The Spiritglass Charade (Stoker & Holmes 2)

The inside of the Oligary Building was as sleek and colorless as its exterior. At each corner, there was a lift that rose to the highest, fifteenth story, stopping at any other necessary floors on the way. In the center of the structure, the grand hall boasted a vaulted ceiling three stories high and painted white with black cogwork designs. The walls were gray, white, and black-tiled, and the white tiles had imprints on them of different Oligary products (cogs, gears, levers, and the like). Six tall palm trees sat in alternating black and white pots at the perimeter of the room, each with its own gas lamp shining on it. The floor was also black and white tile, like a massive chessboard.

Once we entered the exhibition area, I lost track of Evaline. She barreled ahead of me, hardly glancing at any of the displays. I took my time, examining the drawings and various parts of the mechanism.

“Right this way, Miss Babbage. Mr. Oligary is expecting you.”

I turned to see a well-dressed man gesturing to an attractive young woman as he navigated through the display. Presumably the Miss Babbage to whom he’d been speaking, she appeared to be concentrating fiercely on something. Her brows were furrowed and her lips moving. The young woman wore a fashionable blue daydress and a smart bonnet that covered a coiffure of white-blond hair.

“Miss Babbage.” The man hardly disguised his impatience. “Mr. Oligary is waiting.”

“Come now, Olympia.” An older couple appeared from behind another display cabinet. The woman was speaking, and there was a layer of affection in her voice that had been missing from the previous speaker. “This won’t take long, and then we can return home.”

“What? Oh, yes, Merry, of course,” said Miss Babbage, blinking and looking around as if she’d just been awakened. She began to walk more quickly now.

I returned to my examination of the cogs, pins, and pistons of one section of a device called the Difference Engine, which had been a predecessor of the Analytical Engine.

“Mina.” Evaline curled her fingers around my arm. Her voice was urgent and her eyes bulged wide.

“What on earth—?”

“There’s a vampire. Here.”

Miss Stoker

Evaline Engages

Mina rolled her eyes at me. “A vampire? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Not so loud!” I grabbed her reticule, fumbling inside the massive bag. “I don’t have a stake. You must have something in here I could use—”

“A vampire, here? But . . . it’s the Oligary Building. It’s . . . daytime. It’s . . . there aren’t any vampires in Lon—”

“Mina, stop babbling and help me find something to use for a stake before he gets away!”

Blast. What if he already had? I stilled for a moment. No, he—or she—was still here. Somewhere nearby. I could tell by the eerie, unpleasant chill that wafted over the nape of my neck, even though there was no draft.

I hadn’t realized right away what it was. I felt the prickling chill, but it had been so long since I’d encountered an UnDead, and only once at that. But who could forget the uncomfortable sensation of the presence of evil?

“Ah.” I pulled an object from the depths of Mina’s bag. “This could work.”

She was a picture of skepticism and indignation. “You can’t use my—”

But I’d already snapped the wooden dowel from whatever the device was (some sort of measuring implement) and shoved the reticule back at Mina. “I’m going to find him and kill him. You . . . er . . . you’d better get everyone else out of the building. It could get messy. Or dangerous.”

“I can’t just tell everyone to leave because you think there’s a vampire in the building.” The babbling Mina seemed to have gone, and my opinionated, controlling companion was back. And her voice was too blasted loud, for bleeding Pete’s sake.

“Hush. How am I going to take him by surprise if he knows I know he’s here? They walk around looking just like everyone else until they’re ready to attack.”

“Well, where is he? Is it that man over there?” She didn’t actually point at the slender, pale gentleman standing off to the side, but she might as well have done so.

“I’m not sure who it is. It could be anyone.” I tried not to feel foolish, but the skepticism in my partner’s face made it difficult. “I’m going to have to walk around. When I get near enough, I’ll know who it is.” The sensation would grow stronger the closer I got to the UnDead, so I’d be able to identify him that way.

“I’m coming with you. I want to see this so-called vampire with my own eyes.”

“Right.” Who was I to argue? We were wasting time.

The display cases of half-built mechanisms and sheaves of notes and diagrams were even less interesting now that I had an UnDead to track. The uncomfortable sensation over my shoulders became more pronounced as I walked through the gallery. My palms were shamefully damp. Yet energy rushed through me.

I was ready. I was going to do this.

I paused regularly to feel, trying to get a sense of which direction to go. At the same time, I chafed with impatience. The longer it took me to find the UnDead, the more likely I’d find a victim, too.

Something bumped into me from behind. I spun, the slender wooden stake raised. “Mina! What are you doing?”

“My apologies. I didn’t mean to—”

“Forget it. And don’t follow me so closely.” Blooming blasted fish, why on earth was I saddled with a clumsy know-it-all for a partner? She should stick to murder investigations and leave the vampire hunting to me.

“Where is he?”

I had to pause to check my innate sensor. “Through this door, I think.”

“Miss Babbage went this way. There was a man leading her off to meet with Mr. Oligary. And an older couple, presumably her parents or guardians, were with her.” She pointed. “There they are, over there by that entrance to the tower. But I don’t see Miss Babbage.”

I hardly heard what she was saying as I approached the door. There was no sound when I undid the latch and pulled the door open. My makeshift stake felt terribly flimsy as I peered into the dark vestibule. Adjusting the weapon in my damp hand, I felt the telltale prickle. Sharp and cold.

I was going in the right direction. The vampire was nearby.

My breath was unsteady. What if my weapon wasn’t strong enough to do the job?

Mina swished in behind me as I slipped into the chamber. A spiral staircase gleamed metallically in the low light, leading up into one of the towers. But there was also another door ahead of me that would likely lead to the exterior. The area was dusty and filled with cobwebs, lit only by rainy, gray light coming through two small window slits.