Timekeeper (Timekeeper #1)(86)

The tower was lit a brilliant orange-gold, the clock faces shining like four separate eyes watching over a sleepy London. Danny was not exactly sure what made the clock glow this way at night, but he had a suspicion that the power of the spirit kept it going.

Guards were posted at the entrances to the Parliament building. They would be more alert after the disaster near Maldon, but Danny still had his mechanic’s badge, which gave him access to the tower at any time of day—or night. He hoped.

He had only ever visited Big Ben during daylight hours, mostly for training. Once, before he had become an apprentice, Danny had brought his father the packed lunch he’d forgotten at home as an excuse to spend time inside the tower. Matthias had been with Christopher then, the two men laughing as Danny asked one excited question after another.

Now the memory sat cold within him.

Danny lifted Colton from the auto. He expected the spirit to be unconscious, as he had been during the entire drive, but Colton’s gaze was fixed on Big Ben, his eyes reflecting the gold until they shone like a cat’s. The light sparked along his faded edges, more solid now thanks to the tower’s proximity. Danny released a grateful breath.

“Colton?” he said. “I’ll need you to try and walk. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” Colton whispered. “I think so.”

Evaline stood to one side as Danny set Colton on his feet. The spirit wobbled, held onto Danny for a moment, then nodded as if to say he would be all right. Danny longed to keep the feeling of Colton’s hand on his chest, but it slipped away far too soon.

The tower was huge. The base, like Colton’s, was built of brick with limestone cladding; the rest was a spire of cast iron. The opal glass of the four faces, surrounded by large iron frames, beamed at the sprawling city below. Underneath each dial, a Latin inscription had been etched: DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRUM VICOTIAM PRIMAM.

Lord save Victoria the First. Queen Victoria had been the first to have her name carved into a tower, her name now etched into history and time itself.

He led the way to the tower’s back entrance, the one reserved for mechanics. Two guards were stationed there. Danny broke out in a sweat as they approached. He could pass Colton off as an apprentice, but Evaline was another matter. She looked older, like a mechanic, but had no badge.

Danny glanced over his shoulder. Colton was still a little unsteady, but his excitement gave Danny hope. He focused on what to say. “Hello there, lovely night. No? Well, I suppose it is a bit nippy. Oh, them? Yes, they’re with me, not to worry. I’ve been called over to give a quick demonstration, orders straight from the Lead. The boy wants to be an apprentice, but his mother’s not so sure. Mind letting us in?”

But when he stood before the guards, the words flew from his mind. They blinked owlishly at him.

“I need to get in,” he said simply, showing his badge. They peered at it, gave a glance at the two figures behind him, and waved them through.

“That was easier than I expected,” Danny murmured as they climbed the stairs to the belfry. The Lead must not have filed his dismissal paperwork yet. “Don’t let your guard down. There may be mechanics up here.”

As it turned out, there were none. The tower was empty.

The echoes of the tower’s ticks and tocks were as soothing as the patter of rain on a quiet night. In the belfry, four quarter bells hung ready to chime the next hour. Danny spotted the Great Bell, or rather, the true Big Ben.

He was afraid Colton would have a difficult time climbing the stone steps, but the tower gave the spirit strength. His legs propelled him forward, the faintest hint of gold returning to his body. Colton gazed around in wide-eyed wonder. Danny felt a twinge of sadness, and wasn’t sure why until he saw the longing on Colton’s face.

The clock room was more spacious than Colton’s. There were no abandoned, empty boxes here, no dust building up in the corners. The clock faces surrounding them were a marvel. Danny remembered standing up here for the first time, simultaneously terrified by the height and awed by the spectacle. The faces glowed in the nighttime darkness, a reminder that that the city was safe.

The people of Enfield did not have that luxury.

Clenching his jaw, Danny directed Colton toward the middle of the room where he could best absorb the natural energy that flooded the space.

“Feel it?” Danny murmured, squeezing Colton’s upper arms. The spirit nodded, his eyes brighter, more like their familiar amber shade.

“How can I not? It’s everywhere. It’s … life.” Danny watched Colton walk from clock face to clock face, taking in the sight he had only dreamed of seeing. Evaline looked around, her face a little less grave.

“You’ve never been here, have you?” Danny asked her. “Even though Matthias has kept you in London for so long.”

“I haven’t been out much, no,” she replied. “He’s terrified of someone realizing. Too late for that, though.” She gazed up where the ceiling arched. “It’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it? This tower. Mine seems so insignificant in comparison.”

“So does mine,” Colton agreed sadly.

Danny bristled. “Don’t say that. You both have fine towers with fine mechanics looking after them.”

Colton smiled. “Sorry, Danny. It’s just so grand.”

“It can be grand all it likes, but it doesn’t make your towers any less impressive. You’re important to so many people. Both of you are.”