"Are you certain of that, Your Majesty?"

"I am certain of nothing. But I understand it to be the truth."

59.I felt almost sorry for this great being, this most defiant of all creatures, having come to a point where He was willing to admit to His defeat, and there being no one to acknowledge or perhaps to believe His admission.

"I am weary of the Earth and still more weary of h.e.l.l, captain. I yearn for my position in Heaven."

"But if Your Majesty is truly repentant ..."

"It must be proved. I must make amends."

Lucifer continued: "I placed high value on the power of the intellect to create a luxury of wonders upon the Earth. I sought to prove that my logic, my creativity, my mind, could all outshine anything which G.o.d made. Then I came to believe that Man was not worthy of me. Then I came to believe that perhaps I was not worthy, that what I had sought to make had no substance, no definition, no future. You have seen much of the world, captain."

"More than most are permitted to see," I agreed.

"Everything is in decay, is it not? Everything. The spirit decays as the flesh and the mind decay." Lucifer uttered a sigh. "I have failed."

His voice became hollow. I found that I was pitying Him, even more than I pitied the souls who were trapped in His domain.

"I wish to be taken back into the certainty, the tranquillity, I once knew," Lucifer continued.

We stood again upon the white plain.

"I sought to show that I could create a more beautiful world than anything G.o.d could create. I still do not know what I did wrong. I have been thinking on that for many a century, captain. And I know that only a human soul can discover the secret which eludes me. I must make amends. I must make amends . . ."

"Have you decided how you can do that?" I asked quietly.

"I must discover the Cure for the World's Pain, Captain von Bek." He turned his dark eyes upon me and I felt my whole being shiver at the intensity.

"A Cure? Human folly, surely, is the cause of that Pain. The answer seems simple enough to me."

"No!" Lucifer's voice was almost a groan. "It is complex. G.o.d has bestowed on the world one object, one means of healing humanity's ills. If that object is discovered and the CO.

world set to rights again, then G.o.d will listen to me. Once G.o.d listens, I might be able to convince Him that I am truly repentant."

"But what has this to do with me, Your Majesty? Surely you cannot think that I possess a Cure for human folly."

Lucifer made an almost angry gesture with His right hand.

We were suddenly once more in the library of the castle. We faced one of the great windows. Through it I could see the green, silent forest and noted that very little time had pa.s.sed. My body was now as solid as it had always been. I felt some relief. My ordinary senses were restored.

Lucifer said: "I asked you to help me, von Bek, because you are intelligent, resourceful and not easily manipulated. I am asking you to embark upon a Quest on my behalf. 1 want you to find me the Cure to the world's ills. Do you know of what I speak?"

"I have heard only of the Holy Grail, Your Majesty," I told Him. "And I believe that to be a myth. If I were shown such a cup I would believe in its powers as much as I would believe in the powers of a piece of the True Cross, or Saint Peter's fingernail."

He ignored these last remarks. His eyes flamed and became remote. "Ah, yes. It is called that. The Holy Grail. How would you describe it, von Bek?"

"A legendary cup."

"If it existed. What would you say it was?"

"A physical manifestation of G.o.d's mercy on Earth," I said.

"Exactly. Is that not the object I have described to you?"

I became incredulous. "Lucifer is commissioning a G.o.dless soldier-of-fortune to seek and secure the Holy Grail?"

"I am asking you to seek the Cure for the World's Pain, yes. Call it the Grail."

"The legend says that only the purest of knights is permitted to see it, let alone touch it!"

"Your journey will purify you, I'm sure."

"Your Majesty, what are you offering me, should I agree to this Quest?"

He smiled ironically at me. "Is it not an honour in itself, von Bek?"

I shook my head. "You must have better servants for such a monumental Quest."

The War Hound and the World's Pain 61 Was Lucifer mad? Was He playing a game with me?

"I have told you," He said, "that I have not."

I hesitated. I felt bound to voice my feelings: "I am suspicious, Your Majesty."

"Why so?"

"I cannot read your motive."

"My motive is simple."

"It defeats me."

His miserable, tortured eyes looked full on me again and He spoke in an urgent whisper: "It is because you fail to understand how great is my need. How great is my need.' Such souls as yours are scarce, von Bek."

"Can I a.s.sume that you are trying to buy my soul at this moment, Your Majesty?"

"Buy it?" He seemed puzzled. "Buy your soul, von Bek? Did you not realise that I own your soul already? I am offering you the chance to reclaim it."

I knew at once that He spoke the truth. I had known, within me, for some while.

It was then that Lucifer smiled, and in that smile I saw simple confirmation of what we both knew. He did not lie.

A coldness came into me. That was why He had shown me h.e.l.l; not to lure me there, but to sample my eternal doom.

I drew away from my Master. "Then I am already forbidden Heaven. Is that what you are telling me, Your Majesty?"

"You are already forbidden Heaven."

"If that is so, I have no choice, surely?"

"If I rejected you, it would allow you a new chance to be restored in G.o.d's gracejust as I hope to be restored. We do indeed have much in common, von Bek."

I had never heard of such a bargain before. Yet by taking it I could only lose my life a little sooner than I had planned.

I said: "Then in reality I have little choice."

"Let us say that your character has already determined your choice."

"Yet you cannot promise me that G.o.d will accept me into Heaven."

