by J M Bannon
“She is. Do you have a recollection of what happened?”
“No memories but I had a glimpse on the astral plane as I slipped out of that prison and into her body. Killed in an accident from what I got,”
“Where have you been?” asked Rose.
She turned to Rose. It was awful It was conscious unconsciousness in a limbo. I was reduced to a terror of just trying to get out. Never sure from what I was trying to escape or where I would go but it was endless. How long have I been gone?”
“Almost four years,”
“I need to find the man who has my son. It was part of our agreement that if something were to happen to me my son would be cared for,” Angelica said.
“Who was that?”
“I’ll begin my search in London,” The girl said looking in the mirror again,”
“Are you feeling alright?”
“I don’t know. How are you supposed to feel when you have been killed trapped in limbo for years and then returned to someone’s else body?”
Rose chuckled “Funny but I know someone you can talk to that has a similar experience. The Pwen Hanaan, I sought that knowledge to extract a spirit that has possessed my friend. Since our last meeting things have gotten worse, he suffers greatly with two souls in the same body.”
“That must be horrific,”
“Worse is that only a few know the truth behind his condition most think he has gone insane,”
“What he is experiencing is worse than insanity. I know I walked the edge of sanity when I was in solitary confinement you begin to get lost in the nothingness; too long in that state could be irreparable,” offered Angelica.
“Can you still conduct the ritual?”
“With some preparation and rest I could,”
“If you will help me with Preston and Azul to separate them and save them I will do everything I can to help you find your son. All my resources will be yours, this ship, my knowledge, everything,” said Rose.
“You are bargaining with a Voodoo Queen. Some would say that your making a deal with the devil,”
“No, I am making a deal with a mother who loves her son and wants to make sure he is safe. I believe your intentions are pure, I want to help you to go about finding him differently that how you handled your half-brothers, I have resources an airship that we can scour the earth for your boy you just need to help me and let me know where to start,” said Rose.
“I made a bargain with a devil,” said Angelica. She sat down on the bed.
“What do you mean?”
“After the attack on the village, after Lafayette died and I assumed the mantle those of us left were scattered, wandering the jungle. My boy Gerrard and I were on our own I was trying to find my way and to get what was left of my people back together. I came into this small village looking for a place to rest and get some food and water. People were afraid to help because they knew the French had attacked us. As I walked into the town the villagers receded into their houses fear for their own lives drove them to shun us. All hid except sitting in this open air cantina was an elderly white man.
He waved me over and had the owner of the cantina feed us. It was the first meal in over a week. I began to cry as I saw how hungry Gerrard was after me dragging him through the wilds.
This man offered to help me and my son. He offered to bring me to America and get us started again. I was skeptical, after the events that had passed with Papa Lafayette being killed and my home destroyed I was lost not just geographically but mentally. After we had eaten he challenged me to rethink my purpose, he explained that he was here for the boy. He had foreseen his capacity for manipulating the arcane and wanted to help him to take his rightful place in the world as a master of arcana and the first steps on the path were to reclaim his birthrights. This was music to my ears,” Angelica said as she lay down in the berth. Rose could see how the days events and the resurrection had taken a toll. Rose was beat and she had manipulated a fraction of the aether that Angelica, let alone rise from the grave in another body.
“We left the next day for America and he introduced me to a man that would foster my son while I worked with Dr. Caiaphas on a plan to win back my inheritance and my son’s birthrights,”
“Did you say Caiaphas?” Rose said wide eyed, but she received no reply the body of Lilith Hume was asleep.
29
Saturday the 30th of March
12:20 a.m. The Peregrine over the English Channel
Dolly needed a drink. He finished writing up the events that transpired over the last week and was reflecting on his days patrolling as a beat constable. The simple days of drunks, prostitutes, and murderers who killed with a knife or a gun. He envisioned his presentation to the Home Secretary and Police Commissioner on how he came to decide the best thing for the Crown was to transport a resurrected teenage girl, who manifested powers where she controlled an unknown substance by her will or mind or whatever the fuck Rose was talking about. It was a fortunate circumstance, during their investigation, as she single-handedly stopped reanimated men made of beef who nearly killed him and Constable Caldwell. Their envoy identified the main suspect in the Zeus Colonial massacre, unfortunately, he escaped through a magic door projected from a table clock. "I wonder if I get full pay and a pension if they lock me up for lunacy?" He said out loud. After re-reading the report, he mused of how Rose and Saint Yves negotiated for Angelica, Lilith, or whoever she was, to join them so she could find her son. He decided he would stroll to the lounge for a whiskey and a smoke.
Passing by the door of the Lab, Rose called out, "Detective, can you come in here for a moment,"
"What are you doing in here?" Dolly asked.
"Tommy came down from Engineering and was helping Lorelei and I figure out the mechanics of this clock."
"Who the hell is watching the Witch?" asked Dolly concerned.
"Dolly, now you know what I think about that term and she is referred to as a Hougan or Voodoo Priestess, or Voodoo Queen for that matter I am unsure how the succession worked with her dying and then coming back," Rose pondered.
"Enough, my point is you saw what she did in those catacombs, you know what she is capable of, and you have left her alone on this ship."
