“I’m guessing that’s not a doughnut,”he said.
“No,” said Jim, “it a blood cell.”
Jim's veterinary training meant herecognised a lot of the diagrams as various body parts and internal organs. Butother parts of the book showed pipes, wires and valves. There were alsochemical formulas and symbols. It required a knowledge of engineering,chemistry, biology and mathematics that was way beyond his education orunderstanding. He glanced at the opposite page and saw a cross section diagramof a pair of lungs, filled with blood vessels that spread like tree branchesfrom the lung’s centre. Parts of the picture were indicated with long arrowsand annotated by notes done in a virtually undecipherable scrawl.
“And somewhere in here is a cure?”said Jim, looking doubtfully at Bill.
“I’m sure of it,” replied Bill.
He was pacing up and down with a bowedhead. He felt an overwhelming sense of despair. There was something disturbingabout looking into those pages. Beryl had made him study it many times, wasquite vehement in her insistence that he did so, but it was just asundecipherable now as the first time he’d seen it. He somehow knew itwas important, that it did explain the cure, but his memories andknowledge was scant, only a few months old, so how could he ever penetrate itsdepths?
He was about give up when somethingmade him flick to the end. Near the back was a section called ‘Day Notes’. Heremembered this was a sort of diary. “I think we should look here. We may havea chance of at least understanding this bit.”
The others nodded without muchconviction or interest. The first few pages were all about daily activities inthe lab. The Doctor was adding blood to small samples of ceare to see whathappened. It formed tiny balls of flesh that transformed into fingers or toes.He would study these under a microscope and treat them with various chemicals.
Bill flicked over a few pages until hegot nearer the end.
“Hey look,” said Ophelia, “He’stalking about Rowena, the girl from my journal.”
Ophelia pointed at the page and theyall leant forward, trying to read the spidery handwriting...
Wed 7th May1873 – 7pm. Today is a great day for science! After much hard labour theScrinium Regenerationis – my Cabinet of Rebirth – is finally ready for a humansubject. It has worked most successfully on animal regeneration withoutreinfection. My first subject was an infected mouse, then I had great successwith infected rabbits, and the final animal experiment, a contaminated pig(whose physiology is surprisingly similar to ours, says the esteemed MisterDarwin) has gone in and been cured. Her piglets are suckling without issue, herblood is normal, as is her behaviour. I have yet to make a couple of lastminute adjustments to the feed – the sulphur mixture should be tempered with 1%more arsenic – but it is finally ready. I go now to inform dear sweet Rowenaand my good patron Lord Percy. Tomorrow they shall go inside and be cured oftheir damning sickness.
Thu 8th May1873 – 11pm. Percy has made the most dreadful error of judgement. He hasconfessed all to the Apostles! They know about his and Rowena’s paganisticinfection. He has described the Scrinium Regenerationis and its properties. I’mhorrified to learn that the Apostles have murdered poor Percy – Lord of thisparish and my patron is now nothing but ceare in one of their caskets!
Fri 9th May1873 – 1am. The Apostles marched into my laboratory like an angry mob. Theytold me such abominations as my cabinet and the liquid pumped into veins shouldnot be allowed to exist. It’s God’s role to judge and save, not man’s. I wastold to get out of Underwood and never come back. I left them with a heavyheart as they smashed up my laboratory, wrecked the Scrinium Regenerationis, the summation of mylife’s work, and went to rescue a frightened and wretched Rowena. I stole heraway from them, to the Unicorn pub in the village, where I scribble this entryby candle in my room. We plan to catch the first stage to Middenmere.
Fri 9th May1873 – 11am. Disaster of the most heinous nature has stuck us! I’m afraid poorsweet Rowena was consumed by the lust of Arddhu Og last night. She came into myroom, cursed and bit me. Now I am as she is, enslaved to Og. She was most upsetand confused but I told her to go back to bed. We can still journey to my housein Middenmere and get the Vita Dantis we require.
I waited for her earlythis morning in the snug, but she failed to appear. When I went up I found thatshe was gone. I saw her journal on the table and I am afraid to say I stole alook inside. She recorded how she planned to go off into Briar Wood at dawn andkill herself in the old underground mausoleum. Poor sweet girl! I took herjournal for safekeeping.
My plan is to wait forthe next stagecoach. I have a thick cloak with a hood – as sunlight will reactwith my skin’s new chemical composition. So here I wait in my room, feeling thestrange urges of this most wretched form of paganism begin to take hold...
Fri 9th May1873 – midday.
The stage is outside butthe Apostles are in the pub, searching for Rowena. If I am found and myinfection discovered then I am surely to be murdered...
I will hide my preciousjournal, repository of my life’s work, and Rowena’s diary under the bed. TheApostles may have them destroyed and I can’t allow that. When I get to HillHouse I will send a servant back to retrieve them.
Theirreading was interrupted by loud knock at the front door.
Daisy jumped and gave everyone ananxious look. “Would that be the kids? Come back to say sorry?”
“More likely come back to curse us,”said Arthur.
“Well they won’t be getting inside anddoing that,” said Jim.
He’d boarded up all the windows thatmorning. The light was
