by Amy Cross
***
A couple of hours later, having trekked out to the west and then beyond the limits of the port town, Kate found herself in an unspoiled landscape, with a rough path hugging the land close to the cliffs. Although she hadn't intended to go on such a long journey on her first day, she kept walking, and she felt that she was actually starting to appreciate the chance to explore a place that seemed so wild and free from the constraints of the modern world.
“This might actually turn out to be a real holiday,” she muttered, stopping for a moment and turning to look out across the vastness of the Mediterranean. Perfect blue water rippled lazily under a dazzling sun, and Kate couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of this part of the world. She knew that most people would have run straight to the small sandy beach near the port town, and would even now be splashing through the water or roasting slowly on a sunbed, but those activities really didn't appeal to Kate.
Turning to look the other way, she saw a dark smudge at the top of the hill, and she realized she was a little closer to the mansion that overlooked the port town.
After walking a little further along the path, she eventually spotted activity up ahead. A couple of men were erecting a fence, running down the side of the hill, and as Kate got closer she couldn't help but notice that the fence seemed to be going straight across the path, cutting it off. Finally, she had no option but to stop and look down at Ephram's crude map, which clearly showed a public footpath snaking much further.
One of the men glanced at Kate and muttered something in Greek. He had a dark, haunted look on his face, as if his eyes were sinking back into his skull.
“I'm sorry,” Kate replied, “I don't speak the -”
“Path closed,” he said, before grabbing a hammer, ready to strike another post into the ground.
Kate looked down at the map again, checking to see if she'd made a mistake.
“Le Compte land,” the man continued. “You know? Private. New fences are going up to help make sure that people know where they can walk and where they can't. Good job, too. If you'd come past an hour earlier, we might have accidentally fenced you in rather than out.”
“Okay,” Kate replied. “Sorry, the map must be wrong.”
“Baron Le Compte is reclaiming the land,” the man explained. “This path has been used like a public way, but no more. Is closed, you understand? Tell others. Closed, no more coming this way.”
Kate watched as the two men began to uncoil a length of barbed wire.
“Yeah,” she said after a moment. “Sure. I guess I'll just turn back.” Noticing a small van nearby, she paused. “I thought cars weren't allowed on Thaxos?” she added, turning back to the men.
“Baron Le Compte brought one from the mainland,” the nearest man replied. “He's only going to use it on his estate, so what's the problem?”
“I guess,” Kate replied, realizing that there was no point arguing.
Making her way back the way she'd come, Kate couldn't help glancing over her shoulder a couple of times and watching as the men continued to work. It seemed that the return of the Le Compte family was already having an impact on the island, and even though she understood that private land had to be respected, she felt as if barbed wire fences were a rather blunt way of carving up the island and telling everyone else to keep back. Turning to look out at the sea again, she noticed the large black boat sailing away, and then she looked down at the map again.
The stones were on the north side of the island. She'd have to go and see them another day. Provided this Baron Le Compte guy hadn't carved the place up completely, anyway.
III
“No-one round here likes change,” Fernando replied, raising his voice so he could be heard above the general hum of the cantina. “They just want everything to stay the same forever and ever and ever.”
It was getting late, and somehow Kate had managed to get herself cornered by the deckhand she'd met earlier on the boat. She wanted to tell herself that it had been an accident, that she'd just happened to accidentally wander into the one bar on the island where he was sitting alone with a quiet drink, but deep down she knew she wasn't being strictly honest with herself: in truth, she'd spent the best part of an hour walking the darkening evening streets, passing the cantina several times and wondering if maybe she could just drop in for one drink. She always felt herself to be a loner, but tonight she'd been hoping to bump into this guy for a little company.
No, not for company. To grill him for information about Edgar Le Compte and the history of the island. Another half-truth, perhaps, but one she could live with.
“So the Le Compte family,” she said, pausing for a moment to take a sip from her drink. “I'm getting the impression that they used to pretty much rule the island.”
