Influence (24 page)

‘What the
hell are you doing here?’ he whispered, keeping his arms stretched out as with
the others. Lizzie too kept her eyes to the front.

‘What am I
doing?’ she said in an angry whisper. ‘Why are you here? You promised me you
bloody idiot.’ Lizzie flicked her eyes round sure she must be arousing
suspicion, but no sign of it was obvious.

‘I’m
sorry,’ croaked Void under his breath. ‘I just think that you’re wrong, and if
there’s a tiny chance that you’re not, I want to help. I want to figure out
what’s going on and I can’t very well do that sitting in my flat twiddling my
thumbs can I? I thought you were handing all this over to the police?’ Lizzie
sighed and turned to him.

‘There’s
been a… development. No time to explain. But we’re not safe,’ she said,
evidently a little too loudly. A girl in front of her turned to see what the
disruption was. This caused a few others to turn and look, the domino effect
was rapid and resulted in a couple of the creepy altar boys to start looking in
her direction too.

Lizzie saw
one of them whispering into Sully’s ear and she knew the game was up. The chant
stuttered and quickly collapsed.

All faces
were now turned to her. Lizzie took hold of Void’s arm and pulled him down to
her level.

‘Stay near
the door,’ she said solemnly. ‘Be ready to leave.’ She released his arm,
dropped her hood and walked forward through the rows of the congregated.

Sully
stared at her approach, incredulous. She made for the altar while the crowd
grew anxious with misapprehension and they began to talk amongst themselves,
once or twice she heard her name uttered. Lizzie threaded her way through the bodies
and stepped up to the altar. Sully waited for her to speak, but when she did it
was not to him.

Lizzie
instead turned to one of the assistants.

‘Hello
Robe,’ she said. ‘You’re looking well, for a corpse.’

The clamour
ceased when Lizzie spoke.

Sully
turned to see that Lizzie was addressing Dale and Todd, the American students,
who stared back at Lizzie, only Dale wasn’t Dale, he was Robe.

Sully
rubbed his eyes and focussed on the boy, he and several of the onlookers
suddenly saw him for who he was, there was no miraculous metamorphosis, no
removing of a mask, he had always been Robe, only he had been Dale a moment
ago, they would have sworn it, but then nobody would recall having looked at
him closely that night. Robe dropped his hood as Lizzie spoke, his hair was
different and he wore Dale’s makeup, but he was Robe plain as day.  

‘Well this
is interesting,’ said Robe. ‘Nice to see you Liz, how long have you known?’

‘Not long,’
she said, ‘only since I got a look at the photographs of your dead body. Whatever
little magic trick you played on them was pretty well done, you couldn’t make
out much what with the face all mutilated, combine that with the badly out of
focus images and anyone would struggle to identify much, but I could see enough
to tell me that the unfortunate bastard lying in the dirt in your dressing gown
wasn’t you; and if I had to guess who it was I’d say it was poor old Fletcher judging
by the gnarled old pointy hand, the rest sort of fell into place after that.’

‘Poor,
Fletcher? I thought you’d be pleased, you detested your old English teacher
didn’t you?’ The noise returned to the room as those present began to mutter
amongst themselves, trying to make sense of what was happening on the Altar.
Sully backed up a few steps, Robe’s presence filling him with unease.

‘Pleased?’
said Lizzie, disgusted. ‘That you murdered an old man?’

‘Oh Lizzie,
come now, let’s not be melodramatic, what I did to poor old Mr Fletcher was
nothing but a kindness, a mutually beneficial trade. I needed a blood sacrifice
and a vessel to summon The Serf here,’ Robe flicked a thumb toward Todd, or
whatever posed as Todd. ‘And Fletcher needed putting out of his misery.
Seriously, to live as miserable an existence as he did is the real crime, if
you’d been there the night I went to his house and took his body you would have
seen a man too drunk, and too determined not to live, to feel any sympathy for
him.’

‘Robert
what have you done?’ said Sully now looking at Todd.

‘Everyone
out,’ he yelled across the room sending panic amongst the hooded figures. Void
pulled open the door to allow others to run.

‘Serf,’
said Robe calmly, pointing a nod at the door. The Todd shaped creature stepped
forward, a gush of wind swept through the room extinguishing a few of the
candles and the door slammed shut before anyone managed to pass through sending
Void skidding across the floor.

‘What is
that thing Robert, what in God’s name have you done?’ said Sully taking hold of
Lizzie’s arm pulling her away from the creature. ‘What have you done with Dale
and Todd?’

‘Todd is
still in there somewhere,’ he said tapping the side of the Serf’s head and looking
at the creature disdainfully.

