Veil of Time: A Paranormal-ESP Thriller (The Wizards Series Book 4)

by Jack L Knapp

  It took him a long time to fall asleep.

  #

  Tesla hired a carriage and the two rode to Tesla’s laboratory in New York City, the location of the demonstration he’d spoken of.

  T followed Tesla down the center aisle in the large room. Sensing the thoughts of the men on each side as best he could, T was only able to get a general feeling of anticipation. There was also surprise among the guests that the eminent scientist was accompanied by an unknown. Was this man another electrical engineer who had sought out Tesla’s company when they arrived in New York?

  Tesla introduced his new acquaintance to a number of men, including a strange little man named Steinmetz. “Doctor Steinmetz has interests similar to mine, especially in the mathematics of high-tension electricity. He has done some very interesting work with lightning.”

  Tesla walked on past Steinmetz. T attempted to pick up Tesla’s thoughts but failed, and when he tried to read Steinmetz he found a level of enmity that surprised him.

  Tesla directed that a chair be brought to the side of the area he intended to use for his lecture and demonstration. T took the chair, sitting beside the rope that limited access to Tesla’s stage. He explained, “The others have attended my lectures before, but since this is your first time, I thought you might enjoy a better vantage point.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Tesla. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it very much. What do you intend to do?”

  “Much of today’s talk will be about mathematics. Charles Steinmetz has reduced the calculations involving circuits and transients from the calculus of Newton to simple algebra. He has also explained certain effects of using my alternating-current motors and transformers. Others in attendance today are well versed in everyday electrical phenomena, so I shall have to do something extraordinary to keep their attention.”

  “Is it dangerous, what you intend to do?”

  “It should be perfectly safe, so long as the glass tube I will be using remains in my hand. Due to the high frequency produced by my latest coil, the electricity flows around my body instead of through it. I’ve done this many times, although most often with less available current; in order to gain the higher frequencies and higher voltages, the current in the secondary coil is much reduced. Such current as there is will be discharged through the tube, keeping me from harm. It is perfectly safe and results in a feeling of marvelous well-being!”

  T nodded; his hasty glance through the biography of Tesla he’d bought had mentioned other demonstrations. Too bad digital cameras weren’t available! The sight of Nikola Tesla, wreathed in a high-voltage corona while holding a lighted florescent tube, would be a sensation.

  The discussion of the mathematics involved during Tesla’s presentation was far above T’s understanding, although looking at the audience he realized they were fascinated. He zoned out, idly watching the men who watched Tesla so intently.

  T found Tesla’s comments boring, consisting primarily of discussions regarding electrical motors and transformers. The motors hummed and spun in the background, something T had seen many times before. Still, there was a thrill in knowing that this man standing by them had invented those motors, had designed them and supervised their construction in his workshop. The outer casing for the motors had an old-fashioned look, but otherwise they might have been found in any number of modern machines.

  Finally, Tesla wrapped up the first portion of the presentation and moved on to the demonstration. He laid the pointer down and picked up the first of a number of glass tubes lying on a table. The tubes lay beneath a cover made of copper mesh, which Tesla replaced as soon as he’d removed a tube. He went into a well-practiced explanation of what he intended to demonstrate.

  “This lamp has a number of chemicals inserted to replace the air that has been exhausted. As you can see, it glows brightly without need for a filament and the chemicals involved give it a specific color. By use of the gas neon, the tube glows red. It will be very useful in safety applications and may possibly have commercial uses as well. My lamp will also last indefinitely, unlike the filament lamps made by Mr. Edison.”

  Tesla laid the neon tube down and replaced the shield, which T now remembered was called a Faraday cage. Tesla walked to another part of the stage, this time closer to T. A large horizontal spiral of thick copper waited there, with a vertical cylinder extending from the center of the spiral. A bulbous cap crowned the top of the cylinder. Wires led from the horizontal portion to a switch block mounted on a wooden support. T realized from illustrations in one of the magazines that this was a larger version of Tesla’s high-voltage coil.