“It was their little personal playground,” Fernando replied, swigging back some more beer. “My grandmother, God rest her soul, used to tell me that Thaxos was considered off-limits by many of the people living on nearby islands. The Le Comptes had a certain reputation for being...” He paused, as if he wasn't sure how much to tell her, and then an awkward smile spread across his face. “Well, you know. They had a reputation for being unlike other people. They were weird, and people talked about them, about the things they got up to in their mansion up there on the hill.”
“What kind of things?”
“Some people said they had wild, lavish parties. Really decadent, you know? Naked handmaidens with large palm leaves, lots of wine, music. Pleasures of the flesh, as my grandmother described it. She and a friend were offered a one night job there, just serving drinks, things like that. I mean, that's what they were told about the job, anyway. My grandmother turned it down, because she was a very Christian woman, but her friend took the money and went.”
“And what happened to her?” Kate asked.
“Never came back,” he replied. “That's what my grandmother said. No-one ever saw her again.”
“So then there must have been a police investigation,” Kate pointed out.
“This was almost a hundred years ago. I don't know the details, but with the money the Le Comptes have, I'm sure they could pay off every judge from here to Athens. There's a saying that the only law that really matters is the one you're prepared to enforce yourself. That just about sums the Le Comptes up. There's one law for the rich, and another for the rest of us.” He took another swig of beer. “And anyway, if you think that's crazy, you haven't heard anything. That's one of the more normal stories about them.”
“Go on,” Kate replied, keen to learn more.
Fernando paused for a moment, as if he was studying her face, trying to work out how far to take his stories.
“I'm a historian,” Kate continued, forcing a smile. “This kind of thing fascinates me.”
“There were some people,” Fernando replied, leaning closer as if he didn't want to be overheard, “back then, in the old days, who said the Le Comptes were into other things. Darker things.” He paused again. “Okay, don't laugh, because I'm just repeating the stupid old stories from the past, but a lot of people thought that Edgar Le Compte's grandfather was, you know...”
Kate waited for him to finish.
“You know...” Fernando continued, raising his eyebrows.
“Gay?”
“Jesus, no!” Fernando said with a sigh, before suddenly baring his front teeth. “Get it now?”
“A dentist?” Kate asked, genuinely confused.
“A vampire,” Fernando replied. “I know it's crazy, but that's what was said back then. People were dumber and more superstitious, but Edgar Le Compte's grandfather was accused more than once of being a vampire. Eventually he stayed in the house and was rarely seen, which only added to the rumors, and then one day...” He paused again, his eyes alight with the excitement of the story. “One night, some of the locals down here said they heard this loud, agonized howl from the top of the hill, and the next day the baron was gone. No-one knew where to, or how, or exactly when
, but the mansion was abandoned. It took six months for anyone to go up there and check for certain, but the place was just left to rot. And that was the last anyone around here heard or saw of the Le Compte family for more than eighty years.”
“Until today,” Kate replied.
“Well, until last week, when word came that the grandson of the old Le Compte vampire was on his way to reclaim the family home.”
“But no-one can seriously believe that vampires exist,” Kate pointed out. “I mean, not in the twenty-first century. Vampire myths were the product of superstitions that have since been explained. Sure, some people like joking about them and reading books, but I seriously doubt that any sane person genuinely believes they're real.”
“You'd be surprised how old-fashioned people are around here,” Fernando told her, finishing his beer. “Time moves more slowly on Thaxos. Maybe the heat slows it down, or maybe people just drag their heels a bit, but the old superstitions.” He glanced over his shoulder, as if to once again check that none of the other dozen patrons in the cantina was listening in, before turning back to Kate. “People are nervous. They don't like the Le Compte family being back. The worst part is, Edgar Le Compte has the same name as his grandfather. To people here, it's as if everything's picking up where it was left all those years ago. I'll get us another drink and then I'll tell you about the -”
“No,” Kate said, grabbing her empty glass before Fernando could take it, “I should really be getting to bed.”
“One more drink!”
