"All is ready." "Bring the girl." "Look at me." "Look at me, I command you!" "You are an empty chalice." "Empty." "A zero." "No thought." "No will." "Awaiting only my Lord Choronzon." "Empty." "Empty." "Empty." "Look at the glass." "Look" "Look" "Gaze into its depths." "Deeper" "What do you see?" " into..." " Something is there." "Zargas." "Zanzas nastanadas" "Zanzas" "Cover it!" "Cover the glass!" "15. 17." "1 T, I'm bid." "It's against you, madam, in the front." "Can I say 20?" "25?" "28?" "Anyone make it 30?" "Tnank you sir. 30 I'm bid" " It's against you, madam" " Hi." " Did you get the table?" " And the four chairs." "My horoscope was right." "I told you it was going to be my lucky day." "You and your horoscope." "Twice." "Done." "For £30, to Mr Edwards." "Thank you." "If you've finished, we may as well go." "There's only the rubbish now." "Thank you, sir." "Thanks very much." "Containing items from the late Earl's den." ""The wicked Earl"" "I think the pess used to call him" "They say he held orgies in the orangery." "They'll say anything to increase their circulation." "You never know what might be in there." "One tennis racket, broken." "One skate, assorted books." "Worthless." " Well, according to my horoscope..." " Come on!" "Well, I've just got a feeling." "Let's see what there is, Alice." "You looked!" "The rest seems to be books." "I just peeked. I don't claim to have second sight." "Typical Cancer." "Pure opportunism." "When were you born?" "25th of June?" " 21 st" " well that's even worse" "Right on the cusp with Gemini" "No wonder you're the way you are." "Ladies and gentlemen what shall we say here?" "Fiver for the lot?" " Come on." " £4?" " £3.50?" " £3.50" "£3.50, I'm bid." " £3.50?" "You must be mad!" " l'm just following my horoscope." "At £3.50 then, to Miss Stepnens." "Useless." "We must start again." "Try again." "My Lord Choronzon is close." "The time is near." "No No, please!" "Begin her preparation." " Ah, I see you got your table." " Oh, hello, Simon." "Yes, I've got a customer." "It's just what he's looking for." " Your lucky dip, shall I bung it in the back?" " Yes, please." " Do you know Simon Andrews?" " Hi." " Mike Roberts." " Hello." "Unsilvered." " Just my luck." " Let me see." "It has quite a pretty frame." " Look, I'll give you a fiver for it." " A fiver?" "!" "I told you" " it was my lucky day, Mike" " May I have a look at it?" " What?" " Thanks." "Oh, there's some writing on it." "Scratches, I should imagine." "No." "Some kind of...symbols." " l've never seen anything like it." " l'll give you 50 for it." " £50?" " Then we have a deal." "Wait a minute." "Wait, wait, wait." "How come it's suddenly worth...ten times what you offered for it in the first place?" "If I were you, Laura, I'd get this appraised." "I'll have it done for you, if you like." "If Mr Andrews still wants it... 50 quid." "We have a deal, remember?" "No, we don't." " You're right, Mike." "Could you get it appraised?" " Yes." "Master!" "Master!" "Allison's gone!" "Find her!" "Don't let her get away!" "Search the drive!" "Search the path!" "This way!" "There she is!" "She's gone this way!" "Thank s, Mike." " l'll see you tomorrow." " Bye, darling." "Oh!" "You'd better have this." " Oh, yeah. I'll get it appraised tomorrow, OK?" " OK." "Bye." "I'll give you 250 for it." "You can tell her you only got 1 00 for it, if you like." "No-one's going to complain if you make a little profit for yourself." " Well, I'm tempted..." " Good." "...to wrap it round your neck." "What the hell are you doing?" "There are some people after me!" "Please help me!" "Please!" "Get in." "Who are you running away from?" "Just some people who want me to do something I don't want to do." " Where do you want to go?" " l don't know." "Anywhere." " Where are you going?" " Amersham." "That'll be fine." "Where did you get this?" "A friend of mine bought it in a sale" "Do you mind?" "No." "Wake up." " Hm?" " This is where l live." "Would you like to come in for a drink?" "OK." "It's nice." "It's nice!" " Do you live here alone?" " Yes" "Ever since my divorce." "Right, what would you like, then?" " Bandy?" "Gin?" " Brandy will do fine." "Thanks." "Right" "I don't even know your name" "Allison Lasalle." "is that French?" "No." "Way back, I think my family were Huguenots." "What do you do?" "I export antiques." "And I collect military figures, medals, you know, that kind of thing." "There we are." " Cheers." " Cheers." "So, who were you trying to avoid back there?" "Oh, just some people." "Well, don't you want to tell me about it?" "Believe me, you're better off not knowing." "Anyway, I'm not sure I understand myself." " lt seems to fascinate you, that mirror thing." " lt's