Lodestone Book 2: Of Greed & Lies & Puppets

Part 3

The mess of winding caves opened out to a wider gulch or gully deep underground.

A stone ridge spanned the gap like a platform and there was the gush of an unseen river that echoed somewhere in its depths.

'Oh no,' Flora remarked, as she fought for breath. 'Over that way's the wide open area we came from, with the workshop. We've come full circle.'

Henry was the last to catch up. He heaved for air and leaned on his staff like a crutch.

'Running might be easier without you wearing all that metal,' remarked Irene.

Henry didn't have the breath to argue.

'Shh!' Aisling hushed the others and pointed to the far side of the gulch.

Somewhat incongruously, the frontispiece of a mansion was set into the rock wall.

The mansion featured columns that had plume-like embellishments at the top and were arranged across the building's façade.

The long, rectangular windows were framed by arches and stone balustrades, and they were lit from within by electric lights.

Outside the house was a garden made entirely of stone, with handsome walls and archways that separated statues, fountains, and lawns made of raked pebbles.

'I think they're still following us. We have to hide,' Henry said with dismay. Together, the miners crept up to the house and hid behind its garden walls.

Gifrey's automatons soon arrived, and marched towards the house. They arrived in two files of maybe a dozen each. They wielded pickaxes and shovels as well as factory tools such as heavy spanners and mallets.

The synchronised, relentless stamping of the automatons didn't falter even as they turned their heads this way and that and scanned for their quarry.

A balcony door opened on the upper floor of the mansion set into the rock wall, and from it emerged a man.

He wore a white jacket as a doctor or chemist might wear and hobbled as though he had a false leg.

One of the man's arms appeared to be encased in brass, as was one side of his skull, into which a glowing green monocle was set that covered his eye.

'Oho! What's this? Old Gifrey finally making his move?' the man roared.

The man whipped up a device which he wielded like a musket and aimed it at the first automaton that marched down his path.

The miners flinched as a blast emitted from the end of the man's device. It was as loud as any hunting-rifle.

A flash of lightning erupted from the device's end and struck the nearest marching statue.

In rapid succession, the man cranked a lever and gave more repeated blasts. One automaton fell and others lost chunks and crackled with fire, but they didn't break their relentless march towards the mansion.

The golden child caught up with the group of mechanical men as fast as his steady jog allowed him.

'Halt!' he cried, after a click and a whirr.

As one, the automatons ceased their advance.

'Aurelius? What's the meaning of this, boy?' the hobbling man demanded as he emptied a collection of metal rods from his lightning device and stuffed new ones back in their place.

The golden boy made his way to the front of the group. Now that the noise of the skirmish died down, a distant baying, howling, wailing, and screeching could be heard from the enraged fae in the caves.