She shook her head, mindful of the fact that the first drink had already loosened her up a little, which she simultaneously liked and disliked. She wasn't a heavy drinker, and she didn't fancy becoming one tonight, not even on holiday and especially not in this heat. Besides, Fernando's stories had been interesting, but they were of limited interest to her now that they were veering off into silly supernatural tales and superstition. She was a historian, and while she saw the value of such tales in terms of illuminating aspects of a culture, she was more interested right now in the less lurid aspects of the island's past.
“Come on, English lady,” Fernando said with a grin. “One drink. It'll be fun. Anyway, my boat leaves in the morning and I won't be back for a week. This might be our last chance to, you know, get to know each other better.”
“Well that's going to have to be one of life's regrets,” Kate told him. “It's been great talking to you, but I need to get back to the hotel. I want to be up bright and early tomorrow so I can go and check out the stones on the north side of the island.”
“Early to bed and then up to see some rocks?” Fernando replied. “You call that a holiday?”
“I call that a holiday,” she said with a smile.
A few minutes later, as they left the cantina together, Kate was already starting to worry that Fernando might insist on walking her all the way to the door of Ephram's house. The streets were dark now, but she felt completely safe, particularly since there were no cars on Thaxos. Kate was starting to understand why Thaxos was billed as one of the most relaxing places in the Mediterranean, and as she and Fernando started walking along the narrow, cobbled street, she actually felt as if she might be able to unwind during her holiday. Not too much, obviously, but at least a little.
“Hey,” Fernando said suddenly, grabbing her arm, “I want to say one thing.”
“What's that?” Kate asked nervously.
“This,” he continued, leaning closer and trying to kiss her.
As soon as his open lips touched Kate's mouth, she turned away. He tried again, but she pulled back and took a couple of steps over to the other side of the street. It was the first time anyone had tried to kiss her for a long time, and her skin crawled at the whole idea.
“What's wrong?” he asked. “You don't like kissing?”
“I don't like...” Kate paused for a moment, before realizing that she didn't owe this guy an explanation. “I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea,” she continued, “but I'm really not looking for anything like that.”
“Anything like what?” he asked, stepping closer and reaching out to touch her arm.
As soon as she felt his skin against hers, Kate instinctively recoiled.
“Are you scared of me?” Fernando asked.
“Please try to understand,” she replied, “that it's not you, it's me. I'm very happy... not having physical contact.”
Fernando stared at her, but from the look in his eyes it was clear that he now understood not to try again. Instead of persisting, he just seemed sad.
“I'm sorry,” Kate added. “Don't worry, though. I'm sure there'll be plenty of other English women along during the summer. You'll have lots of chances to try again.”
“Is that what you think I'm like?” he replied, glancing both ways along the street for a moment. “Well, okay, it was a good evening, but I have to be up early too. Maybe we say goodnight now.”
“Okay. Sure.” She paused, realizing that she probably could have handled the situation better. “Goodnight.”
“You know the way to your hotel?”
She nodded.
“My room is the other way,” he continued, conspicuously avoiding eye contact. “I'd walk you home, but you're only going around the corner and on Thaxos, you're completely safe. Goodnight, and have a very nice holiday. It was nice to meet you.” With that, he turned and hurried away, quickly making his way through the shadows and then disappearing from sight completely.
Sighing, Kate turned and wandered along the street, enjoying the slightly cooler evening breeze. She felt bad for turning down Fernando's advances, and she worried that maybe she'd given him the wrong signal by having a drink with him, but at the same time she felt a little aggrieved that she couldn't sit in a cantina with a guy without him getting the wrong idea. By the time she reached the door to the little courtyard outside Ephram's house, she'd gone from feeling bad for Fernando to feeling annoyed by his advances, and she could still feel the touch of his skin against hers, as if it had burned her slightly.
