Faerie Wars

Thirty-three

Pyrgus was choking so violently he could hardly breathe. His head felt close to bursting. Sweat was pouring from his face and body. The molten brimstone was less than an inch away from his feet now and the heat was so intense the soles of his boots had begun to smoke. It was a toss-up whether they would catch fire before the cage lurched and sent him into the brimstone itself. Pyrgus was certain it would lurch. Despite Beleth's boast about the slow, gradual death, the cage had twice dropped more than eighteen inches in the last fifteen minutes. Another drop like that and he would begin to burn. He would begin to die.

Through the fumes and the smoke he could see Beleth had come back. Presumably to watch the show. The Prince of Darkness liked to watch people in pain, liked to hear their screams and listen to their pleas. Except Pyrgus was determined to give him as little satisfaction as possible. No screams. No pleas. No show of pain. If possible he would swallow molten brimstone to give himself a fast death. Well, faster. Better than some inch-by-inch burn from the feet up.

'Are you hoping it will lurch again?' called Beleth. He had assumed his horned form once more so that his voice rumbled like distant thunder. 'Are you hoping for a

faster death?' He smiled broadly. 'I'm afraid, Crown Prince, you will be disappointed. I had your cage lowered faster just so I could witness your demise before I-'

Beleth stopped. Inside the metal cage, the form of Pyrgus was flickering like a candle in a gale. One moment he looked solid, the next he was a wraith. Beleth's jaw fell open. Pyrgus was no longer there. Yes he was. No he wasn't. Yes he – Pyrgus had disappeared completely. He'd been crouched there, surrounded by the fumes and smoke, but now the cage was empty. Definitely empty.

Beleth growled. There was no mistake. Pyrgus was no longer there. The Demon Prince swung round to glare at his subjects, as if they were somehow responsible. But the demons working in the brimstone cavern looked as bewildered as he was.

'Where is he?' Beleth grabbed the nearest demon and shook him till his neck snapped. He threw the body aside. 'Where is Prince Pyrgus?' he demanded.

A thought occurred. Invisibility! That was it! The boy had concealed a cone of invisibility about his person. He hadn't escaped. Of course he hadn't escaped. Escape was quite impossible. Pyrgus was still inside the cage! He could still be felt, could still be burned, could still be crushed…

Beleth stepped into the brimstone pool. The molten lava lapped over his feet like lukewarm water. As he moved towards the cage his foot caught on something just beneath the surface and he stumbled. His huge flailing arm struck the Doomsday Bomb which toppled from its stand and started to roll. 'Noooooo!' Beleth howled in sudden alarm.

Everything seemed to slow. The Doomsday Bomb rolled inch by inch towards the pool. One of the demon workmen tried to grab it, but missed. Beleth hurled himself forward, but missed the bomb as well. Gently, so very gently, it slid into the molten pool.

Beleth's scream reverberated through the cavern. A bubble erupted on the surface of the pool like some giant belch. Huge bolts of elemental energy snaked across the molten brimstone. From somewhere deep below there was a rumbling that rose to a roar. Beleth ran, but not fast enough or far enough. The brimstone pool erupted in a vast explosion that tore him limb from limb. A fraction of a second later the entire cavern collapsed, burying every living being in it.

Far above, the great metal city rang like a bell before its buildings began to topple and sink.

All of a sudden Henry wasn't doubting any more. All of a sudden, the self-conscious feeling left him and a wave of confidence swept in. He felt himself stand a little straighter, felt his voice grow stronger, felt – yes, definitely felt – a surge of energy flow through him that carried the words he spoke through space and time and alien dimensions. The Book of Beleth trembled in his hands. 'Come to us, Pyrgus, come!' There was power in the room. 'Come, Pyrgus, come!'

