Wormwood

by G. P. Taylor

  ‘Tegatus, my friend,’ Abram said softly. ‘Turn and come back to me.’

  ‘I have fallen too far, Raphael. The wholeness you bring cannot save me from that which I have come to know.’

  ‘It is the evil of your heart that ensnares you. The cords of hamartia hold you fast, you will be waged as dead and soon transformed into a Diakka. That is no fate for one such as you. You have not fallen so far that you cannot put to death the rebellion of your heart and turn once more.’

  ‘Turn to what – to the life I had before?’ Tegatus said, still with his back to Abram. ‘I have come too far. A vast chasm separates you from me that neither of us can cross. I have chosen my fate, of my own free will. It was a decision of my heart, to wander from the path and follow the ways of another.’

  ‘Then it would be better for you to be dead than fall into the hands of the harlot.’

  ‘If only that were possible, to fall into her arms, then life would be complete.’ Tegatus turned to face Abram. ‘I am not so stupid that I don’t know I have been a fool. It is my pride that keeps me in this place. If only it could be different, if I could change time … Take the Nemorensis, Raphael. You are its keeper and can control its ranting. I will make my own way back.’

  ‘Don’t listen to him,’ Agetta shouted at Abram. ‘Take him from this place, he wants to go back, he told me. Can’t you see he is too proud to ask that from you? If he stays they are going to kill him and turn him into a monster. You can’t let them do that, I won’t let you.’ She turned to Blake, looking him sternly in the eye. ‘You do it, Blake, you’re a magician. I’ve seen your conjuring. Tell him to take Tegatus away before Morbus Gallicus gets him.’

  ‘Gallicus? Morbus Gallicus?’ Blake asked as he brushed the white dust from his coat. ‘When did you meet this man?’

  ‘At the Great Pillar, we were taken there by a man in a mask and a creature called Rumskin. They kept us there and when the stars fell we escaped. Thaddeus tricked us, he said he was with us – but he was with them.’ Then she giggled. ‘Tegatus used his magic and we left him in the tunnel with the rats. He saved me from them, that’s why he has to go back. They’re going to kill him and make him like Rumskin –’

  ‘Magic, Tegatus?’ Abram asked. ‘An angel using magic?’

  ‘It is not what you think. She jokes with you.’

  ‘He hit him, right in the face, knocked him from his feet and into the water, then he picked him up and left him to the rats,’ Agetta said excitedly.

  ‘I am concerned about the place of your captivity. Did you see anyone else?’ Blake asked.

  ‘Why your concern, Blake?’ asked Abram.

  ‘The Great Pillar is a secret experiment known only to the members of the Royal Society, and in particular to Isaac Bonham. It is a vast sunglass used to capture the power of the sun and then funnel it to a marble room in its depths. Bonham believed that he would find a force so powerful that he could end all war. He would have known of your captivity, for he is there every day.’

  ‘Then he is a conspirator and a traitor to your friendship,’ Tegatus replied.

  Blake looked ruefully at Abram. ‘I was wrong. The deception goes deeper than I first thought. I have been manipulated at every turn and now even those who are close to me surprise me with treachery. I was used to find the comet and to trap you, Agetta. This is my fault. My greed for knowledge has enslaved us all.’

  ‘How could you enslave me?’ Agetta said. ‘I stole from your pocket every day. I pitied you for taking me on.’

  ‘Agetta,’ Abram said, stepping towards her. ‘You are the reason for all of these happenings. The woman you know as Yerzinia is a fallen angel. She has come to a time in her life when she needs to be transformed or end up like Rumskin. She needs your body. She will become you and cast out your soul to live in darkness. Remember, Tegatus, the command of our master at the Battle of the Skull. Tonight we fight again an evil stronger than before. Will you join me in this?’

  ‘For what else was I created?’ Tegatus smiled as his spirit leapt within him.

  In the darkness of the street a long black carriage drawn by black horses creaked to a stop outside the shop. Morbus Gallicus jumped from the coach, whip in hand and his long wax cloak flowing out behind.

  ‘They have come for you, Agetta. We must leave this place,’ Abram said as he took off his frock coat and threw it into the fire. ‘Quickly – to the roof. We should not be here when the Abaris crystals explode.’

