Behemoth Page 12

A gasp of horror escaped the lady boffin’s mouth, and Deryn stared, wide eyed, at the closed fist, then at the sultan. Oddly, the man seemed surprised himself, as if he hadn’t realized what he was doing. Of course, he hadn’t done anything—the automaton had.

  Deryn looked at the sultan’s outstretched hand. His fingers were still open, simply gesturing at the egg box, not curled into a fist.…

  Her eyes darted around the room. The Kizlar Agha and the crewmen who had carried the egg box wore astonished expressions, and there was no one else in the room. But then she spotted an upper gallery behind the statue’s head. It was covered over with latticed windows, and for a moment Deryn thought she saw eyes peering down between the slats.

  She glanced at Dr. Barlow, trying to get her to notice the sultan’s open hand. But the lady boffin’s face was pale and frozen, her poise shattered along with the egg.

  “I see, Lord Sultan, that I have come too late.” Despite her devastated expression, there was steel in her voice.

  The sultan must have heard it too. He cleared his throat softly before speaking.

  “Perhaps not, Dr. Barlow.” He brought his palms together, but the automaton stayed motionless, its giant hand frozen around the shattered, leaking egg. “In a way the scales have already been balanced.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Just today we have been able to replace the dreadnought you ‘borrowed’ from us, with two ships instead of one.” The sultan smiled. “May I present to you the new commander of the Ottoman navy, Admiral Wilhelm Souchon.”

  A man strode from the shadows, and Deryn’s jaw dropped. He wore a crisp blue German naval uniform, except for the crimson fez on his head. He clicked his heels and bowed to the sultan, then turned to salute Dr. Barlow.

  “Madam, I welcome you to Istanbul.”

  Deryn swallowed. So that was how the two German ironclads had disappeared—the Ottomans had hidden them, for the price of owning them! And they hadn’t just taken the ships, they’d put the master of the Goeben in charge of their whole barking navy.

  The lady boffin simply stared, dumbstruck for the first time Deryn had ever seen. The silence stretched out awkwardly, the only sound the last innards of the egg dripping onto the stone floor.

  Finally Deryn cleared her throat and returned the German’s salute.

  “As ranking officer present, I extend the thanks of the British Air Service. For all your, um, hospitality.”

  Admiral Souchon looked coolly at her. “I don’t believe we are acquainted, sir.”

  “Midshipman Dylan Sharp, at your service.”

  “A midshipman. I see.” He turned back to Dr. Barlow and offered his hand. “Forgive me, madam, for the military formalities. I almost forgot you were a civilian. It is a pleasure to meet you. And how lucky that, thanks to my recent appointment, we do not meet as enemies.”

  The lady boffin extended her hand and let the admiral kiss it.

  “Charmed, I’m sure.” She slowly gathered herself, turning back to the sultan. “Two ironclads is indeed a most impressive gift. In fact, I am so moved by this German generosity that I must offer another gift on behalf of the British government.”

  “Really?” The sultan leaned forward. “And what would that be?”

  “The Leviathan, Lord Sultan.”

  The room went silent again, and Deryn blinked. Had the lady boffin gone completely barking mad?

  “It is the most famous of the great hydrogen breathers,” Dr. Barlow continued. “As valuable as the Osman and its companion put together, and a creation that your German friends could never match.”

  The sultan looked quite pleased, and Deryn noticed that Admiral Souchon’s smile had frozen on his face. She herself was dizzy, unable to believe what the lady boffin was saying.

  “Dr. Barlow,” she spoke up. “It is, of course, customary to check with the captain before, um … giving away his ship.”

  “Ah, of course.” Dr. Barlow waved her hand. “Thank you for reminding me, Mr. Sharp. We shall require a few days to communicate with the Admiralty, Lord Sultan, before effecting this transfer.”

  “That is unfortunate, Dr. Barlow,” Admiral Souchon said, putting a hand on the hilt of his sword. “The limit for harboring a combatant ship in wartime is twenty-four hours. International law is very strict on this matter.”

  “May I remind you, Admiral,” the sultan said mildly, “that your own grace period was extended while negotiations took place?”

