The Lightning Lord

by Anthony Faircloth

  Jane’s grip tightened on Aiyana’s hand. “Aiyana, you must not change now, it is ... unseemly. Do not hold their geist, let them go.”

  Aiyana’s head jerked back and forth, as she apparently fought the change. “There is fear, Jane,” Aiyana said, the words slurred and hissed as they left her misshapen mouth. “The Nos fear.”

  John’s chair shot back and tipped over as he stood. His skin seemed to ripple and shrink against his bones. Jane let go of Aiyana’s hand and stood, “Fear?”

  The human’s also stood, mostly from the strangeness of the Nightwalkers changing into their Nosferatu form in front of them. “What can we ...?” Persi tried to ask but was interrupted as Aiyana completed her change and stood, her clothes sliding off her now smaller form.

  She bolted from the room, as did John. Though his change was not complete, he held onto his pants which had loosened and would have fallen to the ground had it not been for his braces. “You must excuse the younger ones, they still have not mastered the control. After what you have seen and been told you must see the significants of Aiyana’s report of the Nos.”

  “The Nosferatu do not fear?” Persi asked.

  “Mmm, more like they are incapable of fear. It is what makes them so ferocious. This, Duke, has done something to them that is truly ...”

  “Horrific,” Persi asked.

  “No,” Jane said, shaking her head, “remarkable. If the Nos can know fear perhaps other behaviors can be modified.”

  “So you are in favor of the kidnapping of the Nos?” Persi asked.

  “Oh, certainly not. The Nos must be released, the man killed and this facility destroyed. Now,” she said, strolling over and picking Aiyana’s clothes from the floor. “I must try to help the others get control so we can continue our mission.”

  The others nodded and Jane left.

  “Well, that was interesting,” Boots said.

  “Quite,” Persi agreed.

  “Your orders?” Grimm asked.

  “Hmm,” Boots said, momentarily closing his eyes, “Lets lift and hover. Use a single anchor rope. If the weather holds, tomorrow we will lift and make a run past the instillation. Let’s call it air reconnaissance.”

  “Yes, sir. I will put Joseph and Nicholas on the anchor immediately. We will lift within the hour.”

  “Very well,” Boots said. “My dear, would you find our guests and let them know. You might also see if there is anything we can do.”

  “A grand idea, my love,” Persi said and left the dining area.

  When she was gone, Boots looked at Captain Grimm, a thoughtful smile spreading across his face. “Have you ever tried to free a ravenous leopard, caught in a snare?”

  Grimm shook his head. “You have, I assume.”

  “Well, I was not successful but I have tried.” Boots dropped his head and shuffled his feet. “I tried, but every time I got near it attacked.”

  “What was the resolution?” Grimm asked.

  “It was while I was with Stanley. I took one of the porter’s spears and cut the snare. It ran off.”

  “Why not just shoot it?” Grimm asked, now reseated and sipping his cider.

  “I was supposed to, but as I watched it, I was fascinated by it, so beautiful and full of life.”

  “And this is how you feel about these vampires, these Nosferatu, fascinating but deadly?”

  “In a way,” Boots said, reaching for his own mug of cider. “It might end up exactly the same way. You see, I freed the leopard but it came back that night, blinded a man and stole a goat. In the end, after all that trouble, I had to shoot it.”

  “And this is the case for the Nosferatu, yes?” Grimm asked.

  Boots shrugged. “I must admit it has a similar feel.”

  “Perhaps, you should let our guests deal with the Nosferatu, while we continue with our mission.”

  Boots nodded. “Wiser words were never spoken, Captain.” He stood and drained the last of his cider. Sitting the cup down, he said, “I will be in my stateroom should something come up.”

  “Yes, sir,” Grim said and produced a half-hearted salute.

  Boots smiled as Grimm left the room but his mind was still on the lesson of the leopard.

  Chapter 29 – The Duke and His Lady

  John William Carpenter, now known as Duke Leopold Narcissa, stood, leaning over his desk, a map of the Americas unfolded before him. The weapon was almost complete, and the brilliant but egotistic Tesla still had no clue of the magnitude of his plans.

