Ravens Gathering

by Graeme Cumming

  “That’s a long story.”

  “It could be a long walk,” she pointed out.

  “Not that long.”

  As they continued along the path, the trees closed in overhead, cutting out most of the light. It was still bright enough for them to see where they were going, but the relative gloom made her feel a little more uncomfortable.

  “What about you?” he asked suddenly, surprising her.

  “Me?”

  “Yeah. What’s your background? You’re not from these parts, are you?”

  “Hardly,” she said, then realised that she had been too dismissive. “I’m sorry...”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m with you on that. Why d’you think I left? If I hadn’t, I’d still be living with my parents, stuck in a dead-end job, and spending my free time propping up the bar at The Oak. Everyone in the village would know everything I’d done since I was a baby. Every minor indiscretion used against me at all times.”

  “Indiscretions?” Tanya prompted.

  “Nothing to get excited about,” he said. “And that’d be half the problem.” She caught a flash of teeth as he grinned again. “So don’t think I’ll be offended that you’re glad you’re not from the village. You need to get away from your roots and get a life.”

  “Is that what you did?”

  He hesitated, pondering the question. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll find out while I’m here.” Another pause, then he reached out and touched her arm. It was a surprisingly gentle gesture. “But you were going to tell me about you.”

  The path had become an incline now. It wasn’t steep, but Tanya was beginning to feel the strain on her thighs. For the first time she could recall, it occurred to her that she was unfit.

  “What do you want to know?” she asked.

  “Let’s start with: ‘What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?’”

  She laughed, both at the question, and her immediate answer: “Trying like hell to get out of it.”

  “I can understand that. But why come in the first place?”

  “It was Ian’s idea. He needed something different to do, and this seemed like a good opportunity.”

  “Something different? Why?”

  “I don’t suppose you’ve heard of something called the Financial Services Act?”

  “I’ve been out of the country,” he reminded her.

  “It wouldn’t matter. Most people who’ve been in the country haven’t heard of it. The Government decided, in their infinite wisdom, to regulate the financial services industry. That was a few years ago now, so we got some warning. The regulation itself only came into being last year.”

  “Regulation’s not a bad thing, is it?”

  She sighed. It was an old debate that she’d had with Ian too many times over the last few years. “I don’t think so. But he’s been worried about it.”

  “Why? Has he got something to hide?”

  “Ian?” She snorted at the idea. “God, no! He’s as straight as a die. He’s driven, of course. That’s why he’s been so successful over the years. But he’s not the sort of person who’ll flog anything to a punter just to make some money.”

  “So what was he worried about?”

  “In all honesty, he’s never said specifically. I mean, he’s convinced it’s the thin end of the wedge. He reckons they’ll make it compulsory to take exams before long. I think that’s a concern. He’s fifty-three now.” She watched for a reaction, but it was difficult to tell in the half-light. “So I suspect he’s uncomfortable with having to sit exams at that stage in his life. I did tell him that I could do that, if we needed it.”

  “You worked in the same business, then?”

  “That’s how we met. I was a rep for an insurance company. I used to call on advisers and try to persuade them to use our products.”

  “I doubt you had any problems doing that.” She was surprised to feel heat in her cheeks. His comment had hit home, and she suddenly felt embarrassed at the memory of the things she had done to get the business. Which was strange, because it had never embarrassed her before. “So you called on Ian?” he prompted.

  Still flustered, she took a moment to regain her thoughts. “Yes,” she said at last. “And after we married I went to work with him.”

  “That’s difficult,” he remarked. “Working together and living together.”

  You don’t know the half of it. She hadn’t thought that one through at the time. It seemed like a good idea to allow her to keep a close eye on Ian’s finances. But it also meant she was under his watchful eyes more than she’d expected. Married or not, she’d never intended to become a one-man woman.

  “It can be difficult,” she agreed. “But we made it work.”

  “And then he decided he didn’t want to carry on,” Martin reminded. “But you don’t know why.”

  “Not for sure. I just think that, after doing things in a certain way for thirty years or so, he didn’t like the idea of change.”

  “So to keep things the same, he got rid of his business, sold his house and moved a hundred and fifty miles north.”

  “It does sound ridiculous when you put it like that.”

  “But who knows what makes us do the things we do?”

  She knew the question was rhetorical. They walked in silence for a while, the path winding through the trees but still rising.

  “Why did you come to Ravens Gathering?”

  “Ian heard about Forest Farm, and thought he could make a go of it.”

  “And what did you think?”

  “Honestly?” Even as she asked the question, she knew it was redundant.

  “You can lie if you want to, or you could even refuse to answer the question on the grounds you might incriminate yourself.” She looked at him and saw the good-natured smile on his lips.

  “I thought it was a crap idea.”

  “You didn’t think it’d work?”

  “No it wasn’t that. To be fair to Ian, I could see exactly where he was coming from. I just thought if he was going to sell up, he’d be taking the opportunity to retire and move abroad.”

  “I have heard that a lot of southerners think the North is a foreign country.”

