An Excerpt From - HarperCollinswebcontent.harpercollins.com/text/excerpts/pdf/0060091800.pdf · —CLIVE BARKER — The doorway was

karen snodgrass

An Excerpt From

This is a work of fiction Names characters places andincidents either are the products of the authorrsquos imagina-tion or are used fictitiously Any resemblance to actualevents locales organizations or persons living or dead isentirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either theauthor or the publisher

THE HELLBOUND HEART Copyright copy 1986 by CliveBarker All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions By payment of therequired fees you have been granted the non-exclusivenon-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen No part of this text may be reproducedtransmitted down-loaded decompiled reverse engineeredor stored in or introduced into any information storage andretrieval system in any form or by any means whetherelectronic or mechanical now known or hereinafterinvented without the express written permission ofPerfectBoundtrade

PerfectBound trade and the PerfectBoundtrade logo are trade-marks of HarperCollins Publishers Inc

First HarperPaperbacks printing November 1991

Contents

Epigraph

Chapter 1 So intent was Frank uponsolving the puzzle

Chapter 2 ldquoItrsquos not quite what I expectedrdquoJulia commented

Chapter 3 The seasons long for each otherlike men and women

About the Author

Credits

About the Publisher

Front Cover

for Mary

I long to talk with some old loverrsquos ghost Who died before the god of Love was born

mdashJohn Donne Loversquos Deitie

o intent was Frank upon solving the puz-zle of Lemarchandrsquos box that he didnrsquot hearthe great bell begin to ring The device hadbeen constructed by a master craftsman andthe riddle was thismdashthat though hersquod beentold the box contained wonders there simplyseemed to be no way into it no clue on anyof its six black lacquered faces as to thewhereabouts of the pressure points thatwould disengage one piece of this three-dimensional jigsaw from another

Frank had seen similar puzzlesmdashmostlyin Hong Kong products of the Chinese tastefor making metaphysics of hard woodmdashbut

1

S

to the acuity and technical genius of theChinese the Frenchman had brought a per-verse logic that was entirely his own If therewas a system to the puzzle Frank had failedto find it Only after several hours of trialand error did a chance juxtaposition ofthumbs middle and last fingers bear fruit analmost imperceptible click and thenmdashvicto-rymdasha segment of the box slid out frombeside its neighbors

There were two revelationsThe first that the interior surfaces were

brilliantly polished Frankrsquos reflectionmdashdis-torted fragmentedmdashskated across the lac-quer The second that Lemarchand who hadbeen in his time a maker of singing birdshad constructed the box so that opening ittripped a musical mechanism which beganto tinkle a short rondo of sublime banality

Encouraged by his success Frank pro-ceeded to work on the box feverishly quick-ly finding fresh alignments of fluted slot andoiled peg which in their turn revealed furtherintricacies And with each solutionmdasheachnew half twist or pullmdasha further melodicelement was brought into playmdashthe tunecounterpointed and developed until the ini-tial caprice was all but lost in ornamentation

At some point in his labors the bell hadbegun to ringmdasha steady somber tolling Hehad not heard at least not consciously But

2

mdashCLIVE BARKERmdash

when the puzzle was almost finishedmdashthemirrored innards of the box unknottedmdashhebecame aware that his stomach churned soviolently at the sound of the bell it mighthave been ringing half a lifetime

He looked up from his work For a fewmoments he supposed the noise to be com-ing from somewhere in the street outsidemdashbut he rapidly dismissed that notion It hadbeen almost midnight before hersquod begun towork at the bird makerrsquos box several hourshad gone bymdashhours he would not haveremembered passing but for the evidence ofhis watchmdashsince then There was no churchin the citymdashhowever desperate for adher-entsmdashthat would ring a summoning bell atsuch an hour

No The sound was coming from some-where much more distant through the verydoor (as yet invisible) that Lemarchandrsquos mi-raculous box had been constructed to openEverything that Kircher who had sold himthe box had promised of it was true He wason the threshold of a new world a provinceinfinitely far from the room in which he sat

Infinitely far yet now suddenly nearThe thought had made his breath quick

He had anticipated this moment so keenlyplanned with every wit he possessed thisrending of the veil In moments they wouldbe heremdashthe ones Kircher had called the

3

mdashHELLBOUND HEARTmdash

Cenobites theologians of the Order of theGash Summoned from their experiments inthe higher reaches of pleasure to bring theirageless heads into a world of rain and failure

He had worked ceaselessly in the preced-ing week to prepare the room for them Thebare boards had been meticulously scrubbedand strewn with petals Upon the west wallhe had set up a kind of altar to them deco-rated with the kind of placatory offeringsKircher had assured him would nurture theirgood offices bones bonbons needles A jugof his urinemdashthe product of seven daysrsquo col-lectionmdashstood on the left of the altar shouldthey require some spontaneous gesture ofself-defilement On the right a plate ofdovesrsquo heads which Kircher had alsoadvised him to have on hand

He had left no part of the invocation ritualunobserved No cardinal eager for thefish-ermanrsquos shoes could have been more dili-gent

But now as the sound of the bell becamelouder drowning out the music box he wasafraid

