The Gates (Samuel Johnson vs. the Devil #1)(61)

“That’s because of this,” said Maria, pointing at a drawing she had made of an hourglass shape, her pencil poised where the hourglass was at its narrowest. “That’s the point of compression. You shouldn’t have been able to pass through it at all, because you should have been torn apart, or squashed to almost nothing. It sounds like this portal has some of the qualities of a black hole, and some of a wormhole. Theoretically, again, it shouldn’t exist, but then demons shouldn’t exist either, and yet one is drinking tea with us at this precise moment.”

“Your point being?” asked Tom, now getting somewhat impatient because he couldn’t follow most of what Maria was saying.

“My point being,” said Maria patiently, “that Nurd here may be the solution to our problems.”

“Solution?” said Nurd nervously. “This solution isn’t going to hurt, is it?”

“Might do, a bit,” said Maria. “Scientifically it has lots of holes in it. It may not work at all.”

“Well, it’s better than no plan,” said Samuel. “Assuming Nurd is willing to try.”

“It can’t be any worse than what’s happened to me already,” said Nurd gloomily. “Explain away.”

So they did.

“Right,” said Nurd, when they had finished, “that sounds so foolhardy, dangerous, and completely impossible that it just might work. Now, all we need is a car.”

He looked up from the table, and his expression changed.

“There is just one more problem,” he said.

“What’s that?” asked Samuel.

Nurd pointed a shaking finger at the window, to where a pair of demons, one a toad, the other a spider, now stood at the garden gate.

“Them!”





XXX

In Which Mrs. Abernathy Loses the Battle, but Sets Out to Win the War

THE CHILDREN CROWDED AT the window, staring out at the demons.

“Ugh,” said Maria, wrinkling her nose at the sight of the ten-legged spider and the great toad. “They’re horrid.”

“The servants of Ba’al,” said Nurd. “They look awful, and they are awful, but Ba’al is like a thousand of them rolled into one, with added nastiness. I’m in trouble now.”

Samuel stared at the two demons. There was something strangely familiar about them. It took him a second to realize that they both still wore the remains of tattered black robes.

“They’re not after you,” he said to Nurd. “I’m not even sure they know you’re here.”

“Then who are they after?” asked Tom.

“Me, I think,” said Samuel. “They’re two of the people from the Abernathys’ basement, or they used to be. Mrs. Abernathy must have sent them.”

“Why?” asked Tom. “You didn’t even manage to stop her. The gates are open. She has what she wanted.”

“I got in her way. I don’t think she likes people crossing her. I’m not sure if anyone has ever crossed her before, not like that. She wants to punish me, and you lot as well if you’re caught with me.”

He turned to Maria and Tom. “I’m sorry. I should never have got you involved in all this.”

Tom patted him on the back. “You’re right, you shouldn’t have.”

“Tom!” said Maria, appalled.

“I was only joking,” said Tom. “I really was,” he added, as Maria continued to glare at him.

“So what do we do now?” asked Maria. “Run away?”

“Running away sounds good,” said Dr. Planck from somewhere beneath the blanket.

“No,” said Samuel. “We have to face them.”

“Look,” said Tom, “hitting little flying skulls was all very well, but I don’t think those two are going to let any of us get close enough to knock them on the head with a bat.”

“We go ahead with the plan,” said Samuel. “We send Nurd through the portal.”

“There is just one thing,” said Nurd. “I’d rather if they didn’t know it was me. Could create difficulties at the other end, assuming I don’t get spread over half the universe if the portal collapses. Perhaps you have a disguise of some kind that I could use?”

Mrs. Johnson whipped the blanket from Dr. Planck, made two holes in it with a pair of scissors, and handed it to Nurd.

“But where do we get a car?” asked Tom.

“Mum,” said Samuel. “Keep an eye on those things. Tom, stay with her. Nurd, Maria, come with me.”

“Where are you going?” asked Tom.

“To steal my dad’s car,” said Samuel, and saw his mum smile.

? ? ?

Samuel, Maria, and Nurd stood in the garage at the back of the house, looking at the car that Samuel’s father had spent years lovingly restoring.

“‘Aston Martin,’” read Nurd. He stroked the car gently. “It’s lovely. Is it like a Porsche?”

“No,” said Samuel. “It’s better than a Porsche, because it’s British.”

“Right,” said Nurd. He wasn’t sure that he agreed. He really had liked the Porsche, but this was still a splendid car.

“Are you sure you can drive one of these?” asked Maria.