  “We do,” she laughed. “And having lived up here for a couple of years, I can’t say my view’s changed.”

  “Presumably you were thinking of somewhere more exotic.”

  “I had my eye on some villas in the Costa del Sol.”

  “I’d have thought you’d prefer the Canaries or the Greek Islands.”

  “Not to mention the Caribbean. But it seems Ian couldn’t even afford Spain. He said if he could have drawn his pension, it might have been possible, but he can’t touch that until he’s sixty. The stupid thing is, because things have gone wrong here, his pension will barely allow us to exist when he does draw it.”

  The trees were closing in on them now, and the woods were becoming darker. She guessed it must be around five o’clock. Still more than two hours before sunset. Yet the visibility in here was little better than she would expect after nightfall. She stumbled over a tree root sticking up from the ground. Martin’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm just above the elbow, steadying her. When he released his grip, she felt him take her hand gently. It felt safer.

  “So, you’re stuck here then?”

  “Unless you fancy whisking me away,” she said.

  “I don’t think my lifestyle would suit you, Tanya.”

  And she knew he was right. Her attraction to him was purely physical. If she was looking for someone to rescue her from the mess at the farm, it would have to be a man who had his own car and didn’t carry his belongings around in a rucksack.

  Up ahead, she could see a beam of sunlight shining down through a gap in the wood’s canopy. Martin had obviously seen it too, because he suddenly stopped walking.

  “We’re here,” he said.

  Ten

  It hadn’t occurred to Tanya that there was a destination in mind.
Martin had said he wanted to go for a walk in the woods, but he hadn’t given any indication that there was a specific part of the woods to go to. For a brief moment, it occurred to her that he might have remembered a special place which was good for taking girls to. Perhaps he’d considered the pending arrival of her husband might be too much of a distraction for him, and bringing her here would allow them to take their pleasures uninterrupted. But his face suggested that was simply wishful thinking on her part.

  He was wary. His eyes darted in all directions, taking in everything that lay before them. She looked ahead, curious to see what it was that had attracted him here.

  Where the light was brighter, it was apparent that this was because there was an open space among the trees. The edge of the clearing was about a hundred yards away. It was difficult to tell from this distance, but she guessed it must be circular in shape. Possibly an oval. Scattered around it was the usual debris you could expect to find in such a place. Fallen branches, rotting leaves and a handful of wildflowers were accompanied by the ashy remains of a camp fire and, hanging from a branch of one of the sturdier trees, an old car tyre on a rope. Local kids, no doubt, making good use of the recent school holidays. She momentarily envied them the simplicity of their lives. Innocent of danger, free of all cares. Enjoy it while you can, she thought.

  The path they were on led up to the clearing, and appeared to carry on beyond. Although there were no obvious hazards, Martin squeezed her hand gently and said: “Stay behind me and only walk where I walk.” Before she had a chance to respond, he was moving forward. He still kept a grip on her hand, but let his arm fall back so she would follow him. Unsettled by his words and manner, she watched his feet, and tried her best to put hers exactly in his footsteps.

  His caution was unnecessary. They reached the edge of the clearing without incident. He stepped aside as he entered it, allowing her to move next to him.

  “Do you want...?” she started, but he raised his free hand to her face, his expression leaving her in no doubt that she should keep quiet. Frustrated, but still unnerved by his sudden seriousness, she resigned herself to waiting for him to decide when to tell her what was going on.

  Apparently satisfied that there was no immediate danger to them, he took a tentative step forward. He was still holding her hand, so Tanya came with him, feeling as if she was being dragged along. His next steps were equally cautious. Each one was punctuated with a few seconds’ pause, before he moved on. Tanya found herself searching the trees that surrounded them, not really knowing what she was looking for. And that was the part that was both scary and ridiculous at the same time. Fear of the unknown, and the growing suspicion that she was having the piss taken out of her. She was even beginning to wonder if this was some elaborate game that Ian had arranged just to wind her up. Not that he was that malicious, and she didn’t think he had the imagination to do it even if he had been.

  Nothing was moving among the trees, either at ground level or up in the branches. There was no sign of anyone stalking them, nor of any wild beast roaming the woods.

  The clearing itself was, she guessed, about thirty feet in diameter. Now she was in it, she could see that it wasn’t a perfect circle, but it still seemed more circular than oval. The trees that bordered it were evenly spaced, the gaps between them each wide enough for half a dozen or more people to pass between side-by-side. She didn’t recognise the type of tree. Her interest in the countryside being less than passing, she couldn’t have told anyone whether they were silver birch, scots pine or giant redwoods. What she did know was that they were big. The trunks looked to be about six to eight feet across, and the lower branches were no lower than head height on any of them.

  Apart from the grey dust that took up a square foot or so near the centre, the floor of the clearing was a carpet of fallen leaves, a mixture of browns and greens. Some of the leaves had obviously been there longer than others. Occasional sticks of wood and fallen branches were scattered about. The tyre swing was over to the left, hanging perfectly still in the late afternoon air.