Too late he murmured to himself hopingto quell his rising fear Lemarchandrsquos devicewas undone the final trick had been turnedThere was no time left for prevarication orregret Besides hadnrsquot he risked both lifeand sanity to make this unveiling possible

4


The doorway was even now opening topleasures no more than a handful of humanshad ever known existed much less tastedmdashpleasures which would redefine the parame-ters of sensation which would release himfrom the dull round of desire seduction anddisappointment that had dogged him fromlate adolescence He would be transformedby that knowledge wouldnrsquot he No mancould experience the profundity of such feel-ing and remain unchanged

The bare bulb in the middle of the roomdimmed and brightened brightened anddimmed again It had taken on the rhythm ofthe bell burning its hottest on each chime Inthe troughs between the chimes the darknessin the room became utter it was as if theworld he had occupied for twenty-nine yearshad ceased to exist Then the bell wouldsound again and the bulb burn so strongly itmight never have faltered and for a few pre-cious seconds he was standing in a familiarplace with a door that led out and down andinto the street and a window throughwhichmdashhad he but the will (or strength) totear the blinds backmdashhe might glimpse arumor of morning

With each peal the bulbrsquos light wasbecoming more revelatory By it he saw theeast wall flayed saw the brick momentarilylose solidity and blow away saw in that

5


same instant the place beyond the roomfrom which the bellrsquos din was issuing Aworld of birds was it Vast black birdscaught in perpetual tempest That was all thesense he could make of the province fromwhichmdasheven nowmdashthe hierophants werecomingmdashthat it was in confusion and full ofbrittle broken things that rose and fell andfilled the dark air with their fright

And then the wall was solid again and thebell fell silent The bulb flickered out Thistime it went without a hope of rekindling

He stood in the darkness and said noth-ing Even if he could remember the words ofwelcome hersquod prepared his tongue would nothave spoken them It was playing dead in hismouth

And then lightIt came from them from the quartet of

Cenobites who now with the wall sealed be-hind them occupied the room A fitful phos-phorescence like the glow of deep-sea fish-es blue cold charmless It struck Frank thathe had never once wondered what theywould look like His imagination thoughfertile when it came to trickery and theftwas impoverished in other regards The skillto picture these eminences was beyond himso he had not even tried

Why then was he so distressed to set eyesupon them Was it the scars that covered

6


every inch of their bodies the flesh cosmet-ically punctured and sliced and infibulatedthen dusted down with ash Was it the smellof vanilla they brought with them the sweet-ness of which did little to disguise the stenchbeneath Or was it that as the light grew andhe scanned them more closely he saw noth-ing of joy or even humanity in their maimedfaces only desperation and an appetite thatmade his bowels ache to be voided

ldquoWhat city is thisrdquo One of the four en-quired Frank had difficulty guessing thespeakerrsquos gender with any certainty Itsclothes some of which were sewn to andthrough its skin hid its private parts and therewas nothing in the dregs of its voice or in itswillfully disfigured features that offered theleast clue When it spoke the hooks thattransfixed the flaps of its eyes and were wedby an intricate system of chains passedthrough flesh and bone alike to similar hooksthrough the lower lip were teased by themotion exposing the glistening meat beneath

ldquoI asked you a questionrdquo it said Frankmade no reply The name of this city was thelast thing on his mind

ldquoDo you understandrdquo the figure besidethe first speaker demanded Its voice unlikethat of its companion was light andbreathymdashthe voice of an excited girl Everyinch of its head had been tattooed with an

7


intricate grid and at every intersection ofhorizontal and vertical axes a jeweled pindriven through to the bone Its tongue wassimilarly decorated ldquoDo you even know whowe arerdquo it asked

ldquoYesrdquo Frank said at last ldquoI knowrdquoOf course he knew he and Kircher had

spent long nights talking of hints gleanedfrom the diaries of Bolingbroke and Gillesde Rais All that mankind knew of the Orderof the Gash he knew

And yet hellip he had expected somethingdifferent Expected some sign of thenumberless splendors they had access to Hehad thought they would come with womenat least oiled women milked womenwomen shaved and muscled for the act oflove their lips perfumed their thighs trem-bling to spread their buttocks weighty theway he liked them He had expected sighsand languid bodies spread on the floorunderfoot like a living carpet had expectedvirgin whores whose every crevice was hisfor the asking and whose skills would presshimmdashupward upwardmdashto undreamed-ofecstasies The world would be forgotten intheir arms He would be exalted by his lustinstead of despised for it

But no No women no sighs Only thesesexless things with their corrugated flesh

Now the third spoke Its features were so

8


heavily scarifiedmdashthe wounds nurtured untilthey balloonedmdashthat its eyes were invisibleand its words corrupted by the disfigurementof its mouth

ldquoWhat do you wantrdquo it asked himHe perused this questioner more confi-

dently than he had the other two His fearwasdraining away with every second thatpassed Memories of the terrifying placebeyond the wall were already receding Hewas left with these decrepit decadents withtheir stench their queer deformity their self-evident frailty The only thing he had to fearwas nausea

ldquoKircher told me there would be five ofyourdquo Frank said

ldquoThe Engineer will arrive should the mo-ment meritrdquo came the reply ldquoNow again weask you What do you wantrdquo

