by Marty Chan
Laughter echoed through the room. Ehrich gritted his teeth, ignoring the jeers, and placed the body in the sarcophagus, then rolled the wagon away from the tower. The dead powered the tall towers, but no ordinary corpse would do. Like the eyeless woman, the corpses had to have died in a violent manner to be effective batteries for Demon Gate. Ehrich was disgusted at the idea that these victims had their lives ripped away, only to be further abused in death. He closed the glass lid and stepped back. He tore a bit of his shirttail as he tried to recall the blessing he heard at the funerals his rabbi father used to oversee—“Baruch dayan ha’emet.”
An operator stepped behind the console and flipped the switch. The tower glowed a faint blue, gaining in intensity until it was the brightest tower in the cavern.
In an instant, ghostly voices filled the room. A phantom rushed at Ehrich, her mouth open in a scream. He flinched as her wispy form went right through his body and sent shivers up his spine. He turned and she was gone from sight. The clerk signalled the operator to flip another switch and she complied. Sparks flew across the Faraday Cage as bolts of blue energy danced from tower to cage. For a flash, Ehrich could glimpse a world beyond, within the mesh walls. Then an ebony-skinned girl appeared in the cage.
A suede corset hugged her muscular body. The drawstrings in front exposed a linen shirt underneath. Thigh-high boots with rust-brown stains accentuated her slender legs. She tugged the black choker around her neck, revealing a pearl cameo with the faint impression of an eye.
The girl carried in her hand a leather-bound book. One of the Demon Gate guards rolled a tall, flat device in front of the cage. He flipped a switch on the side of the machine, and the thin black screen lit up. An X-ray sort of image revealed what was under the clothes of the new arrival. Her skeleton frame appeared human, but the book in her hand appeared to be a device. Ehrich could see a collection of gears, cogs, and circuits beneath the bindings.
“Pass me the book,” the clerk ordered.
She obeyed, sliding the thick volume through a slot in the mesh gate.
“I’ll need that back.” She spoke with a hint of an accent, as if she had grown up around English speakers who had learned the language second hand.
“Not until we’ve examined it,” the clerk said. “Where are your papers?”
She drew her papers from inside her left boot and handed them to the clerk. He ignored her as he tried to open the book, but the lock held the cover shut. He gave up on the second try and snatched the papers from the girl to compare it to the paperwork on his desk.
“State your name,” he said.
“Amina.”
“Name of your sponsor?”
“Mr. Serenity.”
The processing clerk raised his gaze, eyes widening. “You sure about that? Your friend pronounced it differently.”
She shrugged. “Probably his accent. Serenity is right.”
He checked his logbook, and flipped to the questionnaire. “What is Mr. Serenity’s profession?”
“He owns a business.”
“What’s the name?”
“Mr. Serenity’s Museum of Curiosities. Is this important?”
“Tell me which direction the bedroom window in your childhood home faced.”
“East.”
“What was the maiden name of your mother’s third cousin?”
“Mwindaji.”
“Tell me the number of steps on the front porch of your current residence.”
She tugged at the leather choker around her neck. “Three.”
The clerk eyed the questionnaire, then took a long look at Amina before he spoke. “Clear.” The cage gate opened. “Take her to quarantine, Frank. Unless your friend still wants to chat with you.” He winked at Charlie.
“I’m good,” Charlie said.
“When do I get my book back?” Amina asked.
“Not my department,” the clerk grunted as he turned his back on her. He tossed the book at Ehrich. “This one’s for the mad scientist.”
Ehrich turned the book over. A stamp on the spine made him catch his breath and his hand moved instinctively to his shirt.
“That’s not our job,” Charlie argued.
The clerk shot back, “If you have time to carry a corpse here, you have time to run this across.”
“Not a problem, Charlie,” Ehrich interrupted quickly. “I’ll take it over.”
His friend turned. “We’re not errand boys.”
