by J. M. Bannon
“Are you going to make it disappear?” asked Gerrard.
“No, you are going to make it change color.” suggested Caiaphas closing his hand around the stone.
“Gerrard, clasp my hand with both of yours and hold it really tight so you know that the stone can’t get away.”
Gerrard grabbed his hand, “your hand is cold, Mister.”
“Now Gerrard close your eyes and envision a color, only one color. I want you to think very hard and send that color right down your hands into mine. Don’t tell me the color.”
Gerrard squeezed his eyes closed as if his squeezing would pass the thoughts through to the stone faster.
Caiaphas looked and smiled at Randal as the boy concentrated. “Excellent, you can stop now.”
The Doctor opened his hand, the stone was as green as the grass in the garden.
“Oh, boy that is a cracker of a trick. Can you teach me how to do that?”
“Gerrard, you did it. I only helped boost your innate powers.” The Doctor explained.
The young boy looked confused.
“Here, you keep the stone. When fall begins you can come to my school and I will personally instruct you how to do that and many more things you can’t learn from Ms. Meadows.”
“Thank you, sir” Gerrard grabbed the stone and ran back into the house.
“Let's walk, Randall.” The two men strolled the gravel path of the expansive gardens. Not as grand as Versailles but for America this was a palace garden. As they walked the Doctor and Strathmore spoke.
“The boy is quite talented, with training he will be like nothing this world or others have ever seen,” stated Caiaphas.
“Doctor, I was thinking when the boy goes to Italy to study with you, I might come and spend time with the others?” asked Strathmore.
“What is your interest in meeting with others, I am the leader of our Cabal. You have the ear of the Master,” said the Doctor.
“Well, it’s just that I haven’t met the others.”
“Randal, this is how secret organizations work. In secret, far from the public eye and apart from each other to protect the Cabal.” Caiaphas stopped and turned to Randall with a smile and leaned to look him in the eye. “Are you lonely, do you need companionship?”
“Well, I had been spending quite some time with Angelica, helping with her plans. When the boy leaves, it will be very quiet around here.” Caiaphas took Randall’s hands and gave them a shake of confidence. Randall thought, the boy is right his hands are cold. “All in good time, Randall.
Before we worry about you meeting the others, let’s discuss how we settled up in London. I checked and from what I gather Angelica never made it to the ship or Nova Scotia,” directed the Doctor.
“Hmm, I suspect the Necronists never let her out of London alive. but I will keep an ear to the ground. She may still show up, she is very resourceful” Strathmore suggested.
“and the business with the Moyas?” pressed Caiaphas.
“All of the coroner’s inquests are resolved and the documents that Angelica forced the Moya's and Chilton to sign are in place. I expect the biggest stink to come from my partners at Chilton, Chilton, Owens, and Strathmore will be about the Trustee not being in the home office. If the documents see their way into court they will stand up to any scrutiny. I am the Trustee and you are the boy’s ward, as planned if Angelica was unable to make it back to the States.”
“She understood the risks s to exact her revenge and now she has it, all of them dead and none the wiser. What else ...” said Caiaphas, who seemed displeased by something. Randall could tell by his curt speech and the ploy where he expected Randall to guess what he wanted to speak about. He wasn’t really in the mood; his sleep was still off and the last week had been quite stressful.
“Doctor as far as my observation, all has gone according to plan, Angelica obtained her revenge and the certainty that her son, now in your care, would inherit his grandfather’s fortune.
“The gold,” stated the Doctor continuing his inquest.
Strathmore couldn’t believe his ears. Between the two of them they had just gained control of the entire Moya fortune worth over seven million pounds. from what Strathmore knew of the Doctor he had no want for money, how could that small amount of gold make a difference. “The gold was stolen from the smelter before I could move it”.
“Find out who is responsible. We can’t have people thinking they can steal from us.”
Randall’s patience was all but gone. “The purpose of the heist was to cover up the search for copies of the revised will & testament”.
