The Turning (The Forsaken Series Book 2)

by Phil Price

  “No.” Jake said cautiously. “I don’t know anything about that Tony.” The line went dead. Jake sat back against the wooden headboard, blowing out a long breath. He vividly remembered the tussle in question. An officer had rugby tackled him through the doorway into Amatoll forest. They’d wrestled on the forest floor before Jake sent his adversary reeling back through the doorway as it closed. It was the first time since then that he’d actually thought about what the police officer would have seen. One minute he’d seen Jake. The next, nothing. Just a dark forest. He looked out of the window to see grey skies reaching down to kiss the Atlantic. This was his fresh start. Their fresh start. This news was very troubling.

  Katherine walked in with two mugs of tea, noticing the concern on Jake’s face. “What’s wrong?”

  ☨☨☨

  Tony put his phone down once he’d checked his Facebook feed. He looked at the pad in front of him. He was defensive. He knows more than he’s letting on. And who’s the mystery woman that he wants to keep secret? A plan started to form in his mind.

  ☨☨☨

  “What do you think?” Jake asked as he took his first swig of tea.

  “It’s not good news. But maybe Eddie just came through to feed. I’m still trying to take all this in Jake. What threat is this to us?”

  “Not sure. Maybe nothing. It was just the way Tony questioned me. It felt like he was digging for something. I have a feeling he’s going to be in touch again very soon. He asked about you too. Wanted to know your name. I don’t want him trying to dig up information on you Babe. That would drop us in the shit.” Katherine took a swig of her tea.

  “What would make him go away?”

  Jake thought about it for a moment. “Honestly. I’m not sure. We can’t tell him any more than he already knows. We’d be chased by the men in white coats.”

  Katherine knew what this meant. She sighed. Then suddenly a thought hit her. “What about Father Stephen? Do you think Eddie would be a danger to him? After all they fought back in Amatoll. Eddie may remember that and try to seek him out.”

  Jake suddenly got a sinking feeling. He reached for the phone, hitting a speed dial. “Dad. Hi. Are you both okay?” A pause. “Good. I’m coming round. There has been some developments.”

  ☨☨☨

  “Well that changes things,” Doug said, rubbing his chin.

  “And the police are now certain that the print belongs to Eddie?” Father Stephen sat on Doug’s settee in his stripy pyjamas. A pair of tartan slippers completing his morning attire. Jake sat opposite, on the edge of the other smaller settee.

  “The first print belonged to him too. But they discounted it because they found out how old he was. Not many octogenarians can snap someone’s head off. So, it looks like he’s lurking about up north. We have to now consider that he, or Elias, or both could head this way.”

  “So what do we do?” Doug stood next to the fire, on arm resting on the surround. He too was still in his pyjamas, but with a burgundy house coat thrown on to keep him warm. Jake thought about his father’s comment. He had no idea what they could do.

  “I don’t know Dad. Part of me feels that I should go and see what’s going on up there.” Doug tried to answer his son, with Jake raising his hand to stop him. “But the other part knows that it would be suicidal. I’d be leaving Katherine and Alicia vulnerable here. I could also get myself killed. But if one more thing happens I will go. We’ve had too many things occur recently. The buttons, Kerry’s episode in her bedroom.” Jake looked at the vicar. “You fighting with Eddie.” He paused. “And Mom dying too. Anything else happens. I’m going back Dad. And if I do, you must stay here with Katherine and Alicia.”

  Doug shook his head. “No Son. If you’re going through that doorway then I’m coming with you.”

  “No you’re not Doug.” They both looked at Kenneth Stephen. “If you need to go back through Jake, I’ll come with you.”

