by Sadie Swift
Dull thuds came from the hatch as whoever it was realised they couldn’t open it and started beating their hands upon it in frustration.
I drew a well-earned breath. Now we had to prevent the state visit to Her Majesty.
Five
Sir Percival reached into one of his pockets and brought out a pair of leather and brass goggles. Why he always had some pairs handy was a mystery to me; probably some obscure childhood incident. I smiled my thanks and wiped the tears caused by fright and the cold wind from my face before putting them on.
A gunshot sounded and a piece of the metal surface around the hatch burst upwards. We both jumped backwards away from the hatch and Sir Percival quickly put his own goggles on. They were shooting at us! But what about the balloons above? Were they so desperate to kill us that they didn’t care if they hit them?
“The propellers, Sir Percival!” I cried, indicating above us and trying to make myself heard against their noise and the wind. If we stopped the propellers then the airship couldn’t go anywhere. Unfortunately It also meant that we’d need to climb higher. Sir Percival also looked upwards, his white hair blowing wildly around his head, but it was now not able to get in his eyes.
Another shot from below quite dramatically focused our thoughts and we headed for the closest metal ladder up into the balloon and engine section of the ship.
I fought the knowledge that the only thing preventing me falling to my death far below was human ingenuity. Cold air swirled around me again as I made sure to grip the railing around the ladder and headed upwards, with Sir Percival following behind.
The ladder ended on a metal catwalk that led underneath the balloons and had further short ladders leading up into the long metal containers where the engines were housed. To my dismay I saw there was a crewman in blue overalls attending to one of the propellers. It would only be a matter of moments before he turned and saw us. There was no chance he’d believe we were part of the crew or the Russian royal family. Perhaps if we disabled the propellers on the side furthest from him?
Unfortunately he chose that moment to turn round. Spying us he gave a surprised shout. With no further ado I ran towards the closest propellers. With a quick apology for what I was about to do to such a life-saving device I leant over and thrust my umbrella deep into its workings, letting go before my hand was ripped off.
With the sound of a squealing pig the propeller ground to halt and the airship tipped alarmingly to one side. If Sir Percival hadn’t already been holding onto the rail and grabbed me we’d’ve been dashed down to the top of the airship or flung overboard!
The crewman wasn’t so lucky and gave another surprised cry before he landed heavily upon the rail surrounding the recessed area below and ceased moving.
The airship swung back the other way and we held on while it continued to pendulum. It’s forward motion was now arrested but the other propellers could be put to use to make up for the damaged one. To really stop it we had to destroy the steam engines, and I was just the girl for the purpose.
“We must destroy the engines, Sir Percival!”
“My thoughts exactly, Miss Lovelady!”
Gripping onto the metal railing we headed back to the short ladders leading up into the engine rooms.
I glanced downwards and saw that more shots had been fired creating an uneven circle of holes around the hatch. It wouldn’t be long before the holes were close enough so it could be pried opened like a tin of beans. We had but a short time to do our worst.
Six
A round hatch faced me at the top of the short ladder. I didn’t believe that they’d think to lock it against someone already on board, but there was always the possibility of a crewmember being inside. Carefully I turned the central wheel and pushed it up a smidgen. No-one was in evidence. I thrust it the rest of the way open and stormed up inside ready to use the element of surprise in an assault against any crew present.
My adrenaline rush was for naught as I was the only person there. I was once again struck by the fact that there were surprisingly few crew for such a large airship.
The long room was hot, noisy, and smelt of soot; though it was pleasant being out of the swirling cold wind and within four strong walls. Bright sunlight came through a large skylight in the ceiling above us. Several unlit lanterns hanging from the walls were probably put to use at night.
A large water tank and bags of coke lay to one end of the room close to the steam engine, which was roughly the size of the carriage we’d arrived in that morning. To the other end of the room was a storage and workshop area with several tables. But what stopped myself and Sir Percival in our tracks was the presence of a large white box about the same size as the steam engine next to it. The white material it was made from was nothing I was familiar with and when we got closer we noticed it seemed to give off a nutmeg-like odour. Pistons from the steam engine led out through one wall to the propellers, but some, currently idle, also led into the white box next to it. On the opposite side of the white box to where the pistons entered it was a strange glass contraption that had traces of purple aetheric gas inside and similarly led out through the walls and into the balloons on either side.
They were using aether? The steam engines, as well as driving the propellers were also being used as a power source to draw aether into this world? Perhaps that was how such a massive airship was able to be constructed – they’d discovered a method that created a very light type of aether? Then it burst upon me – this was how they knew about Sir Percival! They knew of his experiments with aether and thought to invite him, somehow get him aboard and, with the aid of the cover model of Cossack Horserider Weekly, steal him away to Russia!
The jackals! The heinous black-hearted devils! Not only was Her Majesty in dire peril but also Sir Percival’s aetheric knowledge! Cossack Horserider Weekly be damned! If we survived this I’d find a different publication for him that contained no mention (or images) of Russian maleness. It was just as well that I’d also come along and disrupted their plans!
But then what about the red lady? They’d also known about me?
