by Nick James
There was clearly a war being fought in his mind. Should he say or not? Mickey rubbed his bald head. ‘It was a couple of years ago, me and my colleague “No Knees” were on a late patrol around the Strand when a maid came running over and told us there had been screams coming from the house next door to her employers,’ he explained, taking a sip of his tea before looking me in the eye. ‘We found Anna on the kitchen floor badly beaten. The butler had lost his temper with her, but that’s as far as it went. Anna wouldn’t press charges, plus the owner of the house pulled some strings, so that was it.’
I growled internally and the monster inside me wanted to dispense justice on the bastard butler. ‘How badly was she hurt, Mikey?’ I asked coldly.
His face dropped. ‘The rumour was that she was found in bed bleeding by the other maid, so the next-door’s cook’s sister was called, her being a midwife. It was the best they could hope for,’ he said, knowing that most housemaids couldn’t afford a doctor. ‘The midwife said she had been hit hard in her lower abdominal area. She had been pregnant at the time, which of course she lost, but she was hit very hard to the point where Anna might not be able to get pregnant again. But, of course, they wouldn’t call a doctor for a servant,’ he said, raising an eyebrow. We both read in between the lines there.
After that night I was fighting the fury not to run over there straight away and tear the man’s manhood away from his body while looking into his fear-filled eyes. I told Suzie about what I had learnt, but she just said it was commonplace that either the master of the house or another male would use the young girls for fun. And if they got pregnant, they would try to get rid of the scandal before it became too prominent – either through a back-alley doctor or a simple beating to the stomach.
It disgusted me what had happened behind those closed doors of the so-called social betters, but tonight was the night I would find out the truth and hopefully that my dear Annabel would choose to be with me.
‘Right, this is not a date, so you can put on some old clothes, just in case,’ Suzie demanded.
‘Just in case what?’ I frowned at her insinuation.
She put her hand on her well-rounded hip and raised a quizzical eyebrow.
Okay, maybe she did have a point, but what did surprise me was the fact that she hugged me and placed a warm kiss on my cheek.
‘Good luck, Albert. Try not to kill anyone,’ she said with a hint of love and caring. She then proceeded to push me out of my own shop so she could have a drink, then head home and either fight or have sex with her put-upon husband – or both, who knew.
I headed out into the fog-covered streets of London. People had once again melted into the shadows as my shoes clicked on the filth-encrusted cobbles. It meant that they hadn’t done anything bad enough to bring my ire to bear upon them; it was only the truly evil ones that ended up in the pigpen.
My journey was calming, although the fog did seem to claw at me like it was trying to hold me back from doing something, albeit a good cause.
But nothing was going to hold me back. Whatever she wanted this night, I would deliver. It was nice to have purpose again, even though blood may be spilt.
Chapter 5
I stood in front of my destination. The fog had thickened on my journey, but no one had the desire to heed my progress. A couple of Peelers saw me, but they just nodded and saluted with their truncheon brought to their helmet brims. They knew I had helped out my friend by tracking down some criminals who were in The Slaughtered Lamb – and like the handy vampire I was, I tracked them to a desolate warehouse by the docks.
The gas street lighting burned away, but it hardly illuminated a thing through the thick fog, which may be beneficial for my purposes this night. I headed across the street and into the grounds of the McAdams’s. The lamps were still lit downstairs, so the housemaids were still working while the cook and butler relaxed and the master and mistress were asleep.
Annabel and Emily could be seen through the kitchen window talking about something. They look tired but content in their work, although their white aprons looked dishevelled. I knew I was early, so I took a seat on a garden bench which was cloaked in darkness. I could see them but not vice versa.
In time, most of the lights in the house were extinguished, so it was a case of waiting until my late-night visitor turned up, to either give me that which my dead heart desired or crush it with her words. I sat down on the sack which I had used as my seat last time and waited. The door creaked open thirty minutes later. With my enhanced vision I could see the nightdress-adorned Annabel.