a scrying glass." "What's that?" "Something like a cystal ball" "Only this one's very old." "How do you know?" "Such power." "I've never felt such power." " Perhaps it's the original." " What original?" "The one made by Dr Dee himself." " What, John Dee, the astrologer?" " Astrologer, alchemist, mathematician, magician." "He used a glass like this in experiments with a man named Kelley." "What, to foretell the future?" "Not exactly." "Look, I know people who'd give a lot for this, if you want to sell it." " Who?" " An occult group, the Choronzon Society." "Are they the people you ran away from?" "Could I have some water in this brandy, please?" "Yes." "I don't think I've ever heard of the Choronzon Society." "Where do they have their headquarters... ..Allison?" "Allison?" "Damn it." "Allison!" "What do you mean the mirror vanished?" "She took it with her, that's what you mean." "All right, but calling the police is not going to help." "They might get it back." "That would help." "You told me yourself that creep Simon Andrews offered you £250 for it." " Yes, it could be worth more than that." " All the more reason for calling the police, then." "Laura, she's in trouble." "Too right she's in trouble." "She nicked something that belonged to me." "I wouldn't even let an old customer get away with that." " Why should I let your fancy woman rip me off?" " She's not my fancy woman." "You could have fooled me." " Is she pretty?" " I suppose so, yeah." "Just my luck." "What's her birth sign?" "I don't know, I didn't ask her." "Typical. I expect she's Scorpio or Pisces." " Fatal for a Cancer like you." " I'm telling you she's in trouble." "Have you ever heard of Dr John Dee?" "John Dee?" "The Elizabethan astrologer?" "Yes." "She said the glass might have belonged to him." "Really?" "Well, no wonder everyone's after it." "Well, it must be worth a hell of a lot more than £250, then." "You won't go to the police, will you?" "All right." "Just get the mirror back, Michael." "You're marvellous, do you know that?" "Do you?" "Good morning." " Hello." " Can I help?" "Er, yes. I'm looking for a mirror." "It's shaped like this, dark glass, a metal frame, ornamented with characters of some kind." " l think it might be Elizabethan." " We've nothing like that, I'm afraid." "Oh." "Are you sure?" "Yes." "It's funny, because Mr Andrews said he had one." "Well, I don't know where." "And I thought I knew all the stock." "I'll ask him." " He's in his office at the back." " l'll find the way." " No, you can't go..." " You've got lovely green eyes." "I'm a sucker for green eyes." "Hi." "What, where you thinking of going to the Lampard House sale?" " Well, yes, I was, actually." " l wouldn't bother if I were you." "Old Lampard sold off the best stuff" " so his fourth wife wouldn't inherit" " Still, there are one or two items." "Any nice scrying glasses?" "So you know." "Well, my offer still stands. ln fact, I may be able to persuade my client to go above 250." "Perhaps another hundred." "Oh, I would have thought Dr John Dee's original scrying glass" " was worth a lot more than that." " All right, how much do you want?" "A thousand?" "A thousand." "I shall have to speak to my client." "Would they be the Choronzon Society?" "They are my clients." " You can tell them I haven't got the glass" " Where is it?" "You can also tell them that I want it valued before I settle for a thousand." " Did you find Mr Andrews all right?" " Yes, thank you." "Oh, something he forgot to give me." "I won't bother him now, he's on the phone." "Perhaps you could help me." "He was going to give me the address of the Choronzon Society." "Oh, I don't think I have it in here." "Er...no." " lt'll be in his office." " Ah, don't bother him." "Um..." "Oh, I've forgotten the name of the fellow that runs the Choronzon thing." "Well, that will be Mr Randolph." "Of course, yes." " Charles Randolph." " Yes." " Lives in Wiltshire somewhere, I think." " Thank you." "The conjunction of the stars being clearly favourable we did then agee to perform the ritual for the raising of Choronzon, that mighty devil" "Choronzon?" "Who the hell is Choronzon?" "According to the book, Choronzon is the Guardian of the Abyss." " The devil's doorkeeper." " Sort of, yeah." "John Dee was after big game." "No witches or broomsticks for him." "Well, what did he use the glass for?" "Well, Dee employed an Irish medium called, would you believe, Kelley." "Now, Kelley would go into a trance, look into the scrying glass, and he'd tell Dee what he saw there." " Well, what did he see?" " lt's very odd." "He saw writing." " Writing?" " Yes witing" "Some strange kind of language called er..." "Enochian." "Yes, it was a series of invocations, calls, to