The Clockwork Scarab

Miss Stoker Miss Stoker’s Decision

With the Ankh gone, I investigated my prison, limited as I was by the length of my bonds. I was looking for weapons or at least something to unlock the chains.

One option was to pull the heavy statue over and unloop the chains from around her. While that would free me from that massive anchor, it wouldn’t unlock my ankles or wrists. I’d still be trussed. And whoever was below would hear the sound of Sekhmet crashing to the floor. There had to be another option.

Two huge floor-to-ceiling windows offered dirty light, but I couldn’t get close enough to draw attention to myself. The roof was closed to the sky, but I could tell it was near twilight. Chairs and tables lined the space, and an empty fireplace yawned in one wall. The faint glow of coals cast an eerie red light in the darkening chamber. A bookshelf and a desk were arranged at one end of the room. This had been an office at some point, but now there was a pile of clothing in a corner, as well as a trunk.

The smell of rotting fish and the distant sounds of water told me I was near the wharf, in a completely different area of town than Witcherell’s Pawnshop. I wondered if Pix considered these streets and docks part of his domain.

Surely he was back in the stews, arm wrestling with his friends. From what I understood of his brief explanation in the opium den, he’d come to rescue his friend Jemmy from the Ankh. And in the meantime, he got caught up with Miss Holmes and me. He had helped the other girls to escape too. And he’d taken advantage of my confusion and stolen a kiss as well. Although Pix seemed to care about my well-being, he would have no way of knowing where and how I’d come to be here, in the captivity of the Ankh.

I looked around the room and at the altar. There was no doubt what the Ankh had planned for me. The mechanical device, with all of its wires, waited, eerie and foreboding, next to the sleek Sekhmet.

Miss Holmes was going to bring the diadem, the real diadem, to trade for me, and then the Ankh would have it. She’d have all the instruments.

She’d also have both of us.

I wasn’t a fool. No matter how intelligent my partner was, the Ankh was the one giving the orders. Setting up a trap.

It didn’t matter whether the goddess could be reanimated, or if her power could be harnessed. The Ankh didn’t care. She’d keep trying. She’d already killed too many young women. She wasn’t about to stop there. She’d keep killing and killing until she managed to raise Sekhmet. . . .

My path became clear. Crystal and absolute.

I had to stop the Ankh before Miss Holmes stepped into the trap.

I looked up at the statue of Sekhmet and then over at the mechanical device, its ugly wires a portent of what was to come.

Yes. That was it. A feeling of calm and rightness settled over me. I’d never been more certain of anything in my life.

I was bound and restricted by the length of my chain, but I still had some range of motion. I inched toward the mechanical device and used my body to shift its position. It had to be in the correct location, and I could only hope the Ankh didn’t notice.

It was difficult work. I had to use my considerable strength to tug the massive statue a little closer to the device, taking care not to tip Sekhmet over. Not yet. By the time I got everything into position, I was out of breath but satisfied.

No sooner had I finished with my arrangements than I heard the sounds of voices and footsteps. Quickly, I scooted my bound body back over to the opposite side of the statue and tried to appear docile and hopeless.

“The girl didn’t go to the station,” someone said as the door opened. “We waited, and she didn’t appear.”

The Ankh swept in, and I could feel his rage. He had changed clothing again, and this time was attired in trousers and a shapeless dark tunic. A low hat was settled down to his eyebrows, and a mask covered him from eyes to nose. A short dark beard shadowed his jaw and mouth.

“What does she mean to do?” the Ankh said as he stalked into the chamber. He was followed by Hathor, Bastet, and Amunet.

They couldn’t find Miss Holmes. She’d done something unexpected. Was she coming or not?

I wasn’t certain whether to be relieved or offended.

“It’s nine o’clock.” The Ankh looked over at me, his eyes dark and furious from behind the mask. “Your friend has recanted on our agreement. She’s leaving you to die.”

“She lied, you know,” I said. “She doesn’t have the diadem. She intended to trick you all along.”

The Ankh swept over to the table. “I’ll find her and show her what happens to one who tries to trick me. She might have caused a delay, but in the end, I’ll win. As for tonight—I shan’t wait any longer. I have everything I need.” He looked at me and then at the crown Amunet had placed on the table. “This one will work. I’m certain of it. And if it doesn’t . . . I’ll continue to search for the real one.”

