by Mike Mannion
“Yeah, me too. Lord Percy was nice, wasn’t he?”
“I am so exhausted,” said Lilith stifling a yawn. “Why did I go running after that stupid van? I’m filthy! Let’s get back.”
“Hang on, I just need to do one thing,” said Ophelia. She hurried over to the church and came back a minute later clutching the black book they’d used in the ceremony. “We can’t forget this. The Almanac Regenerationis is very rare, very illegal and I’m keeping it.”
“We’re keeping it. Witches need spell books.”
“What I need is my bed at the moment.”
The girls set off through Wych Elm Wood, following the stony, uneven path back to college. It was very hard going in heels and they found themselves stumbling over roots and pot holes. Dawn was approaching so the sky was beginning to lighten but the big old trees were still looming and in sinister shadow. It was very cold.
When they’d stumbled most of the way and could see the lights of the city up ahead they heard a terrible sound from deep within the woods. It made them stop in their tracks and clutch onto each other. It was a long plaintive howl, drifting through the air from some hidden place not too far away.
“What the hell was that?” said Ophelia, desperately searching the shadows with wide eyes.
“Let’s get out of here. The sooner we’re back the better.”
The girls started moving, but then heard another long howl, this time much closer, followed by heavy panting and the rustle of leaves. The trees that surrounded them were thick and shadows were dark so they couldn’t see anything. Their hearts were racing as they tried to walk faster, tottering on their heels.
Then they saw it. A huge shaggy beast came racing out of the shadows, bounding up the path towards them. The girls froze in terror. It slowed as it got closer and the girls could see, to their horror, a mass of dried blood around its large gaping jaws.
“It’s that horrid thing we saw in the church!” exclaimed Ophelia. “Look at all that blood! It must have torn poor Bill to pieces.”
She shrank back when it gazed at her with cold black eyes.
Lilith was feeling very strange, not at all frightened, but calm and happy, elated even. She knew what she was about to do was madness, probably very dangerous, but she couldn’t help herself. She walked straight up to the creature, which stood nearly as tall as her stomach, put her arms around its neck, and hugged it. The blood on its jaws smeared over her left shoulder, onto her black dress and across her left cheek.
“But it’s only Claude! Dear Claude, come to show us the way. We must keep him with us always.”
“What the hell are you doing?” said Ophelia, gazing in horror at Lilith’s blood smeared, smiling face. “Get away from that thing!”
Lilith’s smile vanished and she glared at her friend. Her mind was a jumbled confusion. Lord Percy had been taken away and she’d almost forgotten about her love for him. It had vanished like mist in the morning. But the presence of his dog was somehow making it all come back.
“We’ve got to take him with us. He won’t harm me.”
“Are you mad? That great big thing looks savage.”
Lilith instinctively knew that if Ophelia tried to take Claude away from her she’d react in a very extreme way. She imagined herself beating her friend about the head with a heavy stick, ferociously kicking her in the stomach, scratching her face until it was a bloody mess. She’d never had such violent, grisly thoughts before and they frightened her terribly.
“Lilith, please!”
Lilith turned away from her friend and walked on with Claude at her heel. Ophelia didn’t know what to do or say. She decided to follow but kept plenty of distance between herself and the beast. She was thinking how to protect Lilith, but had no idea what she could do if the dog turned on her. She couldn’t understand what had happened to her friend, why she was acting like this. She guessed she was under some sort of strange spell.
Eventually they came to the iron railings that separated the woods from the city. They went through the gate. As they walked down the road at the back of the college Ophelia saw a section of pavement smeared with dried blood. She wondered if this was where the creature had attached Bill and his friend. She searched all around but couldn’t see their bodies and wondered where they were.
The girls went through the side gate and made their way to Connaught Hall. Lilith went inside with Claude following closely behind.
“You can’t take that thing in there,” said Ophelia.
Lilith turned and gave Ophelia a very strange look. It was dark and threatening and made her look like someone dangerously deranged.
