The Cabinet of Wonders: The Kronos Chronicles: Book I (23 page)

“I would like to share
some
information with you,” Dee continued. “I would like to tell you that more things are at stake here than your little plot. England knows about the prince’s weapon. I am speaking, of course, about the clock your father built. We know that the prince does not yet understand how to use it. But it is only a matter of time before he does, or finds someone who can. He would have done better to keep your father close at hand, locked
up and easily accessible for information. But the prince is young and proud of his own skills. He also has a fatal weakness for beauty and those who produce it. No doubt he thought that by sending your father home, he was honoring both him and his own ability to eventually master the thing your father created. But what if the prince gives up trying to prove that he is just as talented as Mikal Kronos? It may not be long before the prince admits his mistake and sends your father an invitation to the castle. But will it be an invitation mounted on rich cloth and tied with a ribbon? Or will it perhaps be one accompanied by armor and swords and pikes?

“What? Silent, Petra? I would have thought that this was a topic close to your heart. But, well, if you do not feel it is important enough to discuss, we can move on.

“I wonder: have you ever considered why the symbol of Bohemian royalty is a salamander?”

She said nothing, but glared.

“A salamander loves fire. It lives in it, breathes in it, survives in spite of—because of—the heat that would kill you or me. The choice of symbols is never random. The princes of Bohemia have never been afraid of trouble. They have invited it. They have encouraged anger between the rich and poor to split the people into classes that despise each other. They have pushed their people to the brink of starvation. They have courted war. Prince Rodolfo is not afraid of, shall we say, a little heat. Because heat is what gives him power.

“It is one political view. It is not for me to say whether it is bad or good. It is a strategy, and certainly the princes of Bohemia have profited by it. We English, however, are rather cold fish. Ours is a chilly climate. It rains enough to make a person feel perpetually damp. Our patron saint is George the Dragon Slayer. The symbol we have chosen shows a battle against a fire-breathing beast. It shows the death of fire.

“Obviously international politics interests you very little. Those …
unusual
silver eyes of yours turn away as if you were listening to a boring school lesson. You do not see much beyond a horizon of yellow hills and your petty familial problems. But I assure you that Europe hangs in the balance. And I will make you care about it.

“The emperor is ill and old and has too many sons to whom he has given too much power. When he dies, will the Hapsburg princes be content with the small countries they already possess? Will they agree with Karl’s choice of a new emperor? Or will they war among themselves and drag all of Europe into their struggle for the Hapsburg Empire? I think we both know the answers to these questions, and we know them because of what Prince Rodolfo commissioned your father to build. He clearly has higher ambitions than just being prince of Bohemia.

“England could choose to support one of the three princes now, before the coming war. Indeed, this is what Rodolfo hopes will come of my visit. But choosing the wrong side would be disastrous for England. Even choosing the right side would not make my country safe. Her Majesty prefers to keep England’s neutrality. She prefers not to get involved at all in these central European problems. But inaction poses other problems, particularly when we consider the clock’s powers. If he were able to make the clock work to control the weather, it would be easy for Rodolfo to defeat his brothers and seize control of the Empire. All he would have to do is dry up the lands of Hungary and Germany in a brutal drought. This would cause mass starvation in these countries.

“With the clock, it would be equally easy for him to cow other countries into agreeing to his every wish. Indeed, if he chose to, it would be child’s play for him to conquer the rest of Europe. England, however, has no desire to be added to Rodolfo’s collection. Which is why the clock’s potential ability to control the weather must be destroyed. And which is why, dear Petra, I am very glad to
have met you. You father has, so to speak, let a genie out of its bottle. It will be your job to put it back in.”

“Me? Why don’t you do it?” She sarcastically added, “You’re obviously much more talented and intelligent than I am.”

“True.” He inclined his head. “But in order to play this game properly, I must do so invisibly. I must be like your father, and make pieces move without seeming to be responsible for their movements. If the prince were to suspect my intentions, there would be dire consequences for me. But”—for the first time he looked worried —“the consequences for my country would be far worse. And so I am ready to strike a deal with you, Petra.”

“What kind of deal?”

“A very easy one. You only have to do a little favor for me. Then you might gain my help in your quest.” He unfolded his arms and the dark velvet sleeves slipped back, revealing his hands for the first time. His nails were long, curved, and sharp, making his hands look like the claws of an animal. He reached into a pocket and drew forth a small glass bottle with green liquid inside. He uncorked it, dabbed a little on the tip of his forefinger like a lady might put on perfume, and then rubbed his left thumbnail with the oily finger, making the nail shine. “All you have to do is look carefully at this thumbnail and tell me what you see.”

This did
not
seem like a good idea to Petra. Her father may not have cared to make sure she knew what kind of dress a twelve-year-old girl should wear, but he did see to it that certain parts of her education were not lacking, and that included knowing how to steer clear of dangerous magic. She knew perfectly well that the sort of thing Dee proposed, scrying, could break her mind. She liked her mind the way it was: sane. “I thought you said you weren’t a magician.”

“I hope you do not believe everything you are told, my dear.”

“What if I don’t want to look at your greasy old nail? What’s to stop me from going directly to the prince and telling him all about your plans? You and your stupid queen wouldn’t be so happy then.”

“I would deny everything you told the prince. Whom would he believe, you or me? I would reveal
your
identity and
your
own plans. And then
there”—he
snapped his sharp fingers—“would go your hope to regain your father’s sight. Oh, and I believe you would also lose your life.”

She was trapped just as surely as if he had locked her inside one of his boxes.

“Come, Petra. It is a fair bargain. We are trading vision for a vision.”

