My Clockwork Muse by D.R. Erickson Page A

burnt
beyond any use."
    "I see..."
    I pretended to be impressed by his logic. In
truth, I was just glad I had declined to show him my vial, that it
remained safely concealed, unburned, in my trousers pocket. I again
gave him my most casual smile. I tried to hold his gaze, but found
my eye drawn to the window beyond. The tapping continued without
ceasing.
    I felt myself beginning to break. "Can you
not—?"
    Coppelius cocked his head. I saw victory
flash in his vulture's eye. "Can I not what?" he urged.
    "Can you not ... stay just a little
longer?"
    "Bah! There is nothing more I can do. It is
rest you need. Do not fret about ... evidence. Try to get some
sleep. Your fever is back." He turned and departed.
    I waited until I heard the door close, and
then flung aside my sheets. I had no sooner swung my feet to the
floor than Olimpia appeared again in the doorway. Thinking she had
departed with her father, her presence startled me. A cry escaped
me and I pulled the sheets up once again to cover my
near-nakedness.
    "Miss Coppelius!"
    She looked at me expressionlessly, without
saying a word. We stared at each other with nothing but the tapping
on the window pane to fill the silence between us. A slight smile
played over her red lips.
    "I think your bird wants in," she said.
    I allowed a second to pass. "You hear him," I
declared breathlessly.
    "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
    Ignoring the tapping, she crossed the space
from door to bed with as much grace as I had ever witnessed in a
human being. She seemed to glide to my bedside. I pulled the sheets
close to my neck. I might have been shivering—Times New Roman" \s
12from fear, or excitement, I knew not what. She leaned over me. I
felt helpless to move. I could feel her lips when she whispered in
my ear, her words so soft I strained to hear.
    "I believe in your monster, Eddy," she said,
and then kissed me on the cheek.

 
     
     
     
     

Chapter
7

     
    "I knew I shouldn't have let you go out. Look
at the trouble you got yourself into." Tap crawled in through the
window and flapped to the chair. His weight caused it to rock
slightly while he sidestepped across its back.
    "What trouble can there be on a day like
this?" I countered. "Just smell that fresh air!"
    "Yeah, just beautiful, Eddy—if you're an
animal living in a tree. If you prefer perching next to a warm fire
... I gotta tell ya straight up, Eddy, it sucks out there."
    Sometimes his expressions puzzled me. "It
what?"
    "Oh, I keep forgetting." Tap seemed to roll
his eyes, though I saw nothing more than shiny black orbs amid his
feathers. It might have just been the way he tossed his head.
"Sucks ... Less than ideal ... Shit-spattered ..."
    "Okay, I get it."
    "It's about time everybody cleared out. It's
been like Grand Freakin' Central Station in here lately."
    There was another one. "What's that supposed
to mean?"
    Tap shook his head hopelessly and sighed. His
feathery bird breast heaved. "Grand Central Station ... Busiest
place in the world ... Chatter-filled hellhole ..."
    "Okay, okay ..." Tap had obviously had a bad
night.
    "Remember when it was just you and me,
Eddy?"
    "Ah, but no longer, my ghastly devil," said
I.
    "Oh, that's real nice. Thanks. Not grim and
gaunt this time?"
    "Not this time, my friend. If I wasn't afraid
I might crush you, I'd throw my arms around you and we would dance
across the floor together." I pirouetted through my sitting room. I
felt as light as a bird myself. My toes did not even touch the
floor as I twirled.
    "Your reluctance to crush me is touching. I
think I might cry, Eddy. Now, if we could just get Pluto to swear
off trying to eat me, we'd be making some real progress."
    "No one's eating anybody today. Did you see
what she did?" I touched my cheek. I could still feel Olimpia's
lips burning upon it.
    "Oh, brother! You're a real piece of work,
Eddy. A real piece of work."
    "You're just jealous."
    "What? Because some bling-blang girl licked
your cheek? You could find a dog for that. I can