He looked at Sandra holding the doll. “You have to put that back where it belongs. If you take it beyond those gates, you’ll give her reason to leave.”
“I promise I’ll never take it away from here,’ she said as its eyes tilted open again. “But so long as I have hold of it, I know Maisie will find me.” Sandra looked down into the doll’s eyes and felt uneasy at the way it appeared to stare back at her.
“Why would you wish that for yourself? You know what she’s capable of.”
“Maisie won’t come near me whilst I hold the doll – you said she didn’t like to be close to it.”
David sneered uncharacteristically at her. “You’re a fool if you think that will stop her.”
“Then I’ll destroy it,” she said angrily.
“The doll cannot be destroyed,” David shouted. “I’ve told you that before.”
“I’ll find a way, especially if it means you’ll be free.”
“I don’t want to be free. Don’t you understand that? She was a defenceless child and I knew her mother was hurting her, but I stood by and worried more about what the villagers would think. This is my punishment for not saving her all those years ago.”
“Self-pity won’t help you,” she replied. “What could you have done?”
“I don’t know, but I could have tried harder to help her. She remembers everything, Sandra, and knows I failed her. That’s why she hates me so much, and she will use the feelings I have for you against me.”
Sandra was about to reply when she heard the pattering of many tiny feet running through the house. She froze, unsure of who else was there.
“Sandra, the cats are coming.” David sounded alarmed.
Within minutes, they were both surrounded by an army of cats, their fur stood on end -- they knew Maisie was coming.
A strong wind picked up outside and began to howl around the house. Through the noise of the wind, Maisie’s cries could be clearly heard.
David looked panic-stricken and grabbed Sandra’s arm. “You have to leave the doll and go now, whilst you still can,” he said leading her into the hallway.
“But, how?” Sandra asked, confused as to how Maisie was now able to leave the cavern in daylight.
There was a crashing noise from the back of the house as the French doors were wrenched off their hinges, followed by the unmistakable sound of footsteps striking the floor as Maisie stormed through the rooms. Maisie didn’t have to sniff the air to find her. Sandra knew Maisie could see her through the dolls eyes.
The cats began to hiss and ran at Maisie in the hallway, trying to stop her from moving any closer to Sandra.
Maisie stood and faced Sandra, then with her little hand she brushed the mass of dirty blonde hair away from her face. Sandra felt her entire body begin to shake, for the first time, seeing the demonic-looking child so exposed in daylight. Maisie smiled showing her rotting brown teeth – she was more terrifying than Sandra could have ever imagined.
The cats had now formed a circle and were walking around Maisie. She appeared to ignore them and was almost trance-like as she began to sing whilst moving her head slowly from side to side. Listening to Maisie recite a nursery rhyme Sandra’s own mother used to sing sent chills down her spine. It was the most terrifying sound she had ever heard.
“Maisie, Maisie, give me your answer do, I’m half crazy, all for the love of you...” the little girl sang chillingly.
“Maisie, enough,” David interrupted. “She doesn’t know what she’s doing. Please don’t harm her.”
Maisie ignored him and kept her head focused in Sandra’s direction. “I knew you’d come back to play with me,” she said in her familiar childlike voice.
The high-pitched voice sent waves of fear coursing through Sandra.
“I haven’t come to play with you, Maisie. I’ve come to stop you.”
Maisie giggled. “Silly, Sandra, silly, Sandra.” She sang the words.
The cats were beginning to form a closer circle around Maisie, and she turned her head away from Sandra and bent over, splaying her dirty fingers on the floor. She sniffed the air before letting out an almighty scream that scattered the cats across the hallway.
As the cats scarpered, David looked horrified.
Sandra could see Maisie appeared stronger than ever and no longer seemed to be afraid of the cats.
“Put the doll down,” David told Sandra. “She doesn’t like anybody to touch it.”
“I’m not frightened of her any longer, David, or of this thing,” she said looking down at the doll.
Maisie lifted her head and smiled again. “Then you’re as stupid as he is. You know what I can do and yet, you tease me?” Maisie said. “Silly Sandra, silly Sandra,” she sang again.
“I’m not afraid of you, Maisie,” Sandra lied. “I know what happened to you all those years ago and I know what you did to your father and how badly your mother treated you. I pity you and what became of your family.”
“I don’t require your pity and neither does my father. He didn’t deserve to live. My mother however was a powerful woman and gave me a precious gift.”
“What gift could a mother harming her own daughter possibly give?” Sandra asked.
“More power than she could ever have dreamed of. That was her gift to me.”
“And look what you did to your father because of that power.” Sandra spat the words at her. “Was it worth it?”
“My father was a weak man and paid dearly for it. Yes, there was a time I loved him, but even that didn’t stop me from killing him. I admire you, Sandra, standing there pretending to be brave, but I can smell the fear on you.” Maisie sniffed the air again and smiled.
David moved quickly and stood in front of Sandra. She wondered when Maisie would strike. Having escaped unharmed twice, Sandra worried her luck was about to run out.