“So if I tell you what I see, you will help me get my father’s eyes back?”

“I said that I
might
help you.” “That seems like a very bad deal to me.” “Sadly, it is the only one you will be offered.” “Then I refuse.”

“Then I shall have to send for the prince.”

She felt like kicking him.

Instead, she marched forward and glanced at his clawlike hands. “I don’t see anything.”

“How can you see if you do not look?” He held up his left hand and extended his thumb.
“Look.”

The slick nail gleamed like a large green pearl. The lamplight flickered on its surface. As Petra gazed at it, she found that she could not look away. She grew dizzy, and the room darkened around her. But just as suddenly, her vision cleared and she lifted her head. “I didn’t see anything,” she said with relief.

Dee withdrew his hand. “That is a pity. Still, I think I shall keep
up my end of the bargain. I shall help you first by giving you information. Surely you have some questions you would like answered?”

“How can the clock be destroyed?”

He gave a slight shrug. “I don’t know.”

“What is the prince’s magical talent?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

She gave him a look made of steel. “What good is it to ask you questions if
you don’t have any answers?”

“Try asking the right questions.”

“What is the Cabinet of Wonders?”

“Ah!” Dee beamed. “So you know about that already. Good girl! The Cabinet of Wonders is the prince’s private collection. He is a lover of objects that are beautiful, strange, and priceless. Naturally, your father’s eyes fall into that category. Now, I have learned the source of the prince’s difficulty in using the clock to control the weather. It appears that your father failed to assemble one last part before he was blinded. Wearing your father’s eyes seems to give the prince some aid in putting together that part—because, I believe, they allow the prince to see the metal components as your father could. But the prince hasn’t yet been entirely successful in his efforts.

“I suspect the prince keeps the part in his prized collection. It would be useful if you could gain access to the Cabinet of Wonders. I will suggest to the prince that he employ you as a maid to his chambers. Or, rather, I will make the suggestion to someone in a position to persuade the prince.”

“And to take the blame if I succeed in getting my father’s eyes back.”

“I sense disapproval.” He clucked. “Surely you are not suggesting that
I
should be the responsible party for your actions? Petra,” Dee chided, “whether you wish to ignore the consequences of
your actions is wholly beside the point that there will, indeed, be several unpleasant ones.”

He paused, waiting to see if she would reply. When she did not, he continued, “The prince likes to have one person assigned to clean one room of the seven rooms in his suite. His collection is so important to him that he doesn’t like to expose its existence to too many people. The problem is that he tends to grow suspicious of his pages and maids. He recently, hmm, fired one, a girl named Eliska.”

A cold, creeping feeling stole over Petra. She recognized that name. It had been in the captain of the guard’s Worry Vial.

“I think it should not be too hard to promote you to take her place. The Countess of Krumlov is pleased with your work. I observed you closely during the celebrations in the courtyard, and I noticed that the prince took an interest in you. You caught his eye. Or, I should say, you caught your father’s eye. The prince is a man led by his curiosity. You have sparked his.

“And now I shall help you in one last way.” Dee reached into a pocket, pulled out a small, brown bottle, and gave it to her. Petra did not like the way he kept presenting bottles out of his pockets. It made her realize that he had planned this conversation with her for a while.

“What is it?”

“It is belladonna. If you put one drop in each eye, it will make them look black. You look a great deal like your father. I would advise you to hide any family resemblance as much as possible. Use the belladonna when you go to the prince’s chambers. Do not use it if you plan on seeing the Countess of Krumlov. She will notice the difference.”

“Obviously. I have a brain, you know.”

“I do know. I have confidence in your abilities. In fact, I know that when you retrieve your father’s eyes, you will also bring about
the destruction of the clock’s special powers. Find that part, and break it. Or I shall see that you and your family pay the price for the clock’s creation in the first place.”

“That was not part of our deal!”

Dee smirked. “Ah, but it was an
implicit
part of our deal. You are an honorable young girl. Surely you will keep to the spirit of our pact, and not just the letter. And remember: there are more ways than one to skin a cat—or, in this case, to make certain that the prince is never able to use the clock. Let’s say your father were to … disappear. This would eliminate the chance that the prince could send for him to solve his rather annoying problem of not knowing how to make the clock of Mikal Kronos work the way he wishes.”

“But I don’t know what the part looks like! And I certainly don’t know how to destroy it!”

“Oh, it can’t be that hard. It’s easier to break something than to create it.” He tapped a finger against his lips, considering. When he spoke, it was with the voice of someone who thought he was being very generous. “I’ll tell you what, my dear. If I gather any new information on the clock I shall pass it along to you. When you receive my message, you shall do exactly as I say. Now, how does that sound?”

She struggled not to shout, but what she said still came out as a growl. “The day I come into my powers is the day you’d better be worried, Dee.”

“But who knows if you will have any?” he replied airily. “You may be as talented as a block of wood. Perhaps your father has—
had
—skills to be wary of, but what about your mother? She was no one special.”

Petra nearly told him that indeed she had been, but stopped the words before they reached her lips. He already had collected too much knowledge about her through unknown means. She
shouldn’t present him with details about her life as if they were little cakes on a platter. She certainly shouldn’t mention her newfound ability to speak secretly with the tin spider hiding in her hair, or her accuracy with throwing daggers. “Are we done? I want to leave.”

“Allow me to accompany you to the door.” In a fluid movement of velvet, he stood up and walked with her. “Petra,” he said as she stepped into the hallway, “let me give you a word of advice. It is not wise to make threats.” He smiled. “Someone might take them seriously.”

And then he shut the door.