endeavour is to persuade the Daemon to speak: all other matters are in your most competent hands.’
How the speaker had entered the room without any of the four of them noticing was beyond Trixie’s comprehension: he seemed to have materialised out of thin air. But then, she decided, if any man could perform such an amazing manifestation, such an extraordinary feat of magic, it would be His Holiness Aleister Crowley.
Trixie had never met Crowley close to before, but although he was standing swathed in shadows in the corner of the room, she recognised him. He was the man, after all, who stood at Comrade Leader Heydrich’s left hand; he was the man who presided over all the Party’s ceremonies and rites; he was the man who was head of the Church of the Doctrine of UnFunDaMentalism; and it was his UnFunnies who claimed to be leading the ForthRight towards the reclaiming of its Aryan birthright lost by the Pre-Folk to the wiles of Lilith.
But while it was one thing to watch the man awe-stricken from afar, it was quite another to be with him in the same room. At a distance of ten feet he looked disappointingly normal: just an ordinary man in early middle age running to fat.
Despite the arrogance that dressed Crowley’s face, despite the intensity of his gaze and how dramatic he looked with his shaven head and his pointed ears, there was, Trixie decided, something weak about the man. Oh, he was tall and handsome enough in a fleshy, puffy sort of way, but he gave the impression of being less resolute than his proud, square jaw signalled. It was almost as though Crowley used his decidedly outre appearance – the shaved head and the flamboyant clothes and jewellery – as window-dressing to distract attention from the rather flimsy reality beneath.
But nonetheless Aleister Crowley was one of the most powerful and vindictive personages in the whole of the ForthRight. He was so vainglorious that he demanded his rank be acknowledged by lesser mortals – and acknowledged quickly. As one they dropped to the floor and genuflected. Crowley, a smile twitching at the side of his mouth, mimed a benediction over his audience.
‘I must apologise, Comrade Commissar, for visiting you unannounced
…’ He waved away Dashwood’s spluttered protests about the honour Crowley was showing his humble house. ‘… but it behoves me to confirm for myself that everything is prepared for the arrival of the Daemon, and that the young lady’ – a glance towards Trixie – ‘charged with uncovering its secrets is aware of the importance the ForthRight places on her success.’ He flicked a careless hand to signal everyone back into their seats, and then seated himself behind Dashwood’s desk.
After he had allowed Crockett to serve him with a glass of Solution, Crowley continued his address. ‘You will all know that since time immemorial, the Demi-Monde has been visited by Daemons from the Spirit World. Some are emissaries from ABBA but most are in league with Loki, the Lord of Darkness. These disciples of Loki have sought to disrupt and subvert the natural order of the Demi-Monde and it will not have escaped your notice that in recent months these visitations have been concentrated here in the ForthRight. It is as though the Daemons sense the growing power – the growing certainty – of the ForthRight as it seeks to bring racial, political and religious order to the Demi-Monde. Such is the threat posed to the ForthRight by these troublesome Daemons that Comrade Leader Heydrich, in his ineffable wisdom, decreed that my priests bend their will to the breaching of the Mystical Integument that divides this, the physical world of the Demi-Monde, from the ephemeral Spirit World, and strike back at the Daemons.’ Crowley gave a self-satisfied little smile. ‘This we have done. But we have done more: we have lured a Grade One Daemon into the Demi-Monde.’
‘A Grade One Daemon?’ asked Trixie.
Crowley’s forehead furrowed: he obviously disliked being interrupted in mid-sermon. ‘The Daemons who entered the Demi-Monde before were little more than malevolent imps. They destroyed bridges, they incited unrest, they gave encouragement to the enemies of the ForthRight, but when captured and questioned…’
Poor swine.
‘… they were found to be empty vessels. They knew little of the worlds that lie beyond the Mystical Integument; they knew nothing of the intentions of their Dark Masters. Most were unintelligent and bestial: lowly Grade Fives of no consequence. But now…’ He paused dramatically. ‘The Daemon we have captured is different: it is fully cogent and aware. It is, we believe, privy to the deepest secrets of the Dark Daemons and to the ambitions of their Master, Loki, regarding the Demi-Monde.’