“True, in part is was but the fact is someone has stolen from us, Randall.” declared the Doctor raising his voice.
“Well the thieves did not believe they were stealing from you. They don’t even know you exist. At best, they thought they were stealing from Angelica,” Randall explained.
“All the same, find out who is responsible. I don’t like loose ends and I had a purpose for that gold.”
11:40 PM Rose's Apartments
Rose slipped in and out of sleep. Out again, this time realizing this wasn’t a dream but someone at her door. “One tick” She fumbled for the matchbox on her nightstand and struck a matchstick. She lit the lamp and replaced the wind glass once the wick had caught flame. After her eyes adjusted she made her way to the door and looked through the portal.
She hadn’t seen this face in years. Putting the lamp on a shelf she worked the latches and locks to open the door.
“Violet?”
“Hello, Rose,”
“What are you doing here?” Rose asked.
”I had nowhere to go. I left Chester after Pa passed and I’ve been on my own, well sort of,” Violet looked down at the baby in her arms.
“This is your niece Rosie. Rosie, this is your auntie Rose” Rose tried to recollect the last time she saw her sister it was when Rose left for the convent, ten years ago and her sister was a little eight-year-old girl.
“Come in, please come in. How did you find me?”
“You were back in the papers again, and this time I was in London. I just asked around Bethnal Green, I’ve been in London nearly two years.” Violet reported as she did the mental calculation of the time. Since she was a little girl, you could tell when she was racking her brain, she would look up for the answer, as if it was on the ceiling or in the sky.
“I’ve been living on the streets and when I read about you in the papers, I just thought I would come see you and ask if you might be able to help me and Rosie.”
“Oh Violet, come in, you are welcome to stay here. It’s not much but, of course, you can stay. Here, let me see that little girl.” Rose took the sleeping baby in her arms and looked at its precious face. Even being out on the street the child looked peaceful while sleeping. “Close up the door and have a seat, are you hungry? I have some bread an apple it’s all I have but your welcome to it.”
“Ta, Sis, that would be most kind of you.”
Rose handed Rosie back to Violet and took the few paces to her kitchenette. She reached into the breadbox for the loaf of bread and cut a few slices, and with the same knife she cut up the apple. That was all the food she had. Placing it on a plate she brought it over to Violet and set it on the small table beside the ratty chair. “Let me take her” Admiring the little one, Rose placed her niece on the bed behind the partition. When she returned, her sister had shoved a whole slice of bread into her mouth and was trying to choke it down.
“Violet, I am so happy you came here. It’s is so fortunate that you found me. I must let you know that the work I have been doing does not make ends meet and this apartment…” Rose stopped herself. She didn’t need to burden her sister with the fact of not having any money being two months arrears on rent and a pending eviction. “You are welcome to stay for as long as you want, and I recently had some good news. It looks like I am going to work with the Police Department so we may be able to put more food on the table and find l
odging better suited for the three of us.”
“Violet began to cry, “I would really like that.”
THANK YOU
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The Untold Tales is a prequel to a three book series. It follows the adventures of Rose, Preston, Dolly and some new characters as they navigate the steam powered, alchemy fueled and occult powered world of the 19th Century.
Following please find the first chapter of The Alchemists : Book One of the Guild Chronicles
CHAPTER ONE OF THE ALCHEMISTS BOOK ONE OF THE GUILD CHRONICLES
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3:00 AM Wheelhouse of the Whaler Thrift
Rose stood in the wheelhouse of the Thrift next to the ship’s Captain Jebediah Coffin. Everyone was drenched although the bridge shielded them from the tempest. A moment outside the door in the open, risked a deluge from the North Sea crashing down on you while being exposed to the rain. They were steaming into the heart of the worse storm in recorded history. A storm that threatened to destroy hundreds of ships and cost thousands of lives on land and sea.
