by Mel Odom
The being’s features looked mismatched, as if they’d been forced together instead of growing naturally. Its nose was a large oblong that dangled almost to its upper lip. The eyes were too small and pushed too far together. The mouth was a slash. Dark, curly hair framed the elliptical face with a chin so crooked it looked like a comma. More hair covered its bony legs. A yellow breechcloth fluttered in the gentle breeze.
“I am Thakelrot,” the being announced, and smiled hesitantly.
“That’s a name,” Warren said. “It doesn’t tell me who you are, what this place is, or how I got here.”
“You haven’t died and gone to some afterlife, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“No.”
“You humans have interesting ideas about that.”
Warren stepped forward and thrust the spear to within inches of Thakelrot’s throat.
The little being held up his hands. “This is what I get for the kindness I’ve shown you? After I pulled you from that passageway to this place and healed your wounds?”
“If you’ve done all that, then you can tell me what I want to know.”
Thakelrot looked into Warren’s eyes. “You know me, Warren. You know my voice and you know this place.”
It took Warren a moment more, but he did know the being. “You’re the Book.”
A smile curved the slash of a mouth. “Yes.”
Warren lowered the spear but didn’t let down his guard. He looked around.
“You’ve been inside the book before,” Thakelrot said.
Warren had. “It didn’t look like this then.”
“The Book has many pages. You’ve not seen them all. No one has.”
“And you weren’t there.”
“I was. You just didn’t see me.”
Warren considered that. “You pulled me into the Book?”
“To save your life, yes.”
“What about Naomi and Lilith?”
“Naomi carries the Book. She saw me pull you into it. She couldn’t very well carry you. And now that I’ve finally managed to separate myself from Lilith, I don’t want to endure that again.”
“I can get back out?”
“Of course. I am not a jailer.”
Warren studied the homely face. All of his life, Warren had been lied to. His mother had lied to him first, followed by his stepfather, and continuing on through the foster homes and “friends” he’d made who leaned on him because he could be counted on to come up with his portion of the rent and utilities.
He couldn’t tell if the being in front of him was lying.
“I wanted to you to be safe,” Thakelrot said. “When you were knocked unconscious, they would have had no choice but to leave you behind.”
They could have stayed, Warren thought.
“They’re afraid. The passageway didn’t completely close as you’d hoped it would. The Gremlins dug through.”
“Will my companions get away?”
“Yes. There is time. You planned well.”
“I need to get back there.”
“Take a moment. The last time you were inside the Book you only saw one of the wars the demons have waged in the past. You can learn from this experience.”
Warren gazed around at the forest. “Where are we?”
“Inside the Book.”
“I meant, this place.”
“This is one of the worlds that the demons devoured. Better yet, this is a memory of that place. It no longer exists, but within the pages of this Book, this place can live on forever. At least, as long as the Book remains whole.”
Thakelrot walked down to the slow-moving brook. “Follow me.”
For a time, Warren walked in silence beside the small being. The beauty of the forest overwhelmed him. Before the invasion, he’d taken parks for granted. Then, once the Burn had started consuming London and it had become unsafe to be in wide, open spaces, he’d regretted not having gone to the parks more often.
Thakelrot paused at an apple tree. The red fruit hung heavily on the limbs. After eyeing the fruit judiciously, he plucked one and tossed it to Warren.
Warren caught the apple and examined it. The fruit looked perfect. Good enough to—
“Eat it,” Thakelrot encouraged.
“Is it safe?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard too many stories of evil witches and jealous queens to easily accept apples as gifts.”
“I don’t want to hurt you. If I did, all I had to do was leave you in that passageway. The Gremlins would have killed you.”
“Maybe.”
“If you’d been conscious, you’d have seen the truth of what I’m saying.” Thakelrot plucked another apple and tore it apart in his bare hands. The being dropped pieces of it into the brook. Almost immediately, fish surfaced and nibbled the bits. None of them died.
Hungry, wanting to remember what an apple tasted like that wasn’t pureed and poured into a can, Warren shined the fruit on his coat and took a bite. The apple was sweet and just tart enough to make his jaws ache. Juice ran down his chin. Despite his strange circumstances, he had to smile.
“Good, right?” Thakelrot asked.
“Yes.”
The creature turned and walked along the brook again. Warren followed, still munching on the apple.
“I wanted to take this opportunity, now that we’re finally alone, to talk to you. There is much I have to share.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Because Lilith was here. Hiding among us. There are things she must not know. Or at least things that she must not know that you know. Otherwise she will kill you. And never trust for a moment that she won’t as soon as she’s through with you anyway.”
“I don’t.”
Thakelrot grinned over his shoulder. “No more than you trust me, eh?”
“No more.” Warren flipped the apple core into the brook. A dozen fish set upon it at once.
“You have to trust someone.”
“I trust myself.”