After taking her key from her pocket, she found to her surprise that the little wooden door was already open. Slipping through into the darkened courtyard, she took a couple of paces toward the main door before realizing that someone was standing up ahead. It seemed to be a man, wearing an immaculate black suit, standing with his back to her as he stood near the only light in the courtyard and faced the door, and Kate stopped as she realized that whoever this figure was, it certainly wasn't Ephram.
She waited, but the figure didn't move.
Opening her mouth to say something, she held back for a moment, feeling almost as if she shouldn't disturb him. Still, he was somewhat in the way, and there was no chance she could get inside without making her presence felt.
“Hi,” she said eventually, her mouth feeling dryer than usual. “I'm sorry, can I get past?”
Slowly, after a moment's pause, the figure turned his head and looked at her. He was a young man, perhaps in his late twenties or early thirties, and he had soulful, unblinking eyes that seemed to almost peer into Kate rather than at her. For a moment, he seemed content to just stare straight at her, before finally he blinked a couple of times.
“I'm sorry,” he said, his voice deep but also soft, “the entrance was open and I thought perhaps the store was open.” He checked his watch. “I suppose it's a little late, though. It's almost midnight. What time do you open in the morning?”
“Oh, I don't work here,” Kate replied, “I just -”
Before she could finish, she felt something brush against her shoulder. Turning, she expected to find someone standing nearby, but all she saw was the wooden door set into the far wall of the courtyard.
“Is something wrong?” the man asked.
“No,” Kate replied, turning back to him. “I just... I guess the store will be open in the morning. I'm sorry, I hope you didn't come far.”
“I don't mind the walk,” he said calmly. “The town is so peaceful a
t night, and I find the daytime heat can be a little oppressive.” He paused for a moment. “I hope you won't think I'm prying, but do I detect an English accent?”
“Yeah,” Kate replied, “I'm from -”
“Somewhere in the north of England,” he continued, interrupting her, “but your accent is mostly from London now. There's just the faintest hint of a Lancashire dialect, is there not? You were raised in one part of the country, but now you live in another, and your accent has changed accordingly.”
“Actually, yes,” Kate said, shocked that the stranger had been able to pinpoint her accent so easily. “I'm originally from Blackburn, but when I moved to London I made a real effort to drop the northern dialect. To fit in better, I guess, and...” She paused as she suddenly realized that she was starting to share far too much personal information with a man she'd never met before. “My name's Kate Langley,” she added finally. “I'm just here on holiday. Actually, I'm renting a room here above the store for a week.”
“An interesting choice,” the man replied. “There's still a small hotel next to the main square, is there not? I would have thought that any visitor would prefer to stay there, unless...” He paused again. “Perhaps you prefer to be keep away from such a place. There's always the danger that you'd run into other English tourists, and then you'd have to be social. Again, I don't mean to be too personal, but I feel as if you're the kind of person who is happy with her own company.”
“I...” Kate started to say, before realizing that the guy had somehow managed to get right to the nub of her reasoning for staying above the store. “I just thought it would be a more authentic experience,” she added, not wanting to let him know that he'd got her so completely sussed out.
“You're not here for the usual holiday pursuits,” he replied. “Sunbathing, swimming...”
“I'm interested in the history of the island,” she explained, again feeling as if it was very easy to open up to this guy. Almost too easy. “I'm a historian back home. Well, an archivist. Well, a little of both. I took my post-graduate degrees in Late European History and Mediterranean cultures, so...” She paused, suddenly feeling shy, as if she'd exposed too much of herself.
“It's interesting,” the stranger said after a moment, “how we sometimes reveal more of ourselves than we intend. But if you're interested in history, you've certainly come to the right place. My family has an archive covering more than three hundred years of Thaxos's history, mainly through the lens of our own experiences but still... One of my ancestors was one of the first men in all of Europe to own a camera, and then one of the first to develop color images, and he kept meticulous notes and sketches concerning conditions in the town. I've been meaning to go through all of his work and re-familiarize myself with its contents, but I haven't had time yet. I only arrived today.”
