The Devil Rides Out

‘It should be an extraordinary experience.’

‘Any normal person would be terrified at what might happen.’

‘Well, if you like, I will admit that I am just a little frightened but that is only because it is my first participation. By surrendering myself I shall only suffer or enjoy, as most other women do, under slightly different circumstances at some period of their life.’

‘Slightly different!’ he exclaimed, noting again the sudden change of eyes and voice, as though she were possessed by some sinister dual personality which appeared every time she spoke of these horrible mysteries, and blotted out the frank, charming individuality which was natural to her. ‘This thing seems worlds apart to me from picking a man you like and taking a sporting chance about the rest.’

‘No, in ancient Egypt every woman surrendered herself at the temple before she married, in order that she might acquire virtue, and sacred prostitution is still practised in many parts of the world—for that is what this amounts to. Regarded from the personal point of view, of course, it is loathsome. If I thought of it that way I should never be able to go through with it at all, but I have trained myself not to, and only think of it now as a ritual which has to be gone through in order to acquire fresh powers.’

‘It’s mighty difficult for any ordinary person to see it that way—though I suppose the human brain can shut out certain aspects of a thing.’ Rex paused, frowning : ‘Still I was really speaking of the hideous danger you will incur from placing yourself in the hands of—well, the Devil if you like.’

She smiled. ‘The Devil is only a bogey invented by the Early Church to scare fools.’

‘Let’s say the Power of Darkness then.’

‘You mean by receiving re-Baptism?’

‘By attending Sabbat at all. I imagined from your strange name you had received re-Baptism already.’

‘No, Tanith is the name by which I was christened. It was my mother’s choice.’

Rex sat forward suddenly. ‘Then you haven’t—er—given yourself over completely yet?’

‘No, but I shall tonight, for if De Richleau has a tenth of the knowledge which you say he has he will realise the appalling danger to which I should be exposed if he detained me here, so he will let me go immediately he arrives—and remember, you have promised not to interfere with my freedom once he has seen me.’

‘But listen,’ he caught her hands again. ‘It was bad enough that you should have been going to take part in this abominable business as a graduate—it’s a thousand times worse that you should do it while there’s still time to back out.’

‘Mocata would not allow me to now, even if I had the inclination, but you are so nice it really distresses me that you should worry so. The Satanic Baptism is only an old-fashioned and rather barbarous ritual, but it will give me real status among adepts, and no possible harm can come to me as long as I do not deviate from the Path which must be followed by all members of the Order.’

‘You’re wrong—wrong—wrong.’ Rex insisted boldly. ‘De Richleau was explaining the real horror of this thing to me last night. This promise of strange powers is only a filthy trap. At your first Christening your Godparents revoked the Devil and all his Works. Once you willingly rescind that protection, as you’ll have to do, something awful will take possession of you and force you into doing its will, an Earthbound Spirit or an Elemental I think he called it.’

She shrugged. ‘There are ways of dealing with Elementals.’

‘Aw, hell. Why can’t I make you understand!’ He wrung his hands together desperately. ‘It’s easy to see they haven’t called on you to do any real devilry yet. They’ve just led you on by a few demonstrations and encouraging your crystal gazing, but they will—once you’re a full member—and then you’ll be more scared than ever to refuse, or find it’s just impossible under the influence of this thing that will get hold of you.’

‘I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you. It is I who will make use of them — not they of me, and quite obviously you don’t know what you are talking about.’

‘The Duke does,’ he insisted, ‘and he says that you can still get free as long as you haven’t been actually re-baptised, but after that all holy protection is taken from you. Why else d’you think we took a chance of breaking up that party last night—if not to try and save Simon from the self-same thing.’

A queer light came into Tanith’s eyes. ‘Yet Mocata willed him to return so he will receive his non-du-Diable after all tonight.’

‘Don’t you be too certain. I’ve a hunch we’ll save him yet.’ Rex spoke with a confidence he was very far from feeling.

‘And how do you propose to set about it?’ she asked with a quick intuition that by some means she might utilise this factor to facilitate her own escape.

‘Ah! that’s just the rub,’ he admitted. ‘You see we thought maybe you’d know his whereabouts and I’ll be frank about it. That’s the reason I went round to Claridges this morning, to see if I could get you down here some way so as De Richleau could question you, although I should have called on you anyway for a very different reason. Still you didn’t even know Mocata had taken Simon off us till you spoke to the old woman on the wire, so it’s pretty obvious that you don’t know where he is. I believe you could give us a line on Mocata though—if you choose to.’

‘I was under the impression that it was at his house that the party where we met was given.’

‘No, that was Simon’s place, though I gather Mocata’s been living there with him for some little time. He must have a hideout of his own somewhere though and that’s what we want to get at.’

‘I know nothing of his ordinary life, and if I did, I do not think I should be inclined to tell you of it, but why are you so interested in this Mr. Aron ? That was a lie you told me about your needing him because you are also searching for the Talisman of Set.’

‘He’s my very greatest friend, and more than that he risked his life to come out to Soviet Russia and look for me, when I was gaoled for poking my nose into the “Forbidden Territory”, a few years back. The Duke came too, and he looks on Simon almost as a son.’

‘That does not give you any right to interfere if, like myself, he elects to devote himself to the occult.’

‘Maybe, as long as he confines himself to the harmless side, but De Richleau says the game that you and he are playing is the most hideously dangerous that’s ever been known to mankind, and after what I saw last night I certainly believed him.’

‘Simon Aron did not strike me as a fool. He must be aware of the risks which he is running and prepared to face them for the attainment of his desires.’

‘I doubt it—I doubt if you do either. Anyhow, for the moment, we’re regarding him as a person who’s not quite all there, and nothing you can name is going to stop the Duke and me from saving him from himself if we get half a chance.’

Tanith felt that now was the time to show the bait in the trap which she had been preparing. So she leant forward and said, slowly : ‘If you really are so mad as to wish for a chance to pit yourselves against Mocata, I think I could give it to you.’

‘Could you? ‘Rex jerked himself upright and the water gurgled a little at the sides of the canoe.

‘Yes, I don’t know if he has a house of his own anywhere, but I do know where he will be this evening—and your friend Simon will be with him.’

‘You mean the Sabbat eh? And you’ll give me the name of the place where it’s being held?’

‘Oh no.’ The sunlight gleamed golden on her hair as she shook her head. ‘But I’ll let you take me to it, if you agree to let me go free once we are there.’

‘Nothing doing,’ he said bluntly.