  Tesla swung the switch upright, causing a faint crackling noise from the coil as the switch’s copper elements made contact. The noises grew louder, then a few small sparks flashed from the cap atop the upright coil.

  Taking up two other glass tubes, Tesla walked over to the wall opposite to where the coil was located. “You may extinguish the lights now, please.”

  The room dimmed, the only light at first coming from the faint blue glow that surrounded the top of the coil. Strobelike flashes crackled out from the bulbous antenna, the discharges becoming almost continuous. With each flash, the blue corona dimmed briefly, then glowed brighter as the charge built again.

  Tesla walked around the coil, waving the now-lighted tubes he held in his hands. He raised his voice to carry over the background noise. “The coil radiates electricity of a very high frequency from the antenna on top. The lamps you see need no wires and are bright enough even for photography; I have had my photograph taken using no other light other than what you see here, the first time that has ever been done. No flash powder was required, yet the film was perfectly exposed. In time, I anticipate that flash powder will no longer be required except under unusual circumstances.

  “But many of you have seen this demonstration before. The high-frequency, high-potential coil I’m using today is new, as is the tube I shall demonstrate now. You will observe that it is much longer that the others, although inside, the various tubes are perfectly similar. The glass is also thinner; my glass-blower had a difficult time forming such a long tube! Nevertheless, it has been accomplished. The thin glass makes it a simple matter to carry this lamp in my hand and the high-potential coil is easily able to cause a discharge, creating light within the lamp. This discharge also prevents the accumulation of harmful electricity within my body.”

  Tesla walked to the front of the railed area, then passed slowly across the front of the hall, holding the lamp upright so that everyone could see. Men craned their necks and some half-stood to better observe this wonder. As Tesla approached T, he smiled and pointed at the lamp. “Is this not..”

  He got no further. The lamp shattered, emitting a fat, ball-shaped spark. The vertical coil hummed louder, the corona around the top becoming brighter and the electrical bolts longer. The blue color began to change, becoming tinged with violet.

  The first scream erupted from the back of the hall as T jumped to his feet.

  #

  The rider walked his horse toward Libby, reaching out his hand. “Swing up behind me, girl. You’ll be safe with us.”

  What to do? Libby considered her options. The situation was not like the one she’d faced that first time, when she’d panicked and used an unsuspected pyrokinetic ability. But this man did not intend to harm her. At the same time, she could not allow the men to attack the village. They might even follow Sarah and her people into the mountains. Sarah said men had killed women and children during earlier raids, so lack of warriors wouldn’t stop them.

  She thought of a possible solution. Would it work? And where had the thought come from? Could it have been caused by the stories Sarah had translated for her around the campfire? Whatever the inspiration, Libby had an idea.

  “Stop! I am the spirit of the mountains! You will not attack my children. My curse will fall upon you and will follow you until you come to a terrible fate! Return to your village. Go back now, before I place my curse upon you!�
��

  Forming her bubble, Libby drifted straight up, coming to a stop when she was level with the rider facing her. She pointed in the direction the men had come from.

  “Go now. Never speak of what you have seen, or my curse will fall upon you!”

  The rider leading the others was made of stern stuff, or perhaps he didn’t believe in spirits, Indian or otherwise. He reached for Libby.

  Still hesitant to kill the man, despite what he might have done to the Paiute women and children, Libby lifted him directly upright, then dropped him. Stupefied, reins still held in his hand, he fell behind the saddle, sliding over the animal’s tail. The sudden yank on the reins startled the horse and the sudden weight on his haunches triggered his flight reflex.

  Grabbing for the saddle, Jake managed to put his hands on the cantle before the horse reacted. Bucking and kicking, the startled animal bolted, leaving the rider in the dusty trail, rubbing his shoulder where a hoof had struck him.

