The Turning (The Forsaken Series Book 2)

by Phil Price

  “Thank you captain. You certainly do provide hearty fayre,” he said in between mouthfuls. “How long do you think it will take us if the wind stays true?”

  “Reckon we’ll be there by sundown at this rate. She almost skipping along now. Not like a normal crossing where a fart is the strongest wind out here. You may be in luck my friend. Although not sure it’s good luck to be dropped off in a forest full of vampires sooner than later. You sure you want to do this?”

  “I have to. Not only for myself. But for my family. Even for you. I’d not relish the thought of these monsters calling upon you, my friend.”

  “I suppose you make a fair comment. I will not forsake you. I will return regularly, in hope to see your ugly face looking at me from the jetty.”

  “I’ll be there. I may even do a spot of fishing while I wait for you. I may as well make myself useful once I’m satisfied that all is well in this world.

  “You do that. The last thing I want is to sail home to tell your family that you are not coming back.”

  “Let’s not even contemplate that Sica,” Tamatan said as cold fingers danced from his head to his tailbone.

  ☨☨☨

  An hour after they shouldered their packs, the three men reached the eastern fringes of Mantz forest. The gorge was behind them, stretching as far as the eye could see. The three men spied a few cabins that looked like they were being slowly claimed by the trees behind them. “That’s one scary-looking place,” Doug said as he stopped, taking his pack off and laying it on the grass.

  “You’re not wrong there Dad. It looks like a brick wall, only made of wood and leaves. I’ve never seen trees so close together. This should be fun.”

  “We will need our smarts if we ever hope to leave this place,” Wilf said as he sat down heavily, pulling food from his pack. “Can you feel it? Something about this place is wrong.”

  Jake nodded. He sat down, rubbing his leg that had suddenly started aching. Shit. I forgot holy water, he thought, trying to cast the thought from his mind. He needed to focus. “Let’s have a quick snack then head in there. If it’s as big as it looks, we could be searching for a while. Weeks maybe. We may need to have a re-think if things don’t go to plan.” Wilf and Doug nodded as they ate a breakfast of large sausage rolls and fruit juice. Jake followed suit, knowing that he needed to keep himself well fed for what lay ahead.

  ☨☨☨

  Twenty minutes later the three men were shouldering their packs once more. They quietly walked towards the first building, noticing the dark red smear on the ground, next to a makeshift spit. “I dread to think what was on the menu,” Jake said as he shivered inside.

  “Look at the trough in the ground,” Wilf said. “It looks like that is the run off for whatever they killed. It does not bear thought as to who or what met their end in this place.” They inspected the cabins, finding nothing of use or interest.

  “Okay. Let’s go exploring,” Jake said. “Keep close.”

  ☨☨☨

  They walked in a straight line, each man stepping between the tree trunks next to the other man. The travelled in a zigzag motion, such was the formation of the trees. The further they walked, the darker it became, until it almost felt like night time. “I’ve never seen trees so densely packed as this,” Jake said as he brushed a low-lying branch from his path.

  “It’s a place where we do not want to dwell for too long,” Wilf said as he looked around the forest. “I can see why folk give this place a wide steer. The Cravens would make quick work of you in here.”

  “Look. Off to the left. More cabins,” Doug said, noticing that the cross in his hand was warmer than a few minutes before. He held it up in front of him. “Can you feel that?”

  “Yes Dad. We must be on our guard.” Jake looked at the small settlement hidden in the trees. “There are about half a dozen cabins. Let’s stay close. Anything comes at you, scream like mad.” They headed for the largest building, barely being able to see the entrance until they were upon it. Jake pulled his torch from his pocket, shining it into the murky confines. “It looks emp-“

  His words ended abruptly as he disappeared from the doorway, yanked into the darkness by a large hand. “Fuckenell!” Wilf started, his cross and stake poised ready to strike.

  “SON!” Doug cried, crashing past Wilf into the cabin. The torch was in the corner, its light playing around the room. Both men saw a large figure holding Jake by the throat against the wall, choking the life out of him. “LET HIM GO!” Doug bellowed, his voice bouncing off the walls. Father Stephen looked round, meeting Doug’s glare. “Father?” Doug said, suddenly quiet. “Is that you?”