The sound of footsteps above distracted her momentarily as both she and David looked towards the top of the stairs.
“You speak the truth, Maisie,” came a male voice from the landing.
Chapter 41
Sandra froze as a stranger walked across the upstairs landing and headed towards the stairs.
Maisie sniffed frantically at the air as the visitor made his way down the staircase.
Sandra looked at David and noticed the surprised expression on his face.
“And I remember it like it was yesterday, but I have waited for so long to see you again. It hurts my heart to see what your mother turned you into.”
The stranger stared at Maisie and she seemed to recoil in horror as he spoke. She put her hands over her ears and sniffed the air wildly trying to locate where he now stood.
Sandra watched and wondered what was happening. She looked down at the doll as its eyes sprang open and moved from side to side, as if trying to find the source of the voice that so disturbed Maisie.
“This can’t be. What trickery is this?” David looked shocked.
“There is no trickery involved, David,” the man responded.
“David, who is he?” Sandra asked, but he looked too stunned to respond.
“I owe you an apology, David. My part is unforgivable and the responsibility should never have been put upon your shoulders. For many years, you’ve kept her bound within these walls and for that you have my eternal gratitude. My precious daughter meant the world to me, and when I lost her, I would have done anything to have her back.”
“Mark Whitmore,” Sandra whispered.
David shook his head. “I don’t understand how you’re here after all of this time? I watched Maisie crawl out of the well. You were sat on the steps outside,” he said, pointing towards the rear of the house. “I watched you open your arms and cry as you held her again.”
“What you saw were not tears of happiness, but of despair at what my beautiful little girl had become.”
“She tore at your throat with her teeth. I saw her do it with my own eyes,” David said, confused and frustrated.
Sandr
a watched in silence, but she could see David shaking his head, struggling to come to terms with what he was seeing. “How are you here? I demand to know!”
David looked angrier than Sandra had ever seen him, but she understood his emotions and what he must be going through. For over a hundred years he had watched over Maisie while her father was hidden away.
“You speak the truth, David, and I suffered terribly from the pain she inflicted upon me. I felt Maisie’s teeth gnawing into my flesh as I screamed, and begged her for a quick death. She was too strong for me. I couldn’t fight her off. I closed my eyes and found myself face to face with a man surrounded by a blinding light. I couldn’t see his face, but he told me I had to wait in purgatory. There, he said, I would remain as punishment for taking a human life, but when I was truly needed, I could return and atone for my sins, and only then would I be allowed through the gates of Heaven.”
“And now you return, after all these years and it’s too late to stop her,” David said flippantly. “Your daughter’s strength grows with each passing day, and not even the heavens are powerful enough to stop her.”
“That’s not true, David, or I wouldn’t be here now. I know how to stop my daughter.”
Maisie had retreated silently and was crouched in a corner of the hallway nearest to the staircase. Her head was bowed, and her straggly blonde hair hung in front of her face. She grabbed at the pearls around her neck, wrapping them around her dirty little fingers while muttering to herself.
Sandra noticed the cats as they cautiously began to creep back into the hallway.
“Please pass me the doll, Miss Miller,” Mark said holding out his hands as the doll’s eyes closed shut.
“What will you do with it?” David looked concerned. “You can’t destroy it.”
“I will end this nightmare once and for all.”
Sandra passed Mark the doll, and as she did, Maisie looked up and screamed. With an almighty crash the glass, in the hall windows blew out, sending shards of glass into the front garden. The cats scattered once again.
“My daughter cannot harm me, any more than she can harm David. I’m too strong for her -- she can feel it.”
“You’re mad if you believe that,” David said, appearing to dismiss Mark’s comments.
“I know what is true, David. I stayed in that terrible place and built my strength, ready and waiting, for I knew this day would come. Your time as guardian of this cursed place is nearly at an end, and you’ll be free to rejoin your family. I realise now that I was wrong to hide away for so long, but I knew I would have to be the one to stop Maisie. This was not your cross to bear.”
Sandra watched as Maisie moved slowly out of the corner and began to sniff the air. She knew Maisie could no longer see as the dolls eyes had tilted closed.
“Why is she sniffing, David? She knows where we are?” Sandra asked.
“She’s not sniffing for either of us.” David nodded towards Mark. “It’s him.”
Sandra hated the sound Maisie made when she sniffed the air. “You need to be careful. She’s sniffing for you,” Sandra advised Mark.
“I know what my daughter is doing. Her mother would do the exact same every time Maisie ran away from her. I’ve watched for many years and have seen what she can do.”
“Then why aren’t you scared of her?” Sandra didn’t understand. He seemed so calm even though he knew what his daughter was capable of.
Mark laughed. “I was never scared of Maisie. How could I be? She’s part of me. Even when I watched her crawl out of that well, I was aware of what she would do. I knew the power she would wield because I knew the power both her mother and brother possessed.”
“Why do you speak such lies?” David interrupted. “Maisie didn’t have a brother – she was an only child.”
“You don’t know how many times I wished that were true, but she did have an older brother.”
“If it were true, I would have seen him around the village.” David continued. “It’s not true.”