“Huh,” Kate replied, feeling unable to break free from the conversation. “I guess -”
Suddenly she felt something nudge her back again, and yet as she turned, she found that just as before there was nothing and no-one to be seen.
“Perhaps I should be getting home,” the man said after a moment. “It's late, and there's so much to do tomorrow. I can return in the morning, or perhaps I'll send someone down in my place. The house requires so much work in order to bring it up to a decent standard. All those years of standing empty haven't been kind to the place, and I'm afraid there were several broken windows through which the elements were able to intrude.”
As the man made his way across the courtyard, heading back toward the wooden door, Kate felt drawn to watch him. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about him seemed almost to be attached to her, consuming her attention.
“You're Edgar Le Compte,” she said suddenly.
The man pulled the wooden door open and then turned back to her.
“You are, aren't you?” she continued. “You're from the mansion up on the hill. I think I saw you earlier, standing up there and looking down at the town.”
“I am,” he replied, “and you did. It's a beautiful view from up there. I hope you have a pleasant stay on Thaxos, Ms. Langley, and perhaps we shall have an opportunity to meet again some time. I would greatly value some advice as I approach the task of sorting through my family's archive, so...” He paused for a moment. “Well, I know where to find you. I hope you won't be too put out if I get in touch before you leave.”
“Sure,” Kate replied, surprising herself. “That would be fine.”
“Goodnight,” he added, before stepping out to the street and letting the wooden door swing shut.
Kate stood alone in the courtyard for a moment, listening to the sound of Edgar Le Compte's footsteps echoing away along the narrow street outside. She felt as if his presence had brought a kind of haze to her mind, which was only now beginning to clear, and in some strange way it was almost as if he was still somewhere nearby. It took a moment, but finally she remembered that she was supposed to be going to bed, so she fumbled in her pocket for the key and turned to go inside.
Spotting movement in the corner of her eyes, she looked up at one of the upper windows in the house, and to her surprise she saw the face of Ephram's grandmother staring down at her. After a moment, the old woman stepped back and disappeared from view, but Kate couldn't help but wonder if she'd been watching the whole time during the conversation with Edgar.
Unlocking the door, Kate slipped into the building and started making her way through the darkened store. After such a crazy first day on the island, all she wanted now was a good night's sleep. A moment later, however, she realized that she could hear a noise nearby, as if something was scrabbling about on the floor behind the store's counter. Stopping for a moment, she figured it was just one of Ephram's chickens, but something about the noise seemed different, as if something was wrong.
Grabbing a nearby mop, she began to make her way around the counter. Moonlight was streaming through a nearby window, and finally Kate was able to see a small dark shape twitching and convulsing on the floor, while the sound of sharp little scratches could now be heard.
Reaching over to the wall, Kate hit the light switch.
It took a moment for the light above the counter to flicker into life, but when it did, Kate stared in horror at the sight before her. One of the chickens was on the floor, but it had three large rats biting its body and chewing on its bones, tearing it apart even as the poor animal tried to struggle free.
IV
A storm had moved in suddenly as Kate lay in her bed, trying to get to sleep. Nearby, an electric fan whirred in the corner, bringing a little coolness to the otherwise sweltering room, and Kate changed position several times a minute as she struggled to get comfortable. Although she was occasionally able to drift into a light slumber for a few seconds at a time, she continually woke again, as if something was holding her awake. Determined to sleep, she tried to forget the horrific sight of the dying chicken as it was eaten by rats, and she focused instead on the sound of rumbling thunder in the distance.
As the night wore on, however, she began to feel that sleep was an impossibility. The sound of the poor bird's death throes had stuck in her mind, as had the horror a minute later when she'd woken Ephram and he'd come down to kill the rats and then wring the chicken's neck, finally putting it out of its misery. The whole situation had felt like some kind of nightmare, yet Kate knew that it had been horribly, terrifyingly real. Now the fingers of the memory were picking at the edge of her mind, constantly prompting her to relive the evening's events over and over again.
