‘I’m rarely parted from her, so I’m finding her absence more than anything rather hard.’
Val came over and patted Rob’s hand. He almost snatched his hand away at her burning touch. ‘I am sure Satan is fine. Some of the villagers go for walks on the moors, so I have asked them to keep an eye open for her.’
‘That’s very kind of you, Val. Thank you.’
As she began ringing the provisions through the till and packed them into a cardboard box, Val asked Rob how long he intended to remain in Dorstville.
‘Possibly another three or four months. It usually takes me that long to plan and write the first draft of a new novel. I seem to have settled in enough to start work right away. When I really get going I can type a dozen or so pages in a day. It can sometimes take up to six months to complete the first draft, because my books are so long.’
‘That is most impressive,’ sighed Val as she finished packing the box. She held out her hand. ‘Eighteen pounds exactly, please.’
Rob fished in his pocket and handed over the money, and then picked up the box. Val preceded him across the shop floor and opened the door to allow him to step out into the mid morning sun. ‘Have you read any of my books?’
Val shook her head. ‘I read very little. I simply do not have the time.’
‘Ah. Well, this place has certainly inspired me for my new one. I’m going to call it The Devil’s Tor.’
Val blanched, and Rob chuckled. ‘Don’t worry, it’s not set in this delightful village, and there won’t be anyone from around here featuring in it.’
‘What a relief. Well, I wish you well with your writing. I might even pop into Exeter one day and look up one of your other books in the library.’
‘You do that. I think you might enjoy them.’ Rob tapped the side of the box. ‘Thanks for this. If I need anything else, I’ll be sure to come by and see you.’
‘Indeed… do not be a stranger. You must come for dinner one evening.’
‘Sounds nice. I’ll be in touch and we can arrange that.’
Rob walked away from the shop without a backwards glance.
He could not be certain, but Val’s overly pleasant countenance appeared to hide something unfathomable. She had mentioned the library in Exeter. If he could find nothing about the house or village in the library at Naghene Hall, then he might just find some answers there… if he was able to leave the village. Val had so far done everything in her power to ensure he remained in Dorstville, hypnotizing Gerry in the process to aid her deception.
But why? What possible motive could she have for wanting him to remain?
The more he thought about it, the more he believed everything had been part of some elaborate plan to get him here. From the first warning telephone call, through to Ginny’s – which he now doubted had actually been her voice – then on to his reunion with Gerry, and finally Jonathan and Lilly’s apparent disappearances.
He had no idea as to why he had been lured here, but he was determined to find the answers… even if it killed him.
* * *
Val watched Rob disappear around the bend in the road as he headed back to Naghene Hall, and the moment he was out of view her smile vanished, replaced with a terrifying snarl. She slammed the door of the shop, rattling every pane of glass in the process, wasting no time in locking the door and putting up the closed sign. Without haste, yet moving swiftly, she made her way into the back of the shop.
Stan O’Nass paced the storeroom in a genuinely agitated manner. ‘Did you hear what he plans on calling his new book?’ he cried. ‘He must be closer to discovering the truth than we could have anticipated.’
Val ran one of her painted talons across Stan’s sweating brow and down to his chin, tilting his head until their eyes met. ‘Calm yourself, my brother, he suspects nothing. And even if he did, it would change nothing. He is the Chosen One; he believes in nothing that we stand for. I have created in his mind a sense of confusion. He longs to leave this place, but the confusion will not allow it. He will stay until he has his answers, but by that time it will be too late for him.’
She frowned. ‘I must confess that I grow concerned. I fear that someone might be attempting to pervert our plan.’
‘How can that be?’
‘Someone is trying to get through to him. I sense a great many of his thoughts are closed to me.’
‘Then he must suspect something! The plan will fail again!’
Val glanced at Stan with her feline eyes. ‘Perhaps you are right. It would seem that the Custodian will not make contact with the Chosen One openly, so we must lure him out into the open, persuade him to lead us to the Key.’