Why should he not answer them straightldquoPleasurerdquo he replied ldquoKircher said youknow about pleasurerdquo

ldquoOh we dordquo said the first of them ldquoEv-erything you ever wantedrdquo

ldquoYesrdquoldquoOf course Of courserdquo It stared at him

with its all-too-naked eyes ldquoWhat have youdreamedrdquo it said

The question put so baldly confoundedhim How could he hope to articulate the na-ture of the phantasms his libido had created

9


He was still searching for words when one ofthem said ldquoThis world it disappoints yourdquo

ldquoPretty muchrdquo he repliedldquoYoursquore not the first to tire of its triviali-

tiesrdquo came the response ldquoThere have beenothersrdquo

ldquoNot manyrdquo the gridded face put in ldquoTrue A handful at best But a few have

dared to use Lemarchandrsquos ConfigurationMen like yourself hungry for new possibili-ties whorsquove heard that we have skillsunknown in your regionrdquo

ldquoIrsquod expectedmdashrdquo Frank beganldquoWe know what you expectedrdquo the

Cenobite replied ldquoWe understand to itsbreadth and depth the nature of your frenzyIt is utterly familiar to usrdquo

Frank grunted ldquoSordquo he said ldquoyou knowwhat Irsquove dreamed about You can supply thepleasurerdquo

The thingrsquos face broke open its lips curl-ing back a baboonrsquos smile ldquoNot as youunderstand itrdquo came the reply

Frank made to interrupt but the creatureraised a silencing hand

ldquoThere are conditions of the nerve end-ingsrdquo it said ldquothe like of which yourimagination however fevered could nothope to evokerdquo

ldquohellip yesrdquoldquoOh yes Oh most certainly Your most

10


treasured depravity is childrsquos play beside theexperiences we offerrdquo

ldquoWill you partake of themrdquo said the sec-ond Cenobite

Frank looked at the scars and the hooksAgain his tongue was deficient

ldquoWill yourdquoOutside somewhere near the world

would soon be waking He had watched itwake from the window of this very roomday after day stirring itself to another roundof fruitless pursuits and hersquod known knownthat there was nothing left out there to excitehim No heat only sweat No passion onlysudden lust and just as sudden indifferenceHe had turned his back on such dissatisfac-tion If in doing so he had to interpret thesigns these creatures brought him then thatwas the price of ambition He was ready topay it

ldquoShow merdquo he saidldquoTherersquos no going back You do under-

stand thatrdquoldquoShow merdquoThey needed no further invitation to raise

the curtain He heard the door creak as it wasopened and turned to see that the worldbeyond the threshold had disappeared to bereplaced by the same panic-filled darknessfrom which the members of the Order hadstepped He looked back towards the

11


Cenobites seeking some explanation forthis But theyrsquod disappeared Their passinghad not gone unrecorded however Theyrsquodtaken the flowers with them leaving onlybare boards and on the wall the offerings hehad assembled were blackening as if in theheat of some fierce but invisible flame Hesmelled the bitterness of their consumptionit pricked his nostrils so acutely he was cer-tain they would bleed

But the smell of burning was only thebeginning No sooner had he registered itthan half a dozen other scents filled his headPerfumes he had scarcely noticed until nowwere suddenly overpoweringly strong Thelingering scent of filched blossoms thesmell of the paint on the ceiling and the sapin the wood beneath his feetmdashall filled hishead He could even smell the darkness out-side the door and in it the ordure of a hun-dred thousand birds

He put his hand to his mouth and nose tostop the onslaught from overcoming him butthe stench of perspiration on his fingersmade him giddy He might have been drivento nausea had there not been fresh sensationsflooding his system from each nerve endingand taste bud

It seemed he could suddenly feel thecollision of the dust motes with his skinEvery drawn breath chafed his lips every

12


blink his eyes Bile burned in the back of histhroat and a morsel of yesterdayrsquos beef thathad lodged between his teeth sent spasmsthrough his system as it exuded a droplet ofgravy upon his tongue

His ears were no less sensitive His headwas filled with a thousand dins some ofwhich he himself was father to The air thatbroke against his eardrums was a hurricanethe flatulence in his bowels was thunder Butthere were other soundsmdashinnumerablesoundsmdashwhich assailed him from some-where beyond himself Voices raised inanger whispered professions of love roarsand rattlings snatches of song tears

Was it the world he was hearingmdashmorn-ing breaking in a thousand homes He hadno chance to listen closely the cacophonydrove any power of analysis from his head

But there was worse The eyes Oh god inheaven he had never guessed that they couldbe such torment he whorsquod thought therewas nothing on earth left to startle him Nowhe reeled Everywhere sight

The plain plaster of the ceiling was anawesome geography of brush strokes Theweave of his plain shirt an unbearableelaboration of threads In the corner he saw amite move on a dead doversquos head and winkits eyes at him seeing that he saw Toomuch Too much

13


Appalled he shut his eyes But there wasmore inside than out memories whose vio-lence shook him to the verge of senseless-ness He sucked his motherrsquos milk andchoked felt his siblingrsquos arms around him (afight was it or a brotherly embrace Eitherway it suffocated) And more so muchmore A short lifetime of sensations all writin a perfect hand upon his cortex and break-ing him with their insistence that they beremembered

