A Baneful Bequest, Part 5 of 6
Previous installments: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Orion drifted in black, but briefly. The world snapped back into focus, and he found himself sitting in a leather office chair, the Thompson submachine gun on his lap.
"I died then," the voice said. "I won't show you the rest. Your senses probably can't process it."
"That man... what happened next?" Orion asked. He was vaguely aware that he was no longer in his grandfather's study, but didn't particularly care.
"Your grandfather woke up."
"I knew it!" Orion yelled. "Well, what then?"
"The woman---her name was Frederica Lemaire---was trying to get the sword out of my body. Wedged in the ribs, I suppose. So old Spendlove got his hands on my weapon, and shoved my body off him. She kept trying for the sword, so he shot her to ribbons, then burned her body for good measure. It was glorious to watch."
"But... what are you? Some kind of ghost? The ghost of Jack?"
"I can explain that in a moment. First, if you'd be so kind, I need you to hold down the red button on the panel behind you and turn the key at the same time."
Orion turned, and was surprised to see what looked like a control panel straight out of a science fiction movie. Or possibly a nuclear reactor control room.
"What does this do?" The button and key next to it were unlabeled.
"It saves your life," the voice said, grimly. "Look at the monitors above you."
There were several large flat-screen monitors mounted above the control panel, split into smaller video screens. Most of the screens showed empty rooms, but three of them showed moving people. People armed with rifles, stacking up on the exterior entrances.
"Who---" Orion began to ask, but he was cut off.
"Please, do it now. I can't do it for you. They're here to finish the job they started by killing your grandfather."
"What?!"
"The button! The key! Now, before they get in!" the voice bellowed.
Orion finally complied, and a low hum filled the room. It sounded like a distant motor.
In the house above him the exterior doors magnetically sealed, and steel shutters slammed down across all the windows.
"Good," the disembodied voice said. Or was it actually in his head? Orion couldn't tell. "Crisis averted. They stand no chance of getting in now.
"So, what did you want to know?"
...
They talked for about a half hour as the armed men outside milled about, trying to break in. The intruders' attempts to batter down the doors were fruitless, and Orion had a good laugh when one of the men attempted to break in a window and was shocked into convulsions by the electrified shutter. After about twenty minutes the men withdrew, but "Jack" said it was a bad idea to turn off the defenses until help could arrive.
He refused to explain exactly who the men were, though, and simply said they were after Orion's grandfather's files. Apparently, the house defenses had disarmed when Orion entered the house. Otherwise, he was very forthcoming.
Jack explained that the purpose of the ritual had been to imbue the sword with the power of a human soul, or rather, to enslave the soul to the will of the wielder. Instead, the magic the cult leader had been using when she stabbed him through the back with the sword had blown his own soul into his Thompson.
"I'm not in the Thompson," he explained, "but I am tethered to it. I've been working with your grandfather ever since."
"Working how? What did he do? What were you doing in that tunnel? What was the Nylund Expedition? Who was that woman?"
"Slow down, boy! It'll take time to explain. It would've been better if you'd been around to learn the trade from your father and grandfather, but, well..." Jack trailed off.
Orion opened his mouth to continue pestering Jack, but was knocked from the chair as the whole world shook violently. An alarm began to sound, and smoke and dust filled the air.
The door to the room slammed shut and fans whirred, clearing the air in moments, but Orion couldn't convince his body to stand. "Oh, hell!" Jack swore. "The preservation protocol has activated. Don't worry, boy. Help will be here soon."
It was the last thing Orion heard as his eyes drooped shut and the world faded away again.
Thanks for reading. Part 6 will be up tomorrow evening.