The Demon Collector

by Jon Mayhew

  Was Edgy the only one who could see what he was? Customers didn’t flinch as they did business with Talon. Once, as a young boy, Edgy had mentioned it to Bill Fager, the rosy-cheeked landlord of the Green Man Inn, who used to drop by from time to time. Edgy had told him about the horns and the hooves and the red skin.

  ‘You’ve a good imagination, Edgy Taylor, I’ll give you that,’ Bill had said, smiling and shaking his head. Then he’d leaned forward and whispered in Edgy’s ear, ‘Better not go tellin’ anyone else such tales, son. They’ll carry you off to Bedlam.’

  Edgy glanced up, snapping back to the present. Talon ran a blackened tongue around his cracked lips and beckoned with a long, taloned finger.

  ‘Where you been all this time?’ he spat. ‘Talkin’ to pretty ladies?’ Talon wrinkled his pointed nose. How did he know? ‘Don’t try denyin’ it. I can smell her on you . . . roses and violets.’

  Henry trembled at Edgy’s heel, ears back. He’d seen the business end of Talon’s hoof before.

  Talon stood up, swaying a little from the drink, towering over them. His cloven hooves clattered on the stone floor beneath his leather apron. His sinewy muscles bulged through his shirt.

  ‘I dunno what yer mean! Don’t ’urt me, Mr Talon,’ Edgy yelped. ‘I collected a load today, I been workin’ ’ard, sir!’

  ‘You’ve been answerin’ riddles.’ Talon cuffed Edgy with his gnarled fist, sending him sprawling. ‘I can tell!’

  He stooped close and Edgy could smell his beery breath, see his crooked, yellowing teeth.

  ‘Well, riddle me this, Edgy. What has nails but can make a hammer, no rope but can make a noose?’ His fingers tightened around Edgy’s neck. ‘A hand? That what you’re trying to say? Well done. Won’t help though. I’m sick of wet-nursin’ you. Waste of bloomin’ time anyway if she’s gonna check up on yer every ten minutes. Dunno what she’s thinkin’ of, drawin’ attention to yer like that.’

  What does he mean? It sounded as if he knew the woman. Edgy’s breath whistled through his constricted throat and the blood thundered in his head, stopping all thoughts as darkness edged into his vision.

  ‘Stop that at once!’ a reedy voice barked.

  Talon’s fingers slackened and released Edgy. Gasping and spluttering, he fell to the floor. Air and life flooded back into his body. Henry leapt over, licking at his face.

  Talon stared across the workshop. His face was a picture – and not a very pretty one. His jaw hung slack, a string of spit drooled down his pointed chin.

  ‘Envry Janus,’ he whispered. His red face seemed to pale. ‘The Stonemason . . .’

  A little old man with long white hair, a tight black suit and pointy boots stood in the doorway. He wore spectacles with red lenses and held a small metal tube in the palm of his hand.

  ‘Hello again, Thammuz. How’ve you been keeping?’ He smiled and pointed the tube at Talon.

  ‘No, don’t!’ Talon cried and turned to run, tripping over Edgy in the process. Cursing, he scrambled to his feet and grabbed Edgy’s lapels. ‘Edgy,’ he gasped, his voice thick with fear. ‘You gotta ’elp me – he’ll kill me.’

  Edgy’s stomach twisted at his touch. ‘Get off me! Leave me alone!’ He slapped and punched at Talon’s arms and face.

  Talon threw Edgy aside, pleading with the man. ‘Janus, don’t, I’ll do anything . . .’

  ‘Tell me where it is then.’ Janus’s wrinkly face was still scrunched into a smile.

  ‘I can’t,’ Talon groaned. ‘If I knew I’d tell yer, I swear.’

  Janus shook his head and pulled a cord at the back of the tube. A muffled bang echoed around the tannery. What looked like a dirty grey snowball hurtled from the tube and smacked Talon in the face. The groaning demon span on his heel, his red skin turning instantly grey, his movements slowing. Edgy cowered against the side of a curing vat as Talon reached out. The greyness was spreading, covering his entire body.

  ‘Edgeeeeeeee . . .’ Talon wheezed, like a clockwork toy running out of spring. Then he froze, his face petrified into a beseeching grimace, a statue of Talon.

  The cheerful, kind-faced old man blew the smoke from the end of the tube, snapped the tube shut like a telescope and slipped it into his waistcoat pocket.

