by P M Cole
“Be careful!” I said.
“Open it,” said Charlotte casually.
I took in a breath.
Colin pulled the leather cap from the top. Immediately intense blue white light streamed from the end, casting a cone of light on the ceiling. Colin held it away from himself. “What the hell is it!” he asked.
“Here, give it to me,” said Charlotte. He handed it to her. She carefully reached in and pulled out what appeared from where I was sat to be a rod of pure light, so bright we had to shield our eyes from it.
Once my eyes adjusted, I put my drink down and walked closer. I could then see what it truly was. “Lightning…”
Charlotte smiled. “It’s a tiny piece of one of Zeus’s lightning bolts…”
“You had it all this time?” said Lucas not being as impressed as I was.
She nodded.
“But you knew I needed it!”
“You needed many things back then Lucas, the least of which was this.”
He sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry… I’m glad you have it.”
Daniel’s eyes were wide. “That’s really a bolt from Zeus himself?”
“It is.”
“How did you get it?” he continued.
“He gave it to me…”
We were all too stunned to enquire any further. She placed it back into the leather container. “So, as I was saying. We need to prepare the spell, because sooner or later Hades will be here, and we need to be ready.”
*****
I lay in the same bed I had done a week before. When I left the basement room, Lucas and Charlotte were discussing the best way to cast the spell. The problem was the wards that protected us, also would weaken the magic required to send Hades back from whence he came. So, either it had to happen somewhere else, or the wards needed to be removed when Hades arrived. Neither option was palatable.
I looked at the empty space next to me. Colin had walked me to my bedroom door, and from his disappointment had expected to enter the room together, but after the events of the day I needed to be alone. I wanted to make my own plans. It wasn’t that I did not trust Lucas and Charlotte, it was just that if I had learned one thing over the past few months it was that nothing happens as you think it will. So, I too wanted to be ready, in my own way. During my time spent on the roof of the Palace, and then again earlier on the manor roof, an idea had spawned. I told Charlotte I would replace her dirigible and that was what I meant to do. It would give us a means to travel without having to contend with the deluge of snow on the ground and it would also give us a means to escape if their plan failed. I would start in the morning by looking for suitable materials.
I turned over and faced the ice-covered window. The tops of trees were just visible at the bottom of it. My meeting with Athena and what she had revealed to me came to mind. Each new piece of information or event had pulled me closer to my past but pushed me further into an unknown future. I took in a deep breath. My eyes were heavy, but my heart was pounding in my ears. Lucas said we were safe for the time being, but were we…
Screams and crimson flashed before my eyes, which I opened into darkness. Another dream was quickly fading but had left its trace regardless of me not remembering it. I sat up, not being able to see much of the walls and furniture around me and realised how parched I was. The tea was enjoyable but had left me dry-mouthed.
I pulled the blanket off and stood then threw a shawl over my shoulders, opened the door, and crept outside. A single gas lamp flickered in the hallway and I made my way softly over the rugs to the main staircase, then down, keeping to the edges so not to cause any to creak. My destination was the kitchen, but I only made it to the entrance to the basement as a light glow drew my attention.
I pulled the door open some more and descended the cold stone steps, coming out in the basement room. The fire had died down but was still burning, and Daniel was still reading.
He looked up. “Why are you awake? Can you not sleep?”
“I wanted some water. Why are you still reading? Is the book that good?” I smiled.
He did as well, placing the large vellum-covered book down. “I believe this is the twelfth of such volumes I have inspected since I sat in this seat.”
I walked forward and sat in one of the chairs at the table, looking over the books spread out on top of it. “Ugh, I recognise some of these. Lucas told you to read them correct?”
He smiled again. “Some, and others I found for myself.”
“Why do they interest you so?”
“I believe you saw the library that Hades has in his underground palace?”
I nodded.
“I spent many hours in that place, as I think you did.” He looked at the books in front of us. “But none of these noted texts were there. The books missing from his library were his lie of omission. Lucas’s books give me, shall we say a fuller picture of my foster father.” He sighed. “In some ways I feel sorry for him.” He must have noticed my shock. “No. I do not mean he does not deserve what we have planned for him. He deserves all of it and more. But I cannot help but think that his nature was chosen for him, by others. Namely his brothers.”
I looked away. “You are starting to sound like my mother. You saw what he did to the Prime Minister, you know what he intends to do with the weapons he is building. There is nothing good inside him. Only a hate for this realm and for everyone that resides within it.”
“I know…” He looked at me more directly. “But can you do it, knowing who he is to you? Can you send him back to hell?”
I looked away from his gaze. “Yes.”
He picked up his book. “For all of our sakes, I hope that is true.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?” he said, peering over the top of the pages.
“Grace, Cassandra, Byron, they will try to stop us. Will you stand against them?”
He looked back down at the text. “I’ll do what is needed.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“So, this is all the agricultural machinery I have,” said Lucas.