‘We must have a care, my sister, else we might play directly into the Custodian’s hands ourselves.’
‘Indeed. We must not allow the Chosen One to be lost forever, along with the Key, otherwise we shall not be reunited with Father.’
Stan leaned close to Val’s ear. ‘What must we do?’ he whispered.
‘Someone will have to worm their way into Rob’s affections whilst he is here. That way, when the Custodian makes contact his accusations will be flung back in his face. Rob must believe the Custodian to be a fraud, or we will lose him.’
‘I am the logical choice,’ said Stan quietly. He looked up into Val’s eyes. ‘But he has made it clear he dislikes me.’
Val appraised Stan carefully. His thin, wiry body, though possessed of great strength, was skeletal, and his skin a ghastly grey pallor. His brown hair was limp and straggly, his aquiline nose curved down a good half inch below his upper lip. His pointed chin sprouted white bristles, and in his mouth, pointed rotting teeth protruded in every direction like tumbled tombstones.
Had Rob seen him at that moment, the only reason he might have recognised Stan was due to the amber eyes that burned in sunken sockets.
‘I hope you have not appeared to him in this form!’
‘Never!’ cried Stan. ‘But my powers are waning. Without sustenance I cannot maintain even this form for much longer.’
‘Do not worry, my brother. We have but three weeks less two days, and then we will have no need to hide our true selves any longer. And in the cellar, let us not forget we have your lovely wife and one of her friends. Plenty sustenance to last these final few weeks.’
‘But what of Rob?’ whispered Stan.
Val’s head snapped up, amber eyes gleaming, ears pricked and alert like a cat that had just heard a bird singing close by. She smiled. ‘You need worry no longer. I do believe the answer to all our problems has just entered the village!’
* * *
Trussed up like a recently slaughtered chicken, Lilly forced herself to remain calm. It would not do to start panicking again, even though, bound and blindfolded, a panic attack was never far away. It was indeed actually to be expected, given her perilous circumstances.
Her abductors had gagged and blindfolded her the previous night when they had moved her to a new prison. Having dumped her unceremoniously and very indelicately on the rough ground of the room that was to be her new cell, they had abruptly left her without uttering a single sound – not even a grunt or a groan when she had struggled for freedom.
Fighting to remain calm last night she had tried to stand, but fell and banged her head hard against the wall, and whilst her attempts to remain conscious had been partially successful, eventually the pain in the back of her head eclipsed all else and the veil of unconsciousness claimed her.
Drifting in and out of wakefulness, she was certain she had heard Rob’s voice close by, and that of his brother, Gerry. She had tried to call out, but too enfeebled to free the gag she eventually gave up and succumbed to a troubled sleep, too exhausted to remain alert
Fully awake now with a throbbing pain at the back of her head, Lilly tried to breathe slowly and calmly, and in doing so she heard a groaning that emanated from somewhere to her left. She knew it was foolish to try to stand up again, but managed to struggle into a sitting position. Display
ing a degree of dexterity that surprised even her, she managed somehow to manoeuvre her arms down past her backside, and squeezed her legs through the tight gap until her arms were in front of her, and after a moment to recover her breath, she prised the gag from her mouth and pulled the blindfold from her eyes.
There was not much to see in the gloom of the high-ceilinged room. What precious little light that pervaded the dank cellar came from a narrow grime-encrusted window high up on the far wall. Her barren surroundings did little to inspire Lilly with much confidence.
Now that she could see marginally well, she managed to stand without losing her balance, but moving was not easy, with her ankles bound together as tightly as her wrists. She twisted around to survey her dingy surroundings, and over by a set of stone steps that led upwards she saw the source of the moaning.
She could not make out whether the equally bound figure was male or female from this distance, but whoever it was began to stir restlessly as they regained consciousness.
‘Are you all right?’ she asked after clearing her throat, hoping she would not alarm her fellow captive. She hopped closer, and gave a moan of shocked disbelief when the figure rolled over to face her. ‘Ralph!’
