by T L Blake
“I can tell that you’re intrigued.” He rested a shoulder against the mantelpiece.
“I think that you’re able to utilise the stem cells in the bone marrow, convert them into healthy blood cells. It would take research, but I can’t think of any other way that your ‘treatment’ could possibly work.”
James smiled. “I’d heard that you were smart. Dr Sanger has had a similar theory but he has not the knowledge to test it. You do though, don’t you Robyn?”
She ignored the interest that had suddenly sparked in those dull grey eyes of his.
“What I can’t understand, is how you ever came up with the idea in the first place.”
James stilled, thought about it and then walked casually to the chair opposite her. He sat, made himself comfortable and looked at her. “We thirst for it, Robyn.”
They were indeed like the vampires of myth that they would be accused to being should this secret get out.
“And human bone marrow works more proficiently than pig marrow?” Robyn was thinking out loud but James nodded slowly.
“We do not thirst for pig marrow.”
“So you started killing people?” she sneered, sighed and looked away again. It was not a puzzle she needed to solve.
“No, not for our treatments. We’re not murderers, Robyn. We just decided that when someone has to be eliminated, to keep our secret, we might as well utilise the opportunity.”
She wanted to laugh in his face, but the situation was too dire for mirth even if it was sarcastic. “How does that not make you murderers?”
“Our people have never been vicious killers. It’s all there in the archives. They only killed what they needed. They fed when they needed to. They chose the weakest, the ones unlikely to survive anyway. And they were always thankful to those who had saved them, ensuring proper burials with the utmost respect.” James paused, got up and walked to the fireplace where he had left his pipe on its stand. Robyn saw him look at it longingly but he left it where it was, turned around and continued. “We do the same now. People are only killed if we can’t warn them off, if they get too close and know too much. We don’t kill to treat ourselves; rather the treatment is a side effect of the necessary killing.”
“Necessary killing? Can you hear yourself? None of the killing is necessary, you could all come clean and get conventional treatments.”
“You may think that you know everything, but you don’t. There are aspects to this disease that haven’t been mastered yet. What would you have us do? There are hundreds of people here. They rely on us, rely on me, and only a handful of people have had to be eliminated. The balance is right in my books.”
“It’s not the finances that you’re trying to balance, its people’s lives. Do you find more people to eliminate when you need treatment? Do you judge them as a problem sooner, because you want to drink their bone marrow? Are your motives as pure as you believe them to be or are you fooling yourself, James?”
“We are very careful, Robyn. Killing is always a last resort. Nothing has changed since we discovered this new information. We only kill to protect ourselves, there is no other motive.”
“Is that why you killed Kat? Just because she ran past the abattoir? She didn’t know anything.”
“No, Katherine, as it turns out, was a mistake. Dr Sanger was a little eager to get his hands on her and perhaps preyed on our fears to get permission to organise the kidnap. Unfortunately, that mistake has now brought you and my grandson into this and for that, I am truly sorry; but my family has been charged with this job for many generations and I make decisions for the greater good.”
“Sanger persuaded you that Kat needed to disappear?” So it was Sanger. James gave permission but it had been Sanger’s idea.
“Yes, I shouldn’t have listened to him but Jane was certain that Katherine was snooping around and I couldn’t take the risk. I’m very sorry, I should have realised that Douglas and Jane had ulterior motives.” James stood in front of her.
“That they are both psychos you mean?” She met his gaze defiantly.
“Well, it’s not the way that I would put it, but yes. You see Dr Sanger was in a little, trouble, when we stumbled onto him. We knew that we could control him, in a manner of speaking, and we desperately needed a medical professional who could be relied upon. Jane, on the other hand, is the epitome of one of our issues. The constant drinking, the illness and the resulting way that we lead our lives, has driven her a little mad.”
“A little?” Robyn almost laughed at the understatement.
