The Cog Chronicles Box Set

by P M Cole

  “I think there’s an entrance to the lower levels near that vent, just below us, can you see it?” said Lucas.

  I pushed open the door. It was snowing once again. “Yes.” A door was just visible with ice packed up against it.

  “I’ll get us lower…”

  The pistons and wheels spun behind us, and steam was ejected as we moved to within just a few feet of the pristine surface.

  I let my feet dangle over the edge, then dropped out. I hit the surface and kept going another foot until I felt my boots hit the floor.

  Colin landed behind me, a rope in his hand. I helped him tie it to an iron pipe. The crafted floated lower, until the steam engine ran down. Lucas blew out the lights, then climbed down with a leather bag, bringing his own rope, securing it to the roof as well.

  “Hopefully, there won’t be any storms, or we’ll be walking home,” he said, looking up at the large balloon keeping the craft in the sky.

  We moved towards the door.

  “It’s frozen shut,” said Lucas.

  I held my hand towards the iron handle, which glowed briefly orange, any ice quickly dissipating. Lucas scooped up some snow, dropping it onto the handle, which steamed then cooled, then he tried again. This time it opened.

  Stairs, almost lost to darkness due to the lack of wall lanterns, looked back at us.

  “Bernard said some of the earliest items are down these stairs. He said it’s not far, and there’s only one guard per wing. We just have to avoid him.”

  We moved inside and made our way to the door at the bottom. Lucas opened the door a little, listened, then pulled it open all the way. We were in another dark corridor although this one had a series of doors, one of which contained a man with an impressive beard hunched at a desk over pieces of what looked like dried clay. Luckily, he was deep in concentration as we crept past, and Lucas pointed to the end of the corridor. We moved as quietly as we could, stretching our senses to warn us of any movement ahead. Finally, we arrived at an exit into one of the museum's galleries.

  We crept out onto the smooth, polished floor, trying to dampen the clack of our boots. A light on a wall in the distance lit the glass cases containing mummies, vases, and statues in cabinets along the walls.

  “Isn’t any of this magical?” I said, trying to see if there was anyone coming. I then saw the wall next to me lit by a new source of light.

  Lucas held his hand out in front of him, a ring with a large gemstone glowed with a dull green light. “Nothing here is powerful enough.”

  “You got a magical ring?” said Colin. “What’s it do?”

  I wondered myself.

  He waved it around at the artefacts in the cases, and the ring dimmed and glowed. “It locates magical power.” He shook his head. “Nothing here of any use. Let’s try the next floor down.”

  We moved off towards the stairs and descended. At the bottom, a large glass sign proudly announced, ‘Recent excavations in Iraq.’ We all noticed Lucas’s ring noticeably brighter.

  “Ah, should be something here!” said Lucas.

  We turned the corner and looked into the face of a woman, illuminated by the green light from Lucas’s ring. She wasn’t alone, for standing either side of her were men with crossbows. Under her arm was a small wooden box. A glass case nearby was open.

  We went to back up when noises came from the stairs above us. And then from behind us. We were surrounded. I immediately tried to sense what metal around us was available to me.

  “Ambush,” whispered Lucas.

  Before I could reply, he took a step forward, each step lighting the room further. “You need to put that down.”

  The woman smirked then held the box, which was covered in symbols and hieroglyphs, out towards us. “Why don’t you come and get it?”

  Her eyes then met mine, and her face turned to one of hate. That’s when I realised what she was. “She’s a—”

  “Fury,” she said, finishing my sentence. “We haven’t met before, but of course you have met my sisters.”

  “I…”

  “She’s slowly getting back on her feet, with a little magical help of course. She’s going to look forward to making your acquaintance again.” She and I noticed Lucas’s other hand was covered in blue flame. She raised her free hand. “I’m not the avenging type, nor do I anger easy, warlock. But I am going to have to ask the young lady there to come with us. And I’ll be taking this box as well of course.”

  The men all around us raised their weapons. Twenty or so, aimed directly at us.

  “And if you are trying to control their crossbows Corine, they are made completely from wood, bone, twine, and a sprinkling of magic.”

  This sister seemed calmer than the other two, and that bothered me.

  Lucas leaned in closer to me. “I’ll make an opening for you, then you run to the roof. I’ll try and follow,” he whispered.

  I shook my head and walked between him and Colin who had a dagger in his hand.

  “Cog!” said Lucas, but I ignored his protest.

  I smiled at the woman. “Here I am.”

  “You should know I’m not my sisters.”

  I took another step. Now I was a mere few yards from her and the men who started to look at each other confused. “I think that’s what one of your sisters said right before I stabbed her with a spear.”

  The woman’s face tightened, and she took a step back. “Take her.”

  Four bolts flew at me. One scraped the side of my face while I ducked behind a nearby glass case, avoiding the others. A streak of blue fire scattered the men in front of me as they tried to reload, while Colin tussled with those behind us.

  Two men lunged at me, but I scrambled back towards the wall, locating what metal I could in the room.

