by Taylor Leon
30
IT HAD BEEN a messy twenty-four hours, and for the first time THE GAMES-MASTER was worried his project was starting to fall apart.
First, he had been forced to dispose of BABYFACE, which only left him with FRIGHT-NIGHT and THE CHAMELEON. Then, on the local news, he had seen a story about a failed attack on an unnamed young woman. There was nothing remarkable about that until he saw CCTV pictures of the suspect. He was heavily disguised, but THE GAMES-MASTER knew it was FRIGHT-NIGHT, and the girl who escaped, he surmised, was Oriane Law, his fourth target.
When pressed, FRIGHT-NIGHT had confessed. Target four had indeed got away. But he insisted the photos of him being shown on the media were nothing to worry about. The glasses and hat had hidden his face, plus he’d shaven since then, and burnt the clothes he had been wearing.
If he thought that would pacify THE GAMES-MASTER, then he was wrong. THE GAMES-MASTER’s primary concern was that Oriane Law had been a target, and she had not been eliminated.
She was part of his project.
His victory.
His legacy.
Melissa Fairweather, Jennifer Brooks, Elias James and Amy Harper had all felt the wrath of God. Oriane was now a blot on his copybook.
He had spent so many months planning this. Ever since he decided to prove that he could be God, with the power of life and death. Ever since he had decided to exercise that power and punish those that had wronged him
He had set up The Game, selected the targets and hired a team to carry out the hits. He had come so far, he couldn’t accept failure now. Especially when he was so close to the end.
His panic was put on hold when he heard a loud ping from his computer. A message at the bottom of the screen told him THE CHAMELEON was on-line.
Oh please, let this be good news.
And it was.
He opened the attachments, and smiled in quiet satisfaction when he saw the photos.
Where FRIGHT-NIGHT had failed, THE CHAMELEON had triumphed.
It might have been out of sequence, but the fourth target- Oriane Law- had just been eliminated.
Things were back on track.
31
IT WAS A five-hour drive to the South-West coast, and I stopped several times along the way to grab a coffee and comfort food to keep me going. I was suffering from a lack of sleep and the little I had got was filled with dreams of my mother’s killer, returning to silence the one witness to her murder.
Me.
I used the Sat-Nav, and arrived at my destination in the late-afternoon. I slowed at the top of the hill, and looked down at the beautiful view. The cottage was in the middle of nowhere. It was surrounded by green fields that on one side stretched out into the distance and on the other to the cliff-side that towered over the English Channel. The nearest village and house was a good mile away.
When I got closer, I saw Victoria’s BMW was parked in front. The cottage itself had a thatched roof and smoke was coming out of the chimney, making it look like something from a different time. It was getting dark already, and the warm lights inside made it look incredibly cosy and inviting. It was like something out of the fairy-tale books I had read when I was a little girl.
‘Take a look at that, baby,’ I said to Sampson who was on the backseat, straining to see out of the window. I lifted him forward onto my lap.
Victoria was waiting for me in the doorway as I walked round the car and heaved my small case off the passenger seat, while Sampson danced excitedly around my legs.
She was looking as elegant as usual, with her bronzed curls set up high in a bun. She was dressed casually in a pink sweatshirt, jeans and trainers, not a look I would normally associate with the millionairess, but one which she carried off impeccably. For a woman in her mid-fifties, she looked fantastic. I wondered if that was what money did for you. After all, she could afford to pay for the best clothes, the best make-up; and who knows, maybe a little nip and tuck?
‘Welcome to Edgar Mansard’s home,’ she called out to me.
‘It beautiful here,’ I replied.
The leader of The Coven smiled. ‘I like it.’
As we approached, she smiled at Sampson who was eyeing her warily.
‘Do you remember me, Sampson?’ she said. ‘Well, I suppose we did only meet briefly once before.’
She knelt down as he got closer. He was uncertain at first, but when I whispered that it was okay, he moved in so she could stroke his back. Victoria laughed and after a minute stood back up to show us inside.
There was a fire crackling on the far side of the single large room and three armchairs arranged around it. One of them was occupied, although apart from the wrinkled hand on the arm-rest, I couldn’t see the occupant. There were wooden beams running right across the ceiling, over the central dining area, then to our right, the small kitchenette.
Victoria quietly closed the front door behind us. She put a finger to her lips and looked over at the armchairs. ‘He’s asleep,’ she whispered. ‘He sleeps a lot these days. Come on, I’ll show you up to your room.’
She pointed out a small alcove at the foot of the stairs, with a giant pillow and bowl of water. ‘I bought that for Sampson. I hope it’s okay.’
The rickety wooden staircase wound its way upstairs, to a landing with three bedrooms and a bathroom.
‘How long have you been here?’ I asked, as she showed me into a tiny basic bedroom, with a single bed, night-table and wardrobe.
‘Three or four days,’ she replied.
I lifted my case onto the bed
‘Edgar doesn’t have long,’ she added.
I looked up. ‘Is that what the doctors say?’