Three hours ago, she strode down the wharf in torrential rain and up the gangway of the Thrift carrying the seven-foot long Javelin of Light. She was going demon hunting.
For weeks she had been putting the pieces together and tracking down a man who had stolen an ancient Mesopotamian antiquity. The small statuette of Pazazu, the bringer of storm and drought, found on a Royal Archaeological Society expedition of the ruins of Nineveh.
When this storm moved onto the east coast of England, then ceased moving but continued to increase in severity, Rose knew she was too late to stop the summoning. Now it was time to slay the beast.
She required a ship to take her out to sea where she could fight the monster when she saw the modern steam whaler she knew it was the vessel for her mission. Up the gangway came Rose Caldwell in her long black and red canvas overcoat soaked to the bone bearing a seven-foot-long iron spear. Two men who impeded her entry to the ship. “I demand to speak with the Captain of this ship,” Rose ordered.
The broader of the two looked her up and down then pointed to the spear she held exclaiming, “My God she bears Gungnir, the Spear of Odin, are you one of his handmaids?” The other man injected in a thick Irish brogue “Your a clod Halvard Bjornson that's, the Spear of Lugh, used by Lugh himself to defeat the Fomorians."
Rose chuckled inside it was rare for her to see the effect of a relic on the uninitiated "To be precise this is the Angel Arnheim's Javelin of Light, the Spear of Demon Slaying. It will appear to you as a great weapon of legend, customarily one you read or heard about as a youth. It will be perceived as Maltet to a Frenchman, or Aram to a Mongol," said Rose "Now may I speak with the Captain"
The two men still dumbstruck by the sight of the weapon brought her to meet the Skipper.
Entering the bridge there were more crew members, two white men and a huge Maori who's size and fierce face tattoos took your attention the moment you saw him. "She's got Rhongomiant, the spear of King Arthur," reported the smaller white man with an English accent The taller man declared "Billings, that is Ascalon, the spear that St. George used to kill the dragon," he then turned to Rose. "Welcome aboard the Thrift I am Captain Coffin of Nantucket. How may I be of service?"
"I need to break this storm and you can help by taking me to its heart" Rose waited for the laughter after her statement.
The Maori spoke, "I will go into battle with you," The entire crew looked at him
"I didn't know that brown bugger even had a tongue," said the Irishman.
"This storm is not natural, she is a spirit warrior, and she bears a hero's weapon. I will help you slay the monster of the sea." spoke the Maori.
Jebediah met Roses gaze, "Madam, do you understand what you ask? This storm has already wreaked destruction and shows to be growing worse. Have you ever been to sea? Even in calm waters?"
"Well, no," Rose thought how she could bring the Captain to her side. "I am sure this all sounds deranged but as you all are staring at this famous weapon" She let them all see the spear for what they wanted it to be. I didn't choose to do this, the spear chose me and now it chose you for this battle." She hoped the chosen one bit would motivate the scared sailers.
"Capitan if we stay in port and it becomes worse we could lose the ship to smashing into the piers or other ships in the harbor that get loose," said Billings.
"I will answer the call of Gungnir and go to battle with you. Tonight we destroy your storm demon or go to the halls of Valhalla!" shouted Halvar as he walked over and placed his arm around the Maori.
The skipper gestured to Rose after the Swed's heroic cry. "What is your name lady?"
"I'm Rose Caldwell,"
The Captain smiled, chuckled then yelled out "Gentleman tonight is historic. We will steam into the worst storm in history with a woman on board and that woman is none other than Sister Rose Caldwell the White Witch of London. Gentleman ready the ship and cast off, Billings call on the engineer to get the boilers stoked."
"Thank you for trusting me, Captain," Rose replied.
"We Coffins have been whaling for generations, The taverns in every seaport talk of the yarns of the infamous Coffin family of Nantucket. I find tonight satisfactory as any for me to add to those tales," said the Captain as the crew broke apart to attend the duties of steering the ship out of port.
