by Helen Harper
We picked up the pace again. The sun was already sinking into the hills beyond the village but the last thing I had time for was enjoying the view. I was within touching distance of the man who’d murdered my parents. Justice would finally be served. I could hardly wait.
We were passing the park where Julie Mackintosh had died when my phone buzzed. I took it out, assuming it was Boateng. It was an unknown number but he might have borrowed someone else’s phone. But it wasn’t Boateng’s voice on the other end of the line.
‘DC Bellamy! Help us!’
I stopped moving. ‘Albion?’
‘Someone’s here. Someone’s after us. I can’t…’ His words were drowned out by a series of loud squawks. I heard a high-pitched scream that was cut off abruptly. ‘Help us!’ Albion yelled. ‘Help us!’ The blood drained from my face.
The phone went dead. I shared a single horrified glance with Lukas; from his expression, he’d heard every word of the call.
I spun around. ‘They’re at the other side of the village,’ I said. ‘We have to get there. Now.’
Chapter Twenty-Six
We flew down the road. There were still plenty of people out and about who stopped to stare at us. I didn’t know whether it was because of our running speed or because Lukas was a vampire, and I didn’t care. The killer was at Miranda James’s house. She was there and so was Albion. I had to stop him. It was time to bring the bastard down before we lost any more innocent lives.
‘Will the car be faster?’ Lukas called as we sprinted.
I thought about the long driveway leading up to the house. ‘Yes.’
He nodded and veered off to the Bird and Bush car park. We threw ourselves inside his car and the tires squealed as Lukas reversed, put the car into gear and took off.
‘Left,’ I instructed. I didn’t bother with a seatbelt, I simply clung on and prayed we’d reach Miranda and Albion in time.
Lukas swerved round a badly parked car. In less than a minute we were passing the village boundary. I wasn’t sure how much attention Lukas had paid to the route on his first trip out to Miranda’s grand house. After all, he’d been at death’s door at the time. ‘There’s a small road to the right not far from here,’ I said. ‘It’s easy to miss, even in daylight.’
‘Fortunately I have excellent night vision,’ Lukas said. He slammed on the brakes and spun the wheel. ‘And I remember where it is.’
I nodded, my chest tight with anxiety. ‘Here we go.’
Lukas accelerated again and we sped up Miranda James’ drive. The shadows from the trees loomed over us and I tightened my grip on the crossbow in my lap. I had to be ready for whatever was about to happen. I had to be prepared to…
I let out a brief scream of warning. Standing in the centre of the driveway on the crest of the curve were two figures. They were waiting for us.
Lukas braked hard. I was yanked forward by the force and braced myself with one hand against the dashboard. Then there was an almighty crash from the roof of the car. Someone – or something – was up there.
I leapt out, just in time to see a large dark shadow bound off the top of Lukas’s car and disappear into the trees. I raised my crossbow, ready to fire, but it was already too late. I hissed.
Lukas got out of the car and stared towards the disappearing shape. ‘If that wound is still bothering you,’ I said, ‘you need to say so now.’
‘Don’t worry about me,’ he replied. ‘I’m more than ready for this.’
I nodded and turned to face the figures ahead of us. One was cloaked and hooded; the other was Miranda James. She was struggling desperately to break free.
‘Don’t come any closer,’ ordered the hooded man. It was the elderly bloke from the train. I was sure of it. ‘Unless you want Ms James here to breathe her last.’ He chuckled amiably.
My insides tightened. He was laughing; this was nothing more than a joke to him.
‘He’s trying to bait us,’ Lukas muttered.
I gritted my teeth. ‘It’s working.’ I took my eyes from him for a moment to scan the trees. Chloe had been right all along: there were two of the bastards. It seemed likely that the one in the trees was a supe, while the man in front of us was human. I didn’t know if it was an equal partnership, or how the relationship between them worked, but I’d figure it out.
‘What do you want?’ I called out.
Another laugh echoed towards us. ‘You know what I want, Little Emma.’
I lowered the crossbow. ‘I’m right here. Let Miranda go and I’ll come to you.’
‘Why? So I can kill you? We both know that won’t work.’
