Niko was clearing a space in the center of the room. He brushed away dirt and rubble and nodded at Denis with approval. “Wait for me at the end of this street. I shall be along as quickly as I may.” He laughed to himself. “I have no desire to linger longer than is necessary.”
Denis let out a breath. “That works fine with me.” He started up the stairs testing the first step. It held their weight. He grunted. “Hopefully the carriage and Mildred are still there,” he muttered to himself. Halfway up he called down to Niko. “Good luck, Nikola.”
“Call me Niko.” He was out of view but Denis could hear the smile on the young man’s face.
He shook his head and rose up to the top landing. He navigated the tumbled kitchen. “That kid is either really crazy or exceptionally brilliant.” He mumbled into the girl’s hair as he moved through the foyer and toward the front door.
Niko knelt amid the rubble of the shattered cellar and closed his eyes. Images splashed across the canvas in his mind. Piece by piece, they assembled, and he could see how his invention would work in reality. It was always thus. Smiling to himself, he opened his eyes and scanned the rubble strewn floor, making a few calculations. He moved the Resonator several inches to the right and adjusted the controls on the face of the little box accordingly.
A flickering shadow hovered on the periphery of his vision and the air grew colder. He whipped his head toward the elusive shape.
Nothing. Turning back, he toggled a small red switch. A red light glowed like a ruby. The box emitted a deep hum as it came to life, shuddering once, then giving forth a rumble that belied its size.
The ground began to vibrate in slow waves, each second a pulse rippled out.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, little brother?” A voice whispered in his ear.
Dane.
Sudden anxiety gripped his chest like a vise. “Yes, yes!” Niko rose to his feet. “I’ve made all the proper calculations and only this building will fall.” He shouldered his rifle. “The doorway to our world must be closed!”
Niko felt a hand on his arm, a soft touch, familiar and comforting. He thought he could sense Danes presence. “That’s not what I meant, little brother.”
“Dane, there isn’t time! And I have to make this right!” he cried, running toward the stairs.
The ground pulsed and heaved.
He climbed the steps two at a time. The vibrations were gaining in strength, building on the one before it, causing the walls of the cellar to crack and tremble. The house groaned in protest and the bottom half of the stairs fell inward with a crash.
“Niko, it’s not your fault.” Dane’s sad voice echoed in his head one last time as he threw himself through the shattered doorway. The floor beneath Denis began to vibrate ever so lightly. He could feel it through his legs like a swarm of bees. He winced and moved faster, holding the girl tight to his chest.
“Shite, let’s hope that’s Niko,” he muttered frantically, as he ran through the house.
His legs had that dull ache like when he sat too long with them crossed and they fell numb.
The shadow creatures were gone. The broken front door creaked quietly in the early summer breeze. This space was just a sad, forlorn empty house now.
He crossed the lintel.
The air was sweet, warm and peacefully quiet. He paused on the steps, taking slow, deep breaths, and gazed at the blue sky. The clouds were gone and the sun was strong and warm on his face. Smiling, Denis descended the stairs, careful not to disturb the girl too much, and headed up the street to where the carriage was still waiting.
Eager to be away from the horror, he strode quickly away from the shaking house.
Pushing his cap up, the cabbie watched as they made their way up the street. He scratched his head, and looked at them in amazement.
Denis matched his look and shook his head. “Still here,” he noted.
The cabbie barked a laugh. “Not for lack of tryin’, but my four-legged friend here was too frightened to move and I was not about to leave ‘er.” He patted Mildred’s rump fondly. “We’ve been through a lot.”
Mildred stood shivering but stoic in her harness. She dipped her head as if nodding.
Denis snorted. “Then you saw all that?” he said, jerking his head back in the direction of the house.
The cabbie nodded wild eyed. “Madness! There was sumpin’ in that cloud, all screaming and yellin’ like.” He shook his head, waving a hand up in the air above the houses. “Then there was voices and explosions, and -” his voice trailed off.