Now, three hours thereafter the ship was steaming into the storm. Rose was green with seasickness. She had never traveled by ship before and the seas were so violent she could scarcely keep on her feet. Rose stood next to the wheel with the Captain next to her. She kept one hand on the spear and the other held the compass pedestal for balance. The bridge had Billings at the wheel but the other men were out on the deck or below deck working to get the ship through the storm.
As they plunged through another towering wave the Captain spoke. "The Thrift is a one of a kind whale hunting steamer we came into port after docking with sixty barrels of sperm oil and now sought to make our way home and pursued a cargo to pay our way back. Many say I have hung on to the life of whaling for too long and adopting the trade of the Coffin dynasty was a lost cause. Whales are tougher to find and with the rock oil being produced in Pennsylvania and the nominal cost to clarify it into carbon oil for lamps, I am uncertain if whaling will come out of this stagnation. Now you have me heading into the storm that has the strength of a monsoon or a hurricane and it feels right, Do I sound insane?"
"I feel the same captain like I have a purpose," replied Billings.
"Well, Sister what do we face in the eye of this storm?"
"There was an artifact that stolen. A clay statue of an ancient demon named Pazazu. This demon is easy to conjure as he was called upon to thwart Lamashtu, another demon. Where things go awry is when summoned if Pazazu does not face his eternal adversary, he then brings forth either a terrible drought or storm.
I almost prevented the plan earlier, but the man that stole it boarded a ship and fled to sea. I assumed he was looking to escape to the continent, but instead, it appears he plotted to unleash the demon at sea."
"So Rose when we find him what will you do?" "I will plunge this spear into his heart and destroy him once and for all." Rose answered, it was then she spotted the huge harpoon cannon at the front of the ship and pointed out to it, "How does that work?"
"That's our steam-powered harpoon launcher. We moved away from sending men in longboats to harpoon whales, for the safety of the men. One or two of those and we can cull the biggest of whales.”
As they looked a huge swale of water came over the bow, washing men off their feet and sliding across the deck. “If your idea is shooting St. George's spear from that harpoon gun your crazier than I am to be steaming into this squall,” declared the Captain.
That was what Rose was considering, “Why not?”
On a calm
sea it takes practice to time and lead with that gun, and if you miss your artifact will be lost to the ocean depths,” answered Coffin.
Rose, she didn’t have the time or tools to glyph the harpoon gun to make a hit certain, then there were the waves, she could barely stand on the dry deck how would she be able to stand at the front of the ship aiming that gun. She hadn’t thought this through.
A klaxon sounded. There was a message from engineering. The captain went to the sound tube and pressed a lever, “Bridge to Engineering”
“Captain I have to cut the speed. The linkage is stripping every time the paddlewheel lifts out of the water and then crashes back in,”
“Do what you have to to keep us moving,” replied the Captain. Rose looked at him with raised eyebrows, did she want to know what was going on with the ship?
“The ship is powered by a rear paddlewheel, as we cut through the waves sometimes the wheel is free then suddenly it is submerged again, this stresses the wheel and the drive system. It’s better to move slow and safe rather than risking snapping the paddles or the drive gear,” explained the Captain.
Rose put her goggles on and looked through the bridge window out beyond the sheets of rain she detected a luminescence, "There straight ahead I can see the demon fire”
“What fire, in this tempest?” yelped Billings.
It’s not fire like you think it's the beasts spectral aura. You see this world is one of many worlds in many universes and all of it is woven together like fabric there is a warp and a woof and when an interloper from another dimension tears into ours he makes a rift in either the warp, the woof or both. I can see that snag in the fabric and it looks like fire when I view through these glasses.
When the storm seemed to be at its worse it broke and the skies became clear of rain but still sinister and overcast the waves cease and there was a strange stillness in the air, “It looks like we breached the eye wall of the maelstrom” said the Coffin.
