The Demon Collector

by Jon Mayhew

  ‘Trouble, lad?’ Sokket smirked at him. Edgy’s fingers felt numb, sweat trickled down his back and the room seemed to close in. He gave a squint and a shudder.

  ‘Really, Envry, you didn’t tell us the lad was illiterate when we let you take him on,’ Mauldeth drawled, stirring his drink and grinning at Edgy.

  A stab of annoyance tightened Edgy’s lips. Illiterate? Cheeky beggar, Edgy thought. His thumb slid into the book and he opened the page. ‘Here we are,’ he said, grinning back at Mauldeth. The Legend of Aldorath and Moloch. Edgy passed the open book to Mauldeth, who scanned the pages before thumping it on to the table with a snort.

  ‘And that makes it true?’ Mauldeth said.

  Milberry picked up the book and peered closely at it, turning the pages and rubbing the cover. ‘This is an old text. Ancient, I should say. You know how reliable they usually prove to be.’

  ‘Old texts are ones written by demons themselves, Edgy,’ Janus explained. ‘They’re often histories.’

  ‘But extremely accurate in certain details,’ Milberry added. ‘Very useful. It’s funny, I have a similar copy but I’ve never seen that passage. Very curious.’

  ‘Well, it doesn’t help us to decide about the damnable expedition,’ Plumphrey said with a belch. ‘It’ll cost a pretty penny.’

  ‘As my illustrious brother is forever pointing out,’ Janus said with a humourless grin, ‘we aren’t short of money, Plumphrey.’

  ‘An’ with all due respect, sirs, and ma’am,’ Edgy croaked, ‘the map on the top of Aldorath’s skull – it matches Mr Janus’s charts.’

  ‘It’s a fool’s errand, I say,’ Sokket murmured, turning his mouth down. ‘Better staying close to home and not risking all on the high seas. I should know, I was a ship’s doctor for long enough.’

  ‘On the other hand,’ Milberry said, turning Edgy’s book over and over, squinting at the cover, ‘it may just settle the arch-demon debate once and for all . . . I mean, if he did find the remains of Moloch, then that would be proof perfect.’

  ‘Some members of the Society speculate that demons are just another species of creature on earth, Edgy, and not supernatural at all,’ Janus explained, seeing his confused frown. ‘No human has ever encountered an arch-demon. Even some demons don’t believe in them.’

  ‘Or in Satan himself,’ Plumphrey said, raising his eyebrows.

  Edgy thought about the snake in the library. Don’t they know? Was that why the snake made me promise to keep quiet?

  ‘Edgy also managed to bind Belphagor with a riddle and he told us that Moloch’s corpse lies in a land of ice and snow,’ Janus said.

  For a moment the governors studied Edgy closely – all except Mauldeth, who steadfastly glared into his tea.

  ‘Suppose you did find Moloch,’ Sokket said, closing one eye and sucking his cheeks in. ‘What do you propose to do?’

  ‘Bring him back,’ Janus said, staring at Sokket. ‘Bring him here to the Society.’

  ‘Bring him back here to show off to all and sundry, no doubt,’ Mauldeth spat. ‘It’s all for glory, isn’t it? You just can’t accept that I made the discovery of the century and that it will never be bested.’

  ‘How dare you? I would bring Moloch back for scientific study,’ Janus shouted, banging his fist on the table. ‘I’m not interested in your petty glory-seeking.’

  ‘Gentlemen, please!’ Milberry snapped, jumping to her feet and raising her hand. ‘This has to stop!’

  Janus froze, glaring at his brother. Edgy stared from one to the other.

  Mauldeth dropped his gaze and clinked his cup back into its saucer. ‘I propose to the governors that Envry’s request to lead an expedition be rejected –’

  ‘Wait,’ Milberry interrupted. ‘The enterprise does have its merits, even though it is bold and probably reckless.’ She eyed Janus and then continued, ‘However, if the Society is funding it, then more than one fellow should go.’

  Janus’s eyes widened. ‘Professor Milberry, I must protest –’

  Mauldeth’s eyes lit up. He jumped to his feet. ‘Of course! Such an undertaking needs the close super­vision of more than one fellow. As chancellor, I nominate myself to accompany Envry!’

  ‘You’ll kill each other,’ Sokket said, his face grey and drawn.

  ‘Which is why you should accompany them also,’ Milberry said. Janus and Mauldeth turned to her in disbelief.

