The Other Place
(a semi-musical Steampunk Goth hybrid story)
Blog Nineteen: The Final Chapter, For Now
Caedar-writing-artwork.com
Author of BARD: Owner Of The Gemstone
Now standing on the floor below, Chief Shabuni notices that he is becoming visible. Approximately twenty steps away, standing on a spiraling staircase, is a well-dressed man wearing a mauve waistcoat with silver embroidery over a thick chest, and matching breaches over legs that are long and thick. This is the one the vampires called, Abhilesh.
“We need to get up those stairs, Dimoso,” Roisin Moodlive says inside his head.
A booming clicking sound causes him to cover his ears.
“The Inventor, and Mr. Clockwind, have finished the Passage Clock,” Moodlive tells him. “You need to finish your task here, before the hierarchy awakes from the sisters’ attack.”
The urgency in her voice both calms and invigorates him. Tipping his chin, with a scowl on his face, he pumps his arms as he speedwalks towards the staircase.
He sees a smile cross Abhilesh’s well trimmed face as he approaches. “I have no quarrel with you. In fact you remind me of H.G. Well’s Invisible Man.”
“You know of the books by authors’ who never existed?” he asks. His pounding steps grow softer and slower.
“What’s real, depends on which place you’re in.” Abhilesh presses his back against the curving wall. He supinates a hand and gestures for Chief Shabuni to continue up the stairs.
As he passes, he hears the immortal whisper, “Things are going to get exciting, when the minute hand of that clock, ticks again.”
“Hurry!” Moodlive shouts in his head.
At the top of the stairs is a wooden door with yellow light flowing through the space at its bottom. He turns the phoenix shaped doorknob and pushes the door open.
The room is aglow with sunlight. He feels perplexed. Except at the far end of the room, lichen and vines with flowers, grow all around.
A young woman with long auburn hair leans against a curtained window. Her green eyes gaze his way as she turns a tiny clay vial between a finger and thumb.
He just stares, dumbfounded as she walks towards him.
“An end to a beginning,” she says in a lilting, ethereal voice. She takes his hand, and it reminds him of how big he truly is. She places the vial against his palm. “Countess Idris’ castle exist both here and in what you would call, the Real Place. Once you return, call her Lady Iris once again. She’ll want those anti-gravity stones to control the passage between there and here.”
“Where do you come from, milady?” he manages to ask.
“I am Valeriya Tetyana, and I come from the Place of Fey. Perhaps you’ll visit there in the future.” She places a lithe hand onto his chest, over where Roisin Moodlive resides. “She’ll help you. But there are many more adventures for you to complete, before that can occur, Chief Shabuni.”
Thanks To:
Jennifer Deslaurier for portraying Valeriya Tetyana @jenniferdeslaurier
Also, Thanks To:
Taylor Norris, RMT for portraying Lady Evelyn Oolong taynorris@gmail.com
Joanne Gosling for portraying Lady Marina Steamsail Jgosling@calclosets.com
Leah Weir for portraying Countess Thelma Milde
Dianne McBride for letting me use numerous of her pictures diannemcb@gmail.com
Fireandsteel.ca for the Perched Drake cane sword and Dragonrider folding knife (see Exclusives)
Brandon Gray for portraying “The Inventor” in Books by Authors Who Never Existed. His wife Robin Gray for his costume and makeup. Robin can be reached at @grayandwhitelaw Custom Decor and Designs
Her new website is: https://gray-and-whitelaw-101684.square.site
Bob Godglick of Considerate Done: Vintage Clock Repair, for portraying Mr. Clockwind in Books by Authors Who Never Existed. Bob can be reached at:
519-897-0419
Honourable Mention:
Fatima Rosarium @fatima.rosarium cosplayer, fitness coach, WBFF Fitness Pro
In April, I will be introducing a fictitious weekly blog story based on professional wrestling.