  The German opened his mouth, then closed it and bowed, low. “Of course, My Lord Sultan. I am at your command.”

  Leaning back on his divan, the sultan smiled and folded his hands. Without the automaton mimicking him, Deryn noticed that he moved more fluidly. Or perhaps he was simply enjoying pitting two great powers against each other.

  “Then we are all agreed,” he said. “Dr. Barlow, you have four days to get me the Leviathan.”

  Thirty minutes later the Stamboul rose into the air again. As it passed over the shimmering strait in a slow turn back toward the airfield, the Kizlar Agha joined Deryn and Dr. Barlow at the railing, his face pale.

  “I do not know what to say, madam. My Lord Sultan was not himself today.”

  “He seemed firm enough in his convictions,” Dr. Barlow said, her voice still quavering from shock.

  “Indeed. But he has not been the same since moving back into the palace. The Germans have changed so much there. Not all of us approve.”

  Deryn frowned, wanting to mention what she’d noticed about the automaton. But she couldn’t in front of the sultan’s closest adviser.

  The mechanical owl still perched on the Kizlar Agha’s shoulder, but she noticed that the cylinder on its chest was no longer spinning. Perhaps it was some sort of recording machine, and the man had switched it off to keep his words a secret.

  “Are you saying that he may change his mind about the kaiser’s gifts?” Dr. Barlow asked carefully.

  The Kizlar Agha spread his hands. “That, I do not know, madam. But our empire has fought two wars in the last ten years, and a bloody revolution as well. Not all of us want to join this madness in Europe.”

  Dr. Barlow nodded. “Pray, then, make yourselves heard.”

  “We shall try. Peace be upon you, and upon us all,” he said, then bowed and returned to the prow of the airship.

  “How interesting,” the lady boffin said as he walked away. “Perhaps there is still hope for this country.”

  “What did he mean exactly?” Deryn asked.

  “Perhaps he plans to give his emperor good advice.” She shrugged. “Or perhaps something more. Sultans have been replaced before.”

  Deryn turned back to the railing, and suddenly there they were below—the Goeben and the Breslau harbored in the Golden Horn.

  “The admiral wasn’t lying,” she said, seeing crimson Ottoman flags fluttering from the ironclads’ mainmasts. “They must have been hiding up in the Black Sea yesterday.”

  “I should have known,” Dr. Barlow said. “Those ships were trapped, worthless to the Germans. So why not offer them as bribes?”

  “Aye, and speaking of bribes …” Deryn swallowed, almost afraid to ask. “What was that about giving the Leviathan away? You haven’t gone barking mad, have you?”

  Dr. Barlow gave her a sidelong glance. “Don’t be tiresome, Mr. Sharp. That was merely a ploy to extend our time here. Which of course you knew, as you played your part to perfection. Another four days may prove quite useful.”

  Deryn frowned. Played her part? She’d only said the first thing that had come into her head. “But if we’re not going to give the Ottomans the ship, what’s the point of staying?”

  “Really, Mr. Sharp,” the lady boffin said, the steel returning to her voice. “Do you suppose I would journey across Europe without an alternate plan?”

  “And this is your plan, ma’am? Making false promises to the sultan to make him even angrier?”

  “Hardly.” The lady boffin sighed. “I doubt the sultan’
s anger will make much difference, one way or the other. The Ottoman Empire is already in the Germans’ hands.”

  “Aye, that’s true enough,” Deryn said. “And speaking of hands, I’m not sure that the sultan really meant to crush that egg.”

  Dr. Barlow turned a cold gaze on Deryn. “Are you saying that my life’s work was destroyed by accident?”

  “Not by accident, ma’am. But the sultan didn’t make a fist. He was just pointing at the egg, and then the automaton went and squashed your poor beastie, all on its own!”

  Dr. Barlow was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. “Of course. I’m an idiot! That throne room was built by German engineers, so they were in control, not the sultan. They forced his hand, so to speak.”

  “Aye.” Deryn stared back at the water. The Stamboul had completed its turn, and the Goeben was receding into the distance. But she could still see the forbidding shape of the Tesla cannon, its struts covered with fluttering seabirds. “Makes you wonder how they’ll force the sultan’s hand next, doesn’t it?”

