The Dark at the End

by F. Paul Wilson

  Yes, it did seem to be "trying to tell you something. "

  But books don't have awareness, don't have a will. Not even the Compendium. At least not as far as anyone knew. Srem had used a long-lost technology to construct it, but Jack doubted she'd been able to imbue it with consciousness.

  So that meant randomness or manipulation. He discarded randomness - first, because he couldn't buy it, and second, because if that was the case, he had nothing to worry about.

  But the manipulation possibility bothered him. A lot.

  Two sources for that: the Ally or the Otherness. If the Ally, no problem. It wanted to frustrate the Otherness as much as Jack and Glaeken.

  But what if the Otherness was the source?

  Jack's fingers tightened on the steering wheel as he remembered how the Order had put out a BOLO on Weezy a few weeks ago. Out of the blue. After months and months of disinterest - he now knew they'd been preoccupied with developing the Jihad virus - they suddenly wanted to locate Weezy. And according to Eddie, they'd found her.

  But they did nothing. They left her alone. Or maybe not. Rasalom moved Dawn in across the hall. No one had yet to make sense of that. But Weezy discovered the Other Naming Ceremony shortly thereafter.

  Connection?

  Could Rasalom have sneaked in and altered the Compendium? Manipulated it to show the Ceremony page every time it was opened?

  Jack stiffened in the seat. Could he have added the page? Neither Glaeken nor the Lady had ever heard of the Ceremony. Was it bogus? Could the words, written in the Small Folk tongue that only the Lady knew, have an effect that went beyond naming? Would the Lady's reciting them harm her?

  His mind whirled with possibilities.

  What if discovery of the Ceremony was meant to spark memories of the broken sigil and send Weezy and him back to Johnson to find it?

  No, wait . . . Rasalom couldn't know they'd seen it . . .

  Unless Drexler told him. Drexler had been living in the Lodge when they found it.

  Jack tracked down Drexler's number in his phone history and hit SEND. When Drexler picked up, he wasted no time.

  "This is Jack. Did the One ever ask about me?"

  A heartbeat or two of hesitation, then, "You flatter yourself. "

  Not an answer.

  "He never asked you about our interactions when I was a kid?"

  "Why on Earth would he care?"

  Still not an answer.

  "Yes or no?"

  "No. Never. "

  "Okay. "

  Jack ended the call.

  Lying . . . Drexler was good at it. A good liar's reflexes when withholding info were to avoid getting caught in a lie, so he dodged a yes-or-no answer whenever possible - just as Drexler had done until pinned down. And Jack had sensed an instant's hesitation before the flat denial.

  Pretty clear now that Drexler had been contacted by the wounded Rasalom, maybe even helped him. The One had survived and turned to Drexler, and so he'd switched sides again.

  Why am I not surprised?

  But it meant Drexler's denial was bullshit. Rasalom had quizzed him on what he knew of Jack's childhood.

  The scenario took shape in Jack's head:

  Rasalom, knowing Jack was the Heir, probed Drexler about his childhood and learned that he and Weezy had seen the broken sigil. That may or may not have been important to him at first.

  He knew finding Jack would be nigh impossible, but the Order knew what Weezy looked like, so he told Drexler to find her and then do nothing more than watch her - because maybe she would lead them to the Heir.

  Once Rasalom knew her location, he could have floated to her apartment windows, entered, and found the Compendium. He could have altered the book -

  Wait. The Other Naming Ceremony didn't appear until after Dawn moved in. So . . .

  He moved Dawn in across the hall - reason to be determined.

  Then he changed the Compendium to keep opening to the Other Naming Ceremony - which he might well have added to the book.

  Jack punched the steering wheel. And we played right into his hands. We remembered the name on the sigil, we went and found it, and now we're ready to perform the Other Naming Ceremony on a not quite human baby -

  He almost hit a divider as the truth hit him.

  That's it! That's why Dawn was moved in across the hall. So we'd go looking for the baby. Because the baby's such an obvious choice to take on Rasalom's Other Name.