“Beats digging graves,” Ehrich said.
Charlie narrowed his gaze. “Damn you for thinking of it first.”
The clerk stuffed the cotton wads up his nostrils. “If you two are through gossiping, clear this mess out of here.”
Charlie tilted the wagon so that the remains of the corpse spilled on the ground. “Oops. Guess you’ll have to do a little cleaning yourself.” He led the way out of Demon Gate.
In the hall, Ehrich drew out the medallion under his shirt. When he touched the metal amulet, he felt the eerie presence of his brother.
The trinket always triggered Ehrich’s memory of the last moments of his brother’s life. Sometimes, he saw the knife go into Dash. Other times, he felt Dash near him. Today, he could hear his brother’s voice gnawing at his conscience. He closed his eyes and held his breath, counting to ten until the voice faded away.
He opened his eyes and examined the insignia on the medallion. Right down to the curve of the snake’s tail on the lion, the chimera on the cover matched the one on the book’s spine.
The Mad Scientist
“Come, come,” Madame Mancini wheezed.
The milky-eyed woman ushered Ehrich and two other people into her parlour. He glanced around the tiny room, noting the large cabinet set against the bare wall. In the centre was a round table with a red tablecloth covering it. A lit candle provided the only illumination in the dark place. The medium beckoned the trio to sit. They obeyed as the woman tucked a stray black hair under her kerchief and joined them at the table.
“I see much pain in all of you. No need to worry. Tonight, we will bring you some peace and comfort. Did you bring the items?”
Everyone produced a different item. Ehrich reached into his shirt and pulled the medallion hanging around his neck. When he touched the copper amulet, he heard the voice of his brother Dash in his mind. “Ehrich… Ehrich…” He hesitated.
“This was all I had,” he said.
Madame Mancini clucked, “Perfect. I can see you are troubled, but tonight you will find the answers you seek. Place the item on the table.”
He obeyed and Dash’s voice faded away. The pale woman beside him pulled out a comb. The man with the handlebar moustache drew out a handkerchief.
“She only used this once before she shrugged her mortal coil,” he said as if he were apologizing for some failing.
“Perfect,” the plump woman told the moustached man. “Place the item on the table. We will see which spirit is drawn to them.”
The medium placed a hand bell in the middle of the items.
“Spiritualism is an inexact science. I must warn you the spirits decide if they wish to speak, not I. If they do decide to join us, we will know through this bell. We cannot force them and I cannot guarantee you will all have a chance to connect with your departed loved ones. If you are prepared for this, then we can proceed.”
The trio nodded.
“Tell me your names,” she ordered.
Ehrich turned to the pale woman beside him. She murmured, “My name is Katherine.”
The man with the moustache answered, “John.”
Ehrich gave his name.
“Now that we have met each other, let us join hands,” Madame Mancini said as she blew out the candle.
Ehrich couldn’t see anything, but he felt the stiff hand of the rotund medium as she chanted. “Spirits of the other world, we call you to this room. Come to us. We desire to speak with you.”
Silence.
“We beseech you to come here. Your loved ones
want to— Wait. Do you feel that?”
Something brushed against the back of Ehrich’s neck. He sat up. “I did.”
“Spirit, are you in the room with us? Ring the bell if you are.”
Ding.
“Who do you wish to speak with? Your wife? Your husband? Your brother?”
Ding.
Madame Mancini asked, “Who among you has the brother?”
Ehrich answered, “I do. His name is Dash.”
“Dash, are you here? Ring twice for yes.”
Ding, ding.
“Your brother’s presence is strong. Oh, spirit of Dash, your brother is here.”
“Are you sure?” Ehrich asked.
“Speak through me, spirit. Come into my body so I may be your voice,” the old woman moaned.
The sounds of the bell and the crashing of metal against wood. It was as if the spirit was working its way around the room.
Then the old woman’s voice changed to a child’s voice, meek and timid. “Ehrich, is that you, my brother?”