He felt close to exploding Surely theworld outside his headmdashthe room and thebirds beyond the doormdashthey for all theirshrieking excesses could not be asoverwhelming as his memories Better thathe thought and tried to open his eyes Butthey wouldnrsquot unglue Tears or pus or needleand thread had sealed them up

He thought of the faces of the Cenobitesthe hooks the chains Had they worked somesimilar surgery upon him locking him up be-hind his eyes with the parade of his history

In fear for his sanity he began to addressthem though he was no longer certain thatthey were even within earshot

ldquoWhyrdquo he asked ldquoWhy are you doingthis to merdquo

The echo of his words roared in his earsbut he scarcely attended to it More senseimpressions were swimming up from the

14


past to torment him Childhood still lingeredon his tongue (milk and frustration) but therewere adult feelings joining it now He wasgrown He was mustached and mightyhands heavy gut large

Youthful pleasures had possessed the ap-peal of newness but as the years had crepton and mild sensation lost its potencystronger and stronger experiences had beencalled for And here they came again morepungent for being laid in the darkness at theback of his head

He felt untold tastes upon his tongue bit-ter sweet sour salty smelled spice and shitand his motherrsquos hair saw cities and skiessaw speed saw deeps broke bread with mennow dead and was scalded by the heat oftheir spittle on his cheek

And of course there were womenAlways amid the flurry and confusion

memories of women appeared assaultinghim with their scents their textures theirtastes

The proximity of this harem aroused himdespite circumstances He opened histrousers and caressed his cock more eager tohave the seed spilled and so be freed of thesecreatures than for the pleasure of it

He was dimly aware as he worked hisinches that he must make a pitiful sight ablind man in an empty room aroused for a

15


dreamrsquos sake But the wracking joylessorgasm failed to even slow the relentless dis-play His knees buckled and his body col-lapsed to the boards where his spunk hadfallen There was a spasm of pain as he hitthe floor but the response was washed awaybefore another wave of memories

He rolled onto his back and screamedscreamed and begged for an end to it but thesensations only rose higher still whipped tofresh heights with every prayer for cessationhe offered up

The pleas became a single sound wordsand sense eclipsed by panic It seemed therewas no end to this but madness No hope butto be lost to hope

As he formulated this last despairingthought the torment stopped

All at once all of it Cone Sight soundtouch taste smell He was abruptly bereft ofthem all There were seconds then when hedoubted his very existence Two heartbeatsthree four

On the fifth beat he opened his eyes Theroom was empty the doves and the piss-potgone The door was closed

Gingerly he sat up His limbs were tin-gling his head wrist and bladder ached

And thenmdasha movement at the other endof the room drew his attention

Where two moments before there had

16


been an empty space there was now a fig-ure It was the fourth Cenobite the one thathad never spoken nor shown its face Not ithe now saw but she The hood it had wornhad been discarded as had the robes Thewoman beneath was gray yet gleaming herlips bloody her legs parted so that the elabo-rate scarification of her pubis was displayedShe sat on a pile of rotting human heads andsmiled in welcome

The collision of sensuality and death ap-palled him Could he have any doubt that shehad personally dispatched these victims Theirrot was beneath her nails and their tonguesmdashtwenty or moremdashlay out in ranks on her oiledthighs as if awaiting entrance Nor did hedoubt that the brains now seeping from theirears and nostrils had been driven to insanitybefore a blow or a kiss had stopped their hearts

Kircher had lied to himmdasheither that orhersquod been horribly deceived There was nopleasure in the air or at least not ashumankind understood it

He had made a mistake opening Lemar-chandrsquos box A very terrible mistake

ldquoOh so yoursquove finished dreamingrdquo saidthe Cenobite perusing him as he lay pantingon the bare boards ldquoGoodrdquo

She stood up The tongues fell to thefloor like a rain of slugs

ldquoNow we can beginrdquo she said

17


18

trsquos not quite what I expectedrdquo Julia com-mented as they stood in the hallway It wastwilight a cold day in August Not the idealtime to view a house that had been left emptyfor so long

ldquoIt needs workrdquo Rory said ldquoThatrsquos allItrsquos not been touched since my grandmotherdied Thatrsquos the best part of three years AndIrsquom pretty sure she never did anything to ittowards the end of her liferdquo

ldquoAnd itrsquos yoursrdquoldquoMine and Frankrsquos It was willed to us

both But when was the last time anybodysaw big brotherrdquo

She shrugged as if she couldnrsquot remem-

ldquoI

ber though she remembered very well Aweek before the wedding

ldquoSomeone said he spent a few days herelast summer Rutting away no doubt Thenhe was off again Hersquos got no interest inpropertyrdquo

ldquoBut suppose we move in and then hecomes back wants whatrsquos hisrdquo

ldquoIrsquoll buy him out Irsquoll get a loan from thebank and buy him out Hersquos always hard upfor cashrdquo

She nodded but looked less than per-suaded

ldquoDonrsquot worryrdquo he said going to where shewas standing and wrapping his arms aroundher ldquoThe place is ours doll We can paint itand pamper it and make it like heavenrdquo

