Page 51 of Across Space and Time

“Evening,” Jack said, gesturing with his hand but not lifting his own hat.

“First time?” the man asked, and Jack gave him a chuckle.

“Indeed. Special invitation.”

“Well, you are in for a treat,” the man said, and the woman giggled. “Come, we’ll help you find the way.”

“Ah, splendid!” Jack said, offering his elbow to the woman’s free side. The woman blinked behind her mask but then took his arm. The other man chuckled and then led them through the doors that gave a rusty-sounding screech as they were opened.

The lobby was also in disrepair, though it looked as though much of the debris had been cleared away. There were a few candles in globes further inside to cast villainous shadows about the walls and to lead them across the moldering carpet to the doors that led into the main theatre. The walls had been originally painted with fat cherubs and flowing-haired angels in a Renaissance style, though now much of the artwork was faded or had been defaced by vandals. Some of the plush red velvet seats were broken or had been removed, but the first two rows were intact, and Jack could see several people already sitting in them, all with masks on as well. His escort and the woman he assumed was the man’s wife led him down the aisle and gestured for him to take a seat in the second row. Jack did, sliding in next to an older-looking gentleman. He glanced around again, spotting the Duke of Westchester in the front row and a few seats to his right; he wore a mask like the others, but there was no hiding his portly body. Jack swiftly counted the assembled people as several more entered and took seats nearby as well. Eleven, including himself. He knew he could overwhelm several of them if needed, but he did not know how well Hugh was able to fight, or if he would even be willing to do so in the first place.

A man dressed in an elegantly cut gray suit with a gray top hat and wearing a gold mask over his eyes suddenly walked out onto the stage, stopping in the middle of it like an actor about to deliver a soliloquy. “Ladies and gentlemen.” The elegantly dressed man lifted his hands, and the room fell silent. “I welcome you on this most auspicious night to our beautiful Garden of Eden. We have a new member joining us. The rather notorious Spring-Heeled Jack.” The man lifted his hand and gestured straight at Jack. Everyone turned to look at him.

He had not been expecting to be introduced, but Jack rose to his feet and gave a dramatic bow, the way he had when he had first introduced himself to Hugh. “Thank you. My most gracious felicitations for allowing me to join your gathering.”

Several people tittered, but the man on stage did not seem at all perturbed by his theatricality. “We are glad to bring you into our ranks, Spring-Heeled Jack. My name is Adam.” The gray-suited man gave his own little bow, not quite as grand as Jack’s had been.

Jack lifted his hat in acknowledgement; no reason to hide his identity now, he supposed. Gasps and mumbles went through the assembled group as he revealed his horns.

Adam clapped his hands, seeming to be delighted. “Stunning!” he announced. “Perhaps we could have a demonstration of your abilities later, Jack.”

Jack gave them all a dazzling smile. “As you wish.” And then he sat back down in his seat.

“Now,” Adam said, going back to addressing the crowd. “The entertainment is there for your pleasure. Nothing is off-limits, though we ask you not to leave Eden until the Waking has worn off. If there are any concerns, please bring them to me directly. Come.” He turned his palms up and made a ‘rise’ gesture. The assembled, masked group all rose, and Jack followed their movements. Adam moved to stage left and came down the creaking, wooden stairs there before he crossed over to one of the painted wall panels. Jack could see that it was a depiction of Adam and Eve, standing naked in the Garden of Eden on either side of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, a green serpent coiled around its trunk and entwining itself amongst the bright red apples there. Adam suddenly pushed a decorative piece of molding, and the Garden of Eden wall panel swung inward, revealing a lit set of stairs going down.

The rest of the group began to descend the stairwell, the Duke at the front. Jack followed them at the back of the group. Adam waited for him to step inside the hidden passage and head down the stairs before he came in after them and pulled the panel shut. Jack heard something click and realized the panel had locked itself back into place. He wondered if it could be opened from this side or not.

The lights leading down the stairs were not gas, but incandescent bulbs with wires running between them. Jack turned to look at them curiously. Adam stopped behind him. “Amazing, aren’t they? We had this fitted with electricity. It’s the way of the future.”

“Indeed,” Jack said, reaching up his iron clawed-tip fingers to touch one of the bulbs cautiously. It was hot, though it did not bother him. “Extraordinary.”

“Are you really Spring-Heeled Jack?” Adam asked.

Jack turned to him in surprise. “Have you met others with horns like mine?”

Adam laughed brightly. “Can’t say that I have. Are you the Spring-Heeled Jack that was seen at the beginning of the century as well?”

“Ah, no,” Jack said, waving his hand and giving a long-suffering sigh. “That was not I. Though it very possibly could have been another like me; we do tend to pop up in quite mysterious places and times.”

“Fascinating,” Adam said, gesturing for Jack to keep walking, and he did, the gold-masked young man following after him. “My father did say that you were able to scale his manor house with no trouble.”

“Your father?” Jack asked curiously.

Adam looked for a moment like he wasn’t sure if he should respond before he shrugged. “My father is the Duke of Westchester.”

“Ah, I see!” Jack said. “I’m afraid my knowledge of the aristocracy is lacking, so you’ll forgive me that I do not know much about either of you.”

“Quite all right,” Adam said with a smirk. “You do not need to know more to enjoy our hospitality.”

The stairs curved a little and then suddenly came to an end in a cavern that branched off in several directions. The people ahead of them seemed to know where they were going, and Jack followed them, Adam bringing up the rear. The walls were built of stone, and there were arches everywhere leading off into what looked like other hallways. It was a veritable rabbit warren, and even Jack, with his usually excellent sense of direction, found himself quite turned around.

They came out into a large, open cavern that was brightly lit with gas lamps that sent flickering shadows up over the uneven stones. At the center of the room was a circular, wooden table with chairs arranged around it. In front of each place was a gold plate. And resting on each plate was a singular red apple, each one rosy and fresh as if it had just been plucked from its branch.

The other masked guests were already taking seats around the table in front of the plates. Jack turned to Adam, giving him a small smile. “I’m afraid as the newcomer, I do not understand this situation.”

“You are more than welcome to simply observe for your first time,” Adam said, gesturing to an empty chair, and he took the one to the left of it. Jack sat down, glancing curiously at the apple. There was a faint golden sheen on it when the lights flicked over it, but it otherwise looked and smelled like an ordinary apple.

Adam stood at his seat and raised his hands again in a showman’s gesture. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Garden of Eden. Where you may fulfill your wildest dreams and desires and become the gods you are meant to be.”

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