The Dark Corners Box Set

by Robert Scott-Norton

  Then it dawned. The reason he’d felt there was something different about her, why she’d been so eager to get up to Adam’s house.

  “The painting. It’s on you. How?” Seth asked.

  She looked unsettled as if the thing behind the mask was trying it out for size, seeing how it all worked. When she spoke, it was her voice, but not all her voice. The thing, Kain, Seth reminded himself, was evident as well.

  “I’ve got to ensure my safe return. I can’t let you jeopardise the plan.” She snatched for the mirror and Seth instinctively stepped back, lifting it up and away from her grasping hands. But he only had a moment of feeling smug before two of the approaching Adherents rushed him from behind and pinned his arms behind his back, forcing him to drop the mirror to the ground. The shroud slipped away, revealing the black surface to the sky. Seth forced himself not to look at it.

  “What about Joe? We can’t leave him to die,” Seth blustered, knowing that every word out of his mouth might be his last.

  Judy tilted her head and looked along the trail in the house's direction.

  “Judy,” Seth implored, “fight this thing. You’ve got to think about Joe.”

  Judy had gone quiet. Kain wasn’t in, at least not fully. He was still trapped safe within his own painting. What was inside Judy was a fragment of his soul. A tiny piece of evil contaminating her mind. If Seth could reach her, he could bring her back.

  “Fight him!” he shouted.

  Judy approached the fallen mirror with the curiosity of someone who’d never seen it before. The front faced up. Seth thought he could see the edge of the treetops in the reflection, then remembering what he was doing, he closed his eyes and looked away. Unhindered, the thing that lived in the mirror would be eager to look for another victim.

  “Take a look, Seth,” Judy said. “I would like to see what happens when this is fed.”

  “No,” he replied. “That’s not happening.”

  A click of fingers and grunts from behind. A shot of pain through his shoulder and he was shoved forward. “Open his eyes.”

  More grunts, and then scratches as a stranger’s fingers pulled at his eyelids.

  Seth could look around. The Adherents had closed in. Judy was holding the mirror in front of her, arms stretched towards Seth, the blackened surface directly facing him. And Seth looked again, he couldn’t help it.

  The entity was behind him. That void that he'd seen in the car park, only more intense. A hole in reality that moved like a person. There was a coldness in his chest. His breathing quickened, adrenaline and fear were keeping him hyper-focused on all the details that played out around him.

  He could feel the relentless grips from the men holding him. The breeze through the trees that carried a hint of pine but smothered by the stench of the grave.

  But his world was now full of the mirror. He couldn’t refuse to face it. There was an entire world in there that would be a better place to exist. A calmer place. And he found that it didn’t matter anymore. At least not in the way that he thought it did. Yes, it was a terrible cruelty that Joe would die, but the boy had a religious father, and Joe believed in Heaven. It didn’t matter whether that existed, but the boy believed it, and that belief would ease his pain. If the Unravelling happened, then who was Seth to fight against it? Adam Cowl had been at this game for longer than he had and if the Unravelling was the best for this planet, then so be it. He’d done his best to fight against it, he’d tried.

  And failed.

  So be it.

  The hands behind him pushed him forward, his face was only inches away from the glass. His new existence. The other side.

  36

  The mirror dropped. Seth had a moment to appreciate that his soul hadn’t been sucked from his body before taking in Judy’s expression, then gasps of surprise from the Adherents holding him, the rustle of movement as more of the Adherents stepped closer, eager to stop whatever Judy was doing.

  And what she was doing was fighting back against the influence that the painting fragment was having over her.

  “Get out of my head!” she shouted, then stamped down hard on the fallen mirror, causing a crack right through the centre.

