“But you mentioned eunuchs,” Phipps put in.
“Of course there are eunuchs.” Lady Orchid pulled a fan from her belt and waved it. “The Forbidden City couldn’t function without them. They run everything. They guard the gates, they collect the taxes, they keep inventory, they cook, they clean, they entertain, they transcribe messages-everything.”
Gavin shifted. “When you say eunuch, you mean a man who’s been-”
“Yes.” Li spoke for the first time, and when Kung looked reluctant to translate for a mere lieutenant, Phipps stepped in to translate, though Alice was the only one at the table who couldn’t understand him. It was growing frustrating, and she wished she understood the strange, singsong language. “A male whose three preciouses have been removed. Usually in boyhood, at age seven or eight, though a few have the procedure done in adulthood. The eunuchs maintain a special chair with a hole in the bottom for-”
“Thank you,” Gavin interrupted shortly. He looked ill.
“Good heavens!” Alice felt sickened herself. “Why on earth would parents do such a thing to their own child?”
Lady Orchid cocked her head. “The Forbidden City needs thousands of eunuchs, and they hire more than a hundred every year. Any such boy-or man-who presents himself to the city gates is guaranteed a position. At the beginning, that includes plenty of food, clothing, a small amount of money, and a chance to attain real power. It does not matter what family one is born into or what one’s father has done-all eunuchs have an equal chance. What chance do you offer the poor in your country?”
“Certainly not a chance at mutilation,” Alice snapped.
“Your poor starve in the streets, from what I hear.” Lady Orchid waved her fan. “Along with those who contract the blessing of dragons. Here, we cherish such people.”
“You cherish the Dragon Men,” Gavin corrected. “What about zombies?”
“They are rounded up and put in a place where they can await their time. They certainly don’t wander like lost toddlers.”
“Now, look,” Alice began.
“I think,” Li put in, “it might be best if we discussed these things at another time. We need a plan for the Jade Hand.”
Alice glanced at Gavin. He had grown up half starved in the streets himself. Would he willingly have traded that part of himself for the guarantee of a job? Given the chance, would his mother have allowed it? No, of course not. She was being ridiculous.
“You said the Forbidden City has thousands of people in it,” Gavin was saying. “They have to eat. How does food get in? And messages?”
“Food, cloth, animals, and other market items are brought to the gates.” Lady Orchid continued to fan herself. “The eunuchs receive everything and make payments at the gate. Merchants and messengers never set foot inside the city. Not only are they male; they are not worthy. The only other way in is through the Passage of Silken Footsteps.”
Click jumped into Alice’s lap. She idly touched his head. “And what might that be?”
“A secret passage that leads out of the Forbidden City. It was built in case the emperor needed a hasty emergency exit. But it is also heavily guarded by both eunuchs and machines. No one is allowed near it. I am one of the few people who even know it exists.”
“The walls are also impregnable,” Li said. “A number of Dragon Man inventions keep watch round the perimeter. Anyone who tries to climb over is instantly killed. The only weak points are the gates, and they are just as heavily guarded with machinery.”
Gavin cracked his knuckles. “Machinery is our specialty.”
“But not if we have no chance to study it first,” Alice mused.
“There is, of course, a much simpler way,” Lady Orchid said.
Phipps raised an eyebrow, the one not covered by a monocle. “And?”
“Bribery. The eunuchs are quite corrupt. For the right price, anyone can gain entry to the Forbidden City.”
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?” Alice cried. “That makes everything much easier!”
Kung hesitated. “Sufficient funds are. . not available.”
“I have money,” Alice replied promptly. “More than enough, I’m sure.”
Here even Lady Orchid bolted upright. “You have?”
“Certainly.” And she explained about the reward. The silver bonds would easily provide enough to bribe their way into the Forbidden City, perhaps even get them close to Su Shun, and then-
“Unfortunately I do not believe that will work,” Kung said. His hands were clenched around a cup. He seemed to notice and made himself relax. “I have heard all about those reward bonds. They were issued outside China and can be used only outside China. The borders are sealed, as you may remember, and those bonds are actually illegal here. They are worthless.”
Alice wanted to slump in her chair. Why was it every time they came up with an idea, something happened to destroy it? Sometimes it felt as if the world didn’t want them to succeed. Even the clockwork plague had abandoned them-Gavin seemed to feel no urge to come up with a brilliant or outrageously creative plan.
And then something else occurred to her.
“Why did you bring up bribery at all,” she asked, “if you have no money?”
“I had money, but it seems to have. . vanished,” said Lady Orchid.
“Does it have something to do with that box?”
Here Lady Orchid hesitated. “It is called the Ebony Chamber.” And here she spun what seemed to Alice a very strange story about a box and a missing declaration for the heir to the throne and an equally missing lot of priceless jewelry.
“May I?” Alice said, and at Lady Orchid’s nod, she pulled the box to herself and picked it up to examine it from all sides. Her brow furrowed as her hands wandered over it. Click put out a paw and batted at it.
“You’re a dear,” Alice told him, “but don’t touch, please.”
“What is she doing?” Li asked.
“Alice is talented with clockwor-Dragon Man inventions,” Gavin supplied. “She’s the only person we know of who can reassemble or repair them.”
Kung looked impressed. “We must keep this fact from Su Shun, or he will add her as a concubine.”
Alice decided she was too busy with the Chamber to react to this outrageous idea. She opened it and looked inside, then closed it again. There was much more to this box than a simple lock. Without knowing quite why, she brought the box up and lowered it over her own head. Instantly she became dizzy. Darkness swirled around her, but it was darkness with texture, like silk and sandpaper together. Layers of it slid over her, stealing her breath away. She felt hundreds of places all at once, and for a second she understood what a clockwork fugue was like for Gavin.
She jerked the box away, and the world abruptly returned to normal.
“Are you all right?” Gavin asked.
“Perfectly,” Alice replied, trying not to pant. “Though I am not in a hurry to try that again.” The dragons shimmered and twisted, laughing in their golden silence, and the phoenix latch glimmered enticingly. She ran her fingers over it. “Did you say the combination number was oh-one-eight?”
“Yes.”
“Because the latch is not set to oh-one-eight. The last number is set between seven and eight.”
“Why would that matter? The lock opened.”
“It matters quite a bit,” Gavin murmured. “Oh, how it matters.”
As if in a dream, he moved his finger toward the phoenix latch and flicked the number fully to 018. Sudden weight pulled the Ebony Chamber down, and it dropped from Alice’s hands to land with a thud on the table.