by Matt Drabble
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‘Surely it can’t be this easy?’ Travis whispered as the group made their way across the open fields.
‘And yet it is,’ Lochay whispered back.
Travis’s shoes were already soaked through from the dewy grass. The night was dark now, and despite the open terrain he felt comfortably shrouded in the darkness.
There were eight of them altogether who had slipped through the border fence of Vargas’s estate: himself, Lochay, and six combat fatigued burly men. The muscle all wore external shoulder holsters with plastic looking automatics tucked under their arms. To his surprise there were no heavy weapons on display. Despite firearms being illegal in the UK, laws seemed to matter little to the likes of Lochay and Vargas.
The grassland began to rise to the crest of a hill, and once there Travis could see Vargas’s mansion in the valley below. The sweeping fields gave way to woodland that surrounded the main house. He had a vague recollection that he might have been here before, perhaps with Amy or maybe even as a child. During the car journey Lochay had filled him in about the history of the manor house and its recall from public hands to Vargas’s private ones. He thought he might have visited the country estate as a tourist at some point in the dim and distant past.
‘Where the hell is the security?’ he whispered to Lochay again. ‘This whole place should be crawling with guards. I can’t believe that a man like Vargas would leave himself so open.’
Several of Lochay’s men began to rumble softly to each other, presumably picking up on Travis’s concerns.
‘Quiet!’ Lochay said, and the men obeyed instantly. ‘Lieutenant, take your men and lead the way.’
Travis watched as the largest of the group made several hand signals and the other five assumed their positions. As the experts descended the hill and headed into the woodland, he trotted at the back of the group with Lochay. Under the foliage the night seemed darker. Travis had no military training but the lieutenant at the head of the party held up a closed fist occasionally and Travis would take a knee with the rest of them.
Despite his best efforts Travis seemed to tread on every loud cracking branch on the ground, drawing angry glares from the men in front who glided soundlessly through the woodland. Even Lochay had an annoyingly light touch as he moved.
Something at the edge of his vision caught his attention and he stopped. Scanning the area for whatever had moved, he soon lagged several feet behind the rest of them. He peered harder into the darkness and could see nothing. Lochay was flapping a hand at him silently but furiously, and he caught up as quietly as he could.
‘I saw something,’ he whispered as he reached Lochay.
Lochay smiled patronisingly as he turned away and moved forward again.
Travis was about to dismiss the notion when he sensed something moving to his left. He spun around quickly but in a flash the shadow was gone. ‘Dammit, Lochay. There’s something out there.’
The six combat men all stopped. He could feel their anger radiating towards him but he cared little. Hearing the delicate noise of a leafy branch swishing softly to his right he spun towards it. ‘There! There!’ he insisted. He stared as hard as he could into the woodland but there was no shape that he could make out, only a slight darkening of the shadows. The moonlight barely permeated the green canopy overhead, leaving an oppressive gloom in which to navigate. Travis felt his heart thump painfully against his chest as he almost forgot to breathe.
Lochay moved back towards him, squeezing up to his shoulder as the others kept a single line formation and waited impatiently.
‘Dammit, Parker,’ Lochay hissed in his ear. ‘We don’t have time for you to act like a spooked child.’ Travis did not answer. He was too occupied with watching the shadows for any further movement.
He could feel something out there. Something was circling them and creeping closer.
Suddenly there was a break of cover close behind him. One of the men let out a scream of shock and pain. Travis heard the unmistakable sound of a man being grabbed and dragged into the trees. The others began to panic, staggering around, pushing through the long reaching tree branches that hung over the narrow overgrown path.
As they struggled to draw their weapons another screamed, making a thudding noise as he collapsed to the ground. Travis tried desperately to see what was attacking them but nothing reached out to him from the darkness. As he glared into the void, another man fell to the ground, accompanied by the sound of tearing material that soon turned into a grotesque, wet, ripping sound.
‘Move, move!’ the lieutenant roared as he thrust his way forward, ignoring the thick branches that whipped into his face.
Travis staggered forward, dragging Lochay with him despite the man’s protests. He stumbled along the pathway, trying not to look down, but couldn’t help seeing one pair of black boots sticking out from under the tree line, shaking violently as they were dragged out of sight.
Out of nowhere a thick mist rolled in. He could see no more than a few feet in front of him. It was all he could do to concentrate on the large frame of the man he was following.
Suddenly, only a few feet off of the ground to his right, a large black shape exploded from the foliage. The man in front was struck at knee height by something black and hairy. Spinning wildly and letting out a girlish high pitched scream, he crashed down hard into the shrubbery.
Travis could smell the thick aroma of copper in the air. He thrust out a hand to grab the man and pull him back, but lost sight of him as the darkness closed in again. Every ounce of light was sucked away by the night, and the narrow overgrown pathway was shrouded in a mist that had quickly become a thick fog.
Travis yanked at Lochay who had slowed down behind him. With his other hand he grabbed hold of the belt of the man in front of him. Managing to form a conga line with whoever was left, they staggered forward, and suddenly they were out of the woodland and into a field beyond.
