The
A
Cordelia Delacourt Adventure
Chapter
5
Rampage
Cordelia stood helpless before the Baron, her face red with anger. She had gone through the motions of the marriage ceremony, stalling for time, hoping to find some way to escape her predicament. “You promised to let me see Miss Brown once the marriage was over. I demand you keep your word.”
“I made no promise about Miss Brown other than the fact that I would keep her safe. I assure you that she has not been harmed and will not be as long as you behave as a faithful wife should.”
“I don’t trust you,” Cordelia said. “Any man who would drug two helpless young women is too depraved to be trusted. I demand to see Miss Brown.”
“You will see her soon enough. On the day of the transplant you will be side by side. You can watch while I implant the bio-mechanical device inside her.”
Cordelia weighed her chances. There were four other men in the room; big men obviously chosen as von Thorstenburg’s bodyguard. In spite of the fact that Cordelia had learned a few things about defending herself she wasn’t sufficiently skilled to deal with four men or even one if the man was well trained. However, she had no intention of allowing the Baron to consummate the marriage. Sooner or later she and the Baron would be alone; she doubted that he would want to bed her in front of his guards, and when they were…
A horrible scream interrupted her thoughts. It was a sound of pure terror followed by one of pain. Cordelia had heard that sound too many times before to mistake it. Something terrible was happening to someone.
The Baron turned, his attention no longer on her. “Anders, Erik, see what is happening. Hermann, Gerhardt, restrain my wife.”
The Baron stood and watched while Hermann and Gerhardt closed in on her. “Restrain my wife!” Anger flooded through her at the outrageous order. As Hermann reached her she slammed her palm into the middle of his chest. The blow, coming from what the two men had assumed was a helpless woman caught the man off guard and knocked the breath out of him.
“Restrain her, I said,” von Thorstenburg roared.
Hampered by her long white dress Cordelia turned awkwardly to deal with
Gerhardt. Unfortunately her foot
caught in the hem and she stumbled, allowing Gerhardt to seize her arm and
giving Hermann a chance to recover.
She twisted her body remembering the street fighting tactics she had
been taught by the explorer and adventurer, Henry
Burton. She had learned a lot
of things from
She couldn’t kick, but she could punch and her fist struck the desired area with all the strength she could muster. With a howl of pain Gerhardt released her, his hands going to his injured genitals. It gave Cordelia the chance to retreat. Reaching down she grabbed the hem of her dress and ripped the fabric apart, freeing her long legs. She was just in time and used them to good advantage as Hermann came at her.
In spite of her earlier attack on him, the bodyguard was completely unprepared for a woman who knew how to defend herself. He came at her, arms outstretched and more than a little distracted by the length of bare leg Cordelia had exposed. She feinted toward his face causing him to move his head back and then she foot-swept him. Caught off balance, he slipped and crashed heavily to the floor.
Von Thorstenburg stared at her with a mixture of anger and astonishment. Then he moved, but it was not toward her, but toward the bed. At first Cordelia couldn’t understand his action, but then it became clear as he yanked off the coverlet. “Now get her,” he ordered as Hermann and Gerhardt recovered. “And make sure she is unharmed. I don’t want her bruised.”
Hermann and Gerhardt, taking their cues from the Baron, moved to flank her while von Thorstenburg came at her holding the coverlet. “Cowards,” Cordelia shouted. “Three men against a helpless woman.”
“Not so helpless,” von Thorstenburg replied, as he tossed the coverlet, “but you soon will be.” At the same time Hermann and Gerhardt came at her. She tried to duck under the coverlet, but the two guards boxed her in. The coverlet fell, enveloping her, while the two men leaped upon her pinning her arms to her sides.
“Put her on the bed,” von Thorstenburg ordered. “Chain her wrists to the bedposts. She will be like a virgin waiting for the sacrifice.”
Kicking and struggling, the two guards lifted Cordelia to the bed. Entangled in the coverlet, she was helpless before their superior strength. While one man held her the other pulled out her left arm. Still shrouded in the coverlet, Cordelia could not see what the two men were doing, but the cold touch of metal as a shackle was placed about her wrist told her that von Thorstenburg’s orders were being carried out. She tried to wrench her arm away, but there was a sharp click and then the unyielding strength of chain.