But the creature wasn't Pyrgus. And it wasn't trapped in the triangle either. Through the swirling incense smoke he could see something approaching out of a nightmare. It was human in form – two arms, two legs, a trunk, a head – but nothing ever born to human mother. It was small and thin and pale and grey with huge black eyes and skinny insect limbs.

'Don't look into its eyes!' screamed Holly Blue. Her voice seemed to reach him from far away.

It was a fuzzy photo in the tabloid press. It was an illustration from a cover of a flying-saucer book. It was like that thing they cut up after Roswell, the one everybody said was just a rubber dummy. It was one of the aliens that came in UFOs. But Blue thought it was a demon. And he'd called it with a magic rite that was supposed to conjure demons. Mr Fogarty was right. He'd been right all along. UFO aliens and demons were the same thing under different names!

'Don't look into its eyes!'

The creature seemed confused. It walked in a zigzag across the room, sometimes stopping, sometimes turning, sometimes actually backtracking a pace or two. Its small mouth moved. 'Kill the Emperor!' it said in commanding tones, then added in a thin, faltering voice, 'They're out to get me! They're all out to get me!'

Henry thought it might be blind.

The creature held its hands out like a child begging for food. 'You must kill the Emperor,' it whined. 'Or Beleth will punish me.' It blinked its blind, black eyes. 'But keep out of my mind, old man! I can't stand you in my mind!' It jerked its head to one side to look over its shoulder. 'It's the Government, you know. Them and the CIA. They've all got mind-control machines.'

It sounded hauntingly familiar. Especially the bit about the CIA. What would a demon in the Realm of Faerie know about the CIA? Henry did a mental flip and knew! 'Blue,' he shouted, 'this is the demon that took over Mr Fogarty!'

The creature turned towards Henry at the sound of the name. 'I'm sorry, Beleth,' it said plaintively. 'He wouldn't do what he was told. His mind was so slippery I couldn't hold him. Wouldn't do it. I was fighting the whole CIA.' It staggered towards Henry, arms outstretched. Blue screamed. It reached the edge of the protective circle and winked out of existence as if someone had turned off a light.

There was a loud groan from the triangle. Henry swung round, knowing he'd find Beleth there. His insides turned to water. There was something crouching on the floor.

'Pyrgus!' Blue shrieked.

'Don't leave the circ – ' Henry shouted. But it was already too late. Blue was running across the room.

Pyrgus was hunched up in the triangle, his head cradled in both arms. For some reason there was smoke coming from the soles of his boots. He groaned again.

Blue reached him and threw her arms around his neck. 'Pyrgus! Oh, Pyrgus!' Still clinging to him, she half turned. 'It worked, Henry! It worked!'

Henry thought what the hell and stepped out of the magic circle. The demon creature did not reappear. He moved towards the figure in the triangle.

'My head!' Pyrgus moaned.

Blue released him and fumbled in a pocket. 'I can do something about that, you poor thing!' She drew a syringe from her pocket, uncapped it and plunged the needle into Pyrgus's thigh. 'There,' she said. 'I've carried that around ever since I heard you'd been poisoned. It's the antidote – you'll soon be right.' She cradled him in her arms again.

She was right too. As Henry watched, Pyrgus gradually ceased rocking to and fro and in a moment took his arms away from his head. Blue released him and stood back, grinning. Pyrgus straightened up and looked around. 'Hello, Henry. What are you doing here?' Suddenly he was hopping on one leg as he tore off his boots. 'Ruddy brimstone!' he hissed.

Blue said all of a rush, 'Pyrgus, Father's dead – he was murdered. You're the Purple Emperor now. The Nightside are attacking and they have demon reinforcements. We're being over-run!'

Pyrgus said, 'Destroy the book!'

He had no reaction to his father's death, Henry thought. Almost as if he knew already.

'Destroy the book!' Pyrgus said again.

Henry realised suddenly Pyrgus was talking to him. 'What?'

'That's The Book of Beleth you're holding, isn't it?'