"I can promise you only that I will release your soul from my custody. Such souls do not always enter Heaven. But they are said to live forever, some of them."

"I have heard legends," I said, "such as that of the 62.Wandering Jew. Am I to try to save myself from h.e.l.l merely so that I may wander the world for Eternity seeking redemption?"

It occurred to me of a sudden that I was not the first mortal soul to be offered this bargain by Lucifer.

"I cannot say," said the Prince of Darkness. "But if you are successful, it is likely, is it not, that G.o.d would look with mercy upon you?"

"You must know more of G.o.d's habits, Your Majesty, than I." A strange calm was creeping into me now. I felt a degree of amus.e.m.e.nt.

Lucifer saw what was happening to me and He grinned. "It is a challenge, is it not, von Bek?"

"Aye, Your Majesty." I was still debating what He had said. "But if I am already your servant, why did you go to such elaborate means to ensure this meeting? Why send Sabrina?"

"I have told you. I am forced to use human agents."

"Even though she and I are already your servants?"

"Sabrina elected to serve me. You have not yet agreed."

"So Sabrina cannot be saved?"

"All will be saved if you find the Grail."

"But could I not ask one thing of Your Majesty?"

Lucifer's beautiful head turned down towards me. "I think I follow you, von Bek."

"Would you release Sabrina from your power if I agreed to what you ask of me?"

Lucifer had antic.i.p.ated this.

"Not if you agree. But if you are successful. Find the Cure for the World's Pain, and bring it to me, and I promise you I will release Sabrina under exactly the same terms as I release you."

"So if I am doomed to eternal life, I shall have a companion with me."

"Yes."

I considered this. "Very well, Your Majesty. Where shall I seek this Cure, this Grail?"

"All that I know is that it is hidden from me and from all those already dwelling in infernal regions. It is somewhere upon the Earth or in a supernatural realm not far removed from the Earth."

"A realm not of the Earth? How can I possibly go to such a place?"

63.Lucifer said: "This castle is such a place, von Bek. I can allow you the power to enter certain parts of the world forbidden to ordinary mortals. It is possible that the Cure lies in one of those realms, or that it lies in a most ordinary place. But you will be enabled to travel more or less where you wish or need to go."

"Do you mean to make a sorcerer of me, Your Majesty?"

"Perhaps. I am able to offer you certain privileges to aid you in your Quest. But I know that you take pride in your own intelligence and skills and it is those which shall be most valuable to both of us. And you have courage, von Bek, of several kinds. Although you are mortal, that is another quality we have in common. That is another reason I chose you."

"I am unsure if I am entirely complimented, Your Majesty. To be Satan's representative upon Earth, some Anti-Pope." I changed the subject. "And what if I should fail you?"

Lucifer turned away from me. "That would depend, let us say, on the nature of your failure. If you die, you travel instantly to h.e.l.l. But should you betray me, in any way at all, von Bekwell, there is no way in which I cannot claim you. You shall be mine soon enough. And I shall be able to debate my vengeance upon you for all Eternity."

"So if I am killed in pursuit of my Quest, I gain nothing, but am transported at once to h.e.l.l?"

"Just so. But you have seen that h.e.l.l can take many forms. And I am able, after a fashion, to resurrect the dead .. ."

"I have seen your resurrections, Your Majesty, and I would rather be wholly dead. But I suppose 1 must agree to your bargain, because I have so little to lose."

"Very little, captain."

How radically had my life been turned about in the past twenty-four hours! I had over the years managed successfully to rid myself of all thoughts of d.a.m.nation or salvation, of G.o.d or the Devil, during my career as a soldier. I had served many masters, but felt loyal to none of them, had never let them control my fate. I had believed myself my own man, through and through, for good or ill.

Now, suddenly, I had been informed by Lucifer Himself that I was d.a.m.ned and that I was to be offered at the same 64.time a chance of salvation. My feelings, needless to say, were mixed. From a pragmatic agnostic I had been changed not only into a believer, but into a believer called upon to take part in that most fundamental of all spiritual concerns, the struggle between Heaven and h.e.l.l. And I had become an apparently important piece in the game. It was hard for me to accept so much at once.

I understood what Sabrina had meant when she had told me, also, that only souls already owned by Lucifer could exist in the castle and its environs.

I had originally refused to accept that knowledge, but it was no longer possible for me to resist it. The evidence had been presented to me. I was d.a.m.ned. And I had already begun (mote than I would have admitted then, I think) to hope for salvation. As a result, 1 had committed myself, against all former habit, to a cause.

1 bowed to Lucifer. "Then 1 am ready to embark upon this Quest, Your Majesty, whenever you wish."

It was ironic, I thought, that Hope had been revived in me by the Fallen One and not, as should be traditional, by a vision of the Madonna or a meeting with some goodly priest.

"I would like you to begin almost immediately," said the Prince of Darkness.

I looked outside. It was not yet noon.

'Today?" I asked Him.

"Tomorrow. Sabrina will spend some time with you."

At this hint of manipulation of my private emotions I bridled. "Perhaps I have no further desire to spend tune with her. Your Majesty."

Lucifer clapped his hands lightly and Sabrina entered the library and curtseyed.

"Captain von Bek has agreed to my bargain," Lucifer told her. "You must now do as I instructed you, Sabrina." His voice had become gentle, almost kindly.