“Dash?”
“Yes, yes. Why have you brought me here?”
“I wanted to know if you were okay. Are you?”
“Perfect. I’ve never been happier in all my life.”
Ehrich gripped the seer’s hand tighter. She didn’t squeeze back. “I have a question.”
“What do you want to know?”
“The medallion you wore. Where did you get it from?”
Silence.
“I’ve never seen the medallion before. Dash, I want to know what it means to you.”
“I took it from our grandmother’s room when she wasn’t looking.”
“Grandmother? Which grandmother?”
Silence.
“Are you sure, Dash?”
The bell rang three times, then silence. Ehrich gripped the hard hand of the seer.
“I’m sorry, Ehrich, but the spirit has gone,” Madame Mancini’s voice sounded like her old self. “He was upset about the medallion. I felt strong pangs of guilt. Maybe because he stole it and he didn’t want you to know from where.”
“Get him back. I want answers,” Ehrich demanded as he gripped the woman’s hand.
“The spirits come when they choose.”
“Bring him back,” he ordered. He yanked on the woman’s hand, but her arm stretched as he pulled. The hand stayed in his, but her grip felt unnatural.
“What are you doing?” the medium shouted. “Let go.”
A hand grabbed his arm, as if it were searching for something. He flinched, holding on to the seer’s hand. Commotion in the room. A pair of hands grabbed his arm.
“Help!” he yelled, leaping to his feet. “A spirit has me!”
Pandemonium set in as the room filled with the crashes and screams of people trying to flee the space. A door opened and light flooded into the darkened room, revealing Madame Mancini in a tug of war with Ehrich over a fake arm that was strapped to her side. The prosthetic matched another one strapped to her other side. She looked like a Hindu goddess.
“Charlatan!” Ehrich shouted.
“Get out!” Madame Mancini screamed.
“You rang the bell yourself! You’re a fake!”
“Out!” She waved her real arms at him.
He grabbed Dash’s medallion and left.
j
Ehrich stared at the medallion in his hand as he waited for the bridge between Devil’s Island and Randall’s Island to span the strait. The mighty metal structure uncoiled from its snail-shell shape and stretched across the water to meet the other bridge which was also uncurling. Dash’s voice in his mind was like that second bridge, reaching from beyond, but Ehrich dreaded the meeting of the two. He shut his eyes and counted to ten until the voice of his brother faded away.
The bridge halves met over the rushing water and Ehrich stepped on the deck to cross over to Randall’s Island, which was home to the mad scientist’s labs. The guards stood at attention, watching his approach, unaccustomed to visitors. Rumour had it the mad scientist preferred his privacy.
He walked along the algae-covered stone path toward the looming white tower at the centre of the island. Around the six-story tower were smaller areas for lodging and labs for assistants to work in, but whatever they did in these tiny labs was nothing compared to the products invented in the tower. The mad scientist was responsible for coming up with the hunters’ weapons against the Dimensionals, along with the technology that controlled Demon Gate. Some whispered he had inventions which would change the world.
None of that mattered to Ehrich. He only needed to learn what was in the Dimensional’s book. If the tome could shed any light on the connection between Dash and the medallion, then maybe he could find some peace of mind.
He reached the base of the building, where a guard stood. She surveyed him up and down, taking in his hunter’s duster.
“What’s your business here?” she asked.
“We took something off a Dimensional. It might be a weapon.”
“It looks like a book.”
Ehrich grinned. “Yeah, that’s what I said, and now I’m here instead of there.”
She shook her head. “Bureaucrats. Okay, go on up. I think he’s on the fourth floor today.”
“Thanks!” Ehrich said. He pushed the door open and headed into the lobby. The floor was white marble, and a spiral staircase ran up and around the circular wall. Chandeliers hung from above, providing illumination, but the skylight provided plenty of sunlight to brighten the area. Ehrich began to climb the stairs, taking a quick peek at each level as he went up. The main level seemed to be living quarters. The second floor housed what appeared to be servants’ quarters. The third level housed laboratories where inventions were in various states of completion. When he arrived on the fourth level, he found more devices, but these seemed to be less finished than the ones below.
