Industrial Magic
Page 101

I like to read in the bath, too, I said. But that seems a bit extreme.
Especially with no running water, Aaron said.
I would assume its used as a mixing basin, Lucas said. Though it seems rather large for the purpose and it would likely have required removing the cabin floor to get it down here. Perhaps it has a greater significance, a relic of some sort.
Cassandra looked up from the journal shed been reading. Youre both right. It would be used for mixing a compound, then bathing in it. Ingestion is the most common way to take immortality potions, but immersion is also popular.
Find anything? Aaron said, looking down over her shoulder. At least its not in code.
It would be better if it was, she said. A code can be deciphered and broken. Instead, what theyve done is put in only enough detail to remind themselves what they did.
Huh?
She lifted the book closer to my light-ball. March seventh, 2001. Tried variation B again with fresher source material type Hf. No change. April twelfth, 2001. Expanded variation A to include source material type Hm, subtype E. No change.
Shit, Aaron muttered. Is it all like that?
Cassandra nodded.
Whats the date on the last entry? Lucas asked.
June of this year.
A month or two before Natasha left him, I said. Any idea what they were doing at the time? Maybe something changed, made her decide to leave?
Cassandra handed me the journal. Its exactly like the other entries. They talk about materials and variations and subtypes, but nothing specific.
I moved beside Lucas and held the journal between us as we read the last half-dozen pages. Then I flipped to the start of the book, which dated back to 1996, and skimmed to the present.
The only change I see is a gradual increase in ingredient Hf and Hm. It appears on and off in the earlier entries, then becomes a regular ingredient in the last year. Otherwise, the entries are pretty similarvariations A through E, methodologies A through K.
Lets see what other goodies we have, then, Aaron said. He scanned the equipment shelf. Lots and lots of unlabeled, half-filled bottles. He grabbed one, pulled out the stopper, sniffed it, and gagged. I may be invulnerable, but please dont ask me to taste-test anything.
I took the bottle from him and sniffed. Sulfur. He handed me another one. Rosemary. I eyed the shelf and named three more from looks alone. All fairly common potion ingredients. Same with the dried stuff. Half these things you could pick up in any New Age shop.
Which could mean that this is all theyuse, Cassandra said. Or it could mean that theyve hidden the more damning ingredients.
Time to start looking for more cubbyholes, Aaron said. Ill get the top shelves.
He ran his hand over the highest shelf, which appeared empty. As he swept along it, he dislodged a bottle and sent it crashing into the tub. Cassandra reached into the tub and touched the bottom, beside the broken pieces.
Dry, she said. It was empty.
She started to stand, then stopped, and ran a finger along the inside of the tub. With a frown, she leaned farther in, then shook her head and straightened.
See something? I said.
She shook her head. Its been scrubbed clean.
I believe Ive found something here, Lucas said.
He was crouched in front of the equipment shelf. I expected to see another doorway behind the shelf. Instead, he gestured at the shelf itself, which hed cleared of bottles. When I looked, I saw not a wooden shelf, but a drawer. It seemed too shallow to hold anything. Then Lucas pulled back the velvet cloth that lay over the contentsa row of surgical instruments.
They, uh, could be veterinary tools, Aaron said. Some questers use animal sacrifice. Its discouraged, but it does happen.
I met Lucass gaze. Hm and Hf.
He gave a slow nod. Human male and human female.
Cassandra said nothing. When we looked over at her, she was bent over a hole in the floor, where shed taken off a section of board.
Whats that? I said.
She slammed the board back into place. More ingredients. Theyrehuman.
Aaron squatted beside her and reached for the loose board, but she held it fast to the floor.
You dont need to look, either, she said.
Ive lived through Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, and Jeffrey Dahmer. Nothing under that board is going to shock me.
Its not going to make you sleep any easier, either. She looked at us. Ill draw up an inventory of whats in here, and package it if youd like. For now, I can tell you that they were using body parts, from multiple humans, and they werent retrieving them from graveyards.
Her gaze skittered toward the tub. She blinked hard and looked away.
It smells of blood, doesnt it? Lucas said.
I caught a whiff of something, and I thought it might be blood, but I cant pick it up again.
Aaron ducked his head into the tub. He inhaled, then shook his head. Nothing. Thats one smell we can always pick up but Im not He stopped. Scratch that. I caught it. Very faint, but definitely human blood.