  Stephen let go of Jake, letting him slide down the wall until he sat slumped on the floor, coughing and breathless. “I think so. I’m not too sure,” Stephen said as he stood there, his meaty arms hanging by his side.

  “You’re the Shaman that helped Jake,” Wilf stated. “Why is the cross reacting to you,” he said holding it towards the vicar.

  “I’ve been infected.” The words hung in the air as Stephen suddenly remembered Jake. He turned, lifting the younger man to his shaky feet. “Sorry. Are you hurt?”

  “I...I think I’m okay,” Jake said, clearly shaken. Stephen led him to a table in the dark room, seating him, before turning to the others. “Do you have a lighter or matches?” Doug rummaged in his jacket pocket before pulling a disposable lighter out. Stephen took it from him, lighting torches on the wall. In the brief contact, Doug felt the cold clamminess of his friend’s hand. His stomach tightened, realising something bad had happened to him. He leaned against the wall as shadows danced around the cabin. The three men could now make out his features.

  “Oh no!” Jake said. “What happened?”

  “Elias happened. When you escaped, they took me back into the caverns. Elias fed me his blood, hoping it would make me like them. I think it has partly worked.” The three men looked at his waxen complexion and red-rimmed eyes.

  “Show me your teeth, Shaman,” Wilf said. Stephen obliged, showing them what they hoped they would see. “Hmm. It looks like they couldn’t turn you fully. You look like them, but you’re still a man like us.”

  “I don’t feel like one,” Stephen said. “The world feels funny. More vivid and colourful. I escaped their lair. I snapped the lock off with my hands. Something has happened to me for sure. I think I’m part vampire Jake,” he said as his eyes filled with tears, spilling down his cheeks, becoming lost in his dark beard.

  “Well you’re not fully one. And I’m glad, because we need your help.”

  Stephen suddenly looked confused. “You mean, you’re not here for me?”

  Jake shook his head slowly. “No. Although I’m glad we found you. Elias has taken Katherine and Alicia. We think they’re in this forest somewhere.”

  “Oh God Jake. I’m so sorry to hear that.” He coughed, his chest raking something hidden inside. Jake thought he was going to be sick. Stephen hacked, the table shaking underneath his arms. He lowered his head, finally coughing up some phlegm into his mouth. He staggered to the doorway, spitting a glob of it into the forest. He came back, slumping into his seat. “Sorry about that.”

  “That’s okay,” Jake said handing him a bottle of water. He gratefully took it, swigging back half the contents in seconds.

  “That’s better,” he said as his shoulders sagged. “So thirsty.” He suddenly remembered what Jake had just relayed. “You think Katherine and Alicia are here? Why would he bring them this way?”

  “Cover,” Wilf said. “They torched the Vale and Amatoll. There are just withered burnt husks there now. It will take a thousand seasons for it to recover.”

  “I saw the fire. I made my way to the lone mountain, resting there for a while, before heading back this way. They did that?”

  Jake nodded. “Yes Father. To stop us from following Elias back to Cornwall. It worked. He snatched the girls and made his way back here. There is nothing out east, but grasslands and the coas
t. Not exactly vampire territory. Wilf assures me that the north and south hold little appeal to anyone, let alone a group of monsters. We think they’re here.”

  “It makes sense. Ever since I left the mountain, something has pulled me towards this place. Maybe it’s them. Maybe they sense that I am like them and are calling to me on the wind. Except I am not totally like them. God it’s so messed up. Why did I have to stumble into this? Why the hell did they have to take Denise from me? My dear Denise. She was a good woman. She gave her life to help others. She did not deserve to die like that. At the hands of some bastard monster!”

  “I know Father,” Jake said, placing his hand over the vicars. “I know this won’t make things right, but the monster who killed Denise has been destroyed. We found them a short time ago. Him and his woman. We got them both.”

  “So how many left are there?”

  “We think three. Elias. Mom, and a boy. Let’s hope we’re not too late. We need to find them and finish Elias for good. We cannot leave anything to chance this time. Either they all die, or we do I guess.”

