Free Chaos Magic by John Luxton

of beta world is breaking through into our world. The corpses mark the points of ingress, and afterwards nothing more will pass through those spiral gateways.”
    “But won’t that be a good thing?” the detective interrupted.
    “Demons and angels, detective, angels and demons; the portals balance these energies, and from them all life, good as well as bad, extends.”
    “So what’s the point, if it just creates a stalemate?” asked Detective Z.
    “All Quiphoth will stream into the Vertical Abyss in a final Armageddon and Alpha world will blink out and be gone forever. And we will all be slaves of the Serpent Noire.”
    “The Vertical Abyss – what’s that?”
    “Let’s take a trip and I will show you, Detective. I’ve been waiting for a new crew member to show up.”
    “Will I find Lorna there?”
    No answer was returned.
    Joel went up on deck to make ready for their journey whilst the detective sat grim-faced at the galley table. After a minute Detective Z stood up carefully, removed his overcoat and climbed up to join Joel who was coiling a length of rope. He handed a windlass to the detective.
    “Crank the handle to raise the anchor. On a rising tide we sail for the Abyss .”
    Detective Z took his orders and set to his task.
    Later as the Alembic Valise slipped out of the creek and into the Thames, Detective Z returned to the cabin to find a waterproof jacket, as it had started to drizzle. There he heard a soft beeping sound coming from his coat. It was his cell phone, the alarm indicating that the battery was about to expire. Great , he thought, adrift in the multiverse with no charger . There were some messages and he began to check them quickly. One was from SC4, the Forensic Division. It was a photograph of the face of the dead girl found on the foreshore. He only saw it for a second before the screen went blank. He knew her face. It was Lorna’s opponent, seen on the poster still lying on the galley table: Chloe ‘Cold Fury’ Andretti.
    Back on deck Detective Z saw that the fog and drizzle had combined to produce a metrological pea-souper, making it impossible to get one’s bearings. He supposed that they were now out in midstream as neither bank was visible and the boat was making slow progress against the run of the tide. The only sound the rumble of the twin diesel engines laboring at their task.
    He climbed the steps to the wheelhouse, fully expecting to find Joel; there was no sign of him. In alarm the detective quickly scanned the deck; his alarm turned to panic and he grabbed the freely spinning wheel, holding it tight, looking around desperately, navigating blindly.
    He slid the window open and called but could discern no sound above the rumble of the engines, just a muffled silence broken by the cry of a seabird. He tightened the brass damper in the centre of the wheel, in order to keep a steady course, and went back out onto the deck and looked into the fast running water. After a while he figured out he was alone. Maybe the he fell overboard or took off in an unseen dingy , he thought.
    Back in the wheelhouse he noticed a torn piece of paper tacked to the wall; it was a map of the Thames as it ran through the centre of London – someone had drawn a cross with a red marker pen. He looked more closely; it indicated a spot on the northern bank – Vertical Abyss was written faintly next to the cross. He turned it over to see a diagram; it was a ground plan showing the layout of a building. Entrances and exits were marked, as was a pathway right from the bank of the Thames. He then reapplied himself to his newly acquired role of navigating safely down the river to places unknown.

Chapter 17
    CALYPSO COLLAPSO
     
    Finally Alan heard the rattle of keys. He readied himself to fly at his gaoler. The door opened but this time it was Simon Magus who entered the room; dark circles under his eyes and the smell of brimstone on his clothes. Alan saw that he carried a small shiny device in his left