Ralph Branagh squinted in the darkened cellar, staring at Lilly as though she were some sort of demon. When he realised he had not imagined her and that she really was there with him he relaxed slightly. It did not bode well, however, that she was bound like him.
Lilly fell to her knees, shuffling towards him on all fours since she found hopping too tiring. ‘Here, let me try and get that gag out of your mouth.’
When he could speak, Ralph immediately launched into a tirade of questions, to which Lilly had no answers, and so she shushed him rather more harshly than she had intended.
‘I think we’re in Dorstville,’ she mumbled, answering with a measured degree of certainty the only question she could. ‘As to why we’re here, I have no idea.’
Struggling into a sitting position, Ralph stared at Lilly. ‘Are you sure? After the things you told me about that place, it’s the one place I’d hoped never to see.’
‘It’s a place I had hoped never to see again myself, but I’m fairly certain that’s where we are.’ Lilly could see the fear in Ralph’s eyes, and she smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. ‘Don’t worry, I don’t think we’re in any immediate danger.’
‘Why have we been brought here?’
Lilly shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. I think it’s Rob they’re after, and I’m pretty sure I heard his voice earlier.’
‘Who are they? Who brought us here, Lilly? And why?’
Lilly responded in a whisper as they heard footsteps from somewhere above. ‘I think we are intended as bait to keep him here.’
‘Why would you think that? Rob hates you! It doesn’t make any sense.’
‘It’s true that Rob dislikes me, but I think hate is too strong a word. And as for you… well, it would seem to me that Rob loves you.’
Ralph choked back his incredulity. ‘That’s rubbish. Rob loves Jonathan. He told me so himself.’
‘They might love one another, I won’t deny that, but at the moment Rob’s affections are directed towards you. That would make sense of why you are here.’
‘And what of you then, Lilly?’
The rattling of a key in the door at the top of the stairs silenced the pair, and they fell to the ground feigning unconsciousness.
In the light that came from above, a misshapen shadow fell upon them, and then another bound and gagged figure fell down the stairs. The door slammed shut, plunging the cellar once more into near darkness.
The new prisoner groaned as he hit the ground, and Lilly and Ralph sat up again, waiting with baited breath to see who had joined them in their prison.
Jonathan opened his eyes slowly, waiting for them to adjust to the twilight of the room in which he found himself. He could not focus; a dull throbbing in his head left him disorientated and dizzy.
A shadow loomed over him, causing him to emit a small squeal of alarm, until he recognised the friendly face.
‘Lilly! What in God’s name is going on?’ he asked through dry lips. ‘Where am I?’
‘We’re in Dorstville. It would appear we have all been brought here against our will.’
Jonathan struggled to sit up, and only then noticed Ralph sitting on the dusty floor a few feet away, struggling to loosen the ropes than bound his hands tightly together. He looked down at his own hands, dismayed to find that they too were bound tight.
‘Yes, mine too,’ sighed Lilly as Jonathan glanced at her equally secured hands.
Jonathan shook his head wildly. ‘I don’t remember coming to Dorstville though.’
‘What’s the last thing you do remember?’
Jonathan frowned as he squinted at Lilly in the gloom. ‘I remember I’d been staying with friends for a couple of days. They’ve just returned from a decade abroad, so it was great to catch up with them. I remember leaving their place on Sunday evening. I think I was being followed.’ His eyes lit up. ‘Yes, that’s right, there was this odd looking man following me. I turned to ask what he wanted… and I don’t remember anything past that point. I guess he must have hit me.’
‘Stan brought me here.’ Lilly had a pained look of desperate resignation on her face. ‘We’re all here to make certain Rob doesn’t leave the village.’
‘What do you mean? Lilly… what is going on?’
‘I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you, Jonathan.’
‘I wouldn’t have believed her, had I not seen… it… with my own eyes!’
Jonathan glanced through the gloom at Ralph, who appeared to have abandoned his attempt to free his hands. ‘It?’
‘The creature that threw you down here with us. I didn’t get a good look at it, but I saw enough to realise we’re in danger if we don’t get out of here.’
