Richard Kadrey: Devil in the Dollhouse

“Is it just us?”

Geryon nods.

“It seems that way.”

Elephant Man brings the jerry cans of gas from the second Unimog and secures them in the back.

“I’m not looking forward to going back through the rings,” says Geryon.

“I’ll bet you a dollar they’re not there anymore. Why would they be? Maleephas is probably dead and the Breach is burning. The hoodoo that hid them is probably gone too.”

“I hope so.”

I sleep most of the way back. I’m a fast healer, so the wound has stopped bleeding by the time we can see the lights of Pandemonium. Elephant Man stops the truck to pour fuel from one of the cans into the tank.

“You’re intent on telling the people the truth about Henoch and Maleephas when we get back?”

“Damn straight.”

“I wish you wouldn’t.”

“Hell is a wreck. Forgetting who and what you are isn’t how you start putting things back together.”

Geryon claps his hands together.

“Lessons in ethics and morality from Sandman Slim. Who would have thought?”

Geryon pours a shot of Aqua Regia into a glass and we drink together. He pours a shot into another glass for Elephant Man when he gets back.

“In many ways this has been a disheartening trip,” says Geryon.

“Which part? The hundred dead guys or Maleephas and me wrecking your fairy tale?”

“The hundred are a tragedy. The rest is your fault.”

I sit up. The wound makes me wince.

“What’s my fault?”

Geryon nods past me.

“That.”

I look at Elephant Man. He’s slumped against the door, the glass of Aqua Regia still in his hand. I pull my knife and hold it to Geryon’s throat.

“You poisoned him to keep your secret? Did you slip me some too? Trust me, I can take your head off before I go down.”

“I would never kill you, Lord Lucifer. And you are Lucifer now. You defeated the Henoch, the evil one, and his beasts and I’ll sing your praises to all of Pandemonium. Hell needs a brave and glorious Lucifer if it’s to rebuild.”

“But I’m going to tell everyone the truth,” I say, but even as the words come out I know in some weird way I’m not.

“You’ll tell them what I tell you. I didn’t poison you. I just gave you a little memory draught. What’s happened will fade and be replaced with the myth I’ll repeat to you on the way to Pandemonium.”

I want to stab Geryon but the knife gets very heavy. My hands drop to my lap. Geryon pushes Elephant Man’s body into the back of the truck and gets into the driver’s seat. He starts the engine and drives us into Pandemonium.

“Henoch Breach lies on the edge of a town with no name. A town of traitors,” he says.

“No. That’s not true. I’ll remember. I’ll tell them.”

“No. You won’t. Henoch mated with beasts and they terrorized travelers on the road.”

I start to say something but the words won’t come out. I try to picture Maleephas in his dingy robes but I can’t hold the image. I try to remember the Breach, the labyrinth, and the fake Bamboo House of Dolls. But even now I can feel it all slipping from me like water down a drain. I try to hold on to the memories but I know that by the time I finish this sentence they’ll be.