Page 115 of The Paid Companion

Arthur hurled himself to the side as the rod descended toward him. The bar narrowly missed his skull. He reached out, seized one of Parker’s ankles and jerked violently.

Parker shouted in rage and staggered in an attempt to free his leg and regain his balance. He raised the rod again, preparing to deliver another crushing blow.

Still half lying on the floor, Arthur suddenly released his captive.

Caught off balance, Parker swept out an arm and moved back hastily in an attempt to find his footing.

“No,” Elenora shrieked.

But it was too late. She watched in horror, her hands to her mouth, as Parker’s desperate attempt to catch his balance carried him straight into the path of the deadly beam of light.

He screamed once as the ray burned through his chest in the vicinity of his heart. The dreadful cry bounced off the walls.

It ended with horrifying suddenness. Parker collapsed like a broken clockwork toy. The searing ray continued to shoot into the stones directly behind where he had been standing a second before.

Elenora turned away, unable to look at the terrible scene. Her stomach lurched. She was afraid she was going to be violently ill.

“Elenora.” Arthur was on his feet, moving swiftly toward her. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” She swallowed heavily. “Is he—? He must be.” She dared not turn around.

Arthur stepped past her, careful to avoid the light beam, and knelt to check the body. He rose quickly.

“Yes,” he said. “He is most certainly dead. Now we must find a way to switch off that device.”

“The knob on top, I think. “

A strange, low rumble interrupted her. At first she thought that the iron cage was once again in motion. Then she realized with horror that it was coming from Jove’s Thunderbolt.

The rumble became a low roar.

“Something has gone wrong,” Arthur said.

“Turn the knob.”

Arthur ran to the workbench and started to wrench the knob. He drew his fingers back instantly.

“Damnation. It’s as hot as live coals.”

The muted roaring gradually changed into a high-pitched whine that was unlike anything Elenora had ever heard. The red beam projecting from the device grew less steady. It started to pulse in a strange pattern.

“Let’s get out of here.” Arthur came swiftly toward her.

“We can’t use the cage,” she warned. “Parker said it could not be made to operate unless one knew the secret for unlocking it.”

“Not the cage. The lost river.”

He reached her side, gripped her shoulder and propelled her toward the crypt at the back of the laboratory.

She did not understand what he was talking about, but she did not argue. On the workbench the machine was turning a dull red as though it was being heated in the intense flames of some monstrous forge. The strange, shrill sound emanating from it grew louder.

It certainly did not require a genius of Newton’s caliber to conclude that the thing was about to explode, she thought.

She fled with Arthur into the crypt. The dank smell hit her with great force. Arthur lit a lantern. They got into a tiny, shallow-bottomed boat.

“I see now why you came alone,” she said, balancing cautiously.

“This craft will only hold two people,” Arthur said. He grabbed a pole and used it to propel the boat away from the stone dock. “I realized I might need to use it to bring you out.”