Choronzon, amongst others" "Has anyone ever tried calling?" "Yes, lots." "This century, too." "1909, Aleister Crowley and Victor Neuburg invoked Choronzon." "Result" " Neuburg had a nervous breakdown." "1920, Crowley tried again." "Total disaster." "Two of his group went mad." "One died." "About 1935, the Thule Group had a go." "They were a German occult society." "And it went wrong every time?" "Yeah." "There are a couple of major problems with the ritual." "Now, to incarnate Choronzon in human form," ""the chosen human subject must be born at a solstice."" "And he must go willingly." "In fact, the book says "eagerly"" "to the place of invocation." " Eagerly?" " Eagerly." "And they must have in their possession a scrying glass." "You are an empty chalice." "No thought." "No will." "Empty." "Empty." "Look into the glass." "into the glass." "into the glass." "Gaze into the depths." "Gaze into tne depths" "Allison Lasalle" "Seek" "Seek her" "I brought it back" "Help me, Michael." "You must help me!" " They're after me, I know they are!" " lt's all right. lt's all right, it's all right." "They're after the scrying glass, too." "Why did you bring it back?" "Because it's not safe with me." "Or else I'm not safe with it. I don't know." "I've been walking around all day, trying to decide what to do." "Why do they need you?" "For a ritual." "What, the Choronzon ritual?" "You know about it?" "I thought the chosen one had to go eagerly." " They can arrange that." "They can do anything." " Come on." "Don't you know the power of positive evil?" "Why do they need the scrying glass?" "Do you know that?" "Because it's the only way into the abyss." "Ah!" "Are you cold?" "Someone just walked over my grave." "I'll put the fire on for you." "No, don't bother." "So, how did you get involved?" "Through a woman I met at a party." "She was an astrologer." "She said a friend of hers, Charles Randolph, was looking for people with my birth sign." " So you joined the Choronzon Society?" " Well, I'd always been interested in the occult." "It was all right at first." "Until Charles Randolph started hypnotising me." "Why?" "He said I'd got mediumistic powers, and this was the way to develop them." "I started having these dreams." "What dreams?" "The same one, really." "More like a nightmare." "I had to go down to this huge dark pit." "Every time, I had to go deeper and deeper." "There was something there. I... I don't know what, but I knew it was evil." "Unutterably evil." "Mm?" "Charles Randolph told me I was imagining things." "He said...it was just me going deeper and deeper into myself." "Perhaps he was right." "Perhaps there is evil in me." "Rubbish!" "Anyone who helps with the washing-up can't be all bad." "Now it will take its own course." "Shall I prepare for the sacrifice?" "Yes." "For midnight." "Allison." "Allison!" " Mike!" " lt's all right." "It's OK." " Mr Roberts?" " Yes." "My name's Charles Randolph." "May I come in?" "Lovely place you've got here." "I do love these old houses." "Ah!" "A collector." "Duke of Cumberland's Foot Guards, hm?" "Magnificent." "I'm sure you didn't come here to admire my collection, Mr Randolph." "No." " l came to warn you." " Warn me?" " May I?" " What do you want to warn me about?" "A young lady called Allison Lasalle." "Now, Mr Roberts, before you deny any knowledge of her, let me say that she was seen getting into your car." "I really am very worried about her." "And you." "Me?" "Why?" "The girl could be dangerous, violent even." "Mr Roberts, Allison is a very disturbed young woman, with some very strange ideas." "The Choronzon Society doesn't seem to have helped much." "Oh, she told you about that, did she?" "Well, I expect that sounds a little weird to you." "But I can assure you that that is a perfectly innocent, small historical society." "I thought introducing Allison to the society would give her an outside interest, some degree of mental stimulus, while she worked out her own very real psychological problems." "Unfortunately, it seems to have overstimulated her." "What did you say?" "What...psychological problems?" "Form of paranoia, Mr Roberts." "She sees herself all the time as the object of a conspiacy" "Offer me wine." "Would you like a glass of wine?" "Thank you." "Poor Allison. I really am very worried about her." "There's no telling what she might do." "If she's as...disturbed as you say she is, don't you think she ought to see a psychiatrist?" "Some people only turn to my fringe medicine after they've tried everything else." "Are you saying that she's seen a psychiatrist?" "Analysts, psychotherapists, neurologists, God knows what." "A little dry bread." "Thank you." "Would you like some bread with