In comparison to gloom from which they had emerged, the moonlight was blinding and Travis had to shield his eyes.
‘What the fuck was that?’ he demanded of no-one in particular. He looked around the group and found that they were now only four in number. He had no idea just who had fallen and he was surprised, given the amount of screaming, that there were still four of them left.
He looked to Lochay who seemed shaken and scared. The lieutenant and his one remaining soldier were standing rock still with receding shock distorting their faces. The one remaining soldier suddenly threw his balaclava to the ground, drew his weapon and made to walk back to the tree line again.
‘Are you nuts?’ Travis said as he reached out and grabbed the man’s arm.
The soldier shook him off with ease; his eyes were wild and his expression one of rage. ‘Fuck you,’ he growled.
Up close Travis could see that the man was barely more than a boy. His golden hair and smooth skin looked every inch the modern soldier. His frame was muscular and Travis could tell that the emotion of fear was new to the young man and it wasn’t sitting well. ‘You go back in there and you’re not coming out,’ Travis said quietly.
The soldier squared up to him and he thought that the kid was about to knock him out with misplaced anger.
‘Stand down soldier,’ the lieutenant said, without raising his voice.
‘Bullshit,’ the young soldier said. ‘I’m going back and taking some control.’
Travis could see that the lieutenant’s gaze was fixed firmly on the tree line. He turned around slowly just as the soldier picked up on the situation. The thick woodland was still dark, but now there was a pair of yellow eyes shining through the shrubbery. The eyes moved forward until a snout emerged and then a short stocky body.
‘Jesus Christ,’ the young soldier said. ‘It’s just a fucking pig.’
Travis watched as more of the animal emerged. ‘You’re half right,’ he said as the animal stepped into the light. ‘It’s a boar.’
The animal was black and short h
aired, its body thick with powerful muscle. Its lower canine teeth protruded in a vicious white gleam.
‘A fucking boar then,’ the young soldier said with a nervous laugh, as he raised his gun and took aim.
‘Put it down,’ the lieutenant said. ‘Now!’
‘What?’ the soldier said, but with growing horror Travis saw what the lieutenant was looking at.
Matching sets of yellow eyes were suddenly lined up alongside the boar. The whole tree line seemed to be alive with hungry glares. Snouts began to poke through the foliage and drooling mouths were open and eager.
‘Back away slowly,’ Travis whispered to the young soldier as he followed his own advice.
‘I’m not backing off from a bunch of fucking pigs,’ the soldier said with the bravado of youth.
‘Soldier,’ the lieutenant said, but to no avail.
Travis made his way past Lochay and the lieutenant and kept going. Judging by the short work the boars had made of the soldiers in the woods, he had no interest in a round two.
Just ahead he saw an ancient wall surrounding an interior garden and kept walking slowly towards it. Keeping his hands down at his sides, he hoped the young soldier would do something to take the animals’ attention. His hopes were rewarded when the soldier began firing into the tree line. Not even turning around to see the outcome he bolted for the wall. Throwing himself upwards he hit the crumbling stones hard and scrabbled for purchase. Trembling with the strain, he gripped a top stone and hefted himself on top of the wall and turned to look back. The young soldier was already on his knees as fangs and tusks tore into him, ripping his flesh from the bone. His screams were silenced to wet gurgles as a tusk gouged out his throat and teeth shredded the flesh from his face. Lochay was in full flight as he ran towards Travis and the safety of the garden. Watching his man dying, the lieutenant stood unsure as he and his principles fought his self-preservation for control of his legs.
‘Run, you idiot!’ Travis yelled from his safe position.
He watched in horror as the lieutenant took an uncertain step back towards the soldier before realising that the young man was already dead and half digested.
Lochay hit the ten feet high wall. Travis reached down to offer a hand. He didn’t trust the man, but he couldn’t watch him being eaten alive. He pulled Lochay onto the top of the wall then pushed him all the way over. The doctor landed with a hard thump that brought a small smile to Travis’s face.
He reached down again in preparation for the lieutenant but the soldier leapt gracefully, flying up the stone surface in one fluid movement before spinning himself round to sit next to Travis.
Travis looked back at the charging boars, only to find that they had stopped at the young soldier’s body, all sitting in a neat line. Their eyes glowed with hatred. One by one they stood and turned back to the woods, trooping off in a single file line before disappearing into the undergrowth.
‘What the hell?’ Travis said.
‘Soldiers,’ the lieutenant said as he watched. ‘Duties performed, job done, back to base.’
‘Are they coming?’ Lochay whined from below. Travis and the lieutenant, still on top of the wall, shared a look of disdain.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CRASHING THE PARTY
Charlotte had never learnt how to dance, but she was finding that her combat training had left her with a natural balance that no doubt helped. Vargas waltzed her around the room with expert ease. The big man was nimble and lithe and she felt like a ragdoll in his arms. As much as she enjoyed indulging her feminine side, the effect was wearing off fast. Vargas had spent the evening so far being infuriatingly vague and she was beginning to feel she was wasting her time.
‘How much longer?’ she whispered as they spun in perfect circles around the ballroom.