Crowley gestured towards Crockett that his glass should be replenished. Trixie was disgusted that he should be indulging so heavily so early in the evening. Obviously the man had a huge and overwhelming appetite for blood: perhaps that was why, although he was still relatively young, his flesh had started to soften and his complexion to blotch.
‘Unfortunately our experiences in interrogating lesser-ranked Daemons are that should they be subject to coercion, they become dysfunctional; it is as though their minds switch off. That is why we have determined on this new policy in which you, Lady Trixiebell, will have such a key role.’
Trixie felt every eye in the room turn in her direction. She fidgeted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. ‘I am always ready to do whatever is necessary to help the ForthRight and to do the Leader’s will,’ she said, mouthing the words her father had made her memorise.
‘Excellent. But put your mind at rest on one thing, young lady: this Daemon, though duplicitous and conniving, is not physically threatening. It has manifested itself in the shape of a young woman and there is no record of a Daemon ever transmogrifying itself whilst in the Demi-Monde. There is no risk of you being confronted by a Daemon in its true and horrific guise.’
Well, that’s reassuring.
‘But whilst there is no physical threat to your person, Lady Trixiebell, there is, I regret to say, a spiritual threat. The natural inclination of a Daemon confronted by a human is to try to corrupt their soul. Daemons are great deceivers. Make no mistake, Lady Trixiebell, this creature will attempt to fox you, to persuade you that it is not what it truly is. That is the one thing you must continually be on your guard against: feeling sorry for the Daemon. As you know, Lady Trixiebell, the aiding and abetting of a Daemon is one of the greatest of all sins against UnFunDaMentalism, so you must harden your heart against its trickery and its perfidy. You have been chosen, Lady Trixiebell, because you are a Pragmatist, because you are, by inclination, a RaTionalist.’
Crowley held up his hand to still the gasp of protest that came from Trixie’s father. ‘Calm yourself, Comrade Commissar, it is not my intention to chastise Lady Trixiebell for her doubts. As I myself have noted, the Key of Joy is disobedience. It is the role of the young to be dubious of the teachings of their elders: the young are inclined to be impetuous.’ He smiled at Trixie and she was amazed to see that Crowley’s canine teeth had been sharpened. The man, she decided, must be totally mad. ‘I am confident,’ he continued, ‘that the proto-RaTionalist that is Lady Trixiebell Dashwood will emerge from her communion with a denizen of the Spirit World a changed woman, perhaps even as a candidate for the SisterHood.’
Over my dead body.
‘But on a more practical note, it will be important for you, Lady Trixiebell, to record everything you discuss with the Daemon and to note down everything, no matter how trivial, the Daemon says. It is also vital that you adhere to all the security arrangements that Captain Dabrowski has put in place: it is imperative that the Daemon is not allowed to escape or to be rescued.’
‘Rescued?’ asked Dashwood.
‘You should be under no illusion as to what a prize you will have living with you, Comrade Commissar Dashwood. This Daemon possesses the secrets of the world beyond ours, and so it is almost inevitable that other Daemons will seek to rescue it. And then, of course, there are the more prosaic temptations the Daemon presents to our fellow Demi-Mondians. The Daemon is possessed of blood and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Shaka’s Blood Brothers will attempt to abduct the Daemon in order to drain it.’
The thought of the Dashwood Manor being assaulted by a Zulu HimPi made Trixie shudder. Maybe, she thought, the presence of Captain Dabrowski and his Checkya detachment wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
‘You have fifteen days. In fifteen days we will hold a reception, here in the Dashwood Manor, to present the Daemon to Comrade Leader Heydrich and by then it is necessary that it is both docile and cooperative.’ Crowley turned to Captain Dabrowski. ‘Now, Captain, I would be grateful if you would release the Daemon from the steamer parked outside. It is time Lady Trixiebell met her companion.’
9