  Nineteen

  Heronveld lay still in the murky daylight. No animals strayed close to the village anymore. They had given up their warm refuges, never to return. Certainly not until it was safe. The new residents seemed to give off a toxic aroma that kept all away. Even the spirits in the forest kept their distance, aware of the evil that now resided in the clearing. In the former Bathurst’s home, Elias lay stretched out on a lumpy bed. His arms behind his head. Eyes closed, his breathing light. Across the clearing in another home, Eddie lay next to Karaa, their hands touching as they slept. A smaller cabin sat at the far end of the village. The forest seemed to be reaching over the fence to claim it. In the back bedroom, Hagen and Beth lay entwined. Beth muttered in her sleep, her lips caked in dried blood. Hagen was unmoving, his breathing steady. Outside on the porch a body lay on its side. The head lay in the forest hundreds of yards away. Worms and small insects had already taken up home in the mouth and other orifices. Blank, glazed eyes staring up into the ancient forest. There was movement in the tree line as two figures emerged into the clearing. They were dressed in crudely stitched clothing and fur boots. The female was old and stout. Her width almost matching her height. Her arms were thicker than the male’s thighs.

  Coop held a spear in his hand as his eyes surveyed the village. He could feel a coldness emanating from it. He absently rubbed the fading red lump on his brow, trying to listen for danger. He turned to the woman. “What do you think Sharla?”

  The woman looked at Coop, her ruddy features once pretty, before time and a diet of human flesh had taken their toll. “I sense a coldness here.” She held an axe in her meaty hand, its head swishing in the long grass. “Stay close.” They moved towards the smaller cabin, the mist on the grass almost reaching their knees. They took a step onto the porch, treading carefully. It groaned under Sharla’s bulk. They found themselves looking down at a corpse. They looked, their eyes taking in the sight. This was not new to them. Sharla actually felt hungry. She pushed her finger into the stump of the neck, feeling for warmth. It felt like the back end of a dead cow to her. Cold and lifeless. “He’s been drained. A vampire did this.” Coop immediately came on guard, his spear quivering in front of him. They both peered inside, looking for what could have done this. “I’ll go first,” Sharla said as she raised her axe. Coop edged forward behind the squat woman, his eyes almost feverish. They came to a door at the back of the building, both seeing the sleeping figures lay on the bed.

  “Vampires,” Coop whispered, almost in awe. He’d heard about the creatures that were lay sleeping in front of them.

  “Don’t move, Coop! They may be asleep, but we would be foolish to attack.” To Sharla they looked like a young couple in love, entwined in each other’s arms.

  “What do we do?”

  “Check out the other buildings. That way we know what we’re dealing with.” They edged out of the creaky house as quietly as possible, Coop almost tripping over the corpse on the porch. They made their way across the clearing, heading into the largest home. There they witnessed Elias sleeping in the back bedroom. They both sucked in their breath when they saw the size of him. As they came back out into the clearing they both sensed that the sun had started its lazy descent across the sky towards the western sea. They made haste to the next home, creeping inside to see who they would find. Sharla’s axe led the way through the living area towards the rear. Her meaty arms holding the weapon as if it weighed no more than a feather. Peering around the door frame, Coop saw her flinch.

  “What is it?” he whispered.

  “This cannot be so,” she said. Tears appearing at the corners of her eyes. Coop peered around the doorway to see Eddie lay sleeping. He was holding someone’s hand. Another vampire. With a long blonde braid and grey skin. She lay there peacefully. Karaa! Coop almost cried out, Sharla’s hand managing to clamp the noise inside his mouth. “Shhh. The sun is setting. They may wake at any moment. We need to go. Now. She is not Karaa anymore Coop. She is a monster. If she wakes you will see that. And we will die here. Come.” Coop took one la
st look at his former chieftain. Tears rolling down the flawless skin of his face. She still looked magnificent to him. Her grey skin looked lifeless compared to the vibrant colour it was when she was alive. When they lay together. When she made him a man. Now she would kill him if she woke. Or he would kill her. He made his way silently out onto the village green. Sharla was waiting for him. He looked passed her, seeing tendrils of mist spilling from the dark forest into the clearing. It looked to Coop like the mist was alive. It unnerved him, sending a shiver running through his body. “We need to go now, and swiftly. When they wake they may pick up on our scent. We need to put some distance between us and them.” They took off into the forest and the glades beyond, running side by side. They followed the setting sun as it kissed the top of Monks Passage, heading towards the forest beyond. The shadows lengthened as they kept pace with each other, neither slowing. They would only stop to rest when the forest thinned, merging with the glades beyond. By that time, they should be out of the vampire’s range. They hoped. A deep drone came from the forest, stopping them in their tracks. They turned, looking back the tree line.