  The four men let the words sink in. For a long moment, the cabin and forest beyond lay deathly quiet. A thought occurred to Stephen. “Finding them in this forest looks to be impossible. However, something made me come here. Some unknown force made me leave the refuge of that mountain, making me walk god knows how many miles to be here. If it’s them doing it, then I can lead you to them.”

  “That’s good,” Doug said, a relief washing over him. “This forest is no place for the girls. Let’s find them and take them home.”

  “Are we all in agreement?” Jake said, feeling optimistic for the first time in days.

  “I’m with you. Let the Shaman lead us to them.” Jake noted the steely determination in Wilf’s eyes. He knew the old man would gladly die, if it meant Katherine and Alicia were saved.

  “Okay. Good. Let us use this cabin as a base. We can leave our packs here and travel light,” Jake said, eager to be on the hunt.

  Wilf interjected, taking some of the wind out of the younger man’s sails. “Far be it from me to open a bag of snakes on your plans Jake, but we don’t know how big this place is. I’ve heard that Mantz is several times the size of Amatoll. Now you’ve been there. You know that it would take almost a full day to walk from the glades in the west, to the eastern edge where it meets Agar. This place is bigger. And far less easy to travel in. You’ve seen the trees. It could take us weeks just to get to the other side. We can leave some stuff here. Things that we know will keep. However, I say we take all weapons with us, just to be safe. We also need to watch what we eat. Food will be scarce in there,” he said pointing out of the door. “We don’t want to starve to death in the middle of the forest. Because the first souls to find us will just find a pile of bones, picked clean by rats and bugs.”

  “Fair point. Let’s let Father Stephen guide us. We can travel so far into the forest, maybe resting for the night, before carrying on again. I think we just need to play it by ear.”

  “What does that mean?” Wilf said, confused.

  “We go with the flow Wilf,” Doug said, patting the grizzled man on the shoulder.

  “Right. Let’s get busy,” Jake said.

  Thirty-Eight

  Rick Stevenson ended the attempted call, tossing the handset onto the coffee table. He stood, taking his mug from the shiny surface in front of him. He walked through the lounge of his apartment, standing next to the floor to ceiling window that looked out over a grey Hamburg. He took a sip of his drink, his mind trying to figure out what was going on. He was not like his brother. Jake was impulsive, relying on gut instinct. Rick was process-driven. He relied on facts and figures before deciding on anything. His blue eyes scanned the cityscape in front of him, taking in the wonderful architecture and the natural beauty of the Lake Alster. Normally he would drink in this Germanic sight, feeling lucky and smug that all this was his. Not today though. He’d tried contacting both his father and brother, with no response. Part of Jake was surfacing within him, as his gut was telling Rick that something was wrong. He’d rang a dozen times, leaving voicemail messages on all four lines. He was used to things running smoothly. Ever since he’d graduated from university in England, his life had been one smooth ride. His career was smoothly ascending to the heights he’d dreamed of. He owned a penthouse apartment in one of the world’s great cities. He had a group of colleagues and friends with whom he socialised on a regular basis. Added to this, he had a great girlfriend, who had recently moved from Turnhout, Belgium to live with him. Things were moving in the right direction. This latest dilemma perplexed him though. He knew that his brother moved around a lot, being in various places throughout the week. His new woman was mostly at home though. But his father was different. He could count on one hand the times that Doug’s phone had rang out without reply. Where the hell are they? He thought as his phone started vibrating on the glass table. He walked over, scooping up the phone, swiping the screen with his thumb. “Hello.”

  “Mister Stevenson? It’s Constable Thorn from Tintagel. I thought I’d give you an update.”

  An hour before, Rick had googled the phone number of his family’s local police station. He’d relayed his concerns to the policeman on the phone, asking him if he could check the properties for him. “Any luck?”

  “Fraid not sir. I went to both properties. Your father’s car is on the drive, and the house all locked up. No evidence of anything untoward. Your brother’s house is also locked up, although his car is not there. I spoke to his neighbour, who was outside her house. She said that they were there a few days before. She also said that she saw Jake out walking with a man she’d never seen before. An older chap with long hair. Ring any bells?”

