Teel James Glenn has killed hundreds and been killed more times–on stage and screen, as he has traveled the world for forty-plus years as a stuntman, swordmaster, storyteller, bodyguard, actor, and haunted house barker.
He has published dozens of novels and his poetry and stories have been printed in over two hundred magazines including Weird Tales, Mystery, Pulp Adventures, Space & Time, Mad, Cirsova, Silverblade, Heroic Fantasy, Blazing Adventures, and Sherlock Holmes Mystery.
His novel A Cowboy in Carpathia: A Bob Howard Adventure won Best Novel 2021 in the Pulp Factory Award. He is also the winner of the 2012 Pulp Ark Award for Best Author. And he was a finalist for the Derringer Short Mystery Award in 2022. His short story “The Clockwork Nutcracker” won P& E’s best steampunk story and has been expanded into a novel. Epic ebook award finalist. P&E winner “Best Steampunk Short”, a P & E finalist for “Best Fantasy Short, Collection” and his novel “Callback for a Corpse” was a second-place winner in the CWR Poll as best mystery.
An excerpt from “The Light of Reason” short story in the collection “Semper Britannia” by Teel James Glenn from Pro Se Productions.
Doctor Augustus Argent who had often been called ‘the Silver Fox’ by his enemies functioned as Minister Without Portfolio for Occult Affairs for the British Crown, working in the shadows against threats to the Empire. He served as the intersection of science and superstition in defense of our homeland, of legend verses reality. As his aide-de-camp I had followed him on many dangerous missions across the globe, but this was perhaps our most crucial action so far.
We had pursued our prey for months after he had been so bold to sneak into England and made an attempt to assassinate our monarch. The attempt, regardless of its failure and the perpetrator were facts that the public would never know about; could not be allowed to learn about for the fear and instability it would engender.
“Time is everything, Jack so best to get things started.” The Guv moved directly to into the room and strode, in the most audacious move I could ever seen, rapped three times on the lid of the coffin. He stepped back from it, drew his sword cane and stood as patiently as if he was outside waiting for a hansom in Piccadilly.
For a long moment nothing happened then slowly, haltingly, the lid of the casket began to rise. I felt a chill run up my spine as the figure in it sat up and turned to look at my mentor.
“I must confess you have great style, Doctor Argent,” the dark fiend said with a cold grin as he rose gracefully out of his refugee. “A certain flair for drama, if not the intelligence you have been credited with by so many over the years.”
The fiend spoke with a slight lisp, partly because of his Castilian origins, but also because of the one-inch fangs that protruded over his lips. I knew that he used those fangs to inject a toxin in his victims to paralyze them and send an anti-coagulant into their bloodstream before he fed.
Those fangs were the reason that Doctor Argent and I both had garlands of garlic flowers around our neck should the fiend attempt to bite us. Their pungent scent helped to overcome the smell of death in that close space that emanated from the fanged menace itself, the very smell of death.
The fangs were also the reason I had my Webley and the Doctor had drawn his silver-plated sword cane that he held out before him in defense. Still, my employer and friend stood with an almost relaxed demeanor and spoke calmly.
“My dear, Count Mendoza,” Doctor Argent said in his cultured voice to our opponent. “My intelligence was good enough to be able to track you halfway around the world to this last place of your concealment, it will be good enough to end your reign of terror once and for all.”
Outside the fog was thick so that the weak starlight that filtered through the loose boards did little to illuminate the sealed bell tower were we three stood in prelude to combat.
Our ‘battlefield’ was that closed room atop a de-sanctified church where the monster had hidden. The Count assumed no one would search for him in such a holy place, but Doctor Argent was wise to the ways of such dark creatures and tracked him to his lair.
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