  Sokket tried to speak, gaping like a landed codfish. ‘Me?’ he gasped at last.

  ‘Why not? After all, you do have experience of the sea, Mortesque,’ Milberry said archly. ‘Didn’t you just mention that you were once a ship’s doctor?’

  Edgy didn’t know where to look – at Janus’s furrowed frown, Mauldeth’s gritted teeth or Sokket’s slack-jawed stare.

  ‘We’ll all drown within the first week,’ murmured Sokket.

  Part the Second

  Lord Byron’s Maggot

  Our mate, he is a bully man.

  Leave her, Johnny, leave her,

  He gives us all the best he can.

  And it’s time for us to leave her .

  ‘Leave Her, Johnny’, traditional sea shanty

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Setting Sail

  Edgy’s stomach churned as he stared from the side of the ship. The docks way below buzzed with activity as an army of workers scurried back and forth bringing last-minute items, checking ropes, shouting and whist­ling to each other. Edgy wrinkled his nose. The stink of the Thames mingled with tar and rope. The dock warehouses loomed above them. The blackened brick walls were dotted with square eyes and shuttered by metal doors. Here and there the swinging arm of a winch poked out as sacks and bales were heaved up to the darkness inside.

  The ship bumped gently against the rope buffers that hung the length of the dockside. Its massive steam engine breathed slowly somewhere deep within its bulk. A huge, black monster, Edgy thought.

  ‘Welcome aboard Lord Byron’s Maggot,’ Janus had declared, waving his arms to indicate the ship.

  ‘Lord who’s what?’ Edgy had replied, forgetting himself. ‘Beggin’ your pardon, sir.’

  ‘A strange name, I’ll grant you, Edgy, but no finer ship could you find to take us on our mission!’

  Janus had taken Edgy the length and breadth of the ship explaining each part but all Edgy could remember was that the front was called the bow and the back the stern. The other terms tangled together in Edgy’s mind, a mass of bowsprits, mizzens and top gallants. The only thing that did make sense to Edgy was the huge funnel that jutted out of the centre of the ship.

  ‘A steamship, Edgy,’ Janus had beamed. ‘One of the fastest and finest. With a hold big enough to carry a . . . well, you know what. An engineering marvel, boy, mark my words.’

  ‘Like a railway engine, Mr Janus,’ Edgy had said.

  ‘In a manner of speaking,’ he replied, putting his finger to his bottom lip. ‘A steam engine turns the mighty paddles at the side of the ship. It still uses sail power too. We’ll be at our destination in no time.’

  Now Edgy sighed and stared down at the bustling dockside. He wondered what Henry was doing. If only he could have come – but Janus was strict on the matter.

  ‘No place for a dog on a serious scientific expedition, young man,’ he had said.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Sally had said, hugging the dog to her gaunt form. ‘He’s used to me now, he’ll be fine.’

  ‘Can’t you come and wave me off?’ Edgy had asked.

  Sally’s silver eyebrows had creased into a worried frown. ‘You know I can’t, Edgy. I’m tied to this place somehow. I can’t set foot outside much as I’d love to wave you off.’

  Milberry had come to see him the night before the voyage. She spread a thick fur coat across his bed.

  ‘Finest reindeer skin,’ she said. ‘I had it imported. It’ll keep you warm as toast. Take care, my dear.’

  She had pulled Edgy to her and embraced him until he’d given an embarrassed cough.
>
  ‘Yes, ma’am, I will,’ he said, pulling away. Then he stopped, adding, ‘And thank you for the jacket.’

  But to think! A serious scientific expedition, and Edgy was going. Edgy, who just a couple of months ago was only good enough to scoop dog droppings from the street. The governors had all grumbled, of course.

  ‘And why do you need the boy to go, Envry?’ Sokket had said, massaging his temples and trying to regain his composure after Milberry had nominated him for the voyage.

  ‘Edgy is crucial to this expedition.’ Janus patted him on the back. Edgy couldn’t help grinning. A warm glow of pride spread up from his stomach. Janus continued, ‘The boy has shown his ability to riddle and to spot disguised demons. He outsmarted Salomé herself not too long ago. I need Edgy on this trip.’

  Edgy had felt so proud then but now he felt nervous and lonely. The deck glistened black, worn by a thousand scuffing feet. Everything was black – the ropes, the wood, the warehouses, even the Thames. Soot, tar and the stinking, black river.