‘Dale, I’m
afraid, was necessary collateral damage, couldn’t be helped. As for this
thing
...’
he paused eyeing the Serf, thinking. ‘Consider him, or rather it, like the
filth that collects under your fingernail when you scratch the surface.’

‘The
surface of what?’ said Lizzie, unable to take her eyes from the huge frame of
the Serf.

‘Ah,’ said
Robe, ‘now that is a question worth the asking, one that we will get to in due
course.’

‘It’s a
demon,’ said Sully, his voice deep with foreboding.

‘Yes I
suppose it is, although it barely qualifies as such,’ said Robe, drumming his
fingers on the top of the Serf’s head. ‘It has its, rather limited uses of
course, but my ambitions stretch much further Doctor Sullivan. You see I needed
the Americans to quietly infiltrate the Council once more, to find out what
you’d done with the scrolls without ruffling too many feathers. Liz though, I’m
afraid, has dispensed with all that now, and furthermore Liz you have
inadvertently placed everyone in this room in very serious peril. Not your
fault though, try not to blame yourself, I’m sure you thought you were doing
the right thing.’ The look on Robe’s face, superior and monstrously determined
filled Lizzie’s heart with dread. There was no sign of the boyhood Robe any
longer, she thought in that moment that the part of him that had been her
friend, truly was dead. ‘So,’ Robe continued. To avoid any unnecessary loss of
life would you please be so kind as to bring me the Lockwood scrolls Doctor
Sullivan.’ Sully stared at him, it crossed his mind to act stupid but he knew
it would prove futile.

‘So it was
you who’s been looking for the scrolls Robert,’ said Sully. ‘I couldn’t quite
figure it out. I should never have shown you the first one should I? In fact it
was a huge mistake to bring you into the Council in the first place.’

‘Well I’m
glad you did, you opened my eyes to so many things, so many possibilities.’

‘I thought
you were mature enough to handle this,’ said Sully, trying to buy time. ‘I
can’t believe how wrong I was, but you are such a talented boy Robert don’t
throw that away now. I honestly thought it would be good for you, and good for
us. Your talents would have taken us forward in leaps and bounds, but I saw
quickly that I was wrong, and for that I’m sorry.’

‘Yes, that
was cruel of you Doctor Sullivan, to break a boy’s bonds of ignorance and liberate
him into enlightenment, only to cast him back to darkness. The day you
instructed me not to return to the Council was the day I started to plan you
see. That day you dared to assume control over this knowledge and deny me
access sealed both our fates. You will regret banishing me before we are done
here tonight, I can assure you of that, Sully,’ spat Robe.

The twenty
or so Council members crowded near to the door, the farthest point in the room
from the altar. There was a constant unsuccessful rattle of the handle and a
few sobs could be heard amongst the group.

‘I regret
it now Robert, but you left me no choice, you became obsessed and your interest
in those areas I warned you not to meddle with, well look at what you’ve gone
and done.’ The Serf stood unmoving waiting for his master’s command. ‘You know
when I thought you had been killed I suspected you had fallen foul to something
like this,’ said Sully pointing to the creature in boy’s flesh.

‘It’s
thanks to the scrolls that that this miserable excuse for a demon poses no
threat, to me at least. But I fear you are just playing for time here. Now, the
scrolls. If you please.’

‘And what
will you do with them Robe?’ asked Lizzie. ‘How did you bring this thing
through without the scrolls in the first place?’

‘Yes,’ said
Sully pouncing on Lizzie’s point, ‘you saw the first scroll only once, and
there are protections in place to stop you removing or copying them.’

‘You mean
your little Bodleian Oath? Yes all very effective I’m sure, but then you didn’t
consider showing the scroll to someone with an eidetic memory might be a bad
idea. You see there’s no need for me to copy or remove the text if I can
remember it verbatim. When you made the mistake of telling me where the other
scrolls were to be found I didn’t have to remove them, I just needed to see
them. You must have deduced my intentions when I broke into the library in
Cambridge where you placed the second one, it spooked you badly enough to
remove the third from the monastery before I had a chance to send the Serf
after it, to confirm its presence. No matter, it has only delayed matters. Now,
I ask you again, bring them to me.’ Robe’s tone grew darker as he reasserted
his request.

‘Look,
Robert, we need to talk about this. It’s bad enough you brought that, that
thing through, but to bring the scrolls together will…’

‘Will open
a doorway so deep and so wide that an army may be summoned? Entities so
numerous and unfathomably ancient, and under the control of the one with the
scrolls? Yes, I am aware Doctor Sullivan, and look here, so many vessels to get
us started.’ Robe gestured to the increasingly distraught crowd by the exit, many
had since removed their cloaks, one was throwing his boot into the door trying
to force his way through the solid oak.

‘I won’t
let you do it Robert, let them go and we’ll discuss it,’ said Sully.