‘Is Rob in danger as well? What do these people intend to do with us? You said we’re here to make sure Rob doesn’t leave the village. What’s so important about him staying here?’
Lilly sighed deeply. ‘I shall tell you as much as I dare, but you’ll have to keep an open mind, Jonathan.’
‘Try me with the whole truth. I’m far more open minded than you might think.’
‘Well, first of all, let me tell you that Dorstville is an anagram. It’s Devill’s Tor – that’s Devil spelt with a double ‘L’.’
‘Devill’s Tor? But that’s the place where you said Rob would die. The place he was repeatedly warned to stay away from… the place I begged him to keep clear of!’
Lilly nodded. ‘That’s perfectly correct. My biggest mistake was in telling Gerry.’
‘Are you saying Gerry’s involved in all this?’
‘How very astute of you, my dear.’ The sweet cloying scent of honeysuckle accompanied the silken tendrils of the voice that floated down from above. The prisoners glanced up at the open doorway as the light was snapped on, and having overcome being startled at the voice, they watched as Dr Val Hide-Guest glided gracefully down the stairs, closely followed by Gerry Brosnan.
‘Gerry, what the hell are you doing?’ gasped Jonathan, wishing desperately that he had played no part in the reunion of the two brothers.
Gerry remained silent, the silence that permeated the air ripped apart suddenly by a terrifying, bloodcurdling screech mixed with an animalistic growling. All three bound prisoners turned their attention to the open doorway once more, hearts pounding wildly, hardly daring to breathe, not knowing what to expect. Gerry’s face remained impassive, blank, betraying no emotion, no shred of compassion towards the captives… no indication of horror at the sight of the creature which appeared in the doorway behind him.
Jonathan screamed. He shuffled backwards as the creature leapt over the balustrade, landing mere inches from Lilly.
Lilly merely stared at it.
The creature no longer had human form, but the slimy, fur covered thing bore
enough remaining features in its distorted face to remind Lilly of someone she had once known intimately. She shivered in revulsion, but displayed no further emotion.
The beast, roughly seven feet tall, thin and sinewy beneath the matted slimy fur, roared at her, drooling ferociously. Gobbets of spittle sprayed Lilly’s face, but she remained impassive in the face of certain death as she stared into the amber eyes of the beast.
‘Hello, Stan!’
Once more the beast bared its terrifying fangs, moving slowly towards her. It stopped, it’s pointed snout, wet with mucus, less than an inch from Lilly’s nose. The expressive amber eyes bored into hers, and though she displayed no fear, inwardly she felt more terror than she had known possible.
‘Enough, my brother!’
The beast slid away from Lilly on all fours and waited.
‘Look upon my brother and bear witness to the resurrection that is to come, and then look upon me in the same manner.’
The velvety smoothness of Val’s voice caressed the trio of prisoners, erasing their fears, calming them. They all looked up at her as one, their minds subjugated by her mental powers. Her amber eyes tore into their souls, ripping to shreds their will to live, and their hearts slowed further still.
‘Yes. Be unafraid. Be stilled your beating hearts as my brother makes his choice. It would not do for your pumping blood to be wasted.’
Val moved from the bottom of the stairs, walking amongst the three, smiling. She touched Lilly’s forehead with a blood red talon, leaving a singed mark behind. ‘Such a shame you must all eventually die. I could have grown to like you all in the fullness of time.’ She continued moving, placing a similar mark on both Ralph’s and Jonathan’s foreheads. ‘Indeed, as my brother once found love, so I might also have found love.’ She sighed wistfully. ‘Alas, there is no place for such sentiment in the new order that is to come.’ She faced Gerry, who already had a similar mark on his forehead. ‘Bear witness, my faithful follower, to the power and majesty of your Master.’
She snapped her fingers and the creature uttered a single howl of rage. It pounced, using its powerful hind legs to launch itself across the room, landing a foot away from Ralph.
The Five Tors Page 12