by J M Bannon
“Detective Burton, this is identical to the gateways used by Caiaphas. Like the ones I saw in Italy and America.
“and here's another dead body,” said Burton.
Rose made her way towards Burton and the Sheriff. The Sheriff was leaning over Burton looking towards the floor.
“That's the Italian fella, the one in the papers I saw him in the same article with that Fletcher chap,” said the Sheriff.
Rose looked down, it was the metallurgist Luca Giuliani. Alfie had mentioned them working together and his genius with eldritch elements and alloys. As she stepped next to Burton, she said, “We need to wire-type Dolly and the Home Secretary.”
8:50 P.M. Haddon Hall
Bakewell England
Soon the property was crawling with constables and infantry, the whole site was cordoned off. The final body count was seventeen and included Alfie Fletcher, as well as Luca Giuliani. The others appeared to be the staff of the manor or workers affiliated with the Bessemer steelworks.
Rose had set up her equipment in Giuliani’s laboratory. She needed to know what went on in this room. She had scryed Alfie’s corpse and was in a daze from what she had seen. More than seen, felt. She could sense the powerlessness that Alfie felt as he strangled himself with his mechanical arm. The arm she helped him build.
Billy, the constable who assisted her was operating the camera. They were going to try out a process where Rose would leave a numbered card where she felt there was worthwhile evidence and he would then shoot the scene.
She walked from canister to canister pressing the tab that would open the nozzle and release the fumigant. The strategically placed foggers filled the room with purple and green haze until they mingled and became invisible. Rose lowered her goggles and began to use her gift of sight. Opening her mind’s eye to this world and any other existence that may cross it in time or space.
As she concentrated, she first felt how much energy there was in the room. This quickly solidified into scenes of past occurrences, flashes from the tanks, energy coursing about the room through cables and tubes. It was beautiful but unreadable.
Rose calmed herself and let the scene reveal itself. This was a precarious place to be, as she had to open herself to energy, knowing that there might be terrible visions and feelings that could flood in on her. As she started to attune to the energy, the material world began to fade. It was strange, almost a shift where the ethereal became more material, and the material world faded the color less saturated the sounds muted.
The blasts and flashes of color and energy gained clarity she saw a strange scene were energy like a soul was coursing around in a pattern. It was as if these spirits ran through a maze and then once out they could move freely. She concentrated on the maze. Rose could see how the spirit forms followed the cables and tanks of the equipment of the room. Strangely there were interruptions in the circuit.
It took real concentration to try and merge the vision of the material and immaterial. The first of the missing pieces came into view, a man who looked African or West Indian was sitting and meditating. Rose focused, and his form became more evident, he was somehow part of this process. What he was doing was impossible to determine only that the dozens of spirits flying about passed through him. Could he be summoning something from the afterworld?
Rose moved to the end of the equipment to where a table was set up. Here is where all of the spirits that went through this strange equipment came to then they began their random paths. She focused on one of the variations and watched the energy move about then change at the table. In concentrating harder Rose instinctively put her hands over her ears, trying to tunnel her perception. It was working, she could see the spirit form. The spirit energy took human shape, and the features look familiar somehow, a man but Rose couldn’t recollect where she had seen the face. It was a strange sensation like she knew him, that they had a past. Rose pushed herself harder to get to the place where she had met this man. Where was it?
It felt to her as if she had slipped off a curb or missed a step. A sudden and abrupt shift and then everything was different she was in another place, a place she had been before and watched the scene unfold. She observed this terrible scene, and it confirmed her worse suspicions. Staying strong she watched the gruesome outcome and once she was certain she ripped off her goggles.
As she came out of her trance Rose gasped for air as if she had almost drowned. It was like a feeling of waking from a dead sleep where you felt as if you had forgotten to breathe. As she looked around the room, it was silent, and all eyes were on her.
“You alright Detective,” asked Dolly Williamson.
“How long have you been here? How long was I under?” asked Rose leaning against a table.
“I just arrived and came in here to speak with you both. The Home Secretary is expecting a report soon,” said Dolly looking to Burton who turned to answer Rose’s question.
“You were only looking about for a short time. I’d guess five minutes,” said Burton.
“This all has to do with Caiaphas. There’s the gate but when I just scryed the room —this, all of this…” said Rose as she waved her hand at the equipment “it was used to move souls.”
“Move souls?” asked Burton.
“Caldwell, catch your breath and speak to us coherently, will you? The two of us can’t read your mind or see through your fancy glasses,” said Dolly.
“Sorry, I just watched a spirit, what you would call a ghost move through this equipment over to this table,” Rose moved about the equipment wiggling her fingers over the cables to illustrate the movement, “where it ah, let’s say reconstituted.”
