Warning: This is the beginning of a blatant Vampire Steampunk serial.
The Dark Monocle
“Will it truly allow us to see the master?” Her voice was breathy, incredulous.
Sir Edmund steeled himself, forcing his voice into confidence.
“Not the master, dear Elizabeth. The master will not be seen unless he wishes to be.”
He paused, knowing the full hypnotic powers that the master vampire possessed were far beyond the young woman’s ability to imagine. “But, I do believe that this will let us see his mark, that piece of him that he must infuse into every creature he controls to do his bidding.”
Sir Edmund closed his eyes in concentration, and held his breath as he turned the last screw. Too tight and the wood might splinter. Not tight enough and the box would shudder apart during the process. He felt for the perfect tension, tightened a fraction of an inch more, and exhaled. He opened his eyes and stood, slowly stepping back to observe his work.
Candlelight shone over the polished wood and brass of the small cabinet, screens and glass tubing marking it as beautiful and foreign all at once. He then pulled a small package from his pocket, wrapped in felt. Nestled inside, a dark lens of glass.
He took another deep breath and opened the top of the cabinet.
‘This will either be the end of many months work, or the beginning of many more…” his voice was nervous now, watery, the voice of an old man who knew he had work ahead of him but already seen the majority of his years. He carefully placed the glass lens inside the cabinet.
In contrast, Elizabeth’s young eyes were feverish and bright. She stared intently as he slowly lowered the black glass into just the right position.
When the glass was placed, Sir Edmund looked back at her eyes and shuddered at the thought of what they would reflect in the coming days. Then he shook himself.
It was too soon to know if that would have to happen…
The library was warm, even on this late October evening. His desk was lined with candelabras to provide light over his work, and the heat had built up closely throughout the room. Sweat trickled from his brow.
If the lens worked, he would be able to see the mark of the Master. He would be able to see victims and minions both, saving the former and trapping the latter…and that could change the balance that had held the city in a grip of fear for these last few years. He looked at the well-worn volume of Deamonologie on his desk and thought of the Society members that had gone before him, what this would mean to them…the time had come to see their efforts into fruition.
Sir Edmund stepped his weight forward onto the pedal, releasing gout of steam into the glass tubing. The wood creaked as the pressure built within the cabinet, and a high-pitched whir built up inside. More pressure came, and the whir became a near unbearable whine. The entire cabinet thumped heavily and bright light flickered all across the room…and just as quickly flickered out, leaving the cabinet still, steam curling out from around its corners and edges.
Sir Edmund stood frozen, motionless. Lady Elizabeth, watching him, spoke out…
“How will you test if it has worked? You would have to know someone that has already been bitten…
Sir Edmund opened the top of the cabinet and held forth a polishing cloth. He removed the lens carefully and placed it into a frame; the frame of a common monocle, for that was the exact size he had made it. He clipped the chain from his vest onto the frame and held the glass up before his eye…
“Someone, or something, my dear Lady. Please stand back…”
He walked toward a lone bookcase, reached for a lever and pulled, releasing a set of weights and pulleys that lifted the bookcase up into the ceiling, revealing a secret room.
His laboratory. He looked to Elizabeth.
“Rensen has described to you what you are about to witness, yes?”
She was stoic in her response, turning her eyes to hide a feeling about the man mentioned…
“He has.”
“And you have faithfully read the Malleus Maleficarum, yes?”
“I have.”
Then I say to you that you are ready! Let us pray I am correct…for what you are about to see will drive you mad if I am wrong…”
He stared at her for just a moment, then snatched the candelabra from the desk and stalked into the hidden room, Elizabeth following directly behind him.
It was the eyes that shone first, glowing, and giving away the winged bat-like creature as it crawled across the ceiling of its cage.
It was horrible. It was an abomination to man. It was almost the size of them…
“Not so unlike you or I, eh? This one is from the master’s homeland. It seems that it has flown all of the way from those mountains across the sea, and that the master has grown strong enough to call this beast to him…”
Sir Edmund took in a slow, deep breath, holding the monocle up to his eye, and staring at the creature. He gasped…
Elizabeth startled, her candlelight wavering around the room.
Sir Edmund choked, “I can see it! The mark is there!”
And through the dark glass, the creature glowed red. Red flames danced around the edges of its body, and in its eyes and around its fangs. It was the touch of the master…Sir Edmund could see it.
He crowed in triumph. “Do you know what this means? We can judge the others from a safe distance!” He turned to beam at Elizabeth…”We’ll know them for what they are! The Master and his minions can no longer hide in the shadows from us! This is a great day!”
The creature howled in rage, cutting short Sir Edmunds exclamations and rattling the bars that confined it.
From miles away, the Master looked through the bat creature’s eyes, and knew that Sir Edmund had discovered a weakness.
The Master summoned power to him, and lent the bat creature the strength to tear the bars free from their holdings in the floor…
The room exploded. The library shook as Sir Edmund was thrown down, only to recover himself in the dust filled the air around him.
Elizabeth’s scream erupted from the window ledge.
Sir Edmund spun to face the cry, but the man-bat had her in its grip, pulling her out of the window, and winging away.
Sir Edmund cried out in rage, racing to take up his cane and whipping forth the handle, revealing a length razor sharp steel…
But Elizabeth was gone, into the night, and soon into the grasp of the master…
Sir Edmund sank unto his knees, the tip of his sword dropping to bite into the wooden floor.
The image of the bat creature glowing red as it flew away, carrying Elizabeth into the night sky.
To be continued…