  “Indeed, Mr. Sharp.”

  Deryn looked at the water stretching into the distance. The Royal Navy’s Mediterranean fleet was stationed just south of the strait, still waiting for the Goeben and Breslau to emerge. And in the opposite direction, the Russian navy sat in its Black Sea ports, not yet aware that their old enemy the sultan had two new ironclads.

  All it would take was a quick sortie by Admiral Souchon in either direction, and the Ottomans would be dragged into war.

  “It’s probably foolish, leaving the hotel with so many Germans about.”

  There was no reply as Alek buttoned the jacket of his new suit.

  “But the Germans don’t know what I look like,” he continued. “And the Ottomans don’t even know we’re here.”

  Alek put on the fez and stared at himself in the mirror, waiting. But again no reply came.

  “Anyone would think I was a proper Turk in these clothes.” Alek flicked at the fez’s tassel. Was it meant to hang on the left or the right? “And if I have to speak German, at least I’ve been practicing my common accent, so I don’t sound like such a prince anymore.”

  “Such a prince,” the creature finally said.

  “Well, that’s your opinion,” Alek said, then sighed. How had he gotten into this habit of talking to the beast? The animal was probably memorizing all his secrets.

  It was better than sharing his doubts with the men, he supposed. And there was something about the creature’s wise, contented expression that made Alek feel as if it really were listening, not just repeating words at random.

  Alek checked himself in the mirror one last time, then turned toward the door.

  “Be a good little beastie, and Master Klopp will come and feed you. No whining. I’ll be back soon.”

  The creature gave him a long, hard look, then seemed to nod.

  “Be back soon,” it said.

  Corporal Bauer was dressed in his new civilian clothes and was waiting in the room he shared with Klopp. The master of mechaniks himself couldn’t leave the hotel. He was too well known among the Clanker technical class, and Constantinople was full of German engineers.

  On their way into the city the night before, Alek had counted a dozen construction projects flying a black eagle on a yellow pennant, the kaiser’s flag of friendship. The ancient walls of the city bristled with shiny new smokestacks, steam pipes, and wireless antennae. Alek remembered his father talking about Germany sponsoring this policy of mekanzimat, the reformation of Ottoman society around the machine.

  “I still say this is a bad idea, young master,” Klopp said, turning away from the wireless and a pad full of dots and dashes.

  “No one will recognize me,” Alek said. “My father was very careful to not let me sit for portraits or photographs. Hardly anyone outside my family knows what I look like.”

  “But remember what happened in Lienz!”

  Alek drew a slow breath, remembering the first time he’d been in disguise among commoners. “Yes, Klopp, I acted exactly like a little prince. But I think my common touch has improved since then, don’t you?”

  Klopp only shrugged.

  “And if we’re going to hide in the Ottoman Empire,” Alek continued, “we need to know what the great powers are up to here. I’m the only one of us who can speak anything besides German.”

  The old man held his gaze for a moment, then looked away. “I can’t argue with your logic, young master. I just wish it weren’t you going.”

  “I wish Volger were here too,” Alek said softly. “But I’ll be taken good care of. Right, Bauer?”

  “At your service, sir,” Bauer said.

  “Indeed,” Alek said. “But that reminds me, no sirs while we’re outside this room.”

  “Yes, sir. That is, um … What should I call you, sir?”

  Alek smiled. “Well, no one who hears us talking will think we’re Turkish, so let’s pick a good German name. How about Hans?”

  “But that’s my name, sir.”

  “Ah, yes, of course.” Alek cleared his throat, wondering if he’d ever known Corporal Bauer’s first name. Perhaps he should have asked before now. “I’ll be Fritz, then.”

  “Yes, sir. I mean—yes, Fritz,” Bauer said, and Alek saw that Klopp was slowly shaking his head.

  So much for the common touch.

  The hotel was near the Grand Bazaar, the largest market in Constantinople, and the streets were full tonight. Alek and Bauer followed the crowds, looking for a place where German workers might congregate and gossip.

