The Devil Rides Out (14 page)

Her mouth tightened still further. ‘In a way I am–and for me, waiting is impossible because, although in your ignorance I do not expect you to believe it, as surely as the sun will set tonight I shall be dead before the year is out.'

For a moment they sat in silence. The river flowed gently on; the sun still dappled the lower branches of the willows and flecked the water with points of light.

Gradually the fire died out of Tanith's eyes and she sank back against the cushions of the canoe as Rex stared at her incredulously. It seemed utterly impossible that there could be any real foundation for her grim prophecy, yet her voice had held such fatal certainty.

‘It isn't true!' Rex seized her hand and gripped it as though, by his own vitality, he would imbue her with continued life. ‘You're good for fifty years to come. That's only some criminal nonsense this devil Mocata's got you to swallow.'

‘Oh, you dear fool!' She took his other hand and pressed it while, for a moment, it seemed as if tears were starting to her eyes. ‘If things were different I think I might like you enormously, but I knew the number of my days long before I ever met Mocata, and there is nothing that can be done to lengthen them by a single hour.'

‘Show me your hand,' he said suddenly. It was the only thing even remotely connected with the occult of which Rex had any knowledge. The year before he had ricked an ankle and had had to lie up for a week at a tiny inn where the library consisted of less than a dozen battered volumes. A book on Palmistry, which he had discovered among them, had proved a real windfall and the study of it had whiled away many hours of his enforced idleness.

As Tanith held out her hand he saw at once that it was of the unusual psychic type. Very long, narrow and fragile, the wrist small, the fingers smooth and tapering, ending in long, almond-shaped nails. The length of the first, second and third fingers exceeded that of the palm by nearly an inch, giving the whole a beautiful but useless appearance. The top phalange of the thumb, he noted, was slim and pointed, another sign of lack of desire to grapple with material things.

‘You see?' she turned it over showing him the palm. ‘The Arabs say that “the fate of every man is bound about his brow,” and mine is written here, for all who can, to read.'

Rex's knowledge of the subject was too limited for him to do much but read character and general tendencies by the various shapes of hands, but even he was startled by the unusual markings on the narrow palm.

On the cushion of the hand the Mount of the Moon stood out firm and strong, seeming to spread over and dominate the rest, a clear sign of an exceedingly strong imagination, refinement and love of beauty; but it was tinged with that rare symbol, the Line of Intuition, giving, in connection with such a hand, great psychic powers and a leaning towards mysticism of a highly dangerous kind. A small star below the second finger, upon the Mount of Saturn, caused him additional uneasiness and he looked in vain for squares which might indicate preservation at a critical period. Yet worst of all, the Line of Life, more clearly marked than he would have expected, stopped short with a horrifying suddenness at only a little over a third of the way from its commencement, where it was tied to the Line of Head.

He stared at it in silence, not knowing what to say to such sinister portents, but she smiled lightly as she withdrew her hand. ‘Don't worry please, but there is no appeal from the verdict of the Stars and you will understand now why marriage, children, a lovely home, all things connected with the future just mean nothing to me.'

‘So that's the reason you let yourself get mixed up in this horrible business?'

‘Yes. Since I am to die so soon no ordinary emotion can stir me any more. I look as though I were already a great way from it, and what happens to my physical body matters to me not at all. Ten months ago I began seriously to cultivate my psychic sense under real instruction, and the voyages which I can make now into the immensity of the void are the only things left to me which still have power to thrill.'

‘But, why in heaven's name involve yourself with Black Magic when you might practise White?'

‘Have I not told you? The adepts of the Right Hand Path concern themselves only with the Great Work; the blending of the Microcosm with the Macrocosm; a vague philosophic entity in which one can witness no tangible results. Whereas, those of the Left practise their Art upon human beings and can actually watch the working of their spells.'

‘I can't get over your wanting to attend this Satanic festival tonight all the same.'

‘It should be an extraordinary experience.'

‘Any normal person would be terrified at what might happen.'

‘Well, if you like, I will admit that I am just a little frightened but that is only because it is my first participation. By surrendering myself I shall only suffer or enjoy, as most other women do, under slightly different circumstances at some period of their life.'

‘Slightly different!' he exclaimed, noting again the sudden change of eyes and voice, as though she were
possessed
by some sinister dual personality which appeared every time she spoke of these horrible mysteries, and blotted out the frank, charming individuality which was natural to her. ‘This thing seems worlds apart to me from picking a man you like and taking a sporting chance about the rest.'

‘No, in ancient Egypt every woman surrendered herself at the temple before she married, in order that she might acquire virtue, and sacred prostitution is still practised in many parts of the world–for that is what this amounts to. Regarded from the personal point of view, of course, it is loathsome. If I thought of it that way I should never be able to go through with it at all, but I have trained myself not to, and only think of it now as a ritual which
has
to be gone through in order to acquire fresh powers.'

‘It's mighty difficult for any ordinary person to see it that way, though I suppose the human brain can shut out certain aspects of a thing.' Rex paused, frowning: ‘Still I was really speaking of the hideous danger you will incur from placing yourself in the hands of–well, the Devil if you like.'

She smiled. ‘The Devil is only a bogey invented by the Early Church to scare fools.'

‘Let's say the Power of Darkness then.'

‘You mean by receiving re-Baptism?'

‘By attending this Sabbat at all. I imagined from your strange name you had received re-Baptism already.'

‘No, Tanith is the name by which I was Christened. It was my mother's choice.'

Rex sat forward suddenly. ‘Then you haven't–er–given yourself over completely yet?'

‘No, but I shall tonight, for if De Richleau has a tenth of the knowledge which you say he has, he will realise the appalling danger to which I should be exposed if he detained me here, so he will let me go immediately he
arrives–and remember, you have promised not to interfere with my freedom once he has seen me.'