‘You’re
boring me Doctor. Serf.’ The creature moved forward snatching Lizzie from
Sully. Vice like fingers clamped around the top of her arm, she instinctively
thrashed out at him but realised instantly it would do her no good, he was a
huge, solid man, even when he was a man, but whatever this thing had now
become, was unstoppable. The Serf placed its other hand around Lizzie’s neck
and pulled in opposite directions threatening to separate her down through the
shoulder.

‘No,’
screamed Void, clearing the length of the room in a frantic heartbeat and jumping
onto the altar, trying to pull the Serf’s arm from her, but he might as well
have been wrestling with a statue.

‘Not her
you idiot,’ yelled Robe. The Serf flinched, some strange expression appearing,
for the first time, on Todd’s face. The Serf released her and took hold of Void
instead, pulling him to the floor. The Serf stood, Void’s arm gripped at the
wrist, the Serf’s foot on his neck. Sully knew the boy’s life would be
extinguished in one sharp pull. Void grunted in pain. Lizzie moved to help but
was stopped by Sully.

‘It’s
pointless,’ he said.

‘At last,
some sense from you. Now. The scrolls, or I will have him split like a
wishbone, and then I will have the Serf take apart student after student until
you get the message.’

‘Just don’t
hurt anyone, I’ll get them,’ said Sully, he turned to Lizzie. ‘Don’t do
anything rash.’ He disappeared down the small flight of stairs at the back of
the altar.

There was
now a relentless pounding on the door from the huddled group, one girl lay on
the floor shouting for help through the small gap under the door. The air in
the room was growing stale with the panicked breath of so many people in the
confined space. Void gurgled as he tried to draw breath from under the Serf’s
foot. Lizzie needed to help him, need to go to him, but more than that she
needed to be smart.

‘Robe,’ she said
tenderly, trying a new tack. ‘Why? Why are you doing this? What happened to
you?’ Robe looked into her eyes, and Lizzie saw anger there, and yet he
laughed.

‘Why? Why not? I was
dead a long time ago, if I ever lived at all. Do you know how many times I was
praised as a child for how clever I was? how mature I was? And do you know what
I have come to realise Liz? These are not commendable attributes for a child,
they are products of survival. That’s why. What would have happened to my
brother and me if I had allowed myself a childhood? And what would have become
of my parents had I not grown up so quickly to look after them too? You know
the irony Liz, if we weren’t so well off we would have been better off. Vic and
I would almost certainly have removed from those people.’

‘Your parents? Robe
they were devastated when they thought you’d died. And what about Vic? How
could you do this to him? He’s lost without you.’

‘Fuck them for what
they did. Fuck them for what they did to Vic. Fuck all of them.’ Gone was the
laughter, tears of rage welled in Robe’s eyes as he hissed the last words
through clenched teeth.

‘What about Vic now?’
asked Lizzie, ‘Do you know what it did to him, thinking you had been murdered?

‘None of that matters
now.’ Robe forced calm into his voice as he wiped an eye with the back of his
hand. ‘I can’t look after him forever, he needs to take control of his own
destiny now, as I am doing. I’m taking control, that’s all, and if you stay out
of my way you will be allowed to witness it, you will not be harmed.’

‘Oh well thank you
Robe,’ said Lizzie, her sarcastic tone threatening to undo her previous attempt
at calming the situation, but she could not help herself. ‘Where the fuck were
you when this thing nearly caved the side of my head in?’ She gestured to the
monster holding Void in place, motionless.

‘Liz, had I sent the
Serf after you, you would not be here to complain about it. The imbecile is
incapable of subtlety.’

‘What? You mean it
was you? You fucking chased me? Attacked me?’ Robe appeared embarrassed but
brushed her comments away with a flick of his wrist.

‘I was trying to help
you Liz, in the circumstances. You were sniffing around the Council and I needed
you out of the way, out of harm’s way. It was meant as a warning, to scare you
off. But when you wouldn’t give it up I needed to make sure you thought twice
about snooping any further. But then that didn’t work either did it? Now look
at this mess. It was never my intention to hurt you, in fact it was the
opposite of what I was trying to achieve. But, just stay back, don’t get
involved and you will not come to harm, I promise you.’

Robe stepped off the
altar before she could say anymore and crouched to the seven pointed star
inscribed on the floor. He turned to the Serf hearing the strains of the boy
whose face was being mashed into the floor by a massive boot. ‘Try not to kill
him just yet you asinine apparition,’ he said. The Serf lifted the pressure
slightly and Void took his first full breath in a while. Robe picked a piece of
chalk from the ground and began to adjust some of the glyphs around the star’s edge.
The cloaked students squirmed and shifted to be as far from him as they could.