Welcome to the Steampunk adventures of Gold Detection. Over nine weeks, we will travel to the very edge of madness and death with our esteemed heroes! Check back every Monday or Subscribe to receive my writing in your Inbox.
If you would like to start from the beginning:
Part One - Wherein we meet our heroes and listen to a strange and eerie invitation.
Part Two - Our heroes attend a night out with a veiled lady and watch a concert by the ghost of Chopin.
Part Three - A small interlude as the Golds prepare for the party.
Part Four - Our protagonists meet the Black Banshee and its uncanny creator.
Part Five - A dinner party and preparations for the last ride of the Black Banshee.
Part Six - Blackburn’s evil plan is finally in play!
Kate and Maximus stepped in line right after Blackburn, and the crowd followed close behind. They moved through from the dining car into a car with seats lining the walls.
Kate noticed that the red of the last room was not repeated here. Instead, black material lined the walls and ceiling, and Kate could swear that there was some sort of tubing just under the surface. The windows again were beveled glass and distorted the small amount of light that came through. The room itself was dimly lit, but Kate could see that the chairs lining the walls were not your ordinary train car seats. These were individual chairs, all in black and all one piece. The other strange thing was that they lined the walls facing inward. There were about twenty in the car. Kate felt claustrophobic as she stood there, and more people entered. This was not the room for a relaxing train ride.
“Everyone,” called Blackburn, “quickly choose a seat. Though these will not be the final designs for seating aboard the Black Banshee, my engineers have assured me that these will keep you safe and secure throughout the rest of the trip.”
Kate was wary of stepping forward and sitting in the black jaws of the seat in front of her. She could feel her husband’s hesitation as well.
Blackburn stepped toward them and put a hand on Maximus’ shoulder. “Please, my friend. Stay back with me while the others are sitting. I have something I want to share with you.”
Lafayetta was at his side instantly, her cloaked figure soundlessly moving across the carpeted floor. “Master,” She said, and Kate was taken aback by the strangeness of the term. “I do not believe this is a wise choice.”
“Nonsense,” Blackburn replied. “Mr. Gold has shown himself to be a man of similar sensibilities.” He raised his hand off of Kate’s husband’s shoulder and raised it as if to backhand the shrouded woman. The medium did not raise her hands for protection.
She stood her ground, and Kate barely heard her whisper, “As you wish.”
Blackburn guided the Golds to the far end of the car, and there in the gloom stood a tall item covered in a black curtain.
As the last of the guests were seated, Blackburn walked to the middle of the car, glancing at each seated individual in turn.
“We have gathered,” He began. “The elite of our city. Those who live and work on the edge of the West. We have gathered to witness the glory of my newest invention and the breaking of a speed record.” Blackburn shook his head as if this was of no consequence. “But, what would you give to not just be a witness? How many of you would be a part of history?”
There were a few questions thrown back at the speaker and more than a few nervous and negative statements. Dr. Albert began to rise from his seat, but Blackburn’s movement in his direction kept him rooted.
Kate grabbed her husband’s arm. This was all the prompt Maximus needed to raise a voice.
He maneuvered himself in a protective stance in front of Kate as he asked, “What’s your game, Blackburn?”
“Ah,” replied Blackburn as he turned from the seats and moved back toward the end with the covered object. “The ‘socialite snoops’ are finally seeing something afoot.”
Kate caught a small movement to her right as Lafayetta flipped a lever causing braces to move across the legs and stomachs of those seated in the black chairs.
A loud mummer sounded in the room as the seated guests began to protest and try to lift off the black bars.
Blackburn raised his voice to calm the protests, “Ladies and gentlemen, I assure you that this will protect you from the velocity we are about to achieve, but I am afraid you will still not survive the night!”
Kate could see that Blackburn’s ranting was bordering on madness. As he spoke, she stepped over to Dr. Albert’s chair and ran her hands across the brace. It felt like a large pipe. She caught her finger on something sharp protruding from the middle of the bar. Even in the low light, she could see the huge needle. She deduced that the brace would provide protection, but the needle did not fit Blackburn’s claims. As if in answer to her thoughts, the needle shot out from the pipe and stabbed into Dr. Albert’s stomach near the navel.
Kate jumped back, startled by the sudden violence. She saw that whatever was in the needles had placed the good doctor and the rest of the guests into a deep sleep.
Maximus took her arm protectively. “Good God, Man! Have you gone mad?”
Blackburn looked their way, and Kate saw that his face was contorted into a mad grin, and a pistol had appeared in his hand. “I apologize for the weapon. I believe that once you see my true purpose here, I will be able to put it away, and we can talk business.”
He motioned to the medium as he came closer, “Please unveil what is under the curtain, my dear Lafayetta.”
The woman pulled the curtain off of the object with a great flourish. Before them stood a crimson chair, much like the ones that the seated guests were locked in.
“You wanted to know what ectoplasm can do, Maximus, my friend.” Blackburn laughed maniacally. “I assure you that it will be the fuel of the future!” Blackburn said as his medium climbed into the chair. A bar matching the one that held the guests in place came up to cover Lafayetta’s waist.
“This train will be the fastest locomotive ever created, and it will run on the ectoplasm of the pompous and privileged of this city.”
Just then, the medium began to chant softly.
“I found Lafayetta in the mountains of Siberia. A child bought from her peasant family and made a slave to a powerful magician and alchemist. Her master had seen the potential for greatness in her and taught her how to conjure and call up spirits as well as how to control the physical material of the soul. The material that we call ectoplasm. Her spirit will guide the ectoplasm out of the bodies gathered here, and the tubes will send it up into the engine of the train. Then, she will cut it off from returning, and their combined life forces will give the Black Banshee the fastest engine ever created!”
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The Black Banshee was first published in a slightly different form in the anthology - Machina Mortis: Steampunk'd Tales of Terror. Pick up the book for some other great stories.