I just came up with a devilish plot twist...

What if each clockwork was a title, not a being? Therefore, when we kill one, the Maker makes another?

And what if the clockwork bird maker was imprisoned, but escaped with the help of unicorns - maybe a paradox in there?

Maybe one Deacon met another? And they both exploded, providing the bird maker a chance to escape?

Maybe the Maker and the clockwork bird maker are different people? Or are they the same?

And what if the Maker made himself into Kane, a half-man-half-clockwork being?

Food for thought.