  ‘The book!’ Tegatus shouted as he grabbed the Nemorensis and followed Blake, who was already running after Abram and Agetta to the stairs.

  Bonham, wearing his raven mask, rushed into the bookshop and ran towards the fireplace. ‘They’ll be in the priest-hole,’ he said hurriedly to Morbus Gallicus. ‘Spare the girl and kill the angel,’ he shouted as he chased through the shelves, pistol in hand.

  In the hearth, Abram’s coat burst into deep blue flames that grew brighter and brighter. An Abaris crystal fell from the burning coat and rolled across the floor towards Bonham, who dived headlong through the cellar door, rolled down the steps and emerged in the dank room at the foot of the bridge.

  The growing blaze of the comet lit the cellar through a small window, on which Bonham heard a steady tapping. He looked up and saw the silhouetted body of Sarapuk hanging in the moonlight, his black-shod feet knocking against the glass.

  28: Lunar Lustrum

  The narrow stone staircase twisted higher and higher. Agetta fumbled her way, holding tightly to the rope that led her upwards. Taking three steps at a time, Abram pushed by her in the darkness. She could hear Blake and Tegatus bolting the door to the stairs and then making their way quickly towards her. The blackness thickened and pressed against her, squeezing the breath from her, choking and fearful. As she tried to make her feet gather haste, they caught the lip of each stone step, causing her to jar against them in her panic.

  ‘Help me!’ she shouted, the words echoing upwards.

  Tegatus took her by the arm and led her on. ‘Walk slowly, take one step at a time. The darkness will not hold you for long.’

  ‘They will catch us and Gallicus will kill you –’

  ‘I don’t fear what is to come. They can kill my body but I will be free.’

  ‘Quickly!’ Blake shouted as he stumbled up the stone steps. ‘The Abaris will soon explode and I don’t want to be anywhere near –’

  There was a sudden loud explosion as, in the room below, Abram’s coat burnt through and the Abaris crystals fell into the fire. It was as if every stone shuddered, leaping from the wall and then dropping back to its place. The door to the stairway was sucked from its hinges with the blast as a ball of white fire burst into the darkness and billowed upwards towards them.

  ‘Get down!’ Blake shouted as he leapt on to Agetta, pressing her to the cold steps as the fireball roared across his back, singeing the fabric of his coat and burning the hair from the back of his neck. Tegatus was consumed by the blast and fell backwards, his face blistered and charred.

  ‘Leave me …’ he muttered as Blake lifted Agetta to her feet. ‘You must take her from this place, I will stop anyone who follows.’

  ‘No!’ Agetta cried as Blake dragged her higher. ‘We can’t leave him!’

  ‘Do as he says, we cannot help him. You have to escape.’

  ‘Quickly,’ shouted Abram above them, fumbling with the lock to the roof door.

  ‘Tegatus is wounded,’ Agetta panted as she finally stepped on to the landing where Abram was pushing against the door.

  ‘Nothing can withstand the Abaris, not even an angel. Tegatus will know what to do.’ Abram took two steps back and leapt at the door, smashing it from the hinges and sending a shower of splintering wood across the flat roof. ‘Follow me and whatever happens, do not give into fear.’

  The Archangel – for such was his position among the angels – stepped from the darkness of the stairway into the glow of the full moon that outlined the rooftop castellation in
deep silver. The fire to the north had dulled to an amber glow that lit the sky, and as he looked upwards he could see the comet drawing closer with each second. The roof was like a battlement of a castle, its stone walls towering high above the river. At each corner sat a large stone gargoyle perched on a high pinnacle, guarding the place at every compass point, and below them smaller gargoyles peered down to the city and the river, their bulbous eyes gawking blindly.

  The surface of the roof had been etched with the points of a large five-pointed star, the tip of which pointed to the north. In the centre of the star was painted the blood-red mark of Yerzinia, its outline stencilled in black.

  ‘We have little time, we may not even get from London before it strikes,’ Abram said, taking hold of Agetta and pulling her into the light. She held up her hand to shield her face from the brightness that lit the city.

  ‘Is this the end for us?’ Blake asked.

