He lifted his eyes to the very top tier, which was empty. He tried to remember a prayer that his mother had taught him and Julia when they were children – a prayer that we would all find Jesus one day, and that when we did, He would pick us up in His arms and comfort us for ever.
And then he saw Abraxas.
The dog was standing in the middle of the tier, alone, staring at him through the railings. Josh couldn’t believe his eyes. He must have gotten bored and restless in Josh’s room, and decided to find out where he was.
The theater was gloomy, and Josh couldn’t even be sure that Abraxas had seen him. But he stared up at him hard; and he tried to convey with every ounce of his will that he wanted Abraxas to jump down into the center of the theater. Jump, Abraxas! Jump, you stupid bastard! Jump!
Abraxas’ ears pricked up, but he stayed where he was. Josh heard Nancy cry out, but he didn’t take his eyes away from the topmost tier. Jump, Abraxas! For God’s sake, jump!
Abraxas turned and started to trot away. In desperation, Josh twisted his neck violently to the right, and then to the left, and cleared the Hooded Man’s glove away from his mouth.
“Abraxas!” he yelled, and gave a high-pitched, curling whistle. “Here, boy! Here, boy! Jump!”
The Hooded Man fumbled his glove over Josh’s mouth, but Josh managed to twist his head sideways again and shout, “Kill!”
Abraxas came leaping down from tier to tier, until he landed with a scrabble of claws in the middle of the operating theater. There were cries of surprise from all around. Some of the Masters started to laugh. Mr Crane shouted, “Get that dog, somebody!” and Mr Leggett looked up from the operating trolley in alarm.
Without any hesitation, Abraxas launched himself at the Hooded Man holding Josh’s right arm. He sank his teeth into his leg and furiously tussled his head from side to side. The Hooded Man fell backward, knocking over another Master. He grabbed Abraxas’ front legs and tried to pull him off, but Abraxas was part bull terrier, and once his jaws were locked, they stayed locked.
“Get it off me!” roared the Hooded Man, smacking and punching at Abraxas’ head. “Get this infernal mutt off me!”
The other Hooded Man released his grip on Josh’s left arm and drew his sword. But Josh – his adrenalin fired up – was even quicker. He grasped the Hooded Man’s wrist and forced it violently backward, snapping all his tendons. The Hooded Man dropped his sword and Josh picked it up.
Now he went mad with rage. He grasped the sword in both hands and swung it around, hitting the Hooded Man across the chest. It cut through cloth and leather and bone, and the Hooded Man collapsed on to his knees. Next he thrust the point of the sword straight into the hessian face of the second Hooded Man. It went right into his head and stuck in the back of his skull. Abraxas looked up from the man’s leg.
“Come on, boy, kill!” Josh urged him.
“Seize that man!” shouted Master Spire. “Seize him at once!”
But Josh yelled out, “Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” and advanced into the center of the operating theater with his sword whirling over his head and nobody was ready to take him on – not even the Hooded Men. Mr Leggett dropped his scalpel and pushed his way toward the rear doors. Mr Crane came hurrying after him, knocking over the trays of surgical instruments.
One-handed, Josh unbuckled the straps that held Nancy’s wrists and ankles. Her thigh was bleeding but it was a clean, sharp wound and Mr Leggett had only just started to cut.
“Come on,” Josh told her, and helped her off the operating trolley. He reached down and grabbed the sheet which had covered her and said, “Here – wrap yourself in this.”
Two more Hooded Men had drawn their swords and were climbing down from the tiers, but Abraxas rushed at them, barking wildly, and all they could do was circle around, cautiously prodding at him.
Josh crossed over to the wheeled carriage where Boudicca lay. She watched him from the middle of her dried layers of human flesh as he lifted his sword and pointed it toward her neck.
“What are you doing?” screamed Master Spire. “If you kill Boudicca, the six doors will close for ever!”
“I’ll tell you what I’m doing,” said Josh. “I’m making sure that Miss Andersen goes free, and that you give her safe passage through the nearest door. If you don’t, I’ll cut your precious Boudicca’s head off. And don’t think I’m joking.”
Frank Mordant stepped forward. “You’re an idiot, Mr Win ward. I always said that Yanks were idiots. If you kill Boudicca, then you’ll be trapped in this world for the rest of your life – which probably wouldn’t be very long, if the Doorkeepers have their way.”
“That’s a risk I’m prepared to take.”
“My, my! You are selfless! But, you see, I’m not going to let you hurt one wrinkle of our lovely Boudicca’s skin, because you won’t be the only one who’s trapped here. I will be, too. And without the doors, I won’t be anything more important than the sales director of an electrical company out on the Great West Road. So you see – I can’t possibly have that, now can I?”
Nancy said, “Josh, I’m not going without you. There’s absolutely no way.” There was a wide bloodstain on the sheet that she had wound around herself.
“Honey, it’s the only way. I want one of these people to take you to Star Yard. When you’re there, and when the candles are lit, I want you to call me from the phone booth down on the corner of the street. Tell me that the Hoodies are staying at least a hundred feet away from you, and that you’re ready to go. Then run, and jump, and get yourself back to the real world.”
“I can’t live without you, Josh.”
“You’ll have to. We don’t have any choice. Now, go.”
Nancy still hesitated. Josh said, “Please, Nancy. Don’t make it any harder than it is already.”
He held out his left hand for her. At that instant, however, Frank Mordant ducked and feinted like a boxer, and snatched Josh’s sword. With a grunt of exertion, he lifted it like a giant dagger and aimed it directly at Josh’s heart.
But Abraxas was even faster. He bounded from the floor, landing right on Frank Mordant’s shoulders. Frank Mordant shouted out, “Shit!” and stumbled forward, catching his foot on the frame of Boudicca’s carriage.
Josh saw it happen almost as if it were in slow motion. Frank Mordant’s expression, wide-eyed, horrified. Boudicca’s ghostly face, staring at him in an extraordinary mixture of fear and relief. And the sword breaking through the layers of dried skin, crumbling and cracking, deep into her many-layered abdomen.
The silence in the theater was overwhelming. Boudicca’s eyes looked down at the sword that was piercing her many bodies, almost up to the hilt. She let out a thin, reedy whine, and a trickle of watery blood ran down the side of her chin.
“You’ve killed her,” said Master Spire, rigid with shock. “You’ve killed Boudicca.”
Frank Mordant stepped back, licking his lips. Boudicca’s chest rose and fell, rose and fell. One of her desiccated hands twitched up, its fingers curled like an autumn leaf. Nobody moved. Nobody seemed to know what to do. Boudicca coughed, and it sounded as if she were trying to say something.
“She’s not dead yet,” said Frank Mordant. He turned and stared at Josh. “She’s not dead yet!”
Josh suddenly understood what he meant. As long as Boudicca was still alive, the doors would still be open. He seized Frank Mordant’s sleeve and said, “Get us all out of here! Now! The nearest door you know!”