Skinned

by Adam Slater

  Callum managed to make it through dinner without leaping up and out of the door. But as soon as Gran began to clear their plates away, he decided there was at least one thing she couldn’t object to.

  ‘I’m going to give Melissa a ring,’ he said, already stepping over to the old-fashioned telephone and placing one hand on the receiver. ‘She’s been just as worried about this as I have. I think I should let her know we’ve found something.’

  Callum had already started to dial as Gran nodded and took the rest of the crockery through to the kitchen. He was grateful to hear Melissa’s voice at the other end of the line. He hastily explained what Gran had found, and her theory about the words being used as an incantation.

  ‘Really? Blimey,’ Melissa breathed. ‘But hold on a minute – does it make sense that Black Annis would use such a complicated spell to lure children? It doesn’t sound like her style. She’s more of a snatch-and-grab type, isn’t she?’

  ‘Well, there’d been that kid who was taken from the supermarket, but I’ve been thinking – there’s no way Annis would have been able to just wander in there in broad daylight,’ Callum said, his shoulders sagging. ‘I know what you mean, a spell like this is too subtle for her.’

  Then, all of a sudden, something occurred to him. He cupped the mouthpiece and glanced back to the kitchen where his gran was now splashing and clattering as she washed up the dishes.

  ‘Wait a second,’ Callum whispered down the phone. ‘Jacob said that Black Annis grows stronger the more she feeds, right?’

  ‘Yeah . . .’

  ‘And we know the coven have some purpose for her, from my vision?’

  ‘Mmm . . .’

  ‘Well, what if it’s the coven? What if they’re the ones luring children? What if they want to feed her up, make her as strong as possible before they sacrifice her?’

  Callum heard Melissa gasp. ‘You’re right, that would make sense – the more sophisticated magic? How many children are they planning to take? How many are they going to kill? Callum what are we going to do?’

  ‘The only thing I can think of right now is to go and speak to Jacob,’ Callum said, his heart rate quickening as he heard his grandmother finishing up in the kitchen. ‘I’m going to have to sneak out though. Gran’s getting really nervy,’ he whispered, and then straightened up as his grandmother came back into the room, eyeing him suspiciously.

  ‘Uh, look Melissa, I’ve got to go,’ he said, his voice back to its normal volume.

  ‘OK, but Callum, wait,’ she said. ‘If you’re going to see Jacob, I’m coming with you. Half-past midnight. I’ll see you there.’

  The dial tone sounded before Callum could protest.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Later that night, Callum hurried through the gate to the churchyard, trying to ignore the gathering, agitated ghosts that watched him as he walked. He skirted round the iron railings of the Victorian graves and the tilting stone skulls of the older ones, finding a place to wait on a ledge where a chapel wall had collapsed. His breath pluming in the cold, he searched the darkness for any sign of Jacob, Doom or Melissa, but there were only the lingering ghosts and the distant hoot of an owl for company.

  Then a voice behind him made Callum jump.

  ‘It is rather late for a lesson, is it not?’ Jacob stood with his hands behind his back, his face expectant.

  Callum hastily explained how Gran and Melissa had triggered his vision, and what Gran had suggested about the enchanted words. When Callum had finished speaking, Jacob didn’t respond immediately. He folded his arms, frowning.

  ‘I agree. It is entirely possible that the words you heard have been spun into some kind of spell,’ Jacob said. ‘And that it is most likely the work of the coven.’

  ‘How long do you think we have?’ Callum asked. ‘I mean, if they’re luring children . . . How often do you think Black Annis would have to be fed to get to her strongest?’ The very thought made him feel sick.

  Jacob stood for a moment with one hand twisting the fur at the back of Doom’s neck. It was hard to tell from the expression on his pale, faintly gleaming face what he might be thinking. Then he began to pace up and down, shaking his head. Doom stood up and followed.

  ‘I do not know how many –’ he began, but then both he and Doom came to a halt as they heard something stirring outside the church gates.