  The other horses also became restive. Experienced hands calmed them, even as the men gazed in astonishment at the figure that floated before them.

  “Jake! You okay?”

  “Damned hoss kicked me, Andy, but m’arm ain’t broke.”

  “Mort, pick him up behind you. I ain’t sure what that thing is, but I’m gonna do what it said!”

  Libby watched in silent glee as Jake swung up behind Mort. “What about my horse?”

  “You can chase him if you want, but I’m not sticking around while you do it!”

  The posse turned their horses and spurred back down the trail, Jake hanging on to Mort as best he could. As soon as they were out of sight, Libby collapsed her bubble and drifted higher. Spotting the horse, still trotting away, she flew past him, then hovered. The horse swung around, turning back the way he’d come. Libby pressed him until he started after the others, then landed lightly in the trail.

  What to do now? Could she go back to the village? Sarah would wonder why she hadn’t been killed. If, indeed, the women and children even returned to the village. No, the time she’d spent with them, short as it was, was at an end. The Paiute women had cared for her, but she’d repaid that debt by sparing them from the posse.

  Should she look for a white settlement, or should she try to return to her own time? Her grandfather’s illness nagged at her; it had escaped her attention for a time in the shock of finding herself in the past, but now she thought of Shorty again.

  But what to do? She had no idea of what had brought her into the past. The only thing she’d done was attempt to teleport, using information gleaned from listening to T and Ray’s thoughts.

  Could that have caused her to go back in time?

  Chapter Seventeen

  T barely remembered where the lever was that Tesla had used, but the discharges revealed the switch and Tesla, frozen in place. Most of the bolts fortunately caused little damage when they struck the walls and the floor, but small wisps of smoke added to the dimness. T bounded over the low rope that separated Tesla’s demonstration area and yanked down on the switch lever, forming his bubble as soon as he’d done so. The long electrical bolts were dangerous.

  The blue corona surrounding the antenna faded and the bolts vanished, a low crackling replacing the coil’s hum. T collapsed his bubble and stepped forward, catching Tesla as he collapsed. He wasn’t breathing.

  T eased him to the floor and pressed down on Tesla’s chest, forcing air out. He leaned down and pulled Tesla’s head back, then cleared the man’s airway with a finger. Pinching the nose shut, T blew into Tesla’s mouth, inflating his chest. Sitting upright, he began chest compressions.

  He was still doing this when the lights came on. T heard voices behind him from the astonished audience.

  “Did you see? That man was shocked, yet he immediately began helping Nikola! Amazing!”

  “I didn’t see him get hit by one of the bolts. Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely, I saw the red flash myself. I’m surprised he’s still alive!”

  Tesla suddenly coughed and gasped for air. T stopped the compressions and rose to his feet. “Mr. Tesla might need a doctor.”

  “Let me take a look, my boy. I’m a physician. Mr. Tesla has been telling me of the benefits of electrotherapy, so I thought I’d see for myself. Step back and let me see what I can do.”

  T backed away while the man checked Tesla’s pulse. “He’s breathing normally, and his heart rate is good, if a bit fast. Still, that’s not to be wondered about. Nikola, can you hear me?”

  Tesla coughed again, then tried to sit up. “Help me up, Johannes. I think I’m alright now, although that was more current than I expected.”

  “Nikola, you’re lucky to be alive. This young friend of yours saved your life.”

  “Really? I don’t remember...what happened?”

  “Your electrical tube broke, Nikola. I suspect it was too thin, although the glass may have had a defect as well.”

  “Astonishing, Johannes. I don’t remember, but that’s not unusual. I often have temporary lapses after a session. My memory soon returns, so perhaps it will return this time as well. You say that Tom saved my life?”

  “Oh, there’s no doubt of it. He assisted you in breathing until you started doing so on your own. We all observed it.” The man called Johannes turned to T. “Well done, my boy. Your efforts were the perfect thing to do. Perhaps Nikola will be more careful in future.”

