The Demon Collector (19 page)

They stood for a moment, staring intently at him, then backed away slowly, each step measured and reluctant.

‘They’re leaving,’ Spinorix said, standing still and pointing.

‘They did what you told them to,’ Sally gasped as the Echolites receded further into the shadows of the tunnel. ‘But why?’

‘I don’t care why.’ Spinorix shivered, clinging to Edgy’s sleeve. ‘Let’s just get away before they decide they’re not scared.’

‘All right but just back away slowly,’ Edgy said, his voice sounding painfully loud with his ears so blocked up. He passed the skull to Spinorix and scooped up Henry.

‘Take the next left,’ he heard Sally say. They shuffled backwards down the tunnel, not daring to take their eyes off the shifting blackness, but the Echolites had vanished.

The tunnels twisted and turned. Sally called out lefts and rights until Edgy could have sworn they were doubling back on themselves. His head ached and his eyes felt heavy.
How long have we been walking?
He longed to see his room and his bed.

‘Soon be there,’ Sally said, glancing at him.

‘How do you know your way around so well, Sally?’ Edgy asked as he trudged after her.

‘When you’ve been around as long as me, you get to know a thing or two,’ she grinned. Edgy could have sworn her cheeks went a slightly deeper grey, as if she were blushing.

They walked on in silence for a while. Edgy drilled the end of his little finger into his ear. He’d removed the wax but a few bits remained, making his ears itch. He watched Sally walk in front of him.

‘What’s it like?’ he said at last, catching up with her. ‘Y’know, bein’ . . . well, dead?’ He cringed, wishing he hadn’t asked. It was a rotten question.

But Sally just gave a sigh. ‘I don’t really know,’ she said. ‘My kind of dead is cold. Tired but never sleeping. Hungry but never eating. Sad. Lonely. Dry. D’you know how much I’d love to spit?’

Edgy shook his head. ‘No,’ he said, not knowing quite what to say.

‘It’s like havin’ an itch and never bein’ able to scratch, or thinkin’ you can remember a name but it’s just out of reach. There’s no rest.’ Sally sighed again. ‘No peace . . .’

‘I’m sorry,’ Edgy muttered.

‘What?’ Sally asked, looking puzzled.

‘That you’re dead an’ that . . . I’m sorry,’ Edgy said and cleared his throat noisily.

‘It was a long time ago,’ she said, giving a thin smile. ‘A very long time. Maybe one day I’ll meet my family again and find peace. But thank you . . . That’s a nice thing to say.’ She reached out her hand and stroked Henry’s ear. Henry tilted his head, accepting the caress.

‘Hey, he’s got used to you.’ Edgy gave a grin and felt his face burning.

Friends. That’s what Madame Lillith had said. For the first time in his life, Edgy had friends. His tiredness lifted and he quickened his step. Ahead, he saw a dull glow.

‘It’s the door, the way out!’ he laughed. Henry gave a bright yap and leapt from Edgy’s arms, his claws clattering on the rocky surface as he scampered to the exit. Then he remembered. ‘It’ll be locked. We’re stuck inside.’

‘That’s one advantage of hanging around a dump like this for one hundred and nineteen years,’ Sally smirked, conjuring a key from her apron pocket with a flourish.

Edgy gave a cheer but stopped as he caught a glimpse of Spinorix’s long face. ‘What’s the matter, Spin?’ Edgy said.

‘The artefacts from the collection,’ Spinorix sighed, staring down at the skull in his hands. ‘They’re lost . . . I’m useless.’

‘Don’t worry, Spin,’ Sally said. ‘We’ll get them back at some stage and it’s not your fault anyway.’

‘There was so many things there,’ Spinorix muttered. ‘I should’ve reported the thefts sooner.’

‘It’s a big collection,’ Edgy said, patting the imp’s skinny shoulder. ‘Nobody could remember it all.’

‘I could,’ Spinorix said, his eyes burning. ‘I could name every item in that collection. I knew things were missing – it was all small stuff – I just tried to ignore it. I hoped nobody noticed, hoped I could catch someone in the act.’

‘A bit harder when the skull went missing, eh?’ Edgy said. ‘Anyway, you did tell Mr Janus, remember?’

‘A bit late,’ Spinorix mumbled.