  “None. I’m not that close with my brother. I would not know who he socialises with. I’ve not seen him in a while.”

  “Oh. I see,” was the fumbled reply. “Well how do you want me to proceed? It is a little soon to class them as missing. They could have gone away for a few days. If you want some advice sir, I’d give it a week, then go from there.”

  “Okay.” Rick said absently. “Oh, and thank you for your time.”

  “All in a day’s work,” the perky policeman replied. If you need further assistance, don’t hesitate to call.

  “Thank you,” Rick said before ending the call. He tossed his black phone on the sofa as a key rattled in the front door.

  “Hello,” a female voice said.

  “In here Baby,” Rick said as he padded into the kitchen, flicking the coffee machine on.

  “Hello you,” Marlies said as she kicked off her boots in the lounge. “Any luck?”

  “Nothing. The police just called me back. Both houses are empty.”

  She walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He buried his face into her dark hair, inhaling her smell. He loved her natural aroma. It was womanly and warm, with a hint of spice and shampoo. Rick pulled back, looking at her. All his possessions meant nothing without her. She added the cherry on the top of his German cake. He was totally in love with Marlies. He’d been with several women in his adult life, most of them losing his interest after a few months. Marlies was different. He’d met her at a folding carton event in Eindhoven the year before, noticing her in a crowd of men. Rick had stared at her beautiful face, with a sprinkling of freckles adorning her perfect skin. He knew then that he had to introduce himself to her. It had gone from there. She challenged and pushed him more than anyone in his entire life. Even more than his parents. She was smart and worldly, something that Rick craved. Conversation. Intelligent conversation, which seemed so scant, even in the circles that he moved in. She worked as a packaging technologist for a folding carton company. A rising star in the ranks, who had asked to be transferred from Belgium to Cologne to be with Rick. The company obliged, reluctant to lose someone of her calibre. Rick could sit listening to her talk about print passes and fibre tare for hours. She knew how to engage him. In hi
s opinion, she could engage anyone with her modest self-deprecating approach. He bent down, kissing her freckled lips. She returned the kiss, snaking a hand through his sandy hair. For a moment, the world was forgotten. All thoughts of missing family and hot foiling evaporated into the ether. Behind them the coffee machine began making a plop plop sound, prompting Rick to reluctantly break the kiss. They both opened their eyes, their vision fuzzy for a brief second. He turned and headed into the kitchen, Marlies following him silently, her socks scuffing the tiled floor. Rick busied himself with making her coffee, while sat on the counter watching him. “So, what are you going to do?”

  “I’m not sure yet. The police said to give it a few more days until we press the panic button. They may have gone away for a break. It’s not long since Mom died. Maybe they wanted a change of scenery. That’s a logical way of looking at it, but something is telling me otherwise.”

  Marlies sat on the edge of the counter, her legs swaying gently, her toes wriggling inside her black socks. “I have an idea.”

  “I’m all ears,” Rick said as he handed her a stoneware mug filled with cappuccino.

  She took a sip. “Hmm. Lovely, thanks baby. Anyway. My plan. I have to go to Riga on Monday.”

  “Riga? What for?” Rick said disappointed.

  “We’ve got a new client. A packaging company. They are sending out an auditor from England to how do you say? Give us the once over. Erik has met him before. It should be easy enough. We’ll take him out to dinner Monday night, then a day in the Riga office on Tuesday. I’ll fly back in the evening.”

  Rick had met Marlies’ boss Erik on numerous occasions. He was more like a friend and mentor to her. Almost a second father. He knew she would be looked after. “Sounds like you’ll be in your element Baby. Surrounded by sexy men in a romantic city.”

  She playfully punched his arm, almost spilling her coffee. “Are you serious? It’s an audit and dinner. I’ve never met the guy, but auditors are probably not the most exciting people in the world. The conversation will probably revolve around quality management systems and ISO9001. It’s hardly romantic. Anyway, you’ve dragged me from my plan. I will be back Tuesday night. If your family are still off the radar, why don’t we fly over on Wednesday?”