The Day Before Tomorrow (25 page)

‘No more Death either, you know,’ added War with what he imagined to be great cunning.  Death ignored him.

‘The fact is,’ said Pestilence, ‘we like humans and the lad’s singing reminded us of that.  We never wanted to ride out in the first place, you know.  And anyway, without humans, we won’t exist anymore either you know.  Survival is a natural instinct.’

‘For humans,’ said Death.  ‘You are not human.’

‘We
look
human,’ said War. ‘Sort of,’ he amended glancing at Pestilence, who was looking more and more like a walking sewage farm every moment.  ‘And we
feel
human, it’s sort of catching, you know.’ 

‘I do not know,’ Death assured him. 

The other Horsemen shrugged helplessly; there was no good answer to this, and they knew it.

‘And do you mean to tell me,’ Death continued.  ‘That these rebellious thoughts have been stirred up to the surface of your feeble minds by music?  Mere sounds, beats to a rhythm?  Caterwauling?*  ‘How can this be?

 *
[
Death naturally has a dead ear
.]

War shrugged again.  ‘It’s hard to explain,’ he said again.  ‘I don’t think you can understand.  You’re dead.’ 

‘Death,’ Death corrected him.

‘Same difference.’

‘Not so,’ said Death.  ‘I have never been alive.’

‘Maybe you should try it,’ suggested Famine.

‘Hmm,’ Death appeared to consider this suggestion.  ‘I think not,’ he said.  ‘It will not be necessary.’ 

The Horsemen looked downcast. 

‘I have decided.’

And for a moment, Tamar could have sworn that there was a mischievous twinkle in the lights within his empty sockets as he looked at her.  She frowned trying to remember … something. 

‘We shall ride out,’ there was a groan.  ‘We shall ride out …’ he paused dramatically.  ‘With them.’ he indicated the bemused assemblage of humans and dwarfs (And one goddess) ‘Not against them.’

His empty gaze settled on Tamar.  ‘You remember now, do you not?’

She nodded dumbly. 

Death bowed his skull to her.  ‘You have won,’ he said.  ‘This round, at least.’

* * *

She had lain close to death, after her struggle with the evil god Ran-Kur, and as she had drifted, she had seen Him. 

‘Have you come to claim me?’ 

‘No, not yet, this is what they call a “Near Death Experience” the latest thing in popular theology, so they tell me.  It’s playing merry hell with my schedule I can tell you.  But I have to keep up with the times.’

Tamar had sympathised she remembered.  Then Death had offered her a choice, go back to your life as it was, or make a fresh start in a new life.  She remembered thinking that this was all wrong; surely, it was the Angel of Destiny who offered that choice.  But she had chosen.  She had chosen to go back to her old life … hadn’t she? 

Before she had woken up, Death had given her a letter; it had turned out to be a warning.  

In an infinite universe, all things are possible.  Choices are but forks in the road. Take heed of the other choice, it may come back to haunt you.  Beware your enemy.

We will meet again before the end
.

Now she understood.

Askphrit had used that other self –the one who had chosen differently on that fateful night and so dropped into a different destiny, in order to change her life around her.  She had become that other Tamar; their different destinies had become the same.  Didn’t the Fates control all destinies?  If it had not been for that choice, that other destiny would never have existed, and she could not have been thrust into it. 

‘Well, two can play at that game,’ she thought.

Tamar now understood what she had to do; she just didn’t know how she was going to do it. 

Death was watching her appraisingly. Would she figure it out?

‘We need to get back into Hell?’ she said tentatively. 

Death shook his head gently. ‘Not yet,’ he admonished. ‘First, we need to do a little dimension hopping.  The Fates are destroyed, remember?’

Tamar stared.  ‘Of course,’ she said slowly.  ‘I see.’

‘I wish I did,’ muttered Stiles.  

She turned to Denny.  ‘The Athame?’ she asked. 

Denny drew it out looking confused.  ‘Dimension hopping?’ he said.  ‘Where are we going?’

Tamar grinned. ‘We’re going back to the farm,’ she quipped. ‘Now that we’ve seen Paris.’

~Chapter Twenty Nine ~

‘W
hat’s the hold up now?’ snapped Crispin. 

‘The Horsemen appear to have stopped sir.’  Replied Talbot

‘What?  Why?’

‘Guess?’

‘I am not in the mood for … Wait – it’s her isn’t it?  Interfering little …’

‘Actually sir, I meant the other thing.’

Crispin narrowed his eyes.  ‘They’re not?’ he said disbelievingly. ‘At a time like this?’