“Yes, but she hides it very convincingly. We only see the real Jane here. She does wonders at her job, no-one has the slightest idea what she is like beneath the surface at school and she has a husband and two children that have no idea what is going on. You see, he is an outsider, and the girls did not pick up the gene.”
“Jesus.” How Jane could keep up the charade at work as well as home when she was so clearly nuts, Robyn couldn’t fathom.
“We have to resolve some issues before I can allow medical involvement.” James moved back to the chair and sat down again.
“What things? Medical treatment would give you all the benefits that you get from ingestion of human bone marrow. Whatever pack of lies you’ve spouted to the others you can save it. It won’t work on me.”
“You would have thought that was true wouldn’t you, but unfortunately it doesn’t appear to be the case. There have been some unexpected side effects to our drinking human tissues,” James shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “We are not only stronger and healthier, with fewer complications to our illness, but we live longer.”
“And you think that justifies murder?” She was trying to hold back the rage and not scream at him.
“Get off your high horse, Robyn. You don’t know the lengths to which you will go to prolong your life until you have to. I’m sixty nine, I should have died long ago, but thanks to our discovery, not only am I alive, but I’m healthy. You ask a cancer patient or someone awaiting a transplant what they would do to live? You may be surprised by the answer.”
He was right. She didn’t know exactly what she would do in either of those situations because she’d never been in that position, but she knew that killing wouldn’t be on her list of options.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“You’re a smart woman, Robyn. You’ve managed to work so much out in such a short time and your background could be useful to us.”
She gaped at him. “If you think that I would ever join you, to save my own skin, then you are very much mistaken.”
“I know that you are intrigued by us.”
“Never.”
He stared a while before shaking his head. “I predicted your response but I had to try.”
“Where’s Andrew? What have you done with him?” She needed to know that Andrew wasn’t dead. She needed to know that there was hope for him.
“Ah Andrew. That boy has been such a disappointment to me,” James sighed. “Andrew is currently keeping a bargain. He has something I want, no, I need, and I have waited long enough for him to give it to me. Douglas is, let’s just say, persuading him to hand it over.”
Fear twisted her insides. “Don’t hurt him, please don’t hurt him. This was all me, he tried, he really tried to stop me, but I just wouldn’t listen. He’s your grandson. Andrew is your family. Please don’t hurt him, not because of me.”
“You really care for him don’t you? If you only knew.” A knowing half smile pulled at his lips. “Once I have what I need from Andrew, I will no longer need you. Douglas can have you then and finally I can get on with more pressing matters.”
“Like hiding your precious secret, murdering innocents and torturing your own grandson.”
James only smiled at her outburst. “Come now, Robyn, I thought we were having a polite conversation.”
“You smug son of a bitch. You fucking bastard.” She spat the furious outburst, unable to keep her rage in control any lo
nger.
James rose, stepped forwards and bent to put his face in front of hers. “You think that you hurt now? Wait until Douglas gets his hands on you. Not long now little girl.”
Blood coursed like hot lava through her veins. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
“You’ll fucking kill me?” James shouted, “You little bitch, I’ll put pay to you.”
James backhanded her, hard. An explosion went off in her right cheekbone and the chair tipped over. Her head crashed to the floor with a loud bang ringing in her ears as blood flowed freely from a cut on her face where James’s ring had connected with her skin
Robyn lay on the carpet, arms tied, legs tied, face against the floor and cried. Pain sliced though her head and her cheek burned.
Backlit by the fire, James stood in front of her and she watched, unable to do anything, as he swung his foot and kicked her in the stomach. The air burst from her lungs as pain exploded in her abdomen and she was dragged down into the dark. Once Robyn had thought about embracing the dark, but as she slid into its caressing blanket, she realised that she wanted to live.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
When Robyn resurfaced she could feel the hard wood of the chair pressing into the soft flesh of the backs of her knees and she knew that the chair had been set upright again. Her legs were numb and heavy from lack of circulation and her arms ached from the cut of the cable ties, but overwhelming all those hurts was the acute pain burning her abdomen. It made her want to moan, but Robyn forced herself to be cautious.
