by J. Stone
Lastly, there was Lexi Lucas. Lexi was Viola’s contemporary in more ways than one. Both born to powerful and influential parents, the pair of girls were raised in much the same way. They had been childhood friends, and when Viola convinced Kyra to teach her of the ways of hekta, Lexi, too, had convinced Viola to allow her to join in. The empress knew that Lexi could be counted on to do what she asked, but, like Viola, she was rather inexperienced. There was still much more for both of them to learn.
With that in mind, Viola knew she needed to ensure that her next feat was going to work, as she intended. Now that Pearl’s magically imbued bracelet was in her possession, Viola was ready to perform a test run of the portal. The workers had nearly finished it, and while she couldn’t completely open the portal until the work had been finalized, she could at least test to see if the power source that Pearl had generated would be sufficient.
The arcane structure was housed inside a large, abandoned factory in the industrial district, also known derisively as the Smogstack District. The entire region was full of black skies from the smoking byproducts produced by the various manufacturers. Very few people were seen walking the streets aside from going to work or leaving the factories. Those that did, tended to wear respirators or breathing devices of some nature due to the abundance of noxious gases emitted.
Since the workforce had begun, Viola had not visited the building that housed the portal device, leaving the construction up to Lexi. As she arrived, the workers were just leaving for the day, and she got to see just how Lexi was managing to harness them without raising any suspicion from them.
An almost uncannily beautiful young woman, Lexi’s magical focus was in the realm of charms. Viola had only, on a handful of occasions, attempted such sorcery. When wishing to learn more from the Alice and the late Councilor Crowley for instance, Viola had employed a charm. While her results were effective, they did affect the man more than she would have intended. To see him suffer did not bring her any great guilt or remorse though. A naturally talented charmer could have got the answers she sought, all without Crowley even being aware he gave them.
When Viola entered the building, Lexi stood near the entrance removing her charm from individual workers on their way out. Lexi wore an open blue robe with an attached hood, and as she removed the hood upon Viola’s arrival, she revealed her shoulder-length, dyed purple hair. Thick black eyeliner wrapped around her blue eyes, and her cheeks were flushed, matching the color of her soft pink lips that had a hooped piercing in one corner. Under her robe was an orange and blue trimmed V-neck vest that was clasped shut with large, black buttons. Below that, Lexi wore a matching orange and blue ruffled skirt. Her legs were covered in blue stockings, while she had thick stiletto boots that ended just below her knees. Finally, around her neck was the macabre demonic design that Viola herself wore around her neck.
A man who looked barely conscious or aware approached Lexi, on his way out of the factory floor. Lexi signaled Viola that she would be a moment, so the empress waited and watched as the young sorcerer removed the charm spell she had cast on him earlier that day.
Delicately rubbing the back of her hand against his cheek, Lexi told the nearly absent man, “You have done wonderfully today. You recall the experience of working in the factory for the entire duration of the day.” As her hand moved away from his skin, a pale, yellow light crept out from his face, flowing back and into Lexi’s open palm. Closing her hand on the light, the man seemed to reawaken from his stupor, though he was still somewhat dazed as he exited the factory, paying the empress no mind.
“How’s it going?” Viola asked her friend.
“I am closing out the last few charms that I have cast,” Lexi answered. “Surely though, you didn’t come to watch me manipulate these simple workers?”
“I did not,” she replied. Pulling the bracelet from a pocket, Viola held the beaming hoop of metal up for Lexi to see. “I want to test my power supply.”
“You truly have acquired it then?” Lexi asked.
“Assuming it can power the portal, all that remains is for our workforce to finish with the construction,” Viola said, entering the main area of the factory.
“Then it will not be long now,” she replied, following the empress further inside. “We are scheduled to finish preparations tomorrow, if we have any luck.”
“Good,” Viola said. “Once you release the remainder of the workers, we will test our power source.”