‘But listen,' he caught her hands again. ‘It was bad enough that you should have been going to take a part in this abominable business as a graduate, but it's a thousand times worse that you should do it while there's still time to back out.'

‘Mocata would not allow me to now, even if I had the inclination, but you are so nice it really distresses me that you should worry so. The Satanic Baptism is only an old-fashioned and rather barbarous ritual, but it will give me real status among adepts, and no possible harm can come to me as long as I do not deviate from the Path which must be followed by all members of the Order.'

‘You're wrong, wrong, wrong,' Rex insisted boldly. ‘De Richleau was explaining the real horror of this thing to me last night. This promise of strange powers is only a filthy trap. At your first Christening your Godparents revoked the Devil and all his Works. Once you willingly rescind that protection, as you'll have to do, something awful will take possession of you and force you into doing its will, an Earthbound Spirit or an Elemental I think he called it.'

She shrugged. ‘There are ways of dealing with Elementals.'

‘Aw, hell. Why can't I make you understand!' He wrung his hands together desperately. ‘It's easy to see they haven't called on you to do any real devilry yet. They've just led you on by a few demonstrations and encouraging your crystal gazing, but they will–once you're a full member–and then you'll be more scared than ever to refuse, or find it's just impossible under the influence of this thing that will get hold of you.'

‘I'm sorry, but I don't believe you. It is I who will make use of them, not they of me, and quite obviously you don't know what you are talking about.'

‘The Duke does,' he insisted, ‘and he says that you can still get free as long as you haven't been actually re-baptised, but after that all holy protection is taken from you. Why else d'you think we took a chance of breaking up that party last night if not to try and save Simon from the self-same thing.'

A eerie light came into Tanith's eyes. ‘Yet Mocata willed him to return so he will receive his nom-du-Diable after all tonight.'

‘Don't you be too certain. I've a hunch we'll save him yet.' Rex spoke with a confidence he was very far from feeling.

‘And how do you propose to set about it?' she asked with a quick intuition that by some means she might utilise this factor to facilitate her own escape.

‘Ah! that's just the rub,' he admitted. ‘You see we thought maybe you'd know his whereabouts and I'll be frank about it. That's the reason I went round to Claridges this morning, to see if I couldn't get you down here some way so as De Richleau could question you, although I should have called on you anyway for a very different reason. Still you didn't even know Mocata had taken Simon off us till you spoke to the old woman on the wire, so it's pretty obvious you don't know where he is. I believe you could give us a line on Mocata though–if you choose to.'

‘I was under the impression that it was at his house that the party where we met was given.'

‘No, that was Simon's place, though I gather Mocata's been living there with him for some little time. He must have a hideout of his own somewhere though, and that's what we want to get at.'

‘I know nothing of his ordinary life, and if I did I do not think I should be inclined to tell you of it, but why are you so interested in this Mr Aron? That was a lie you told me about your needing him because you are also searching for the Talisman of Set.'

‘He's my very greatest friend, and more than that he risked his life to come out to Soviet Russia and look for me, when I was gaoled for poking my nose into the ‘Forbidden Territory' a few years back. The Duke came too, and he looks on Simon almost as a son.'

‘That does not give you any right to interfere if, like myself, he elects to devote himself to the occult.'

‘Maybe, as long as he confines himself to the harmless side, but De Richleau says the game that you and he are playing is the most hideously dangerous that's ever been known to mankind, and after what I saw last night I certainly believe him.'

‘Simon Aron did not strike me as a fool. He must be aware of the risks he is running and prepared to face them for the attainment of his desires.'

‘I doubt it–I doubt if you do either. Anyhow, for the moment, we're regarding him as a person who's not quite all there, and nothing you can name is going to stop the Duke and me from saving him from himself if we get half a chance.'

Tanith felt that now was the time to show the bait in the trap which she had been preparing. So she leant forward and said, slowly: ‘If you really are so mad as to wish for a chance to pit yourselves against Mocata, I think I could give it to you.'

‘Could you?' Rex jerked himself upright and the water gurgled a little at the sides of the canoe.

‘Yes, I don't know if he has a house of his own anywhere, but I do know where he will be this evening–and your friend Simon will be with him.'

‘You mean the Sabbat eh? And you'll give me the name of the place where it's being held?'

‘Oh, no.' The sunlight gleamed golden on her hair as she shook her head. ‘But I'll let you take me to it, if you agree to let me go free once we are there.'

‘Nothing doing,' he said bluntly.

‘I see,' she smiled, ‘you are afraid of Mocata after all. Well, that doesn't surprise me because he has ample means of protecting himself against anything you could attempt against him. That is why, of course, I feel that, providing the place is not given away beforehand, he would prefer me to let you know it than detain me here–I'm quite honest you see, but evidently you are not so confident of yourself or as interested in your friend as I thought.'

Rex was thinking quickly. Nothing but an actual order from the Duke, based on his assurance that Mocata might punish Tanith in some terrible manner if she failed to appear, would have induced him to let her go to the Sabbat. But, on the other hand, this was a real chance to reach Simon, in fact, the only one that offered. ‘Do you require that I should actually hand you over to Mocata when we get there?' he asked at length.

‘No. If you take me to the place that will be sufficient, but there must be no question of gagging me or tying me up.'

In an agony of indecision he pondered the problem again. Dare he risk taking Tanith within the actual sphere of Mocata's influence? Yet he would have the Duke with him, so surely between them they would be able to
restrain her from taking any part in the ceremony, and it was impossible to throw away such a chance of saving Simon.

‘I'm not giving any promise to let you join the party,' Rex said firmly.

‘Well, I intend to do so.'

‘That remains to be seen, but I'll accept your offer on those conditions.'