‘Yes sir, I’m afraid so.’

‘They’re having another bloody concert?  At the end of the world?’

‘Sorry sir.’

‘Oh my God!’

‘Sir?’

‘Figure of speech lad, just a figure of speech.’  Crispin groaned.  ‘I don’t believe this.’

‘If it helps sir, she
is
there.  I just spotted her.’

‘It doesn’t.’

‘Well, it seems to be winding down sir.’ 

‘Keep an eye on them; I’m going to call upstairs.’

‘Um, Sir,’

‘Yes?’

‘They’ve gone sir,’

‘Gone?  What do you mean, gone?’

‘Well sir, they’ve just vanished.’ 

‘Vanished?  They can’t have vanished,’ Crispin’s voice was rising hysterically.  He thumped the desk.  Papers flew in all directions.*

*
[
All offices in the universe have random papers lying about even if there’s no need for them
]
.

‘Find them,’ he hissed menacingly.  ‘They must be somewhere.  Find them now!’

Talbot frowned suddenly.  What did he mean, “upstairs”?

* * *

Clive was also watching events with a certain satisfaction. It was not precisely how he had foreseen events panning out.  There had definitely been a few unexpected hitches along the way, but this was to be expected, he decided, when dealing with humans. Free will was always a problem, and yet, without it, nothing would ever get done at all. He had not expected Tamar to abandon her efforts to regain the box and go after the Horsemen, but perhaps, after all, it was as well that she had.  Destiny was a powerful thing.  Despite her disdain for it, she was as subject to its vagaries as everyone else.  Perhaps, he mused, that accounted for her attitude.  She was more full of pride and arrogance than any person he had ever encountered.  However, they were back on track now. That was the main thing.

* * *

Jamie was now facing his destiny*, although he was, as yet, unaware of this.  Unaware, in fact, that he even
had
a destiny as such.  All he knew was that the hatred that filled his soul had to be appeased somehow, and he believed that he had found the way.

*[
For background on Jamie’s destiny, see “Reality Bites”.
]

He was standing in a dark primordial world and not far ahead of him in the shadow of a great tree, lurked his destiny. 

* * *

Denny held up the Athame uncertainly.  He glanced at Death.  ‘Will we remember?’ he asked. He had got the point of Tamar’s somewhat cryptic remark immediately, and he was not happy about it.

‘Yes.’

‘Okay, then.’  He took a deep breath and sliced the air in front of him, concentrating hard.  Stiles and Cindy looked at each other perplexed and then they saw it.  As Denny withdrew the Athame, a strange sigil appeared in the air apparently written in fire.

Then the world spun. 

‘What happened?’ asked Stiles. 

‘We are now in a different destiny,’ said Death. 

‘Huh?’

‘He means that we’re back where we bloody started from,’ said Denny.  ‘I just hope you know what you’re doing.’ This last addressed to Tamar.

‘And I just hope that you’ve sent us to the right place,’ she retorted.

‘Back on the farm,’ he said lightly.  ‘I’m certain,’ he added more seriously. 

‘Okay,’ snapped Stiles, now thoroughly fed up.  ‘Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?’

‘Oh, sorry,’ said Tamar.  ‘We’re in another dimension …’

‘That much I got,’ interrupted Stiles waspishly.  ‘Why?  And what dimension?’

‘Basically, one where we didn’t destroy the Fates. We’re going to need them, you see.’

‘So we
are
back where we started from?’

‘No, not exactly.’ She shot a look at Denny.  ‘It’s more like, where we
would
have been, if we hadn’t done it.’

‘For every decision you make,’ Denny continued, seeing Stiles’s confusion, ‘two possibilities occur.  So, when we decided to destroy the Fates, the possibility existed that we wouldn’t destroy them. That we would decide differently.  And everything that can happen, does happen – somewhere, see?  This is the world where we didn’t destroy the Fates.  Why am I explaining this to you, you know this stuff.’

 ‘Yes,’ agreed Stiles.  ‘Sort of, but … So this isn’t the universe that Askphrit mucked about with?’

‘Yes, it is, and so is the one we just came from, ‘said Denny.  ‘The difference is, in that one, we fixed it, and in this one, we didn’t.’ 

‘They were the same place right up until that point,’ supplied Tamar.

‘Until we destroyed the Fates?’ said Stiles.  ‘Okay, but why are we here, what do we need them for?’

‘Buggered if I know,’ said Denny.  ‘Tamar?’

Tamar winked.  ‘I’m going to fix Askphrit once and for all,’ she said.

