gravitate upward in any household: odd pieces of furniture, old paintings in heavy frames, a cracked mirror and two large steamer trunks. The bulk of the stored items had been left behind by the previous tenant; only the trunks belonged to Adelaide. Thirteen years spent on the road did not allow one to collect a great many personal possessions.
“The lamp is inside that trunk,” she said. She took one step into the room and nodded toward the second of the pair of steamers.
Griffin went past her and stopped at the large trunk. She watched him, aware of the seething energy swirling in the atmosphere. Not all of it was coming from the lamp. Much of it emanated from Griffin and for some inexplicable reason, she found it utterly enthralling.
“The artifact most certainly belongs to you, sir,” she said. “There cannot be any doubt. It is obviously an object of enormous power. But I find it difficult to believe that your ancestor actually thought it could endow him with additional talents.”
“I have translated the old bastard’s journal and studied it for years but even I don’t know the full truth about the lamp.” Griffin did not take his eyes off the trunk. “I’m not sure that Nicholas, himself, understood what he had created. He was quite unstable at the end. But he did not doubt the lamp’s power.”
She moved a little farther into the room. “You said that Nicholas and Sylvester Jones were first close friends and later rivals?”
“Mortal enemies would be a more accurate description. I suspect that they were both driven at least partially mad by their lust for additional paranormal talents as well as by their own alchemical experiments. They were convinced that if they solved the secret of enhancing psychical powers they would add decades onto their normal life spans.”
“The ultimate alchemical quest.”
“Yes. They believed that the paranormal state was so entwined with the normal physical state that an increase in talent would have a therapeutic effect on all the body’s organs.”
“But researchers have discovered that too much psychical stimulation drives one mad.”
“That’s certainly what Arcane’s experts have concluded.”
“There is some logic to the theory. Overstimulation of any of the senses results in pain and physical as well as psychical damage.”
“We’re talking about a couple of mad alchemists, remember. They did not approach the problem the same way modern scientists do. Sylvester tried to achieve the goal through chemistry.”
“The founder’s formula. I remember my father mentioning it. But surely that is just another Arcane legend.”
“I cannot say.” Griffin leaned down to unlock the trunk. “But I do know that my ancestor was more of an engineer. He was skilled in crystals and metals. He forged the lamp with the intention of using its radiation to make himself more powerful. But when the device was completed he discovered that he needed a dreamlight reader to manipulate the energy he had succeeded in trapping inside the thing.”
“Someone like me.”
“He found such a woman.” Griffin opened the trunk and contemplated the drawers built into each side. “Her name was Eleanor Fleming. According to the journal, Nicholas seduced her into working the device for him on three different occasions.”
“Why didn’t he just offer to pay her for her efforts?”
“He did. But the price she demanded was marriage. Nicholas had no intention of marrying a poor woman from a much lower class.”
“So he lied to her.”
“He agreed to the bargain, or so the story goes. He most certainly slept with her and produced offspring. I am living proof that that aspect of the legend is true. But because they had a sexual relationship there are still those within Arcane who believe that such an intimate connection is necessary before the artifact can be activated.”
Memories of the night in the brothel slammed through her. She swallowed hard and then cleared her
“The lamp is inside that trunk,” she said. She took one step into the room and nodded toward the second of the pair of steamers.
Griffin went past her and stopped at the large trunk. She watched him, aware of the seething energy swirling in the atmosphere. Not all of it was coming from the lamp. Much of it emanated from Griffin and for some inexplicable reason, she found it utterly enthralling.
“The artifact most certainly belongs to you, sir,” she said. “There cannot be any doubt. It is obviously an object of enormous power. But I find it difficult to believe that your ancestor actually thought it could endow him with additional talents.”
“I have translated the old bastard’s journal and studied it for years but even I don’t know the full truth about the lamp.” Griffin did not take his eyes off the trunk. “I’m not sure that Nicholas, himself, understood what he had created. He was quite unstable at the end. But he did not doubt the lamp’s power.”
She moved a little farther into the room. “You said that Nicholas and Sylvester Jones were first close friends and later rivals?”
“Mortal enemies would be a more accurate description. I suspect that they were both driven at least partially mad by their lust for additional paranormal talents as well as by their own alchemical experiments. They were convinced that if they solved the secret of enhancing psychical powers they would add decades onto their normal life spans.”
“The ultimate alchemical quest.”
“Yes. They believed that the paranormal state was so entwined with the normal physical state that an increase in talent would have a therapeutic effect on all the body’s organs.”
“But researchers have discovered that too much psychical stimulation drives one mad.”
“That’s certainly what Arcane’s experts have concluded.”
“There is some logic to the theory. Overstimulation of any of the senses results in pain and physical as well as psychical damage.”
“We’re talking about a couple of mad alchemists, remember. They did not approach the problem the same way modern scientists do. Sylvester tried to achieve the goal through chemistry.”
“The founder’s formula. I remember my father mentioning it. But surely that is just another Arcane legend.”
“I cannot say.” Griffin leaned down to unlock the trunk. “But I do know that my ancestor was more of an engineer. He was skilled in crystals and metals. He forged the lamp with the intention of using its radiation to make himself more powerful. But when the device was completed he discovered that he needed a dreamlight reader to manipulate the energy he had succeeded in trapping inside the thing.”
“Someone like me.”
“He found such a woman.” Griffin opened the trunk and contemplated the drawers built into each side. “Her name was Eleanor Fleming. According to the journal, Nicholas seduced her into working the device for him on three different occasions.”
“Why didn’t he just offer to pay her for her efforts?”
“He did. But the price she demanded was marriage. Nicholas had no intention of marrying a poor woman from a much lower class.”
“So he lied to her.”
“He agreed to the bargain, or so the story goes. He most certainly slept with her and produced offspring. I am living proof that that aspect of the legend is true. But because they had a sexual relationship there are still those within Arcane who believe that such an intimate connection is necessary before the artifact can be activated.”
Memories of the night in the brothel slammed through her. She swallowed hard and then cleared her
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