"She's asleep. I think all the events yesterday took its toll on her body and she is out cold. I am not concerned about her, she will cooperate. She needs our help and I have her Staff safely stowed away in the Reliquary."
"And you plan on giving to her?" Dolly asked in shock.
"Why not? It's hers," Rose said defiantly.
Dolly rubbed his forehead in frustration, "Oh, let me count the reasons; maybe because she is a murderess, and that is a powerful weapon, and after seeing what she did in the cave her power scares the shit out of me."
"Detective, you need to trust me. Now, get in here and help me with the clock. If you were more fit, you might have caught your man, but he got away and we need to figure out where he went." Poked Rose.
Dolly bit the inside of his mouth and pulled on his beard. He would not let Rose get under his skin. "I was on my way to the bar, but after this enlightening interchange, I have decided to get drunk instead. I'm going to the lounge to get a bottle of whiskey and when I get back, you can tell me what I need to know about that clock."
Dolly walked into the club room.
“Sorry mate I was just closing up,” said the man behind the bar.
Dolly’s shoulders slumped as he looked at the sharply dressed fellow in a blue and green velvet coat.
“Oh Mate, I’ve seen that look before you really do need a drink. What will it be?”
“Scotch,” Dolly said with a smile, “What’s your name?”
“Slade, Phineas Slade,”
"Well, Phineas, you have made an old Scot a wee bit happier. You ever get into a scrape and need the Metropolitan Police you be sure to throw the name Dolly Williamson at the Bobbie," said Dolly as Phineas poured him a drink
“What do I get if I let you take this decanter back to
your stateroom?”
“Dolly smiled, you planning on having multiple run-ins with the Crown?”
“No one ever plans too, but I took a job working on Reidun Falk’s ship so judgment isn’t a strong suit,” said Phineas as he slid the decanter to Dolly.
“Fair enough, how did you get to stand behind this bar?”
"I’m old friends with Reidun we met in America. I met her on a riverboat casino out of New Orleans,"
“And,” Dolly said.
Phineas refilled Dolly’s glass then plugged the decanter, “Like I said I was closing up. Bring that decanter and glass back and I’ll tell you the story,” Phineas walked from behind the bar out into the hall.
Dolly grabbed the decanter of Scotch and his glass, then paced back towards the lab. Upon his return, the pack of savants were all hunched over the small clock with magnifying lenses and eye loops; he poured a drink and set the decanter down. No one noticed him, so. He sauntered back to his stateroom and reached for the Henry rifle on the shelf above his bed. Dolly grabbed it and a box of ammunition out of his bag and walked back to the Lab.
"Doctor Traube!" barked Dolly.
"Yes, Detective, how can I help you?" she said, not looking up.
"Did Rosie here tell you what happened down in that cave?" asked Williamson as he set down the rifle and refilled his glass.
"She did indeed, I would love to get a sample of that substance Miss Du Moya manipulated." the Scientist was giddy with the discovery.
"Ah, yes that would be so exciting to analyze, but you see I have had enough excitement. No, I was more taken by the Flesh Golems who took a forty-caliber bullet and didn't drop. You see before I had a gun that just shot regular bullets and that used to be enough for the job. Now with you lot, I need magic bullets, however, the Sister there is stingy and only gave me eighteen, made for my Colt. I'm wondering if you would be a dear and whip me up some forty caliber shells using Rose's recipe, but make them out of these." said, Dolly, as he slid the box of shells across the counter. "If we are to have the undead Voodoo Priestess sleeping on board, I'd like to have more firepower."
"When we wrap this up, I'll see what I can do but I doubt I can do it unless those bullets were a straight alchemical mixture," Lorelei replied looking at Rose.
"There is more to it, but the bulk is the suspension gas that holds the incantation. If you could figure a way to produce a bigger batch, then that would be a huge help," mentioned Rose.
Dolly took off his jacket and threw it on a stool, "What does the brain trust make of this thing?" he said as he rolled up his shirt sleeves nodding his head toward the mysterious time-piece.
"Yes, Sir, it's a clock ..." Tommy began.
"I got that far," snapped Dolly.
"Give the boy a chance," said Rose.
"As I was saying, it's a clock, actually two clocks interconnected through the complication. While I am generally familiar with the workings, the smaller unit befuddles me. It reminds me of a telescope or a microscope with a strange lens array. I believe I have put all the bits back in place," said Tommy.
"So what we have here is several clocks that open doors we can't see. One theory would be that they are connected so that your suspect stepped from the door of this device to someplace on the other end, like sending a wire type when activated they connect and transmit. Do you think he could have transported to the other clock?" asked Dolly.
"You think he went to Denver City?" asked Rose. "I don't know. Before it shut, I had a glimpse, he was in an interior space, a lobby or a verticulator. It wasn't Elmore's office." replied Dolly.
"Unless the clock moved," Rose said. "Or there are many of them," added Tommy.
"What are we going to do about that thing?" Dolly asked pointing at the black velvet shroud covering Hume's soul magnet.
Rose looked then snapped her fingers, "There really is a reason and a season."
