Flashback ( PDFDrive )

Mr. Forkle sighed. “I suppose I walked into that one. What I was
trying to convey is that Tinker has a very particular way of
communicating, and it can take some getting used to. Just try to go
with it.”
He strode forward, guiding them up a rocky path that was steeper
than it looked. Sophie was breathing much harder than she wanted to
by the time they reached a massive brushed-steel door with five
enormous cogs set deep into the metal: one silver, one gold, one
bronze, one copper, and one iron. A coiled steel pipe hung from the
chrome ceiling with a contraption mounted to the end that reminded
Sophie of a periscope, only it had five different lenses in five different
shapes, arranged in a stack from largest to smallest.
Mr. Forkle knocked with five quick raps—Sophie was beginning to
wonder if the number held some deeper meaning—and the periscope
stretched closer to his face, the lenses lifting and shifting several
times before five quick buzzes filled the air.
The gears in the door whirred to life, each spinning at a slightly
different speed as the heavy rectangle of metal slid up instead of
swinging open, revealing a silver-arched path leading into a wide
atrium covered in flowering vines and lacy ferns. Hanging planters
dangled from arched points in the cut-glass ceiling, brimming with
colorful blooms, and a grassy path wound through the foliage. It was
breathtaking and lush, the cold air heady with the scent of jasmine—
but it was so . . . natural. No sign of anything technical—until
something brushed against Sophie’s foot. Then she found herself
stumbling away from a tiny creature staring up at her—if she could
call it a creature.
“Cooooooooooooooooool,” Dex breathed. “It’s a clockwork rabbit!”