‘Berty, you there?’ she asked hesitantly, putting her hand out trying to find me in the pitch darkness.
‘Yes, Anna, I’m here,’ I said softly, but it still made her jump. She looked so frail as I took her hands and pulled her into a hug. ‘How are you?’ I asked, and then watched her bend over and scrabble about for the candle and matches. Soon enough, after some only just silent swear words, we were bathed in candlelight, but her nervousness was evident.
‘Berty, I’ve missed you.’ She sighed and captured my lips with hers. They were so soft and warm. In that moment, I could almost feel my heart pulse again. We parted and looked into each other’s eyes; our arms were still wrapped around each other. ‘You’re so cold, Berty. How have you been?’
I gave her a smile. ‘Working hard; the shop is doing well.’ I flicked my head towards the house and asked, ‘How are they treating you?’
Anna shivered in my arms. ‘It’s okay, let’s sit.’ She pulled up a crate, so I took up my station again. ‘Mack and cook are a pain, but that’s about it,’ she explained, but I could tell there was more to it.
‘My friend Mickey said he was called here once when Mack got a bit angry at you and you were hurt?’ I asked.
Her face fell. ‘He should know to keep his mouth shut! Typical copper!’ she spat angrily. She moved closer to me and leaned her head on my shoulder. ‘But, yes,’ she continued, ‘that was a bad time. I was ill for a fair old while, but I’m better now.’ She gave me a brittle smile, which looked even worse in this light. Her skin was parchment thin and her eyes dull and sallow.
I kissed the top of her head and pulled her into my side. ‘Have you decided, Anna, about you and me?’ I asked with worry, my stomach acid trying to melt everything in its way.
‘Yes, I want to be with you, Berty, but…’
I felt the bottom drop out of my world as I feared all my plans and hopes would be destroyed in the next few moments.
‘I can’t leave Stanley and Emily here.’
I lifted her up and placed her onto my lap. Yes, I was strong, but she was also so light. ‘What do we do, then?’ I asked, looking for a resolution to the problem before us. ‘The shop isn’t profitable enough to buy a house for all of us yet.’ I felt her nuzzle into my neck even more.
‘Why is life so hard, Berty? Those old sods upstairs don’t go out, they don’t have visitors, but they live like kings and queens,’ she said while tears dripped onto me.
We sat in silence as shadows danced around us and rogue drafts toyed with the candle flame. ‘Anna, I have an idea,’ I said softly, and then looked down as she looked up. ‘I can get rid of them, all of them. And you, Stan, Emily and I can take the house over, and—’ She stopped me by pressing her hand against my mouth. It was then I realised that I had pushed too soon. The air turned thick; our eyes never wavered from each other.
‘You’re talking about murdering people, Albert,’ she gasped, shaking her head quickly. ‘I was willing to give us a try, but to offer to kill someone who puts their trust in me every day, are you mad?’ It looked like she was shaking with anger. Anna just kept on muttering repeatedly, then she suddenly stood up and looked down at me. ‘Don’t ever come back. You’re not the boy I knew. Leave me alone, you…you…beast!’ she spat with tears flowing freely down her face. Anna turned and walked out of the shed and away into the night.
I put my hand onto the flame that flickered, which
my sore eyes were drawn to as my heart shattered into a million pieces, even though it hadn’t worked since that fateful night.
I had read it so wrong. The demon inside was mocking me for being weak. The fury was building and telling me to feed on the household. But not just them, to tear the whole world asunder.
It was thirty minutes until I reined in the beast enough to walk home. My head was down as I left the shed. I knew she was watching me, and that she was still crying, but I didn’t look up or back as I melted into the fog, allowing it to eclipse my body and despair. It was naïve of me to think that I could find happiness in this world. I only had one stop on the way as another ghost drifted out and slid a knife into my back. I knew the mugger was coming as I could sense his presence, but I deserved the pain, so I allowed him to slide the knife into me repeatedly. I then let myself drop onto the filthy path.
