“You do know . . . that Hadleigh Oblivion is dead?” said Eddie.
“Yes,” said the Doormouse. “Everyone knows. There’s a lot of discussion going on right now, down in the Dark Academie, as to how anyone in your family could do that.”
“He should have known better than to invade our home,” said Eddie. “Will there be consequences over his death? In the future?”
“Oh, almost certainly,” the Doormouse said cheerfully. “But you don’t need to worry about that. Not when you have so many other things to worry about right now.”
“Are you sure this Hereafter Door will work?” said Molly. “As in do what it says on the lid?”
“I don’t see why not,” said the Doormouse. “Of course, you can’t just stand in front of it and yell for someone to come out. That’s not how it works. Someone is going to have to go through the Door, into the Fields Beyond, whatever they turn out to be, and find who you’re looking for. And then persuade them to come back with you. All the time being very careful that something else doesn’t slip past you and make a break for the opening.” He looked at Eddie. “You’re really thinking about doing this, aren’t you?”
“I spent a lot of time keeping company with the ghost of Jacob,” said Eddie. “Dead people don’t bother me. And anyway, the people I’m going after are family. They’ll understand.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” said the Doormouse. “Death changes people.”
“Anything, for the family,” said Eddie. “Some things don’t change.”
He reached inside his pocket dimension for the Merlin Glass, but the Doormouse dropped a furry paw on his arm.
“Don’t you dare try and use that thing in here! It’ll override all my coordinates. We’ll use one of my Doors.”
“Hold it,” said Eddie. “You have a Door that can transport us straight to Drood Hall, past all our shields and protections?”
The Doormouse smirked. “I can go anywhere that has accepted one of my Doors.”
“Because you always build a back door into them,” said Molly.
“Of course! Just a little safety feature. In case I have to be called in to do some repair work.”
“We will talk about that later,” said Eddie.
“Looking forward to it immensely,” lied the Doormouse.
* * *
• • •
There are no advertised entrance points to the World Beneath, the dark underworld of the Nightside. John Taylor knew of one because he’d used it before. A small private garden, inviolate behind heavy stone walls and a securely locked iron gate. Annie snapped her fingers in Strangefellows, and suddenly John and Suzie were standing with her outside the garden. John looked at Annie.
“How long have you known about this place?”
“I didn’t just steal state secrets when I was a spy,” said Annie.
John tried the gate, but as he expected, it was still locked. He stepped back and nodded to Suzie, and she gave it both barrels from her shotgun. The gate didn’t even shudder in its frame. Suzie put away the gun and drew Wulfsbane. The gate slowly swung open before them.
“Smart gate,” said John.
“I thought so,” said Suzie.
She led the way into the garden, with John and Annie following close behind. It was a pleasant enough setting, lit by a pleasant butter-yellow illumination from flaring gas-jets. There were trees and shrubs, and flower-beds providing a thick, heady perfume on the night air. But as Suzie strode down the path with the Infernal Device in her hand, the nearest vegetation started to wither and die. John had a quiet word with her, along the lines of Let’s not make any enemies we don’t have to, and Suzie put the sword away.
“This is where I came to find the Lord of Thorns and wake him from his long sleep,” said John. “I’m still not sure whether that was a kindness or not. It didn’t turn out too well for anyone.”
“That’s what happens when you go somewhere without me,” said Suzie.
The trees were unnaturally tall, and the wide swathes of night-blooming flowers were strange and unhealthy shades. Everything in the garden was moving slightly, though there wasn’t a breath of breeze. John and Suzie stuck close together. Annie trudged along behind them, paying no attention to the garden, thinking her own thoughts. The path finally ended before the statue of an angel, kneeling weeping over its torn-off wings.
“What’s that supposed to be?” said Suzie. “A monument to the angel war?”
“No,” said Annie. “It’s much older than that. Some say this is all that remains of an actual angel.”
“What could do something like that, to an angel?” said John.
“Another angel,” said Annie.
The statue’s face was almost completely worn away, by wind and rain, or possibly tears. Beside the angel stood a chunky stone moon-dial. John turned the pointing gnomon through one hundred and eighty degrees, and the moon-dial slid jerkily to one side, revealing a dark shaft falling away into the earth. A black metal ladder had been clumsily bolted onto one side. Annie conjured up a ball of light and sent it bobbing down the shaft to illuminate the way. John set off down the ladder without hesitating, Suzie went after him, and Annie brought up the rear.
The rungs had been set uncomfortably far apart, as though never intended for human use, and John’s arms and legs were aching long before he reached the bottom of the shaft. When he ran out of rungs, he just let go and dropped, and ended up on a narrow stone platform beside a canal. Dark waters in a dark place. The glowing ball shot this way and that, as though checking out the territory, then came back to bob impatiently beside John as first Suzie, then Annie, dropped out of the shaft to join him. Suzie glowered around her and wrinkled her nose.
“What is this place? I thought I’d chased bounties through every part of the Nightside, but this is new to me.”