My thoughts were interrupted by vibrations and sounds of boots upon the metal ladders – below us the hatch I’d tied closed was now open.
Behind me Sir Percival peered into the white box where the pistons entered it. I knew what he was thinking – aetheric knowledge was our bread and butter, if in front of us was a new method to draw aether into this world then we simply had to know about it. But there wasn’t time. Was there a way to both protect Her Majesty and learn the aetheric secret?
Around us the sunlight dramatically dimmed, leaving the only light that from the steam engine’s firebox and the soft nutmeg-smelling glow from the white box. A thought struck me - it didn’t seem to be threatening rain earlier. I looked up through the skylights and saw thick dark clouds boiling up as if from nowhere. That was most certainly not normal British weather, unfortunately my umbrella was no more.
I hurried back to the hatch we’d entered and closed it turning the central wheel as much as possible. It wouldn’t hold for long but would give us more breathing space. Then I spied the bags of coke at the end of the room. It would mean trapping us inside, but what choice did I have? Shouted orders came from outside and I rushed to the sacks of coke and dragged a heavy bag to lay upon the hatch. It wouldn’t prevent shots being fired into the engine room, but maybe they’d think twice because of the aetheric device?
After piling three large heavy bags on top of the hatch I looked over at Sir Percival. As usual, when examining something, he was muttering under his breath. The room was so dark now I lit one of the lanterns and went to join him.
The weather was most peculiar. Glancing up I almost dropped the lantern in surprise. Standing on top of the skylight and looking down at us, were the officer and the red lady. In her hand was the Caspian Star, within which blue lights swirled. Above her windblown dark hair the pitch black clouds were mirroring the movement in the massive sapphire.
She was using the stone to control the weather?
“Have you discovered anything, Sir Percival?” I asked quickly, still looking upwards.
“Not yet.”
“We have little time.”
“I realise that, Miss Lovelady.”
“Even less than you may have thought.”
He glanced queryingly over at me and then up in the direction I was looking. “Bu–!” he said, staggering back slightly.
“Yes.”
Only one option came to mind – destroy the aether machine. It would probably mean our deaths as well but we had to do something or all was lost!
Above us the stern-faced officer knelt down upon the glass and began to punch it. Cracks appeared and then small splinters of glass began to fall down.
Even though my eyesight was enhanced by a strange aetheric side-effect I still lifted the lantern up to combat the inky blackness. I hurried to the workshop area and spied a peg board with tools secured upon it attached to the wall above a workbench. A hammer, or something larger, to smash the aether-containing glassware would be most prudent at this juncture.
Seeing a claw hammer I grabbed it and hastened to the glassware. Because of the darkness caused by the black clouds above, the aether’s purple glow was now clearly visible. I brought the hammer down upon the glassware but it didn’t break. For the purpose of containing aether it must have been specially toughened. From above more splinters of glass fell upon me – they were nearly through!
Aiming at a thin-looking junction I brought the hammer down with my full strength. A small fracture appeared. Heartened I raised the hammer again but felt it plucked from my hand. Spinning round I faced the red lady. She smiled at me showing her elongated incisor teeth and held both the Caspian Star and my hammer in her hands. Cold air swirled through the hole created in the glass ceiling.
‘GET AWAY!’ the purple blaze in my mind screamed.
Once again I felt her unworldly influence. She was so beautiful, we could have a lovely life together, why would I want to do anything to stop her? The purple blaze seemed to beat itself against the inside of my skull. I cried out at the warring feelings crashing through my mind. I closed my eyes and fell to my knees at the onslaught.
My heartbeat jumped into racing speed as if I were in the Oxford Vs Cambridge boat race. Blood rushed around the veins and arteries in my body. No doubt the vampire above me felt it as well. But what could I do? She was a vampire – an abnormally strong creature of the night!
But then something unusual occurred – just as I felt my heart would pound its way out through my chest, a strange calmness settled over me, like some anti-adrenaline was now flowing through my veins. A diamond-hard resolve grew inside me like a tree, slowly at first and then increasing in pace. I would NOT die at her hands!
Opening my eyes I clearly saw the world in bright shades of purple. This wasn’t how my enhanced sight was before – this was something new. I looked up at the red lady and her fanged smile faltered as she caught sight of my eyes through the goggles. She probably had no idea what was going on either.
“What are you?” she whispered in confusion, again seemingly directly into my mind.
The resolve sped up through my body and I quickly stood up and swept the Caspian Star from her hand. It fell to the ground in the darkness behind her.
She fiercely swung the hammer at me. I blocked the blow with my left hand and with my right grasped her neck, feeling its coldness. Her eyes widened, shocked at what I was doing.
Through gritted teeth I snarled, “Alive!”
Grabbing her right wrist to prevent her using the hammer on me I bent it back forcing her to drop it, then swung her around using her momentum to smash her head against the glowing purple glassware I’d failed to destroy earlier. Her left arm flailed at me but my resolve was unyielding – she needed to die, and if by doing so I could prevent this airship from meeting Her Majesty then all the better.
The fracture I’d created in the glass increased in size.
My grip upon her throat tightened and I pulled her back up ready to thrust her back against it.
