The Burning Man

4

When Church entered the ticket office, he was instantly aware of the cloying aroma of honeysuckle. He remarked on this to Shavi, and when he received no reply he turned to find himself alone in the echoing room.

His arms turned to gooseflesh. He caught a fleeting movement, a glimpse of sealskin and dangerous eyes, and that Cheshire Cat grin, and he knew.

‘What do you want, Puck?’ he asked loudly.

‘Ho! No fool you, Master Churchill!’ The voice echoed back, laced with mischief.

Emerging from the shadows far from where Church had seen him, the sprite appeared on the brink of breaking into dance, and though his mood was potent bonhomie, Church could sense the lethal nature behind it; he could turn as quickly as the weather.

‘Many miles have fallen underfoot since we last met, hale and hearty, not far from this place.’

Church blinked, and Puck was only a foot away, staring deep into Church’s eyes. ‘You are a merry wanderer yourself these days, it seems.’

‘What have you done with the Anubis Box?’ Church was concerned that such a powerful object was in the hands of so unpredictable a force.

Puck held out his open palms and feigned an expression of puzzlement. It was pointless questioning him further.

‘I’ll ask you again: what do you want?’

‘To light your way along a dark road. The Puck is a friend to the lost. If the lost are a friend to the Puck.’ A hint of a threat shaded his comment.

Church tempered his tone; there was little point risking his life or his sanity. ‘Any help would be gratefully received.’

‘Then listen, Master Churchill. This world is a frightful place, and will grow more frightful still when the Devourer of All Things finds a home for his dark thoughts. They are building him a body of meat and cobwebs so he can more easily influence this mundane world he rules.’

‘I thought a god could just snap his fingers and everything happened.’

‘Can you snap your fingers and make a house of bricks and mortar crumble to dust? No, no, and thrice no. You would take a hammer to it. The Devourer of All Things is building his own hammer. There are gods, Master Jack, and gods and gods and gods. But each must follow rules, and not all of them are known. Not even to the Puck, who knows more than most.’

‘Where is this happening?’

‘Somewhere. But not here.’

‘You don’t know.’

Puck grinned. ‘The finding is part of the solving.’

Church cursed under his breath.

‘Follow the Burning Man. He will light your way.’ The sprite vanished again, only to reappear at Church’s shoulder. ‘Light, light, and light. You carry a fire, too, that sears the Enemy and strips the darkness from its heart. It fears that light, like an imp feels good iron, for it cannot exist in its glare.’

‘We know what we’ve got to do. We’re not going to turn away from it.’

‘What courage! What daring!’ The Puck danced. ‘But have you found your own hammer, Master Jack?’

‘Three of us are heading to the Far Lands to find the Extinction Shears.’

Puck clapped his hands. ‘Perhaps a fool should guide them? Yes, a Fool, indeed!’ Another dance, another dark grin that hinted at unspoken things.

‘If you really want to help, tell me how to find the two Keys.’

‘And so to business.’ The sprite bobbed up at Church’s other shoulder. ‘You will not find them along the quiet, winding lanes in the land of your fathers, Master Churchill.’

‘Abroad, then.’

‘One waits in a cold land where rainbows bring the gods to Earth. The other moves across a great nation, hiding in plain sight. But tarry not, Master Jack. Others would find these prizes first.’

‘The Void?’

‘That, and more.’

‘Can’t your kind ever give straight answers?’

‘Aid is always on hand for those in need. Ask the wind and your voice shall be heard.’ He mockingly cupped a hand to his ear. ‘Hark! Is that help arriving now?’

Once the final word had left his mouth, he was gone.

The sound of an approaching train reverberated through the station. It was no normal train. Even in the ticket office the noise was deafening and the vibrations made the entire station shake. Plumes of dust fell from the ceiling.

Church ran for the escalators, knowing instinctively that he had to reach the platform before his last chance departed.