‘Well, it’s all there,’ Edgy said, trying to cheer Spinorix up, ‘in the cave. Like Sally says, we can go and get it later.’ He tried to sound convincing but who in their right mind would go back into the tunnels for anything?

‘That’s it!’ Spinorix jumped up, excited. ‘That’s what was missing. The Devil’s Dagger.’

‘What?’ Edgy said, catching Sally’s eye. She shook her head, obviously having trouble keeping up too.

‘Remember I said that not everything that was stolen was in the cave?’ Spinorix said, his eyes wide. ‘Well, there was one thing missing – the Devil’s Dagger.’

‘I read a story about that,’ Edgy said. ‘Was it kept here?’

‘The only blade that could kill the great Satan himself. It was said to be the blade used to cut out the heart of Moloch.’ Spinorix nodded. ‘Razor sharp . . . nasty. I didn’t miss it for months cos it’s kept locked away.’

‘Maybe Madame Lillith hid it somewhere else,’ Edgy muttered. ‘D’you think she was the one that tried to kill me?’

‘She said she didn’t,’ Sally replied. ‘She was a demon of envy, not really the kind of demon that kills. Stealing was about her limit.’

‘Do demons have limits?’ Edgy said, looking doubtful.

‘There are all kinds of demons, Edgy,’ Sally said. ‘Some would tear you apart without a second thought, others are more timid and devious. Madame Lillith was so eaten up with jealousy she was nearly mortal.’

‘Besides,’ Spinorix said, with an embarrassed cough, ‘from a demon’s point of view, having gone to all the trouble of getting you into that cave and under that machine, I would have wanted to watch you get squashed . . . If I were a demon who liked that kind of thing – which I’m not – if you see what I mean . . . Madame Lillith wasn’t there when you were tied up on the conveyor belt.’

‘So you don’t think it was a demon who tried to kill me?’ Edgy said, narrowing his eyes and staring off into the distance.

‘I don’t think it’s a demon’s way to knock people out, either,’ Sally said. ‘They’re more complicated than that. They can’t do things the easy way. It’s not in their nature. They have to set traps and go around the houses to catch someone out. No, if you ask me, whoever put you on the crusher wanted to be far away from the scene of your death when it happened.’

‘So we still don’t know who it was and they’re still out there,’ Edgy said as Sally turned the key in the lock. ‘Maybe I’d be safer down here.’

If meat and drink thou gavest none,

Every night and all,

The fire will burn thee to the bone,

And Christ receive thy soul.

‘Lyke Wake Dirge’, traditional folk ballad

Chapter Twenty
-
Five

Fitting the Pieces

Surprise and amazement pushed Janus’s eyebrows ever upwards as he listened to everything that had happened. He pushed the triangle of bone back into its place and traced a skinny finger along the ridges and grooves carved into the skull of Aldorath.

‘I’ve not heard the full tale of the skull before,’ he mused. ‘And it was in the book from Scrabsnitch? Remarkable.’ He swung away from Edgy, Sally and Spinorix and, stretching high, dragged rolls of charts from a shelf cluttered with scrolls and papers. A small bottle fell to the floor with a shrill tinkle but Janus was completely focused on unrolling the charts. ‘It could well be the last piece of the puzzle.’

He ran his fingernail along the skull again, discarding several green- and brown-coloured sheets. Finally, he stopped on a chart coloured white and blue. One of the poles.

Edgy shivered – it looked cold even on paper. ‘A land of snow and ice,’ Edgy whispered. ‘North or south, though?’

‘If the story is true, Edgy, then we can match the outlines on the skull with those on the charts,’ replied Janus.

‘And find where Moloch lies . . .’ Edgy said, his eyes wide. Sally and Spinorix stared back at Edgy in silence as Janus turned the chart round and round, tapping every now and then on the skull.

‘Is that wise?’ Sally asked, her voice hushed and hesitant.

‘We ’ave to, Sally.’ Edgy frowned. ‘Salomé is probably only a step away from finding Moloch and that wouldn’t do at all, would it, Mr Janus?’

Janus glanced up at them, his eyes vacant. ‘What? Who? Oh, yes, quite, that wouldn’t do at all,’ he said and peered down again, lost in a land of icebergs and glaciers.

Spinorix gave a cough. ‘The other exhibits, sir,’ he said, staring at the floor, his voice subdued. ‘They’re still down below. We couldn’t bring them with us –’

‘And what do we do about Madame Lillith, Mr Janus?’ Sally interrupted.