  ‘What did you do to ’im?’ Edgy peered at the statue that had once been Talon and gingerly tapped its solid grey mass.

  ‘Don’t worry, young man, he’s ossified – turned to stone. He won’t hurt you again,’ he said, beaming at Edgy as if he was meant to understand. ‘I’ll have some men come round and pick him up later.’

  ‘But . . . why?’ Edgy picked Henry up, rolling his ear between his finger and thumb.

  ‘He’s a demon,’ Janus said simply, pocketing his spectacles and turning to leave. ‘I collected him.’

  ‘A demon?’ Edgy stepped towards him. His heart leapt. Then he wasn’t mad after all. Henry’s ears flattened back.

  ‘That’s right,’ Janus chuckled as he strode into the alleyway, his arms folded behind his back. ‘Now run along and do whatever it is you do.’

  ‘Y’mean he was a demon? A real devil? Is that why he had horns and red skin?’ Edgy called after him. Janus stopped as if he were on the end of a leash and it had just been given an almighty tug. ‘I thought I was barmy but you could see the horns too?’

  Janus turned slowly and, placing his red spectacles on his wrinkled face, looked Edgy up and down. ‘Talon didn’t just look like a man to you?’

  ‘Sometimes when he was working or asleep he looked like an ordinary cove.’ Edgy gazed at the open toes of his scuffed boots. ‘But most of the time when he was angry and beat me, I could see the horns and stuff. I thought it was just me. Thought I’d lost me marbles, like.’

  ‘Well, Thammuz was a demon of wrath,’ Janus mumbled, rubbing his chin. ‘More likely to give himself away when he lost his temper. What’s your name, young man?’

  ‘Taylor, sir,’ he said, twisting the last remaining button on his ragged woollen coat. ‘Edgy Taylor.’

  ‘And you worked for Thammuz? What did you do?’

  ‘Collected . . . stuff, went on errands, solved riddles for ’im.’

  He snapped to attention and peered closer. ‘Riddles?’

  ‘Yep.’ Edgy frowned and twitched under his gaze. ‘Seems I’m quite good at ’em . . . usually. Talon was always asking me riddles, then scribblin’ down the answers. He taught me t’read so’s I could learn more. From books and such. Always on the lookout for new riddles was Talon.’

  ‘Fascinating.’ Janus paced around Edgy, looking him over like a farmer inspecting a prize bullock. He stopped and clapped his hands together. ‘Tell me, how old are you?’

  That question again? Edgy squirmed, shaking his head a couple of times. ‘Nearly thirteen, sir.’

  Janus smiled and nodded as if he were impressed with the answer. ‘Well, Edgy Taylor, I think you should come with me. There’s nothing for you here.’ He prodded his finger into Edgy’s shoulder and peered down his ear. ‘I think you might be . . . useful,’ he added thoughtfully.

  For a moment Edgy was flummoxed and looked at Henry, who stared back with dark-brown eyes that mirrored Edgy’s anxiety. ‘Sorry, sir,’ he stammered. ‘But I think I’ll go me own way, if it’s all the same to you.’

  Edgy ducked under Janus’s arm. He ran down the alleyway, risking a backward glance. Henry clattered after him but Janus just stood and stared beyond him.

  Something was wrong.

  Edgy looked forward to glimpse ebony horns curling from a green forehead and orange eyes burning from the shadow of a heavy brow. At first he thought it was Talon. But it was another demon. Huge. Blocking his path. The creature towered above him, much larger than Talon ever was. Between its scowling eyes, a single red flame flickered and spat. Scrabbling on the slick cobbles, Edgy slid into it, bouncing back on to the hard ground. It was as if he had run into a brick wall.

  So with his finger dipped in blood,

  He scribbled on the s
tones,

  ‘This is my will, God it fulfil,

  And buried be my bones.’

  ‘Childe the Hunter’, traditional folk song

  Chapter Three

  A Place of Safety?

  The demon’s heavily muscled arm swung down. Edgy rolled aside, springing to his feet. It lashed out again and missed, giving Edgy a split second to duck and run. Henry yapped and snapped at the demon’s ankles as it launched itself forward in pursuit.

  ‘Can’t you, y’know, turn him into stone or somethin’?’ Edgy yelled, pulling at a stack of barrels that stood at the side of the alley as he ran towards Janus. They clattered to the ground, sending the demon sprawling. ‘What’s he got against me?’