Henry looked down at the book in his hands. 'Yes… ' he said uncertainly. Then, more definitely, 'Yes, it is.'

'Destroy it!' Pyrgus snapped. He grabbed the tome out of Henry's hands. 'Look!' He ripped the hideous skin backing off the cover. Underneath, thin worms of blue light writhed across what looked like some weird type of printed circuit. Pyrgus threw the book violently on the floor. 'Stamp on it!' he commanded. 'Break it up!'

Henry blinked at him.

'For God's sake, Henry!' Pyrgus shouted. 'I haven't any boots on!'

Henry's paralysis broke and he slammed his foot down on the book. The printed circuit jagged easily, sending a mild electric shock across his toes. He picked up the jagged pieces of the book and dropped them in the brazier. They flared at once, filling the room with strange, green light. He turned to look at Pyrgus. His friend seemed taller somehow, more commanding.

'I need to see Tithonus now,' Pyrgus said.

Blue was looking a shade in awe of her brother as well. 'He'll be in the Situation Room,' she said. 'He's Regent for Comma now that Daddy's dead. Nobody knew where you… well, you know – ' She shrugged. 'Comma was the next in line. So Tithonus has been running things – the war and so on – while you've been away.'

'I'm back now,' Pyrgus said a little grimly. His face softened briefly and he gave a tiny smile. 'Thanks to you two.' The smile vanished. 'Come on – we still have work to do.'

The guards looked stunned as Pyrgus, Henry and Blue stepped out of the suspensor shaft, but snapped to attention at once. 'Crown Prince Pyrgus!' one exclaimed.

'You address your Emperor,' said Pyrgus quietly.

'Majesty,' the guard acknowledged.

With Pyrgus in the lead, they were escorted down the corridor towards the Situation Room. The door guards came to attention at their approach. Pyrgus seemed extraordinarily confident to Henry, every inch an emperor. The doors swung open and they marched through.

Henry had a brief confused impression of crystal globes with moving pictures flickering in their depths and an enormous table that seemed to have a landscape modelled on its surface.

'They've definitely stopped,' a voice said. It came from a broad-shouldered man in uniform who Henry didn't recognise. 'The demons are no longer coming.'

'They can't have stopped!' another voice exclaimed.

'They've stopped all right, Tithonus,' Pyrgus said.

Tithonus spun around, a stunned expression on his face. 'Pyrgus!' He caught himself and added more formally, 'Crown Prince. How good to – '

'No longer Crown Prince,' Pyrgus told him coldly. 'Do you acknowledge your new Emperor?'

'I -, Pyrgus, of course I – Majesty, I – '

Pyrgus cut across him by turning to one of the men in military uniform. 'General Ovard, do you acknowledge your new Emperor?'

'Of course, Purple Emperor,' Ovard said promptly.

Pyrgus said, 'General Ovard, please place Gatekeeper Tithonus under arrest.'

'Pyrgus!' Blue exclaimed.

'As you command, Purple Emperor,' Ovard nodded, his face wooden. He motioned to the guards who moved to surround Tithonus.

'Pyrgus!' Tithonus spluttered. 'Majesty, what is the meaning of this?'

Pyrgus strode forward until he was no more than eighteen inches from Tithonus. 'You are a traitor, Gatekeeper,' he said quietly.

Blue said, 'Pyrgus, this is Tithe!'

Tithonus said, 'It was necessary I took the title Regent, Majesty. You were missing. Comma is too young. The realm was under attack. It was important there was someone in command.'

A chill half-smile played across Pyrgus's lips. 'Beleth told me everything when he had me hanging in his cage,' he said. 'Including your treachery.'

'Treachery?' Tithonus echoed. He turned towards General Ovard. 'You can't believe this!' His eyes flickered to the other military men. 'Creerful, Vanelke – you must know this is nonsense.' They stared back at him without a word.

'Take him away,' Pyrgus ordered.