“Not many come down here,” said John. “The World Beneath is a refuge for those who feel the long night isn’t dark enough. A whole system of underground tunnels, catacombs, and secret galleries, spread out under the Nightside. Inhabited by people, and others, with more reason than most to seek the comfort of the dark. The subterraneans who left the world above to hide from their enemies. Or their friends. It’s that kind of place. There are some who use the World Beneath as a way of getting back and forth in the Nightside without being observed, though that’s not without risk. The subterraneans have a tendency to kill and eat anyone who disturbs them. Not necessarily in that order.”
“You take me to the nicest places,” said Suzie.
She might have meant it. John could never tell. He looked at Annie.
“Where now? The World Beneath is a big place. Do I need to summon a barge to take us to the Door? That’s how I got around last time.”
“We’re not tourists,” said Annie. “We’re going off the beaten track. This way.”
She strode down the platform, the ball of light bobbing happily along at her shoulder. John and Suzie had to hurry after her, to keep from being left behind in the dark. Annie kept leaning in close to study the wall until finally she located a door only she could see. She identified herself as one of the Authorities, and the door opened to her voice, revealing a narrow tunnel. Annie led the way in, and John and Suzie followed after in single file. Moisture ran down the cracked and pock-marked walls and splashed underfoot. The smell was really bad. The light from the floating ball didn’t travel far, as though something in the darkness resented its efforts. John thought the ball’s movements looked rather subdued, but that might just have been the confined space. Suzie moved in behind John, so she could murmur in his ear.
“I knew Annie was a killer and a spy, but did you know she could work these kind of magics?”
“Annie’s always kept a lot to herself,” John said quietly. “I mean, I knew Tamsin was her daughter, but who was the father? And how did Annie’s da
ughter end up a vicar?”
“I can hear you,” said Annie, not even glancing back. “And my secrets are mine to keep. Till I choose to sell them.”
They finally emerged onto a deserted tube station. The ball’s light flared up to illuminate a platform thick with dust and rails thick with rust. The walls were pitted and stained, and only scraps and tatters remained from what had once been colourful posters. John could just make out the station’s name on the far wall: DOWNSIDE.
“I never heard of any such station,” he said.
“Not many remember it these days,” said Annie. “But the World Beneath wasn’t always as separate as it is now.”
“Why leave the Door down here?” said Suzie.
“Because the underground rail system is protected by extremely powerful forces,” said Annie. “So that people can travel safely. This may be a disused station, but the protections are still working.”
“Could trains still come here?” John asked.
“They could,” said Annie. “But they won’t. They’re afraid.”
“I just know I’m going to regret asking this,” said John, “but what, exactly, are the trains so afraid of, and might it still be here somewhere?”
“Another reason why the old Authorities chose this location for the Door,” said Annie. “Downside may be disused, but it’s far from deserted. Things live here, more than powerful enough to protect the Door. And they’re always hungry.”
John and Suzie looked around. The shadows outside the circle of light were very dark and deep enough to hide any number of dangerous things.
“I don’t have time for this,” said John. He raised his voice. “Listen up! I am John Taylor, and this is Shotgun Suzie. I don’t care how long you’ve been down here, you know those names. For the moment, we’re just passing through. But if you give us any trouble, I promise we will make a point of sticking around long enough to ruin your entire existence. Is that clear?”
There wasn’t any answer, but there was something about the surrounding shadows that suggested they were listening carefully and thinking hard. Nothing moved or showed any signs of thinking of moving. John turned to Annie.
“Find the Door.”
“Why didn’t you include my name?” said Annie. “I have a reputation too, you know.”
“Find the Door,” said John. “We have a war to stop.”
Annie led the way down the platform until she came to an unobtrusive door marked MAINTENANCE. She nodded quickly.
“Standard misdirection.” She gestured at the Door, being careful not to get too close. “The Door is open now. My presence was enough to do that. But you have to talk to it because you’re the one who wants something from it. Just call out to who you want, and they’ll come to you. Or they won’t. You can never be sure in situations like this.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea, John?” Suzie said quietly. “Lilith tried to destroy the long night and everyone who lived in it. Even if you could bring her back, what makes you think she’d want to help save the Nightside from the Droods?”
“Because she wouldn’t want someone else taking control of her creation,” said John. “Because I’m her son. And . . . because she wants to get out of wherever she is. I’m happy to go along with any of those reasons. We stopped Lilith before, and I don’t see any way of stopping the Droods; so we have to roll the dice and go with the lesser of two evils.” He smiled, briefly. “Though that is almost certainly the first time anyone has ever said that about Lilith.”
“She’s your mother,” said Suzie.
“Keep your gun handy,” said John.
“Not Wulfsbane?”
“Not unless you absolutely have to.”
“Get on with it,” said Annie. “Some of those shadows are starting to look a bit restless.”
Suzie drew her shotgun. Light gleamed almost caressingly along the twin barrels. John pushed the Door back, and the opening was full of Light. A bright and glorious Light, that spilled out onto the platform and forced back the darkness. John stared unblinkingly into the Light, not feeling in any way threatened. He felt as though he knew it. Perhaps from before he was born.