For a moment, she tried to imagine what it would have been like if she'd taken Fernando upon his offer. She imagined herself locked in a hot, sweaty embrace. A one-night fling with a local would be the dream scenario for many women in her situation, and she wondered if she should have forced herself to step out of her comfort zone. Still, she felt that even if she was trying to relax and have a good time, she couldn't change her personality entirely.
She dozed for
a moment, almost managing to sleep before suddenly opening her eyes again, her mind filled with the memory of her brief encounter with Edgar Le Compte.
All her other thoughts left her mind, replaced by that still, dark figure standing in the courtyard. Sleep slowly crept back into her soul, wrapping its long black strands around her and pulling her down into a fevered remembering of her encounter with Edgar. In her memories, however, the man's eyes burned with such passion, they were almost on fire, and his voice sounded even deeper and darker than it had in real life. In her mind, Edgar told her about herself, unpicking every lie and deception she'd ever used before laying her bare, as if he'd known her all her life. As the memory became a light dream, she felt her surroundings change until she ended up standing out on the hillside under a pale moon, with Edgar right behind her. He reached out and put a hand on her waist, and the pressure felt so real, as if it couldn't possibly be a dream.
Waking with a start, Kate opened her eyes and stared up at the crack in the ceiling. She was back in her room above Ephram's shop again, and she was sweating. Looking over at the fan, she saw that its blades were slowly spinning to a halt, as if the power had been cut off. As she took a deep breath, however, she felt something brush against her bare foot. She wanted to look down, but suddenly she felt as if she couldn't move. No matter how hard she tried to turn her head or sit up, her body was locked in place as a hand ran smoothly past her left ankle and began to feel her leg. When she tried to open her mouth to speak or to call for help, she found that it too refused to move, almost as if her entire body was frozen.
As she struggled, she felt the hand moving past her knee and then onto her upper leg, finally brushing against the edge of her crotch. She'd discarded her underwear earlier that night, unable to keep it on due to the heat. Even though her body refused to move an inch, she could feel the hand's fingertips against her flesh, almost as if the nerves of her body had slipped closer to the surface and were on the verge of catching fire. Slowly, the hand moved onto her waist, following the curve up to her rib-cage and then finally to the underside of her breast. Feeling a tingling sensation, Kate could do nothing other than wait as the hand moved onto the breast itself, brushing the edge of her nipple before moving onto her collarbone and then to her neck. Moments later, the hand slipped up to her chin and then to the side of her face.
She stared up at the ceiling, waiting for the intruder to come into her field of vision, but suddenly the hand seemed to flutter away, as if it had never been there in the first place.
She waited, still unable to move.
And then she realized that someone was breathing nearby, just a few inches from her face.
She tried to turn, and eventually she was able to force her head just a few inches. For a moment, she could see no-one nearby, and then suddenly a face came into view, somehow visible despite the darkness. It was Edgar Le Compte, staring straight down at her with an expression of dark intent. Kate tried to speak, to ask him what he wanted, but her lips like the rest of her body were still numb to her mind's commands, and all she could do was stare into Edgar's eyes as he moved closer and closer, inch by inch, gradually opening his mouth until -
Suddenly the whole world seemed to reset and Kate sat up in bed, and the darkness around her changed in a flash to become instead the welcoming warm light of morning, with the curtains fluttering harmlessly in the breeze as the fan whirred next to the bed. She was sweating and a little out of breath, and as she looked around the room, Kate felt convinced that Edgar Le Compte must still be nearby. Only after she checked under the bed was she finally able to accept that she was alone, and that his visit must have been part of some vivid dream. She ran her hands along her bare legs and flexed her toes, to prove to herself that the sleep paralysis was over. Still, she felt extremely uncomfortable, even as she heard passing voices below her window, proof that the world was turning as usual again.
Glancing at her phone, she saw that it was only 5:50am. Still, she knew that there was no way she could get back to sleep right now, even if she dared to close her eyes again. Grabbing a towel, she decided to cool down by taking a shower.