  Janus was fiddling with the tube and cursing. ‘Damnable ossifier’s jammed,’ he spat.

  The demon gave a low chuckle and pointed at Edgy. Edgy stumbled forward, tripping as the sole of his boot came off. He hissed at the sudden cold on his feet.

  ‘Careful, Edgy, it jinxed you,’ Janus shouted, stuffing the ossifier into his pocket. ‘Probably did the ossifier too.’

  The demon picked itself up and strode towards Edgy but Janus jumped into its path, hurling a white powder at it. With a bellow of the rage, the creature threw its arms up to shield its face. Janus’s fingers gripped Edgy’s upper arm.

  ‘Come with me,’ he said firmly, dragging Edgy to his feet. ‘And run – I think there’s more than one.’

  Two more demons appeared in the otherwise empty alley, similar in size and appearance to the first. Flames danced on their foreheads. It was all the encouragement Edgy needed. Janus scattered more of the white powder in a line across the alley and then broke into a sprint.

  ‘Come on, Henry!’ Edgy yelled, chasing after Janus. Henry gave a final yap and hurtled to Edgy.

  For an old man, Janus could certainly move. Edgy panted for breath as Janus clattered down the alley and into the main street, sending a party of ladies screaming as he barged into them. Touching the brim of his crooked top hat, Janus bowed and set off at a brisk stride. Edgy hurried after him, his ragged boot flapping and slapping the ground.

  ‘They’ll be more careful in this crowd,’ Janus muttered, his breath billowing in white clouds and merging with the fog that still shrouded everything. ‘Demons like to keep themselves secret.’

  Edgy glanced back. The dim outline of one of the demons weaved and pushed its way through the mass of people that teemed around it.

  ‘They’re behind us,’ Edgy hissed. ‘’Ow come nobody’s makin’ a fuss?’

  ‘People don’t see demons like you do, Edgy,’ Janus panted. ‘They only see some rather rough-looking workmen or maybe nothing at all. Demons often use some kind of disguise but you can see through it.’ He looked over his shoulder. ‘Come on, we need to move more quickly.’

  ‘Where’re we goin’?’ Edgy called after him.

  ‘A place of safety,’ Janus shouted back without slowing.

  Edgy caught up with Janus, who shoved a small sack into his hand.

  ‘It’s salt,’ he said. ‘Demons hate it. It burns them. If one of them gets near you, let him have it.’

  Janus led them towards the river. The earthy, sewer stench of the Thames returned to mask the stink of the hide-curing yards. Something flapped overhead and Janus glanced up.

  ‘Damn, they can fly too,’ he muttered. ‘Get ready for trouble, Edgy.’

  The fog boiled and parted as the demon thudded to earth. It lunged at Edgy, cracked black talons raking the air in front of him. Edgy dropped to the ground and rolled between the demon’s legs. His eyes caught a glimmer of something metallic in the sludge of the gutter. A cast-off horseshoe! With a grimace, he snatched at the metal shoe, pleased to feel a couple of nails still protruding sharply through it. He held it in his clenched fist so that the sharp nails poked out between his fingers.

  The demon had spun round to face him now and made another lunge. This time, Edgy stood his ground. A stink worse than the Thames, worse than the tanneries, blasted over him as the creature’s face drew near. Edgy noticed the cracked, scaly skin, the boils and puss sliming the demon’s cheeks. Then he lashed out in disgust, punching into the hideous face with all his might.

  Edgy’s stomach lurched as he felt his knuckles scrape crusted flesh. The nails sank into the creature’s cheek. With a howl, the demon fell back, clutching at its face. The flame on its brow faded for a moment. Henry sank his teeth into its ankle.

  Janus clapped his hands together and grinned.

  ‘Well done, lad,’ he called. ‘Iron. A pure element of the earth. Demons don’t like that either. Now run!’

  Shadows thickened and closed in as tall tenements blotted out the night sky. Every now and then they passed through an arch, sloshing their way across flooded courtyards.

  ‘Blimey, Henry,’ Edgy panted. ‘We’ll never find our way out of this maze!’ Henry looked up and gave him a little whimper.

  ‘Not far now,’ Janus said, pausing for a moment and gasping for breath. ‘But we’re not out of the woods yet.’

  ‘What do they want?’ Edgy asked, bending double and leaning against a crumbling brick wall.

  ‘You, it seems,’ Janus replied, frowning. ‘Though I’m not certain why. Did you see that flame on their brows? That’s the Fire of Moloch. Nasty creatures.’