His hands searched my pockets, but unfortunately for him I don’t carry money. And what was even worse for the foul-breathed murderer? My beast wanted to play. What was left thereafter not even God could identify as one of his creations.
I awoke the next afternoon. By the noise coming from downstairs, I guessed my employee, Suzie, had found my clothes and was once again as angry as a summer thunderstorm. I was in limbo: be a vampire and dominate the woman and bring her to her knees, or just hide up here.
The beast gave me a poke, so I washed and dressed. Then, with fury building up inside me and a job to do, I stormed into the shop like a Viking warrior, who was then cut down by a flying coal scuttle.
‘What did you do last night, you beard splitter (penis)!’ the banshee who was Suzie shouted. She stood over my prone self, tearing strips off me. Not once did she wait for me to answer, she just continued with her diatribe until she stormed out, leaving the mighty vampire lying on a dusty floor in shock. It hadn’t been a good few days.
Suzanne came back the next morning with a missing tooth and a black eye, but she was radiant with a glow about her that only an angel would dare have. After leaving me, she must have gone to the pub, proceeded to get drunk, and then fought and rutted all night with her husband, poor bugger. I saw him once walking with all of his children; he was as thin as a butcher’s pencil and had less teeth than his missus.
She slammed two bottles of beer on the counter and opened them both with her teeth and then handed one to me. ‘Spill it!’ she demanded. ‘What happened?’
I sunk into my seat and told her everything. That’s when her empty beer bottle wrapped itself around my head, sending me to the ground.
‘You really are stupid, Albert. Let the girl plan. She wanted to be with you, and she might have suggested that in the long run!’ She then started to drink my beer as I was on the floor covered in the brown glass. ‘It’s like going from a kiss to taking your kids to school!’ she said incredulously while shaking her head and gulping down more of my beer.
‘What can I do to fix it?’ I begged, still lying on the floor.
For once a softness came to her face; I wished it would happen more often. ‘You can’t, just leave the girl be,’ Suzie instructed and opened a third bottle, spitting the cork into the shadowy corner. ‘Let her come back to you – if she wants to, that is. Pursue her, and you will have no chance at all.’
I nodded. ‘You’re right, but I know her, she’s as stubborn as you.’ I cracked a smile up at the larger-than-life woman.
‘Then it’s a good job you’re immortal, because the good ones make you wait,’ she said dismissively before tossing the bottle over at me, breaking my nose. She chuckled at my screams and left for the day.
As the months went by, I stepped up my work with Mickey and his police friends. As ever, they were outnumbered by wrongdoers. Suzie was running the business like a demon, and surprisingly she hadn’t become pregnant again. I put it down to her alcohol to blood ratio, or perhaps her age, but she wouldn’t change herself for anyone.
It was early February 1890 when a letter came addressed to me, but Suzie flicked a mirror pointing the sun’s rays in my direction, causing me to flee to the back of the shop as she read the letter bathed in sunlight. That woman was an evil genius. The employee gave me a smile that she only gave when I took back her empties and returned with full beer bottles.
She walked towards me with a slight limp. Five months ago she was kicked by a carthorse. Let’s just say it cost me a day’s takings to pay for that horse to be taken away to the slaughterhouse. I also had to pay the driver. But I blame myself. I should never have let a bloodied and dirt-covered Suzanne walk out of my shop after picking up a sabre from the 1812 Napoleonic War. There was blood everywhere on the road, and Suzie’s family was eating horse for a week; but then again, so was most of the street.
I took the letter from her and sat down to read it with hope.
My dearest Berty
I’m so sorry for calling you a horrible name that night. It only scared me so much because of where my thoughts and dreams had taken me. And hearing it coming from your mouth and hearing it out loud scared me to the core. I convinced myself that it was you who put those thoughts into my head, not me.
Please forgive me, my darling Berty. I need you in my life so we can be a family in this wonderful house. Even if you choose not to do it, we can runaway somewhere together.
Please come and see me soon. I miss the feel of your lips on mine.
