself."