Skinned

by Adam Slater

  Then the woman began to turn, slowly at first, as though she was trying to resist the movement. The five people surrounding her stretched their arms out towards her, their palms held upwards, their chanting reaching a crescendo. The hag began to spin faster and faster and faster, until she became a blur of blue skin and gnarled talons, her clattering teeth creating a deathly din.

  Callum gasped. He realised with horror that the hag’s own arms were now outstretched – and the claws in her fingers were being pulled right out of her. A deafening scream pierced through all the other noise as the twisted talons were ripped from her fingers in a shower of blue-black blood.

  Then there was a blast of scorching heat, and the scene began to glow with a terrifying, overwhelming crimson light . . .

  Chapter Ten

  With a jolt, Callum came to. He was lying flat on his back in the living room, among the chime child books and bits of paper his gran and Melissa had scattered on the floor. His spaghetti hoops lay in a heap next to him, the bowl upturned.

  ‘So much for keeping things tidy, eh?’ he croaked.

  Melissa knelt by him, her face a picture of concern. One of her hands hovered uncertainly in the air above Callum’s shoulder, as though she thought it might help to touch him but didn’t quite dare.

  ‘Are you awake?’ Melissa said. ‘Are you all right?’

  Callum sat up and rubbed his eyes hard, trying to clear his head. ‘Yeah,’ he mumbled. ‘I’m OK.’

  ‘Was it a vision?’

  He drew in a sharp breath and nodded. ‘What exactly did you see?’ Melissa pressed. ‘It really knocked you for six – I thought you might have fainted for a second there. I’ve never seen you react to one like that before.’

  ‘It was like – it was like being hit over the head with a hot poker,’ Callum said. ‘It felt strange, surreal – like it was stronger than any I’ve had before, reaching further into the future or something.’ His words came out in a stutter. ‘I-it was . . . I saw a group of people. Humans, I’m almost certain. But there was one other there who . . . wasn’t. The humans, five of them, were all circled around this woman, this hag. She had blue skin and claws – her claws were insanely long and sharp. They were doing some kind of ritual, I think.’ Callum shook his head, trying to clear the terrifying image from his mind.

  ‘Humans performing a ritual on something from the Netherworld?’ Melissa said. ‘That sounds bad. Really bad. You don’t think it’s the same people who brought the Fetch over?’

  Callum swallowed, and Melissa stood up and helped him to his feet. His mouth felt dry. He took a big gulp of water from a glass on the table.

  ‘It would make sense, wouldn’t it,’ he said. ‘Although it looked like this time they might have something more in mind than using a Netherworld demon as an assassin . . .’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Melissa asked.

  ‘Well . . . I think they were sacrificing the hag.’

  Melissa’s eyes widened. ‘Sacrificing? Well, we have to do something.’

  Callum raised his eyebrows. ‘Like what? I have no idea where that was . . . or when exactly it will be, even.’ He sighed in frustration – but then an idea hit him. ‘Hang on. There’s at least one thing we can do – we can look this hag woman up, see if the chime child books say anything about her.’

  ‘Good idea,’ Melissa said, clearly pleased to have something to focus on. Callum tidied up the sitting room while she began to flick carefully through the pages of one of the books.

  ‘Ugh,’ Melissa groaned, holding the book up to show Callum a graphically detailed image of a two-headed beast with blood oozing from its mouth and eyes. ‘Here’s hoping that’s not heading our way any time soon.’

  Callum nodded grimly and Melissa turned the page quickly.

  ‘Oh!’ she exclaimed suddenly.

  ‘What is it?’ Callum asked, sitting down beside her to look at the page she was staring at. It was the picture Melissa had mentioned earlier – a woman gnawing a child’s arm . . .

  ‘Oh,’ Callum echoed, swallowing hard. He read the inscription below the picture aloud. ‘Black Annis . . . child-eating crone.’

  Melissa nodded. ‘I should have recognised your description – blue skin, impossibly long claws, pointed teeth . . . Callum, do you think Black Annis might have crossed over from the Netherworld already?’