The guards dragged Tithonus struggling from the room. They almost knocked over Comma who was coming in as they did so.

Comma looked from Pyrgus to Blue, then briefly to Henry and back to Pyrgus. 'What's going on? What are they doing to Tithonus?'

'He was a traitor,' Pyrgus said simply. 'He was the one who tried to kill me. He was the one who arranged our father's death.'

Comma's eyes flickered towards the doorway. He managed to look guilty and frightened at the same time. 'How do you know?'

Pyrgus said soberly, 'Beleth told me. When he thought I couldn't escape and was going to die, he told me everything to make me suffer.'

'What did he say about me?' Comma asked quickly.

Pyrgus stared at him severely. 'Nothing, brother. Should he have said something?'

Comma shook his head violently. 'No. No, of course not. I – I was just…'

'Wondering?' Pyrgus finished for him.

Comma had the look of a trapped rabbit, but said nothing. The silence in the room stretched to breaking point.

'Why?' Blue asked to cut the tension. 'Why did Tithonus betray us? He's known us since we were babies. He's known our father for ever.'

'His sympathies were with the Nightside,' Pyrgus told her simply. 'He believed they could win.' He sighed. 'Beleth promised him he would be Emperor.'

'Tithonus? Emperor?'

'Don't get too excited,' Pyrgus said. 'Beleth promised Hairstreak he would be Emperor as well. And Silas Brimstone. And probably a hundred others we don't know about. Beleth lied to everybody – it's his nature. What he really wanted was the Realm of Faerie for himself. But Tithonus was the key. He was Gatekeeper, the one we trusted.'

Blue shook her head. 'I can hardly believe this.'

'Tithonus kept a demon hidden in the palace,' Pyrgus said. 'He used it as a sort of courier to carry messages to Beleth. That's how they planned the demon invasion.'

Henry asked curiously, 'How come the demons stopped invading?'

'You stopped them, Henry,' Pyrgus said.

Henry looked at Pyrgus, then at Blue, then back at Pyrgus again. 'I did?'

'You stopped them when you stamped on The Book of Beleth,' Pyrgus said. The book was the main control portal between Hell and the Realm of Faerie. Once you destroyed it, all the other portals ceased to operate.'

'What, between this world and mine?' Henry asked in alarm.

Pyrgus shook his head. 'No, just between this world and the demon world. Beleth set up the control device centuries ago and disguised it as a book so nobody would think to close it down. The rituals were psychotronic triggers so it could be used for conjuration, but its real purpose was to keep the portals open so demons could have easy access to the realm.'

'Good grief,' Henry said.

'It must have been Tithonus's demon who made Henry's friend kill Daddy,' Blue remarked.

'Yipes!!' Henry shouted, jumping to his feet.

They swung round in alarm. 'What's wrong? What's the matter?'

'Mr Fogarty!' Henry exclaimed. 'There was so much going on I forgot about him completely. We left him in the cell – getting ready to be hanged!'

'Then we must get him out,' Pyrgus said. He turned to one of several aides who hovered on the edges of the conversation. 'See to it.'

'Yes, Majesty.'

Yes, Majesty, Henry thought. His friend was an emperor. The new Purple Emperor.

Blue groaned. 'That was my fault,' she said to Henry. 'You wanted me to let him out, but I thought he was a murderer.'

'That was what you were meant to think,' Pyrgus told her. 'Mr Fogarty may have been a murderer technically, but it was the demon driving him to do it.'

Henry said, 'I don't think Mr Fogarty did murder your father, even technically – I think he fought off the demon.'

They both turned to him. 'Why do you say that, Henry?' Pyrgus asked him soberly.

'Just before you… you know, appeared in the triangle, there was this demon thing turned up – '

'I forgot to tell you,' Blue put in.