  The noise was terrific. A howl came from the ground and Seth dared a look. He wished he hadn’t. The black glass had cracked into four segments and a burning light spat through the gaps between the pieces of mirror. It started with a breeze, a warm current of air rising past his face, then whatever was being imprisoned inside the mirror fought its way out, striking with such force that Seth, Judy and the surrounding Adherents were all knocked to the floor. Seth panicked, thinking they were all in jeopardy, and he lashed out at the Adherents who’d been holding him, before scrambling to Judy and helping her to her feet.

  “Run,” he cried, but it was already too late. There was a flurry of movement and heavy hands gripped their arms. A foot on the back of Seth’s leg knocked him to the floor where the ground met his jaw and a fierce pain raced across his face. They had pushed Judy to the ground beside him. Her hair had fallen in front of her face and he couldn’t tell how badly hurt she was. He reached an arm to her, but a foot kicked it aside.

  “Get up,” a gruff voice said. “We’re taking you in.”

  They approached the house in silence. Seth kept looking at Judy to check if she was OK but her eyes were fixed straight ahead, empty. The thing on her arm was still there and Seth wondered how long it had been affecting her. Kain must have been unbelievably powerful to fuse his artwork with his soul, and to have some of that contaminate Judy with just a fragment of the painting… well that was something else entirely.

  The hand pulling his arm up his back lessened and eventually let go completely. Seth knew why. There was nowhere to run to. About a dozen Adherents had followed them out of the woods and were blocking any possible exit from the scene. Seth had no intention of running. He still had to rescue Joe, and he’d find a way to do that with or without the mirror. He glanced at his watch. 3 o’clock and yet it felt so overcast that it looked evening already.

  The house was familiar to him at least. There were worse places Adam could have brought them to, like the hospital. That would have been disastrous. Ravenmeols was a creature he didn’t fully understand and was far too unpredictable. This building on the other hand was just a house. He remembered the layout of the ground floor and thought he’d be OK if he had to get them all out of there in a hurry.

  Apart from the cellar. Don’t forget the cellar.

  That thing had almost killed Seth.

  “How are you doing?” he asked Judy but a punch in the small of his back winded him. She glanced at him and there was unmistakable terror in her expression. Breaking into the chief Adherent’s lair with a weapon was one thing, being taken in as weaponless prisoners was something else altogether.

  Seth looked up at the house. Black rectangles of glass gave away no secrets but Seth still searched for signs of Adam watching them.

  “Shall I knock?” Seth asked, impatient now.

  But no one needed to. The front door opened and Adam stepped out onto the step to meet them. His face broke into an exaggerated smile as he saw Judy was with him. Like a dinner host delighted that his guests had arrived before the starters had gone cold, Adam clutched at Seth’s hand and shook it warmly.

  “So glad you could make it,” he said, his voice drooling with sarcasm. “And you’ve brought a plus one. I can’t remember inviting her, but you’re more than welcome.”

  “Where’s Joe?”

  And with that one question, the smile dropped and the host persona evaporated like it had never been there. “He’s safe for now. Obviously, he will only remain so whilst you continue to uphold your side of the bargain.” And then he checked them out, looking them both up and down and not seeing what he was looking for, turned to the Adherent who’d been doing all the arm tugging behind Seth. “Where is it?” he demanded.

  “He didn’t have it,” the Adherent replied, his voice was mee
k and unsure.

  “I thought we were past this,” Adam said to Seth. “I made it exceptionally clear what was required of you.” And to the Adherent he asked, “have you checked their car? Or the woods. I wouldn’t put it past them to leave it hidden out there.”

  “There’s nothing in the car. They brought a mirror with them, though.” The Adherent described the events with the mirror. Adam stared at the man while the story was being recounted, and then he frowned. “Thank you. You’ve done well.” Now Adam had a different look on his face. His eyes had widened and there was a spark of excitement bouncing around. Seth tensed, certain that their host was about to do something particularly unpleasant to them both for his mirror plan. Instead, he stepped to his left and regarded Judy with a new-found interest.

  “Traitor, eh? There’s nothing wrong with that. But it doesn’t strike me as a quality inherently honest about you. Why did you break the mirror? You know that comes with seven year’s bad luck?”