  ‘It’s possible,’ Callum muttered, though he hoped he was wrong. ‘She eats children?’

  ‘That’s what it says,’ Melissa replied. She paused for a moment, reading more. ‘This demon yearns uncontrollably for their flesh . . . and she has magical abilities, but the notes here say they are “base and lacking in subtlety”. Oh, wait . . . this might be useful. It says here that Black Annis used to lurk in the hills around what is now Leicester.’

  Callum looked at Melissa – her eager gaze told him she was thinking the same thing he was. ‘Tomorrow’s a teacher training day, right?’ he began.

  ‘Yeah,’ Melissa replied eagerly.

  ‘So maybe we could get the train to Leicester and just check things out . . . see if we can find any clues on what those humans might have planned? At least it would be a starting point.’

  ‘Yeah, sure,’ Melissa said. ‘Do you think your gran would be OK with that though?’

  Callum shook his head. ‘I’ll just tell her we’re going into Manchester for the day – she doesn’t need to know where we’re really going.’

  Melissa grinned, and then began gathering her stuff into her enormous, mirror-covered black bag. ‘OK. Let’s get the early train then. I’ll meet you at the station, nine o’clock sharp.’

  ‘Cool,’ Callum said.

  ‘Listen, I’d better get going,’ Melissa said, but she hesitated as she reached the door. ‘Callum . . . this is just the start, isn’t it?’

  Callum was quiet for a moment. ‘Yeah . . . yeah, I think it is.’

  They looked at one another silently. It didn’t really bear thinking about what could be out there, or what they might be getting themselves into.

  ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ Callum said. ‘You’ll be all right getting home?’

  ‘Yep,’ Melissa said, taking a deep breath and pulling her coat closer around her. Callum gave his friend a reassuring smile as he shut the door behind her.

  Turning back into the cottage, Callum took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the quiet. He felt exhausted, and he knew Melissa was right – the worst hadn’t even begun. He felt like he was battling against a raging tide, with no idea what was out there – it all felt so out of his control.

  But control seemed to be the key to it all: controlling his excuses to Gran; controlling his fears so he could create a shield against evil; controlling his chime child visions. The powers were all there, but at the moment they seemed to be almost completely outside of his control. Callum let out another grunt and clenched his fists, taking the opportunity to vent his frustration while he was alone.

  But as he unfurled them, Callum looked down at his hands. It was true – the powers were all there, literally in his hands. He remembered how his mum always used to say, ‘Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.’ That’s why she was so into her climbing; the idea of tackling something that seemed insurmountable. The thought boosted Callum. He could do this. He’d fought off that crazy ghost after all, right? He had it in him; he just had to try even harder, learn to use his powers at will, to get as good as he possibly could.

  Maybe it was easier said than done. But he had to try . . .

  Suddenly, a new thought made Callum’s muscles tense. That ghost in Marlock Wood had spoken to him, had known Callum was there. What if . . . Callum was almost afraid to think it, but what if the Shadowing had one positive outcome?

  If ghosts were able to see mortals, then maybe, just maybe, he could find and actually speak to the ghost of his mother?

  It would make everything worthwhile. Callum had never felt so determined. I’ll do whatever it t
akes, he swore to himself. Whatever it takes.

  Chapter Eleven

  Melissa came pelting down the platform the next morning minutes before the train to Leicester pulled into Marlock station.

  ‘Whoa! Slow down,’ Callum said with a grin. ‘What happened to nine o’clock sharp?’

  ‘Ha ha,’ Melissa retorted. ‘Have you seen this?’

  She thrust a newspaper into his hands, and Callum’s face fell. SECOND CHILD MISSING FROM LEICESTER SUBURB, the headline shouted.

  ‘Two kids, vanished. The first one was a nine-year-old boy – just completely vanished from his bedroom at some point during the night. I saw his mum being interviewed on the telly this morning – it was awful, the poor lady was really distraught. The police are searching a wood nearby.’ Melissa shook her head. ‘I don’t think it’s a coincidence, do you?’