  ‘It’s only me,’ came a familiar voice, and Callum saw Melissa picking her way towards them. ‘So, have we got a plan yet?’

  Callum gave her a withering look. ‘We don’t even really know what’s happening, Melissa – or if it’s already happened.’

  ‘I don’t think anything has happened yet though,’ Melissa said. ‘Surely lots more kids going missing around Leicester would have made the news, just like the others did before?’

  Callum frowned. She had a point. ‘OK, but if the coven haven’t been taking enough kids for the media to notice, then what are we meant to do? Just sit back and wait till more kids start disappearing?’

  Melissa shook her head and looked to Jacob anxiously.

  ‘I fear there may be a reason why there have not been reports of many more missing children as yet,’ Jacob said slowly. ‘If there have not been occasional, individual disappearances, then –’

  ‘Then they might be planning to take a whole group of kids all at once?’ Callum finished. He, Melissa and Jacob all looked at one another anxiously for a moment as the notion sunk in, then Callum finally spoke again.

  ‘We have to do something, we have to stop them,’ he said, folding his arms.

  ‘Like what?’ Melissa said. ‘We have no idea where they are. How do you expect to stop them?’

  ‘We go to the source. We need to find Black Annis’ lair.’

  ‘Callum,’ Jacob said. ‘I know that you have come on a good deal, but you must realise that this situation could be beyond your control.’

  ‘What choice do I have? It’s my job to police the Boundary, isn’t it? To keep the world safe? To stop children being skinned and eaten alive, and to stop some crazy group of magicians bringing goodness knows what over from the Netherworld for some premature hell-party.’

  Callum raised his eyebrows, inviting a response. Jacob held his gaze for a moment and then sighed, wiping away a trickle of blood that seeped from his hairline like sweat. He beckoned to Doom, and the enormous spectral dog came to lie at Jacob’s feet. ‘But caution is certainly not folly in this instance. You cannot underestimate how dangerous this could be. And what little power I have myself grows weaker the farther I travel from this village, where I was born and where I lie buried. We must be careful. We are heading into the unknown.’

  ‘We?’ Callum said hopefully. Jacob remained silent, his expression serious.

  ‘I do not think this is a good idea,’ the ghost said again.

  ‘Why? It’s the only place that we have even a remote chance of finding that hag, and it’s the most likely place that the coven would go to find her too, if they haven’t got her already. We might be able to head them off, or, I don’t know . . .’

  ‘I wish there some other way,’ Jacob said quietly.

  ‘But there isn’t,’ Callum said, cutting him short.

  Jacob looked up at this. His black, depthless eyes met Callum’s straight on. ‘At the day’s end, chime child, it is only you who can decide which battles you face. Are you sure you want to do this?’

  Callum tossed his untidy hair back out of his eyes, so that he could return Jacob’s challenging gaze head on. He took a deep breath.

  ‘Yes.’

  He may not have complete control of his powers, but he could not stand by while children were taken from their beds as snacks for a Netherworld demon.

  ‘Good,’ Jacob said. ‘If your power is as strong as your resolve, then perhaps you are ready.’

  Next to them, Melissa cleared her throat. ‘This is all very touching, but if we’re going to find Black Annis then we should get going.’

  �
��Going where though?’ Callum said. ‘We don’t know where her lair is.’

  ‘Well, I read something,’ Melissa said, her eyes narrowing. ‘It didn’t make a lot of sense at the time, but I had a chance to look into it last night after we spoke. There was a fable in one of the chime child books that said there was a tunnel underneath Leicester Castle. One that lead to the den of a “beastly anthropophage”.’

  ‘Anthro-what?’ Callum said, shaking his head in confusion.

  ‘Turns out it means “flesh-eater”. It makes sense, doesn’t it? I think it’s our best chance.’

  ‘OK,’ Callum said, nodding quickly. ‘Then we have to try and get there before the coven does.’

  ‘But how exactly do you plan to get to Leicester in the middle of the night?’ Melissa asked.

  Callum’s face fell – but Jacob interjected.

  ‘I think I may be able to assist with that . . .’