  Judy glanced across at Seth. Her face was pale, the gentle confidence of his friend had drained from her, and she looked ten years older.

  “She has the missing piece of the painting.” Seth’s voice surprised even himself, but in that instant, it seemed the least risky move. “Kain did something to the painting and some of it has spread onto her arm. I think there’s still a little of Kain in it. She didn’t destroy the mirror, Kain did.”

  Adam grinned. “You’re talking nonsense.” But his voice was unsettled, and his eyes narrowed. Judy looked hurt, winded as well as if she had been physically attacked.

  “I’m sorry,” Seth said to her. “But there’s no point hiding it.”

  But what he didn’t say was that telling Adam about the painting fragment ensured that he wouldn’t hurt her until he figured out what to do about it. It gave him what he wanted, but it also raised questions he wouldn’t know the answers to. That gave Seth time to work out what to do next.

  “Show me,” Adam said.

  Judy was shaking as she rolled the sleeve of her top up. As soon as Adam saw the paint stuck to her arm, he snatched at her wrist and pulled her towards him, then with a gentle reverence he twisted her arm at the wrist and leant in close to get a better look.

  “He was the most remarkable man.” Tentatively, he extended a finger and prodded the paint fragment.

  Judy winced and jerked her arm back.

  Adam laughed. “He was incorrigible. Kain had more knowledge than he claimed. I knew he was working on something special but this is ostentatiously brilliant. I can’t wait to show you the rest of the work. Neither of you have seen it in the flesh I take it.”

  Seth didn’t think his choice of words was deliberate, but it was apt. Judy was contaminated and he had no idea how he was going to free her from the contamination. His only hope was that from Adam’s response to finding out about the fragment, that meant that Adam didn’t know how to remove it either. Seth had bought them the time they needed. Now all he had to do was come up with another plan on the hoof.

  Inside the house, Adam led them to the door at the back of the staircase, the one that Seth had used to head down to the cellar on his last visit. The hallway had been cleared of the dead birds, and the doors to the rest of the house had been closed. He listened, but couldn’t hear anything that might give away the location of either Joe or a clue where other Adherents might be waiting. He needed an exit from the house but he didn't know which would be the easiest. None of this mattered whilst Joe was still a prisoner. But he realised they had a bigger problem now as well. Now that Adam knew the painting had attached itself to Judy, she was a target and would forever remain so until either the painting was removed from her, or Adam was neutralised.

  “You’ve been here before,” Adam said to Seth. “What were you looking for?”

  “I thought I might learn something about you. Something missing from the records.”

  “Why was that important to you?”

  “I figured it would help me kill you.”

  Adam took the words at face value, not showing any surprise at Seth’s brazenness. “And did you find what you were looking for?”

  “No.”

  Adam nodded and a wry grin lifted his cheekbones giving him a dangerous manic look. Seth was reminded of Jack Nicholson as he poked his head through the broken door of the Overlook’s living quarters. “Here’s Johnny,” the face wanted to say.

  “Where’s Joe?” Judy asked. “He’s not part of this. You need to let him go.”

  “Is that right? The boy may leave when I have that thing off your arm and Kain’s painting is restored.”

  “So, take it, get it off me. Just let Joe go.”

  “Patience. If life has taught me anything, it’s the need to be patient. It might take me a little time to work out what Kain’s done.”

  “You’re saying you don’t know how to get this off me?”

  “You’re a bright lady. I can see why Kain was attracted to you. You remind me of Joceline.”

  Adam’s expression wasn’t giving anything away, but Seth could see the mean streak behind the mask. “Why did you kill her? What scared you about her so much?”

  “Joceline didn’t scare me, but she was a constant source of disappointment. But, now to business.” Adam turned to his man at the front door. “No one leaves. If they try, kill them. No matter what noises you hear coming from the basement, you’re not to enter. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir,” came the perfectly measured response.