‘Careful, Emma,’ Lukas warned in a low tone.
I nodded to let him know I’d heard him. ‘Well, if you’re not going to kill me,’ I said, ‘what do you want with me?’
This time there was no derisive laugh. ‘I should have thought that was obvious. I want to see you suffer in every way it is possible to suffer.’
Without warning, the dark shadow flew from the trees and leapt at Lukas. I cried out and lunged towards him. I caught a glimpse of dark fur and swiping claws before Lukas smashed his fist into the creature’s nose. There was a sudden brief hiss, then it pulled back and bounded towards Miranda and her captor.
‘Wait!’ I yelled. I couldn’t stand and watch the damned beast slash Miranda James’s throat while I did nothing. I started forward as it threw itself at the pair of them.
Miranda screamed. The beast’s body hung in the air, suspended for a brief moment before it vanished.
‘What the fuck?’ Lukas stared. So did I. I swung my head from left to right. Where did it go?
‘Was that Miranda?’ I whispered urgently. ‘Did she use her druid powers to vaporise it?’
‘I don’t think so,’ Lukas replied. ‘For one thing, she doesn’t have that kind of power. For another, she seems as shocked at its disappearance as we are.’
The man was still holding her tightly, but she was no longer trying to wrestle free. Her jaw was hanging open and she looked astonished. ‘Neat trick, huh?’ her captor said to her.
I swallowed. Wherever the damned bugbear monster had gone, that man was in control of everything. I had to find a way to gain a foothold or two. ‘Impressive, Mr Evans,’ I called. ‘Is that what I should call you? Gwynne Evans? Is that what your pensioner’s railcard says?’
He drew back his hood and I breathed in sharply. It was him. He smirked. ‘It took you long enough, detective.’ He sniffed. ‘And here was me thinking that the Metropolitan police were truly scraping the barrel when they hired you. Maybe you’re not completely stupid after all. No, my name isn’t Gwynne Evans. I won’t bother asking where you got that name from. Frankly, I don’t really care.’
‘I need to call you something.’
He paused, tilting his head as he considered. ‘Call me Lazarus,’ he said eventually. ‘Because, like you, I have returned from the dead.’ He grinned broadly. ‘In a manner of speaking.’
‘We have something in common, then. Why don’t you let Miranda go and we can share our experiences?’
Lazarus rolled his eyes. ‘What’s the obsession with this woman? She’s nothing. She—’
He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. Taking advantage of his distraction, Miranda raised her elbow and slammed it into his stomach. Lazarus automatically released his hold on her. A split second later, she began to run down the driveway towards Lukas and me.
I didn’t hesitate. I sprinted towards her so I could bring her to safety. Alas, I didn’t even get close. Without warning, the creature reappeared and barrelled towards Miranda, slamming into her body and bringing her down to the cold ground. She let out a sharp cry as her head bounced off the driveway.
The beast opened its jaws. I kept running, sure that it was about to tear out her throat, but Lazarus spoke first, his voice ringing out crystal clear. ‘We still need her.’ He pointed at me. ‘Halt.’
I had no choice; if I went any closer, Miranda
’s life would be forfeit.
Now I could see the monster more clearly; it did indeed look like a bear, a nightmarish bear that had sprung from the jaws of hell. Its fur was as black as Lukas’s hair. It had a long snout and curling whiskers. It huffed loudly. For a moment I thought it was going to ignore Lazarus, but then it stepped forward and angled its massive body between me and Miranda. She moaned. She was still conscious. That was something.
‘It came from him,’ Lukas murmured at my back. ‘That beast came from Lazarus himself. One minute it wasn’t there and the next it sprang up as if it had emerged from his shoulder blades. It absorbs itself into his body. That’s how it works – that’s how it’s stayed hidden until now.’
‘So it’s a part of him? They’re one creature?’
Lazarus laughed again. He’d heard every word of our conversation. ‘Oh no, detective. We are entirely separate, I can assure you of that. This is what a bugbear does, you see. It latches onto a human host and conceals itself until it is necessary to emerge. Ours is an entirely symbiotic relationship. I kill for him, and he kills for me.’
