cb.coldheart canyon-第62章

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eating　at　the　door　to　be　let　in。
　 Katya　hardened　her　cold　heart　against　them；　however。　Realizing　she　would　soon　be　under　siege；　she　hired　men　to　guard　the　house　night　and　day。　For　several　months；　through　the　spring　and　summer　of　1926；　she　and　Zeffer　lived　in　near　isolation；　ignoring　the　entreaties　of　her　friends　who　came　（often　with　magnificent　gifts）　begging　for　an　audience　with　her；　and　for　a　chance　to　see　the　Devil's　Country。　She　refused　all　but　a　very　few。
　 In　fact　nobody　truly　understood　what　was　happening　in　the　bowels　of　the　house。　Why　should　they？　They　were　dealing　in　mysteries　even　old　Father　Sandru；　who　had　sold　Zeffer　the　piece；　did　not　understand。　But　their　eager　flesh　had　discovered　what　the　dry　intellect　of　metaphysicians　had　not。　Like　opium　addicts　denied　their　fix　they　went　blindly　after　the　thing　that　would　heal　their　pain；　without　needing　to　understand　the　pharmacology　that　had　driven　them　to　such　desperation。
　 For　a　time　they　had　been　happy　in　the　Canyon；　they　remembered；　happy　in　Katya's　house；　happy　looking　at　the　pictures　of　the　Hunt　on　the　tiled　walls；　which　had　moved　so　curiously　before　their　astonished　eyes。　So　it　followed…didn't　it？…that　if　they　kept　returning　to　the　Canyon；　and　into　that　strange　country　of　tile　and　illusion　they　would　be　happy　and　healthy　again。　But　Katya　wouldn't　let　them；　she　was　leaving　them　to　suffer；　denied　the　only　thing　they　wanted。
　 Of　course　Katya　was　no　more　knowledgeable　about　the　alchemy　at　work　in　her　dream　palace　than　those　in　her　doomed　circle。　She　knew　that　the　gift　of　healing　and　the　fever　of　need　that　followed　was　all　brought　about　by　being　in　the　Devil's　Country；　but　how　it　worked；　or　how　long　it　would　operate　before　its　engines　were　exhausted；　she　had　no　idea。　She　only　knew　that　she　felt　possessive　of　the　room。　It　was　hers　to　give　and　take　away；　as　her　will　desired。
　 Needless　to　say；　the　more　tearful　visitors　she　had　at　her　gates；　the　more　letters　she　received　（and　the　more　chaotic　the　tone　of　those　letters）　the　less　inclined　she　was　to　invite　in　those　who'd　written　them；　partly　because　she　was　afraid　of　the　depth　of　addiction　she　had　unleashed　in　these　people；　partly　because　she　was　anxious　that　the　power　of　the　Devil's　Country　might　not　be　limitless；　and　she　was　not　about　to　be　profligate　with　a　power　that　she　needed　as　much　as　they。
　 There　might　e　a　time；　she　supposed；　when　she　would　need　the　healing　effects　of　the　house　purely　for　herself；　and　when　that　time　came　she'd　be　covetous　of　every　wasted　jot　of　it。　This　wasn't　something　she　could　afford　to　be　generous　with；　not　any　longer。　It　was　her　life　she　was　playing　with　here；　her　life　everlasting。　She　needed　to　preserve　the　power　she　had　locked　away　below　ground；　for　fear　one　day　its　sum　was　the　difference　between　life　and　death。
　
　 And　then…as　though　things　were　not　terrible　enough…they　had　suddenly　got　worse。
　
　 It　began　on　Monday；　the　23rd　of　August；　1926；　with　the　sudden　death　of　Rudy　Valentino。
　 Only　three　weeks　before　he　had　managed　to　get　past　the　guards　in　Coldheart　Canyon　（like　one　of　the　heroes　he'd　so　often　played；　scaling　walls　to　get　to　his　beloved）　and　had　pleaded　with　Katya　to　let　him　stay　with　her。　He　didn't　feel　good；　he　told　her；　he　needed　to　stay　here　in　the　Canyon；　where　he'd　spent　so　many　happy　times；　and　recuperate。　She　told　him　no。　He　became　aggressive；　told　her…half　in　Italian；　half　in　English…that　she　was　a　selfish　bitch。　Wasn't　it　time　she　remembered　where　she　came　from？　he　said。　She　was　just　a　peasant　at　heart；　like　him。　Just　because　she　acted　like　a　queen　didn't　make　her　one；　to　which　she'd　snappily　replied　that　the　same　could　not　be　said　for　him。　He'd　slapped　her　for　that　remark。　She'd　slapped　him　back；　twice　as　hard。
　 Always　prone　to　sudden　emotional　swings；　Valentino　had　promptly　started　to　bawl　like　a　baby；　interspersing　his　sobs　with　demands　that　she　please　God　have　mercy　on　him。
　 〃I'm　dying！〃　he　said；　thumping　his　gut　with　his　fist。　〃I　feel　it　in　here！〃
　 She　let　him　weep　until　the　carpet　was　damp。　Then　she　had　had　him　removed　from　the　house　by　two　of　her　hired　heavies；　and　tossed　into　the　street。