“You don’t know enough.”
Warren didn’t argue that point. “What are you?”
“For now, perhaps for always, I am this Book. But once, I was like you. A creature of my own place and world. I had a family. A spouse. Children.” Pain showed in the little being’s eyes. “The demons killed them all.”
Warren didn’t know what to say, especially since he didn’t know whether he believed the story or not.
THIRTY-SIX
I n my village, I was an historian,” Thakelrot said. “I kept the old tales. The ones that no one really wished to hear anymore. But it was my place and I did it. No one believed those stories anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because they were about demons. No one believed in demons in those days. All believed that the Darkness had passed us by. Or—as many began to say—never existed at all.”
“The demons had been to your world before?”
“Yes. Just as they had yours. They monitor young worlds. Send Heralds and Seekers into them to judge when they’ll be ready for the harvest.”
“What time is that?”
“When the population has flourished,” Thakelrot said. “In the beginnings of all worlds, there are only a few. But given time, intelligent creatures continue to breed and multiply, till they threaten to overpopulate a world. No other creature on any world does that with the same dogged success as the intelligent species. Once a world is burgeoning, when the demons judge they can no longer continue without imploding under their own weight, they strike. Just as when a fruit is ripest so that they can suck all the juices out.”
“How do they know?” Warren asked.
“Demons never truly leave a world. They always have some who stay and observe. Like Lilith.”
“She said the demons planned to return before now.” The hill beside the brook rose steeply. Warren’s thighs burned with the effort of the ascent.
“Perhaps they were,” Thakelrot said. “You
r people have had many setbacks as a species. I’ve seen them. Wars. Famines. Plagues. All those things set you back and threatened eradication.”
“Why were you made into a book?”
“It was a joke on me. Because of what I’d been.”
“Lilith did this?”
“No. She was there, but my fate wasn’t through any decision of hers. Another of the Dark Wills took my body and the life barely beating within me and broke my bones and twisted me until I became this book.”
“What was the point?”
Thakelrot sighed. “When I was alive, I knew how to hurt the demons. How to hurt them and kill them. What I knew helped forestall the inevitable, but it was too little, too late. Our destiny was ashes, and we were slow to get there. More than that, we didn’t have the Truths in our world. Not like they are in this one.”
“The Truths?”
Thakelrot stopped and looked at him. “Yes.”
“I don’t know what those are.”
“Neither do I. Not entirely. I only know that they are the greatest weapons you can ever have against the demons. By your nature, you are a Cabalist. As such, you are tied most closely to the Truth of the Mother.”
“What mother?”
“I don’t know. I only know that when the time is right, the Cabalists must recognize that Truth and free it. Only then can the demons and the Hellgate be defeated.”
“Where did these Truths come from?”
“Where all good things do. From the Fountain of Light.”
“How many Truths are there?”
“Seven. They must all be found and united.”
Warren’s head reeled. “Where are the Truths?”
“Somewhere in your city,” Thakelrot said. “You must find the Sigil, then you must find the Truths.”
“How do you know this?”
“Because the story of the Seven Truths was one of the tales I knew in my world. I thought the Truths were there as well, but we searched for them and couldn’t find them.”
“They’re physical things?”
“Of course they are. They’d have to be. They’re going to be weapons that can be used against the demons.”
Warren marshaled his thoughts. “You said the Truth about the Mother is tied to the Cabalists?”
“Yes.”
“What other truths are there?”
“One will be tied to the Templar. They are too important to be discounted. And another Truth will be tied to the secret warriors.”
“Isn’t that the same as the Templar?”
“No. There are warriors within your world. I’ve seen them. They will be tied to the Truth about the Soldier because they only believe in fighting. The Templar will be tied to the Truth about the Brothers, because they are a house divided against itself. They stand for unity, but they became divided when the Hellgate first opened. Some of them died, while others were commanded to stay behind. Shame has tainted the living.”
“Who will find those Truths?”
“Whoever seeks them.” Thakelrot smiled hopefully. “I only wish that you’re one of those. That’s why I’m telling you about them. You have a chance to make a difference, Warren. But not unless you let go of the fear and anger that you cling so desperately to.”
Warren wanted to argue that he wasn’t fearful or angry, but he knew he couldn’t. “Where would I start looking for them?”
“I don’t know. But you must be prepared to act on anything you see. I’ve wanted to tell you that for months, but Lilith cannot find out that I know these things and am willing to tell you. If she learns of my knowledge, she will destroy me.”
Warren just looked at the little being in front of him. If what he said was true, Thakelrot had had a horrible life for thousands of years.
“I won’t tell her,” Warren said.
“Be careful too how much you think around her. She can pull thoughts from your head easily.”
“I know.”
“As long as you have me with you, I can help keep some of your thoughts shielded.”
“Then I’ll make sure you stay with me.”