“I shall hurry the men along then, so you can have your privacy,” Lexi replied.
Her facial expression changed, as she gave some mental command to her thralls. Viola waited patiently, while Lexi cleared the men out, releasing them from their bonds. The empress stared at the glowing circle in her hands, working it through her fingers. She had never witnessed anything like the portal she sought to open. She had no idea what to expect once she crossed through it. Would the being on the other side grant her wish? Would he even listen to her? Maybe the portal wouldn’t work. Given time to consider, it only made her think of all the possible ways it could go wrong. Impatiently, she looked up from the bracelet and watched as Lexi led the last worker out of the doorway.
Her handmaiden, Kyra, was supposed to meet her within the factory, as only she knew of how this kind of sorcery truly worked. When Lexi reentered the main area of the building, she was accompanied by Kyra. She always had a good sense of timing. Something to do with her focus on scrying, Viola presumed. Lexi and Kyra approached the empress, who moved toward the portal.
Viola had not yet paid it much attention since entering the factory. This was in fact her first time to see the fruit of their efforts. The gateway was composed of two separate sections that were situated on either side of the factory floor. Both looked almost the same in design, but only one looked to have been completed. Oval shapes, wider at the sides than they were tall, had been erected up from the ground. A small ramp led up to each, which could be used to walk directly into the portal’s center. The material the oval gateways had been constructed out of was a glossy black stone. Whatever it was, it was quite rare, as it took some time to track down and was more than a bit expensive. Aside from the unfinished portal, she wasn’t sure what still needed to be completed, and having nothing to compare it to, she wasn’t sure how it was supposed to look. Regardless, she could at least power on the first portal, but passing through it would be suicidal at this point.
“So… how do I do this?” Viola asked.
Kyra smiled and walked past the empress standing at the midpoint between the two gateways. “Here. It goes here.”
The empress joined her at the epicenter between the two portals, holding the nexomancy bracelet out in front of her. She could feel the metal tingle and vibrate, as she got closer to the point.
“Release,” Kyra told her.
Viola held the bracelet in the spot her handmaiden and teacher pointed out to her, and after a moment’s hesitation, released her grip on the jewelry. The glittering metal hovered there without aid, somehow tethered to the portals at either side of it. Both Kyra and Viola backed up, as the bracelet began to spin and rotate on the spot. Lightning crackled between the two gateways, and it appeared like the stonework that framed them came to life. The light danced and flickered, casting wretched and misshapen shadows of unspeakable things on the walls of the factory. Behind the crackling sound of the radiating electricity, Viola thought she could hear agonized screams and the clamor of drums. There was a smell of burned flesh that filled her nostrils, and she knew that whatever lay beyond this world had briefly found a way into her own. This is what she would have to willingly walk into when the time came.
Kyra gave a solemn nod and informed the empress, “This will do.”
Chapter 30. Rowland’s Friends
Like a painful jolt of electricity had passed through his spine, Rowland bolted upright in his bed. The professor felt like he had slept for days, and considering how long it had been since his last slumber, that seemed to
him like it was entirely possible. His respirator and spectacles had been taken off and laid at the side of the bed on his nightstand. He assumed that Erynn must have done that for him, because he certainly didn’t recall doing it himself.
Ignoring the enormous crick in his neck, Rowland flopped his feet to the side of the bed and stood upright. He gathered the respirator and spectacles, placing them over his mouth and eyes respectively, as he quickly exited his room. Making no attempt to muffle his steps on the stairs, he ran down to the first level. From there, he ran to the back stairs, the basement, and then headed into Erynn’s workshop.
Both Pearl and Erynn were there discussing something or other, seated at a table. Their conversation would have to wait, whatever it was. He had more pressing matters to attend to. Germ would be back and restored to health that very day.
“Feeling better, Max?” Erynn asked.
“Mmm,” he groaned.
“That’s his yes,” Erynn sarcastically told Pearl.