  Except it isn't his Other Name. It's bogus.

  But what was all this supposed to accomplish?

  Jack hadn't a clue, but he did know that, for whatever reason, Rasalom wanted the Lady to perform the Ceremony.

  He called Weezy again, and again got her voice mail. Then he remembered Eddie. He'd probably be with Weezy, and even if not, he could run over and tell them to wait for him.

  But Eddie's voice mail came on immediately as well.

  Jack tossed the phone into the backseat - worthless piece of crap. Wait. Could be a local cell outage in the city, or was the Internet down again?

  He retrieved it and called Gia. She picked up almost immediately.

  "Is everything okay there?" he said. "The Internet and the phones?"

  "Yes. I'm on the computer now. Why?"

  "I'm not sure. Can't get hold of Weezy or Eddie. "

  "I thought they were with you. "

  "Long story. Are you going out at all tonight?"

  "No plans. Schools are open tomorrow. Why?"

  "Good. Stay in. Don't go anywhere. "

  "Should I be worried?"

  "I don't know. Just . . . stay in. I'll call you later. "

  He cut the call and stepped on the gas. He didn't know what Rasalom was up to, but he knew he had to stop the Ceremony.

  TUESDAY Chapter 15

  "It's been two hours, Weez," Eddie said. "We should have heard from him by now. "

  Eddie was really on her nerves with his constant bugging to start the Ceremony.

  "How can we hear from him when our phones say 'no service'?"

  "I believe we should get on with it," Glaeken said. "The One has regained his strength. "

  Weezy looked at him. "You're sure?"

  He nodded. "I sense it. He's back in the city and he's damaged, but he is strong again. "

  "Where in the city?" Eddie said. He looked frightened.

  Glaeken shrugged. "I've never been able to pinpoint his location. I know only that he is here. "

  "Weezy. . . " Eddie drew out her name. "If he's nearby and he finds out what we've got planned, no telling what he'll do. "

  "I told Jack we'd wait. "

  Eddie gave her a look. "Is that really what this is about?" He nodded at the baby. "Or are you just postponing the inevitable?"

  Was that it? Was she delaying the Ceremony just because of the baby?

  "Jack could be in jail, for all we know," Eddie added. "We've got to get this done. "

  "I agree," the Lady said. "We have all we need here to perform the Ceremony. "

  Weezy looked around the room. Looked like she was outvoted.

  She sighed. "All right. Let's do it. " She looked at the Lady. "What's the first step?"

  "According to the Compendium, the baby must be seated on the lap of whoever recites the Ceremony. That would be me. "

  While Eddie pulled one of the wooden chairs away from the table, Weezy stepped to the playpen and lifted the baby. He loosed one of his ear-piercing shrieks as he lost his grip on his bone. Weezy quickly retrieved it for him and returned to where the Lady was seating herself on the chair. Weezy set the baby on her lap. The Lady faced him outward and wrapped her arms around him.

  "Now . . . hold the Compendium before me so I can see the words. . . "

  TUESDAY Chapter 16

  Perfect.

  Rasalom removed the earphones and paused to marvel at how everything had fallen into place. His o
riginal plan had gone off track in seemingly disastrous directions, and yet somehow . . .

  His original intent had been simply to locate Glaeken.

  He'd known for years the identity of the Heir, although not where he lived. The plan had hinged on one all-important assumption: that the Heir knew the whereabouts of Glaeken. If that were so, Rasalom could use Dawn's baby as a means to locate Glaeken through the Heir.

  From his discussions with Drexler he'd known of the Connell woman's relationship to the Heir. So he had paired Dawn with the Connell woman, knowing the girl would be needy and would attach herself. He would eventually allow Dawn - with the Connell woman's help - to find her way back to her baby. The Connell woman would show the q'qrlike child to the Heir. The Heir, if he knew Glaeken's whereabouts, would want him to see the child. And Rasalom would follow.

  But the revelations in North Carolina had made all that unnecessary: Glaeken turned out to be an impotent mortal and no threat.

