Ghostwalkers by Jonathan Maberry Read Free Book Online Page A

trip and fall on their face, old chap,” said Looks Away. “You see there was a man I met while at university in England. An American scientist and inventor. Rather a brilliant fellow by the name of Percival Saint.”
    Grey frowned. “Why’s that name so familiar?”
    â€œHe was an advisor to President Grant,” said Looks Away.
    â€œOh, hell yes. He was a slave as a kid, but he escaped. Took a bunch of other slaves with him and went north.”
    â€œThat’s the man.”
    â€œThe papers said he went to college and got himself a degree. Went back down South after the Confederate States of America abolished slavery and helped build some factories and design some new farm equipment. I heard that he’s been making weapons, that he’s a gun maker.”
    Looks Away sniffed. “Calling Percival Saint a ‘gun maker,’” he said with asperity, “is like calling Michelangelo a ‘house painter.’ Doctor Saint has more doctorates and degrees than you’ve had hot dinners. He is a great, great man.”
    â€œWell pardon the living hell out of me.”
    â€œI met Doctor Saint when our Wild West show visited Sweden. We gave a special performance in October for the birthday of his friend and colleague Alfred Nobel.”
    â€œDynamite Nobel?”
    â€œThe same. Our show was held at the Bofers Ironworks factory in Kariskoga where they make the steel for certain types of cannons. The factory used several of Nobel’s metallurgic techniques there, and there is a rumor that he plans to buy the company. We gave a show for the staff and several hundred guests. I had arranged with Doctor Saint and Mr. Nobel to use some of their experimental chemical combinations to create a fireworks display that served as our finale. It was all quite exciting.”
    â€œAnd you’re drifting away from getting to the damn point,” growled Grey.
    â€œNot really. It was during my discussions with Doctor Saint and Nobel that the subject of ghost rock came up. This was a few years ago, mind you, during that big surge to find the stuff. Naturally both men had a great interest in the rock and its potential. They both saw it as a great weapon of war. They had each done some, shall we say, casual experiments with it.”
    â€œ Casual ?”
    â€œDid you hear about the big fire in Chicago some years back?”
    â€œWho hasn’t? The Great Fire they call it. Back in ’71.”
    â€œThe very one.”
    â€œWhat about it?” asked Grey. “I thought a cow started it. Kicked over a lantern…”
    â€œBalderdash. There was no cow in the story at all. At least not one that mattered.”
    â€œI don’t—.”
    â€œAll of the reports by those who witnessed the start of the fire,” continued Looks Away, “described a great flash of light that was like nothing they’d ever seen.” He smiled. “Care to guess what color that flash was?”

 
    Chapter Eleven
    Grey narrowed his eyes. “Now we’re getting somewhere. This blue flash … it’s some kind of ghost rock weapon? Is that what I’m pulling from your mosey-round-the-mountain way of getting to a goddamn point?”
    â€œIn a word,” said Looks Away, “yes.”
    â€œShit. A weapon that raises the dead?”
    â€œAh, no … that would be what Doctor Saint and Mr. Nobel refer to as an unfortunate and unforeseen side effect.”
    â€œUnfortunate hardly seems to come close to it.”
    â€œNo,” said the Sioux, cutting another uneasy look at the corpses, “it does not.”
    Grey got the fixings for coffee from his saddlebag. “Might as well have something to keep us up while we talk this through,” he said. “I sure as hell don’t plan to get any shut-eye while the sun’s down.”
    The Sioux made a face. “I seriously doubt I will ever sleep soundly