Disturbing the Devil

A short story which follows Lord Underwood and his current Guardian, Ben Flinch, as they travel through London's new Metropolitan Railway in February 1863.

Summary
February 1863, and the newly opened Metropolitan Railway is the toast of London. Among the travellers tonight are the vampire, Lord Underwood, and his guardian, Ben Flinch. But they aren't travelling alone, for Underwood and Flinch have been discovered by a group intent on their destruction.

Disturbing the Devil is a journey into the smoky depths of the Victorian Underground; a stand-alone short story in the Underwood and Flinch universe, written by four-time Parsec Award-winning author, Mike Bennett. Expect blood.

- Mike Bennett, Author

Synopsis
Lord Underwood and his guardian, Ben Flinch are on their way down the steps of the entrance to the new Metropolitan railway, built under the streets of London to ease the traffic of the city. They are on their way to see a medium, much to Ben's amusement. On their way down, Underwood announces to Flinch that he's invested in the East London Railway company, who have plans to build an underground railway system beneath the Thames. Ben thinks the idea is ridiculous and lets Underwood know this. As he and Underwood alight on the platform, he tells the Lord that workers on the railway call the smoke from the trains "choke damp". Lord Underwood dismisses the idea, incredulously. He announces that an article in the newspaper called the smoke invigorating - like a health elixir.

The two men make their way through the crowd to the railway track, Underwood excitedly waiting for the train. As he checks his pocket watch for the time, however, his paranormal senses tell him that he's being watched. Scanning the platform, he notices two men that shift their gaze off of him when he looks at them. He notices one of them has on a silver ring with a black cross emblem on it.

Meanwhile, Harris convinces his partner, McKinley that the two men who just passed them are "the Lord" and his guard. They've been looking for this Lord for the past four nights, believing him to be the leader of a satanic cult who their group has been hunting for. The rumors they've heard indicate that he might be a demon or creature from Hell. Proving to be the more cautious of the two, McKinley convinces Harris only to follow Lord Underwood instead of just outright killing him, which would draw too much attention to them.

McKinley and Harris board the train a little bit after Underwood and Flinch do. As everyone is boarding, Underwood tells Flinch that they are being followed. The two men sit in the first glass carriage along with Underwood and Flinch. After the train departs, Underwood tries to make small talk with the two men, but both ignore him. Underwood points out the silver rings that both men are wearing, remarking that he's seen the ring before. Him a Flinch speak about the time a man wearing the same ring was spying on them at a house in which they were having dinner. Underwood notes that the ring was the only thing left of the man when the dogs were done with him.

At that remark, Harris springs up and levels a gun at Underwood. Reluctantly, McKinley pulls a knife from a scabbard hidden on his leg. Harris yells that the man they're referring to was his friend. Flinch takes the opportunity to lunge for Harris, but the man hits Flinch in the temple with his gun, sending the guardian into the lap of McKinley, who presses the knife to Flinch's throat.