  Which freed Rasalom to devote all his energies to eliminating the Lady.

  That was when he realized that Dawn's baby could be used as a means to that very end.

  Through the Connell woman, he had learned where the Heir lived - a bit of information crucial to the plan. Once he had established that, he entered her apartment while she was out and inserted a new page about the Other Naming Ceremony into the Compendium, arranging for it to appear whenever the book was opened. The Connell woman couldn't help but find it, and couldn't help but bring it to Glaeken's attention. And to the Lady's as well, since she was the only living being - aside from Rasalom - who knew the Small Folk's language.

  He had worded the page with caveats carefully tailored to leave the q'qrlike child as the only safe recipient of the Other Name.

  The Heir and the Connell woman would go in search of Rasalom's ancient sigil, would find what they'd believe was his Other Name, and the Lady would perform the Ceremony.

  Everything had been working perfectly until the Heir's ferocious assault almost ruined everything.

  Almost.

  Because even though Rasalom had been maimed and had nearly lost his life, it had been worth it. The child had followed the path he'd originally set for it: straight to Glaeken and the Lady.

  He went down on one knee and opened the case.

  After all these millennia . . . time to end this.

  TUESDAY Chapter 17

  Weezy held the Compendium open before the Lady while she in turn held the baby on her lap. The Lady was perhaps half a minute into the tongue-twisting, larynx-torturing vocalizations that made up the Ceremony when the apartment door slammed open.

  Jack?

  Weezy looked around in time to see a disfigured stranger emerge from the shadows behind Eddie who was himself in the midst of turning.

  Time seemed to slow . . .

  The stranger's arm blurred as he swung something through the air. Eddie's eyes widened and she watched in horror as his head tipped to the side and toppled free of his shoulders.

  She screamed at the twin jets of red pumping from his neck stump as the stranger shoved him aside in his headlong rush into the room.

  His eyes blazed in his scarred face . . . they fixed on her as he raised his right arm again.

  A sword . . . he carried a sword . . .

  She saw it arc toward her and instinctively raised the Compendium for protection. The blade bit into the metal of the cover and Weezy recognized the pitted blade of Jack's katana - the Gaijin Masamune - before it pulled free.

  Another swing of the blade, lower this time. She tried to block it again but was too slow . . .

  She felt it slice across her belly, parting the fabric of her shirt and the skin beneath as if they were paper . . .

  No pain at first, and then a burst of staggering agony, deeper and more intense than she'd ever felt or imagined possible, as the point gouged through her intestines.

  She dropped the book and slumped to her knees, doubling over as the stranger rushed by, raising the sword again.

  From the corner of her eye she saw it ram through the baby and into the Lady.

  The baby screamed, the Lady's mouth opened wide but no sound emerged as blue light began to glow where the blade pierced her chest.

  Leaving the Lady and the baby skewered on the sword, the stranger released his grip and stepped back to watch.

  The Lady's eyes rolled up in her head and she began to shudder as the blue glow grew brighter, spreading until it enveloped her and the baby, covering them like a second skin. The baby stopped shrieking, stopped moving as he began to press back against the Lady's chest and abdomen.

  No . . . not press back . . . the baby was melting into the Lady . . . or the Lady was absorbing him. Weezy couldn't tell. But either way, the baby was disappearing into the Lady. And when he was gone, the Lady's shuddering became more violent. The feet of the chair legs beat a tattoo on the floor, then went silent as it began to rise into the air. The Lady's mouth hung open, emitting a long low moan as the enveloping blue glow brightened and brightened until it flashed with intolerable brilliance.

  The sword bounced off the suddenly empty chair and both clattered to the floor.

  The Lady and the baby . . .

  Gone.

  No, please, she couldn't be! No!

  "At last!" the stranger said, his voice vibrant with triumph.

  This had to be Rasalom . . . could only be Rasalom.

  Through her blur of tears and haze of pain she saw him raise his arms and noticed his left hand was missing. That and the scars . . . Jack's work. But not enough.

  Not enough.