“He was here,” Rowland said. “Germ was here. I have to find him.”
The professor raised his gauntlet to examine the area. He opened and peered through the veil between worlds. Inspecting the same room that he had previously found Germ in, Rowland saw that the cages that had once been there were now moved.
“There!” he shouted, spotting the rat, backing up into a corner of the room.
“You can really bring him back?” Erynn asked.
“I am bringing him back,” Rowland answered with certainty. With a thought, he opened a window to the Pocket, pulling through what lie in his forward arc. What he actually grabbed, however, was not his rat butler and assistant, but rather some reddish furred giant rodent with bat like wings that growled angrily and swiped at the air. Germ must have moved to avoid this creature, Rowland realized, but he was fairly baffled at what he was seeing regardless.
“Oh my,” the professor said. “I do not remember making that.”
“That is entirely not Germ!” Erynn shouted.
The creature thrashed about wildly, clearly confused and having trouble acclimating to the sudden change in environment. The outlandish beast smashed into the mechanical equipment scattered about the room, breaking and tossing things aside.
“Max! What is going on?” Erynn yelled over the clatter the beast was making. She and Pearl moved away getting cover between them and the ferocious beast.
Almost completely ignoring the peril he had placed himself, Rowland inspected the gauntlet to ensure he had not done something wrong. He hoped that his suspicion that Germ had simply moved out of the way was correct, but examined his device regardless. The beast, meanwhile, had taken sight of the professor and was preparing to pounce on him next.
“Tern!” Erynn yelled to her automaton. “Go help Max!”
The construct, which had up until then simply stood motionless at the edge of the room, moved into action. Tern rushed to Rowland’s side and rammed the rampaging creature with his shoulder. The beast was knocked back, and the professor hardly seemed to notice, as he continued fiddling with his gauntlet. The beast lay flat and dazed on the ground, while the automaton approached him. Grabbing it by the excess skin on the back of its neck, Tern held the creature suspended in air. As it regained its senses, it flailed wildly at its captor trying to escape, but the metal working of Tern proved too strong for it to overpower.
Rowland, meanwhile, aimed his gauntlet up once again, concentrating on giving him a window into the Pocket. Through the shapeless portal, the professor reacquired Germ’s location. The rat was sprawled on the floor, beside where the beast would have landed.
“There we are,” he said to himself.
Ending the window with a thought, he changed his intent toward pulling Germ through. The same white swirl of mist that had brought the other creature appeared once more, and after a moment, it was done. Germ sat on his backside, baffled by the reappearance in the proper mansion. The clothes that the rat had worn on the other side didn’t get pulled through, just like the cage he’d experimented with earlier. There seemed to be a limitation of some sort when it came to non-organics.
“Sir?” Germ asked, looking over to the professor.
Without saying anything, Rowland retrieved a serum from his coat pocket and approached Germ. He took the rat’s arm, holding it outright and jammed the needle into the nook of his elbow, injecting the serum that he had perfected to prolong Germ’s life.
“Ow!” his friend shouted in response. “What are you doing, sir?”
“The formula,” he explained cheerily. “I remembered it.”
“Some warning would be appreciated, sir,” Germ replied.
From behind him, the rat was once again surprised. Erynn rushed to him and tightly wrapped her arms around him. “I missed you so much, Germy.”
“I missed you too, Madam Clover,” he said. The rat looked and saw Pearl behind Erynn. “Madam Hicks. You saved her.”
“‘Course I did,” she replied. “Since you’ve been gone, she’s tried to help pick up your slack.”
“Yeah, I quit by the way,” Pearl said with a smile. “It’s good to see ya, Germ.”
“And you, ma’am,” he replied. “It is just good to be back.”
Having forgotten about the other creature he pulled through, Rowland was startled when it roared behind him. “What about this?” he asked. “I cannot recall ever making such a thing.”
“You didn’t, sir,” Germ replied. “It mutated inside the Pocket.”