Giant towers hooked to thick cables populated the room. A six-foot tall man, thin as a rail, boasting an impressive waxed moustache, and wearing an impeccable three-piece suit paced between the towers. In the middle of the transformers, the inventor adjusted the connections with the kind of precision of a man who knew exactly what he wanted. This was the mad scientist—Nikola Tesla.
“What do you want?” Tesla asked, without even turning around. His English was like a country road, broken up with an eastern European accent similar to Ehrich’s parents’. Though they were Hungarian, their language patterns were similar to Tesla’s Serbian accent.
“Commander Farrier would like you to examine this device. He thinks we can learn something about a new Dimensional.”
“Put the book on the table. When I have the time, I will take a look.”
“He told me to tell you this is a high-priority item,” Ehrich said, hoping Tesla wouldn’t test his lie.
The mad scientist walked from one transformer to another, waving his hand dismissively. He continued inspecting the tall towers in the room, completely ignoring Ehrich for several minutes. Copper wires wound around a thick cylinder, and a doughnut-shaped mechanism sat atop the entire pole. The base of the tower seemed to house a motor of some sort.
“Sir,” Ehrich insisted. “We really need to know what this book does.”
“What are you still doing here?” Tesla asked. “You can remind your commander his domain does not extend to my facilities.”
“I was told not to leave until you had examined this device,” he lied.
“You will be standing there a long time then.”
“Sir, this won’t take more than a few minutes. He just wants to know what is inside the book.”
Tesla ignored him. Ehrich decided to up the stakes. He walked over to one of the transformers and began to examine the connections. This got Tesla’s attention immediately.
“Get away from there, young man.” His Serbian accent seemed to become more prominent under stress.
“I thought I could be of some use to you. Help you finish this so you can test the device.
What if I touch this cable?”
“No. Don’t. Promise you will not touch anything in the room.”
“Gladly. As soon as you look at this book.”
“Ah, extortion—the game of amateurs.”
“If it works…” Ehrich said.
“What is your name?”
“Ehrich Weisz.”
“Now that I think of it, you can help me with a task. Stand in the middle of the room. Yes, on the platform.” The thin man took the book and walked over to the table, where he set it down.
Ehrich began to regret his decision to bluff the mad scientist. He recalled the many stories hunters had told about the man’s need for guinea pigs. He looked at the Tesla coils in the room with their mushroom heads. They hummed with energy.
“Sir, if you look at the book, I can be on my way.”
“Yes, Ehrich, I will certainly look at it, right after I test the equipment.”
“What kind of test are you running?” Ehrich asked, trying to hide his mounting fear.
“This won’t take long, Ehrich. I can’t decide which is more dramatic, 25,000 volts or 50,000.”
“What are you going to do with that much electricity?”
“Why, boy, I’m going to run it through your body.”
Ehrich gulped, but didn’t budge. “And you say it won’t take long?”
“Hardly, but the electricity may sting.”
“Then you’d better get going because Commander Farrier is desperate to find out what is in the book.”
Tesla furrowed his eyebrows and turned away.
“You are sure you want to go through with this, young man? This is your final chance to step off. I’ve never tried the Tesla coils at 50,000 volts, so we are both in uncharted waters.”
“What is the point of this experiment, Mr. Tesla?”
“Very simple, Mr. Weisz. I want to determine what voltage level is considered dangerous for AC power.”
Ehrich glanced nervously at the towers one more time. If Tesla had meant to scare him off, the ploy was working. He inched toward the edge of the platform, but he caught a glimpse of the man smiling. He moved back to the centre of the platform.
“Then you might want to try 50,000 volts so you can erase all doubts,” Ehrich said.
