Tithe to Tartarus: The Dark Avenger's Sidekick Book Three (Moth & Cobweb 6)

by John C. Wright

  Yumiko had seen the wicked power of Malen fail only once. She had seen an attempt to corrupt a willing victim into a werewolf also fail. What was this power that stood against the Black Spell and prevailed?

  The bright lady, Saint Barbara, granted Yumiko new life and freed her of her old oaths and hatreds. The bright lady served the same high and holy name whom Arthur and his men served. Yumiko’s own mother, Dandrenor, had died in this service, slain by the enemy. This enemy had not ceased to hunt and harass and deceive Yumiko since the first hour she woke in the hospital.

  Elfine had just joined.

  And Tom was with them. What more did she need to know?

  Yumiko dropped to her knees. “Then you must do this for me.”

  Matthias looked troubled. “Now, wait. Elfine had no need of instruction because she knew all the Church teaching at least as nursery tales. And there were other, ah, circumstances…”

  Gil said, “Father Dominic appeared to him in a dream last night and told him he would do it today. Baptize Elfine, I mean. We did not know her name, but we were actually expecting someone to show up.”

  Yumiko said, “Tom is down there! And a great host of monsters and evil dogs. I may die in the attempt. Will this not aid and strengthen me?”

  Matthias said, “Well, cousin, it is not magic. The baptism is new life, spiritual life, that calls an end to all mortal things. When this is done, you are no longer of this mortal world. You cannot get it because it is useful or to get something from it.”

  Gil stepped over to his palfrey and drew out one of the lances stowed on the creature’s back. He was splendid in his shining armor and had his proud helm tucked under one arm. A coif of links covered his head and neck. He said, “You will be in no danger, Cousin. You and Elfine shall stay here.”

  5. Knight and Ninja-Girl

  Elfine heaved a sigh of relief. “I’ll watch the horses.”

  Yumiko raised an eyebrow. “Why am I staying here?”

  “I have enough trouble trying to protect an unarmed novice and a crazy dog,” said Gil. Rabicane the war steed snorted proudly, and the dog barked leaped up to Gil, putting his paws on his surcoat. Gil gently pushed the dog down, telling him, “Yes, very useful. Could not do a thing without you.”

  Yumiko said, “What has your spirit-dog told you of me?”

  Gil said, “You put a bug on him, and he set a trap for you…” (Ruff barked.) “… he set a trap for you because he is a smart dog…” (Ruff barked again.) “… a very smart dog. He decided to trust you and tell you where my duel with Garlot was, and then he was sorry he did that because you threw a boomerang and hit me in the head.”

  Yumiko said, “Nothing else?”

  Matthias spoke up, “I know that in recent months, you had been following Tom around. I know you have been keeping an eye on him. He is a reckless boy, and you saved his life at least once.”

  Gil looked surprised. “Saved whose life? When was that?”

  Matt said, “When we went upstate to hunt down the giant rat of Lake Carlopa. Remember that Tom went to Shopton that night? He was searching for radiation traces of a hypothetical matter-amplifier he thought might be causing the problem. He ended up chasing a water-breathing ape in a motorboat.”

  Gil said, “Wait. Was Tom in the motorboat chasing an ape? Or was the ape in the motorboat with Tom chasing him? And why do Tom’s stories still always sound crazy to me, when I fight monsters from Elfland for a living?”

  “The ape was piloting. Tom was chasing him with those ridiculous rocket-propelled water-skis that snap out of his boots.”

  Gil said, “Better than those rocket-propelled, telescoping stilts that snap out of his kneepads.”

  “Anyway, he told me his shoes exploded. This girl pulled up in a black speedboat running without lights. Her boat had a prow shaped like a crow and crow-wings as part of the hull design. She hauled him out of the water and gave him mouth to mouth.”

  Gil scowled. “And what happened to the water-breathing ape?”

  Matt said, “You can ask Tom when you see him.”

  Gil looked at her. “Why were you up around Lake Carlopa?”

  Elfine clapped her hands. “Oh! Do you really have a crowboat? And a crowmobile? What about a crowcopter?”