‘Not long now, my dear.’ He smiled graciously at the nods of approval they were eliciting.
‘I still don’t understand why you’re holding this huge party when we have business to attend to. Shouldn’t we be operating in secret?’
‘We need them, my dear, every last one of them.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘It’s the energy,’ Vargas said as he twirled her again. ‘We need a vast amount of human spirit to fuel the ritual.’
‘Are you talking sacrifice?’ Charlotte asked, horrified.
Vargas chuckled. ‘Not in the slightest, my dear. What do you think I am?’
Charlotte wondered.
‘What we need,’ he continued, ‘is to feed from the souls of those present here tonight. We need a large gathering where the people are happy and content. We need guards down and energy up. The guests may feel a little drowsy, but where better to mask such effects than a party where the champagne is flowing freely?’
‘Will they be harmed?’
‘Not at all. People will feel a little tired and sleepy, that’s all. Most won’t even notice,’ he said reassuringly. ‘From what I understand, the ritual to separate Hugo Montague’s spirit from the painting requires a lot of energy.’
‘From what you understand?’ she asked nervously as they continued to waltz.
‘This isn’t an exact science, my dear,’ Vargas said with eyebrows raised. ‘Think about what we’re trying to do. I’m afraid there are no guarantees here.’
Charlotte held on to the hope that she was doing the right thing, and trusting the right man.
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Sage Adderley was completing another sweep of the staff. Her expression was set in fury and looking for conflict. She had castigated as many staff as she could find and even punched out a chauffeur for wandering into the kitchens which were off limits. Her beautiful dress was now smothered under a warm fur lined parka and her delicate heels exchanged for sturdy boots.
She headed out again through one of the rear exits, hoping to catch one of the house security guards slacking off. For a few moments she gazed out over the gardens that fell away into the fields beyond. The thick woodlands looked black and impenetrable and she quickly looked away as she felt an uncharacteristic shudder at their presence.
At Vargas’s insistence the woods were strictly off limits for everyone. No-one had broken that order since a chambermaid and her driver boyfriend had snuck off and never returned.
She felt the touch of a hand on her shoulder and flinched, spinning around and cursing herself for her inability to sense the approach. Normally she was so in tune with her surroundings that it was impossible for anyone to sneak up on her. In her business it was a necessary skill to have.
Wadleigh, the skeletal thin ginger-haired groundsman, stood before her. Immeasurably old, he was a short, frail, sickly man who always looked as if a stiff breeze would blow him over. She had never seen him without his long faded wax jacket that he always wore over a discoloured checked shirt and stained jeans. Wadleigh was one of Vargas’s staff who held no title and seemed to answer to no-one except Vargas himself. He was responsible for the large grounds that covered the seemingly endless nine hundred acres.
Since she had worked for Vargas, the feeble man had never spoken to her in more than single words, and for that she was grateful. She was never scared or intimidated by the strongest or largest of men, but for some reason Wadleigh always made her feel uneasy.
‘What is it, Wadleigh?’ she said angrily, hoping to hide her own unease.
‘Trouble,’ he replied. His voice was rough and coarse.
‘Elucidate.’ A conversation with Wadleigh was often like pulling teeth.
‘Intruders.’
Her heart skipped a beat. The house and immediate grounds were her responsibility. If someone was crashing the party through the front door she would know and it would be none of Wadleigh’s business. But his responsibility was the land beyond the house and gardens. It was the part of the property where no-one dared to venture.
‘Are you sure?’
Wadleigh looked back in silence.
‘Who are they?’
He shru
gged.
‘How many were there?’ she asked.
‘Eight.’
‘And now?’
‘Four.’
She would have punched the exasperating little man if it hadn’t meant having to touch him. She wanted to know what happened in the dark woods, but part of her didn’t dare find out.
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Travis walked slowly at the rear with Lochay between him and the soldier. He had to stop and readjust Lochay’s package that was currently wrapped around his torso. Their army had now been reduced to three, and it was hardly enough with which to storm a castle. Lochay refused point blank to regroup and return later. Travis would have argued and even left of his own accord, but deep in his gut he knew that Lochay was right. Whatever was going to happen would happen tonight.
The lieutenant introduced himself simply as Fisher. Ignoring the disapproving looks from Lochay he handed Travis a weapon. The gun was small and plastic and surprisingly light. Fisher showed him the safety catch and how to reload.
Progress was slow towards the house. Despite the fields being devoid of life, the grounds were occupied by armed guards. But Travis was grateful that at least they were just men. Fisher had taken out three so far with expert skill and precision.
While safely hidden in the shadows, Travis watched the soldier at work. It was like watching a movie. Fisher was as deft and powerful as a jungle cat. His hands were deadly and his mind merciless as he crept up to his prey. Travis couldn’t help bemoaning the loss of five of Fisher’s men, all presumably as skilled as their leader. With even such a small army as that, he would have been a lot more confident.
As Fisher pounced on yet another poor unsuspecting soul with the flash of a silver blade, he glanced over at Lochay. The doctor had lost his air of invincibility. The man who knew all now looked like a scared boy, but at least he was still pushing forward and Travis had to respect him a little for that.