  “What was that?” Coop said, his ears trying to pick out any more sounds. It came again. A low, far-off sound that made the hairs on the back of their necks prickle.

  “They are waking,” Sharla said, her breathing laboured. Coop looked into the forest, suddenly captivated by it. The dark shadows seemed to call his name as they crept towards him through the grass. The trees seemed to meld into one dark blanket that spread across the glade, inviting him to come closer. His eyes glazed over, his shoulders relaxing. Sharla stood next to him, her axe poised. A hiss floated through the trees, out into the long grass to where they stood. It broke Coop’s trance. “We must go. I can feel their eyes upon us.” Coop took one last look at the tree line. To the forest that looked so intriguing. A stinging blow on his shoulder broke the spell. “They’re calling to you. With their magic. Turn and run with me now.” He did as Sharla asked, heading west towards the high walls of the passage.

  ☨☨☨

  They came to the familiar cabin in Monks Passage as the moon tried in vain to penetrate the blanket of cloud. Sharla quickly set to work, starting a fire outside the main door as Coop used his skills with the spear to bag them two fish for supper. They were as long as his forearm, black and slippery. He handed them to Sharla who deftly gutted them with a knife from her boot. They sat in silence as the fish cooked on skewers. Both were lost to their thoughts as a gentle crackling sound carried to their ears, telling them the fish were browning nicely.

  “What shall we do when we get back?” Coop said as he turned the fish over.

  “We will talk with the clan. Then I think it is worth talking with Karaa’s brother. It will take time to send a messenger and have the arrangements made. Maybe half a month’s cycle.”

  Coop nodded. “What do you think her brother will say?”

  Sharla considered this as she too turned her fish over. “Lars will seek revenge. The messenger we sent when Karaa went missing will be there by now. They may already be on their way to us.” She turned to him. “There will be fighting ahead,” her eyes flickering in the firelight. “Are you ready?” Coop nodded. She leaned across and ruffled his dark hair. “No longer the boy. You’re now a man Coop. If there is to be a fight, you will be at the front with Lars and me. You’ve earned the right.” Coop smiled, holding her free hand. They returned to silence, watching their dinner slowly cook.

  ☨☨☨

  Later, as the fish bones crackled on the embers, Coop and Sharla lay together in the cabin. She was different to Karaa. She was huge, Karaa slender. She sat on top, her breasts bouncing off his flat stomach as he rode him. Her eyes never left his as she grinded him into the straw mattress. Her long dark hair, flicking around her round face as the pleasure began to increase. Coop reached up, grabbing both her nipples between his fingers. She reacted immediately to his touch, her eyes rolling back in her skull as her head was flung back. The orgasm was loud, her cry echoing through the misty passage.

  “Fill me Coop. Give me your seed,” she said as she was tipped over the edge of the chasm, tumbling ever downwards. He felt her tighten around him, sending him tumbling too. A short time later they slept soundlessly under furs that would protect them from the nights’ chill. Their bodies entwined, keeping them warm.

  Twenty

  The four figures sat on the porch that once belonged to Cedric Bathurst. Elias stood before them, pacing the grass. “We can all smell it. Humans were here. I know the scent too.” He looked at Karaa. “Your former kin have been close by.” His red eyes shining in the night. “I don’t know why, unless they know that Eddie brought you here.”

  Karaa’s yellow eyes blinked, her lips twitching. “I’m thirsty. And you are my kin now. If they come back it will be the last thing they do.”

  “Do you remember any of your kin?”

  Karaa’s brow knitted as she tried to think. She could see a young man’s face in her mind’s eye. However, she could not quite see him. His hair and eyes were dark. His face appealing. She shook her head. “No. I do not. But no matter. If they come, they are enemies.” She smiled, her grey teeth filling her mouth.