  "Done!" he cried.

  Eddie . . . my poor Eddie . . . and the Lady . . .

  She wanted to rear up and strangle this creature, this beast, but could do no more than topple to her side and curl into a ball of agony. She clutched her gushing wound and felt the slick tubes of her small intestine.

  Rasalom turned and stepped closer.

  "Thank you for making this possible," he said as he stood over her. "I doubt I could have done it without you. "

  What did he mean? She didn't understand, but the possibility that she was in any way responsible for what had happened in the last few seconds hurt her more deeply than any wound. She wanted to scream a denial, but had no strength for even a whisper.

  She felt her life oozing away, the room dimming . . .

  "A gut wound is soooo painful," he said, his tone taunting. "As a reward for your help, I should let you die and end your agony, but I need it. And I need you alive. "

  He nudged her with the toe of his shoe. The room brightened, but her agony screamed on unabated. Why wouldn't he let her die?

  She looked at the empty wooden chair. The Lady. He'd killed her. This was her third death, and that meant she was gone and couldn't come back.

  The voice went on. "I only wish the Heir were here. I owe him. His presence would make my victory complete. But that will have to wait for another day. And that day is soon coming. "

  Wait . . . where was Glaeken? He'd been somewhere behind her when all this happened. Why hadn't he done anything, why was he silent?

  Her question was answered when Rasalom stepped over her and addressed someone else.

  "Well, what do you think, Glaeken. Enjoy the show? You may speak now. "

  TUESDAY Chapter 18

  Glaeken felt his larynx loosen but his limbs remained locked.

  He made no reply. He was too shocked to speak.

  He stared with grief and dismay at Eddie's severed head, staring blindly into space, at the Lady's empty, toppled chair and the bloody sword beside it on the floor, and at Weezy's shuddering, huddled form next to it.

  He and Rasalom had surprised each other numerous times through the millennia of their battle, but this was by far the most devastating blow ever dealt. It surpassed even Glaeken's imprisoning him in the keep.


  As Rasalom stepped forward Glaeken took in the scars on his face and the absence of his left hand. Jack must have come close . . . so close.

  "What's that you say?" He leaned close, grinning. "I didn't catch it. "

  Still Glaeken said nothing. He had no defiance left.

  Over . . . after all this time, it was finally over. A spark of relief flashed within but he doused it. Yes, he was tired of the endless struggle, exhausted from it, but he couldn't allow himself to welcome its end - not when the Otherness had won.

  Weezy moaned, and now he had to speak.

  "Let her go. "

  Rasalom shook his head. "Her agony is tasty, but I have another, more important reason to keep her alive. "

  "Jack?"

  "The Heir . . . yes. I want him to find her like this, I want the agony of his loss, I want to feel his unfounded guilt that if only he'd been here things would have been different, when in truth, I'd have frozen him just like you. "

  Glaeken knew what would come next. "And then you'll kill us, slowly. "

  "Yes. As you know, I never forgive, never forget. But I'll save that pleasure for later. He has people he loves. One of them writhes in agony behind me, but there are others. The woman and child will go first, and slowly. And he will watch. Then he will go, even more slowly. And you will watch. Because he's your heir, and because you love him, don't you. Love him like a son. "

  Glaeken blinked in shock. He'd never seen their relationship in those terms, but now that he thought of it, yes . . . Jack was like a son.

  "And after your son is dismembered, you'll watch your wife die. "

  He cringed at the thought, but took infinitesimal consolation in the fact that Magda's limited awareness would spare her the worst of it.

  "But before her agonies begin, I will restore her mind. "

  "Impossible. "

  The grin broadened. "At this moment, yes. But I will transform during the Change, and in my new form I will be able to perform" - he spread the fingers of his remaining hand - "miracles. Remember: I never forgive, never forget. And I well remember how that bitch delayed my exit from the keep. If not for her, I would have escaped before you arrived, and everything would have been so different. "

  Now Glaeken could smile. "You did your damnedest, but she withstood everything you threw at her. "