I caught sounds of the struggle behind me and remembered that before me Sir Percival had taken some of his own anti-aether medicine. Perhaps it was enough to prevent his mind being taken over by the vampire officer?
The red lady hissed at me showing her abnormal dentition. Her left hand grasped my arm trying to remove my grip from her neck, but it was too weak against me. Again I smashed her head back against the fracture I’d created. A faint mist of escaped purple aether glowed around her head. Almost there.
With the fourth thrust shattered glass fell to the floor and her head was entirely engulfed by the poisonous purple gas. How would it affect her? I had no idea. I just knew it was toxic for normal mortals. What affect it had upon the undead was an untested experiment.
An unearthly shriek escaped from her and her struggles increased making it difficult to hold her thrashing head inside the purple gas.
I avoided her desperately kicking feet and, after a short time, her grip upon my arm lessened and her hand slipped off. Her body seemed to wilt and I felt thick fluid run down my hand. What was going on?
Carefully, and ready to thrust her back into the aether, I pulled her head out. I almost dropped her in shock as the grinning skull of a skeleton looked at me - all the hair, flesh and brains had been melted into a thick liquid which was running over my hand and down her dress. My stomach told me it wanted to void its contents, but I held firm. Was she dead, again? I had no idea. Would the escaped gas affect me or Sir Percival? We’d both taken the anti-aether medicine, we may be alright. Also, the gusts of cold air coming through the ceiling might be enough to dissipate the poisonous aether. We would soon discover the answers to both questions.
Still holding the flesh around the red lady’s neck I turned round to see how Sir Percival was faring. With a burst of fear I saw him limp in the vampire officer’s arms, his head was back exposing his neck.
“NO!” I cried and swung round to fling the remains of the red lady at the officer.
He stumbled as her body hit him and turned, hissing at me, his eyes red and glaring. I’d possibly killed one vampire, another would be the icing on the cake.
He dropped Sir Percival and I hoped his copious hair would help cushion his head against the hard floor.
With fangs prominent the officer stepped over the red lady and rushed at me. At the last moment I dodged to one side and pushed his back to help him on his way into the cloud of escaping purple aether.
He screamed, clawing at his eyes as the aether worked its fearsome deed.
I hurried towards him, grabbed the back of his uniform and hair and forced his head back into the gas. Vainly he tried to push back against me, then swung his fists behind him hoping to injure me. Even though he hit me several times my resolve and hands were firm.
Slowly his escape attempts ceased and he slumped to the ground. This time I was ready for the abhorrent sight of his fleshless skull.
Three people lay on the floor, only two of whom I knew were dead, but not. If you got my drift.
I went over and knelt at Sir Percival’s side. Sweeping his white hair away I was relieved not to see any puncture marks on his neck. But was he still alive? I felt for a pulse and almost cried out at feeling a sluggish thump. What about the other two? Would a vampire missing all the flesh on and in its head be considered dead? I knew of only one thing that would kill a vampire – sunlight.
Above, through the glass skylight black clouds continued to swirl. The Caspian Star was still somehow in control of the weather. I needed to stop its unnatural influence.
Remembering the direction it had fallen when I’d knocked it from the red lady’s hands I looked about the floor for it. My purple vision aided me immensely in the darkness as I saw faint blue light moving underneath a worktable. Scrabbling for it I heard thumps coming from the entrance hatch. Looking back over the three prone bodies I saw the hea
vy bags of coke were still doing their job.
Picking up the grapefruit-sized Caspian Star I held it steady on top of the table and took a large hammer from the pegboard on the wall in front of it. Then a thought struck me - I was going to deliberately smash the worlds largest sapphire? Was I mad? What sort of preposterous dream was I experiencing?
I looked back at the bodies on the floor behind me and jumped at seeing flesh slowly growing like cancer on the white bone of the vampire skulls.
Resolve boosted I raised the hammer and brought it down upon the beautiful swirling blue sapphire. My eyes, somewhat protected by the goggles I still wore, were momentarily blinded by a bright flash of blue light emitted from the stone.
Quickly I blinked sight back into my eyes and beheld the shattered sapphire in front of me. It lay in three large pieces with many smaller fragments scattered around. The swirling blue lights were no more. I looked up to see the unnaturally black clouds swirl their last and then quickly disperse. Shortly, beams of bright sunlight shone down through the glass.
Again I looked back at the vampires and saw the parts of them exposed to the sunlight slowly crumble to dust. Unfortunately this was swirled up by the cold wind coming through the hole in the skylight. What could I do with their remains? Looking round I spied the steam engine’s firebox. Holding my breath and using my sleeve to cover my nose and mouth as much as I could I found a broom and dustpan to one side of the workbench. Quickly I headed to the dust and swept it up. Putting on a thick glove that was on a peg to one side of the engine I opened the firebox and threw the dust inside. What to do with their clothes? I decided to take no chances and bundled the now empty clothing up and also fed it into the cleansing fire. The red dress was of a gorgeous fabric, soft to the touch, it would look and feel fabulous on me. But then I remembered the red lady’s skull with the flesh slowly growing back. Into the firebox it went. I added some more coke to the fire for good measure and considered it a job well done.