  Adam opened the door to the basement. It swung open on hinges that squealed in alarm. A muted yellow glow illuminated the walls and lessened the shadows. Adam gestured for Judy to enter, then once she’d stepped down a couple of steps, he nodded at Seth to go after her. He took a deep breath then did as he was bid, conscious that he might be struck by whatever had attacked him the last time he’d been here.

  “No need to worry,” Adam’s voice chilled Seth as the man’s breath trickled over his neck. He recoiled from the proximity then took another step down. Adam chuckled as they went. “You met a protective hex I left. I’ve disarmed it. You’ve nothing to fear.”

  Except Seth had everything to fear. There were two Almost Doors in the basement. He sensed them before he saw their physical outlines. They were the onset of a headache before the hangover really kicks in. A pressure at the base of his skull.

  The doors were unremarkable in most respects. One at the far end of the room, beyond the decorative altar, was narrow and wooden, like the door to a pantry. A green glow lit up the edges, highlighting the separation between door and wall. Over on the left, a brown door, decayed and heavy looking. One that wouldn’t have looked out of place in an old factory. The green backlighting was present on that one as well. The lights indicated a problem. The doors were active and active doors meant shadowmen. They were the real problem.

  On the right, the basement expanded, stretching further into the ground than the foundations of the house should have allowed for. Had they been excavating? In this second section, he could see Joe.

  The boy’s eyes lit up with relief as Joe saw who it was that had come down into the basement. He tried to cry out but someone had stuffed a rag in his mouth and tied it in place. Seth rushed over and pulled it away. Joe gasped a deep breath.

  “I want to go home,” he cried. “I want Mum.”

  “I’m taking you. You’re fine.” And Seth kissed him on the forehead and hugged him, feeling at the back for the bindings that were keeping him tied to the chair.

  “No one’s going anywhere,” Adam said from behind. “Not until we’ve concluded our business.”

  Seth turned and saw that Adam had taken Judy by the hand and had led her into this part of the basement. He noticed then a secondary altar tucked against the rough-shod wall and resting on that was the painting they’d been looking for.

  All the Darkness.

  It was even more disturbing in the flesh.

  Seth straightened, the hairs on the b
ack of his neck whispered in unease and he took a few steps towards the object that had caused so much suffering over the last week. Kain was a talented artist. Despite the terrible choice of subject, the painting itself was striking in a way that Seth hadn’t appreciated from seeing the photograph. The shadowmen in the composition had an energy to them that suggested they might leave the frame at any moment. But they wouldn’t do that. They were guardians of the painting, of Kain’s soul.

  Seth took another few steps closer, now only a metre away. If he stretched his arm up to the canvas, he’d be able to touch the brush strokes. And in the lower-right corner, a thin section was missing, the section that had contaminated Judy.

  “Don’t!” Judy thundered. Her voice echoed through the basement.

  Seth backed off, keeping his eyes front, he returned to Joe.

  “When can we go?”

  Seth put his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “Soon. I promise.”

  “It’s been watching me. I can feel it. It’s bad. Worse than the doors.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It can’t hurt you. I’m here to take care of it.”

  “Where’s Dad? He got hurt.” And tears sprang up on his cheeks seemingly from nowhere. But this was silent crying, the worst kind.

  “Let’s get this over with then,” Seth said to Adam, drawing himself up to his full height. “The sooner we do that, the sooner we can go.”

  “You’re not in a position to bargain. We run this at my pace.”

  “You don’t have the faintest clue what you’re doing. You’ve said that Kain painted this without your knowledge. You have no idea how to use it to bring him back.”

  “I’m sure it will not be that difficult.” Adam grabbed Judy by the wrist and brought her deeper into the room. She resisted the pull, moaning as she approached the painting, and as they got closer, the painting changed. The brush strokes became more vivid, like they were fresh, not something that had been applied two decades ago.