‘Beware,’ said Death, ‘that in doing so, you do not destroy your own destiny.’

Tamar rounded on him.  ‘And what’s
that
supposed to mean?’ she demanded ‘do you know something I don’t?’

Death inclined his skull.  ‘Many things,’ he said.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter anyway,’ decided Tamar.  ‘I’ll take that risk if I have to, it’ll be worth it.  That’s the mistake he always made.  He always tried to get rid of me without making a mess of his own fate, and he couldn’t do it.  I’m not even going to try.’  

‘If this is the universe where we didn’t fix the Fates’ interference,’ said Cindy suddenly.  ‘Then how come we can remember doing it?’

‘That’s a good question,’ said Denny.

‘It is?’  Cindy was startled.

‘It’s not important,’ said Tamar.  Which meant, to anyone who knew her, that she did not have an answer for it.  Denny smiled.  And Cindy looked almost relieved. The world was back to normal again.

‘Okay,’ said Tamar briskly.  ‘How do we get back into Hell?’ she looked around fiercely.  ‘No one is to suggest dying,’ she ordered menacingly.  ‘We already had that joke.’

‘Death is not a joke,’ said Death.

‘Depends on where you’re standing,’ said Pestilence languidly, giving Death a wry look. 

Death ignored this.  ‘Ask the Athame,’ he told Denny.

‘You’re kidding!’ blurted out Stiles.  ‘Do you mean to tell me, that we could have been doing that all along, instead of all that messing about?’

‘Death does not
make
jokes either,’ intoned Pestilence in a fair imitation of Death’s usual manner.

‘Be quiet,’ said Denny ‘I’m trying to concentrate.’  He squinted ahead of him as if he was trying to make something out.  ‘Ah, yes,’ he said.  ‘I see it.’

‘See what?’ hissed Tamar.  But Denny did not often have the advantage over Tamar like this, so he just winked and looked mysterious.  ‘You mean you don’t see it?’ he asked in mock surprise.’

‘Denny!’

He sighed.  ‘Well, I’ll just have to lead the way I suppose.  Take my hand and … it might be better if you close your eyes.’

‘Why?’ she asked, startled. 

‘It’s bright,’ he said. 

Death nodded. 

Tamar had a strange sensation of being dragged by the hair through a long tunnel, she could see the brightness Denny had mentioned through her eyelids and then suddenly it all went dark, and she was falling.  She opened her eyes for a moment and then decided to close them again.  It was a long way down. 

* * *

‘Huh,’ said Charon huffily. ‘You again, I don’t suppose you remembered the boat fare this time?  Thought not, oh well, s’pose I’ve got no choice.  I ain’t messing with you again, in you get. Come on come on, I haven’t got all day, who’s this?’ he poked Denny with a contemptuous finger. 

For answer, Denny held up the Athame.  ‘We’ve met,’ he said dryly. 

Charon was not impressed.  ‘Nice bit of metal work,’ he said.  ‘Looks pretty sharp, done by the same chap who made the scythe for the big chap was it?  Looks like his work, or similar anyway.  I remember you now. You didn’t have the bleedin’ fare either.  Sodding heroes!’

‘Where are the others?’ asked Tamar. 

‘It’s just us,’ said Denny.  ‘It was hard enough bringing you with me this way. The tunnel is only supposed to carry one person,’

Tamar was shocked when she realised what this meant. She covered it quickly.  ‘Where’s Death?’ she asked to fill the silence. 

‘Death can’t come down here,’ said Charon.  ‘Metaphysical impossibility!  You see what I mean?’

Tamar nodded ‘I suppose so.  So we’re on our own?’ she turned to Denny. 

‘Alone at last,’ he grinned.

Tamar rolled her eyes. ‘Not exactly,’ she pointed out, indicating the long queue for the ferry. 

‘Ah,’ said Charon chattily.  ‘Been very busy lately, what with the Apocalypse and everything.  This lot can wait,’ he laughed croakily.  ‘It’s not as if they’re in any hurry.’

Neither Tamar nor Denny thought this very funny.

* * *

‘I said
find
them,’ howled Crispin tearing at his head, which was bald (because he thought it made him look dignified).

‘I don’t want to hear your excuses, I want them found, I … what?’

‘I said I’ve found them sir, all except the girl and her sidekick.’

‘All except them?’ said Crispin. 

‘Yes sir, they’ve dimension hopped sir, but …’

‘I don’t care,’ shouted Crispin, threatening to take right off again.  ‘Find her.  Never mind about the others, and I … wait.  Did you say dimension hopping?’