She turned to her co-workers, “Here’s the thing, I saw this fellow before and when I tried to remember where,” said Rose as she snapped her fingers, “I was brought back to Harpsichord. To the visions of when that soul magnet took the lives of that whole town. They did it, Dolly, right here in this room those bastards pulled those people out of that contraption and put them—“Rose looked around and it suddenly made sense; the movement, the operation, the dozens of empty work benches and carts. She walked over to a partially completed mechanist man. “They put all of the townspeople of Harpsichord into these automatons.
“Did you see who killed the Italian or Fletcher?” asked Dolly.
“It completely slipped my mind,” said Rose she walked around the equipment to behind the control panel where Giuliani lay. Putting on her goggles over her eyes she let the scene unfold. The images came clearly and quickly. She turned to Burton and Williamson and saw them as amber images, the murder scene unfolding between them and her.
“Come over here,” she beckoned.
The two men walked over.
Rose took off her goggles again, “Take a look at his upper arms.”
Dolly and Burton unbuttoned the man’s shirt cuffs and rolled up his sleeves there on both arms were contusions so severe it was as if the arms were almost crushed.
“You’ll find these on all of the victims the same. Luca Giuliani was killed, and I assume everyone else in this place by this group of automatons.
“Jesus Christ Rose, This Caiaphas has gates that still work and an Army of the Damned?”
“Their first act after release is murder?” said Burton.
“Who is in charge here!?”
The three turned to see a man with white side whiskers and unruly hair in a black coat and grey waistcoat. He was followed by several men in similar business attire.
Dolly gave Rose a look before he turned to the man, “That would be me, Superintendent Williamson of the Metropolitan Police Department.”
“And what business do you have up here so far from London?” said the blustery man.
“That would be Crown business, on the request of the Home Secretary, sir. Who might you be and what business do you have here?” asked Dolly.
“Well, sir, my place of business was overrun by your constables, and I was told my presence was requested here,” s
aid the man.
So, you are Mr. Bessemer?
“I am, and this is my colleague and our local chapter house leader Mechanist Bradford Welton,” said Bessemer.
“Pleased to meet you, Superintendent Williamson,” said Welton Cordially. The two men shook hands.
“These are my associates, detectives Burton and Caldwell. While investigating a crime, they came here to conduct an interview and found multiple homicides had taken place at this site. Some of the victims were your workers,” said Dolly.
“Where is the Italian, Giuliani, he was the one in charge of this place,” said Welton.
“Dead sir, his corpse is just over there if you would like to see?”
“Damn it, Superintendent, you need to find who has done this - that man was not done — he, I mean we had an agreement, and he had not fulfilled it,” Bessemer grabbed the edge of the table to steady himself. Rose was unsure if he was on the verge of passing out or a burst of anger.
“Superintendent, how might we help? As you see Mr. Bessemer is quite distraught.” said Welton.
“Shut your trap Welton, I don’t need you interpreting my emotions. I am not distraught I am furious. Someone is out to disrupt my enterprise they know of my agreement with the Countess and Giuliani, and they seek to destroy my enterprise,” said Bessemer.
“Mr. Bessemer, I need you to tell my detectives what you can about this operation. The dead fella here and all about this Countess you just mentioned.” said Dolly.
“Bessemer turned and began to walk out, “Why don’t you just tell Welton here when you find out who is trying to ruin me.”
“The only one that will ruin you sir is you. Take one more step towards that door and you’ll be put in irons.”
Bessemer stopped, “I’ll have you know one wire type and your career will be over.”
“So, you’re going to threaten my job?” said Dolly as he walked over to Bessemer, then continued.
“I’ll let you know that as much as I hate to be called on to figure out who murdered a half dozen people, I rather like what I do. You’ll never send that wire-type because my constables will arrest you before you leave this room. If Mechanist Welton says a word he’ll be in the Black Maria with you. I’ll have you down in the cells for interrogation where you’ll be locked up with real villains, because for all I know your behind all of this.”
“Are you threatening me sir?”
“No, I am helping you see all the ways today may go for you. I’m not the threatening type. If I were to threaten you it would sound more like this… Detective Caldwell what happened when that Necronist Seer didn’t listen to me?” asked Dolly.
“You shot him,” said Rose.
“And then…” Dolly coaxed.
“Well he died,”
“Of course, he died, I shot the bastard. I was trying to get you to say what happened later with the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary,” said Dolly.
“Well nothing sir,” said Rose.
“I would argue that it eventually led to me getting promoted. The moral to the story is that I have shot important people in the past and gotten away with it, but I didn’t threaten them.
Bessemer was red. He inhaled but said nothing.
Mechanist Welton interceded, “Let us know how we can help. I will make sure that myself and Ironmaster Bessemer are at your disposal and you have full access for your investigation.”
“Excellent, now I am sure you’re both busy men and we have work to do here. I suggest that you let Detective Burton here know your particulars, so he can interview you later,” said Dolly as he turned back to Rose.