  Soon they were inside the bazaar, a gaslit labyrinth of shops under high arched ceilings. The owners cried their wares—lamps, linens, carpets, silks, jewelry, tooled leather, and machine parts—in half a dozen languages. Mechanikal donkeys pushed their way through the crowds, chestnuts and skewers of meat roasting on their steaming engine blocks. Veiled women rode on sedan chairs with silent clockwork legs, wary servants walking on either side.

  Alek remembered his first time disguised as a commoner, in the market at Lienz, when the press of bodies and smells had sickened him. But the Grand Bazaar was almost otherworldly, the scents of cumin, paprika, and rose water mixing with the bitter pall of tobacco coiling up from burbling water pipes. Jugglers jostled for space with fortune-tellers and musicians, while tiny clockwork walkers danced on a blanket spread out before a cross-legged man, the crowd clapping with appreciation.

  The man at the hotel desk had said this was a holy month, and that the Muslims of the city would be fasting while the sun was up. They seemed to be making up for it now that night had fallen.

  “Not many Germans about,” Bauer said. “Do you suppose they have a beer hall in this city?”

  “I don’t know if the Ottomans have a love for beer.” Alek gestured to a boy carrying a small tray with empty glass cups. “But coffee is another matter.”

  He stopped the boy and pointed at the tray. The boy nodded and waved for them to follow, skipping deftly through the crowds, waiting impatiently for Bauer and Alek to catch up.

  The boy soon brought them to a large public room on the edge of the market. The smell of chocolate-tinged coffee and black tea spilled out of its doors, and tobacco smoke hung in a pall across the ceiling.

  As Alek tipped the boy for his trouble, Bauer said, “Looks like we’ve found the right place, sir.”

  Alek looked up. A row of the kaiser’s friendship flags fluttered along the awning, and a German drinking song was rumbling along inside.

  “That boy spotted us as Clankers right off.” Alek sighed. “Watch your step, and no more sirs. Remember, Hans?”

  “Sorry … Fritz.”

  Alek hesitated at the door, the sound of so many German accents sending a shiver through him. Of course, the kaiser’s airships had found him even hidden on a mountain peak in the Alps. Perhaps it was safer to keep one’s enemies in sight.

  He squared his shoulders and strode in.

  Most of the men inside
appeared to be German engineers. Some still wore their mechaniks’ coveralls, shiny with grease from the day’s work. Alek felt out of place in his new Turkish clothes.

  He and Bauer found an empty table, then ordered coffee from a young turbaned boy who spoke excellent German.

  As the boy darted away, Alek shook his head. “Whether the Ottomans join the war or not, the Germans are already running this country.”

  “And you can see why.” Bauer pointed to the wall behind them.

  Alek turned to see a large poster tacked to the wall, the sort of crude propaganda his father had always hated. At the bottom was a cartoon city labeled Istanbul, festooned with steam pipes and train tracks. The city sat astride The Straits, with the Russian bear looming over the Black Sea and the British navy threatening from the Mediterranean.

  Dominating the poster was a giant chimera striding over the horizon, a Darwinist beast fabricated from half a dozen creatures. It wore a misshapen bowler hat, and carried a dreadnought in one clawed hand and a sack of money in the other. A tiny fat man labeled Winston Churchill rode on its shoulder, watching as the obscene beast menaced the tiny spires and domes below.

  “Who will protect us from these monsters?” read the legend across the top.

  “That must be the Osman,” Bauer said, gesturing at the dreadnought.

  Alek nodded. “It’s odd to think, but if it weren’t for Lord Churchill stealing that ship, the Leviathan would never have headed across Europe. We’d still be in that castle in the Alps.”

  “We might be a bit safer there,” said Bauer. Then he smiled. “But a lot colder, too, and no one would be bringing us good Turkish coffee.”

  “So you think I made the right choice, Hans? Leaving safety behind?”

  “You didn’t have much of a choice, sir—I mean, Fritz.” Bauer shrugged. “You had to face what was in front of you, whatever your father’s plans. Every man arrives at that point, sooner or later.”

  Alek swallowed, grateful for the words. He’d never asked Bauer’s opinion before, but now that he was in command, it was good to know that the man didn’t think he was a complete idiot.