　 It　had　seemed　like　typical　Rudy　melodrama　at　the　time：　I'm　dying；　I'm　dying。　But　this　time　he'd　known　his　own　body　better　than　she'd　given　him　credit　for。　He　was　the　first　to　pay　the　ultimate　price　for　visiting　the　Devil's　Country。　Three　weeks　after　that　tearful　conversation　he　was　dead。
　 The　hoopla　over　Valentino's　sudden　demise　hid　from　view　a　series　of　smaller　incidents　that　were　nevertheless　all　part　of　the　same　escalating　tragedy。　A　minor　starlet　called　Miriam　Acker　died　two　days　after　Rudy；　of　what　was　reported　to　be　pneumonia。　She　had　been　a　visitor　to　the　Canyon　on　several　occasions；　usually　in　the　pany　of　Ramon　Navarro。　Pola　Negri…another　visitor　to　the　Canyon…fell　gravely　ill　a　week　later；　and　for　several　days　hovered　on　the　brink　of　death。　Her　frailty　was　attributed　to　grief　at　the　passing　of　Valentino；　with　whom　she　claimed　to　have　had　a　passionate　affair；　but　the　truth　was　far　less　glamorous。　She　too　had　fallen　under　the　spell　of　the　Hunt；　and　now；　though　she　denied　it；　was　sickening。
　 In　fact　death　took　an　unmonly　large　number　of　Hollywood's　luminaries　in　the　next　few　months。　And　for　every　one　who　died　there　were　ten　or　twenty　who　got　sick；　and　managed　to　recover；　though　none　were　ever　possessed　of　their　full　strength；　or　flawless　beauty；　again。　The　'coincidence'　was　not　lost　on　either　the　fans　or　the　journalists。　〃A　harvest　of　death　is　sweeping　Hollywood；〃　Film　Photoplay　morbidly　announced；　〃as　star　after　star　follows　the　greatest　star　of　all；　Rudolph　Valentino；　to　the　grave。〃
　 The　idea　that　there　was　some　kind　of　plague　abroad　caught　the　public's　imagination　and　was　fed　voraciously　by　those　who'd　predicted　for　reasons　of　their　own　that　judgment　would　eventually　fall　on　Tinseltown。　Preachers　who'd　fulminated　against　the　sinners　of　the　New　Sodom　were　now　quick　to　point　out　the　evidence　in　support　of　their　grim　sermons。　And　the　public；　who'd　a　decade　before　taken　pleasure　in　crowning　actors　as　the　new　Royalty　of　America　were　now　just　as　entertained　by　the　spectacle　of　their　fall　from　grace。　They　were　fakes　and　foreigners　anyway；　it　was　widely　opined；　no　wonder　they　were　falling　like　flies；　they'd　e　here　like　plague…rats　in　the　first　place。
　 Hollywood　was　going　to　Hell　in　a　hand…cart；　and　it　didn't　matter　how　rich　or　beautiful　you　were；　there　was　no　escaping　the　cost　of　the　high　life。
　
　 Up　in　the　Canyon；　Katya　dared　believe　she　was　safe：　she'd　added　three　German　Shepherd　dogs　to　the　retinue　guarding　her；　and　she　had　men　patrolling　the　ridges　and　the　roads　that　led　to　the　Canyon　night　and　day。　It　was　such　a　strange　time。　The　whole　munity　was　unsettled。　There　was　talk　of　lights　being　seen　in　the　sky；　especially　in　the　vicinity　of　death…sites。　A　number　of　small　cults　came　into　being；　all　with　their　own　theories　of　what　was　happening。　The　most　extreme　interpreted　these　lights　as　warnings　from　God：　the　end　of　the　world　was　imminent；　their　leaders　announced；　and　people　should　prepare　themselves　for　the　Apocalypse。　Others　interpreted　the　lights　more　benignly。　They　were　messengers　from　God；　this　faction　claimed；　angels　sent　to　guide　the　deceased　out　of　the　coil　of　mortal　confusions　into　the　next　life。　If　this　was　the　case　then　these　heavenly　presences　were　not　happy　that　Hell　now　had　a　stronghold　in　the　Canyon。　Though　the　dead　came　there；　the　lights　did　not。　Indeed　on　several　occasions　they　were　seen　at　the　bottom　of　the　hill；　three　or　four　of　them　gathered　in　a　cloud　of　luminescence；　plainly　unwilling　to　venture　into　the　Canyon。
　 For　her　part；　Katya　took　such　reports　as　evidence　that　her　defenses　were　working。　Nobody　could　get　into　her　precious　Canyon。　Or　such　was　her　conviction。
　 In　fact　her　sense　of　security；　like　so　much　else　in　her　increasingly　fragile　life；　was　an　illusion。
　 One　evening；　walking　in　the　garden；　the　dogs　suddenly　got　crazy；　and　out　of　the　darkness　stepped　Rudy　Valentino。　He　looked　entirely　unchanged　by　death：　his　skin　as　smooth　as　ever；　his　hair　as　brilliantly　coifed；　his　clothes　as　flawless。
　 He　bowed　deeply　to　her。
　 〃My　apologies；〃　he　said；　〃for　ing　here。　I　know　I'm　not　wele。　
　
　But　fran