Lady Jessica, Monster Hunter: Episode 4: Tooth And Claw

By Keith Dumble

England, 1889.

Lady Jessica McAlpin is the commander of The Black Diamonds, the Great British Empire's covert monster-hunting division.

With her crew of criminals, misfits and desperadoes, Lady Jessica soars above the land in the airship HMS Zephyr, tracking down the diabolical foes of the Empire.

Reports have surfaced of warring clans of werewolves battling in the north. Their savage attacks are not limited to their own kind, and The Black Diamonds are sent to remove the problem - using any means necessary. But when they arrive at the remote village on the edge of the Empire, Lady Jessica realises things may not be exactly what they seem...

Tooth And Claw is the fourth episode in a series of action and character driven steampunk adventures featuring Lady Jessica and The Black Diamonds.

Lady Jessica will return in Episode 5: The Bloody Tower

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keith Dumble
• Release date: Jan 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311259844

Keith Dumble

I am a writer from Edinburgh, Scotland.I write history, mystery and speculative fiction, focusing on the sci-fi and fantasy genres. As an indie author, I regularly publish short stories, serials, novellas and longer works of fiction on the main e-book platforms.

Book preview

Lady Jessica: Monster Hunter

Episode 4: Tooth And Claw

by Keith Dumble

Copyright © 2014 by Keith Dumble. All rights reserved.

Cover copyright © 2014 by Keith Dumble.

www.mcalpinpress.com

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Reproduction in whole or in part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited.

Thank you for purchasing and supporting my work. If you have enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review wherever you bought this book.

Keep up to date with the ongoing adventures of The Black Diamonds at

www.ladyjessicamonsterhunter.com

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

LADY JESSICA: MONSTER HUNTER

CHAPTER ONE

Aerial Attack

The skies over Hertfordshire, 1898

SHE HEARD THEM before she saw them. The buzzing drone of the engines, then the cracking of their guns.

'Evasive action!' Jessica shouted into the brass mouthpiece beside the steering wheel. She craned her neck, trying to spot whatever was firing at them.

'Three o'clock!'

Jessica turned to her right, to the position Flint had indicated. He was manoeuvring the Gatling, swinging it on its gears to aim at the oncoming attackers.

Four of them, flitting like insects towards the Zephyr. Small, dark and nimble. Personal attack vehicles, of the kind used by the aerial squadrons. Each piloted by a man. Each carrying a gun.

'Open fire!' Jessica ducked, a bullet zipping past her head.

Flint had not awaited her command, the thick barrel of the Gatling already whining as it rotated.

'Commencing ascent, ma'am.' Atsu's voice was calm, suggesting she was deep in trance. Jessica and she had discussed this very scenario many times: if the airship was under attack from foes like these, then the navigator would change their course, guiding the airship to an altitude which the smaller craft would be unable to attain.

Jessica staggered backwards as the prow of the Zephyr began to lift, then righted herself as the gas filled the rear of the dirigible and the deck levelled. The temperature dropped as the ship rose swiftly, heading for the base of the clouds.

A ringing in her ears as the Gatling spat its fury. Flint stood, feet wide apart, sweeping the weapon in a smooth arc. The attackers darted in the air, attempting to dodge the spray of bullets hurtling towards them.

Three were successful. The fourth continued to fly towards them in a straight line, before the fire from its engines engulfed both craft and pilot and it spiralled like a dying ember to the ground.

'Get below, Jessica!' Flint turned to her, his black eye glinting, his teeth gritted in determination. 'I'll see to this little annoyance.' A bullet ripped through his greatcoat and thudded into his shoulder. He didn't flinch.

Jessica nodded, making for the hatch. Flint was not only an expert gunner, but thanks to his vampyric condition, the assailants' bullets were as effective as pebbles against a mountain.

Feet thudded on the wooden planks of the deck behind her. Jessica whirled, facing the boarder. His eyes were obscured by his goggles, his mouth twisted in a snarl of hatred.

'For the fallen!' He advanced towards her with his sabre drawn, the steam belching from the engine strapped to his back.

The Gatling continued to spew molten death. Behind her advancing foe, Jessica saw another craft fall from the sky; then heard the faint crump as its engine exploded. She switched her attention back to her attacker, her sword in her hand.

The air was thin. Jessica breathed shallow as she waited for her foe to make the first move. A burst of fire from the Gatling; a curse from Flint, obviously having some difficulty targeting the last of the attackers.

'Who are you? Who are the fallen?' The same term the bomber on the overground railway had used, before attempting to blow them to pieces.

'Empire slave!' His curved blade flashed through the air; Jessica swiftly deflected it with a twist of her sword.

'I don't want to kill you.' Jessica leaned backwards; the sabre sliced through the air where her head had been moments before. 'Drop your weapon.'

'Scum.' He spat on the deck. 'Your days of ordering others are drawing to a close.' He clutched the sword with both hands, pointing its tip at Jessica's heart. The crack of gunfire from her left, where Flint was still trying to hit the last of their airborne foes.

The currents whipped at Jessica's skirts, the red crinoline flapping at her legs. Her eyes narrowed beneath her goggles as her assailant raised his sabre above his head, preparing to strike.

'Got the bastard!' The Gatling's whine dropped in pitch as its rotation slowed. From the corner of her vision, Jessica saw Flint advancing towards her, drawing his revolver.

'Your last chance,' she said. 'Surrender.'

The man's jaw clenched. He glanced towards Flint, a trace of a smile appearing on his lips. 'See you in the hells!'

Jessica's felt a chill as he turned the blade on himself, grimacing as he drove it into his stomach.

'By the stars,' said Flint, stopping close to Jessica's side. 'What is it with these idiots?' The blood blossomed from beneath the attacker's body, his breathing slowing as his life ebbed away.

Jessica sheathed her sword. 'They have conviction, William.' She knelt by the prone figure on the deck, feeling for a pulse. There was none. 'A cause they believe is worth dying for.'

'Cretins,' he said, hoisting the body over his shoulder. 'No damn cause is worth paying that price.'

'Maybe not,' said Jessica, 'yet it makes one wonder what the insurgents believe we have done to them.'

'This one need worry about that no longer,' he said, throwing the corpse overboard before Jessica could stop him. 'And I will ensure his fellows have real cause for concern should I encounter any more of them.'

'I thought you had a certain amount of