He scanned her face Sometimesmdashpartic-ularly when doubt moved her as it did nowmdashher beauty came close to frightening him

ldquoTrust merdquo he saidldquoI dordquoldquoAll right then What say we start moving

in on Sundayrdquo

SundayIt was still the Lordrsquos Day up this end of

the city Even if the owners of these well-

19


dressed houses and well-pressed childrenwere no longer believers they still observedthe sabbath A few curtains were twitchedaside when Lewtonrsquos van drew up and theunloading began some curious neighborseven sauntered past the house once or twiceon the pretext of walking the hounds butnobody spoke to the new arrivals much lessoffered a hand with the furniture Sundaywas not a day to break sweat

Julia looked after the unpacking whileRory organized the unloading of the vanwith Lewton and Mad Bob providing theextra muscle It took four round-trips totransfer the bulk of the stuff from AlexandraRoad and at the end of the day there was stilla good deal of bric-a-brac left behind to becollected at a later point

About two in the afternoon Kirsty turnedup on the doorstep

ldquoCame to see if I could give you a handrdquoshe said with a tone of vague apology in hervoice

ldquoWell yoursquod better come inrdquo Julia saidShe went back into the front room which wasa battlefield in which only chaos was win-ning and quietly cursed Rory Inviting thelost soul round to offer her services was hisdoing no doubt of it She would be more ofa hindrance than a help her dreamy perpetu-ally defeated manner set Juliarsquos teeth on edge

20


ldquoWhat can I dordquo Kirsty asked ldquoRorysaidmdashrdquo

ldquoYesrdquo said Julia ldquoIrsquom sure he didrdquoldquoWhere is he Rory I meanrdquoldquoGone back for another vanload to add to

the miseryrdquoldquoOhrdquoJulia softened her expression ldquoYou know

itrsquos very sweet of yourdquo she said ldquoto comeround like this but I donrsquot think therersquos muchyou can do just at the momentrdquo

Kirsty flushed slightly Dreamy she wasbut not stupid

ldquoI seerdquo she said ldquoAre you sure Canrsquot hellipI mean maybe I could make a cup of coffee

for yourdquoldquoCoffeerdquo said Julia The thought of it

made her realize just how parched her throathad become ldquoYesrdquo she conceded ldquoThatrsquosnot a bad ideardquo

The coffee making was not without itsminor traumas No task Kirsty undertookwas ever entirely simple She stood in thekitchen boiling water in a pan it had taken aquarter of an hour to find thinking thatmaybe she shouldnrsquot have come after allJulia always looked at her so strangely as iffaintly baffled by the fact that she hadnrsquotbeen smothered at birth No matter Rory hadasked her to come hadnrsquot he And that wasinvitation enough She would not have

21


turned down the chance of his smile for ahundred Julias

The van arrived twenty-five minutes laterminutes in which the women had twice at-tempted and twice failed to get a conversa-tion simmering They had little in commonJulia the sweet the beautiful the winner ofglances and kisses and Kirsty the girl withthe pale handshake whose eyes were onlyever as bright as Juliarsquos before or after tearsShe had long ago decided that life wasunfair But why when shersquod accepted thatbitter truth did circumstance insist on rub-bing her face in it

She surreptitiously watched Julia as sheworked and it seemed to Kirsty that thewoman was incapable of ugliness Everygesturemdasha stray hair brushed from the eyeswith the back of the hand dust blown from afavorite cupmdashall were infused with sucheffortless grace Seeing it she understoodRoryrsquos doglike adulation and understandingit despaired afresh

He came in at last squinting and sweatyThe afternoon sun was fierce He grinned ather parading the ragged line of his frontteeth that she had first found so irresistible

ldquoIrsquom glad you could comerdquo he saidldquoHappy to helpmdashrdquo she replied but he had

already looked away at JulialdquoHowrsquos it goingrdquo

22


ldquoIrsquom losing my mindrdquo she told him ldquoWell now you can rest from your la-

borsrdquo he said ldquoWe brought the bed this triprdquoHe gave her a conspiratorial wink but shedidnrsquot respond

ldquoCan I help with unloadingrdquo Kirsty of-fered

ldquoLewton and MB are doing itrdquo cameRoryrsquos reply

ldquoOhrdquoldquoBut Irsquod give an arm and a leg for a cup of

teardquoldquoWe havenrsquot found the teardquo Julia told

himldquoOh Maybe a coffee thenrdquoldquoRightrdquo said Kirsty ldquoAnd for the other

twordquoldquoTheyrsquod kill for a cuprdquoKirsty went back to the kitchen filled the

small pan to near brimming and set it backon the stove From the hallway she heardRory supervising the next unloading

It was the bed the bridal bed Though shetried very hard to keep the thought of his em-bracing Julia out of her mind she could notAs she stared into the water and it simmeredand steamed and finally boiled the samepainful images of their pleasure came backand back

23


While the trios were away gathering thefourth and final load of the day Julia lost hertemper with the unpacking It was a disastershe said everything had been parceled upand put into the tea chests in the wrongorder She was having to disinter perfectlyuseless items to get access to the bare neces-sities

Kirsty kept her silence and her place inthe kitchen washing the soiled cups

Cursing louder Julia left the chaos andwent out for a cigarette on the front step Sheleaned against the open door and breathedthe pollen-gilded air Already though it wasonly the twenty-first of August the after-noon was tinged with a smoky scent that her-alded autumn