  Yumiko answered both of them. “I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything. But you cannot stop me from going down into the City of Corpses to find Tom.”

  Gil said, “I could certainly try, Cousin. Tell me, please, what you would do if you were stuffed you into one of those coffins with the lid wedged shut or tied to a tree by your hair or something?”

  Elfine was scandalized. “Knights don’t treat ladies that way!”

  Gil to her, “Ladies do not need to be. Ladies do not put themselves into harm’s way without regard for who must pull them out again.”

  Matthias said. “It’s true. Knights are allowed to manhandle ninja-girls.”

  Yumiko said, “It is said that you can hear the truth in anyone’s voice. You will not stop me. I have the means to escape all traps and to elude any guard set over me. Nothing you do short of death will stop me.”

  Gil frowned.

  Matthias said, “She is boasting, right?”

  Gil said, “No boast. She is telling the truth.”

  “A means to escape all traps?”

  Gil said, “The magician told us. She has the Ring of Mists. One of the Thirteen Treasures of Lyonesse. And I, for one, am not going to try to pull it off her finger by force.”

  Matthias said, “No doubt that is wise. Imagine what your sword would do to someone who tried to take it from you by force.”

  Gil said, “So how do we stop her from following us?”

  Ruff chose that moment to romp around at Yumiko’s feet, to leap up, and to lick her in the face. She ineffectually tried to fend him off while simultaneous rubbing the wet off her cheeks.

  Matthias said wryly, “You could always have your vicious dog stand guard over her, with orders to rip out her throat if she moves. That will work.”

  Gil said, “Are you going to make jokes, or are you going to be serious?”

  Matthias said, “Both at once. Serious is not the opposite of funny. Unfunny is the opposite of funny. A little levity will ensure we do not act in haste or anger.”

  Gil raised his eyebrow higher. “Anger? I think that, considering she murdered a witness to whom I promised safe conduct just last winter and, just yesterday, threw a metal boomerang into my face and spirited away a villainous and recreant knight out of my hand, I am displaying remarkable courtesy. I called her ‘miss’ and said ‘please’ and everything.”

  Matt said, “There is something really odd going on here.”

  Gil said, “What? That Winged Vengeance or his sidekick has shown up yet again on a case we are working on to mess things up? That is beginning to seem kind of routine by now.”

  Matthias said, “But why should she care what happens to Tom?”

  Yumiko decided it was time to ready herself. She removed her sash and snapped it so that it transformed into a cape. From the flat inner pocket in the cape lining she drew her mask and put her trench coat away. She then connected the cape to her shoulder clips and felt the fabric move of its own accord as the struts of the (at the moment, unextended and unseen) wings connected to the parachute harness hidden beneath the suit. She drew her cowl and donned her mask and shrugged her baton into her hand. A flick of the wrist extended the baton to his longbow length, and she bent and strung it.

  She said, “I have vowed a vow. Nothing will deter me.”

  Ruff barked. Gil glanced at the dog and then stared at Yumiko. “Merry Christmas! You’re right.”

  Matthias said, “What did he say?”

  Gil said, “The thing she just did with her cape. The trick longbow. Tom built that. It looks like his handiwork anyway. Smart metal. Like the rocket skis in his boots.”

  Matthias said to Yumiko, “Please tell us what is going on. What, exactly, is yo
ur interest in Tom?”

  Yumiko said, “He is my fiancé. I think. I love him and he loves me.”

  Gilberec and Matthias stared in silence, flabbergasted. Matthias shrugged, as if silently to ask if she were telling the truth. Gil slowly and gravely nodded, a look of astonishment growing ever larger on his face as he did so.

  Eventually, Matthias took off his glasses and rubbed his nose. “Of course. I should have known. It was obvious. It all fits.”

  Gil stood stock still. He looked at Matt. He sputtered for a moment. Finally, he found words again. “It was not obvious. It is not obvious now. How was it obvious? Nothing fits!”

  Matt said, “Everything. The way he talked whenever she came up. The way he was acting weird, even for him. He was in love with her.”

  Gil said, “What? How can you tell the way he acted was any different from the way he normally acted? Weird was normal for him!” He turned toward the dog. “Ruff! You must have known this. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  The dogs ear’s drooped, and his eyes grew large and wet with doglike emotion. He put his head down on his paws and whimpered.