that?" "Please." "Poor Allison." "She's been through rather a lot lately, I'm afraid." "Mr Roberts, a little salt with the bread." "Thank you so much, Mr Roberts." " Michael, what do you think you're doing?" " What?" "Don't you know you must never give a black magician bread or wine or salt in your own house?" "I told you, Mr Roberts." "Didn't you realise he'd got you half-hypnotised?" "Get out." "Not without you, my dear." "You are the chosen one." " And the time approaches." " Get out." "My friend, you don't know what you're involved in." "For centuries, all the magi and all the great occultists have been trying to work the Choronzon ritual." "None has succeeded." "Until now." "Now the time is right." " l shall prove myself the greatest of them all." " Get out!" "It's too late, my friend." "Allison is mine." " Perhaps he's right." " Rubbish." "They seem to have some kind of control over me." "That's why I'm calling in the New South Wales cavalry." "What?" "An Australian friend of mine." "She'll look after you." "You've got a damn nerve asking me to take your fancy piece in." " She's in a lot of trouble." " So you keep saying." " What sort of trouble?" " l'm not pregnant, if that's what you mean." "Oh, it wasn't, but thank s for setting my mind at rest." " Police?" " No, of course not." "It's no good, Michael." "The New South Wales cavalry aren't going to ride to my rescue." " And you can't blame..." " Thanks, but I'll decide, if you don't mind." " What's your birth sign?" " What?" " When were you born?" " December the 21st." "A lousy Capricorn, I knew it." "OK, she can stay." " Laura..." " l know. I'm marvellous." "Bye." "I ought to warn you, there are three house rules if you stay here." " What?" " l have the first bath in the morning, you don't use my perfume, and you wash your own knickers." "There was a phone message for you." "Laura Stephens." "Something about a mirror." " What about it?" " She says she's willing to sell." " Simon I was hoping you'd get my message" " Do you have the mirror here?" "It's not a mirror, is it?" "It's a scrying glass." " Quite a valuable one" " My client has authorised me." "to pay any sum, within reason." "£1,500." "1,500?" "I'll write the cheque now." " l presume it is yours to sell." " Yes, of course." "To tell you the truth, I'll be glad to get rid of it." "The damn thing has brought me nothing but trouble" "Allison, where's that mirror thing you brought with you?" "Tell him to go." "Simon?" "But I've just sold it to him." " Well, come on, where is it?" " You don't know what you're doing." "Laura, I..." "Allison!" "Allison" "Michael!" "Come on, now." "Tell me, what happened?" "Your precious girlfriend crowned me with a Japanese lamp." " Allison did that?" " 60 quid's worth!" " Are you sure it was Allison?" " Well, of course I'm sure!" "Look!" "Real blood!" " lt must have been that Andrews character." " l know who hit me, for God's sake!" "I'll get some water, clear it up for you." " How did he know she was here?" " l sold him that glass thing." "It was mine to sell." "£1,500?" "Well, you don't think I'd tell him where Allison was, do you?" "You didn't have to." "He knew she'd be where the scrying glass was." "Where are you going?" "I'm bleeding to death here!" "Call a bloody ambulance, cobber!" " Mr Andrews isn't here." " l know." "Where's he gone?" " Wiltshire, I think." " Where exactly?" "I don't know." "What are you doing?" "You can't do that!" "That's his address book!" "Look, just sit down and shut up, darling, will you?" "Right." "R..." "R..." "R..." "Yes, here we are." "Charles Randolph." "Westbourne Hall, Westbourne, Wiltshire." "The Choronzon Society." "Yes!" "Mr Andrews has been a member for years!" " Hm?" " Well, didn't you know?" "No, I didn't." "Master!" "Prepare her." "Master, the girl is ready." "Allison." "Allison." "Michael!" "I've been so worried." "I was afraid you wouldn't get here in time." " Are you all right?" "They haven't hurt you?" " Of course not, darling." "Come on." " What are you doing?" " Letting them know you're here." "Let go, will you?" "Let go!" "What are you doing?" "Darling, you really have saved my life." "If you hadn't got here," "I was to be the chosen one." "He was born at the solstice?" "Midnight, June the 20th." "He came eagerly to the place of invocation?" "Eagerly." "He came to rescue me." " And he bears the scrying glass?" " Yes" "Good." "All is according to the ritual." "My Lord Choronzon will accept this sacrifice." "This is absurd!" "Allison!" "Master!" "May I?" "I beg you" "You have done well, my friend." "Allison!" "Zahzas." "Zahzas." "No!" " Zahzas." " No!" "Argh!" "Master." "You have done well, my servants" " Almighty Choronzon." " Almighty Choronzon."