“Mutated? Whatever do you mean?” Rowland asked.
“I’m not entirely sure, sir,” he answered. “You should ask… Henry! You need to bring him back, sir!”
“What now?” he inquired.
“Your former colleague,” Germ said. “He’s still trapped inside.”
The professor had a surprised expression on his face, but it soon turned to worry. “Henry was in there for a reason, Germ.”
“Yes, sir. He explained,” the rat said. “But inside, he was healed.”
“Healed? How?” he asked.
“Your treatment,” Germ answered. “Henry said it separated him from the darker side, while they were in the Pocket.”
“You are certain?” Rowland inquired.
“I am, sir,” Germ replied. “You should bring him back. He was in this room with me. I’m sure he’s still there.”
“I suppose if anything were to go wrong, I could always send him back,” the professor agreed.
Aiming his gauntlet around the room, focusing his mind on the window, Rowland peered through to the other side, trying to find his long lost friend. Without too much time spent looking, he had locked his sights on Brodie who looked rather baffled, presumably by the suddenly absent Germ. Forcing his gauntlet to open another portal, he willed the smoky, white gas to appear and slowly pull the man through as well. When he appeared on their side, Brodie looked largely the same as he did when the professor had placed him inside the Pocket, with the exception that his hair was much shaggier and that he was completely naked.
“It seems that I did not quite perfect it,” he mused to himself regarding the gauntlet’s failure to pull clothes through with the target. He shook his gauntlet hand in a futile attempt to correct whatever had misfired. Quickly moving beyond his nudity, Rowland asked Brodie, “What is this Germ says of you being cured?”
“Sure, completely ignore the fact that you made a naked guy appear in my workshop,” Erynn stated. “Fantastic, Max.”
Germ ran over to a table, grabbing a tarp that was sitting idly and returned to Brodie, throwing it around his shoulders. He took it and wrapped it around him, concealing himself under its cover.
“I’m in control now, Max,” Brodie eventually answered.
“How is that possible?” Rowland asked. “There is nothing curative about the Pocket.”
“I don’t know why, but it and I were separated when we got inside,” Brodie explained.
“Are you saying it had its own body?�
� the professor inquired, quite fascinated by such a prospect.
“Yeah, and it mutated itself over and over again,” he replied.
“Interesting,” he stated. “How did it manage such a feat?”
“By consuming the other experiments,” Brodie explained.
“Gruesome,” Erynn commented.
“Anything that ate another’s flesh would change,” Brodie continued.
“Fascinating.” Turning back to the creature held by Tern, he said, “I should take a sample of this one to investigate further.”
“Send it back,” Germ requested.
Rowland scoffed. “It cannot do any harm, so long as Tern--”
As if on cue, the creature finally managed to wrest itself free from the automaton’s grasp. The beast pushed past Rowland and charged straight for Germ, snarling and showing its fangs.
“Send it back! Send it back!” the rat quickly repeated, ducking behind a nearby table.
Rowland responded quicker than he would’ve thought himself possible, whirling around and aiming the gauntlet at the charging beast. With a thought, a black mist surrounded the creature, shrouding its form. When the darkness had cleared, it was gone, back to the Pocket.
“There,” he said. “Good as new.”
“Thank you, sir,” Germ said, standing up from behind the table and brushing his fur after the apparent dirtiness of the floor. “But as much as I appreciate that, you need to destroy that place.”
“What?” he asked. “Why would I do that?”
“I’m with Germy on this one,” Erynn said. “There’s no way that place can be any good.”
“But what about all my experiments?” Rowland asked. “I would be killing them all.”
“There’s nothing left, sir,” Germ replied. “It’s just that creature you saw and Brodie’s other half. Everything is gone now.”
“He’s right,” Brodie agreed. “We need to shut it down.”
“Well, fine, but what if I make something dangerous in the future?” he asked. “What am I to do with it then?”