  Gil said, “That is no excuse! Well, wait a moment. I suppose it is an excuse.” He sighed and knelt and petted the dog between the ears. “It’s okay. Good dog.”

  Ruff thwacked his tail once, mollified.

  Yumiko slid her mask back on her head and peered down. “What did he say?”

  Gil said, “Ruff is showing you and Tom that he can be trusted. He did not spill Tom’s secrets to me, nor yours.” Ruff barked again. “He says you are a sneaky fox, and so you have a lot of trust issues.”

  “Uh…” Yumiko took her gaze off his face and looked sidewise at nothing in particular.

  Gil was still on his knees petting his dog. He looked up at Yumiko. “So how long has this been going on? You and Tom?”

  Yumiko said, “I don’t know. I have no memory. I lost all my memories in the mist. An old entry in my diary said that Tom’s experiments show there is no cure for mist poisoning. Do you understand now why I must find him, and save him?”

  Gil stood. He was tall and broad, and he gleamed like cold fire in his silvery armor. “I understand Tom would shoot me if I got his girlfriend killed. And you are my first cousin.”

  Matthias said, “No, she has to come with us. Or, rather, we have to go with her.”

  Gil looked skeptical. He did not speak but his expression spoke volumes.

  “Think through everything we know now, Gil. We asked your mother about the Ring of Mists—what it does and who is looking for it—and we have already figured out most of what her answer meant. Tom brought Yumiko with him to break into the Glass Tower after stealing Rotwang’s Iron Mole machine. So she has the ring, and you know she did not steal it from Tom. I am assuming he pushed it onto her finger.”

  Gil said, “You mean Tom planned this.”

  Matthias said, “He certainly had something in mind. What do we know about the Tower of Glass? What do we know about the Crows of the Dismal Fell? Why did Tom not simply slip an arm around his ninja girlfriend, walk through the walls unseen, and float out of there like a ghost? Because, save for seven, no man comes back from Caer Sidi. The only way out was deeper in. He put the ring on her finger and stayed behind. Why?”

  Gil said, “Out of chivalry.”

  “Chivalry is your thing. His is quick thinking. What was he thinking?”

  Yumiko answered, “That if he and I were separated, I would come looking for him. But if there was something I was supposed to do, some way to save him, I don’t recall. I don’t remember a thing. He could not have known I would lose my memory.”

  Matthias said to her, “Tom is crazy smart. You said he was experimenting on mist effects, studying them. He knew overexposure caused amnesia. So maybe he did know.” Matthias turned to Ruff and said, “What do you think?”

  Ruff barked.

  Matthias adjusted his glasses on his nose. “See? Even your dog agrees with me.”

  Gil said, “You don’t know what he said.”

  Matthias said, “I cannot understand dog talk. That does not mean it is not obvious he agrees with me. Ruff is a good judge of character. Besides, you do not have to protect her. No one is going to lay a hand on her because no one will lay an eye on her. I might have to help her, but not you.”

  Ruff wagged his tail. He barked again. Gil looked weary and stared at the heavy metal grating over the stairs leading down into darkness. “My own dog turned against me!”

  Matthias said, “Okay, so I don’t know. What did he say?”

  Gil gestured solemnly toward the heavy bars covering the stairhead. “Ruff pointed out that Yummy Cutie is the only one who can pick the lock to open the gate.”

  6. Two Boons

  Yumiko said cheerfully, “I have but two demands! Two boons you must grant me ere I unlock that gate! First, you, Gilberec Moth! Never call me Yummy Cutie again!”

  Gil raised his hands as if in surrender. “Granted.”

  Yumiko said, “And you! Matthias Moth!”

  He said, “Yes?”

  Once more she sank to her knees before him.

  Matthias said, “I have explained that it is not a thing done lightly, or for gain, or for any reason other than the deepest. Even the bond of marriage is less than this, for Christ’s word is a sword that can and will sever friendships, families, nations.”

