The Lightning Catcher: The Secrets of the Storm Vortex Read Online Free PDF Page A

Edwin Larkspur, an archaeologist, had uncovered some twisted scraps of metal beneath an old paint factory, the only remains of a lightning tower ever found. Unfortunately, the remains had then been stolen by Adrik Swarfe in order to revive the lightning heart. Angus suddenly recalled where he’d heard Catcher Tempest’s name before. Tempest had been sent to the museum where Edwin Larkspur worked to quiz him for details about the theft.
    Angus zoomed in for a better look at the lightning tower closest to him. Complicated metal struts and stairways ran through the open structure. A large lightning rod reached straight up into the clouds to attract any stray electrical storms. The whole thing looked incredibly real.
    â€œAs you can see, the lightning towers were a masterpiece of engineering and vision. They were built soon after Starling and Perilous joined a group of scientists who had begun to conduct some revolutionary experiments to capture the explosive force of lightning, to use it for the goodof all humankind. As they quickly discovered, however, these forces were violent and unpredictable and could not be controlled. The whole experiment ended with the Great Fire of 1666.”
    Angus swallowed hard. The skies suddenly darkened to an early-evening gloom.
    â€œWhat you are about to observe is a reconstruction of the fateful night that London was destroyed,” Catcher Tempest said. “Watch carefully as the storm approaches from the west. The images that follow are based upon accurate reports and observations from the time but have been sped up for your convenience.”
    There was a sudden rumbling of thunder and a streak of golden lightning to the west. Angus swung his head around to the left and fiddled with the goggles until a full panoramic view of London emerged before him again. An immense storm was gathering in the distance and moving rapidly toward the outer edges of seventeenth-century London. He was about to witness the terrible events that had led to the Great Fire and the destruction of the lightning towers.
    He watched, transfixed, as bright lightning lashed out, illuminating ancient houses, church spires, and lightningtowers in the distance. He could almost feel the dangerous quiver of ancient electricity in the air. He could sense the mighty storm approaching, even though he knew that it wasn’t real, that it had happened hundreds of years before he’d been born.
    CRASH!
    One of the tallest towers had been struck! The flames took hold quickly, spreading to the structures around it, and then: Angus held his breath as the Great Fire swept rapidly across London with an intense glow like a blazing orange sunset. He watched in horror as everything before him was consumed by the frightening inferno that leaped and tore its way through the helpless city.
    Angus gasped as several fire dragons suddenly soared above the rooftops. He twiddled the lens on the retrospectacles, quickly zooming in to see the creatures close up. There was a flash of red, a brilliant swoop of burning yellow, a glimpse of shimmering scales.
    â€œI can see fire dragons!” he said, shocked, unable to take his eyes off the dazzling display. “But I don’t understand. Nobody else can see mine. I thought they were just a vision, a warning of danger.”
    â€œThe dragons are not real.” Catcher Tempest reminded him tartly. “You are simply seeing a series of images, created by the retrospectacles, giving you an idea of the events that occurred on that fateful night.”
    Angus knew that this was what Catcher Tempest had brought him here to see: the beginnings of his own history, the very earliest days of the storm prophets, when their fire dragons had soared high above the ruined city. Each one was larger and more impressive than his own, each one unique with its own distinct colors and form. For one brief moment the dragons lingered, wings blazing in the dark sky above the flames, before they