  Instinctively, Edgy’s hand slipped into his pocket and closed around the sliver of bone that the dying boy had given him. He’d mentioned the name Moloch too. Is this what they’re after?

  The sound of footsteps moving through the quiet alleys behind them startled Janus into a jog.

  ‘Have you lived at the tannery all your life?’ he called over his shoulder.

  ‘S’pose so, it’s the only place I know, really,’ Edgy panted. ‘And pickin’ up dog muck is all I’ve done since the day I could walk – all I was good for, so Talon said. He always said he’d found me.’

  Janus looked back again. ‘Your parents?’

  Edgy shook his head. ‘Dunno.’ Happy families. Edgy tried not to think about them but the thought filled his heart with longing.

  ‘Edgy – that’s a curious name,’ Janus said, his speech broken as their pace took his breath.

  ‘They called me that on account of me always lookin’ nervous, twitchin’, like,’ Edgy called back. ‘Anyone’d twitch if they lived with a demon.’

  ‘Hmmm,’ Janus said. ‘I wonder why Thammuz kept you.’

  ‘Dunno that either. Talon always said I wasn’t right in the head.’

  ‘You aren’t mad, Edgy, you have a gift,’ Janus said. ‘Which may be why there’s so much interest in you.’

  Before Edgy could say anything in reply, they ran out into a square. A grimy street sign told him this was Eden Square though it didn’t look like any kind of garden he’d seen before. Not a tree or a blade of grass to be seen. In the centre stood a grotesque bronze statue of Satan raising a defiant fist to the skies. A warehouse with huge wooden doors and shuttered windows rose up to his left. To his right a ramshackle tenement loomed over him. In front of him a block of a building squatted, filling one whole side of the square. In the dim light, Edgy could just make out columns and pillars standing to attention right along its front.

  ‘This,’ Mr Janus announced, waving a hand at the building as if it were the eighth wonder of the world, ‘is the Royal Society of Daemonologie!’ He paused for a second and then added, ‘Unless you want to be reacquainted with the handsome fellows behind us, I suggest you follow me inside.’

  Edgy hesitated, his eyes flicking back to the gaping door of the tenement building.

  The footsteps pounded closer behind them.

  Edgy followed Janus a few paces behind as he bounded up a steep flight of stone steps that led to the front of the Society. Edgy picked Henry up and hugged his warm body close. He licked at Edgy’s ear and buried his head under his chin.

  Two black doors stood tightly shut, their brass fittings dull and unpolished, matching the
gloom of the square. Edgy read the brass plaque next to the door: The Royal Society of Daemonologie.

  ‘Now if we can just get some attention,’ Janus said, pulling on the bell handle several times.

  ‘You’d better hurry, Mr J.,’ Edgy muttered, glancing back down the steps.

  Two dark figures had broken out of the alley opposite and were stalking across the square towards them. Janus saw them too and hammered on the door. Grinning, the hideous creatures drew closer.

  As I went out to take a walk,

  Between the water and the wood,

  There I met with a wee, wee man,

  The weest man that ever I saw.

  Thick and short were his legs,

  And small and thin was his thigh,

  And between his eyes a flea might go,

  And between his shoulders were inches three.

  ‘The Wee, Wee Man’, traditional folk ballad

  Chapter Four

  The Idle Butler

  ‘Thought you’d escape us, did you?’ hissed the first demon as it mounted the steps.

  The second followed close behind. They glowed faintly green and veins pulsed through their wet, slimy skin. Their long faces twisted into wicked grins of pure malice.

  Edgy hugged Henry to him and pressed his back against the peeling black doors of the Royal Society. Across the square, he noticed the third demon staggering out of the mist, one bloody hand over its left eye.

  ‘The main thing to remember about demons,’ whispered Janus, his face close to Edgy’s ear, ‘is that they thrive on fear. It gives them power. Don’t show them that you’re afraid.’

  ‘I’m not,’ Edgy hissed back, shivering and twitching. ‘I’m terrified.’ Henry gave a whimper and buried his head under Edgy’s arm.

  Janus turned and hammered more fiercely. ‘For God’s sake, Slouch. Open. This. Damn. Door. At. Once.’

  ‘No one answerin’?’ sniggered the second demon. ‘Looks like you’re stuck.’

  ‘Ask them a riddle,’ Janus whispered.