Coldheart Canyon: A Hollywood Ghost Story

'About her tastes? Of course. Nobody cared. It was rather chic at the time. For women anyway. The nancy- boys like Navarro and Valentino, they had to cover it up. But Katya didn't care what people thought. Especially once she had the room.'

'It changed her?'

'It changed everyone who went into it, myself included. It changed our flesh. It changed our spirits.'

'How?'

'All you have to do is look at me to see how I changed. I was born in 1893. But I don't look it. That's because of the room. It has energies, you see, painted into the tiles. I believe it's Lilith's magic in the tiles. She used her infernal skills to lock the Duke and his men and all those animals into the illusion: that's strong magic. The monks knew that. But they had the good sense to keep their distance from the place.'

'So did everyone who went down there stay young?'

'Oh no. By no means. It affected everyone a little differently. Some people simply couldn't take it. They went in for a minute, and they were out again in a heartbeat.'

'Why?'

'It's the Devil's Country, Tammy. Believe me, it is.'

Tammy shook her head, not knowing what to believe. 'So some people left, because they thought the Devil was in there?'

'That's right. But most people felt some extra burst of energy when they went in the room. Maybe they felt a little younger, a little stronger, a little more beautiful.'

'And what was the price of it all?'

'Good question,' he said. 'The fact is, everyone's paid a different price. Some people went crazy because of what they saw in there. A few committed suicide. Most. . . went on living, feeling a little better about themselves. For a while at least. Then the effect would wear off, and they'd need to come back for another fix . . .

'I knew a number of opium addicts in my life. One of them was a Russian designer, Anatole Vasilinsky. Ever heard of him?' Tammy shook her head. 'No real reason why you should. He worked for the Ballets Russes, under Diaghilev. A brilliant man. But completely enslaved to 'The Poppy' as he used to call it. He came to the house only once, and of course Katya showed him the room. I remember the expression on his face when he came out. He looked like a man who'd just seen his own death. He was stricken; clammy-white, shaking. 'I must never come here again,' he said. 'I don't have enough room in my life for two addictions. It would be the death of me.'

'That's what the room was, of course: an addiction. It addicted the flesh, by making you feel stronger, sleeker. It addicted the spirit, by giving you visions so vivid they were more real than real. And it addicted the soul, because you didn't want any other kind of comfort, once you'd been in the room. Prayer was no use to you, laughter was no use to you, friends, ideals, ambitions . . . they all seemed inconsequential in that perpetual twilight. When you were here, you thought all the time about being there.'

Again Tammy shook her head. There was so much here to try to make sense of. Her mind was reeling.

'Do you see now why you must leave, and forget about Todd? He's seen the room. That's where she took him.'

'Are you sure?'

'He's down there right now,' Zeffer said. 'I guarantee it. Where else would she take him?'

Tammy got up from the table. The food had done her good. Though she still felt a little light-headed, she was considerably stronger.

'There's nothing heroic about sacrificing yourself for him,' Zeffer pointed out. 'He wouldn't do it for you.'

'I know that.'

Zeffer followed her to the kitchen door. 'So don't. Leave, while you can. Tammy, I beg you. Leave. I'll lead you out of the Canyon and you can go home.'

'Home,' Tammy said. The word, the idea, seemed hollow, valueless. There was no home for her after this. Or if there was, it wasn't the one she'd had. Arnie, the little house in Sacramento. How could she even think of going back to that?

'I have to find Todd,' she said. 'That's what I came here to do.'

Without waiting for Zeffer to lead her or escort her, she left the kitchen and went to the top of the stairs. He called after her. Another attempt at persuasion, no doubt; or some more fancy storytelling. But she ignored him this time, and started down the stairs.

THREE

Katya had a little more of her story still to tell.

' 'My life is worth nothing,' the Duke had told the Devil's wife. He who had led armies and triumphed in his crusades against the infidel now found his life was at an end. And why? Because he had chased and killed what he took to be a goat?

' 'It was an accident!' he said, his fury at the injustice of this suddenly getting the better of him. 'I demand to be seen by some higher judge than you.'

' 'There is only one higher,' Lilith replied. And that's my husband.'

'The Duke met her cold gaze, the profundity of his terror paradoxically making him brave.

' 'There is a God in Heaven,' he said.

' 'Is there now?' said Lilith. Are you certain? I saw Him only once, the day He made me. Since then He has never shown His face. This is the Devil's Country, Goga. My Lord Lucifer rules here. Or in his absence, me. I doubt your God will stretch out His hand to save your soul.'

' 'Then I shall ride out of here,' the Duke replied.

''You saw what happened to your comrade. I'll do the same to you, before you reach your horse. I'll have you wailing like a baby at my feet.'

'Goga wasn't a stupid man. He knew there was no use in contradicting the woman. He'd already seen one of his men horribly slaughtered by her. He would surely follow if he attempted to escape. All he could do was throw himself upon Lilith's mercy.

'He went down on his knees, and composing himself as best he could, he addressed her:

' 'Please, gentle lady, listen to me.'

' 'I'm listening.'

' 'I have lost children of my own, all six of them dead by the plague. And my wife the same way. I know the pain you are suffering, and I'm sick that I was its cause. But what's done is done. I made a mistake that I bitterly regret. But how can I take it back? Had I known I was on your husband's land I would not even have hunted here.'

'Lilith looked at him for a long while, assessing the worth of his appeal.

' 'Well, hereafter, my lord,' she said finally, 'it is my pleasure that you and your men will hunt here always.'

'Another bitter breath up out of Hell to accompany these words. The woman's long hair rose up around her body, a few of its strands grazing Goga's upturned face.

' 'Get back on your horses, hunters,' Lilith said. 'Return to your hunt. There are boar in the thicket, waiting to be driven out. There are birds in the trees, ready to be shot while they sing. Kill them at will, as it pleases you to do so. There will be no charge for your sport.'

'The Duke was astonished to hear this mild invitation, after all that had just taken place, and thinking perhaps his plea for clemency had carried some weight with Lilith, he very slowly got to his feet, thanking her.

' 'It's most kind of you,' he said, 'to invite me to hunt. And perhaps another day I will come back here and accept your invitation. But today my heart is heavy—'

' 'As well it might be,' the woman replied.

' 'So I think instead I will return to the Fortress and—'

' 'No,' she said, raising her hand. 'You will not return to the Fortress. You will hunt.'