Technomancer (Unspeakable Things: Book One)

chemical reaction. These rips in space are similar in nature: they don’t last forever without some substance to keep them going. I am able to create the spark that starts the reaction, that’s all.”
    “And you use
blood
for fuel? Why not wood or tap water?”
    “I’m not exactly sure why, but most substances don’t work. Recall what I said about utilizing technology one does not fully understand—in this way, we are like most computer users. We can read our e-mail, but have no comprehension of the complex process by which it actually appears on the screen.”
    “All right,” I said. “So only blood fuels your power? That makes you some kind of vampire.”
    “We don’t use that term,” Gilling said stiffly.
    “I’m not surprised.”
    Gilling pursed his lips for a moment in irritation before continuing. “Once these openings in space start burning, only organic fuels seem to work. Blood happens to be a veryconvenient, efficient source of fuel. We tried store-bought meats, both cooked and raw. They couldn’t sustain the reaction. Freshly killed animals do marginally better, but only for short periods. A significant flow of warm blood, however, has moved us into a new realm of power!”
    His eyes lit up as he spoke. I found his manner disturbing. The pistol in my hand, which I’d let dangle while we talked, perked up seemingly of its own volition. Some part of my mind had decided the world might be a better place if this man were dead. But I didn’t shoot him. Instead, I asked him another question.
    “And the poetry?”
    “Oh, that. Again, functional. It helps me keep my mind focused as I maintain the opening. I have to think about where I want it to go while I set my fire, you see. If I’m distracted, I make mistakes—poor Hugo.”
    Indeed, I thought, staring at the table where a man had died earlier this eve, his torso merged with a sheet of glass.
Poor Hugo.
It was very different now, thinking of these people as individuals, as people who were caught up in a new kind of science humanity had never met up with before.
    I had a thought then…what if we had discovered these things before? At a previous point in history?
    “Gilling,” I said, “do you think the witches of the past—do you think they might have discovered something like this?”
    “Undoubtedly,” he said. “Keep thinking about it. You’ve just uncovered the source of little men from other worlds. The truth behind both ghosts and goblins. All the things we’ve sought to erase from our consciousness with the clear light of modern science.”
    “So, you’re saying our science simply isn’t sufficiently advanced to understand these things yet?”
    “Correct. And what a society doesn’t understand it rejects and labels as heresy. Welcome to the ranks of the heretics, Mr. Draith.”
    He smiled at me, but I didn’t smile back. He’d given me a lot to think about, and I didn’t like most of it. I tried to remember my immediate goals. I wanted to know who was killing people I came in contact with and why. I wouldn’t mind learning about my past life either—regaining my lost memories one way or another. Barring that, I’d settle for finding out how I’d lost them and who was responsible.
    “Is your cult—excuse me,
coven
, responsible for the mysterious murders around town?”
    Gilling licked those bright red lips. “There have been a few regrettable deaths,” he said. “Hugo is a case in point. Others have sought to steal our objects. We thought you were one of those, an attacker.”
    I told him of my persecution, of the inevitable demise of those who came near me. He listened closely and his frown grew as I went on.
    “We’ve been aware of the deaths. But our purpose has been experimentation and greater understanding. We’ve not engaged in any kind of assaults upon individuals.”
    For some reason, I thought he might be telling the truth. For one thing, the rift I’d stepped through before had led to the world of the Gray Men, not the basement of a ring of cultists. On my list of suspects, the Gray Men had moved up a notch, despite the shady nature of the cultists. I decided to proceed on another topic.
    Gilling raised a hand to stop me. “This conversation seems more like an interrogation, Mr. Draith,” he said. “Let me understand our relationship. Are you interested in joining us or not?”
    “You kidnapped my friend Holly and manacled her in your dungeon. You were going to kill her. Why would I want