She had lost track of how fast the day hadgone for as she stood there a bell began toring for Evensong the run of chimes risingand falling in lazy waves The sound wasreassuring It made her think of her child-hood though notmdashthat she could remem-bermdashof any particular day or place Simplyof being young of mystery

It was four years since shersquod last steppedinto a church the day of her marriage toRory in fact The thought of that daymdashorrather of the promise it had failed to ful-

24


fillmdashsoured the moment She left the stepthe chimes in full flight and turned back intothe house After the touch of the sun on herupturned face the interior seemed gloomySuddenly she tired to the point of tears

They would have to assemble the bedbefore they could put their heads down tosleep tonight and they had yet to decidewhich room they would use as the masterbedroom She would do that now she elect-ed and so avoid having to return to the frontroom and to ever-mournful Kirsty

The bell was still pealing when sheopened the door of the front room on the sec-ond floor It was the largest of the threeupper roomsmdasha natural choicemdashbut the sunhad not got in today (or any other day thissummer) because the blinds were drawnacross the window The room was conse-quently chillier than anywhere else in thehouse the air stagnant She crossed thestained floorboards to the window intendingto remove the blind

At the sill a strange thing The blind hadbeen securely nailed to the window frameeffectively cutting out the least intrusion oflife from the sunlit street beyond She triedto pull the material free but failed Theworkman whoever hersquod been had done athorough job

No matter shersquod have Rory take a claw

25


hammer to the nails when he got back Sheturned from the window and as she did soshe was suddenly and forcibly aware that thebell was still summoning the faithful Werethey not coming tonight Was the hook notsufficiently baited with promises of para-dise The thought was only half alive itwithered in moments But the bell rolled onreverberating around the room Her limbsalready aching with fatigue seemed draggeddown further by each peal Her headthrobbed intolerably

The room was hateful shersquod decided itwas stale and its benighted walls clammyDespite its size she would not let Rory per-suade her into using it as the master bed-room Let it rot

She started toward the door but as shecame within a yard of it the corners of theroom seemed to creak and the doorslammed Her nerves jangled It was all shecould do to prevent herself from sobbing

Instead she simply said ldquoGo to hellrdquo andsnatched at the handle It turned easily (whyshould it not yet she was relieved) and thedoor swung open From the hall below asplash of warmth and ocher light

She closed the door behind her and witha queer satisfaction the root of which shecouldnrsquot or wouldnrsquot fathom turned the keyin the lock

26


As she did so the bell stopped

ldquoBut itrsquos the biggest of the rooms rdquoldquoI donrsquot like it Rory Itrsquos damp We can

use the back roomrdquoldquoIf we can get the bloody bed through the

doorrdquoldquoOf course we can You know we canrdquoldquoSeems a waste of a good roomrdquo he pro-

tested knowing full well that this was a faitaccompli

ldquoMother knows bestrdquo she told him andsmiled at him with eyes whose luster was farfrom maternal

27


28

he seasons long for each other like menand women in order that they may be curedof their excesses

Spring if it lingers more than a weekbeyond its span starts to hunger for summerto end the days of perpetual promiseSummer in its turn soon begins to sweat forsomething to quench its heat and the mel-lowest of autumns will tire of gentility atlast and ache for a quick sharp frost to killits fruitfulness

Even wintermdashthe hardest season themost implacablemdashdreams as Februarycreeps on of the flame that will presently

T

melt it away Everything tires with time andstarts to seek some opposition to save itfrom itself So August gave way toSeptember and there were few complaints

With work the house on Lodovico Streetbegan to look more hospitable There wereeven visits from neighbors whomdashafter siz-ing up the couplemdashspoke freely of howhappy they were to have number fifty-fiveoccupied again Only one of them made anymention of Frank referring in passing to theodd fellow whorsquod lived in the house for a fewweeks the previous summer There was amoment of embarrassment when Roryrevealed the tenant to have been his brotherbut it was soon glossed over by Julia whosepower to charm knew no bounds

Rory had seldom made mention of Frankduring the years of his marriage to Juliathough he and his brother were only eighteenmonths apart in age and had as childrenbeen inseparable This Julia had learned onan occasion of drunken reminiscingmdashamonth or two before the weddingmdashwhenRory had spoken at length about Frank Ithad been melancholy talk The brothersrsquopaths had diverged considerably once theyrsquod

29


30


passed through adolescence and Roryregretted it Regretted still more the painFrankrsquos wild life-style had brought to theirparents It seemed that when Frank appearedonce in a blue moon from whichever cornerof the globe he was presently laying wastehe only brought grief His tales of adventuresin the shallows of criminality his talk ofwhores and petty theft all appalled their par-ents But there had been worse or so Roryhad said In his wilder moments Frank hadtalked of a life lived in delirium of anappetite for experience that conceded nomoral imperative

Was it the tone of Roryrsquos telling a mixtureof revulsion and envy that had so piquedJuliarsquos curiosity Whatever the reason shehad been quickly seized by an unquenchablecuriosity concerning this madman

Then barely a fortnight before the wed-ding the black sheep had appeared in theflesh Things had gone well for him of lateHe was wearing gold rings on his fingersand his skin was tight and tannedThere waslittle outward sign of the monster Rory haddescribed Brother Frank was smooth as apolished stone She had succumbed to hischarm within hours