‘It’s what Edgar says,’ she replied slowly. ‘He’s weakening and his mind is under constant siege from those he holds in purgatory. They sense he’s weakening and some are pushing him towards the end.’ Her eyes met mine and sensed my struggle to take this in. ‘You wanted to know all about The Coven, and so I told you. Can you cope with this?’
‘It’s all so…so unbelievable.’
She raised an eyebrow mockingly and folded her arms. ‘Is it any more unbelievable than this?’ And she melted away into thin air. Sampson barked loudly, confused by what he had just seen.
Victoria was right. The damnations, the girls’ special powers. I had been brought into a world completely different from my own, where the rules of the natural order didn’t apply.
‘Why don’t you take Sampson for a walk while I finish making dinner?’ she said to me. ‘Then you can meet Edgar.’
****
When I went downstairs, Victoria was visible once again and in the kitchen juggling pots and pans behind a cloud of steam.
Outside the cottage, the temperature had dropped, but it felt so peaceful. I had always been a city girl, never really appreciating the tranquillity a place like this could offer. Sampson and I walked to the cliff edge and looked out across the Channel. The view and the fresh air combined, and for a few minutes I just lived in that moment without a care. I think Sampson felt it too because he stood quietly by my side.
Victoria was waiting for us in the doorway when we returned. ‘Edgar’s awake,’ she said, looking into my eyes meaningfully. I peered around her, but still couldn’t see him, buried deep in the armchair with his back to me.
‘Here, I’ll take your coat,’ she said. I took it off and handed it to her and at the same time she reached for Sampson’s lead. ‘I’ll give Sampson a drink and something to eat. I’ve turned our food down.’ She nodded towards the chairs around the fire. ‘Go on.’
I thought she might have introduced me, but she stood her ground waiting for me to go over by myself. And so, I crossed the room to finally meet Edgar Mansard, founder of The Coven, and guardian of witches’ spirits.
A frail old man with a neatly trimmed, grey beard looked up. He had large brown eyes that studied me carefully. The flames lit up his face, giving him a warm orange glow. I glanced back, over to where Victoria was kneelin
g with Sampson as she prepared his bowls of food and water.
‘So, you are Erin,’ Edgar said softly, drawing my attention back to him. ‘Please, sit down.’
He motioned for me to sit in the chair to his right.
‘It’s an honour to meet you Mr Mansard,’ I said. For some reason, this old man, whom I had never met before, intimidated me unlike anyone else I had ever met.
‘An honour?’ he croaked. ‘Really?’
‘Victoria’s told me all about you.’
He smiled at that. ‘She might have told you something about me. I doubt she’s told you everything.’ There was a twinkle in his eyes when he said that. He tried leaning forward, winced and then sat back. ‘I’m not going to be here for much longer. That’s why it was so important I saw you now.’
Victoria swooped in out of nowhere with a cup of tea for Edgar. He smiled gratefully, taking it from her with surprisingly steady hands.
‘Erin?’ she asked.
‘I’m good,’ I said, and as I hoped, she dropped down into the seat on Edgar’s other side.
‘I told Edgar that you have seen spirits from purgatory,’ she said.
Edgar nodded and took a sip of his drink. ‘Desiree is the only one you’ve seen so far, isn’t she?’ he added.
‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘And I haven’t seen her for two or three weeks.’
He glanced over at Victoria who looked away.
‘I suspect the reason you haven’t seen her recently, is because she’s here,’ he said turning back to face me.
I foolishly looked around the room before Victoria added. ‘Edgar means she is nearby. The bond is breaking. That’s what Desiree told you, and she is right. Witches, good and bad who have been killed by another witch are held in purgatory by Edgar until…’
She paused until Edgar spoke to her softly. ‘It’s okay Victoria. I’ve accepted it,’ he said, taking over. ‘When I die, those spirits will all go free. Those in the closest proximity to me will be first. As Desiree knows the bond is breaking, then I suspect she is here somewhere, waiting.’
‘Why am I the only one who can see her?’
‘Some people have the ability to see beyond our world,’ Edgar said, ‘to see the small gaps in our reality, and peer into the other worlds and dimensions that are hidden from us. That’s why you sometimes read about people claiming to have seen ghosts. A lot of it is rubbish, of course. But there are people that really have seen things. You too have that ability. It is a rare gift. We call them Watchers, and we’ve never had one in The Coven before.’
‘That’s what makes you unique,’ Victoria said, ‘and very important to us.’
‘Why is being a Watcher important?’
Edgar stretched out an arm and placed his drink on a small coffee table. ‘When I pass on, and the spirits are set free, some will try to return to this world. I have held them all in purgatory because of the danger such a return poses. There are some nasty beings in there, alongside the good ones. Unfortunately, I can’t pick or choose who gets released, it’s either all or nothing. But when it does happen, then you will need to track the bad ones who return here.’
‘We need to stop them,’ Victoria said. ‘But as a Watcher, you will need to find them for us.’
I blinked at them both in astonishment. ‘You must be kidding.’
They looked at me, grim-faced.
‘I mean, this is so far out of my comfort zone,’ I continued. ‘Look, The Coven, the damnations, the girls’ powers. That is all weird enough, I mean that’s all “out there.” But ghost hunting? I’m a cop. I catch criminals. Human criminals. If it’s supernatural monsters you’re after, then I’m really not that person.’