  Ah…

  The large cases were mostly wooden, but their latches weren’t. I pulled a series of them into the air, warping them into tiny metal daggers, and sending them towards my nearby attackers. They slammed into their necks and the back of their heads, making them groan in pain and distracting them enough for me to turn the metal grating behind me into a spear, which plunged into them, bringing them to the ground. The levitating sharp pole then flew back into my hand.

  More bolts of bone slammed into the wall and then through the glass window next me, sending shards of glass out into the night. I looked at Colin, who was doing his best to avoid the blows but was staggering backwards while Lucas was throwing fireballs in all directions, the blue fire beating back most of his attackers.

  I looked the other way to see the Fury at the back of the room. There was something different about her; a necklace of some sort was around her neck. Was she smiling?

  Suddenly her form changed, gaining in height. I had seen a Fury transform before, but this was different, more violent in nature. Her bat-like wings sprung from her back, almost to the width of the room and, as her face gained demonic features and her hands became claws, she rose higher still until she stood taller than even the door behind her. The lower part of the necklace was glowing with an intense red light.

  She roared, making even her own men turn around, then stormed towards me. As a razor-sharp claw from the end of her wing sliced through the air and wooden case alike, I only just managed to fling myself to the ground. A blue fireball flew past where I was just standing, smashing into the creature’s side, but it hardly seemed to notice.

  I crawled forward behind the cases, spear in my hand, trying to keep low, when another clawed wing came down almost upon me. I just about managed to roll against the wall as it dug into the marble floor, gouging a slice through it.

  “The door!” shouted Lucas across the room. More blue fireballs slammed into its hide, this time making the creature roar and turn around.

  For a moment I became angry at his insistence that I flee, but then I realised the exit was not merely made of wood but was covered in metal panelling and rivets. Auto chirped away beneath my coat, and instinctively I opened it and let him fl
y free. He immediately buzzed around the attacker's heads, causing them to thrash around at the bird, missing each time.

  That was my opportunity. The metal immediately flew from the door. Sheets and bolts flying through the air, some hitting the remaining men while others wrapped themselves around the feet of the winged creature. To my horror, they were immediately snapped apart as she ripped her limbs free. She was too strong.

  She charged forward towards Lucas. Colin was now on the ground, holding his side. I could see Lucas was protecting him, but his magic was diminishing, and he was using the weapons from the fallen to hold off the other attackers. In the distance whistles heralded the imminent arrival of the museum guards.

  I looked up and noticed a metal clasp contained a gas lamp. It was small but then I realised the stone was masking a network of gas pipes which ran the length of the room.

  The Fury was almost upon Lucas. I focused my thoughts upwards and masonry started to fall as the pipes tore free from the ceiling. I arched them downwards towards the monster about to end him, its claws and wings preparing for a final attack. Broken as they were, the gas began to flow freely from the pipe ends. I steered them towards the Fury as she raised a clawed hand. I needed a spark.

  Policemen appeared where the metal door used to be. The Fury stopped in mid-swipe, turning around to see. The officers promptly fell back in horror on seeing the monster.

  I smashed the pipes together trying to form any kind of ignition, but none was forthcoming, then Auto came to mind, still chirping and narrowly avoiding being caught by the few attackers still fighting.

  “Spark the gas from the pipe!” I shouted upwards.

  The small bird pivoted and flew to the nearest pipe. Before I could worry if he could get away, the whole room lit with a fireball and the Fury screamed in agony, falling to the ground. I leapt forward and pulled the necklace from her neck. She swung around to try to pull it back, but she shrank in size doing so, until just a regular woman looked back at me.

  As she tried to get back to her feet, I pulled some of the pipes apart, coiling them around her body, forcing her back to the floor, while others I sent to the door. They slammed into the frame, creating a temporary barrier to the uniforms on the other side.

  I staggered forward to Lucas, then with his help, pulled Colin to his feet.

  Stepping over the bodies, we walked quickly up the stairs and made our way to the roof.

  CHAPTER THREE

  I dropped the necklace onto the circular glass table and sat heavily in one of the seats. Colin was being looked after just outside. I wondered where Daniel was.

  “How did they know we would be there!” shouted Lucas. He pulled his coat off uneasily, revealing blood red slices in his shirt underneath. “They were there for Cog, not just the necklace.”

  “You need to get those wounds sutured,” said Dax.

  “Who knew we were going?” I said.

  Eyes shifted uneasily from person to person around the room.

  “Not many,” said Charlotte. “It would appear we could have a spy in our midst.”

  She looked at Dax. “I want the guards doubled on all exits to this building. No one in or out unless someone in this room allows it.”

  He nodded, got to his feet, and left.

  “But that also means they know where we are,” said Lucas. “They know of this place.”

  “Why didn’t they just come here then?” I asked.

  “They may well do that now. But they had an opportunity to try and take you while you were less protected. From the sounds of it they almost succeeded by using the power of that thing,” said Charlotte. We looked at the necklace. She stood and held her hand above it. After a moment she sat back down. “It’s powerful, but it only gets us part of the way. We need more. I was hoping to avoid this, but we are going to have to return to the Factory.”

  I went to ask what is there when the door to the meeting room opened and one of the large beast-like men leaned inside.

