Alex in Wunderstrande: The Clairvoyance Clock [BOOK ONE]

Chapter XIX: Mutiny

The breath I had been in the process of inhaling stopped short. I stared at the lighthouse keeper in a horrible mix of shock and disgust, watching the river of crimson blood gush from his head and snake in tributaries across the floor.

A scream sounded in the kitchen. Just as Maggie tore into the room, another bullet whizzed through the confusion and struck her through the chest. She collapsed upon the rug, a yard away from her husband's final resting place. The woman held on to her fleeting last moments, fighting for oxygen and grasping for her husband's lifeless hand. Her fingers brushed his just before she released her last mouthful of air.

Tears streamed down Imogen's face as she held a hand over her mouth in disbelief. Pale as a ghost, Sheridan braced himself against the doorframe.

"Lucian!" screamed Jayce, lunging for her father. Mechanical Man caught her around the waist and yanked her backward, though she fought furiously to gain freedom. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Lucian coolly slipped his pistol back through his belt and shrugged as if nothing earthshattering had ever occurred. "Come, Alex," he said mellifluously, outright ignoring his daughter's enraged plea. "Let's go find that Clock."

But I didn't move. I couldn't. Petrified in dread, I fought the revolting feeling spreading within my chest, through my arms, and all the way down to my fingertips. Every mouthful of oxygen hardly made it past my throat. I almost did not notice the tears welling in my eyes until the scenery became too blurry to see.

"Alex, we haven't a moment to waste!"

"What? N-no, I didn't agree to this!" I faltered, still in shock over the turn of events. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"

But Lucian hadn't heard a word. Instead, his attention lingered on the front door, which had somehow flown open in the midst of the commotion.

Not wanting to turn my back on the man I once trusted, I hesitantly followed Lucian's sight line. My eyes grew wide when two brutish figures wearing dark coats, goggles, and mud-stained boots clomped heavily into the cottage.

"Ah, Marcus and Winifred," Lucian said as the intimidatingly tall strangers entered the living room. "I hoped you had gotten my message."

"Of course we did," said Marcus, his voice deep and terrifying. "As soon as we heard you were in possession of the Heir, we set off at once."

I wiped my face on my sleeve and scowled at the newcomers, remembering Lucian's PenArrow communication. He hadn't been conversing with the authorities after all. Instead, he called for backup. All of it was an act, a performance worth its weight in gold in Dirigibourne.

Lucian grabbed my arm and shoved me toward the strangers. "Alex, meet Marcus and Winifred, two fellow Clock Hunters from Westinhaven."

When I refused to speak, Lucian frowned. "Don't be rude; say hello. They traveled a long way to meet you."