  Callum’s heart sank. No, it probably couldn’t be a coincidence. The train pulled in, and they both took their seats in silence.

  ‘Maybe this is a mistake,’ Melissa said in a low voice. ‘I mean, if Black Annis is already running around snatching children, it could be dangerous us going to Leicester at all.’

  Callum shook his head. ‘We just need to check things out, see if we can get any clues – especially what those humans want with her. We’re going to be careful, don’t worry.’

  Melissa nodded, but they both sat the rest of the journey in preoccupied silence. Fields and houses flashed past outside, and Callum watched them go by with a growing sense of unease. He didn’t want to admit it, but a tingling feeling was building in his hands as the train rattled along. Something was wrong, he just didn’t know what.

  He was almost surprised when the train came to a stop and he saw the sign for Leicester hanging over the platform.

  ‘Come on,’ Melissa said, gathering her coat. As they disembarked, Callum felt his hands tingling more and more furiously. He knew he should tell Melissa that something was up, but as he opened his mouth to speak he was interrupted by the whoop of a police siren.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Melissa said. They walked quickly out of the ticket hall to the front of the station, where a crowd was gathering. One police car was already parked in the forecourt and another was pulling up to the pavement beneath a jaunty sign announcing ‘Welcome to Leicester!’

  In contrast to the sign’s cheerful message, nearby stood a sobbing woman with three police officers gathered round her – one asking questions, one taking notes, and another radioing out an alert.

  ‘. . . She was just with me . . . sh-she was right next to me . . .’ the woman was saying between sobs. ‘I stopped to use the ticket machine outside the station and when I turned around she was . . . she was just gone . . .’ Her shoulders began to shake, and then she stopped and sniffed hard. One of the officers stepped in.

  ‘What does your daughter look like, madam?’

  ‘She’s just a girl, she’s only eight-and-a-half years old . . . please!’

  ‘Can you describe her for us?’

  ‘Sh-she has long blonde hair – it’s almost white – and blue eyes. Big blue eyes. Her name’s Rachael! Please, you have to find her . . .’ The woman’s tears overwhelmed her, and one of the officers put an arm around her.

  ‘Oh no!’ Melissa said, turning to Callum. ‘Do you think it’s . . .’

  Callum nodded, but he couldn’t speak. He could feel the maddening buzzing in his hands, and he knew that a vision was about to hit him. He reached out to a wall to steady himself and tried to open himself up to the image.

  It was quick, but it was enough to set his head spinning. He had a flashing vision of a hag-like woman dragging a blonde-haired girl into an alleyway and then throwing off her hood. Callum blinked as the vision faded, and swallowed hard. He was almost certain the woman was the same one he’d seen in his previous vision – and he was also certain that it was the girl the woman had just described.

  ‘Melissa, we have to go NOW!’ he hissed, his heart racing with panic.

  ‘What did you see?’

  ‘Black Annis – she was dragging the girl away. I think they must be somewhere nearby; she can’t have got far on foot. Come on, we might still have time.’ Callum pushed desperately through the small crowd and out on to the road. Melissa ran behind him, trying to keep up. She stumbled backwards as a car sped out in front of them.

  ‘Callum, wait!’ she shouted. ‘We don’t even know where we’re going!’

  Callum slowed down, panting. ‘I saw an alleyway, next to a café.’

  ‘OK, just think!’ Melissa said as she caught up to him. ‘We need to find out exactly where it is. Did you see what the café was called?’

  ‘Sunrise . . . The Sunrise Café,’ Callum said, then reached out and grabbed a passing man’s arm. ‘Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me where the Sunrise Café is?’

  The man eyed Callum suspiciously for a moment, then answered, ‘Next road along, on the left.’

  Callum and Melissa broke into a sprint. Callum could see the café up ahead, and the relentless tingling in his hands ramped up again. He rounded the corner into the alleyway, but then skidded to a halt. He was totally unprepared for what he saw.

  The alley was a dead end. Hunched against the brick wall at the far end was a woman dressed in ragged clothes, her hair clumped like thick ropes, hiding her face.

  Her clawed hands were holding something . . . someone.

