by Phil Maxey
Her guest was wearing a style of underwear which she vaguely remembered seeing in her mother’s old clothing catalogues from the seventies, and was only half on the small sofa. She put her hand up in front of her eyes as she walked into the kitchen. Really didn’t need to see that.
Her stomach was rumbling, so she looked in some of the other cupboards for food, but couldn’t find anything other than the copious tins of olives. Shrugging her shoulders, she opened a few tins, and made two mugs of tea.
By time she walked back into the living room Darren was sitting up, his blanket only partially covering his large hairy legs.
She put his tea down on the coffee table, as he looked at her blinking. “You’re Kat, right? And we’re in a bookshop in Glastonbury?”
“Yes, to both,” she said, putting her own tea down, with the olives.
“And we were abducted by aliens last night?”
“Actually, I should probably try to explain that—”
Before she could finish Chip started barking loudly from outside.
“Hell, I forgot about him,” she said, running downstairs. As she entered the hallway, she could see Chip was barking and jumping up at the old gate at the back of the yard.
“Hello?” asked an aged rasping voice from beyond the gate. “Are you there Arnold? I didn’t know you had … a beast?”
“Chip, come here!” Her dog obliged, looking back over his shoulder. She shut the outside door behind her and walked forwards over the snow, Chip continued growling from inside. “Who is it?” she said towards the gate, then scrunched her noise as a strong musky smell invaded her senses.
“Oh, sorry to intrude, my name is Ulysses Goran, I tried the bell at the front but there seemed to be no-one at home …”
A mild shooting pain ran up and down Kat’s hand, which she ignored. “I’m his granddaughter, my grandfather has … is not here right now, what did you want to talk to him about?”
The gate shuddered slightly and a chill wind blew making her wish she had more clothes on.
“Oh, he was holding a rather old manuscript for me, if I could just come in, I’m sure I could locate the item myself and be on my way.”
“Sorry, I’ve not dressed properly and I have to leave soon anyway, perhaps some other time.” The pain increased and she grimaced and rubbed it with her other hand.
“Of course, perhaps in a day or two you will be more properly attired.” She wasn’t sure if it was a joke or an insult, either way she backed off towards the rear entrance to the shop.
“OK then, bye.”
She closed, and locked the door behind her.
As she walked back upstairs the encounter with the voice had left her feeling strangely drained. She walked back into the living room and was thankful that Darren had found his trousers. Chip was looking up at him expectantly.
“I think he likes you,” she said, sniggering.
“Hmm, I don’t—”
“Do well with dogs, I know, you told me,” she sat back down, and took a sip of her tea.
“OK, so there’s some things that I should mention.”
Darren looked at her, his brow furrowed.
“Last night … I’m pretty certain it wasn’t aliens, like you think.”
“What the hell was it then?” before she could answer he continued, “Oh! False flag? Government agents?”
Kat let out a breath. “No, not them … I think they were demons.”
He let out a laugh. “That’s funny, but really, what were they then?”
“I think my grandfather was involved with magic somehow, and he left me this ring—" she held up her hand, “—and I think there are these creatures who want it, and—” She noticed his face was one of confusion and stopped.
“Are you on any kind of medication? I mean, I am, but well, sometimes it can make you think strange things,” he said, looking genuinely concerned.
She went to continue, then stopped. “I thought you didn’t ‘believe’ in pills?”
“That’s pain killers, I’m building up my tolerance to pain. But I’ve been on antipsychotics since I was a teen. Ever since …” he gave an embarrassed smile. “My first encounter.”
“You have seen those things before?”
“Luckily not often, last night would be the third time.”
Kat went to say something else, but realized he was never going to believe any of what she was saying unless he saw something for himself. Something which he couldn’t wrap in his own story.
She grabbed his wrist.
“Hey, what is it? I really don’t like to be touched.” He realized she had her eyes closed. “What are you doing?”
She opened them again in frustration. “Agh! Why’s it not working.”
“Why’s what not working?”
She sprung to her feet, pulling him with her to the front window, and pulled the drape back revealing the shops outside. She then tried again.
“You know I’m twice—”
Before he could finish, they were both standing outside in the snow.
Darren started flailing, and she lost her grip. They were both back in the small living room above the bookshop, each covered in small flakes of snow.
“What the fudge just happened?” he said, all but his eyes frozen in place.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! It’s the ring, it’s magical!” she said, feeling a little out of breath.
He scrunched his face and shook his head at the same time. “Magic isn’t real!” He got to his feet, almost knocking over his coffee and walked to the living room door. “Look, thanks for letting me stay here, but I’m going to go now.”
Kat stood, and followed him into the small landing. “I need your help, you’re the only one that knows!”
He half ran—half fell down the narrow staircase, with Kat just behind him.
“Darren! You’re not crazy, and they are not aliens!” she shouted as he unlocked the back door and ran down the pathway to the back gate. She actually wasn’t sure they weren’t aliens, but that seemed even crazier than believing they were demons.