  ‘Ye look a bit lost, young feller,’ a soft voice said, making Edgy turn.

  ‘Just takin’ this case to Mr Janus’s room, erm, cabin,’ Edgy muttered, nodding down to the trunk by his feet.

  A weathered, brown-faced man leaned against some packing cases, hands in the pockets of his stained, white trousers. A short blue jacket told Edgy that this man was a sailor. A round cap covered his greying, slicked-back hair. He looked thin, hook-nosed and seagull-eyed. Thick sideburns fringed his sunken cheeks.

  He smiled but his eyes didn’t join in as he extended a hand. ‘Silky McFarland’s me name. Able seaman.’

  Somehow, his gentle voice made Edgy shudder. He shook the man’s hand but didn’t give his name.

  ‘Been to sea before, boy?’ Silky McFarland murmured.

  ‘No, Mr McFarland.’ Edgy shook his head, slipping his hand from the man’s cold grasp.

  Silky grinned, showing a gold tooth. ‘Nothing to it,’ he said. ‘Once you get used to the roll o’ the waves, we’ll have ye up above.’

  Edgy followed McFarland’s gaze upwards to where the tops of the masts loomed. His stomach swirled and he remembered his rooftop adventure. McFarland’s gentle chuckle snapped him to.

  ‘Ye not so good with heights, are ye, boy?’ he said.

  Edgy frowned. How does he know? Or could he tell from Edgy’s pale face?

  ‘Seaman McFarland,’ a stern voice called from behind them both. A tall, fierce-looking man in a naval officer’s jacket stood scowling down at them. His black peaked cap shadowed his eyes, hardening his grimace. ‘You have duties down on deck, sir. I expect you to be earning your keep, not chattering to children.’

  Silky gave a half bow and tugged at the front of his cap. ‘Aye, captain, beggin’ your pardon. I’ll see to it right away.’ He turned and gave Edgy a wink. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll be around, watchin’ over ye,’ he said and sauntered off to where men were throwing packing cases up from the dockside.

  Edgy stared after him. There was something about the man he didn’t like. Could he be working for Salomé? Edgy shook himself. He shouldn’t be so silly. The man was just teasing him. All the same, Edgy made a note to mention it to Janus.

  ‘I’m Captain Boyd,’ he said. The man’s voice had softened, but his ruddy complexion still made him look angry. ‘Don’t worry about McFarland. He delights in teasing youngsters. A bit of a practical joker too, by all accounts. He means no harm. Welcome aboard. I’ll talk to you later perhaps. For now, I’d better check on your employer – he seems to be having problems down there.’ A brief smile flickered over Boyd’s face as he strode off amidships towards a growing crowd of dockers.

  Edgy’s gaze followed him and he could see Janus waving his arms and gesticulating as the sailors threw the remaining cases to each other in a chain that led up the gangplank.

  ‘Careful, gentlemen, careful,’ Janus cried, pressing his palms to his temples. ‘They contain fragile equipment.’

  Edgy smiled as the dockers made a pantomime of passing the boxes, almost dropping them but always catching them in time. He looked up. Straight into the eyes of Lord Mauldeth, who stood at the other end of the ship watching the same show. He smiled but there was no humour in his gaze. The captain barked a few orders, cuffed a couple of grinning dockers and soon all Janus’s precious cargo was on-board.

  Janus bounded across the deck and up the ladder to the poop deck where Edgy stood. ‘Soon be off,’ he cried, rubbing his hands and beaming. ‘Just have to tow the ship into the Thames and then they’ll get the engine turning and it’ll be off to the open sea!’

  ‘I don’t think Mr Sokket is as keen to get away, sir,’ Edgy said and nodded at Sokket. The tall, dour-faced governor stood on the gangplank, a suitcase in each hand. He looked like a condemned man heading for the gallows.

  ‘Don’t mind him,’ Janus snorted. ‘He didn’t have to come. I’m surprised he did. Not really an adventurer, these days. More of an armchair collector, to be honest.’

  ‘What kind of demon does Mr Sokket collect, sir?’ Edgy asked. He realised now how Plumphrey was influenced by the demons of gluttony he kept around him. He wondered about Sokket.

