Elric of Melnibone - Michael Moorcock [29]
And when he was satisfied—for the dangers of misunderstanding the implications of the things described in the grimoires were catastrophic—he slept for three nights in a drugged slumber.
And then Elric was ready. He ordered all slaves and servants from his quarters. He placed guards at the doors with instructions to admit no one, no matter how urgent their business. He cleared one great chamber of all furniture so that it was completely empty save for one grimoire which he had placed in the very centre of the room. Then he seated himself beside the book and began to think.
When he had meditated for more than five hours Elric took a brush and a jar of ink and began to paint both walls and floor with complicated symbols, some of which were so intricate, that they seemed to disappear at an angle to the surface on which they had been laid. At last this was done and Elric spreadeagled himself in the very centre of his huge rune, face down, one hand upon his grimoire, the other (with the Actorios upon it) stretched palm down. The moon was full. A shaft of its light fell directly upon Elric’s head, turning the hair to silver. And then the Summoning began.
Elric sent his mind into twisting tunnels of logic, across endless plains of ideas, through mountains of symbolism and endless universes of alternate truths; he sent his mind out further and further and as it went he sent with it the words which issued from his writhing lips—words that few of his contemporaries would understand, though their very sound would chill the blood of any listener. And his body heaved as he forced it to remain in its original position and from time to time a groan would escape him. And through all this a few words came again and again.
One of these words was a name. ‘Arioch’.
Arioch, the patron demon of Elric’s ancestors; one of the most powerful of all the Dukes of Hell, who was called Knight of the Swords, Lord of the Seven Darks, Lord of the Higher Hell and many more names besides.
‘Arioch!’
It was on Arioch whom Yyrkoon had called, asking the Lord of Chaos to curse Elric. It was Arioch whom Yyrkoon had sought to summon to aid him in his attempt upon the Ruby Throne. It was Arioch who was known as the Keeper of the Two Black Swords—the swords of unearthly manufacture and infinite power which had once been wielded by emperors of Melniboné.
‘Arioch! I summon thee.’
Runes, both rhythmic and fragmented, howled now from Elric’s throat. His brain had reached the plane on which Arioch dwelt. Now it sought Arioch himself.
‘Arioch! It is Elric of Melniboné who summons thee.’
Elric glimpsed an eye staring down at him. The eye floated, joined another. The two eyes regarded him.
‘Arioch! My Lord of Chaos! Aid me!’
The eyes blinked—and vanished.
‘Oh, Arioch! Come to me! Come to me! Aid me and I will serve you!’
A silhouette that was not a human form, turned slowly until a black, faceless head looked down upon Elric. A halo of red light gleamed behind the head.
Then that, too, vanished.
Exhausted, Elric let the image fade. His mind raced back through plane upon plane. His lips no longer chanted the runes and the names. He lay exhausted upon the floor of his chamber, unable to move, in silence.
He was certain that he had failed.
There was a small sound. Painfully he raised his weary head.
A fly had come into the chamber. It buzzed about erratically, seeming almost to follow the lines of the runes Elric had so recently painted.
The fly settled first upon one rune and then on another.
It must have come in through the window, thought Elric. He was annoyed by the distraction but still fascinated by it.
The fly settled on Elric’s forehead. It was a large, black fly and its buzz was loud, obscene. It rubbed its forelegs together, and it seemed to be taking a particular interest in Elric