The gate at the back of the path clattered as he disappeared. She sighed, and patted Chip who had come and sat by her side. She then looked again at the worn door to the basement with the strange symbol on it.
CHAPTER 23
The 1980s white van bounced along the salt-gritted motorway, throwing out brown white sludge behind it. The snow still fell and any features that were once visible among the hills of the North Downs were now lost in a sea of white.
For the last thirty minutes Justin’s backside had gone beyond numb and he wished he had brought some of the pillows from the room with him to sit on. The inside of the small space they were all crammed inside of was not built for comfort, and it didn’t help that the floor was covered in tools and planks of wood.
“I’ve got a job near where you want to go. Couple of hours and we’ll be in Winchester!” said Barry, the overweight bearded man in brown work overalls. He was of house Lancelot, and was as forwards as his compatriot.
They got a text from Eve, saying their group were in London, but that was all. Sparrow explained that other than exceptional times, they never used modern technology to communicate Order of the Ring business, as it could too easily be hacked by magic.
Barry switched on the radio, and immediately a solemn sounding newscaster’s voice came from the dust-covered speakers.
“The death toll rises to one hundred and forty-seven, as another twelve die overnight. The worse winter on record continues throughout the Christmas holidays. Scientists are blaming global warming. Army called in to help cut off villages.”
Barry baulked. “Global warming my arse, this is the wrong kind of magic!” He shook his head. “Dark forces haven’t attacked the sanctuaries for almost a hundred years. Someone out there has some major power to do this. Has the order got any idea of who might be doing it?” He glanced at Sparrow who was sitting in the passenger seat.
/> “None. That’s what we have to find out.”
“Well, if I hear anything I’ll let you know.” He glanced again. “Just how worried should we all be? The order is going to take care of this threat, right? A winter storm, even this bad doesn’t look out of place in December, but it will four months from now.”
She nodded.
“How’s our new member, I heard he acquitted himself well during the battle?”
Justin wondered if they realized he could hear them, being just a few feet behind their seats.
Sparrow smiled. “Considering he never went through the awakening, he did well.”
Barry’s tone grew dark. “Real shame what happened to Finn, did you know we were in the Para’s together, before he became a custodian?”
Sparrow shook her head.
“Yeah, I could tell you some tales … maybe some other time.”
True to his word, after just over two hours of uncomfortable sitting, they pulled into the old town of Winchester, past Victorian and Edwardian homes, and an impressive cathedral until they were moving slightly uphill amongst ancient trees. Eventually they pulled up outside a large stone wall.
Even from only seeing the back of her, Justin could see the weight on Sparrow’s shoulders of what might be waiting inside her Sanctuary.
Barry turned to the anxious looking young woman next to him. “I’ve got my battleaxe in the back, I can come with you, if you want.”
She smiled. “If anything’s happened it will already be over, but thank you.” She gave a knowing look to those behind her and got out.
The first thing they did in the early afternoon light as they stepped down from the van with their weapons, was to stretch their arms and legs.
The small group huddled together as the van left, and Sparrow looked first to Jax. “You sensing anything?”
“If there’s magic here, I’m not sensing it,” said Jax.
Justin looked at the huge wall, the top of which was at least five feet above his head and covered in another foot of snow.
The road that rang along the wall was deserted of vehicles and any other form of life. As they walked Justin looked up at the trees that seemed to want to reach down to them, and at the pure untouched covering of white that lay all around.
Soon the wall turned inwards to an impressive large stone arch with a solid green door within.
Sparrow walked up to it cautiously, and as she laid her hand on it, it swung backwards. Everyone raised their weapons instinctively.
She pushed it all the way open, and walked through. They all followed.
By now the sun was hidden behind towering trees and a thick blanket of grey clouds that offered scant light onto the path ahead of them. Sparrow tore off a branch, covered it in some strong-smelling rags from her backpack, and ignited it.
They were all standing on a stone pathway, which was almost completely lined with ice-encrusted trees. Justin felt like he had entered a winter wonderland, more at home in a Christmas card than real life.
Sparrow increased her speed and soon they came to her Sanctuary. This wasn’t the ominous Georgian building from Oxford, instead it looked more like a French villa, with balcony’s and spiked towers.
She ran up a series of wide stone steps until she came to the large door which was already open. She only took a few more steps before falling to her knees. Justin and the others ran up and stood behind her. Snow had already covered some of the dead that lay near the open front door, but the others lay as they were felled in various positions around the large high-ceilinged hallway.
“This was all my fault,” she said softly. “If I had been here—”
“You’d probably be dead too,” said Justin, putting his hand on her shoulder.
A rustling noise came from somewhere in front of them and they all instinctively raised their weapons.
Sparrow sprang forwards and knelt next to an elderly woman, wearing golden armour. The woman tried to raise her head, but immediately groaned and lay back down.
“Don’t try to move, Jennifer,” said Sparrow who waved Jax over. “Help her!”