'I was scared when I saw it,' Henry said, 'but it was confused and I don't think it could see properly. It thought it was talking to Beleth some of the time and it kept saying it couldn't make somebody do what they were told. And it also said Kill the Emperor a couple of times. I think that must have been the demon Tithonus was hiding in the palace, the one that was supposed to make Mr Fogarty kill your father. Only I think when it tried to take over his mind, he drove it mental. He's a bit odd – Mr Fogarty,' he ended weakly.

'He is a wise and powerful man,' Pyrgus said seriously. 'I plan to ask him if he will serve as my new Gatekeeper.'

Blue said, 'If your friend didn't kill Daddy, who did? The demon wouldn't actually have been there, would it?'

'My guess is Tithonus,' Henry said. 'Mr Fogarty was locked up fighting the demon in his head. I think when he saw Mr Fogarty wasn't going to do it, he took the gun and shot your father himself, then blamed Mr Fogarty. Mr Fogarty was too confused even to contradict him.'

'I'm sure that's right,' Comma put in suddenly. He almost managed to smile. 'I'm sure everything was down to Tithonus. Just Tithonus. On his own.'

Pyrgus looked unbelievable in the full formal regalia of the Purple Emperor. The heavy robes and towering mitre-crown made him appear far taller than he was, while the ornate, multi-coloured Peacock Throne lent him a surprising dignity. Holly Blue was seated on a smaller throne beside him, dressed entirely in white and looking absolutely – Henry swallowed and dragged his eyes away. He was already in enough trouble for ogling the Princess Royal. All the same, she gave him a small, encouraging smile.

The throne room was hung with golden banners and thronged with courtiers in bright costumes. A stone-faced military guard in full dress uniform formed a colonnade along the centre of the chamber. Henry had to walk between them and the prospect scared him witless.

'Get on with it!' Fogarty hissed, poking him in the back. He was dressed in something that seemed suspiciously like wizard's gear – a robe with embroidered stars and a pointed hat – but somehow managed to look quite comfortable. There was a sash across his chest emblazoned with the insignia of Gatekeeper.

Henry stumbled forward, caught his balance and began the long walk to the throne. To his profound embarrassment, each guard saluted him as he walked past and the courtiers began to applaud. He felt his face turn to flame, but there was nothing he could do about it. He fixed his eyes on a point on the floor six feet ahead and kept on walking.

It felt like several years, but eventually he found himself at the steps below the throne. Remembering an earlier instruction from Mr Fogarty, he bowed. As he straightened up again, he saw Pyrgus and Blue walking at a stately pace down the steps towards him. Henry closed his eyes, wondering how on earth he'd got himself into this. When he opened them again, Blue was smiling at him broadly. But it was Pyrgus who spoke.

'Kneel!' he commanded in a voice that carried through the hall.

Henry went down on one knee. 'Like King Arthur's knights,' Mr Fogarty had told him, but he didn't feel much like a knight. In fact he felt a twit. To hide his embarrassment, he bowed his head again.

The chamber fell to a deathly silence.

'Take notice all persons present,' Pyrgus intoned in that remarkable new official voice of his, 'that in token of his courageous and unstinting service to Faerie Realm and Purple Emperor, this citizen of the Analogue World, Henry Atherton, is hereby awarded the most noble and meritorious title of Knight Commander of the Grey Dagger, our realm's most ancient Order of Chivalry, and shall henceforth be known throughout the land by his Faerie name, Iron Prominent. A flunkey handed him a grey dagger on a purple cushion and he held it out to Henry. 'Of course we'll still just call you Henry in private,' Pyrgus whispered.

'Thanks,' Henry muttered.

'Arise, Iron Prominent!' Pyrgus commanded.

There was a trumpet fanfare and a swell of cheering as Henry struggled to his feet. 'Now,' Pyrgus whispered, 'there's somewhere you and I have to go.'

They were in a narrow street called Seething Lane and this time, thank heavens, Henry was not the centre of attention. Pyrgus was at his shoulder, dressed the way he was when Henry had first met him. Ranged around them was a company of the toughest soldiers Henry had encountered.