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The streetlights that line the quiet suburban street begin to wink out, one by one, but the people asleep in their houses remain oblivious. In the middle of the road, three men and two women stand in a line. The shadows they cast are faint in the moonlight, which is now the only source of illumination. Their collective magic has seen to that.

  ‘Are they ready?’ the man with the glowing ring asks.

  ‘They are, Varick,’ Aradia replies. She brushes her long red hair back from her shoulders, closes her eyes and raises her slender hands out in front of her. She takes a breath and begins to whisper.

  ‘When lo, as they reached the mountain’s side . . .’

  The four others watch her as she works. The grey-haired woman folds her arms and eyes the younger woman; she is sceptical about the power of Aradia’s magic.

  But then there is movement.

  Almost simultaneously, the doors of the houses on each side of the street begin to open. The red-headed woman keeps whispering, repeating her incantation over and over again. Soon, a dozen children are stepping out on to the street, their feet bare, their eyes glassy and unseeing. The children move slowly towards the five adults gathered in the middle of the street.

  ‘Excellent work, Aradia,’ Varick says as the children gather in a line behind the coven. They shiver involuntarily, their pyjamas inadequate against the bitter chill, but it is no matter to the magic users who have summoned them.

  Aradia opens her eyes and smiles. ‘Shall we?’

  The coven begins to stride away down the darkened street, the lamps overhead switching on again one by one behind them as they leave. Their magic now draws the line of children away from their homes, and they follow obediently behind the coven like an juvenile army.

  *

  Black Annis waits. The human magic users have left her alone, but their spells are strong enough to bind her still. The enchanted pentagram on the ground, in which they have confined her, is powerful – drawn by ritual and imbued with magic. She is confused as to what they have in store. She is certain that their intentions are not good, but their promise of more flesh makes Black Annis salivate in spite of herself.

  She decides she must bide her time, allow them to feed her, allow them to facilitate her growing strength. Only then will she act against them, break free of their spell, these foolish, obstinate humans that seem to believe they can influence the tide of the Netherworld.

  Black Annis freezes as she hears something overhead, above her in her lair that has now become her prison. Footsteps – so many, some heavy, some light. The scent of the human children hits her like a landslide. Black Annis rises within the confines of the pentagram. Her pale eyes shine brightly. A moment later, the magicians file in, and behind them . . . yes! Black Annis has never seen so many children in one place. She lets out an involuntary growl of eager hunger, but the coven’s leader quiets her.

  ‘Patience, crone,’ he says, his voice smooth and mocking. He turns to the gathered line of children now standing stiffly beside the other magicians. He walks over to them and places a hand on the head of a fair-haired boy and an oval-faced girl.

  ‘Go to her,’ he intones.

  The children break out of line and stride towards Black Annis. With a gesture, the coven leader makes a brief passage through the magical barrier that surrounds Black Annis – too brief for her to seize an opportunity to break free. And besides, her hunger for the flesh of these two children is too distracting for her to think of anything else. The girl and boy come to a halt. Their impassive stares register nothing.

  Black Annis’ own eyes bulge with excitement. A string of blue-black dribble escapes her lips as she creeps forward. Then, using one pointed talon on each of the young humans, Black Annis swiftly stops their hearts, then feverishly sets about removing their skin. She is so overcome with zeal that she allows their pelts to slump to the floor without pausing to spread them out to dry. Black Annis notices from the corner of her luminous eyes that some of the adult humans have turned away. She scoffs – they have not the stomach for their purpose. She will take advantage of their foolishness, and their provisions of food. They have weaknesses, while she grows stronger. Soon, though, they will realise their mistake. She will slay this coven, and the chime child too. Then no one will be able to prevent her from taking her pick of the fragile human children that walk this land.

  With no further hesitation, Black Annis tears into each of the skinless bodies, and groans with pleasure as the flesh slides down her throat. And there are so many more to come before she reaches full strength.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  ‘OK, I know I said I wanted you to help, but I’m not sure this is what I had in mind,’ Callum said, frowning as Jacob reached one blood-dripping hand towards his shoulder. He could feel the ghostly chill of the Born Dead’s hand through his coat as they stood in the churchyard.