  “I was glad to help, Doctor. I suspect turning the switch off was of more help than anything else I did.”

  “Astonishing, my boy, I didn’t even see you move! I salute your fitness, for you moved quickly and you’re barely breathing hard now! Again, very well done.”

  T faded back and left the two men to discussing the mishap. By chance, he found himself near the short, hunchbacked man Tesla had called Steinmetz. The man’s thoughts were surprising.

  Serves him right, the poser! Humbug, nothing but humbug...I’ve seen better in plays! He’s nothing but an entertainer who’s been lucky with the American patent officials.

  T glanced at the man who watching avidly as the physician examined Tesla again. Finally, the two stood up and the short man sighed disappointedly.

  Some in attendance had not come because they admired Tesla.

  Tesla walked over to T, a little shaky but able to walk without assistance.

  “Tom, I believe I would like to go to my hotel. If you wouldn’t mind, would you accompany me? Since you’re living there as well, it’s not out of your way.” Tesla looked down at T’s trousers. “I fear you’ve damaged your clothing. You must allow me to replace the garments for you.”

  “A good cleaning will likely put them right, Mr. Tesla. Think nothing of it.”

  “Well, if you say so. But you must call me Nikola.”

  “As you wish, Nikola. Say your farewells while I see if I can find us a carriage.”

  #

  The land spread away below her.

  Libby sat on a smooth boulder, near the top of a peak west of the stream where the Paiute women had camped. They had found a protected hollow a mile north of where she sat, no longer threatened by the riders, but not yet willing to return. Perhaps they would slip back into the village and remove as many of their possessions as possible, but they wouldn’t live there after this. The men had turned back this time, but they could come again in the future. Sarah’s people lived by not attracting attention; they would establish a new village somewhere else. They’d done this before, and some villages hadn’t survived attacks.

  Should she find a town? Probably she could, but townspeople would want money and Libby had none. How could she earn money? And what if somehow she ended up further in the past? How could she find her way back to her family? What of Grandfather Shorty?

  Libby remembered that when she and Ray had tumbled inside the bubble, nothing unusual had happened. At the end of the practice session they’d simply returned to the ranch, arriving about two hours after leaving to practice. She had a
lso levitated a number of times during the practice session, and there had been no displacement in time.

  Ray had teleported, she’d picked that up from his thoughts. Bobby too; they’d tried short teleports while learning to master the process. But had they been inside the bubble, or had they simply attempted to teleport? In any case, they’d only gone a few miles during the attempts.

  The answer was there, but she was having a difficult time remembering. Did it have something to do with distance, or did the bubble make a difference? But teleporting without the bubble could be dangerous.

  Libby thought about it. Was she ready? Did she have enough information to attempt to return to her own time? What if somehow she made it worse, ended up even further in the past?

  Sarah had mentioned something about having stayed with a family near a place called Lake’s Bridge. It was where she’d learned to speak English and Spanish. How large was the settlement? Was it far enough away that they wouldn’t have heard of the Paiute village that Libby had stayed with?

  Should she look for that village? It was most likely the safe option.

  But would whites take her in as readily as Sarah’s people had? What if they refused? How could she live? She had no money, she knew no trade, and she’d learned enough from Sarah to understand that men dominated the economy of the west during this time.

  The bubble; that was the thing that made her attempt to teleport to Reno different.

  Libby thought about her situation. Things might be different, further west. California was more settled, so perhaps she could earn a living while deciding what to do next. If that failed, she could always try to return to her home time then. But would she know more later than she knew now? What could she learn that she didn’t already know?

  Her mind made up, Libby levitated, leveling off when she was high above the treetops. Forming her bubble, she headed east. Teleporting would have been faster, but she had no destination in mind and teleporting while inside her bubble might send her to a different time. Libby headed toward the mountains. Far ahead, they lined the horizon as far as she could see. There was no obvious way around them, but she should be able to find a pass or fly above them.