“We must do what Percy commands,” said Lilith. “I heard the voice ... in my head.”
Ophelia didn’t argue. She knew it was hopeless. Lilith went into the building with Claude and Ophelia followed. It was dark inside and the Junior Common Room were closed and locked up. Lilith went up the stairs with Claude and down the corridor that led to their adjacent rooms. Ophelia followed, feeling scared to be in such and confined space with the beast.
Lilith unlocked and opened her door. Claude trotted inside.
“Good night,” said Lilith curtly.
Ophelia approached her and touched her arm. She gazed into her eyes, pleading for her friend to see sense. “You’re surely not going in there – with that? It’ll tear you to shreds.”
“Claude is my saviour. I must keep him safe.”
“Lilith, what’s wrong with you? Come into to my room, sleep there. We’ll lock that thing in your room and report it tomorrow morning.”
When Lilith heard this, she became very angry. “If you tell anyone about Claude then you’ll be very sorry. Do you hear me! Dearest Percy shall have your guts torn out.”
Ophelia backed away, shaking her head in dismay. “You’re possessed. Try to fight it.”
“Good night,” snapped Lilith, then disappeared into her room and slammed the door.
Ophelia didn’t know what to do. She wanted get Lilith away from that horrible creature but was sure it’d attack her, maybe even killed her like it had poor Bill if she tried. She thought hard, in a kind of panic, but was at a loss as to what to do next. So she went to her room in despair. The boys, Bill and Arthur, were gone, her friend had turned quite insane and a vicious creature was probably going to tear her throat out. Ophelia could see now how stupid she’d been. Witchcraft wasn’t a fun game, a cool look or a way to impress boys. It was pure evil and destroyed those who practised it just as much as its victims. Ophelia dreaded going to sleep because she couldn’t face waking up tomorrow.
Slipping off her clothes, she put on her nightdress and thought of Professor Jareth driving away with Lord Percy, wondering where she’d taken him. If she could only get the dog back to its owner maybe Lilith would return to normal.
She put the Almanac Regenerationis into her bookcase and saw Rowena’s journal. Maybe there was something in there that could help her understand her friend’s bizarre actions? She took out the journal, got into bed and began to read, hoping it would give her some insight into Lord Percy Valentine...
Sat. 28 Sep. 1872. – Oh how my life has become so wretched! Mother and Father are in the upmost misery and don’t know what to do with me. I spend my days in my room asleep because I find I cannot easily venture out during the day ( I accompanied Father to Farrier’s Forge but had to come home early – the sun burnt my face red raw and my hands were blistered and smoking!) At night I wander the house like a ghost, trying to resist an urge so foul I can hardly write it down – to take and drink the blood of my dearest parents! I go out to the stables and see Beauty, the poor creature who has sustained me. Oh how I despair at this frightful business that has plummeted my spirits to a low I never imagined possible! But of all my troubles, the most wretched of all is that I can no longer see dearest Percy. He has come by a few times in the evening but I hide in the hayloft, afraid I may curse and bite him! I hear Father calling my name but I dare not respond. What am
I to do?
Tue. 15 Oct. 1872. – Today I made the greatest decision I have ever made. I know I cannot go on with this wretched life, but before I take it I knew I had to see Percy one last time. Love for him is all that keeps me sane. At dusk I saddled up Beauty and rode to Brimstone Manor. There I was received into the study and found Lord Percy sitting by the fire. At first I mumbled, finding speech difficult, but soon the words tumbled out and I told him everything, leaving no detail hidden however barbaric. Lord Percy tried to hold me in his arms but I sobbed and moved away from him, feeling a mumbled curse on my lips and a lust of his blood! But what a splendid man he is to understand! He became angry and cursed the name of Victor Tainn and the heinous thing that he had done to me. He told me that Tainn’s warlock coven are members of the Etheric Club and how they boast of their plans for the resurrection of Arddhu Og. The cult is to be spread through curse and blood sacrifice and I am the first of their number! He said tonight was Hunter’s Moon and that gave him an idea. He called his butler and ordered a meeting of the Underwood Hunt. All his friends, twenty strong and true huntsmen, and the hound pack were to ride out North that very evening to Barleybrook and destroy the foul creature Victor Tainn!