“I am not here to lie to anyone, but he did exist. He was born a monster, but his mother loved him regardless. Luke is the reason Maisie was conceived – to keep him alive.” Mark appeared to drift back into the past, his eyes vacant. “You see, every child born from Samantha’s womb was dead or died not long after taking its first breath.”
Mark looked heartbroken as he remembered his dead children.
“My wife was never able to deliver a healthy child. They were all so small and not strong enough to survive.”
Sandra could see the sadness in his face as he spoke.
“What are you talking about?” Sandra said, utterly confused. “The birth records I could find made no mention of multiple births or a surviving sibling.”
“Those births were never registered. Samantha worried what the villagers would think if they knew, so I buried the bodies of our lost children in the grounds here and prayed for each one, and every time she lost a child, another part of her soul turned to darkness until she made that terrible pact.”
“What pact?” David asked. Sandra could see he didn’t believe a word Mark was saying.
“One that would finally allow her to become a mother. It was what she wanted most of all and I could never blame her for feeling that way. I knew Samantha did what she had to do so she could finally have a child of her own to love, but the pact allowed evil to grow inside this house and I blame myself solely for that.”
“What was the pact?” David asked.
“I knew what my wife was when we married, but Samantha vowed never to practice witchcraft again. I believed her entirely until many years later when I discovered her grimoire – she never knew I had found and read it. I remember putting my hand on the cover. I could hear the echoes of children screaming as glimpses of my wife digging up the bodies of her lost babies flashed through my mind. I watched as she skinned and stretched their pale skin over her book of spells. I felt repulsed, finally seeing what my wife was capable of.”
“Oh, my God! Why didn’t you stop her as soon as you knew what she was doing?” Sandra asked.
“The book was showing me what had already been. It was too late to stop Samantha.”
“Then why didn’t you take your daughter away from this place?” Sandra questioned Mark before turning to David. “You told me you knew something was happening to Maisie. Why didn’t you try harder, it shouldn’t have come to this?”
“David suspected what my wife was, but even he would never imagine the horrors that have taken place inside this house. My wife was very persuasive when she needed to be, and it’s only now I believe she spellbound me, making me more pliable to her whim. She spoke to the village elder about what she viewed as David’s unnatural obsession with our daughter. The villagers were already wary of David. He was quiet and had kept himself to himself for many years. Some of the women were frightened and considered him strange. They wouldn’t let their children play along the lane after dark. He scared them, hiding in the shadows talking to his cats.”
“And all the while you and your wife lived amongst them.” Sandra scoffed. “Imagine if they’d realized what was going on inside this house.”
“Samantha presented herself as a model of respectability and even if David had voiced his concerns, she made sure nobody would take him seriously. She took all the attention away from herself and put it on him, but if he’d continued to intrude into our family affairs any more than he already had, Samantha would have killed him, of that I’m sure.”
“You know something, Mark? A part of me doesn’t blame Maisie for what she did to you. You’re her father and should have done everything to protect her.” Sandra couldn’t bear to look at him anymore.
“Yes, I should have, but I let it go on for too long. Torn between the love I felt for my wife and my daughter, I didn’t know what to do.”
“Your children should have come first. What happened to your son?” David asked.
“I never confronted my wife, even t
hough she defiled the bodies of our dead children. Even after seeing what she did, I didn’t want to make her suffering any worse than it already was, but it was around the birth of our last deceased child that I discovered her book. For a long time, I lived happily with the illusion she presented to me, but the book told me otherwise. She’d made a deal with a demon by the name of Moloch and whatever it was stripped away her remaining humanity and turned her into somebody I no longer recognized. Samantha would give birth to two children -- one boy born to rule and the other to sustain him.”
“What do you mean, to sustain him?” Sandra asked. “You’re talking in riddles.”
“Maisie was only born so he was able to survive. That’s how simple it was.”
Chapter 42
Mark scratched his head as memories of Samantha telling him she was pregnant again came hurtling back to him.
Losing his other children had shattered him, so he wouldn’t allow himself to become excited, although being happily married with children was all Mark had ever wanted.
Mark never let Samantha see he was worried and for nine months he insisted she rested – only reluctantly allowing her to cook his meals. Cleaning and tending to the garden were strictly off-limits. As tired as he was, he would spend a long day away from home tending his fields, returning to eat the meal his wife had prepared before tackling the house and gardens.
Privately, it was a relief when Juliet, his sister-in-law, came to stay in the sixth month of Samantha’s pregnancy. His wife had made it clear she didn’t want a midwife to be in attendance for the birth, so Juliet had agreed to stay and assist when the time came.
He had gone to bed early and left his wife and sister-in-law talking in front of the roaring fire in the living room. He woke to the sound of Samantha screaming as though she were in pain.
He jumped out of bed and ran down the staircase as Juliet was heading up.
“It’s time, Mark,” she shouted.
Mark ran past Juliet, down the stairs and into the front room, He was shocked to see his wife writhing around on the floor, crying out in pain.
Promised Land Lane Page 23