With a feeling of complete helplessness Cordelia felt her other wrist shackled and then she was spread out on the bed, her arms to either side. Although not tightly shackled, the chains prevented her moving her hands more than a foot in any direction. Lying on her back and looking up at the guardsmen she felt a familiar sickness come over her. Anyone could take her at any time and she was helpless to prevent it. However, the Baron had no intention of taking her just yet. There was still the frightful clamour from the lower regions of the castle.
“I will return, my wife,” von Thorstenburg said. “As soon as I deal with this disturbance.” He turned and left the room, followed by Hermann and Gerhardt.
“Bastard,” muttered Cordelia. It was a most unladylike expression, but her fear and frustration submerged her normally refined vocabulary. She could do nothing but wait until the Baron returned, hoping against hope that whatever had distracted him might permanently delay her fate.
Liz led the five escapees into the vast cavern. Amazingly it seemed deserted and she remembered that no one had been in it when she and Cordelia had been given the guided tour the previous day. The Baron seemed obsesses by secrecy; not a surprising attitude considering what he was doing.
Heinz looked around with what seemed mild curiosity. He was the only one of the transplants who seemed have much in the way of intelligence and Liz wondered if the Baron’s operation had somehow robbed them of their intellect. Whatever the case they seemed more interested in finding a way out of the cavern than investigating. However, Liz wanted to do more than escape. She wanted to rescue Cordelia and her aunt as well as teach von Thorstenburg a lesson.
Sadly, Liz’s scientific knowledge did not extend to understanding much
of anything in von Thorstenburg’s
laboratory. However, there was
one thing that she knew a little about.
She remembered Cordelia chattering merrily away about dynamos and
other sources of power during the long coach ride from
She knew that dynamos needed something to make them turn; either a steam engine or some sort of water power. She had seen lots of water wheels during her travels and since there did not seem to be any sign of a steam engine she looked for a water wheel.
She followed the dynamo back to where a spinning spindle emerged from the wall. Over the noise of the dynamo she could hear an even louder noise, a thundering sound like that of a waterfall. She noticed that there was lever protruding from the wall and unable to think of anything better to do pulled it.
With a low rumble a partition moved aside, revealing a large metal wheel that spun rapidly as a sheer column of water falling from above struck the vanes. Water splashed over her, soaking her to the skin in just seconds and explaining why the wheel was enclosed behind a waterproof door.
“Bloody, ‘ell,” Liz swore, jumping away from the chillingly cold water. But even as she did an idea was forming in her mind. She noted that the spinning wheel, which she now recalled Cordelia had called a ‘turbine,’ was controlled in its rotation by the weight of the falling water and that there was a large wheel regulating the flow from a vertical pipe just above the turbine. She wondered what would happen if the flow of water was increased.
“Nuffink ventured, nuffink gained,” she muttered. “Guess I’ll ‘ave to get wet again.” She stepped close to the falling water and turned the wheel, opening the full flow of the water into the turbine shaft. There was a pronounced roar as the water thundered against the turbine blades. The entire turbine began to shake violently as its speed increased far beyond what was evidently intended.
“Cor blimey,” Liz gasped. “Time to get out of ‘ere.” She turned and ran to the sound of restraining bolts tearing loose from the stone floor. The electric arc lights flickered, registering the fact that the power supply was being interrupted. Halfway across the cavern there was a sudden grinding crash from behind and the sound of the dynamo ceased. The carbon arc lighting went off and stayed that way, plunging the cavern into darkness.
Liz skidded to a halt. There was too much equipment in the laboratory to run wildly across the cavern in complete darkness. “Coo, this makes things a little more complicated.” She knew the approximate location of the door, but it would take her awhile to find it in the Stygian darkness. She started forward and had taken only a few hesitant steps when she was suddenly splashing through water. Behind her she could hear the sound of the water that had once turned the turbine as it flooded into the cavern. Apparently her little act of sabotage had resulted in the outlet for the water becoming blocked. Thousands of gallons of water were now pouring into the cavern seeking another outlet. She wondered what the combination of water and huge amounts of chemicals and electrical equipment would do. It was something she didn’t want to be around to witness.