  Callum retched.

  The crone was pressing something up to her mouth. Something bloody, fleshy, but devoid of skin.

  A body. A corpse.

  The only thing recognisably human about it was a cascade of long, white-blonde hair, caked with blood.

  ‘N . . . no . . .’ Callum’s voice strangled in his throat.

  Then he heard Melissa’s scream.

  Chapter Twelve

  Callum barely even had time to think. With a furious yell, he ran towards Black Annis, his hands raised in front of him. Shock and anger made his entire body quiver, and he felt a surge of energy pressing out from his hands. This was no warning – it was power.

  Black Annis dropped the corpse and leaped at Callum. Her black, pointed teeth were bared and dripping with the girl’s blood. But as she pounced, Callum felt the energy in his hands push out and surround him. The hag twisted mid-leap and was knocked sideways. She landed in a crouch, shaking her head from side to side. For a moment, Black Annis looked confused, but then a dawning realisation spread across her face.

  ‘Chime child . . .’ she hissed, her voice a hideous rasp.

  ‘Callum, run!’ Melissa shouted, and Callum whirled around to her – he’d almost forgotten she was there.

  ‘No, Melissa, you get out of here. I’m –’

  ‘LOOK OUT!’ Melissa screamed, and Callum turned just in time to see Black Annis leaping towards him once more, her talons flexed and pointed straight at him. He threw his hands up in front of him, and Annis was knocked backwards again by his shield. But this time she recovered quickly. The demon snarled and lashed out – Callum only just managed to jump out of the way in time.

  But Annis’ attentions had shifted. Callum followed the crone’s glowing gaze and saw it fall on Melissa, who was standing at the open end of the alleyway, her eyes wide with shock. In a split second, Black Annis sprang right over his head towards Melissa.

  ‘MELISSA!’ Callum shouted, but it was too late. He saw his friend hit the ground hard. Black Annis pinned her down and then she bared her teeth, the horrible slash of black in blue skin, and sank them into Melissa’s shoulder. She cried out in agony.

  ‘NO!’ Callum didn’t even use his powers this time. With a roar, he launched himself in a rugby tackle at the hag, knocking her off Melissa. Desperately trying to avoid the witch’s flailing talons, he pulled at her hair as hard as he could, grimacing as a stringy clump came away in his hand. Annis gave a screech and jerked away from him, retreating into the alleyway.

  Rage filled Callum as he regained his footing and stood between
Melissa and the hag. Black Annis ran towards the wall at the far end of the alley and began scrabbling up the brickwork with her impossibly long talons.

  Callum raised his hands and reached towards her with a wordless cry of anger and loathing.

  The palm of his hand suddenly crackled with energy. He felt the force radiating from deep within him and out through his hands as raw power. A glowing ball of light flickered in his palms, rippling in waves like heat from a bonfire.

  Callum aimed towards Black Annis and released the bolt of energy at her. The crackling ray hit her arm and she screamed in pain once again. One of her clawed hands lost its grip, but she’d already reached the top of the wall. She pulled herself up, but a row of barbed wire blocked her way. She paused. Seizing the moment, Callum re-directed the beam of energy that was still radiating from his outstretched hand back towards the crone. He missed, but the energy struck the taut, spiked wire, which broke and sprang free, whipping out across the hag’s face. Thick, blue-black blood oozed from the wound, and Black Annis let out a high-pitched, bloodcurdling scream. Then she hauled herself over the wall through the gap that had been created and disappeared out of sight.

  Callum stared at his outstretched hand, stunned. The air around it still crackled with power.

  ‘What the . . .?’ he breathed.

  Then, through the shimmering air, Callum saw Melissa, still lying in agony on the ground at the entrance to the alleyway.

  He rushed to her side. Her wrist was bleeding badly – she’d managed to cross her arm over her neck when the monster had attacked her, and it was her wrist that had been savaged by the hag’s pointed teeth, not her shoulder. Blood soaked her sleeve and mitten. Her face was drained white as chalk. She looked down at her hand and gave a grunt of distress.