  His eyes located South Dakota, his first target. The power proved intense but it lacked control and targeting was minimal. It proved the weapons capability to his satisfaction. He smiled, the idiot scientist thought they had discharged the charge into the Floridian atmosphere, and indeed, they had, but he had no idea of his ability to target it, and the havoc it created when it reached Deadwood.

  He traced a line from north to south finding Orlando. He had liked the facility, having seen it during the war when it was an ammunition factory and he a spy. He had played the part of a janitor, sweeping the floors and maintaining the grounds. He was only a day from planting a bomb and returning north when he was caught. It had become the turning point in his life.

  The camps were horrendous. At first he was beaten and deprived under the eyes of the illustrious and later infamous Captain Wirz. Later, after he was free and in a pub in Newport, he heard the news about the good Captains trial and execution. Carpenter bought the bar a round.

  He could not look upon his time in the prison camps as negative time for that was where the big change in the direction of his life happened. It was Mammy Pleasant, the camp cook, who had given him purpose. She picked him from a line of twenty other men to help in the kitchen. It was she, a voodoo priestess that he stumbled upon in a candle-lit shed, near midnight, reciting lines of words that made his skin crawl. It was she who swore him to secrecy, and she who taught him the secret ways of the Great Old Ones. He spent hours, in the darkness of the shed, learning and practicing until finally he was blessed with the lightning spell, and a vision of a greatness he could achieve if he would put himself in the service of these elder gods.

  Mammy Pleasant had so much to teach him but it was cut short when they were caught one night. Mammy was immediately shot, and he was removed from kitchen work and put back in with the general populace. The beatings by guards returned, fearful of his relationship with the old voodoo priestess. He could feel his body weaken and begin to fail and he knew he must leave the hell-hole.

  Through the grapevine, he discovered that General Jeb Stuart was to make an inspection of the camp and Carpenter made his decision. He decided that instead of dying of dysentery like the other prisoners, he would arrange a meeting with Stuart in such a way as to impress the man, who was himself known for reconnaissance. On the first evening of the General’s inspection, after he had been shown to his quarters, Carpenter appeared to him, stepping from the shadows and throwing a small lightning bolt, temporarily paralyzing the man.

  The general agreed to free Carpenter in trade for his service as a double agent.

  Gentle hands slid around him from behind bringing him back to the now. “Why have you not come to bed, my Duke?” the woman purred.

  “Work, my dear.” He said, patting her hands.

  “When can I start working? I feel so useless.”

  He turned and looked at the pretty black haired woman. “You are fully recovered then?”

  “Yes, I ...” She had no time to guard her face before the Duke’s hand slapped her, knocking her back against the wall. He immediately stepped forward, pinning her. His hand reached up touching the hot skin of her cheek.

  “So, the answer is ‘no,’ correct? A fully healed Lady Regina Westbury would have never let my hand touch her.” He reached up and placed his hand on top of hers, a slight trickle of blood pooled at the edge of an evil smile forming. “Oh, don’t be too upset, I only want the best for you and I need you in top form. After all, you j
umped from that airship and barely had time to get the steam aeriolocitor pack on before crashing through the underbrush.” He leaned in close, pushing her tighter against the wall. “You might have been killed,” he said, brushing his lips against her ear. He felt her body relax and melt into his. “And then who would there be to cook for me?”

  Regina tensed pulled a knee up, aiming it for his groin. The attempt failed and she brought her arm up to push him away but he grabbed first one hand, then the other. “Come now, Lady Westbury. You cooked for Mr. Beacon, am I not at as good as he?”

  “You are a cad!” she screamed in his face and began to struggle.

  “Oh my, temper, temper, you may reinjure yourself. Do I need to render you unconscious, perhaps carry you back to,” he leaned in again, the movement of his lips brushing against her ear, “your bed?”

  She stopped struggling and grabbed hold of him, pulling him closer. “Why is it that I can love and hate you with the same intensity?”