I stood at the doorway of a large barn, looking inwards at two carts, and a multitude of scythes, shovels, and crooks of various sizes. But what I was really interested in was Lucas’s pride and joy, a traction engine which took up most of the space available.
He looked at me, concern painted across his face. “You’re going to pull it apart, aren’t you?”
I briefly smiled. “I do need it…”
He sighed. “Ah well, I guess it will still exist, but just in a different form.”
“I’m going to need canvas as well to contain the gas, which I will take from the tanks in the manor. That will provide the lift.”
“I have a number of hides in storage at the manor. But it will be a lot of sewing to make a continuous surface.”
“I have quicker methods for joining the materials…”
He smiled. “Of course.” He went to move away up the frozen mud path and into the cool morning air but stopped. “Umm…”
“Yes?”
He glanced back to the manor a few hundred yards away. “Daniel.”
“What about him?”
“I’m sure you will appreciate why I have to ask you this, but…”
“You want to know if we can trust him?”
He nodded.
“You did not see his reaction on learning that Hades had been lying to him his whole life… I cannot speak to whether he will fight his foster siblings, but his hate for his foster father is real. We can trust him in that regard.”
Lucas nodded and went to leave again.
“How long do you think we have?” I asked.
“Just build—” He waved his hand in the air. “Whatever you are building, as quickly as you can. I’ll have Colin bring you the hides.”
I looked back to the machinery in the barn and started to picture in my mind the new craft I needed to create.
Hmm… the roof of the barn is going to
have to go…
With my abilities, I pulled one of the carts outside for Colin to use and set about my task. By time he had come and returned with the first load of leather the barn was open to the elements, and much of the former farming equipment had been warped, bent, or completely melded with other pieces of metal. What was taking shape was similar to Charlotte's dirigible, but the steam engine I designed was capable of greater output, and the airframe and eventual envelope stronger and could resist greater stress. This craft would be faster and could fly higher and further. It was still not as exotic as some of the strange air machines I had seen in my visions, but they were still beyond my understanding for the time being. For now, this was still a good leap forward and should serve us well.
“Whoa,” said Colin, pulling the cart to the barn. “It’s already looking like the one before… but better somehow.”
I smiled and pulled him quickly inside the barn and kissed him. While I did, beams still danced through the air while bolts and rivets slid into place. I pulled back then pushed him away. He stood slightly in shock. “Quickly, unload the leather, then get me the next lot. I’ll need a lot more than that.”
He smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”
The next few hours quickly passed with Colin making numerous trips and the sun moving past its zenith until it was on its downwards tilt. By the time the light started to fail, everyone was outside what was left of the barn, agape at what hung where the structure's roof used to be. The hides had been sewn together, forming a large envelope, but lay dormant, waiting for me to complete the trickiest part of the day’s venture, getting the gas from the tanks into the envelope.
Each of the large iron cylinders had already been removed with some help from myself and brought by cart to the adjoining field.
“Everyone stand back…” I said.
They all took a few steps further into the long grass.
I focused my thoughts on the pipes I had created and what lay in a heap inside the barn, and one by one they rose, their ends melting together, and forming a chain, stretching longer and longer until they connected to the first, then second, then all of the gas tanks. I then focused my concentration on the other end, and the iron pipe rose steadily to the ceiling of the barn and slid neatly into the opening on the envelope.
With a moment's thought the valve was turned on the tanks, and I watched the meters show the gas was flowing.
We all heard the hissing, and the pipes rumbled and rattled across the frozen ground.
“Look, it’s working!” shouted Colin.
I stepped backwards, trying to see over the top of the barn, when I too saw the mass of leather moving, lifting, expanding.
“Yes!” shouted Lucas, lifting his fist, while Colin cheered.
Within a few moments the entire envelope was filled with gas, the hides stretched. I held my breath, anxious the seals I had created would hold. The craft lifted a few inches from the top of the barn, then a few feet, straining against the gas pipe and the ropes holding it to the ground. It jolted to a halt and wavered slightly due to a light wind.
I turned to Charlotte whose face displayed a smile.
“I give you, your new dirigible!”
She turned to me. “It needs a name. I want you to name it.”
“Oh…” I was so busy constructing it, I hadn’t thought about what it would be called, but then a name came to me. “The Chronus…”
She smiled.
“So, when do we get to have a go in it!” said Colin.
“I have to do some checks first, but—”
Chirps rang out from above our heads. I hadn’t realised Auto was up there.
“What?” I shouted up at the small metal bird.
As he swooped down and landed on my arm, a ring on Lucas’s hand started to glow strong, then dim, then strong again.
“There’s someone at the main gate,” he said.
“M…a…n,” chirped Auto.
We all made haste along the path, then down the side of the large house to the front. In the gloom, a man could be seen standing behind the iron bars, with a horse behind him.