He smiled broadly, evidently taking great pleasure in explaining. ‘We’ve been together for a quarter of a century. You and your parents were our first.’ His face twisted into a snarl. ‘Or at least you were supposed to be.’
He strode down the driveway until he drew level with the bugbear. For one chilling second it looked at him and he looked at it. Their mutual trust, desires and ferocious bloodlust were unmistakable.
‘You don’t know what it’s like,’ Lazarus said, gazing at me. ‘You plan for something. You put your heart and soul into it, and you consider every outcome and every possibility. And then one person – one child,’ he spat in disgust, ‘ruins it all.’
It was clear he believed that all this was my fault, as if I were responsible for murder rather than him. Next to me, Lukas growled but I gave my head a tiny shake. Not yet. I wanted to hear what Lazarus had to say, and I wanted to ensure that Miranda and Albion, wherever the boy might be, would be safe.
‘So you’re upset because I didn’t stay dead?’ I said softly.
‘Upset? Upset? What do you think this is? Who do you think I am?’ Lazarus rolled his eyes expressively. ‘Upset? Upset is what happens when someone bumps into you or your car has a prang. You ruined me for years.’
He gestured at the bugbear. In response, it lifted its head and its slitted gaze seared into me. ‘We didn’t know what you saw, what you remembered, or whether the police were after us. If you’d said something to the police at the time, maybe poor Sammy Beswick wouldn’t have been arrested. Maybe I would have been.’ He sniffed. ‘You have a lot to answer for, detective. It took us years to regain our equilibrium. You were the one that got away.’ He sounded as if he were throwing a tantrum. It was a strange look for such an elderly man. ‘But not now. You won’t get away again. We might not manage to kill you, but we can kill everyone you’ve ever cared about. We can make you suffer.’
I shifted my weight slightly. It wasn’t the old man who worried me; he was full of pointless bluster and bruised ego because I’d not stayed dead when I was five years old. But he wasn’t strong and he didn’t appear to have any weapons. My concern was the bugbear, which could kill Miranda James with one swift flash of its teeth. I didn’t know what else it might be capable of, or how much power was contained within that dark furry body. I had to draw it away from Miranda and towards Lukas and me, but I didn’t know how.
Stalling for more time as I worked out the angles, I spoke again. ‘You lured me here to Barchapel, didn’t you? You deliberately went for Patrick Lacey because of his connection to me. You made sure that everyone knew a supe was involved in his killing so that I would hear about it.’
Lazarus swept out a dramatic bow. ‘Indeed. We heard the rumours about you and what you could do. As soon as there was a whisper about a female detective in London who could resurrect, I knew it had to be little Emma Bellamy. I knew it was time to finish what I’d started.’
Lukas inched towards me and ducked his head to speak in a voice that was barely audible even to my ears. ‘There’s two of us and two of them. The bear is the danger. We hit it from the same time from both sides.’
I moved my hand and imperceptibly brushed my fingertips against Lukas’s arm. I was still worried about Miranda; she was too close to the bugbear and she was no longer in any fit state to scramble away to safety. We had to time this perfectly to keep her safe.
‘You killed me at the Bird and Bush because you wanted to check that you had the right person,’ I called to Lazarus, hoping to keep him distracted.
‘And all it took was twelve hours.’ He splayed out his hands, mimicking a strangling motion. ‘And a little squeeze.’
‘Why did you go after Julie?’
‘Who’s Julie? Do you mean the woman in the park?’ Lazarus shrugged. ‘I suppose I wanted to make sure that you were still interested, and she happened to be there when I needed her. I saw an opportunity and took it. She died quickly. It was unexpected, really. I’ve been studying death for a long time, yet there is always still more to learn.’
He was still trying to bait me by describing Julie’s passing as if it were nothing more than a curiosity. I tightened my jaw. No matter how nauseous it made me feel, I had to keep him talking. ‘So why arrange for the attack on Samuel Beswick? Why go to all the trouble of engaging someone inside the prison to attack him?’
I squinted. The bugbear needed Lazarus. If we went after his human host, who was the weaker and easier target, we might distract the beast from Miranda.