  ‘Sokket? Oh, he’s interested in demons of wrath and envy,’ Janus said, waving a dismissive hand. Then he leaned a little closer to Edgy and said in a lower voice, ‘Some say he collects demons of despair too – which might account for his pessimistic outlook.’

  ‘Despair?’ Edgy said. ‘Is that one of the sins?’

  ‘Well,’ Janus sniggered, ‘it was until fairly recently but then the church replaced the sin of despair with the sin of sloth. Some demons adapted and changed but, as you can imagine with demons of despair, quite a few just gave up.’

  ‘Does the church control demons then?’ Edgy said.

  ‘Not really, Edgy, but demons generally revel in the downfall of humans. If the church begins to view those who give up on life with sympathy rather than criticising them, then that particular game is ruined for the demons. And for demons, the game is everything.’

  ‘The game, Mr Janus?’ Edgy frowned. The demons he’d met didn’t seem to be playing.

  ‘The more complicated the better,’ Janus explained. ‘The more deadly the better. But to them it’s a game.’

  ‘I don’t think I understand demons very well, Mr Janus,’ Edgy sighed, shaking his head.

  ‘Best not to, Edgy,’ Janus muttered. ‘Just remember, often they’re full of pride and bluster, devious but easily tricked, as you’ve shown yourself. If there’s a complicated way to do something, that’s the way they’ll do it and that is their weakness.’

  ‘It’s a wonder Salomé hasn’t tried to interfere with all the preparations, Mr Janus,’ Edgy said, glancing down at McFarland heaving on a rope with three other men.

  ‘Hmm, you have a point, Edgy. I’d have thought she’d have made an appearance by now.’ Janus stroked his wispy white beard. ‘I’d like to think that she hadn’t got wind of this little jaunt but somehow I doubt that.’

  ‘As you said, Mr Janus, if there’s a complicated way to do it . . .’ Edgy replied. ‘Perhaps she’s planning somethin’.’

  ‘Oh, you can count on that, Edgy.’ Janus nodded. ‘But we’ll soon be on our way. And then think, Edgy: every day takes us nearer to our goal!’

  A crowd had gathered down below on the quayside. Women in grey shawls, scarves tied around their heads to ward off the cold. Ragged children quarrelled and bawled at their feet. A few of the younger seamen lingered with their sweethearts and then dashed up the gangplank just as it scraped across the cobbles back towards the ship. Happy families. Edgy watched some of the children waving, wives dabbing handkerchiefs to their eyes. If I fell over the side now, who would miss me? Edgy thought. He stopped and peered closer. A large, brown figure stood at the back of the crowd, hand half raised. Professor Milberry had come to wave them off.

  Sokket appeared at Edgy’s shoulder and gave a long sigh.

  �
�Cheer up, Mortesque,’ Janus beamed. ‘We’re on the expedition of the century.’

  ‘We’re on a fool’s errand,’ Sokket said. His face looked longer and greyer than ever. He shook his head.

  Smoke began to belch from the ship’s funnel and the great round paddles on either side of the boat began to thrash at the filthy water.

  ‘One of the sailors told me that we’ll get used to the sea,’ Edgy said, watching the sailors scurrying about the deck.

  ‘We won’t need to worry if our bodies are rolling to and fro at the bottom of it,’ Sokket muttered, staring wide-eyed into the water. ‘To and fro . . .’

  The ship’s foghorn gave a blast, drowning out Sokket’s mournful grumbling. The mighty paddle wheels thundered through the water, sending smaller craft bobbing away on the waves. Edgy watched the city float by behind a curtain of masts and sails, and soon the river widened and the banks became shrouded in grey mist. The ship reached deeper water and headed out to sea.

  A poor old man came riding by,

  An’ we say so, an’ we hope so.

  A poor old man came riding by,

  A poor old man!

  Says I, ‘Old man, your horse will die.’

  An’ we say so, an’ we hope so.

  Says I, ‘Old man, your horse will die.’

  A poor old man!

  ‘The Dead Horse’, traditional sea shanty

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Danger in the Rigging

  Edgy awoke not knowing if it was night or day. The ship groaned around him and his head felt light with the rolling of the sea. The vibration of the engine rumbled through everything. He wondered what the others were up to back at the Society. He imagined Spinorix sorting through the collection, sticking his tongue out as he checked off every item. Edgy dragged himself off the bed and stumbled out of his cabin, grabbing on to the doorframes and beams as he made his way to the deck. He missed Henry.