  ‘Trust me,’ Jacob said, with a glimmer of a smile. Doom looked up at his master expectantly, his red eyes glowing. Jacob put his other hand on Doom’s neck and then looked over to Melissa.

  ‘Put your hand on my shoulder,’ he said. ‘I need to have contact with all of you if I am to attempt this.’

  Callum raised his eyebrows. ‘Are you sure this is going to work? I don’t want to end up a pile of molecules floating around space for the rest of my life. I mean, I know I was complaining about being a chime child, but I’ll definitely take it over that,’ he said, smiling nervously.

  Melissa looked a little dubious herself as she placed both hands on Jacob’s shoulders. ‘Go for it,’ she said, squeezing her eyes closed. Callum was about to do the same, when he realised that the world around him had already begun to blur.

  It was an unpleasant sensation, like being spun on a turbo-charged fairground ride. Everything was rushing by so dizzyingly that Callum felt sick. He closed his eyes for a moment, hoping to combat the nausea.

  When he opened them again, everything was still a dark blur. Slowly he realised that there beside him, in sharp relief among the swirl of dark mist, were Melissa, Jacob and Doom.

  And after a moment, all three of them seemed to dissolve into the ether . . .

  Then, just as suddenly as the whirling had begun, Callum felt firm ground underneath his feet. The journey had only lasted seconds, but as the air around him cleared, Callum realised that Jacob really had transported them. Where moments ago they had all been standing in Nether Marlock Churchyard, Callum saw that, although the moon still glowed in night sky above, they were now on what must be the site of Leicester Castle.

  ‘Blimey,’ he breathed, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. They’d travelled miles. He looked over at Jacob, who had stepped away from them and was leaning against a nearby tree to steady himself.

  ‘Jacob, are you OK?’ Callum asked. The ghost nodded.

  ‘As I said, my power diminishes the further I get from the churchyard – I feel somewhat drained, that is all.’

  ‘I’m not surprised,’ Melissa chimed in. Her face was almost as pale as Jacob’s.
‘That was mad.’

  Callum was already looking around at the castle grounds, trying to see if he could locate the entrance that would lead to Black Annis’ lair. All that existed of the original eleventh-century castle was the mound upon which it once stood. The soft grass underfoot was crisp with frost, but there was no sign of an entry point for a cave or tunnel. Soon Melissa joined him, scouring the ground and the surrounding areas.

  Callum’s heart began to pound. What if they were too late? What if his instinct to try and find Annis’ lair had been wrong and they were just wasting time? He took a deep breath. There was no time for doubts now – he needed to think.

  ‘I can’t see anything,’ Melissa called. ‘We should have brought torches or something. I guess we’ll just have to hope we get lucky.’

  As she finished, Callum realised they had something better than a torch.

  ‘Hang on,’ he said. ‘I have an idea.’

  Closing his eyes, Callum held his hands out before him, facing down towards the ground. He turned slowly in a circle and, to his relief, he felt the skin of his hands begin to prickle.

  His Luck was exactly what they needed. His ability to sense evil . . .

  Callum moved his hands back and forth.

  Suddenly, as he turned, his fingertips began to tingle madly. He moved to the right a fraction and the feeling faded. Back and to the left – sure enough, the pins and needles intensified. Callum slowly began to move in the direction his hands were driving him.

  ‘Have you found something?’ Melissa asked, coming up next to him.

  ‘I might have,’ Callum mumbled, concentrating hard.

  Melissa turned back to where they had first materialised a short distance away.

  ‘Jacob, do you – Hey, where are Jacob and Doom?’ she said suddenly. ‘They were there a second ago, now they’ve vanished.’ She turned to Callum with a worried smile. ‘You don’t think they’ve abandoned us do you?’

  Callum was about to answer her when he heard a shout behind them.

  ‘Excuse me, you two. Just what exactly do you think you’re doing here?’