  “Ah, it is an effect I have on all women. Now look at this,” he twisted and pointed to the map, “and see the genius of our plan.”

  She continued to hold onto him but his strength was greater and easily pulled away and returned to his desk. Lady Westbury grudgingly followed. He pointed to Orlando Florida, “You remember our success here, and how I left you to meet our friends from the agency.” He moved his hand across the map to Colorado and a point marked, Aspen. “And here we are now.”

  The woman rotated the world globe that sat on the corner of his desk, then stopped and tapped the hard surface. “And when will we move to our operation to the fortress?”

  “Two weeks I think, maybe three. Most of the components have been assembled at Kifuka, so we shall only need to load up the targeting components, but before that, I want to introduce ourselves. Knock on the door of the Washington elite, say hello.” He looked and she was smiling and nodding in agreement, the blood now dried.

  “Once we have an ... understanding, with the United States, we will address Britain, and their territories.”

  “And then?” Lady Westbury said, her hand slipping beneath his waistcoat.

  “Germany, perhaps, but the time will be near and we will need to prepare to open the portal. I can feel them approach, nearer and nearer each time we discharge the weapon.”

  “Because of the crystals?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he smiled and sat in his chair. “It was most fortunate we were able to liberate the ‘Keys of Yog Suthoth’ from that antiquities dealer in Cairo. I’m sure he had no idea what he had.”

  “We?” Lady Westbury asked as she seated herself in his lap.

  “Yes, yes, I meant you, though I must say, Regina, you could have left the man in one piece.”

  “It was necessary in order to place him in storage until I could exit gracefully.”

  “Yes, however the reports were that not all of his, ‘parts,’ were found.”

  Her eyes narrowed, “He should have not taken liberties.”

  “Hmm, I pray this missing part was removed after his death,” the Duke said.

  “Please, leave me a little personal mystique,” she said.

  “Very well,” he said with a smirk. “Perhaps it is time to turn in.”

  She smiled, adjusting herself on his lap. “I had a feeling it was.”

  It was his turn to smirk and he pulled her head toward his. A knock on the door interrupted them.

  “This better be good or someone will die,” Lady Westbury yelled.

  The door opened a crack and they heard the voice of Floyd Masters, his project manager. “Excuse me, Duke Leopold, I believe we have a problem that needs your immediate attention.”

  “Yes, enter, Masters,” the Duke said. “What is it?” he asked as Masters entered. Lady Westbury rose off her seat to stand beside the Duke.

  “It’s Tesla,” Masters said.

  “Yes, what has the idiot done now?”

  Master shuffled his feet and glanced at the carpet. “He has made friends, in town.”

  “And, are they blonds or brunettes? One of each, perhaps a red-head? The man is a satyr!” the Lady said.

  Duke Leopold glanced at her. “I hope you do not have first-hand knowledge of his carnality. I would be so disappointed.”

  “No, my Duke,” she said.

  Masters spoke up, “No, sir, I would barely have troubled you for such a thing. No, this is a man and a woman. I believe they are the ones of which you spoke.”

  The Duke stood abruptly, “Here? In Aspen?” He looked at Lady Westbury, “Regina, I thought you took care of this, the bomb and all that.”

  “I did, Duke, I did. I heard the explosion myself, though I could not confirm the damage since, as you mentioned earlier, I had just plummeted through some trees and bushes.”

  He stepped up and raised his hand as if to slap her again, his face tight with veins showing in his neck, then slammed his hand against his desktop. “Time to go. Get everyone up. Get the Zeus and the Jupiter both packed, the targeting equipment only, the vampires, and whatever else we can load quickly.” He pulled his watch from its pocket and looked at the dial. “We leave in two hours.”

  “But sir, we ...”

  The Duke wiped his hand across his desk, slinging everything across the room. Then he stood and looked directly at Masters. The Duke’s body began to glow a light blue-white light as he held his hands forward and began to mumble.