Jax looked laden with the responsibility, but placed his hands over the woman, and closed his eyes. A warm blue light moved from his hands and smothered the woman.
After a few seconds, he stopped, breathing heavily. “There’s nothing I can do, I’m sorry.”
The woman smiled as Sparrow cradled her head. “Was it Draugr?” Sparrow said.
“Yes, and other things. There was also a powerful Magi, I did not recognize him, but he knew the old ways—” she grimaced. “—his incantations were old magic, very old.”
The old woman eyes closed and Justin watched as Sparrow hung her head.
CHAPTER 24
Flickers of snow drifted past Kat as she stood looking at the frost-covered street sign. “Boxing Day sales!” It was propped up against a shop in the high street. But there were no shoppers inside or anywhere else around her, and all the stores were either boarded up or had their steel shutters pulled down.
After Darren ran off, she spent some hours clearing up, and exploring the rest of the flat. It became obvious they needed more supplies, and even if she could, she was pretty sure Chip wouldn’t survive on Olives alone.
When she left there was still light enough to see her path, but after walking for thirty minutes, with Chip by her side her fingers were just beginning to go numb and the street lights had come on.
“I can’t face eating anymore olives, Chip,” she said, looking at the aisles of tins and packets just visible beyond the small piece of window she could see into. An image of her smashing the glass, grabbing some mini Christmas cakes and running entered her mind, but she ignored it. Turning around she looked at the two- to three-storey buildings in the ancient town which had gone into hibernation. “There’s got to be somewhere around here to get something to eat.”
Chip barked in reply.
“Yup, I’m hungry too.”
Traipsing forward, her feet sinking at least a foot with each step, she passed closed shops selling crystals and magical items with window displays that contained dead Christmas lights.
Eventually she came to the end of the street. An old black and white Tudor pub with a gently swinging sign outside. “Avalon Arms” sat on the corner. Beyond its closed shutters was only darkness.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a drape move behind the ground floor window of an average sized home across the road. Normally the idea of knocking on some random person’s front door when it was dark would be the last thing she would do, but she needed confirmation that she wasn’t the only person alive in the town.
She moved across the icy road as quickly as her boots would allow her without slipping, and opened the front garden gate, her eyes kept fixed on where she thought she saw movement. The curtains were closed, but as she approached the red front door, she was surprised no lights were on. She went to ring the buzzer, when she noticed the door was a few inches open. Maybe they are welcoming me in?
It was a strange thought, but the only one she could come up with. Even that was dispelled as she realized the door was jammed in place by snow that had built up around the bottom of it. A distant voice at the back of her mind was starting to shout for her to turn and leave, but maybe it was an old person who had fallen and needed help.
She leaned on the door and pushed. It didn’t budge at first, but then as she pushed harder, it slowly gave way until it flung open causing her to fall forwards across the threshold.
Chip jumped up and down, and she almost lost her grip on his leash. “Hello? Anyone in here?” she shouted into the hallway which was half-lit by the street light outside. The temperature inside wasn’t that much better than outside. She got to her feet, switched on her keyring torch, and walked forward. As she walked around the open doorway she saw first the dining area, then the front room.
Sitting frozen with pale blue skin was an old man. His wide eyes confirming that he had frozen to de
ath. She reached for her mouth as water swelled up at the back of her mouth and she bent over, instinctively wanting to retch. Nothing happened though, her stomach was too empty. Chip’s tail wagged as he sniffed around her legs.
It was the first time she had seen a dead body. She then remembered the reason why she came inside in the first place, and looked around the rest of the room, but the only thing alive was the Christmas tree near the old glass tube television and even that was beginning to go brown.
She looked again at the old man, who was wearing a thick jumper, and brown-green trousers. His hands were clenched together as if he was trying to keep warm, and his mouth was slightly open, with a frozen drip of saliva hanging from the side.
She needed to get out. Turning, she ran back to the front door and stopped. She could feel something watching her from the top of the stairs. There was a creak in the floorboards as something moved across the uppermost steps, and she bolted through the open doorway and down the path, not bothering to close any of the doors or gates behind her.
Soon her and Chip were back in the main street with the abandoned shops walking as quickly as she could. The thought of calling the police had nudged its way into her mind, and she would, just not while she was outside, in this silent town.
Her walk turned to a trot, which became a run. She kept thinking that the curtains were moving inside forgotten homes and flats as she passed them, but she knew that was her mind playing tricks on her. Had to be.
Soon she was walking into the car park behind her shop. “Not far now, Chip,” she said, her boots stomping through the still soft snow. Behind her she heard footsteps like her own. Chip stopped running and started growling back the way they had just come. She didn’t look where her dog was looking, she didn’t want to. “Come on, Chip!” She tugged at his leash, and he reluctantly started running along with her.
The back gate came into view as the snow started to fall more heavily in direct relation to the wind picking up.
“Look, there’s home, Chip,” she said as she ignored the sound of footsteps, lots of them behind them.