A strange time ensued As the days crepttoward the date of the wedding she found

31


herself thinking less and less of her husband-to-be and more and more of his brotherThey were not wholly dissimilar a certainlilt in their voices and their easy mannermarked them as siblings But to Roryrsquos qual-ities Frank brought something his brotherwould never have a beautiful desperation

Perhaps what had happened next hadbeen inevitable and no matter how hardshersquod fought her instincts she would onlyhave postponed the consummation of theirfeelings for each other At least that was howshe tried to excuse herself later But when allthe self-recrimination was done with shestill treasured the memory of their firstmdashandlastmdashencounter

Kirsty had been at the house hadnrsquot sheon some matrimonial business when Frankhad arrived But by that telepathy that comeswith desire (and fades with it) Julia hadknown that today was the day Shersquod leftKirsty to her list making or suchlike andtaken Frank upstairs on the pretext of show-ing him the wedding dress That was how sheremembered itmdash that hersquod asked to see thedressmdashand shersquod put the veil on laughing tothink of herself in white and then hersquod beenat her shoulder lifting the veil and shersquodlaughed on laughed and laughed as thoughto test the strength of his purpose He had

32


not been cooled by her mirth however norhad he wasted time with the niceties of aseduction The smooth exterior gave way tocruder stuff almost immediately Their cou-pling had had in every regard but the matterof her acquiescence all the aggression andthe joylessness of rape

Memory sweetened events of course andin the four years (and five months) since thatafternoon shersquod replayed the scene oftenNow in remembering it the bruises weretrophies of their passion her tears proof pos-itive of her feelings for him

The day following hersquod disappeared Flit-ted off to Bangkok or Easter Island someplace where he had no debts to answer Shersquodmourned him couldnrsquot help it Nor had hermourning gone unnoticed Though it wasnever explicitly discussed she had oftenwondered if the subsequent deterioration ofher relationship with Rory had not startedthere with her thinking of Frank as shemade love to his brother

And now Now despite the change ofdomestic interiors and the chance of a freshstart together it seemed that events con-spired to remind her again of Frank

It wasnrsquot just the gossip of the neighborsthat brought him to mind One day when shewas alone in the house and unpacking vari-

33


ous personal belongings she came acrossseveral wallets of Roryrsquos photographs Manywere relatively recent pictures of the two ofthem together in Athens and Malta Butburied amongst the transparent smiles weresome pictures she couldnrsquot remember everhaving seen before (had Rory kept themfrom her) family portraits that went backdecades A photograph of his parents ontheir wedding day the black and white imageeroded over the years to a series of graysPictures of christenings in which proud god-parents cradled babies smothered in the fam-ily lace

And then photographs of the brotherstogether as toddlers with wide eyes assurly schoolchildren snapped at gymnasticdisplays and in school pageants Then as theshyness of acne-ridden adolescence tookover the number of pictures dwindledmdashuntilthe frogs emerged as princes the other sideof puberty

Seeing Frank in brilliant color clowningfor the camera she felt herself blushing Hehad been an exhibitionist youth predictablyenough always dressed a la mode Rory bycomparison looked dowdy It seemed to herthat the brothersrsquo future lives were sketchedin these early portraits Frank the smilingseductive chameleon Rory the solid citizen

34


She had packed the pictures away at lastand found when she stood up that with theblushes had come tears Not of regret Shehad no use for that It was fury that made hereyes sting Somehow between one breathand the next shersquod lost herself

She knew too with perfect certaintywhen her grip had first faltered Lying on abed of wedding lace while Frank beset herneck with kisses

Once in a while she went up to the roomwith the sealed blinds

So far theyrsquod done little decorating workon the upper floors preferring to first organ-ize the areas in public gaze The room hadtherefore remained untouched Unenteredindeed except for these few visits of hers

She wasnrsquot sure why she went up norhow to account for the odd assortment offeelings that beset her while there But therewas something about the dark interior thatgave her comfort it was a womb of sorts adead womanrsquos womb Sometimes whenRory was at work she simply took herself upthe stairs and sat in the stillness thinking ofnothing or at least nothing she could putwords to

35


These sojourns made her feel oddlyguilty and she tried to stay away from theroom when Rory was around But it wasnrsquotalways possible Sometimes her feet took herthere without instruction to do so

It happened thus that Saturday the day ofthe blood

She had been watching Rory at work onthe kitchen door chiseling several layers ofpaint from around the hinges when sheseemed to hear the room call Satisfied thathe was thoroughly engrossed in his choresshe went upstairs

It was cooler than usual and she was gladof it She put her hand to the wall and thentransferred her chilled palm to her forehead

ldquoNo userdquo she murmured to herself pic-turing the man at work downstairs She did-nrsquot love him no more than he beneath hisinfatuation with her face loved her He chis-eled in a world of his own she suffered herefar removed from him