  ‘’Tis the end for you all,’ came a voice from behind them. ‘We have been waiting for some time and are so glad you can join us.’ Yerzinia stepped from behind a high stone chimney, her faced masked in the image of a tiger.

  As Blake turned to run to the door, from the darkness stepped a figure draped in a raven’s mask with long black beak and shimmering blue feathers and carrying the Nemorensis, now bound in a long red cord. He knew the figure well.

  ‘Isaac Bonham, hiding behind the face of a blackbird,’ Blake shouted. ‘Not even willing to stare me eye to eye in your treachery?’

  ‘My disguise cannot fool you, I am impressed. So this is the angel? And Agetta – so nice to see you. I shall be seeing more of you in the years to come, lots more.’

  ‘You will see nothing if I have my way. I will gouge the eyes from your head with my own hands if I have to,’ Blake shouted angrily.

  ‘There will be no escape for you, Blake,’ Yerzinia said, waving the long staff she carried in her hand.’ You had your chance to join with us, but ever since that night when I pared your fingernails I knew your heart was not black enough for what we sought to achieve. Bonham, however, is my darling of darkness, and when I am free of the fetters of Lady Flamberg and her fat husband I will marry him.’

  Several grey stone hands then appeared over the battlements of the chapel. The gargoyles, which had for centuries stared down upon London, had come to life and were crawling from their places.

  ‘More demons, Yerzinia?’ Abram asked.

  ‘Friends to help me in my task. You have no place here, Raphael. Go now, and I will give you your freedom – or stay and be transformed into a Diakka.’

  ‘Brave words, but time is running out for you. The moon is full and the comet will soon strike the earth and the time for your transformation will have passed.’ Abram pulled Agetta close to him and whispered to her.

  ‘Who did this?’ shouted Morbus Gallicus as he stepped from the doorway clutching the severed head of Rumskin. ‘Was it you, Blake, and your meddling science? Rumskin was my companion, the only thing in life that would look at me without causing me shame. Did you do this?’

  ‘I did,’ replied Abram quickly. ‘Rumskin meddled in my life, so I meddled in his … What do you intend to do about it?’

  ‘You’re a wicked man and I will have your head as a candleholder for what you’ve done,’ Gallicus shouted, his voice hoarse and brash.

  ‘Leave him, Morbus,’ said Bonham as he aimed his pistol. ‘I too have a score to settle with this creature and will have his blood. There is one dead angel on the steps and soon there will be another.’

  ‘My blood is something I will freely give.’

  ‘Leave him,’ Yerzinia said anxiously. ‘He tricks you, Bonham. His blood would be the death of us all and must not be spilled.’ She looked at the moon and the approaching comet. ‘It has begun,’ she shuddered. ‘I must leave this body now and take hers. Make her ready. Give her to me, Raphael, she is not yours to keep.’

  Gallicus threw the head of Rumskin at Abram, hitting him in the chest, and quickly snatched Agetta, pulling her across the roof as the gargoyles leapt to surround the Archangel.

  ‘Get her, Blake, take her from this place,’ Abram shouted as he was forced back to the battlements by the swords of the encircling gargoyles, lashing out as they laughed through their sharp stone teeth.

  Gallicus ran the three paces to Blake and pushed him to the ground, squashing him against the stone and holding him fast with one arm.

  ‘Quickly!’ shouted Yerzinia. ‘Hold the girl and make her ready for me. It will not be long before we are together again, Isaac. This time, no one will stand in our way.’

  ‘You cheated me, Isaac. After all these years we have been together, deeper than any friendship, is your concern only for yourself?’ Blake demanded, held tight by Gallicus.

  ‘She is my only desire, I can get more wisdom from her in one minute than from you in a lifetime,’ Bonham replied. Then he unbound the Nemorensis, opening its pages and placing it in the centre of the circle. He took Agetta by the arm and held her at the north tip of the star before Yerzinia.

  ‘Don’t let your life be taken by that woman,’ Blake screamed as Gallicus crushed his face into the stonework.

  The Nemorensis grew larger, filling the centre of the circle and pulsating white light from the heart of its pages.

  ‘And you wouldn’t? I know what your thoughts were, your heart had been melted like mine but you didn’t have the courage.’