I kept my eyelids hooded. I didn’t want him to see I was ready. And willing.

Because I was taking him with me.

The Ankh conducted the same preparations as last night, and soon red smoke curled throughout the chamber. Hathor dragged me to my feet and, as Amunet kept a gun pressed into my side, he unbound my hands and one ankle, leaving the other still chained to the statue. If I made any sort of move, they’d shoot me . . . but not to kill. I was meant to die another way, and the level of agony was up to me.

The Ankh continued with his work, reading another chant to Sekhmet. This time, he didn’t direct his words to the sky, but toward the large window. I could see Sekhmet’s reflection in the glass as the sky darkened outside and the firelight inside our chamber glowed more brightly.

I was forced to stand facing Sekhmet just as Della Exington had done. With a sharp wrench, Bastet forced my arm to mirror the statue’s. The gold was cool and smooth against my bare skin. I kept my breathing calm as a thin wire running from the mechanical device was wrapped around my arm. It cut into my skin.

I was going to die.

And I was at peace. This was what I was meant to do, what my family legacy required of me: bravery, strength, and sacrifice. For the good and safety of all.

I drew in a deep breath and looked at the gear-ridden, wired device. It was still where I’d placed it.

Hathor tightened another wire around my right arm, positioning it against Sekhmet’s scepter, and then Bastet brought over the false diadem. I trembled a little as she positioned the crown on my head. I mentally reviewed the steps of my plan. Me. The one who never made plans. If only Miss Holmes were here to witness my brilliance.

When the Ankh began to pull the lever, I would have a few brief seconds to lunge to the side. I’d pull the heavy statue over with me . . . down and onto the Ankh.

We’d fall into the mechanical device together, and thus entwined, the Ankh and I would together give our life forces to a Sekhmet who would never rise.

My pulse was faster now. The Ankh placed the dishes of smoking coals around the statue, and the fog rose around me like a red curtain. It was time.

Which was worse? Knowing what was to come—the searing, sharp agony? Death? Or to be ignorant of it, as Della Exington had been?

“I’m not certain whether to be offended or pleased that you began the festivities without me.”

The familiar, pompous voice carried across the chamber.

Mina!

A soft little pop of warmth spread through my chest . . . then drat! She was here. She was going to ruin everything!

“Well, well, my sweet. So you’ve graced us with your presence after all,” said the Ankh.

I shifted in my restricted position to see Mina standing in the doorway. She was holding a cloth-wrapped parcel, and . . .

Bloody hell. She’d got herself captured. And the diadem too.

Hathor’s counterpart prodded my partner into the chamber with a complicated looking weapon. Whatever it was—gun, Steam-Streamer—it looked lethal.

I met Miss Holmes’s gaze. Either she was too stubborn or too distracted to see the message I sent: Get out of here!

“Please come in, Miss Holmes. I’m delighted that you’ve arrived in time to see your friend share her life force with my beloved Sekhmet. We were just about to begin. Osiris?”

The attendant followed the implicit command by taking the parcel from Miss Holmes and ushering her into the chamber.

“I’m sorry I didn’t follow your directions,” my partner said. “I wasn’t fond of the idea of being taken by surprise or otherwise abducted while on my way to Fannery’s Square, which was, I’m certain, your original intent.”

“Pish,” said the Ankh. He sounded delighted. “But you are here, and it truly doesn’t matter how that happened. You won’t be leaving anytime soon, and Osiris would have made certain you came alone.”

At that moment, I heard a soft sound to the right behind me. As if something was sliding across the floor. Miss Holmes had a sudden coughing attack, meeting my eyes over her hand. I turned to look in that direction, on the other side of Sekhmet, but no one was there.

“Very well, then,” said the Ankh. “Where were we? Ah, yes,” he said, moving to the machine. His hand rested on the lever, which I had positioned so he stood in the perfect place for me to bring the statue down on top of him.

I craned my neck, trying to look at Mina, but she was too busy making some odd expression at me. Her eyes bugged out and her mouth was twitching.

The last thing I wanted to remember seeing before I died was Mina Holmes, silently lecturing me about the mess she’d gotten herself into.

I heard another soft, skimming sound of something going across the floor. I looked over as the Ankh began to lower the lever.

I focused, waiting for the right moment . . . waiting for the first sensation of shock. I must act before it paralyzed me.

The lever shot down and I propelled myself toward the Ankh.