A gust of wind caught the back doorbelow She heard it slam

Downstairs the sound made Rory lose hisconcentration The chisel jumped its grooveand sliced deeply into the thumb of his lefthand He shouted as a gush of color cameThe chisel hit the floor

ldquoHell and damnationrdquo

36


She heard but did nothing Too late shesurfaced through a stupor of melancholy torealize that he was coming upstairsFumbling for the key and an excuse to justi-fy her presence in the room she stood upbut he was already at the door crossing thethreshold rushing toward her his right handclamped ineptly around his left Blood wascoming in abundance It welled up betweenhis fingers and dribbled down his arm drip-ping from his elbow adding stain to stain onthe bare boards

ldquoWhat have you donerdquo she asked himldquoWhat does it look likerdquo he said through

gritted teeth ldquoCut myselfrdquoHis face and neck had gone the color of

window putty Shersquod seen him like thisbefore he had on occasion passed out at thesight of his own blood

ldquoDo somethingrdquo he said queasilyldquoIs it deeprdquoldquoI donrsquot knowrdquo he yelled at her ldquoI donrsquot

want to lookrdquoHe was ridiculous she thought but this

wasnrsquot the time to give vent to the contemptshe felt Instead she took his bloody hand inhers and while he looked away prized thepalm from the cut It was sizable and stillbleeding profusely Deep blood dark blood

ldquoI think wersquod better take you off to the

37


hospitalrdquo she told himldquoCan you cover it uprdquo he asked his voice

devoid of anger nowldquoSure Irsquoll get a clean binding Come

onmdashrdquo ldquoNordquo he said shaking his ashen face ldquoIf

I take a step I think Irsquoll pass outrdquoldquoStay here thenrdquo she soothed him ldquoYoursquoll

be finerdquoFinding no bandages in the bathroom

cabinet the equal of the staunching shefetched a few clean handkerchiefs from hisdrawer and went back into the room He wasleaning against the wall now his skin glossywith sweat He had padded in the blood hersquodshed she could taste the tang of it in the air

Still quietly reassuring him that he would-nrsquot die of a two-inch cut she wound a hand-kerchief around his hand bound it on with asecond then escorted him trembling like aleaf down the stairs (one by one like achild) and out to the car

At the hospital they waited an hour in aqueue of the walking wounded before hewas finally seen and stitched up It was dif-ficult for her to know in retrospect what wasmore comical about the episode his weak-ness or the extravagance of his subsequentgratitude She told him when he becamefulsome that she didnrsquot want thanks from

38


him and it was trueShe wanted nothing that he could offer

her except perhaps his absence

ldquoDid you clean up the floor in the damproomrdquo she asked him the following dayTheyrsquod called it the damp room since thatfirst Sunday though there was not a sign ofrot from ceiling to skirting board

Rory looked up from his magazine Graymoons hung beneath his eyes He hadnrsquotslept well so hersquod said A cut finger and hehad nightmares of mortality She on theother hand had slept like a babe

ldquoWhat did you sayrdquo he asked herldquoThe floormdashrdquo she said again ldquoThere was

blood on the floor You cleaned it uprdquoHe shook his head ldquoNordquo he said simply

and returned to the magazineldquoWell I didnrsquotrdquo she saidHe offered her an indulgent smile ldquoYoursquore

such a perfect hausfraurdquo he said ldquoYou donrsquoteven know when yoursquore doing itrdquo

The subject was closed there He wascontent apparently to believe that she wasquietly losing her sanity

She on the other hand had the strangestsense that she was about to find it again

About the Author

Clive Barker is the bestselling author ofeighteen books as well as an acclaimedartist film producer and director He livesin Beverly Hills California with his loverand life-partner the photographer DavidArmstrong

Credits

Cover by Kirt Reinert

If you enjoyed reading this excerpt please visit

HarperCollins Publishers to find out where to

buy this and other PerfectBound e-books

Australiahttpwwwharpercollinscomau

Canadahttpwwwharpercanadacom

New Zealandhttpwwwharpercollinsconz

United Kingdomhttpwwwfireandwatercom

United Stateshttpwwwperfectboundcom

An Excerpt From





Contents

Epigraph




About the Author

Credits

About the Publisher

Front Cover

for Mary





1

S






2







3







4





5








6






7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits














Contents

Epigraph




About the Author

Credits

About the Publisher

Front Cover

for Mary





1

S






2







3







4





5








6






7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










Contents

Epigraph




About the Author

Credits

About the Publisher

Front Cover

for Mary





1

S






2







3







4





5








6






7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










for Mary





1

S






2







3







4





5








6






7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits














1

S






2







3







4





5








6






7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits












1

S






2







3







4





5








6






7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits















2







3







4





5








6






7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits















3







4





5








6






7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits















4





5








6






7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits













5








6






7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits
















6






7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits














7








8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits
















8












9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits




















9














10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits






















10










11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits


















11






12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits














12







13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits















13








14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits
















14









15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits

















15











16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits



















16









17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits

















17


18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










18






ldquoI









in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits


















in on Sundayrdquo



19







20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits















20











21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits



















21








22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits
















22












23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits




















23







24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits















24







25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits















25







26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits















26








27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits
















27


28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










28




T




29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits













29


30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










30






31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










31





32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










32







33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










33





34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










34







35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










35










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










36










37










38












About the Author


Credits










37










38












About the Author


Credits










38












About the Author


Credits










About the Author


Credits










Credits


















Documents

An Excerpt From - HarperCollinswebcontent.harpercollins.com/text/excerpts/pdf/0060091800.pdf · —CLIVE BARKER — The doorway was