The Shadow Effect by Daniel Reiner EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Daniel Reiner
- Language: English
- Genre: Steampunk Science Fiction
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Prelude
Beneath Boston, 1912
Doctor Quentin Allan Gardiner crept through the dark tunnel as quietly
as he was able. The oppressive dampness of a wet Boston Spring seeped
down through the earth above, staining the air with the thick smell of loam
and making the paving stones slick underfoot. He cursed his heart for
beating so strongly, fearing the sound was loud enough to betray his
presence. In his left hand, a spool of twine unwound slowly as he advanced.
In his right, he held a weapon of sorts. He had eschewed the offer of a
revolver, confident that the small, star-shaped piece of soapstone he grasped
would be more effective than bullets against anything he might encounter.
Gardiner had started out with a portable light as well, but it was now in a
coat pocket, switched off. There was enough illumination coming from an
unanticipated source: polished upright columns of quartz, set at irregular
intervals in the outer wall, on his left. At first, he’d thought the glow was
caused by something on the columns—a chemical, or some kind of algae or
moss—but no.
The faint milky glow was coming from within the mineral
itself, providing a series of markers in the gloom. He had counted twelve so
far, each being nearly a foot in diameter and at least seven feet tall. The
investment of time and money to create them would have been staggering.
Who could have done such a thing? And why bury them so deeply? This
catacomb was not recent: It was decades old, if not centuries. And so well
concealed, in fact, that they would never have found it without the
anonymous tip. His colleague who had taken that telephone call, Jebediah
Higgins, only said that it had been a woman with an accent, who had hung
up after delivering her few hints.
So many mysteries here to solve…
The tunnel had started off with a wide curve to the right, but then twisted
fully back upon itself twice, rarely running straight for any distance at all.
Taking into account the numerous bends and turns, he was now unsure of
how far he’d walked, and in what direction. The entrance was in Copp’s
Hill Burying Ground, but he could be under the harbor right now, for all he
knew.
Upon reaching the next cylinder, he dismissed the concerns about his
location. The voices of two men echoed back to him from up ahead,
confirming for him that he was in the right place. One belonged to Higgins,
who had taken the other fork in the path where it had split near the entrance.
The other could only belong to the one whose insanity had drawn them
there.
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