"What?" said Lorelei.
"Destiny, fortune, the reason Angelica is here. I thought only of something selfish but there is no one better than her to figure out what to do with those souls. You heard the Necronists, they based this technology on what they learned from the Voodooists. I bet she can help," Dolly could see that light go on in Rose when she was on to something. She exuded positivity and brightened all those around with her energy.
"When we get back to London, we need to move all of this over to Hawkin's House and we can see about Angelica getting those people out. I also need to ask a Mechanist Savant we know to look at this clock," said Rose.
"Rose, the clock, and the Necronist device are evidence of a mass murder, to add another complication to the matter, it belongs in the American evidence system. I was thinking about this in our rush to help those… those people in there; Elmore made a big mistake letting us take it. If we catch this fellow and he goes to the Bailey in London or some court in America, some barrister will shoot the case apart just on the handling of this evidence."
"What do you suggest? I know this will peeve you, but this bunch and my Lab is the only solution," asked Rose.
"You're right, Rose, that does peeve me. How about we go with your plan, but you agree to station cops in and around your house? We need at least someone from outside the Special Branch to have an unbiased eye and witness that there has been no tampering. The last thing we want is for us to nab this Allard and he gets away on a technicality."
"Mate," Rose said shaking her head. "Allard has more to worry about than us, you don't really think Saint Yves is consoling the Acolytes who lost their leader? My theory is that he is gathering his Wyrding together to hunt that traitor down and take his soul."
8:20 a.m. In the Mind of Preston Gilchrist, Gilchrist Manor
Doctor Burckhardt's daily electrotherapy of Preston was showing results, none positive. Azul and Preston were no longer trapped in a body fighting for space.
There was a constant howl like a hurricane gale force, but with no wind. For as far as the eye could see there was nothing but a bare landscape, a barren desert at first glance, but upon further investigation nothing; the two were now trapped in a deteriorating mindscape.
Azul watched Preston sitting on the ground, he was worn out and tired looking.
"Preston, we need to be strong and resolute to keep ourselves from falling apart."
"Where are we?" Preston whispered.
"Your body is on the mortal plane, in the Doctor's bath of electricity treatment. You and I are in a higher conscious state still attached to that body but losing the connection. This a cross between a dream and an astral projection, an altered state. I am afraid this attempt is our last hope to keep your body from passing into the beyond," said Azul.
"I think I'm ready," replied Preston.
"I too am prepared, having dwelled in a deathless prison for an eternity, I am unsure what will become of my oneness if this Doctor kills your body. Being ready does not mean it's time, and I say it’s not to be now," proposed Azul.
"I'm tired of all this, I want what comes next," Preston argued.
"Get up and walk with me. You and I will keep walking and figure a way out of this place," said Azul. Azul had to get Preston back to his feet.
"You must return to reality. This place is not your physical existence, it is your mindscape. We are in the English countryside in your body and we will return," urged Azul.
Azul knew he has the spiritual and mental stamina to survive. He had been kept in spiritual solitary confinement for hundreds of years. Much longer than the incompetent Doctor has lived and far longer than he could keep up his foolish treatments. Azul feared the Doctor may go too far and destroy the flesh his and Preston's souls used as an anchor. When that happened he and Preston would go their separate ways beyond the aether.
30
Saturday the 30th of March
8:42 p.m Hakin’s House, Paddington
Rose and Angelica sat by the fireplace relaxing in the parlor of Hawkin's House. Unwinding as much as one could with Constables standing insi
de and outside the house on vigil. Even though she was a Constable herself, being around uniformed police officers made Rose a little tense. She had arrived home earlier in the day, causing a stir in the quiet neighborhood.
Upon landing, Dolly had wired Scotland Yard for a complement of officers and several steam coaches to transport his assemblage of people and the evidence they had collected to Hawkin's House. The caravan of paddy wagons was enough to arouse neighbors interest, peeking out windows and loitering outside. Then Constables spread out securing the property; attracting the reporters. Fortunately, Rose could get Angelica and the device into the house before the reporters arrived.
Rose was torn. She wanted to be working downstairs alongside Tommy and Fletcher figuring out the clock's secret, but she was wary to leave Angelica alone and wasn't ready to let her see what she had stowed in the basement laboratory.
"I can see you have adopted some of the Wardings I had at my townhouse," said Angelica. Just five hours earlier when they arrived, Angelica couldn't set foot in the house. It required Rose to enter first then incant a welcome for her to enter.
"Yes, somewhat different, but you were the inspiration," Rose said looking up from her book.
Angelica was watching the flames of the coal fire, "and downstairs?"
"Eventually you can go down there, but not yet. Let's you and I get re-acquainted and spend time with Enzo first," added Rose.
"That old man doesn't like me,” snapped Angelica
"He is peculiar, but I don't think he forms opinions like that. He has helped me with understanding my purpose and from that, I have increased my capacity to grasp the metaphysical," said Rose.
"I don't plan to stay around. I will be off soon to find my son."
"And I said I would help. You mentioned the name Caiaphas on the airship, I have had a run in with him, well I am uncertain I can properly explain it," offered Rose. "Try," said Angelica.