Into the Darkness

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© 2014 by Harriet Wilson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 01/22/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8585-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8586-4 (e)

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Contents

Foreword

Prologue

Beware of the Messenger

The Key

The Chapel

The Demise of Miss Jibes

The Lost Rose

Blackstone Manor

Above the Clouds

A Beacon of Light

Molly Perkins Café

Bomber Braddock

The Shadow of Evil

Sneaking Out of Paris

Everyone is going East

The Hero of the Silver Star

Nowhere Land

Cosmic Forces

Never say yes to a stranger

Knights of the Realm

Lo Chow’s moment of command

A blast from the past

Have faith in the cat

The Assassin

Ring of Fire

Leaving Ghost Mountain

Epilogue

A Harriet Wilson Tale

Foreword

Professor Nathan Isobar Gladwick is an eccentric schoolteacher turned adventurer. His adventures take place from 1926 and into the 1930’s.

Into the Darkness is part of a trilogy, the first being The Eyes of Beelzebub, in which Nathan Gladwick, intent on following in his father’s footsteps, takes a group of children, with his cockney housekeeper, Rose, on a trip to Egypt. He also takes his cat, Cleopatra, who he has discovered can talk. Before leaving on his quest for fame, he is approached by Dr Rudolf Kazzan, an enemy of his father, who wants to buy some ancient maps that his father had hidden at the school before he died.

They travel by boat, where the children befriend Lo Chow, a Chinese seaman, coach, driven by a crazy Scotsman, camel and train, pursued by Dr Kazzan in his small plane. There is also another shady character in the background, which is never identified.

At a meeting with his Father’s solicitor in Cairo, Nathan discovers that his father was obsessed with the idea that there was a power hidden beneath the sands of Egypt.

After an eventful journey, taking them from Alexandria to Cairo, and finally to Luxor, the professor decides that his fortune will be found at Amun-Ra. After entering the Avenue of Sphinxes, they came across the secret lake, where he meets Vandrone and his falcon, Zaghlul. Their meeting is brief, because Nathan is led at speed into the desert by his cat, Cleopatra, disappearing into the mystical world of the Shadow People and then on to the valley of the Titans. After coming close to losing his life, he reaches the silver domed Temple, where he discovers Cleopatra’s true identity and he is shown the Book of Time. He swears an oath that will gradually change his life from that of a teacher to a super hero.

Follow Nathan, Rose and Timothy with an array of characters, being constantly pursued by their deadly enemy, Dr Rudolf Kazzan on another exciting adventure, Into the Darkness.

Prologue

Nathan stood by the study window, wistfully watching the last of the boys from Gladwick Hall drive off with their parents for the Easter holiday. A feeling of satisfaction and pride spread through him when he thought of what he had achieved in the last year.

None of this would have been possible without the fateful trip to Egypt with Rose and the children. He closed his eyes as splintered memories of that journey flashed before him; the storm at sea that nearly took his life, followed by the shimmering view of Alexandra under the arc of a rainbow; The meeting with Charles Rawsha in Cairo, where he learned of the history between his father and Rudolf Kazzan; The eventful train ride to Luxor; The Temple of Karnak and the discovery of the secret lake; Meeting Vandrone and his falcon, Zaghule; Cleopatra, his cat, leading him to his final destination; His encounters with the shadow people and the Titans on his quest to reach his goal; The oath of allegiance he had sworn, which would change his life forever.

His last image was that of Dr Kazzan, his father’s sworn enemy, with whom he had battled throughout, hurtling towards the earth in his aeroplane before the crash.

He knew the threat from the shadow people would always be present and, one day, he would have to face them again. He wondered when that would be and where his next journey would take him.

Chapter One

Beware of the Messenger

Rose looked up at the station clock. She was a bit early, but she didn’t want to miss her train. She smiled at the station master as she walked onto platform four. It looked deserted, except for a scruffy looking dog curled up outside the waiting room. As she walked towards it, she noticed a strange looking man on the facing platform. He was tall and dressed in black, with a patch over one eye. He had a wooden stump supporting what was left of his right leg. He turned and his eye met hers, then he stepped back into the shadows. She gasped. He looked like a broken version of that man who had followed them in Egypt. But no, he couldn’t be. She had seen his plane crash. She was letting her imagination run away with her. She frowned, feeling uneasy, and quickened her step.

Stopping outside the waiting room, she stood, admiring her reflection in the window. Absorbed in her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed the small man who had been following her. She felt a tug on her coat and looked down to see a dwarf of a man, dressed like a city gent.

‘Rose Martin?’

