He glanced at the numerals of Big Ben’s western clock face. “One and … five?”
The guard grunted. “One shilling, five pence for the tour.”
“Oh! Money. Right.” Much to his relief, he still carried the coins that Mayor Aldridge had given him for emergencies. With a silent promise to pay him back, he handed the guard all the money in his pocket.
The guard scowled at him. He picked through the coins until he had his one and five and shoved the rest back at Colton.
“Go on, get in line.”
Colton hurried away, worried the man might ask him more difficult questions. He didn’t mingle with the tourists, who kept to themselves anyway. Instead, he made a game of noticing their different features until a different guard let them through the tower entrance.
As soon as he was in the tower, time acknowledged him like an embrace. Colton smiled and looked up, knowing Big Ben was watching. But the spirit couldn’t show himself in front of all these people. Colton would have to find a way to sneak off.
The guide led them up the stairs, droning on about different details of the tower, but Colton didn’t care much about building materials and architecture. When they passed a landing, he spied a door marked MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL ONLY. He crept toward it while the others were distracted, hiding himself within the dark closet. Pressing his ear against the door, he listened to the sound of many feet climbing the next set of stairs, the guide’s voice fading away like the auto engine had that morning.
Colton crept back onto the landing and found Big Ben standing there, beaming at him.
“Never imagined I’d see you again, lad. Why’s it taken you so long to come say hello?”
Big Ben was certainly big. His shoulders were broad, his frame tall, his chest thick. Like Colton, he had golden features, from his yellow-amber eyes to the short blond beard around his jaw. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, revealing a black tattoo with Latin inscription that had been carved onto the tower. Danny had not yet taught Colton how to read Latin, so he had no clue what it meant.
“I’m sorry,” Colton said. “It’s been difficult to move around. This is the first opportunity I’ve had to leave the house.”
“This sounds like a long story. Come along.”
Colton followed him up into the rafters, far away from the prying eyes of tourists and mechanics on duty. The pair sat above the four main bells, one of them the namesake of the London spirit before him.
“Why do they have tours in you?” Colton asked.
“The mechanics need to get extra funding somehow. Besides, I’ve heard I’m quite impressive.” He waited for Colton to finish laughing before he said, “Go on then, tell me what’s happened.”
So Colton explained everything: the towers falling in India, Danny leaving, and the threatening note. Big Ben sat with his head slightly cocked to one side, his expression at once intrigued and alarmed.
“And the mechanic who Stopped your town last time isn’t behind it?”
“Danny said Matthias went to prison, and he’s still there. He didn’t know anything about the attack.”
Big Ben stroked his beard while he thought. Colton looked down at the large bells, wondering if he could fit inside them.
Finally, the great spirit shook his head. “I don’t know how you ought to proceed, to be honest.”
“Neither do I. It’s too complicated for me to understand. But until the mechanics find a way to keep Enfield safe, I have to stay in London.”
“Probably for the best. It would be a shame to get everything up and running only to be attacked again. Strange to think your mechanic doesn’t know anything about this, though.”
“The Lead says he shouldn’t have any distractions.”
“But you said he may be in danger.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. He’ll have soldiers with him, at least.” Colton swung his legs back and forth, remembering the sound of heels striking a barrel. “I wanted to ask you something. Do you ever have … visions? Or lose consciousness and think of strange things?”
Big Ben gave Colton an odd look. “Not that I can recall. Have you?”
Colton told him about the visions, about the boy named Castor, the sea, and how it felt as if he’d experienced the life of another person through his eyes.
Big Ben leaned back. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. Sounds interesting, though.”
“It wasn’t interesting. It was confusing, and then it was frightening.” Colton put a hand against his chest. “I felt this horrible fear, rising up like it would burst out of me and destroy everything.”
“Well, now that you have this new holder, you won’t lose consciousness again.”
“I hope that’s the case.”
Below them, the bells began to chime. The sound vibrated through the rafters as they tolled twelve times. Colton had left the house at half past nine.
“I should head back. Christopher will be worried if he finds me missing.”
“Hold on a moment.” Big Ben winked out of sight. Colton waited patiently for him to return, which he did within seconds. “I want you to have this.”
He handed Colton a small cog of burnished bronze. Colton took it and felt a little spark as the metal touched his fingertips.
“Don’t you need it?”
“It’s a spare. I keep a few lying around, just in case. You should see how frustrated the mechanics get when they can’t find them.”
“Why are you giving it to me?”
The spirit winked. “Just in case.”
They said goodbye as the tour was about to pass below. Colton couldn’t disappear and reappear here as he would in his own tower, since he didn’t control the time boundaries. But he could climb down easily enough, and he waited until the group had passed him before slipping into the back.
Outside, Colton hurried past the dour guard and waited to cross the street. He furtively glanced at Big Ben’s cog in his hand, then looked up at the clock tower. Big Ben sat on the roof, waving down at him. Colton waved back before the spirit disappeared.
As he passed the Mechanics Affairs office, he kept his head down, hoping none of the mechanics nearby could feel his presence.
He thought he’d succeeded when a hand pushed against his chest, stopping him in his tracks. His head shot up, but relief instantly flooded him at the sight of Brandon Summers.
“I knew it wasn’t a hallucination,” the boy said. “Come here.”
Brandon led him around the corner. Leaning a shoulder against the stone wall, Brandon crossed his arms and gave Colton a level stare. “Enfield’s Stopped.” Even though it didn’t sound like a question, Colton nodded. “Can you tell me how?”
“We’re out in the open.”
“Say it soft, then.”
Colton lowered his voice and described the events of the last few weeks.
“And Danny is in bloody India,” Brandon mumbled.
“Yes.”
“What’s the plan?”
It was too much to explain out in the middle of the street, so Colton asked if they could meet later. “Maybe you can help with the investigation, since you know Enfield so well.”