Wed. 16 Oct. 1872. – I have my saviour, but does vengeance make for happiness? I write this in the early hours of the morning after seeing my Percy. He returned tired, bloodied and splattered with mud and told me of Victor Tainn. The creature has been tricky and used his dark arts! The warlock was wounded in the head most grievously by Percy and his friends but he cast a dark spell of confusion and vanished into the night, no doubt off to tell the rest of the Etheric Club of his attack. Percy is fearsomely angry and has promised by Almighty God that he will make this right. He now curses the Barleybrook Etheric Club, calling it the most evil and depraved society, and deeply regrets his dalliance with occult and fantastical distractions. He and his hunt friends have formed a rival and opposing club, The Ultorius Apostles, who vow to kill every trace of pagan vermin that plagues this land, starting with the Etheric Club members in Barleybrook! He also promised that I shall be cured of my curse and made his bride! Oh how I wish what he said could be true, but this Curse of Og cannot be shaken off like some summer cold.
Wed. 16 Oct. 1872. – I am afraid I have done a most wretched thing. Lord Percy retired to bed and I was shown to a guest room by a maid but I could not sleep. The voice was again wheedling in my head, giving me a lust for victims. So I got up and went down stairs. I was thinking of going out to the stables but knew they’d be locked up. Beauty was not to hand! What was I to do? My hunger grew and the whispered voice reminded me of the servants, sleeping soundly in their quarters, of their coursing blood... But as I passed into the Great Hall I spied Percy’s huge dog Claude sprawled out by the glowing embers of the fire. I am afraid I did to that poor beast what I have done to Beauty so many times. How ashamed I am! Percy will never love such a creature as I. Victor Tainn has done his work but I wish he had slain me!
Ophelia closed the journal and yawned heavily. As she lay on the pillow, drifting off to sleep, the chilling sound of a long, low howl echoed from the room next door, making break into a cold sweat and wake up with a start.
*
Bill woke up feeling confused and groggy. He was lying in an old four poster bed under heavy blankets. It was quite dark because the curtains were drawn, but he could see thick russet wallpaper, dusty old landscapes on panelled walls and the embers of a fire glowing in a large stone hearth.
Then he noticed a man sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. He was thin and dressed all in black, with high cheek bones, a goatee beard and greasy swept back hair. When he saw Bill staring at him he got to his feet and drew back the heavy curtains, flooding the room with soft light through the mullioned windows.
“Let the Saints be praised,” said the man with a crooked smile, “you have survived the night. I will check the abomination.”
The man approached the bed and carefully folded back the covers. Bill could see that someone had taken off his clothes and put him in a pair of striped flannel pyjamas. The man started grabbing at him with long bony fingers, unbuttoning his pyjama top.
“Get off me,” said Bill, brushing the strange man’s hands aside.
He glared at Bill and said, “Do not dare obstruct me.”
Bill remembered the terrible wound across his stomach and felt panic rising. “You’ve got to get me to a hospital.”
“No hospital can help you, my friend. We have our own treatments here.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Doctor van Devlin. And through God’s mercy I have saved your life.”
He unfastened the last button and pulled back the pyjama top.
Bill looked down at his stomach, expecting to see a long bloody gash, but was shocked to see that it had completely vanished. He felt no pain. For a split second he wondered if it had ever been there at all.
“Am I home?” said Bill. “Mordred took us away but I think I fell unconscious.”
“You are indeed at Brimstone Manor.”
“How long have I been here?”
“Since the early hours. I was telephoned and came straight away.”
The man prodded Bill’s stomach and grunted his approved. “The Lord is merciful. All is well.” He came away, smiling to himself with satisfaction.
“Where’s Mother?”
“You shall see Beryl shortly. But first you must eat. The treatment asks a lot of the body and you will be very hungry.”