  Elias looked at them all. He was happy with his new family. He knew more would come into their fold. He did feel a stirring of unease about the scent they had all tasted. “It’s time to move out of here. We will be safer in the Vale.”

  “What’s the Vale?” Beth said.

  Elias recounted the story of his former master. How Korgan and his brother Reggan had feuded over the ages. How they had been injured during a great battle. They sat listening, their yellow eyes shining in the darkness. He told them how he had scoured various lands, looking for humans with a certain kind of blood. A rare blood. Then he would take them to Korgan, bleeding them dry to feed him. He recounted to them the story of George. “The young man from a far-off land would have been the difference. Korgan would have woken much quicker with George’s blood. Unfortunately, he was snatched by the villagers who once lived here. That started off a chain of events that brought Eddie to us many years later. Eddie too, was special. His blood just like George’s. Unfortunately, Eddie was more cunning than we gave him credit for. Isn’t that true Eddie?” The three vampires looked at Guzman, who sat looking at the floor.

  He looked up at Elias. “Si,” was all he said, before looking back at the floor.

  Elias continued, drawing their attention away from Guzman. “Eddie went through one of the doorways, killing two humans. Then a man called Jake came to this land, looking for answers. It all ended with Korgan and his brother being destroyed. Our coven was also destroyed. But we now have you. And one more also, who is at the Vale now, waiting for us to return.”

  “Who is this other?” Karaa asked.

  “All in good time. She is very important to our future plans, as will become clear soon. The sands of time do not fall for us like they do for humans. We have time. When the moment is right we will make our move. But for now, let us leave this place before more enemies come. We are exposed here. We will be safer in the Vale. We can use it as our base. While I wait for the right moment to strike, you all can go with Eddie. He will take you to far-off places to feed. Can you do that Eddie?” Guzman looked up, holding the gaze of the red eyes staring back at him.

  “Si,” he said as a smile appeared on his face. “There are many places to show you. And many people to meet.” Elias beckoned them to follow him. They made their way from the village into Amatoll forest, heading east towards the Vale. Their new home. Wraiths and spirits followed them in the darkness. They too wanted a new home. They wanted to be close to this new evil.

  ☨☨☨

  Far to the west the two figures reached the settlement on the edge of the forest as the sun began to rise. Coop and Sharla walked between the trees, calling out to the clan to rise from their sleep. Figures emerged from the wooden cabins, alert and poised.

  “Everyone mu
st come to Karaa’s cabin. We will tell you all we know then.” Minutes later the cabin was full. Coop and Sharla sat on two wooden stools against the far wall, taking drinks offered by a huge bear of a man. They drank the sweet golden liquid greedily, thirsty from their travels.

  Coop stood to address the clan. A hush falling over them. “Hear me now Cravens. Karaa is gone. She’s a vampire. We saw it with our own eyes.” Gasps and cries rang out through the hut and beyond as the clan tried to digest the news. “We saw her in a village far to the east. It sits in a huge forest like this. Many of you know of this place. A lone mountain is close by.” Many of the men had visited Amatoll. They knew the lands well.

  The huge man who had offered them drinks spoke from the back of the cabin. His voice booming. “Who was she with?”

  “Other vampires. They must have taken her from us, the night I was attacked. We counted four others. They were sleeping. We just about made it out of there before the sun set. Otherwise we’d be like them now.” Sharla looked up at Coop, proud that he was taking charge. He really was becoming the man they thought he would be. Karaa would have been proud too, she thought, a sad feeling washing over her.

  “So, what is the plan?” the huge man called Borax asked impatiently.

  “We must go down to the sea. We need to speak with Lars.” A low muttering filled the room. Sharla sensed dissention rising. She was about to rise to quell the feelings of the clan. Before she could, Coop placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, seeing the look of determination in his young eyes. Her legs relaxed as she looked out at the sea of faces.

  “What are you thinking? Coop asked.