Far across the cavern there was a sudden glow. Liz stared at it for a second before realizing that someone had opened the door leading to the outer lab, which was lit by gaslight. The transplants seemed to have found the door and were making their way out of the laboratory. Liz sloshed toward them. In spite of the size of the cavern the water was already up to her ankles.
She reached the door and followed the implants up the stairs. Ahead of her she could hear screams and shouting and she slowed her pace. Much as she wanted to rescue Cordelia and Priscilla she had no wish to run into a full-fledged battle, and she did not particularly trust the implants not to attack her if she happened to blunder into them.
Slipping into the space behind the main staircase Liz moved cautiously toward the foot of the stairs. She got her first inclination of what was going on when she discovered the bloody body of one of von Thorstenburg’s servants lying at the foot of the stairs. The man did not appear to have been armed, but there was no way of telling for certain as whomever had killed him may have taken what weapons he had.
Suspecting that Cordelia was probably upstairs she stepped around the body and ran up the staircase. At the top she found a toppled suit of armour. She seemed to remember that when she had passed the armour the first time it was holding a large weapon that seemed to be a combination spear and axe. Cordelia had told her the name once, but she couldn’t remember it. In any case it was gone and it took very little imagination to guess who had taken it.
From up ahead came another terrible scream and then the sound of a gun being fired followed by several more screams and what sounded like fighting. Certain that Cordelia must be somewhere in the rooms occupied by the Baron, Liz kept moving until she suddenly came to a scene of complete carnage.
Littering the floor were several bodies; four of them Liz recognized as being those of the transplants she had released. Heinz was the only one who was missing. The other bodies were those of von Thorstenburg’s servants and guards. Still standing were five men, three of whom were armed with rifles. They were carefully checking the bodies of the slain transplants to make sure that they were dead.
Liz shrank back into an alcove. Thanks to the fact that the light was dim no one seemed to have seen her. Her plan for creating a distraction seemed to have worked, but only up to a point. The way to the Baron’s rooms was still blocked and she didn’t know the castle well enough to take an alternate route.
Still, there must be one. Liz knew a little about the way upper class households were organized. As much as possible servants were expected to keep out of sight. That meant that there was probably a way from the servants’ area of the castle to the rooms of the Baron and Baroness. Retracing her steps, she returned to the bottom of the grand staircase. Somewhere there should be a door that led to the kitchens.
She found it by following the smell of food. Not surprisingly the ruckus that had broken out in the other area of the castle had drawn off the kitchen staff or sent them all into hiding. It was deserted except for a kitchen boy to huddled in a corner as Liz moved thorough the room. As she passed she paused for a few seconds to substitute a large cleaver and a carving knife for the small surgical knives she had taken. Then she moved up the servants’ stairs toward the upper floors.
She encountered no one and soon found herself moving along a dimly lit corridor that appeared to pass behind the various grand rooms occupied by the Baron and his guests. Servants’ doors opened on either side, and Liz tried them only to find that the rooms she checked had obviously not been occupied for some time, although they had been maintain in expectation of possible guests. Finally, however, she came to one where she could hear voices.
Opening the door a fraction she peeked into the room and saw a large bed upon which was Cordelia’s helpless form. “You won’t get away with this,” Cordelia was saying. “Your scheme is entirely mad. Don’t you expect the authorities to come looking for me? My aunt left word where we were going. The British government won’t stand idly by and let its citizens be kidnapped.”
“Perhaps not,” answered the Baron’s voice. “But we can debate this at another time. I must leave you for a few minutes while I check on what is happening elsewhere. Until then, adieu.”
There was the sound of a door opening and then closing and Liz eased her door open wider and stepped into the room. She immediately realized her mistake. Standing by the door, his hand still on the door handle was the Baron. He was pointing a heavy Colt revolver directly at her middle. “I thought I detected movement in that door. Did you think I would not be aware of the servants’ passages, Miss Brown? This is my castle.” Now kindly put down the kitchenware and I won’t have to shoot you.”
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