  She said, “I have seen the power of your Christ. I have seen the elfs quail in fear at his name. His is the power that brought me back from death. I do not despise the teachings of the Buddha, the World-Enlightened One, but they do not comfort me. They do not feed me. To what else should I give my life? To vengeance? To vendetta? That is a nightmare. I wish to wake.”

  Matthias said, “You are joining a host that marches with a war banner raised. Scorn, suffering, and martyrdom are what we gain in this life. Our sign is the dead tree on which the world crucified and cursed him. The Black Spell will be redoubled against you and all who are under its sway. Your pay is hate and scorn from all who love the world. Do you understand?”

  “I am the daughter of Danger Moth, who slew the Monster Centipede of Seta-no-Karashi, and of Dandrenor of the Grail, who kept her watch faithfully unto death and thereby saved the Cup of Christ from stain. The blood of gods and true samurai flows in my veins. I know what is being asked of me.”

  Matthias nodded. “Very well.” To Elfine, Matthias said, “Take that cup from my mule’s saddlebag, and go fill it up with water from the fountain. Come back here. You are going to be her godmother and be responsible for her moral instruction.”

  Elfine smiled brightly. “I always wanted to be a fairy godmother!”

  To Yumiko, Matthias said, “Do you renounce the Devil and all his works, the pomp and vanity of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh?”

  Chapter Twelve: The Devil’s Own Door

  1. The Underground World

  The pack horse, riding horse, and mule were left behind.

  The weight of the earth seemed to grow ever more massive and oppressive above them. Ruff was in front, sniffing. Gilberec tramped down the dark stair, flight after flight of them, as the air grew still and stale. Rabicane was surefooted on the stairs as a goat on a crag and moved with remarkable silence for a beast so large and covered with mail and plate.

  Gilberec carried no light and seemed to need none. Yumiko had her flashlight, but it was tuned to ultraviolet.

  Matthias was in the rear, with a silver lantern burning holy oil in one hand and an aspergilium of holy water in the other. This was a silver instrument, shaped something like a miniature mace, designed to sprinkle holy water from a reservoir in the handle though a perforated orb at the tip. A clamshell cowl covered the orb at the moment to prevent drips.

  A time came when Gil froze, Rabicane neighed in alarm, and Ruff growled, his ears flat. Gil said, “Matt, I think there is something here on the stairs. Ahead of me.”

  Matthias said, “It is
someone who needs our help. He says that he was pulled out of his grave from underneath, through the bottom of the coffin, and that the wolves are mauling and despoiling his body.”

  Gil said, “Ask him to lead the way.”

  Yumiko twisted the ring on her finger. The dark stair grew darker, and the lines of perspective of the flights leading down no longer seemed to converge correctly, as if the geometry were somehow askew. Standing on the stair was a young man in a coat and tie. It was not until he turned that Yumiko saw the massive wounds tearing him nearly in half. His entrails spilled out his back and dragged along on the ground behind him.

  Nauseated, she turned her head. Behind her, on the stairs leading up and up out of sight, were packs of dogs. These dogs looked like shadows, with lamps for eyes, and made no more noise than a fog bank rolling over the countryside as they walked.

  Yumiko twisted the ring on her finger back to white. The dead man and the shadow dogs were no more to be seen. She whispered to Matthias, “What is behind us? There is something following us down the stairs.”

  Matthias said, “These are the shadows of all the dogs who ever killed a carrion-eater that despoiled a man’s corpse or dug up a coffin. They are called the Hounds of Saint Anthony the Anchorite. He is the patron of gravediggers. He often fought demons that assumed the shapes of beasts of the desert. May he help us now!”

  “Did you call them?”

  Matthias laughed. “Not I! I am but the student. My Master, Father Dominic, sends them with his blessing because the enemy has been foolish enough to despoil holy ground. Without their help, we would stand no chance.”

  The stairs emptied into a cave. The floor was uneven, and still pools stood in certain places, glinting in the light of Matt’s lantern. Great mouths and vents opened to their left and right, with pits and slopes in further caves rising or falling. But underfoot was stone, and here and there marks in the surface where heavy weights had been hauled. In places a line of boards or pallets or ramps had been laid to allow workmen to pull loads over uneven rock.