Houdini and the Spear of Destiny

By James Palmer

Harry Houdini-stage magician, spiritualist debunker, illusionist, pulp hero?

Blurring the lines between history and fantasy comes "Houdini and the Spear of Destiny", a tale of two-fisted pulp that teams the legendary magician with his real life friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, for an action-packed tale of occult adventure. While investigating a spiritualist medium, the daring duo encounter the infamous Aleister Crowley, who hopes to avoid a world-wide calamity by resting control of the legendary Spear of Destiny, which pierced Christ's side at the Crucifixion, and can give its owner power over the entire world!

Now the race is on for this potentially powerful artifact. To find it and outwit Crowley, it will take every skill in Houdini's amazing bag of tricks!

This story was featured in Airship 27's The Amazing Harry Houdini volume 1. Also included in this e-book is "Houdini and the Grain of Truth," a short essay on the genesis of this tale. Not to be missed! 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mechanoid Press
• Release date: Mar 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524219543

Book preview

Contents

Other Books by James Palmer

Other Books by James Palmer

Slow Djinn

Archer of Venus

The Clockwork Conundrum

The Drood Enigma

When the Dead Ride

Mummy Train

Into the Weird

As Contributor

Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars

Gideon Cain: Demon Hunter

Mars McCoy Space Ranger Vol. 2

Legends of New Pulp Fiction

The Black Bat Returns

The Amazing Harry Houdini Vol. 1

The New Adventures of Semi Dual

As Editor

Monster Earth

Betrayal on Monster Earth

Strange Trails

Robots Unleashed!

Houdini

and the

Spear of Destiny

James Palmer

A Mechanoid Press Book

Houdini and the

Spear of Destiny

(originally published in The Amazing Harry Houdini Volume 1 from Airship 27 Productions)

"If coming events are said to cast their shadows before, past events cannot fail to leave their impress behind them." --Madam Helena Petrova Blavatsky

Martin Beck held up three fingers to the man hanging upside down in a tank of water.

The man inside the tank nodded and redoubled his efforts. Three minutes. He had already been submerged for three minutes. Reaching inside the secret compartment in the floor of the tank—hidden from the audience by the riveted metal frame that held the thick glass of the tank in place--he produced a key. Holding it carefully between his outstretched thumb and index finger, he carefully inserted it into the lock on the heavy manacles that bound his wrists. Even after performing this maneuver hundreds of times, there was still the possibility that he could drop the key and lose precious time, and even more precious oxygen.

There was a barely audible click, and the manacle that fettered his right wrist was free. Now able to move more freely, he made short work of the left manacle; it fell to the bottom of the tank with a heavy thunk.

Now Harry Houdini bent his body upward to free his legs, a strenuous maneuver made even more difficult by the pull of gravity and the density of the water. He wouldn’t have much longer now; already black spots were starting to dance in front of his vision.

Freeing his ankles would be another matter, for they were each secured by two different and separate padlocks, each chosen by a member of Scotland Yard. He inserted his trusty skeleton key into the first padlock and twisted it. It wouldn’t budge.

From the corner of his eye, Houdini saw his agent, Martin Beck, standing at the side of the tank with two fingers held aloft.

The magician twisted the key again and the padlock hasp sprung free. He used it on the other padlock before removing both, righting himself, and then shoving the top of the tank open to thrust himself into the life-giving air of the theater.

The small crowd clapped and cheered as a soaking wet Harry Houdini climbed over the side of the tank and dropped to the stage floor, his arms outstretched in triumph, a huge grin upon his face.

His agent gave him a towel, which he wrapped around his short frame with a flourish. Now wearing the towel like a magician’s cape, he waved to the small crowd of reporters, photographers, and city dignitaries that had come to see the escapist’s special preview showing.

For a second there I was afraid you wouldn’t make it, said Beck in Houdini’s ear.

The handcuff king rubbed his wrists. Don’t worry about me, old friend. You know I’d never disappoint a crowd.

"Let me guess. You were cutting it close