  ‘What when you get too old and she needs someone else and she discards you like she has Flamberg?’

  ‘Then I will die a happy man,’ Isaac replied, gazing at Yerzinia. ‘Now is the time, the book is ready, the comet comes and this creature waits for you.’

  ‘It’ll destroy you all,’ Abram shouted as the Nemorensis doubled in size, the pages bursting forth from the spine and spiralling into the air. ‘You don’t know what you are doing, Yerzinia.’ He kicked out at the gargoyles that pressed him to the battlements.

  ‘You forget – this is my book. I wrote every word, my heart is etched into its pages, I know what it will do. Tonight I will be transformed for the last time. No more having to jump from flesh to flesh as the centuries turn. When the stars and the Nemorensis come together in her flesh I will stay for ever.’

  ‘And her flesh shall rot on your bones and you will never see the light of dawn,’ Abram screamed.

  ‘Curses from the mouth of an angel? Desperation brings you to me. Can’t you see it’s even within your heart to fall? There must have been some temptation, something to take your mind from blind servitude and seek a true life. No one could sit in his presence and do his will for ever. There is still time, Raphael …’

  ‘Wormwood shall fall from the sky and poison the waters and bring death to many, but you – you will burn in an eternal fire.’

  ‘Words, meaningless words to deceive the gullible and keep them in fear. At least what I have written has power. Look, Raphael, see for yourself how my creation takes shape and my magic fills the air.’

  Abram looked up. Before him the Nemorensis stood like a glowing pillar of white marble, every page locked together and reaching skywards. Around the column a thick red cord twisted, unravelling as it span around. At its base the spine of the book had grown thicker, its gold letters twisting upwards and outwards. High above, the comet flew towards earth and the moon rose higher into the sky, as if the two would come together at any second.

  From the east a howling wind lifted the water from the river, standing it like a tall spinning fountain, sucking up the dead from their watery graves and lifting the debris of crushed boats high into the air. Like a tall spectre it walked the river towards them, twisting and turning from one bank to the other, sucking up and spewing out time and again.

  ‘One more sign,’ Yerzinia shouted. ‘One more sign and it will be time. The waters have given up their dead. The moon shall rise and Wormwood cometh. Hold the girl steady. I can feel the moment.’

  Yerzinia clutched her stomach and writhed as
if she was being ripped from the inside, birthing a spectre. Like a woman crazed she tore at her clothing and pulled the tiger mask from her head.

  Blake twisted free from Gallicus and rolled across the floor, leaving his assailant to cower by the wall, hands covering his face like a frightened child. Bonham turned his head, unable to look at the transformation as he held Agetta tight with fingers that burrowed into her skin. Yerzinia staggered across the roof towards him, holding out her hands to Agetta.

  ‘Come to me child, come to me,’ she said as she drew closer. ‘Let the child go, she must stand alone, there must be no compulsion.’ Yerzinia stared into Agetta’s eyes. ‘When we first met I promised you a different life, that we could be friends. Do this for me and we will be together for ever. My life will be your life and I will show you the world and the heavens. They will be yours to keep. Open your heart to me, open your heart and I will join with you.’

  Agetta remembered the first time she had seen Yerzinia smile, her face hidden by the tiger mask, her eyes sparkling like crisp jewels. The smell of Absinthium filled her mind again, stirring a deep longing … ‘I will,’ she said quietly. ‘I will open my heart willingly, I became one with you in the carriage and would do anything in life or in death.’

  ‘She plays with your mind,’ Blake shouted, rushing towards her.

  Bonham aimed his pistol and fired. The shot rang out across the rooftops and the ball hit Blake in the chest, knocking him to the floor.

  ‘Then it is time.’ Yerzinia smiled at Agetta. ‘Give your hand to me … Quickly, we need to hold the moon,’ she said, her face racked with pain.

  Agetta held out her hand, taking hold of Yerzinia. A sudden pulse jumped through her arm, juddering every bone, rattling them in her flesh.

  ‘Lift up your hands to the moon, welcome it to your life,’ Yerzinia said as she leant against the pillar of the Nemorensis, wrapping the red cord around her wrist. ‘When the comet strikes, Lady Flamberg will be no more.’