The fire was crackling again with new wood and Robyn could feel tape over her mouth. The thick material dug into her cheeks. Robyn could also sense that she was not alone.
Opening one eye, knowing that her slumped head and long hair would hide her, Robyn looked around her. She saw two feet, not far from her position. She had a guard.
As she looked up, Robyn sighed. Sat in the comfortable chair opposite her, watching her closely and clearly in league with James, was Ellie. Robyn was crushed.
Ellie stood and switched on a lamp to examine the gash on Robyn’s cheek. Robyn pulled back from Ellie’s touch.
“Hush, I won’t harm you.”
Ellie glanced to the door but Robyn’s eyes were fixed upon her face. Was she really going to do her no harm?
Ellie reached out for Robyn’s gag and that’s when Robyn saw it. Hidden in her sleeve, Ellie wore a delicate gold charm bracelet. Robyn could see the little charms swinging from their mounts. There was a heart, a mouse on a piece of cheese and most importantly a delicate design of four interlocked leaves held in a circle. It was the Witches Knot.
Robyn met Ellie’s gaze.
“This is going to hurt.”
Ellie ripped off the gag and pain burned across Robyn’s mouth. Robyn gasped but did not scream. Even the small noise she had made alarmed her and she looked to the door.
“It’s alright,” Ellie gave her hand a gentle pat. “We’re alone, there’s no-one else here to hear you.”
“Oh Ellie.” Robyn couldn’t convey her relief. Ellie was going to save her.
“This is a predicament.” Ellie dropped back into her chair and took both of Robyn’s hands in hers. “You should have minded your own. I thought I could help, but now it’s just out of my hands dear.”
Robyn tightly closed her eyes and inhaled. She had to get out of there. She had to find Andrew. Ellie was her chance. She needed Ellie to see reason. “It was you. You gave me the Witches Knot. You’ve been protecting me haven’t you?”
“In my way. The old ways are dying out but there are those of us that still practice.”
Robyn shook her head. “Ellie, they’re going to kill me because I know the truth.”
“Yes dear, I fear they are. I tried to stop you.”
Christ, how could she call her ‘dear’ and then confirm her fate in the same breath. “Are you really going to let them do this Ellie?”
“I wish you’d given me a choice Robyn, but once you found out, you sealed your own fate dear. We cannot let our secret out.”
Robyn couldn’t believe how deep this secret was ingrained.
“They’re lying to you, Ellie. They were going to kill me anyway. Dr Sanger has had plans for me for a long time.”
Ellie shook her head. “Why would you think that? No, you’re only here because you just wouldn’t leave it alone.”
“Ellie, I’m here because James has discovered that drinking human bone marrow gives him longevity. They’ve been killing in order to live longer, not in order to keep your secret.”
Ellie let go of Robyn’s hands and sat back. She was shocked but that shock quickly changed to denial. “Oh, no dear, that can’t be true. No-one has taken from a human in nearly a hundred years. We are very proud of that fact.”
“And you are also sick and dying young. How do you think James has reached sixty nine? How do you think he has kept his health?”
Ellie simply stared. “It can’t be true.”
“Why do you think I was gagged Ellie?” Robyn watched the older woman’s eye’s fill with unease. “They didn’t want you talking to me.”
Ellie thought about it but eventually shook her head, her dismissal complete. She wasn’t going to listen. In desperation, Robyn blurted out her next words.
“He raped her. He raped Kat.”
Ellie’s eyes widened. “James would never do such a thing.”
“Not James, Dr Sanger. He’s a psychopath Ellie. He . . .” Robyn’s voice cracked from grief, but she forced the words to come. “He raped her, sodomised her and tortured her. Ellie, he took great pleasure in telling me every graphic detail because he gets off on it, on the pain, the misery, the memory of what he does.”