  “The doc,” he grumbled. Charlotte nodded in reply. He then stood to one side and Daniel appeared, snow still on the shoulders of his dark coat. A tinge of relief moved through me. He entered as the guard moved back, closing the door.

  “Where were you?” asked Charlotte.

  “We needed medical supplies. I… umm had to break into a local apothecary. I left some shillings as payment for what I took and the damage.” He looked around the room at the eyes fixed on him. “Did your mission succeed?” He looked at the necklace. “You got what you needed?”

  It was obvious I was the only one in the room that put any trust in the medical student. “We were ambushed by another Fury. I had not met her before.”

  He pulled his coat open, brushing the snow from his shoulders. He produced a thick wad of newspapers and placed them on his lap while still looking for answers from the others. “Ambushed? How did they know?”

  “That is what we would like to know…” said Charlotte.

  A flash of recognition of his situation came to him. “You think I had anything to do with that? I went to get supplies to help!”

  His question was only met with silence. He grabbed the newspapers and slammed them on the table. “I have people to see to.” He turned, his eyes catching mine. I wanted to say something, but instead words felt awkward, so I remained quiet.

  “Daniel,” said Charlotte “Do not leave again, unless you have an escort. Is that understood?”

  “Fine,” he said over his shoulder, then left, the door closing behind him.

  She looked at me. “Do you think we can trust him?”

  I wanted to say yes. “I think so…”

  Lucas was looking down at the series of headlines across the stack of papers. I stood and joined him. I looked at the bold words and artist renditions. A number of them mentioned a reward for information leading to the capture of the ‘Witch.’

  “Two thousand pounds is a lot of money…” said Lucas. “There may be individuals within this building who may be tempted by an offer such as this.”

  “Unfortunately, you are probably right.” said Charlotte. “Enemies within and without. We need to prepare for an attack that could come at any time. From Hades' forces, casuals, or both.”

  “Then, she can’t be here.”

  “‘She’ will be where she likes,” I replied.

  Lucas briefly frowned. “On the bright side, we avoided being caught and killed, and we now have that thing.” He looked at the necklace.

  “I think it makes the wearer stronger.” I said.

  Charlotte nodded. “That is my conclusion as well. But we’re running out of time. We need to return to the Factory and claim one of my items from my vault.” She looked at Lucas. “Are you capable of that journey?”

  He winced, moving his shoulder around. “I’m right as rain.”

  “Then we leave within the hour.”

  I suddenly remembered the map left to me from Mr Gladwell. “What about the council of Gods?”

  “For now, Cog, we stick to our plan. We will get these items, then we can move to the next phase.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Capturing Hades.”

  *****

  I looked at the destitute faces that inhabited the shadows of the other three floors of the Palace. Small fires burned in barrels, raising the temperature to above freezing but people still huddled together in groups, eager to share what information they had. Auto circled high above, moving in and out of a cloud of smoke which hung below the arched ceiling. He swooped down, landing on my shoulder, and made a noise which was more cough than chirp.

  I waved at Colin as I approached the blanket he was lying on. I was somewhat surprised to see him in conversation with Daniel.

  “Hey!” said Colin cheerily. His injuries appeared to not be hurting him anymore.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah! Daniel fixed me up good! I feel better than I did before!”

  I looked to the tall man nex
t to him. He smiled back. “You can heal? I thought…”

  “Yes, although when I’m being a student, I try not to use my powers as I feel it’s cheating. Maybe one day I won’t have these gifts, then how would I help? Anyway, I knew Colin and you were umm… courting, so…”

  I ran forward and threw my arms around him.

  “Hey, she’s my girl, remember!” said Colin with a smile.

  I pulled back. “Thank you so much.”

  “I… just want to help.”

  “Actually, that’s partly why I came down here. I’m going to the Shadow Factory with Charlotte and Lucas. I was hoping you would come with us?” I looked also at Colin who was getting to his feet. “And you too if you feel up to that?”

  “Of course I’m coming, I love that place!”

  I smiled. He was lying.

  “They trust me to go with you?” said Daniel.

  “I trust you.”

  A short while later we were back on the roof, the snow was still falling, and I was sure it was even colder if that were possible. Around my ankles and wrists, I had quickly forged metal bands from the contents of the chests in the store room. They chafed, but I wasn’t going to be left exposed again without some metal to manipulate.

  Lucas and Colin moved away from the rear of the dirigible. The engine back there was chugging, pushing out small amounts of steam that was instantly turning to snow and falling to the ground.

  Colin moved to Charlotte, who was wearing a black coat of some kind of fur, and helped her into the cabin while Lucas waved Daniel and I towards him.

  I noticed Daniel stiffened his back.

  “You’re doing fine,” I said to him.

  “What… If the others are there. Grace or Byron?”

  I smiled. “If they are, then I’m glad you are with us.”

  He nodded in reply and we trekked across the ice-covered surface and climbed inside.

  Charlotte was back in the driving seat again. She noticed my surprise. “My craft so I pilot it!”

  I smiled in agreement. Lucas sat alongside her, while myself, Colin, and Daniel sat in the rear seats.

  “It shouldn’t take us long to get there,” said Charlotte.