'That's it,' Pyrgus said, nodding. 'My father wouldn't close it down because of politics, but the Nighters are on the run now, so I reckon I can do what I damn well please.'

The glue works at the bottom of the lane looked miserable to Henry. They were covered in grime and belching smoke, as gloomy a set of buildings as he'd ever seen in his life. Pyrgus gave a signal and the soldiers wheeled up an enormous wood-and-twisted-rope machine that reminded Henry of Roman catapults. The captain of the guard began personally to wind back the throwing arm.

'Have all animals been evacuated?' Pyrgus asked.

'Yes, sire,' said the captain.

'And the people?'

'Yes, sire.'

Pyrgus turned to Henry. 'We have one of the owners – Chalkhill -in jail. He'll be there for a very long time. The other one, Brimstone, has gone into hiding, but we'll find him eventually, I promise you that,' he said grimly.

Henry licked his lips. He was fascinated by the enormous catapult. Four soldiers were rolling a gigantic rock on to the throwing cradle.

'Have the coatings been applied?' asked Pyrgus.

'Liberally, sire,' the captain assured him.

The rock was on the cradle now and the soldiers stood back, panting and sweating. The captain finished winding back the ropes and wedged the wheel to hold them. 'Ready, Emperor!' he snapped.

Pyrgus stared down Seething Lane towards the gloomy factory. 'Fire,' he ordered quietly.

The captain knocked out the wedge and stepped back in a single movement. Henry actually felt wind on his face as the catapult jerked violently. The huge arm whipped forward with unimaginable ferocity. He watched as the enormous rock arced higher than the rooftops, then fell like a meteor towards the factory.

It struck dead centre on the roof of the main building, to one side of a smoking chimney, and crashed through as if the structure was matchwood. For a heartbeat there was total silence, then the spell coatings triggered.

A sheet of flame erupted sideways through the factory buildings, shattering windows and walls, collapsing roofs, hurtling stonework and fiery beams high into the air. The noise was deafening and the explosive spells went on and on. Henry watched chimneys tumble, metal gates twist into slag, melting machinery suddenly exposed as their gloomy housing disappeared. In moments it was over. In place of the Chalkhill and Brimstone Miracle Glue factory, there was nothing but a smoking wasteland leading out to Wildmoor Broads.

'That's for the kittens,' Pyrgus whispered.

Mr Fogarty said it didn't matter where he used the cube – it would still open a portal – but it was usually better to trigger it outside. So they decided to say their farewells in the palace gardens.

'You might keep an eye on the house,' Fogarty said. He was dressed in an amazing ermine-trimmed robe, which he claimed was the official uniform of his new position. 'I'll be popping back from time to time, but I expect to be spending most of my time here.' He glanced briefly at the sky and added seriously, 'None of the surveillance agencies know how to get to this world yet, so I should be left in peace for a time.'

'Yes, I will,' Henry said about the house. There would be trouble with his parents, but he didn't care.

'You can rely on me.'

Pyrgus placed a hand on his shoulder. 'And so can I.' He looked Henry deep in the eyes. 'Henry,' he said, 'I want to thank you. I owe you my life.'

Henry flushed. 'Oh, it wasn't like that,' he said, embarrassed. 'I mean, I…' He trailed off, not knowing what to say. After a moment, what he did say was, 'Well, I suppose I'd better be going.'

'Henry?' Blue said.

Henry pulled the cube from his pocket as he turned towards her. It was the first time she'd spoken to him since he'd changed back into his old clothes and he'd been wondering if she thought he looked stupid. 'Yes?'

'You remember you said you were just unlucky to see me without my clothes on?'

Henry flushed a deeper crimson than he had when Pyrgus thanked him. He swallowed and nodded. 'Yes. Wh – wh-why?'

'Did you really mean it when you said I was beautiful?' Blue asked him, smiling shyly.