“I think it’s the farmer from the cottage. I’ll see what he wants,” said Lucas.
We all watched him walk down the path and greet the man from the day before. There was a brief conversation, then the man climbed back on his horse while Lucas jogged back up to the house.
“There’s police in the local village. He said there were just a few at first, but then wagons started showing up. Said there’s also some fancy-looking carriages, with a lot of guards.”
“Why did he think to tell you this?” said Charlotte.
Lucas started to make his way up the stone steps to the entrance. “Because I paid him to keep watch for anything unusual. We have to get ready. They will be here soon.”
*****
The chill wind blew strands of my hair across my face, as I looked out from the roof of the manor.
“More coming to the east,” said Daniel, looking through a small pair of binoculars to my side.
Points of flickering yellow light moved around the woods which bordered the Wraith manor grounds. But I was looking mainly towards the north where the main gate was located. A parade of similar lanterns were also there, but these were illuminating horses, carts, wagons, and a number of policemen standing guard, which I could just make out with my own eyeglasses.
It was now 7 p.m. Almost three hours since we had our warning of what was coming, and Lucas and Charlotte had spent that time frantically preparing. Rehearsing the words and actions they would need to break the magic of a Titan. I hoped they were ready, because one of the more luxurious carriages was now pulling up alongside some of the others. And I knew who was inside it.
I took my eye away from my scope and looked at Daniel. He was looking at the gate as well and as our eyes met, we could feel who was just outside the grounds. A gnawing sensation was starting to claw its way up our insides.
“So, this is it then. I’ll go tell them he’s here,” I said. Daniel nodded and I walked towards the roof exit.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll do what needs to be done,” he volunteered.
“I know.”
I moved swiftly through the attic room then descended the numerous staircases until I got to the main entrance hall. “He’s at the gate,” I said to Lucas, who was moving pieces of furniture out of the way. “You’re ready?”
“As much as I will ever be.”
“Where’s Charlotte?”
“In the basement, going over the final incantations.” He turned and made a faltering smile. “We do not want her to misspeak.”
“Will he know the wards are in place?”
“Oh, he will know.” He turned and stood in front of me. I noticed he was looking smarter than usual. “How do I look?”
I stepped forward and straightened his collar. “Like the Lord of Wraith manor.”
He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Everything is in place and we have what we need. This will work.”
“I’m concerned about Colin.”
“He’s out of this for now.”
“Yes, he wasn’t too happy about that.”
“If anything goes wrong, he will become the most important cog in this particular machine.”
I nodded. He smiled and turned away, taking a deep breath. He then put on his long black coat, and his high hat, while I placed my arms into my own winter clothing and wrapped my scarf around my neck, leaving my face uncovered.
We walked to the door and he looked at me. “It ends tonight.”
“I know.” I didn’t know. But it had to.
He pulled the heavy door open, and we walked out into the night, down the stone steps and then onto the gravel of the path which led to the gate. Even from the distance of a few hundred feet, we could hear the excited voices, and see lanterns jostling around.
We straightened our backs as we neared the iron gate. A silhouette, barely lit by the nearby officer's
lantern was the closest to the gate. Hades stood with a walking stick, I presumed different to his original cane, and wore his usual derby hat.
“Lord Cannington!” said Lucas, standing a few feet from the gate. A column of police wagons at least ten deep faded into the light snow that was falling, each one accompanied by a group of police standing nearby. Two more policemen standing either side of Hades looked upon us with fierce eyes. There was something about their expressions which disturbed me, for they looked as if they couldn’t wait to be on the other side of the gate. To get at us. To get at me. “What brings you and these fine officers of the law all the way out here on this cold night?”
Hades smiled, looked at me then back to Lucas. “We are here to arrest Corine Arturo for the murder of William E Gladstone. And I see she is standing right next to you. I presume you had no idea that she was guilty of this crime so I shall—”
“Let’s stop playing games,” said Lucas. “These gates and the boundary of the grounds are warded. I suspect even you would find it difficult to come inside.”
The iron gate rattled as one of the policemen shook it. “This ain’t nothing but an old gate. You think that’s gonna stop fifty men from getting in there?”
Lucas smiled and looked back at Hades.
“You cannot stay inside there forever—” said Hades. The policemen went to talk again but Hades raised his hand. “— You will run out of food and water eventually. I see the wards are saving you from the conditions out here, but that of course means you cannot use snow to drink either. So, I will wait if that is what needs to be done.”
I cleared my throat. “Actually—” Lucas looked at me. “I want to surrender.”
“What?” said Lucas, turning to me.
“I know we had other plans, but I cannot put you all through this. Too many have already died.”
Lucas grabbed my shoulder. “No! I forbid it!”
I turned to Hades and the others. “Not here. Not in front of all these people. I will return to the manor, and you and some of your officers will be allowed inside, once we lower the wards. Then you can arrest me. Do we have a deal?”