  They stopped in front of the remains of the fire. She looked up at him questioningly. Without the heels, it was a bit more of a strain on her neck.

  He must have recognised something in her expression, realised it was time to explain himself. She saw him open his mouth, hesitantly, but definitely with some intent. Behind her she heard something rustle.

  Perhaps it was her nerves, wound up from the tension Martin had created with his seemingly paranoid approach of the clearing. Or maybe it had simply added to the strain she had been feeling lately. Whatever the cause, she found herself whirling round like some frightened kid. Her eyes were all over, searching for the source of the sound. Nothing was obvious to her. Not in the half-light, at least.

  Another noise. To her left this time. It wasn’t quite the same. The rustling was there, but it was followed by a brief and barely audible click-click.

  “What was...?”

  Even as she turned, she felt a strong hand cover her mouth, and a muscular arm cross her upper chest, pulling her back against a firm body.

  “Quiet!” The voice was low, but there was no mistaking the warning in it.

  Her eyes had widened in shock, but she did as she was told. What she had felt before was nothing compared to the fear she was experiencing now. She could feel her heart pumping, her ears filling with a dreadful roar that she knew must be coming from inside her. Ahead of her, high up in the branches of the tree she was facing, a shadow suddenly moved.

  “Phhu....!” The sound was involuntary, and distorted by the hand over her mouth.

  Against her ear, warm breath and an animal hissing. She got the message. Shut the fuck up! Swallowing hard, trying to regain some control over her own breathing, she watched the tree. She didn’t want to see whatever it was up there, but she knew she had to.

  You’ve nothing to fear but fear itself.

  She forced the mantra through her head, not sure where it was coming from, but grateful for it all the same. It was true. Martin, the sadistic bastard, was doing his damnedest to terrify her. That was all. He’d brought her up here, pretended to be worried about what he was going to find as they got nearer, and then used the first noise they’d heard as an opportunity to put the fear of God into her. Well, fuck him! She’d find whatever it was he was trying to frighten her with, and when she could see it, she’d know there was nothing to be scared of.

  Her eyes gradually adjusted to the dull light. About half way up the tree, she could see a darker patch against the silhouette of the branches. It was difficult to tell from this distance, but it looked to be a couple of feet high, maybe half a foot or more across, with what looked like an ‘X’ shape crossing its body. The top ends of the ‘X’ looked sharp and stopped several inches above... A head? She couldn’t be sure, couldn’t make it out clearly. Then it moved, and she saw it for what it was.

  The ‘X’ wasn’t an ‘X’ at all. The ends she had seen, both top and bottom hadn’t even been attached to each other. They were completely separate branches, two of them, large ones from a tree that stood further back. More importantly, the shape of the moving object was easier to define now. She had judged the height correctly. The width was harder to assess because, as it moved, it raised its wings slightly, which made it look much wider. She couldn’t recall seeing a bird this size before – not outside a zoo anyway.

  It had blended into the shadows because it was completely black. Even now, it was difficult to make out its features. In a way, she was relieved that she couldn’t see its eyes, although she felt sure they were gazing directly at her. A silly idea, she thought. But she couldn’t get it out of her head.

  Very gently, the hand covering her mouth turned her head to the right. She kept her eyes on the bird for as long as she could, but gave up when it became too uncomfortable. As she did, she became aware of more movement from her right. Again, it came from the branches of a tree. Because she knew what to expect this time, she was
able to see the bird more readily. This one was perfectly still, its head facing her.

  Apparently satisfied that she had seen what he intended, Martin used his hand to steer her head back in the other direction. She watched the second bird for as long as she could, before turning her attention back to the first. Both creatures were fascinating to her. And, even though they were strangely creepy, knowing what they were had alleviated her fears. They were only birds, after all.

  Before Martin had grabbed her, she had heard two noises, and they had come from the positions of the two birds. Because of that, she was expecting the rotation of her head to stop when it was facing the second bird. When his hand maintained its momentum, she was puzzled, but not resistant. There didn’t seem any point in trying to put up a fight. He was clearly much stronger than her, and he was very much in control of the situation. It even crossed her mind that this might be some kind of kinky sex game he liked to play. If so, she wasn’t interested. Always happy to experiment, but not if it meant giving someone else complete control.

  The reason for turning her further was quickly apparent. A third black bird was perched in the branches of another tree to her left. She hadn’t heard that one.

  “Can I trust you to stay calm?” The words were spoken softly, his mouth still close to her ear.

  Very slowly, she nodded.

  “I’m sorry if I frightened you. I just didn’t want you to panic.”

  Well, that worked!

  “I’m going to let you go in a moment. Take your time, and look around you.”

  Again she nodded, letting him know that she understood. And she felt his grip loosen as he stepped back from her. In spite of her concerns about him trying to scare her, this latest development gave her cause to re-assess what was happening. A few minutes ago, she would probably have stormed off back to the farm. Even then she hadn’t felt threatened by him, wasn’t concerned that he’d suddenly attack her. She just wanted to let him know that she wasn’t impressed with his behaviour. And that he’d be looking for another place to stop tonight.