Lazarus smiled crookedly. ‘I’ve picked up several interesting contacts over the years. I could have got to Beswick at any time but I wanted to wait until you realised that he didn’t kill you or your parents. You’re with the police. You’re supposed to put away the bad guys and protect the good guys. I wanted you to appreciate how pointless the justice system is. An innocent man is imprisoned for a brutal murder and, just as the truth is revealed, he dies.’ He sighed, as if deeply contented. ‘You have to admit that the timing is delicious.’
I wanted to knock his smarmy confidence. ‘If you hadn’t organised the attack on Beswick, I wouldn’t have worked out who you are.’
Lazarus laughed again. ‘I don’t care what you think you’ve worked out. The end result will still be the same.’
I covered my mouth with my hand and coughed. ‘Not bear. Him,’ I muttered to Lukas.
He jerked his head in understanding then moved his hand to my back and pressed three fingers into my spine. The bugbear’s head raised slightly, its ears twisting. Lukas shifted; he was now pressing two fingers.
A strange expression flitted across Lazarus’s face. Satisfaction, maybe?
Lukas switched to one finger and I tensed, ready to move.
Then there was a yell from beyond the trees to my right and someone barrelled out. Albion. Oh shit.
As the boy threw himself at the bugbear, Lukas and I wasted no more time. The beast snarled, heaving itself up onto two legs rather than four, and swiped at Albion. I sprinted over, grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck and threw him to the side.
Lukas continued towards Lazarus. A breath later I joined him. There was a roar of frustration from the beast. I held my breath as Lukas reached the old man, hooked one arm round his neck and bared his fangs, ready to sink them into his neck.
The bugbear huffed and I heard its paws thump as it spun round, abandoning Albion and Miranda in favour of protecting its host. As I turned to face it, I lifted up my crossbow and fired. A single bolt flew out, smacking into the bugbear and embedding itself in the centre of its heavy body – but the damned beast didn’t stop or slow down. I started to reload the crossbow. And then the bugbear was upon me.
I was thrown backwards and my spine hit the ground. Sharp pain spasmed through me. I thrust the crossbow upwards, using it both as a barrier to protect me from the bugbear’s glistening teeth and as a weapon. I
fired again. This time the shot tore through the bugbear’s throat at point-blank range – but it still had no effect. It snapped its jaws and lowered its face to mine. Uh oh.
‘You can kill me,’ I said, ‘but you know I’ll come right back again. You’ll always lose.’
I couldn’t tell whether the bugbear understood me or not, but Lazarus certainly did. ‘To me,’ he croaked. ‘Kill the vampire. Not her.’
The bugbear sprang upwards, abandoning me. I jumped to my feet as it threw itself at Lukas. Its claws ripped into his skin in a desperate bid to get him to drop Lazarus.
Lukas released the old man and jerked right to throw off the bugbear, but it clung on. I saw its mouth open wide as Lukas fought it, smashing his fist into its face. The beast yanked itself away and shook out its fur, then it went for Lukas again.
Reloading the crossbow, I darted to Lazarus. A moment later I held the weapon up and pointed it at his chest. ‘Call it off,’ I ordered. ‘Call it off or I will shoot you where you stand.’
The bugbear huffed, its jaws and sharp teeth snapping at Lukas’s throat. Lukas was preternaturally strong, but I knew that the bugbear was stronger.
Lazarus spread out his arms and closed his eyes. ‘Then shoot me,’ he whispered.
I glanced at Lukas and the bugbear again. The strain on Lukas’s face was obvious. He was using all his strength to hold the monster off, but its teeth were edging closer and closer. In seconds all this would be over.
I sucked in a breath. And then I fired.
The bolt hit Lazarus in his chest. For a moment he looked surprised, then he smiled and sank to his knees.
The bugbear howled once and immediately abandoned Lukas. It knocked me out of the way as it heaved itself to Lazarus, leaping at him and disappearing inside his frail body almost as if it had been swallowed up.
It was too late. Lazarus let out a single shuddering sigh and fell.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
DCI Boateng wasted no time in setting up spotlights and establishing a perimeter. ‘Is this bugbear creature still inside him?’ he asked, pointing at Lazarus’s corpse.