He stepped back and ran a hand through his hair. “You listen to me. I am not your minion!38 Forget it! No, no, no, no, no!”
Agatha waved a hand. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Most of the people in here are either Sparks, or the loyal minions of Sparks who were too stupid to stop fighting for the losing side when the Baron arrived. I’ve seen where that gets you. I am nobody’s happy little helper, you got that?”
Agatha nodded solemnly. “I got it.”
Moloch crossed his arms. “Good.”
Agatha sighed. “So I should get started. Where can I find some tools?”
Moloch indicated a set of bins against a wall. Agatha discovered they contained a wide assortment of worn but serviceable tools as well as a rack of tool belts and cases. She spent several minutes selecting and loading a sturdy toolbox. Finally satisfied, she grasped the handles and discovered that it now weighed easily fifty kilograms.
Moloch snorted and pushed her aside. With a few deft moves, he weeded out two-thirds of the items, selected several different ones, and slung the box’s strap over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Agatha nodded and off they went.
Several minutes later, they were striding down a long corridor lined with dials of widely varying sizes. Agatha was able to identify numerous pieces of meteorological equipment along with pressure gauges and counters that seemed to record various aspects of the castle, its inhabitants, things that were taking place in the town below, the flow and movement of the river, the clouds above, and things that moved unseen beneath the earth. There were clocks that kept different units of time, measured the rate at which the local crops grew, the speed of various planets, and disturbingly, one that clicked back a notch every time she breathed.
She gazed at it all in wonder and felt a growing excitement. Who knew what wonders were here, waiting in this castle? What things of mystery and magic had lain here, unseen for years, just waiting for her to arrive and claim them?
Her foot caught and she stumbled, but Moloch caught her and steadied her. “Snap out of it,” he said. “You can gawk or you can walk, but don’t gawk and walk at the same time. It’ll get you killed.”
Agatha nodded. “You’re right. What else should I know?”
He scowled. “I don’t know where to start. Usually you’d report to Professor Tiktoffen, and then you’d—well, I guess you’d work with me in the kitchen, and I’d bring you up to speed over time.”
Agatha shook her head. “Forget that. It’s better if I don’t talk to anyone before I head deeper into the Castle.”
“Yeah, I’m guessing that other Heterodyne girl isn’t your sister or something?”
Agatha snorted. “Only if sisters try to kill each other.”
Moloch barked out a laugh. It was the first time Agatha had heard him do that. “You’re an only child, aren’t you?” Agatha looked at him blankly. He continued, “Fine. So you running into her would be bad.”
“Very bad. In fact it would be better for you to forget that you knew me.”
Moloch rolled his eyes. “If only I could.”
Agatha glanced at Moloch. For absolutely no reason she could understand, a wave of fondness washed over her. He certainly hadn’t asked to get caught up in her affairs and her time with Master Payne’s Circus had shown her how ordinary people felt about being forced into proximity with those who possessed the Spark. She lightly patted his shoulder.
“Relax. I am the Heterodyne. I’ll get the Castle repaired and then you’ll be free to go and I’ll be out of your life.”
The eyes that Moloch turned upon her almost caused her to miss a step. They were the eyes of a man who has seen many a proposed simple stroll down to the corner store devolve into a small war.
“Relax,” Agatha said reassuringly. “I have a plan.”
They turned a corner, and almost ran into Zola—the very faux-Heterodyne Agatha had hoped to avoid. She was resplendent in pink, striding confidently forward and followed by an interested crowd of prisoners. Walking attentively at her side was, unexpectedly, Agatha’s least favorite teacher from Transylvania Polygnostic University, Professor Silas Merlot.39
The two groups ground to a halt and stared at each other for what was easily several seconds.
Merlot’s jaw snapped shut first. “You!” he breathed.
“RUN!” Agatha screamed, and took off.
To his horror, Moloch found himself running along behind her, the bag of tools banging against his shin with every step. “This is a terrible plan!” he shrieked.
“Who was that?” Zola demanded.
Merlot seemed frozen. “That was Miss Clay! It’s her fault that I’m in here! She ruined my life!”
Zola stared at him. “Miss Clay? You said that you were in here because of the Heterodyne girl.”
Merlot whirled upon her. “She is the Heterodyne girl! She is! And I am going to kill her for what she did to me!” With that he was pelting off after her, murder in his heart.
Professor Tiktoffen swallowed. “Good heavens. I’ve never seen Merlot act like that.” He turned to Zola. “You don’t think he’d really kill her, do you?”
Zola grimaced. “Well somebody had better, and the quicker the better!” She raised her voice so that all the prisoners heard her. “All of you! Find that girl! Freedom and gold for whoever kills her!” That did it. With a roar, the crowd followed.
As she ran, Agatha tried to examine the map that Herr Diamant had provided for her. As one would expect, trying to read an unfamiliar map of an unfamiliar place—while running with a mob of dangerous people determined to kill you hot on your heels, no less—was extraordinarily difficult. Finally Moloch couldn’t stand it any longer. “Where are we going?”
“Something called the Red Hall. Where is that?”
“Turn left here!”
They crashed through a doorway into a long, colonnaded hallway. Periodically there were doors and exits to stairwells. The walls here were still covered in graffiti but as Agatha flashed past, she realized that here most of it was actually instructions or warnings about what lay behind various doors. She also realized that Moloch was yelling at her. “This was a mistake! We’ll be trapped!”
“Not yet!” Agatha jogged forward, one eye on the map, counting under her breath. “Three… Fourth door… There! The fifth hallway! Come on!”
Moloch lunged forward, grabbed her shoulder, and dragged her to a halt. “Wait! We can’t go in there! That’s Uncharted Territory! It’s full of traps! The Castle will kill us for sure!”
“There they are!” They both turned to see a crowd of prisoners pour into the hall and head towards them.
With a scream, Moloch hoisted the toolbox up over his head in a semblance of protection and darted down the uncharted hall. Agatha followed. They had passed over ten meters in before Agatha realized they were no longer being followed. She stopped and turned back. Sure enough, the mob had stalled at the entrance, as surely as if by an invisible wall. “They’ve stopped,” she observed.
“Of course they stopped!” Moloch said bitterly. “They’re waiting to see us get turned inside out! Not even the Trapmasters ever got this far! We’re now completely at the mercy of an insane mechanical monster that has no mercy!”
A soft sound was all the warning Agatha had, but she shoved Moloch back in time so that the stone block that had fallen from the ceiling missed him completely. She raised her voice. “But it’s my insane mechanical monster and I’m here to make sure that it knows it!”
There was a pause and then a complete dearth of falling blocks. Agatha nodded. “Good. I think I’ve gotten it curious.” She held out a hand to help Moloch up. “Besides,” she said quietly, “At this point, we really don’t have much choice. We just have to keep going and hope for the best.”