A spasm of irritation flashed across Janus’s face. He waved a dismissive hand. ‘Madame Lillith was a victim of her own greed. I have little sympathy with demons who steal from their employers.’

‘But someone tried to kill Edgy,’ Sally snapped back.

‘Yes, yes,’ Janus replied, frowning at Sally and glancing back at the skull as if it was calling him. ‘The governors will instigate a full investigation. Rest assured we’ll get to the bottom of things. Now . . .’ He returned to the patterns on the skull and the ice-blue chart.

A sudden weariness washed over Edgy. He had no idea of the time but he felt battered and bruised.

‘I’m goin’ to lie down now, Mr Janus, if that’s all right with you, sir,’ he called.

Janus looked up again and nodded. ‘Yes, yes, you get some rest, my boy,’ he beamed. ‘You’ll need all your energy for the coming days.’ He fell back to tracking the grooves in the skull and muttering to himself. Edgy gave a backward glance as they left him deep in thought.

‘
Thank goodness you’re all right, Edgy
,’ Sally said in a croaky impersonation of Janus the moment they were in the corridor. She put her hands on her hips and wobbled her head with indignation. ‘
Echolites, you say? How worrying! I’ve been frettin’ about you all day . . .’

‘Leave it out, Sally,’ Edgy grumbled, rubbing his eyes. ‘I ’aven’t got the energy for a scrap.’

‘I’m just sayin’ he could’ve shown a bit more concern about you,’ Sally said.

‘That’s as may be but he’s a busy man, Sally, a genius, like. Got ’is mind on higher things.’ He smiled at her and she gave a
humph
of indignation and walked alongside him in silence.

‘Well, I’m going back to the exhibition hall to make sure nothing else is missing,’ Spinorix muttered, turning right as Edgy and Sally walked on.

‘Don’t worry,’ Edgy called after him. ‘I don’t think anyone will be helpin’ themselves to the collection now.’

They reached Edgy’s door and Sally stopped, leaning on the threshold, her arms folded. Henry cocked his head as if to say, ‘
Right, what’re you goin’ to do now?
’

Edgy wasn’t sure. It was easier in the old days, somehow – then he could’ve slammed the door in Sally’s face. But now they were friends. What should he do? Invite her in? He stared at her, twitching, glancing right and left.

‘Are you still after yer old room?’ Edgy mumbled.

Sally smiled. ‘Nah,’ she said. ‘But I’m not leavin’ this door frame. Not while there’s a killer about. You can rest peaceful, Edgy. I’ll be watchin’ over you!’

Edgy grinned. ‘My own guardian angel,’ he said, bowing and closing the door. He slumped on to the bed and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Edgy awoke to find Janus standing over him and Sally peering over his shoulder.

‘Come along, young man, get yourself dressed,’ he said, pacing back and forth. ‘It’s a new day and we’ve got to meet the governors again if we’re to get backing for this expedition.’

‘Expedition, Mr Janus?’ Edgy croaked, rubbing his aching head as he untangled himself from the sheets. He stopped and gave Sally a frown. ‘D’you mind, Sal? I ’ave to get dressed, I’m not decent!’

Sally gave an impish grin and backed out of the room.

‘Yes, expedition,’ Janus continued. ‘I’ve deciphered the map and I think I’ve pinpointed the location of Moloch’s remains –’

‘We ’ave to find it before Salomé,’ Edgy cut in, struggling to his feet and trying to get one leg into his trousers, ‘or she’ll put his heart back and that’ll be an end of it!’

‘Exactly, Edgy!’ Janus said, rubbing his hands. ‘And won’t my brother hate it? Just think. We’ll be the toast of the Society!’ He thrust his face into Edgy’s, making him lean back and stumble over, one leg still undressed. Janus seemed unperturbed. ‘But it won’t be easy, mind. They’ll say it’s a myth. They’ll try to pour cold water on the whole thing. Come along, boy, look sharp. I’ll need you to back me up.’

Edgy felt his heart sink.
Back him up?
‘The governors’ll never listen to me, sir,’ Edgy murmured, tucking his shirt in and pulling his braces over his shoulders.

‘Nonsense, boy. You can see things they can’t. Besides, you can show them the book. They can research that if they want.’ Janus grinned. ‘I’ve every faith in you.’