Free Thief of Always by Clive Barker Page B

picture]]
    [[pg 108 picture]]

          XIII
    The Fourth Part of Darkness

          "What happened to you?" Wendell whispered when Harvey reached the bottom of the lawn. "I thought we were meeting at midnight."
          "I got...waylaid," Harvey said.
          He'd intended to tell Wendell what had just transpired, but his friend was obviously nervous enough without being told about Lulu's fate. Harvey slipped the three survivors of the ark into his pocket and resolved only to speak of the encounter when he and Wendell were safely away from this terrible place.
          Just one thing stood between them and that ambition: the wall of mist. Now, as ever, it seemed innocent enough. But that was an illusion, of course, like so many things in Mr. Hood's kingdom.
          "We have to be very organized about this," Harvey said to Wendell. "Once we're in the wall we lose our sense of direction. So we have to be sure we keep walking in a straight line, and not let the mist turn us around."
          "How do we do that?" said Wendell.
          "I think one of us should go in first, and the other one keep hold of his hand."
          "Me," said Wendell, eagerly. "I want to be first."
          "No problem. Then I'll keep my back to the House, and keep guiding you. Who knows, maybe the wall's so thin you'll just be able to pull me through."
          "We can hope," Wendell said.
          "Are you ready?" Harvey asked, extending his hand.
          Wendell took it. "Whenever you are," he said.
          "Then let's get out of here "
          Wendell nodded, and stepped into the mist. Instantly, Harvey felt his grip tighten.
          "Don't...let...go..."Wendell said, his voice already remote although he was just a pace away.
          "Just keep walking." Harvey said, as they reached arm's length. "Any sign of-"
          Before he could finish his question a noise from the House behind him sealed his lips. He glanced back. The front door was open, and a light was burning in the hall, throwing into silhouette the figure rushing down the porch steps. It was Mrs. Griffin.
          The noise he'd heard was not from her lips, however. Nothing human could make such a din. He saw Mrs. Griffin glance up toward the roof as she hurried down the lawn, and following her gaze, saw the noise-maker rising against the stars.
          He knew its name, even though he couldn't see its face. Hood had four servants, and he'd met only three: Rictus, Jive and Marr. Here was the fourth: Carna, the tooth-stealer; Carna, the devourer; Carna, the beast Mrs. Griffin had hoped Harvey would never meet.
          "Back to the House, child!" Mrs. Griffin yelled as the din of vast wings filled the air, "Quickly! Quickly!"
          Harvey pulled on Wendell's arm, yelling to him as he did so, but Wendell had a whiff of freedom in his nostrils and wasn't about to give it up.
          "What are you waiting for?" Mrs. Griffin yelled. "Get away from there or it'll take off your head!"
          Harvey glanced up at the swooping beast, and knew this was no lie. Carna's jaws were wide enough to snap him in half with a single bite. But he couldn't leave Wendell in the mist. They'd begun this adventure together, and that was how they would finish it, dead or alive. He had no choice but to step into the mist himself, and hope that Wendell had snatched a glimpse of the world outside, and could pull him through to the street.
          As he took that step, he heard Mrs. Griffin say something about leading the way; then he was blinded by the chill of the mist, and the sound of her voice became a garbled whisper.
          Carna's shrieks were not so hushed, however. They pierced the murk, skewering Harvey's thoughts the way its teeth would skewer his head if the beast caught up with him.
          "Wendell?" Harvey yelled. "It's coming for us!"
          He caught a glimpse of a figure up ahead of him, then of