Free The Feaster From The Stars (Blackwood and Harrington) by Alan K Baker

aware of the background?’
    ‘I am, sir.’
    ‘Well… I was wondering whether you could shed any light upon it.’
    ‘Ah,’ said Shanahan, shaking his tiny head sadly. ‘I wish I could, sir, believe me I do. But I can’t.’
    ‘May we ask why, Mr Shanahan?’ said Sophia.
    ‘For the reason I spoke of not long ago, your Ladyship. We of the Faerie Realm are limited in our actions by our Covenant with the universe, which we made in ages long past, when we decided to leave the Earth and allow Humankind to assume stewardship of the planet. We must keep our interventions in human affairs to a minimum, and then only in small ways. Besides which, there are certain pressing matters in the deep Æther which require my attention, and I cannot linger here for long, much as I would like to.’
    ‘Really?’ said Blackwood. Playing a sudden hunch, he added, ‘These matters wouldn’t have anything to do with a planet named Carcosa, would they?’
    ‘Carcosa?’ Shanahan repeated with a chuckle, and flew several tight little circles in the air. ‘And what would you know of Carcosa, Mr Blackwood? Humans will not reach that world for many hundreds of years – and not with Æther zeppelins either, I might add!’
    ‘I’m afraid I know very little,’ said Blackwood, with a shrug. ‘It’s just that two nights ago, a driver on the Underground was driven insane by something he saw down there. And when Lady Sophia and I went to see him, he kept repeating the word “Carcosa”.’
    ‘And how do you even know what Carcosa is?’ asked Shanahan. ‘Where have you heard of it?’
    ‘I read of it in a work written by an occultist named Dr Simon Castaigne.’
    ‘Indeed! Now Dr Castaigne is a fascinating gentleman. Very well versed in all manner of esoteric subjects.’
    ‘Including, apparently, the forms of life and intelligence on distant planets,’ said Sophia.
    ‘Oh yes, your Ladyship!’ exclaimed Shanahan, flitting over and alighting on the desktop in front of her.
    She leaned forward and smiled at him. ‘Do you know how he does it?’
    ‘Does what, ma’am?’
    ‘How he is able to send his mind into the Æther, to visit other worlds.’
    ‘Just between us three and the walls,’ he said in a loud, theatrical whisper, ‘he has chemical assistance.’
    ‘What kind of assistance?’ asked Blackwood.
    ‘A powerful narcotic, known as Taduki.’
    ‘I’ve never heard of it.’
    ‘There are very few who have, and fewer still who are able to use it safely, for it has a profound effect on the human nervous system and allows the consciousness to depart from the body and roam about at will.’
    ‘So Carcosa does exist, and it really is inhabited?’ said Sophia.
    ‘Oh, indubitably,’ replied Shanahan, with an odd smile which she found difficult to interpret.
    ‘Are you absolutely sure you can’t tell us anything more… please?’ she said.
    ‘Would that I could,’ the faerie sighed. ‘But unfortunately, this is one of those occasions when I must be extremely careful what I say. I’m sure you understand.’
    Sophia smiled. ‘Yes, Mr Shanahan, we understand entirely.’
    Shanahan regarded her in silence for a moment and then said, ‘There is one item of information I can provide to you.’
    Both she and Blackwood leaned forward. ‘Yes?’
    ‘I believe that Dr Castaigne will be arriving in London tomorrow. He is giving a lecture to the Society of Spiritualistic Freemasons in Mayfair; the subject is the plurality of life on other worlds.’
    ‘I know,’ said Blackwood. ‘In fact, I received an invitation to attend in yesterday’s post.’
    Shanahan turned to him. ‘Good for you, sir! Dr Castaigne’s lectures are very few and far between, and I believe it’s considered quite an honour to be invited to one.’
    Blackwood smiled. ‘I wasn’t going to go, but the events of the last few hours have most certainly changed my mind.’
    ‘I should strongly advise it, Mr Blackwood. I’m sure that you and Lady