Shaded Secrets

Seance

"He's here." Abby looks away from the book of poetry she was reading and sees her father standing there. He takes in her outfit and nods. She's dressed in a blood red low cut long sleeved dress with black markings in the dress. "Good." He says before heading out of the room. Abby follows him out and down the steps. "Dr. Frankenstein thank you for coming." Victor turns and takes in Abby's appearance, it did not go unnoticed by Malcolm.

"Hello Victor." Abby greets after her father shakes Victor's hand.

"How do you do?" Abby smiles.

"Good and you?" Victor gives a small smile.

"This way." Victor follows Malcolm to the cellar along with Abby. "And how go your researches, Doctor?"

"Ooh! I would say distinctly promising." Victor chuckles, causing Abby to glance his way.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Victor. Everything going good then?" She questions.

"The caprices of science, Abigail." Abby smiles at Victor. He turns the lights on and shows the body of the creature. "God." He walks around to the side and places his bag on the desk beside the table and looks down at the body. He runs his fingers down the body. "How did you get rid of the skin?"

"Carrion beetles." Abby says with a smile.

"Essex?"

"Suffolk."

"Fair enough. Well... This won't last forever so let's get to it." Abby smiles, glad to see Victor in a good mood. He opens his bag and looks at Malcolm. "Blood you say?"

"If you would."

"Have you translated the hieroglyphics?"

"I went about it. They're apparently from the Egyptian Book of the Dead."

"Ah." This catches Malcolm's and Abby's attention.

"Do you know it?" Abby asks.

"Not intimately." Victor answers. He pushes the needle in and takes the blood. "But I've studied theology over the years. The ancient Egyptian religions were unique in a way. They had a single goal. Not transmutation to an afterlife, but something even more profound. Eternal life." Victor looks at the needle in his hand. "But I'm no expert."

"We're seeing a specialist Friday, in fact. I'll have Abigail let you know what we discover." He tells Victor.

"Oh, that won't be necessary. I'm only a dabbler." Abby's eyes catch the book in Victor's bag.

"Romantic poetry, Victor?" She questions.

"Man does not live only in the empirical world." He tells her. "We must seek the ephemeral. Or why live?"

"'If this belief from Heaven be sent, if such be nature's holy plan..." Victor glances at Abby in surprise.

"Have I not reason to lament...."

"What man has made of man." They say together.

~

"Well, I can confirm that it's human blood," Frankenstein says as he looks over the blood that he pulled from the corpse. "Or at least vertebrate. It has the standard erythrocytes and thromboytes." He tells them. "The more unusual properties are beyond my expertise. You'll want to speak to a hematologist."

"Then I'll engage one and you'll consult with him." Malcolm says to Frankenstein.

"I'm not sure that I have the time. My own work..." Frankenstein says as he closes his bag.

"No, you will." Malcolm corrects. He hands an envelope to him. "Your remittance. I hope it's satisfactory." He says as Frankenstein takes the envelope.