Thunder crashed yet again. Lightning split the sky.
Hariman continued his ranting, his voice growing ever louder:
“Come! Come hither, all my dark compatriots! Come! All ye who dwell in the blackest regions of shadow! Come! All ye who wish to run riot and wreck havoc in this twee, chocolate box world! In the name of all that is selfish in heart! Come! Gather unto this sign! For I am Ahriman! The guardian of the gate! The Demon! The Watcher!”
Hariman had revealed his true self at last.
Devizes and Nutter dropped prostrate on their stomachs. Dave sharply followed suite. Hariman raised the talisman from around his neck, turned to face the East and offered it up to the sky.
The Mayor had seen enough for one day. He shoved Trixie and Bubbles from him and, with a single bound, he leapt from the stage, shouting as he did so:
“Bye! You can take this as my resignation! I didn’t want the piggin' Mayor’s job in the first place!”
He scampered off the car park. He'd use the Mayoral Limo to smash through the barrier of rose trees if he had to.
Reverend Phullaposi remained rooted to the spot; he just increased the intensity of his prayers.
“Now!” shouted Ruby above the almighty din.
Ruby and Pearl heaved with all their might on the two slender, silvery and incredibly strong ropes they had surreptitiously attached to the corner legs at the front of the stage before Hariman had begun his speech. As they pulled, and the podium collapsed towards them, Magpie Jack took his cue, hurling himself down, like a dive-bomber, from the tree, and snatching the talisman out of Ahriman’s flailing scaly claws.
Down tumbled Ahriman, and right on top of him went Devizes, Nutter and Dave, looking for all the world like a rather large pile of lumpy, mistreated dirty laundry.
Magpie Jack whirled around against the wind and tossed the talisman from his beak to the waiting Tobias.
Ahriman was incandescent with rage. Disentangling himself from the others, he scrabbled off the floor and pointed towards the fleeing tabby cat.
“Stop that cat. Fools!” he roared.
“Why do I always get lumbered with the filthy jobs?” Tobias wondered.
Talisman dangling precariously from his mouth, he scampered across the ground as fast as his little legs, the wind and the un-cut grass would allow, hotly pursued by Devizes, Nutter, Dave and Ahriman, who were in turn being followed close at heel by Magpie Jack, Ruby, Pearl and Reverend Phullaposi – all of them hampered by the whirlwind of noise and flying bits of wood, hardboard and canvas that was all that remained of the village fête stalls.
“After him! Kill him! Retrieve what is mine and restore it to me!” Insanity was creeping into Ahriman's voice.
Poor little Tobias struggled towards his previously-agreed destination, while all of the time the wind whipped the debris around, forcing him to dive this way and that; utilizing all of his feline stealth and agility to avoid getting caught or injured.
Ruby and Pearl knew exactly where Tobias was headed and redoubled their own efforts to get there.
Reverend Phullaposi didn’t have a clue where he was headed; he just followed this strange relay race of cat, postman, witches and demon. Not the average end to a village Summer fête, he had to concede to himself, but one, he felt, that would make for slightly more interesting reading than usual in the next edition of the parish newsletter.
Tobias could see his target location ahead, and with a final bound, he leapt through the door.
It was totally black inside.
And where exactly was our talisman-toting feline friend?
Nowhere other than the Privy of Simon!
Crash! Bang! went the door, as it swung wildly open, kicked in by the clawed foot of Ahriman.
He barrelled into the room, the others right behind him.
“Give!”
Ahriman’s clawed and scaly fingers reached out to Tobias, scraping at the air, as if trying to make it suck the talisman from his paws.
Slowly and with a menace that did not invite any refusal, Ahriman smouldered.
“Give”.
Cornered, Tobias looked frantically around for either support or escape.
He was scared witless.
Chapter 21
Hariman Learns Not To Take The Mike
‘Click’.
It was a tiny, barely audible sound, but somehow it cut right through the tense atmosphere in the tiny outhouse, which now appeared to have grown in size and space. Everybody turned to see what the ‘clack’ noise was.
It was the sound of Ruby, locking the door.
She pocketed the key, looked up, and tapped her athame thrice on the wall. It glowed with an eerily cold blue light. She blinked a couple of times and smiled serenely:
“Now that I have everyone's attention…”
The room became extremely quiet; nobody moved so much as a hair on their heads.
“Firstly, I’d like to say how disappointed I am with you, David. You have been given numerous opportunities for repentance but you seem to have foregone them all in the vain and shallow hope of material glorification. Hang your head in shame. Doctor Hariman, Ahriman or whatever fancy-pants theatrical title you have decided to award yourself this week, I offer you one last opportunity to refrain from your hideous mission and descend back into the Pit of your own free will, thereby foregoing any pain or suffering that shall be visited upon you should you choose to remain. Devizes and Nutter, you loathsome articles! Get thee out of my sight and fly! Hie ye back to the Harz Mountains, flee to the Black Forest and take your infernal kith and kin with you! Do it now, or woe betide you! I give you all until the count of five to submit to these demands. One… Two… Three…”
Ahriman let out a bellowing laugh that shook the walls. The whirlwind outside appeared to have joined them within the privy.
“Are you mocking me, witch? Are you trying to... threaten me?”
“Mocking, no. Threatening, yes.” Ruby's face was intensely serious. “Tobias... Drop the talisman down the toilet. Flush it away, back to the rest of the filth with which it