  Regina regarded the Duke with a mixture of pride, envy and fear as lightning shot across the room and surrounded the man. Masters convulsed as his clothes blackened and his skin began to bubble. He was able to vocalize his pain in a single feeble chirp just before his knees buckled and he fell. The lightning dissipated and smoke laden steam rose from what was once the Duke’s right hand man.

  The force pushed Regina against the wall. John William Carpenter’s anger spent he turned to his mistress. “Come, let me help you to your bedroom. You will want to pack since we are leaving in a couple of hours,” he said, holding out his hand.

  Regina slapped his hand away. “How dare you,” she hissed. “You will not keep pushing me around, I am a Lady of Court and I could easily destroy this whole scheme. Remember who helped you get this far, Duke Narcissa.” The subtle emphasis worked like a charm to get the Duke’s attention, but not in the way Regina had hoped.

  “Is that so Lady Regina?” His voice sounded calm, but Regina knew him too well. She knew it was carefully controlled fury. The kind that dealt with men like Masters. She began to move, but too late. The Duke was upon her, his hand at her throat and she quickly gasped for air.

  The world was starting to blur at the edges of her vision. Her instincts kicked in, but not the hard won skills that James had taught her. Something more basic, more fundamental. She croaked out a plea for her life, but it did not even sound like words. The Duke chuckled. “You see, all is well,” he said softly, releasing her throat and she slid down the wall. “You are mine, and whatever you think you can do to hurt me, just know that I can do so much more.”

  Her vision began to clear.

  He again offered her his hand. She took it and he lifted her to her feet.

  “I will awaken, Fairchild, give him a new station and a raise and set him to loading the equipment,” the Duke said and smiled at her evilly, then suddenly trapped her against the wall again. “I have a certain fondness for you,” he said in a whisper. “Never force me to wrath as Masters did.” He moved his hand along her cheek and she shuddered involuntarily. “Your death would disturb me greatly.”

  Lady Regina smiled softly. The lesson of the weakness of love James had tried to teach her in years’ past was ever present, seeming to sit always near, yet she never learned it.

  Chapter 30 – Spying on the Lightning Factory

  The next morning, at first dawn, the Daedalus prepared to lift.

  “Master Joseph,” Captain Grimm yelled from his position on the observation deck’s maneuvering platform, “prepare to cut the
anchor rope.”

  “Prepare to cut the anchor rope, aye.” Joseph called back.

  Grimm spoke into a brass tube that rose from the deck, it’s top turned ninety degrees and ended in a small brass trumpet. “Engineer, report engine status.”

  “Report engine status, aye,” said the voice of the Engineer replying through same tube. “Engine status is as follows, boiler at 50 percent, engines are warmed and ready for steam.”

  “Boilers at 50% and engines ready for steam, aye,” the Captain repeated back. “Cutting the anchor line in five, four ...”

  Joseph watched as the Captain turned his direction and raise his hand. The teen tightened his grip on the lever of the anchor-line cable cutter.

  “Three, two, one,” the Captain continued, then brought his arm down sharply, pointing at the sooty.

  Joseph heaved on the lever, tripping a spring which yanked on the two-hundred-foot cable cutter rope, thus pulling the trigger on the line cutter assembly and igniting an explosive charge. A loud bang drifted up from the ground as the explosion drove a steel blade through the anchor line and released the airship from anchorage. The steam winch pulled the lines in while the Captain made his way across the deck to stand by Joseph. “Well, done Monsieur Joseph. You are becoming quite the adept at the skills of the deckhand.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Joseph said.

  “Now, as soon as the steam winch is secure, return below and attend to your engine room duties.”

  “Yes, sir,” Joseph said.

  Grimm turned and walked back to the platform. “Anchor line is sheared, the ship is floating,” he said into the tube.

  “The ship is floating, aye,” said Parry from below.

  “Pass the word to secure from maneuvering duty and continue normal ship operations.”

  “Continue normal ship operations, aye. Parry securing,” the Engineer said.

  Captain Grimm pushed down onto the brass tube, it collapsed into a compartment in the deck just as Persi, and Boots approached.