Rose rolled her eyes at Dolly, “I need to get back to London. If Caiaphas has another gate system and used it to move this Army of the Damned as you call it, the Air Service may have been able to detect the signals and provide us some guidance on where they might be.”
* * *
8:50 P.M. Haddon Hall, Bakewell, England
Soon the property was crawling with constables and infantry, the whole site was cordoned off. The final body count was seventeen and included Alfie Fletcher, as well as Luca Giuliani. The others appeared to be the staff of the manor or workers affiliated with the Bessemer steelworks.
Rose had set up her equipment in Giuliani’s laboratory. She needed to know what went on in this room. She had scryed Alfie’s corpse and was in a daze from what she had seen. More than seen, felt. She could sense the powerlessness that Alfie felt as he strangled himself with his mechanical arm. The arm she helped him build.
Billy, the constable who assisted her was operating the camera. They were going to try out a process where Rose would leave a numbered card where she felt there was worthwhile evidence and he would then shoot the scene.
She walked from canister to canister pressing the tab that would open the nozzle and release the fumigant. The strategically placed foggers filled the room with purple and green haze until they mingled and became invisible. Rose lowered her goggles and began to use her gift of sight. Opening her mind’s eye to this world and any other existence that may cross it in time or space.
As she concentrated, she first felt how much energy there was in the room. This quickly solidified into scenes of past occurrences, flashes from the tanks, energy coursing about the room through cables and tubes. It was beautiful but unreadable.
Rose calmed herself and let the scene reveal itself. This was a precarious place to be, as she had to open herself to energy, knowing that there might be terrible visions and feelings that could flood in on her. As she started to attune to the energy, the material world began to fade. It was strange, almost a shift where the ethereal became more material, and the material world faded the color less saturated the sounds muted.
The blasts and flashes of color and energy gained clarity she saw a strange scene were energy like a soul was coursing around in a pattern. It was as if these spirits ran through a maze and then once out they could move freely. She concentrated on the maze. Rose could see how the spirit forms followed the cables and tanks of the equipment of the room. Strangely there were interruptions in the circuit.
It took real concentration to try and merge the vision of the material and immaterial. The first of the missing pieces came into view, a man who looked African or West Indian was sitting and meditating. Rose focused, and his form became more evident, he was somehow part of this process. What he was doing was impossible to determine only that the dozens of spirits flying about passed through him. Could he be summoning something from the afterworld?
Rose moved to the end of the equipment to where a table was set up. Here is where all of the spirits that went through this strange equipment came to then they began their random paths. She focused on one of the variations and watched the energy move about then change at the table. In concentrating harder Rose instinctively put her hands over her ears, trying to tunnel her perception. It was working, she could see the spirit form. The spirit energy took human shape, and the features look familiar somehow, a man but Rose couldn’t recollect where she had seen the face. It was a strange sensation like she knew him, that they had a past. Rose pushed herself harder to get to the place where she had met this man. Where was it?
It felt to her as if she had slipped off a curb or missed a step. A sudden and abrupt shift and then everything was different she was in another place, a place she had been before and watched the scene unfold. She observed this terrible scene, and it confirmed her worse suspicions. Staying strong she watched the gruesome outcome and once she was certain she ripped off her goggles.
As she came out of her trance Rose gasped for air as if she had almost drowned. It was like a feeling of waking from a dead sleep where you felt as if you had forgotten to breathe. As she looked around the room, it was silent, and all eyes were on her.
“You alright Detective,” asked Dolly Williamson.
“How long have you been here? How long was I under?” asked Rose leaning against a table.
“I just arrived
and came in here to speak with you both. The Home Secretary is expecting a report soon,” said Dolly looking to Burton who turned to answer Rose’s question.
“You were only looking about for a short time. I’d guess five minutes,” said Burton.
“This all has to do with Caiaphas. There’s the gate but when I just scryed the room —this, all of this…” said Rose as she waved her hand at the equipment “it was used to move souls.”
“Move souls?” asked Burton.
“Caldwell, catch your breath and speak to us coherently, will you? The two of us can’t read your mind or see through your fancy glasses,” said Dolly.
“Sorry, I just watched a spirit, what you would call a ghost move through this equipment over to this table,” Rose moved about the equipment wiggling her fingers over the cables to illustrate the movement, “where it ah, let’s say reconstituted.”
She turned to her co-workers, “Here’s the thing, I saw this fellow before and when I tried to remember where,” said Rose as she snapped her fingers, “I was brought back to Harpsichord. To the visions of when that soul magnet took the lives of that whole town. They did it, Dolly, right here in this room those bastards pulled those people out of that contraption and put them—“Rose looked around and it suddenly made sense; the movement, the operation, the dozens of empty work benches and carts. She walked over to a partially completed mechanist man. “They put all of the townspeople of Harpsichord into these automatons.
