The Resonance Tower
Eli did not wait for Mercer to finish his manifesto.
With a roar of silent fury, Eli lunged forward, throwing his entire body weight into the nearest armed guard, knocking him over the railing into the safety netting below.
The second guard raised his carbine, but Eliza fired, the rifle shot shattering the glass dial of the central acoustic control console. High-voltage sparks showered the room, causing the low-frequency hum throughout the cavern to screech in erratic pitches.
Mercer scrambled toward an emergency panel, his hand hovering over a red brass lever.
"If I cannot command them, they will burn with the machines!" Mercer screamed, pulling the release to flood the boiler chambers with compressed steam.
Eli leaped across the conference table, tackling Mercer to the floor before the lever could lock into place. The gold-tipped cane skittered across the floorboards.
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Eliza rushed to the primary acoustic amplifier—the massive steam-driven reed system that fed the bronze horns. She pulled her father’s surgical shears from her kit and jammed them deep into the main rotary gear, then wrenched the pressure valve wide open.
A deafening, high-pitched screech tore through the cavern as the tuned frequencies fractured into chaotic white noise.
