They asked a sepoy to escort them. He had won against Danny in cards the night before, so he was willing to make up for it by trailing behind the two mechanics. People stared wherever they went, but other British settlers were given the same treatment, so Danny didn’t take it personally. Still, it didn’t help his nerves that people here were painfully aware of his existence when he was so used to being invisible in a London crowd.
It could have been worse. One day he’d noticed a sign above a dining establishment that read NO INDIANS OR DOGS ALLOWED. He had inhaled sharply at the implication of it, but if Meena had seen, she’d pretended she hadn’t. By some unspoken agreement, they had not walked down that street since.
They barely realized they were walking in the direction of Aditi’s tower until they saw the top of the spire over the nearest rooftop. By impulse or resignation, they turned toward it.
“There’s still something I don’t understand,” Meena said, voice low so that no one could overhear. The sepoy loped a few paces behind, squinting against the last rays of sun. “When we first arrived, you did something to Aditi’s cog that upset her. What was it?”
“Oh, that.” His heart beat a little faster. “It was just an experiment.”
Meena would have asked more, but as they walked into the circular clearing where Aditi’s tower stood, something pricked against Danny’s senses. The air felt … sharp. It warped around him, and his skin broke out in gooseflesh. He could see it, a distortion in the air like heat rays in summer.
Looking down, he realized the cobblestones under his feet were dark with water.
“Meena,” he whispered. She saw the water and gasped.
“Where are the guards?” She ran into the clearing, but no one was there.
The sepoy, sensing their distress, rushed forward. “What’s wrong?”
Danny spun in a tight circle, not sure what he was looking for. And then he found it. A black line ran up the side of the tower, toward the clock face. It was smoking.
Hickory dickory dock.
The smoke rose higher.
The mouse ran up the clock.
As he followed the spark with his eyes, he noticed a figure beyond the thick glass of the clock face. The spirit banged on the green barrier, yelling soundlessly, trapped.
The clock struck one—
“Meena, get away from there!” he shouted.
The tower exploded.
Colton was quiet as David drove him to the train station in the city called Jaipur. David had managed to filch an auto from the caravan the soldiers used, but insisted it had to be returned as soon as possible before an officer realized it was missing.
“The train that’ll take you to Agra comes in an hour,” David explained as he fumbled for something in his pocket. “I believe it’s called the Jabalpur Express. Can you remember that?” Colton said he could. “Here, you’ll need this.”
David shoved a wad of crumpled paper at him, along with a dozen or so silver and bronze coins. Colton sat with the pile in his lap, trying not to drop any of it.
“What’s all this?”
“Rupees and annas. Indian currency. You can’t get too far with pounds and pence in this country, so stick to what I just gave you.”
Colton stared at the young man. He knew enough about humans to understand that this was a substantial gesture. At a loss for words, he looked out the window at the passing buildings. Strangely, they were pink. “I’ve never seen buildings like these before,” he said.
“The Prince of Wales visited Jaipur earlier this year. They painted everything pink to welcome him.”
“Oh.” Colton supposed that was nice of them. As they rounded a corner, he jolted in his seat. Jaipur’s clock tower loomed nearby.
“Stop the auto.”
“What? No. We have to—oy!”
Colton had already opened the door, and David was forced to pull over to the side of the road. Colton nimbly stepped over a mound of cow dung and made his way to the tower, drawn to its force. People glanced at him, but he didn’t care. He felt braver in the dawn light.
He climbed a short wall and stood on the top, taking in a sight that made his eyes go wide. A vast courtyard stretched before him, empty save for giant curving structures. One was immensely tall, in the shape of a flight of stairs that led nowhere. Another was a half-circle lined with marks. There was also a pit in which a pendulum swung.
“It’s the conservatory,” David called from below. “The king of Jaipur built this a long time ago. They’re all time-telling devices.”
Colton could sense it, now. The tall stairs leading to nowhere actually formed a sundial. Time fibers wove around the structure, strengthening the connection to the clock tower tenfold.
Something made him turn his head. On top of the yellow clock tower stood a slight figure. When their eyes met, the figure disappeared.
He reappeared in front of Colton, who stepped back in surprise.
The boy was shorter and younger than he was. He had bronze skin and dusty yellow hair. His amber eyes flashed as he tilted his head to one side. Colton found himself mimicking the gesture.
“You are like me,” the boy said in a heavy accent.
“Yes, I think so.” Colton thought back to his visions—his dreams—his memories. Honestly, he had no idea what he was. “Don’t worry, I won’t be staying long. But may I ask you something?”
The boy considered, then nodded.
“Do you have visions of a life before this one? A life that makes no sense?”
The boy’s gaze wandered toward the conservatory. “I see … a woman. I call her mother. She feeds me roti and smacks my arm when I misbehave.”
Colton’s throat constricted. He thought of the woman in his own visions, the tall one with the long dark hair. Mother.
“Colton!” David called.
“I have to go,” he whispered. “Goodbye.”
“Goodbye,” the boy said. He disappeared into his tower.
Colton climbed back down the wall to where David waited below. The young man’s eyes darted around warily as he pulled Colton to the auto.
“What the bloody hell was that?” he demanded. “Actually, no—never mind. The less I know, the better. Let’s just get you to the station.”
They drove the rest of the way in silence. When David pulled up beside the train station, Colton took what was left of the British money from his pockets and handed it to David.
“Don’t bother, mate. I don’t expect anything in return.”
“Please,” Colton said.
David took the money half-heartedly. “I’ll keep hold of it for you. Brandon can give it back when you return.” David looked him up and down. “And you better return. Having Brandon for a brother, I know how important you spirits are to the clock towers. I know how important you are to Enfield. Don’t leave us with another Maldon, all right?”
Colton slowly put the Indian money away, unable to meet David’s eyes. “I won’t.”
David directed him to the stairs leading to the platform above, where passengers congregated.
“Be safe, then. And good luck.”
“Thank you for your help.”
David only nodded before he returned to the auto. Colton understood that David needed to go, but all the same, he wished he would come with him, even just to the platform.