I shall visit the shed the same time for the next week. But after what I called you, I wouldn’t blame you not to come. I just hope that you do.
Lots of love
Your Anna xxx
I looked up with a smile. ‘Where are my work clothes? I will be going out tonight,’ I announced.
She shrugged dismissively. ‘I dunno, you messed up your last lot. I’m not your housekeeper,’ she said before walking out muttering.
‘You have no heart, woman!’ I shouted as the shop door clicked shut.
I saw her stop dead and slowly turn, her hair flowing in the wind. She gave me a look through the glass window that adorned the top half of the door, like a Valkyrie warrior from Norse mythology who were believed to swoop down upon a battlefield to decide who lived or died. For a moment I thought I was being judged. In those few seconds time didn’t flow as normal; a fly was held stationary in mid-air. But then she was gone into the flow of people. I released the breath I didn’t know I was holding, not that I could suffocate, but still, it was a scary moment.
She came back in an hour with some used work overalls and boots. Not a word was shared until the end of the day after she took some money from the till and went to head out again.
‘Be careful, Albert,’ she advised. ‘This is your one chance to win her over. Let her take the lead.’ She then headed out into the street again. Once more she stopped just outside the door, almost daring me to say something, but this time I kept my mouth shut.
The hours crept on, business was light but flowing, yet my mind was busy playing through the scenarios again. This time I kept all my hopes and dreams in the realms of reality. I pushed through the late-night crowds. It was a drinking night, which meant a busy day tomorrow as the local thieves and pickpockets would come to the shop to sell their wares. The locals knew I would buy, but not if the owners of the goods had been hurt or killed. There was always one who thought the rules didn’t apply to him; they never got a second warning.
I stood opposite the house on this frosty night. I could see nothing but stars in the sky. Looking at the pathway with its layer of new frost, it looked as if I was walking on diamonds. My footsteps crunched as I walked across the road and headed to the shed. The house was only spotted with one or two lamps, so the servants were readying themselves for bed.
The shed door creaked open; nothing had really changed in the time I had spent away. But instead of sitting, I stood at the far end amongst the garden tools. My knuckles cracked as I flexed my fists while the time ticked by. Maybe she had changed her mind. She was right about me being a beast, but it was one that could
be controlled, at times.
A smile crept across my face as I heard the brittle, frost-ridden grass shatter underneath a kind, gentle-footed soul: my Annabel.
She opened the door and instantly smiled. Although it was dark, the moonlight shone past her shawl-covered shoulders and lit my silhouette.
‘Berty,’ she whispered and rushed forward encompassing me in a hug. ‘I’m so sorry, my love.’ Tears then flowed.
‘Shush now, Anna, that’s in the past,’ I soothed and kissed the top of her head as she sobbed into my chest. ‘How have you been?’
It obviously hadn’t been good as she sobbed even harder.
‘Hell, Berty. Mack and the cook are just plain evil, especially when they get the drink in them.’ She sobbed, wiping her gaunt face with her sleeve.
‘I’ve missed you, Anna, but what can I do to help you?’ I whispered, and then felt her cold tear-covered lips against mine. As our lips parted, I felt the warm air from her mouth hit mine.
‘I agree with your plan, if you are willing,’ she whispered conspiratorially, her eyes shifting around even though it was pitch black and there was nothing for her to see.
My eyes widened. Was I really hearing this? ‘But if I do it, we can’t go back, you know that?’ I questioned, knowing that killing wasn’t an easy thing, especially those who were still blessed with a soul. ‘I don’t want you to think of me as a monster, or Stanley and Emily.’
Anna shook her head. ‘I will not lose a single night’s sleep when Mack dies, or that nasty woman Bertha. She hits us if we are too slow, even poor Stan,’ she said, pulling me back into a hug. ‘Emily is a bit of a girl still, but she’ll understand. But Stanley, we’ll just tell him the master and madam have gone away, leaving you and me in the house.’
‘And they don’t have any visitors?’ I checked with her.