Free The Road to The Dark Tower by Bev Vincent Page A

shoots Dandelo, the emotional vampire’s face changes into that of a psychotic clown. King seems to be leaving hints that connect the Dark Tower series and It . Pennywise often presented himself as a clown, and a member of the ka-tet that fought It was called Stutterin’ Bill, the same name as the robot who fills Collins’s propane tanks. The encounter with Dandelo is reminiscent of Beverly Marsh’s experience with Pennywise.Mrs. Kersh—Pennywise in disguise—claimed that her father, Bob Gray, one of It’s aliases, loved his jokes. It came from a place outside the Earth, perhaps in one of the todash spaces between universes. (Henry Bowers thinks that It “came from the spaces between the stars.”)
    Pennywise and Dandelo both feed on emotions—fear and imagination. Dandelo, however, doesn’t seem to have an existence that extends into the multiverse, like Pennywise did. To that extent, It is more akin to Tak and, possibly, the Crimson King, who disappeared into the deadlights after being bested by Ralph Roberts in Insomnia . In 1977, King told Roland and Eddie, “When I open my eyes to your world, he [the Crimson King] sees me. . . . It .”
    Roland falls to his knees and won’t get up until Susannah forgives him for being taken in. Inside the medicine cabinet, they find an envelope addressed to them. The note calls the gunslinger Childe Roland, an ancient, formal term Roland says describes a knight—or a gunslinger—on a quest. “We never used it among ourselves, for it means holy, chosen by ka. We never liked to think of ourselves in such terms.” The message says, “You saved my life. I’ve saved yours. All debts are paid.”
    They also find a photocopy of Browning’s poem “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” with several stanzas circled 26 depicting the liar, set with his staff to waylay travelers. Susannah realizes that this poem was King’s inspiration. Stanza XVI tells of how Cuthbert and Roland fell out over Susan Delgado. They wonder if Browning is also in some way responsible for their existence since the poet wrote about the gunslinger a century before King wrote the Dark Tower series. Was Browning an earlier channel for Gan?
    Dandelo’s main supply of emotional energy was Patrick Danville, whom Roland and Susannah find in the cellar. The boy’s mind is terribly damaged. Dandelo fed him barely enough to stay alive, while consuming his laughter, tears and fears several times a week.
    Unwilling to stay in the house—which degrades after Dandelo dies—they hole up in the barn for three days until the blizzard passes. Stutterin’ Bill clears the road after the storm and gives them a ride to Federal Outpost 19, which is as far as his programming will let him go. Some of the monitors in the outpost still work, but the one that used to show the Tower has gone out. “I don’t think the Red King liked being on television,” Bill says.
    Dandelo had forbidden Bill from repairing the computer glitch that caused him to stutter; Roland gives him permission to fix it. Behind the outpost, Bill shows them vehicles that could carry them the last hundred miles of their journey, but Roland wants to walk. “I’m not ready to be there yet. . . . I need a little more time to prepare my mind and my heart. Mayhap even my soul.” Now that the Tower is within his grasp, he’s lost a little of the imperative that has driven him for a thousand years. When he thought Walter was within his grasp at the way station, he ran to confront him. Now he needs more time. The temptation to run will come upon him again soon, though.
    They take a pull-cart for their provisions and a battery-powered vehicle for Susannah. Five days at a comfortable pace will get them to the Tower. He’d like to arrive around sunset if possible, for that’s when he’s always seen it in his dreams.
    Susannah suffers frequent bouts of weeping. Only Roland is meant to reach the Tower, and she doesn’t know what is to become of her,