The Devil Rides Out by Dennis Wheatley Page A

Ipsissimus!–an’ I ’av studied the Great Work for forty years, yet I ’ave reached only the degree of Practicus. But no, ’e cannot be, or ’ow could ’e fail with the Rite to Saturn?’
    â€˜I only said that it didn’t pan out quite as we expected,’ Rex hastened to remind her, ‘and for the full dress business he’d need Simon Aron anyway.’
    â€˜Of course,’ she nodded again and continued in an awestruck whisper, ‘an’ De Richleau is then a real Master. You must be far advanced for one so young–that ’e allow you to work with ’im.’
    He flicked the ash off his cigarette but maintained a cautious silence.
    â€˜I am not–’ow you say–associated with Mocata long, since I ’ave arrive only recently in England, but De Richleau will cast ’im down into the Abyss–for ’ow shall’e prevail against one who is of ten circles and a single square?’
    Rex nodded gravely.
    â€˜Could I not—’ her dark eyes filled with a new eagerness, ‘would it not be possible for me to prostrate before your frien’? If you spoke for me also, per’aps ’e would allow that I should occupy a minor place when ’e proceeds again to the invocation?’
    â€˜Ho! Ho!’ said Rex to himself, ‘so the old rat wants to scuttle from the sinking ship, does she. I ought to be able to turn this to our advantage,’ while aloud he said with a lordly air: ‘All things are possible–but there would be certain conditions.’
    â€˜Tell me’ she muttered swiftly.
    â€˜Well, there is this question of Simon Aron.’
    â€˜What question? Now that you ’ave ‘im with you–you can do with ’im as you will.’
    Rex quickly averted his gaze from the piercing black eyes. Evidently Mocata had turned the whole party out after they had got away with Simon. The old witch obviously had no idea that Mocata had regained possession of him later. In another second he would have given away their whole position by demanding Simon’s whereabouts. Instead, searching his mind desperately for the right bits of gibberish he said: ‘When De Richleau againproceeds to the invocation it is necessary that the vibrations of all present should be attuned to those of Simon Aron.’
    â€˜No matter–willingly I will place myself in your ’ands for preparation.’
    â€˜Then I’ll put it up to him, but first I must obey his order and say a word to the lady who was with you at Aron’s house last night–Tanith.’ Having at last manoeuvred the conversation to this critical point, Rex mentally crossed his thumbs and offered up a prayer that he was right in assuming that they were staying at the hotel together.
    She smiled, showing two rows of white false teeth. ‘I know it, and you must pardon, I beg, that we ’ave our little joke with you.’
    â€˜Oh, don’t worry about that,’ he shrugged, wondering anxiously to what new mystery she was alluding, but to his relief she hurried on.
    â€˜Each morning we look into the crystal an’ when she see you walk into the ’otel she exclaim, “It is for me ’e comes–the tall American,” but we ‘ave no knowledge that you are more than a Neophyte or a Zelator at the most, so when you send up the flowers she say to me, “You shall go down to ’im instead an’ after we will laugh at the discomfiture of this would-be lover.”’
    The smile broadened on Rex’s full mouth as he listened to the explanation of much that had been troubling him in the last hour, but it faded suddenly as he realised that, natural as it seemed compared to all this meaningless drivel which he had been exchanging with the old woman, it was in reality one more demonstration of the occult. These two women had
actually seen him
walk into the hotel lounge when they were sitting