“Come with me up to the top. There’s something I want to show you.”
At the top of the ridgeline, Warren thought he was going to be sick. Beyond the foothills, the terrible blackness of the Burn stretched forth in all directions. Pulsing ulcers that streamed sulfurous gas filled the wretched and diseased land. The sky above resembled a deep, dark bruise.
“This,” Thakelrot whispered in a strained voice, “is what’s become of my world. And if steps are not taken, if the Truths are not found, this is what will become of your world as well. Do you understand?”
Warren did.
“Even if you live, which is doubtful on your own because the demons will not suffer you long without making you pay for your own life, this will be all that you have to inherit,” Thakelrot told him. “Living like this is no victory.”
“But you live?”
“Do I?” Thakelrot seemed genuinely puzzled. “Most days I believe I am only a memory of myself. You are the first person I’ve talked to on my own in thousands of years. What kind of life is that?”
Staring out at the charred expanse, Warren felt afraid. “Are you sure?” he asked in a quiet voice. “Are you quite sure the demons can be defeated?”
“From this place? Yes. The Truths must be found and the secrets must be unlocked. The forces of Light put them here so that champions could rise up and strike back against the Darkness.”
“Why here?”
“Because your people have great capacities for passion, for violence and for love. Because they can know the Truths and still yet be strong enough to wield them.” Thakelrot paused. “Because, in the end, they have to be found here or your world has no hope for survival.”
“How will I know them?”
“I don’t know the answer to that riddle. I only know that when the time is right, the Truths will reveal themselves to you. You must make sure you and others are prepared.”
“Why others?”
“Because the Truths must come from all three groups that have formed to fight the demons. None of you can stand against the demons alone. You must use each other’s strengths in knowledge.”
“No one trusts anyone out there.”
“Some do. That trust must be made stronger. You must find a way.”
“I’m not the guy for this.”
“Then tell others,” Thakelrot stated slowly. “Don’t let what I tell you go to waste. This is a chance to strike back.”
Warren silently thought that Thakelrot should have found someone else to have a bonding moment with.
“There is no one else,” the little being said. “The Light gave me you.”
“I’m not a champion,” Warren protested. “I’m not even a good person. The things I’ve done, the people I’ve hurt…if you only knew.”
“What you did before doesn’t matter,” Thakelrot said. “It’s what you do now that counts. Every hero has a failing.”
“I’m not a hero.”
“Then be a messenger.” Thakelrot grimaced and shook his head. “Our time is over. She searches for you.”
“Lilith?”
“Yes.” He scrunched his eyes up in pain. “You had best go. Before she becomes suspicious. If she asks, simply tell her that you were unconscious the whole time in here.”
“All right.”
“I’ll be in touch with you when I can.”
One moment, Warren stood on the hill overlooking the black desolation of the Burn—
—and the next he stood in the underground passageway. The suddenness of the transition left him light-headed. He staggered, then caught himself with the spear.
Lilith eyed him with vague suspicion. “Where have you been?”
Warren looked around the passageway. “On a battlefield. Somewhere else.” He paused. “How did I get here?”
“You were in the Book,” Naomi answered. She held it close to her.<
br />
“Did you enter the Book?” Lilith demanded.
“No. The last I remember was the blast in the tunnel.”
“Were you injured?”
Warren looked down at himself, as if only then thinking to check. “I don’t seem to be.” Then he did what he always did when others made him feel uncomfortable with their questions: he asked questions of his own. “Who was the demon back there?”
“An old adversary. He’s dead now. You no longer have to concern yourself with him.”
“How did he find us?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Warren made his voice more harsh. “It does matter. If that demon can find us, then others can as well. We need to be—I need to be—prepared for that eventuality.”
Lilith glared at him. “Do you really think it matters if you’re prepared?”
“Does it matter to you if I’m still alive?”
Her nose flared then, proving that she was once more breathing in her withered body. Warren wondered if that made her more vulnerable.
“It does matter,” she answered.
“Then it matters if I’m prepared. I’ve just lost my hiding place. We’re going to be vulnerable.”
“There are other boltholes in the city. As for how Korhdajj found me, I have taken care of that. I’ve masked myself. I hadn’t thought myself powerful enough to have warranted attention.”
“You obviously have a list of enemies I don’t know about.”
“Demons have always been a jealous breed. You don’t think humans invented that emotion, do you?”
“How many other demons will want to kill us?”
“Many. For a time, I was favored by Sydonai. There are many who never knew his beneficence.” Lilith turned and floated away. “Come. We have much to do. I need to further regain my strength, and you have to raise a host of disciples to follow me into battle.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“You’re creative, Warren Schimmer. That’s why I chose you. You’ll think of a way.”
Warren followed her, but part of him wished he were still inside the Book.
THIRTY-SEVEN
W e’ve got an inexperienced crew here, Leah.”