The Doctor gently tugged on a bell pull near the fireplace.
“Where’s Arthur?”
“I believe your friend was dropped off at his home.”
Bill sat up and put a pillow behind his back. There was a knock at the door and Mordred came in, carrying a silver tray breakfast tray. He glided over to Bill and placed it on his lap. It contained a bone china plate filled with bacon and scrambled eggs, hot buttered toast stacked in a silver rack and a delicate cup and saucer beside a small china tea pot and milk jug.
“How is sir?” said Mordred to Doctor van Devlin.
“Thankfully, now fully regenerated,” said the Doctor.
“Very good. I shall let madam know,” replied Mordred, as he glided imperiously out of the room.
Bill ate the food ravenously, realising the doctor was right about his hunger. As he ate he couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. Who was this odd man watching him from the bottom of the bed? He didn’t seem like a real doctor to Bill, but only having a few months of memories to fall back on he wasn’t really sure.
The door swung open and Beryl came in. She was wearing a log white robe tied around the waist with a black cord. Her short ash blond hair was curled into a severe perm and she wore diamond drop earrings and red lipstick. She gave Bill a smiled that seemed to combine affection with furious disapproval.
“My poor little solider,” she said.
“Hello mother,” said Bill.
He noticed a man lurking behind Beryl. He wore a long brown mac and had a pale, earnest face with wiry ginger hair, bushy eye brows and large side whiskers.
“Hello young sir. Glad to see you have recovered from your ordeal,” he said in a Scottish accent.
Bill didn’t like the look of the man. His beady-eyed stare was hard and intense and his lips were pursed. “What do you want?” he said. “Who are you?”
“This is Inspector Ferret,” said Beryl. “He’s one of us and is here to, how shall we say? Facilitate.” She sat on the bed beside Bill and looked him in the eye. “I’m terribly sorry darling for letting you out into the big wide world. I think it best if we keep you at the Manor in future. We’ll only let you out when we require your services.”
When Bill heard what his mother was saying and became horrified. He couldn’t go back to those endless days of sitting in the study with Miss Spital. He’d miss his best friend Arthur, the lads that took him to the Dizzy Duck, the pints of heavy – even if they did make
him throw up. He thought of Ophelia and felt butterflies in his stomach. And even though she’d stabbed him in the gut, he’d even miss Lilith.
“But I’m at university now. Fresher’s fair starts next week.”
“You disobeyed a direct order, darling. You never went to see Professor Nox. You would have been safe in his care.”
Bill gave Beryl an incredulous look. “But I’d only just got there! When did I have the chance? How did I know the girls were psychos? Please don’t make me stay here.”
Beryl hesitated for a moment. She knew he needed experience of the wider world. It was vital that he developed the social skills necessary to blend seamlessly into society, to enable him to carry out his great and holy work. That was why she’d sent him off in the first place.
“You need to tell me exactly what happened and then I’ll consider.”
Bill didn’t know where to start. “We met these two girls who seemed really nice. And-”
“What were their names?” interrupted Inspector Ferret, pulling out his notebook. When Bill didn’t answer he scowled. “Quickly lad!”
“I’ll handle this,” snapped Beryl. “Go on darling,” she said to Bill in a soothing voice.
“They were called Lilith and Ophelia. I don’t know their second names.”
“Go on.”
Bill told them about being tied to the altar, the red candles, strange music and Lilith reading from the black book. He explained about the cask, being stabbed in the gut and how everything got muddled when he became dizzy and sick.
“And who came out of the cask?” asked Doctor van Devlin, giving Bill a creepy smile.
“I saw a monster! An actual monster! You know mother, like the people I see, but much worse! He had weird pointed ears, and his eyes, such horrible yellow eyes! And the skin, it was all white with red veins.”
“But the man, you also saw him.”
“How did you know? Yes, he was a man as well. And that’s what’s really odd. I thought I recognised his face. But how could I? I don’t remember anything past a few months ago-”