Free Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel Page A

alights upon her shoulder, she gives a little gasp of delight, and her cheeks flush.
    “So beautiful,” she breathes as the butterfly’s black wingsradiate with color, and then it flutters away.
    Elizabeth’s eyes meet mine briefly, then look away almost secretively. I hold out my hand, and the second butterfly lands upon me, and I feel the same surge of pleasure as the first time.
    It lingers upon my finger, brilliantly glowing, and I feel a powerful calm settle over my mind—all its jumbled drawers and cluttered surfaces organized—and with it a great sense of strength and readiness, like a sprinter upon the start line.
    “How much time is left us, Victor?” I hear Elizabeth ask.
    With my free hand I take the spirit clock from my pocket. The skeletal leg has almost made its full revolution. Elizabeth draws closer to look and gives a sigh of disappointment.
    “How does it work?” Konrad asks. “You still haven’t told me how you even got here!”
    As Elizabeth explains, I suddenly remember Wilhelm’s handwritten instructions: “With practice the spirit clock can be manipulated.”
    I put it to my ear and listen. Tick, tick, tick….
    The butterfly is still perched upon my finger as I touch the clock face, above the skeletal bird leg.
    Slow.
    “What’re you doing with it, Victor?” Elizabeth asks.
    And slower still.
    I put it to my ear once more and listen intently. Tick… tick… tick…
    “I think I’ve done it!” I exclaim.
    “Done what?” Elizabeth asks.
    “Slowed it down! Remember, the notebook said it could bedone. It ticks slower now! I’ve bought us a little more time!”
    I see Elizabeth gaze at Konrad with a look of such undisguised love and desire that I feel both awkward and jealous. I cannot watch.
    “These butterflies,” I say to Analiese as mine flutters away, “they have a power to them.”
    “I wouldn’t know, sir. They show no interest in me.”
    “Nor me,” Konrad says.
    “What about these noises you’ve heard in the house?” I ask my brother.
    “I still hear them from time to time,” he says uneasily.
    I turn to Analiese. She has a pretty habit, I notice, of absentmindedly stroking her earlobe, which draws attention to both her lovely throat and hair. “You’ve been here much longer. Do you know anything about this?”
    “I’ve never seen anyone else in this house, sir, but I think I’ve heard the same sounds as your brother. Like someone who wants to wake up but can’t.”
    “Are you frightened?” Elizabeth asks Konrad.
    “No,” he says, and I know he’s lying.
    “Then why’s there a rapier by the piano?” Elizabeth demands.
    For a moment my twin says nothing. “It gives me peace of mind, foolish as it may be. Moment by moment I don’t know what to expect. Whether I’m to be gathered to heaven—or to hell.”
    “No—,” Elizabeth says, shaking her head fervently.
    Konrad cuts her off, a look of wildness in his eyes. “There’s a spirit outside the windows that wants to come in, andsomething inside that wants to wake. I doubt my rapier will make a difference, but if need be, I’ll wield it for all it’s worth.”
    “I can’t bear it if you’re in any danger here,” Elizabeth says, aggrieved.
    “I’ve not come to any harm here,” Analiese tells Konrad soothingly. “All will be well, sir, you’ll see.”
    Konrad looks at her gratefully, and exhales with a nod. “Thank you, Analiese.”
    I watch Elizabeth, her eyes moving between them. “It’s too unfair,” she says to my twin, “to have come so far and not be able to touch you.”
    “Right now just seeing you and hearing your voice is great comfort,” he replies.
    I feel a faint vibration in my pocket and remove the spirit clock to see the little clawed fist tap-tap-tapping against the glass.
    “Our time is done now,” I say.
    In dismay Elizabeth looks at me. “Get us more time!”
    “It’s too late for that now,” I say.
    “But I’m not ready to say good-bye!”
    “Will