Ellie sat in still silence but Robyn continued. “He’s done it before, to countless others. Girls, young girls, Ellie. James doesn’t abuse them, but he knows what Sanger is, what Sanger does. He doesn’t care. He lets Sanger do it.” Ellie had gone all but catatonic. “Ellie. He’s going to do that to me. Please, Ellie.”
“I have a granddaughter.” Her voice was the whisper of something far away. She probably wasn’t even aware that she had spoken out loud.
“Ellie? Please listen to me. Sanger is dangerous. He tricked James and the others into killing Kat. She didn’t know anything, he just wanted her.”
Ellie leaned forwards, took both of Robyn’s hands in hers and scrutinized her carefully. Robyn watched her frown as she concentrated hard over something.
“Please don’t let Sanger take me. Please.” Robyn stared into her former friend’s eyes imploring her to see the honesty in what she had said, desperate even. Ellie just sat still, as if she wasn’t hearing.
Tears flowed down Robyn’s cheeks and dripped onto the shirt that she wore, Andrew’s shirt.
Ellie blinked and squeezed Robyn’s hands. “You’re telling the truth, I can see it. I can feel it in your touch,” she whispered, her eyes focussed once more. She turned away from Robyn in shame before letting out a long, deep sigh. “I’ve helped them Robyn. I’ve watched people and reported back. I told them everything about our conversations. I tried to get you to settle, to let things alone but when you wouldn’t, I told James.” When she turned back her eyes were wet with tears. “My granddaughter was always afraid of Dr Sanger. She used to hide her ailments from her parents when she was ill, she would rather have suffered than go to him. She knew.” Ellie shook her head. “She always was gifted that way. I should have noticed.”
“Please don’t let them kill me.” Robyn could feel her hands trembling in Ellie’s. She hated that she was weak, begging, but what else could she do?
Ellie shook her head, let go of Robyn’s hands and rifled through her handbag. She pulled out a pair of nail scissors. “No, there will be no more killing and there will be no more abuse.”
“You have to tell the others.” Robyn rubbed her wrists and blood began to flow through her now free limbs.
Ellie finished cutting Robyn’s legs fr
ee and straightened. “We have to get you out of here first, come.”
Robyn’s legs were numb. God only knew how long she’d been tied to that chair. But she hefted herself up, despite the pain that sliced through her stomach, and stood on shaky legs. Ellie took her arm and together they hobbled out.
They walked out into a familiar hall, and Robyn almost sighed to see the big front door at the other end of the passage. Squinting in the bright lights, Robyn, with Ellie’s help, staggered to the door. Each step brought her more stability and strength and by the time they reached the exit, she could stand on her own.
“Put this on,” Ellie grabbed a thick woollen coat, “You’ll catch your death.”
Robyn quickly obliged.
“Ellie? Where’s Andrew?”
“They took him to his house. Don’t worry, James won’t hurt his grandson.”
“Yes he will, especially as Andrew has something he wants.” She wrapped the oversized coat around her torso and glanced into the drawing room that she’d entered with Andrew not so long ago. She could see the impressive fireplace, with its vases and pipe on the mantel.
Robyn turned to Ellie. “Go, get out of here, I’ll be right behind you. You have to tell others, as many as you can. This has to be stopped, tonight Ellie.”
Ellie nodded, her face solemn, but she didn’t argue.
Robyn ran into the drawing room.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
The majestic old building with its six windows, stared helplessly into the darkness. Within, the interior was ablaze. Flames lit up the windows as the fiery beast within consumed, leaving a blackened trail of destruction in its wake.
The manor looked like a demon, screaming in pain as its last breaths were stolen by the fire of hell.
Robyn stood in the shadow of trees and watched the fire sashay and pirouette up the heavy curtains. Somewhere a window broke, feeding the flames as she heard them roar to renewed life. She smiled, wickedly, as she watched the destruction of James’s precious home. He’d taken lives to make his money and buy his prized possessions and now Robyn had taken those possessions away.