She pulled her coat away and tried to move on, but he grabbed it again, his grip tighter this time.

‘You are Rose Martin of Gladwick Hall?’ When there was no response, he continued. ‘My name is Mr. L C Frinkle, and I was asked to deliver this.’

He held up a small black envelope. Rose desperately tried to pull away from the horrible little man. But he hung on and shoved it into her hand before she could shake him off. Feeling stunned and scared, she looked down to ask him who had sent the letter, but there was no sign of him. She looked up and down the platform, but he seemed to have disappeared into thin air. She studied the black envelope, expecting bad news. Trembling, she opened it and took out a white card, edged in black. In the centre was a black image of a curled up serpent. What could it mean? She looked back to where she had seen the one legged man, but he had also disappeared.

As she tried to put the card back into the envelope, it stuck to her hand, burning into her skin. She felt faint and her head began to swim. A tide of nausea swept over her as her body jerked violently from one side to the other. She could feel her body twisting. When she caught sight of herself in the waiting room window, she saw a distorted face; her nose had become twice the size. There was a large wart on her face, from which two thick black whiskers grew. Looking down, she could see her hands still growing, her nails becoming long and misshapen. Her body had turned into a gaunt, ugly woman, six inches taller with huge feet. Her eyes rolled as she began to lose control and slipped into the darkness.

Major’s ears pricked up as he was woken by the train arriving. He stretched and licked his paws as the locomotive came to a halt. There was now a steady trickle of people making their way down the platform to board the train. But nobody wanted to share a carriage with the strange looking creature, who boarded the train alone, without a backward glance. As the guard’s whistle blew, the engine let off steam as the six thirty for Bridmead pulled out of St Pancras. He stretched once more and curled up to go back to sleep.

*

Timothy was getting bored. It seemed like hours that he had been sitting in the library, waiting for his father to collect him. All the other boys had left long ago. He jumped as Nathan came into the room, half shouting.

‘Where is your father, and where is Rose? She should have been here by now.’ He was clearly not expecting an answer as he paced up and down the room, stopping now and again by the French doors, where he stretched to see if anyone was coming up the drive. The sound of the front door bell startled them both. Nathan smiled. ‘There’s your father Timothy. Please go and let him in.’

Timothy rushed into the hall, sliding across the polished floor and just managing to stop in time to open the door. He stood, lost for words, looking up at the giant of a woman, who was the ugliest person he had ever seen.

‘Y Yes’ he stuttered.

‘You must be Timothy. I be Miss Jibes, Marjory Jibes, Rose’s cousin from Ireland. I be the new housekeeper.’

Timothy was in a trance. He couldn’t take his eyes off the wart on her cheek.

‘Come on, let me in now! I have a letter for Mr. Gladwick.’ She waved the letter under his nose, then grabbed his ear and gave it a sharp twist. ‘Quick boy, I haven’t got all day.’

Pushing the boy aside, she swept into the great hall. Timothy, half walking and half running, made his way back to the library. Nathan was staring out of the window, watching a large bird, which was perched on the bough of the tall oak tree by the old gate house.

‘Sir,’

‘Where is your father?’ interrupted Nathan.

‘It wasn’t him sir. It was a strange lady at the door with a letter for you. She says she’s Rose’s cousin and the new housekeeper. I think she’s a witch’

‘Boys!’ mumbled Nathan as he strode into the hall with Timothy behind him.

‘Here you are then. I’m Miss Jibes, Marjory Jibes, Rose’s cousin. Rose couldn’t make it sir, becoming ill at the very last minute.’

The professor was lost for words. Timothy was right; he had never seen anyone so ugly.

‘She begged me, Mr. Gladwick, begged me to come here and help out, knowing how badly you needed someone. Oh, the postman at the door gave me this letter for you.’

Nathan took the letter, regaining his composure. ‘Thank you Miss Jibes. Would you excuse me for a moment? The professor smiled, gave a little nod and walked into his study, leaving Miss Jibes in the hall. He quickly opened the letter, expecting it to be from Rose, but it was from Timothy’s father.

Dear Professor Gladwick,

I’m sorry to inform you that I am unable to bring Timothy home for the Easter holiday. His mother had become very disturbed at the thought of her son coming home. She has had a relapse of her nervous condition and I have no alternative but to have her sent away to the sanatorium again. I apologise for any inconvenience and will send a cheque to cover any expenses.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Smythe-Brown

‘What next?’ groaned Nathan. He did not relish the thought of spending the holiday with Timothy and that ghoulish person he had left in the hall. He walked out on the terrace, wondering what to do. It