“Call out to Lilith! Quickly!” Annie said urgently. She had her head turned away from the Light, her eyes squeezed shut. “Before something else senses the opening and comes to investigate.”
“Lilith!” said John. “This is your son, John. Come back to the Nightside. We need you.”
And then he stumbled backwards, almost falling over his own feet, as Lilith stepped out of the Light and onto the platform. She stood before John, smiling calmly. Disturbingly tall and almost supernaturally slender, the lines of her body were so smooth they looked as if they’d been streamlined for greater efficiency. Her hair and eyes and lips were jet-black, and her skin was so pale as to be colourless. She looked like a black and white photo superimposed on reality.
She was naked, and she had no navel. Her face was sharp and pointed, with a prominent bone structure and a hawk-nose. Her dark mouth was thin-lipped and far too wide. She looked wild, elemental, something from when the world was new. And she looked strong enough to break the present world just by walking up and down in it.
John’s mother: the Biblical Myth.
And then someone else stepped out of the Light, to stand beside Lilith. John’s father, Charles. He looked a lot like John and not much older. Tall and dark and handsome enough, with a calm, quiet presence to him. He was wearing the same casual clothes as the last time John had seen him just before he sacrificed himself to force Lilith out of the world and keep her out. And then, to John’s utter astonishment, he put out a hand to Lilith, and she took hold of it. And they both smiled easily at him. Suzie was so thrown she actually lowered her shotgun for a moment.
“It’s all right, John,” said Lilith, in her low, sultry voice. “Charles and I aren’t fighting any more. It’s only been a few years for you, but a lot longer where we were. We’ve had time to make our peace with each other.”
“How did that happen?” said John, too astonished to be polite.
“It turned out he still loved me,” said Lilith. “Even after everything. Isn’t that sweet?”
“What can I tell you?” said Charles. “There was a reason I fell for her in the first place. Some people are just made for each other.”
“You shouldn’t have called me back, John,” said Lilith. “We have no reason to return to this world. We’ve moved on. The Nightside has changed so much since its creation. It’s not at all what I meant it to be.”
“Our time here is over,” said Charles. “It’s your time now, John. Your Nightside. Do what you want with it.”
They started to turn away, to go back through the Door and into the Light, but Annie yelled at them to stop. They looked back at her, curiously.
“You can’t go!” Annie said fiercely. “We need you. You have to stop the Droods!”
“We don’t do that any longer,” said Lilith.
“Then at least give me my Tamsin back!” said Annie. “That’s why I came here. I want my daughter.”
“I’m sorry,” said Charles. “But you’ve come to the wrong Door for that.”
“If you won’t help me, I’ll make you!” said Annie.
She pointed a finger at Suzie and spoke a Word of Power, and all the expression dropped out of Suzie’s face as Annie’s will got inside her head and took over. Suzie put away her shotgun and drew Wulfsbane. Her movements were slow and strained as she fought against Annie’s possession and lost. She advanced slowly on Lilith and Charles, the long sword held out before her, glowing with its poisonous light.
“That sword has killed gods, in its time,” said Annie. “If you won’t give me what I want, we’ll see if it can kill a Biblical Myth.”
“Don’t hurt Suzie!” John shouted desperately to Lilith. “She’s not in control!”
“Of course I won’t hurt her,” said Lilith. “She’s carrying my grandchild.” She looked at Annie. “You, on the other hand . . .”
“I want my daughter!” said Annie.
“Then go and be with her,” said Lilith.
Annie’s eyes rolled up in her head, and she collapsed. Dead before she hit the platform. Lilith smiled.
“No one threatens my family. I haven’t changed that much.”
Suzie groaned out loud, swaying on her feet. With Annie dead, the compulsion was gone, but now the voice of the Infernal Device roared inside her head. Wulfsbane wanted to kill Lilith. It tried to drive Suzie on, to make her do it, but she fought the sword off, forcing the voice to the back of her head. The sword subsided, reluctantly. Suzie sheathed the sword and nodded quickly to John to show she was all right.
“This is why we didn’t want to come back,” said Charles. “Your world is bad for us. It reminds us of what we used to be.”
“So we’re going back,” said Lilith. “To where we belong. You don’t need me, John.”
“This is your time, son,” said Charles. “Be happy. We are.”
“Wait!” said Suzie. “Before you go . . . The boundaries of the Nightside have changed. How do we restore them?”
“Find whoever changed them,” said Lilith. “And make them do it.”
Lilith and Charles walked back into the Light, still hand in hand, and the Door closed silently behind them.
Suddenly, it was utterly dark. When Annie died, her magic light died with her. John and Suzie stood very still. Slow, heavy movements in the darkness around them suggested certain things were no longer content to remain still. John reached into his pocket and brought out a salamander ball. He shook it hard and it generated a soft blue glow, just enough to see by. The surrounding shadows looked darker and deeper now and quite a bit closer.
“Time we were leaving,” said John. “I’d hate to think we’ve outstayed our welcome.”
“Then use your portable Timeslip and get us out of here,” said Suzie, covering the shadows with her shotgun.