Denis said nothing as he approached the carriage door.
“So, what in all the nine hells was all ‘o that?!” he demanded then pointed to the girl in Denis’ arms. “She okay, captain?
“Yes, and stop calling me captain, I was a sergeant.” He moved toward the carriage seat. “Help me,” he grunted. “Get that door open!”
“Huh - oh, sorry.” The cabbie responded and moved quickly to open the door. “Should’a thought of that me-self.”
Denis moved to settle the girl in the seat. “Thanks.” He made sure his coat was covering her. “We have to wait, we have one more passenger,” he said, looking back down the block.
The cabbie gave him a quizzical look then shrugged. “If you say so,” he conceded. He moved to untie the horse, then stopped, a frown forming on his face. “What is that?”
Denis could feel it too.
The ground was vibrating, a low consistent rumble that pushed out like a rippling wave. It was emanating from the corner house.
Suddenly Mildred neighed, snorting and bucking wildly as the street heaved and shifted. Both the cabbie and Denis reached out grabbing the carriage for support.
“What now?!” the cabbie shouted as he clutched the side of the foot-board.
As if in answer to the question, there was a shriek of ripping wood and grinding stone as the house collapsed, sliding and slithering in upon itself. A thick cloud of dirt and debris rolled slowly outward and up the street.
Denis stared wide eyed in horror.
“Shite! Niko.” he said in a strained whisper.
“Someone still in there, captain?”
“Damn. I’m afraid the other passenger we were waiting for was still in that house.” Denis felt sick to his stomach. He had only just met the young man, but no one deserved that, especially after what he just accomplished.
The dust cloud was slowly settling and starting to dissipate.
“Look!” the cabbie cried out.
Denis looked up. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
From out of the settling debris cloud they could just make out the silhouette of a limping figure. It was Niko. His face was coated with dirt and grime and his wide grin was a bright beacon as he waved to them, tiredly, but with triumph.
Denis was shaking his head in wonder as Niko approached and clapped Denis on the shoulder, then looked over to the cabbie. “It’s over for now. Let’s go, shall we?”
“Ya don’t have to tell me twice,” the cabbie said, vaulting into the driver seat.
Denis frowned. “What the hell does ‘over for now’ mean, exactly?” he asked lightly.
Niko remained silent as he pulled himself wearily up into the carriage. He sat down heavily with a sigh next to the unconscious girl.
Denis followed him and busied himself settling the girl against his side as he propped her up with one arm around her shoulders. He was acutely conscious of her nakedness underneath the coat. He pushed those thoughts away and looked over the girl’s head to Niko who was sitting with his head back and his eyes closed.
There was a flap and flutter of wings as something white arrowed from the sky to land upon Niko’s shoulder. He opened one eye as he turned his head slightly to regard the snow white pigeon. Its feathers seemed illuminated from within and incandescently bright, in sharp contrast with Niko’s dark hair. The bird’s head swiveled and its coal black eyes met Niko’s. They scrutinized each other with a calmness t
hat Denis found unnerving.
Denis, with eyebrows raised, pointed. “There’s a pigeon on your shoulder,” he said unnecessarily. “In case you missed it, what with all the chaos.”
Niko did not respond but smiled, nodded knowingly, and closed his eyes again, ignoring both Denis and his new, feathered friend.
Denis shot him an irritated look. Damn it. Okay, rest for now, but soon you’re going to be answering a ship’s ton of questions my strange friend.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said out loud, kicking the carriage seat back.
The cabbie nodded and flicked the reigns as he made to turn the carriage around.
He cleared his throat meaningfully. “Now, captain, let’s see. About your fare—”
Vincent J. LaRosa resides in Southern New Jersey. When not working full-time as a computer geek he can be found enjoying the beauty of the NJ Pinelands and thinking up his next story. This is his first book.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
About the Author
Tesla & Malone - Lightning's Call - Book One Page 7