Edgar sighed deeply and sank back in his seat.
‘Surely you are not just relying on me?’ I said, sensing his disappointment. ‘Any of the other girls are at least as qualified as me.’
‘You are the only Watcher,’ Victoria said softly.
‘One!’ I protested loudly. ‘I saw one spirit, and that was weeks ago!’
Neither of them replied and we sat quietly for a minute or two until Victoria said. ‘That’s one more than the rest of us.’
****
At first, no-one spoke while we ate dinner. Roast chicken with boiled potatoes.
‘I do understand why you’re worried,’ Edgar said eventually. ‘Everything has happened so fast for you. Eighteen months ago, you didn’t know anything about us. You were just a police-officer doing her job, protecting the public from robbers, rapists and murderers. Now here we are, suggesting you need to protect them from something worse.’
I shook my head and lowered my cutlery. ‘If these so-called bad spirits came into this world, how would I even recognise one? And if they are not ghosts any more but solid beings, then surely anyone else can see them as well as me?’
‘They can’t survive for very long in this world in their present form,’ Edgar said. ‘Remember, their physical bodies are dead, that’s why they ended up in purgatory in the first place. So, they must either accept their fate and continue into the afterworld, or find a body in this world to take over and possess. Watchers, like yourself, who are able to see them in spirit form are also able to see them inside the bodies they possess.’
‘How do you know that?’ I said, and looked across at Victoria accusingly. ‘You told me this was unchartered territory.’
‘It will be,’ Victoria said carefully. ‘For me.’
‘But it has happened before,’ Edgar said. ‘Many times, throughout history.’
Victoria came around the table and rested a hand on my shoulder. ‘We didn’t know about your ability when you joined us,’ she said. ‘But I believe in fate, and you are with us for a reason.’
I looked up at her and then over at Edgar who nodded in agreement. ‘You need some time to think,’ he said. ‘I understand.’ He looked past me at Victoria. ‘I’m tired again. I should go upstairs and rest.’
I felt Victoria’s arm leave my shoulder and she went around the table to help him to his feet. It was strange thinking that this old man was the most powerful of witches, whose spell was holding who-knows-how-many witches in a prison.
I watched as they headed slowly upstairs while Sampson padded over to keep me company. At least, that’s what I thought he was doing. But then he stared at the glass door behind me that led out into the dark night. He started whimpering, not too loudly, but enough to tell me something wasn’t right.
I couldn’t see anything out there, just my reflection looking back at me. But then I stepped back and flipped the lights out so we were plunged into darkness.
I looked back at the glass pane and gave a cry.
Desiree was standing outside, looking in.
32
‘IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?’ Victoria called down from upstairs.
I kept my eyes fixed on Desiree as I called back to her. ‘It’s nothing, I just tripped over Sampson.’ I gave it a few seconds just to be sure Victoria had accepted my reply. Then I turned the key in the lock and slid the door open, just wide enough so that I could squeeze through but Sampson couldn’t run out.
As I stood half in-half out, I looked down at him. ‘So, you can see Desiree too?’ He watched me with his tongue lolling out. ‘Maybe you’re a Watcher too,’ I joked.
I squeezed out the rest of the way and slid the door closed, just leaving the smallest gap for my fingers to slip around when I wanted to go back inside.
Before I knew who Desiree was, I had referred to her as Goth-girl. With her white powdered face, dark make up and bright red hair, she looked the same as she did in the photos I had dug out from the old police case-files about her death. It seemed you didn’t age while you were in purgatory.
‘So, Edgar was right,’ I said. ‘You are here.’
She had only spoken to me once before and that was in a dream. So, it took me by surprise when she answered back. ‘I told you, Erin. The bond is breaking.’
I motioned towards the r
oom inside. ‘Did you hear us talking in there?’
‘Yes, but please don’t ask me for career advice.’
‘You know, I’m not cut out for this sort of thing.’
‘None of us are,’ she said. ‘But you’re a Watcher. That makes you special.’
‘Is that why I can hear as well as see you now?’
‘As Edgar weakens so we start to seep out of purgatory,’ she said. ‘The first stage is you can see me, the second stage is you can hear me, and then the third stage...’ She suddenly reached forward and plunged her arm through me as though she was just a holographic image.
‘I’m not quite there yet,’ she mused. ‘Trust me, if Edgar was dead you would have felt that.’
‘What about the other spirits, where are they?’
‘They don’t want to be seen. Not until Edgar dies. And then, some of the bad ones will possess other peoples’ bodies when they come back here.’
‘Will you come back?’
‘I’m a good girl,’ Desiree smiled. ‘No, when Edgar dies I’ll do the right thing and bid you farewell before going on my merry-way to another place.’
‘Why don’t all the spirits do the same as you?’
‘Some have unfinished business in this world, others simply like the excitement, the danger, the mayhem.’
‘So, you came here to warn us?’
‘I still have family alive in this world who will be in danger if certain spirits come back looking for revenge against me. You weren’t my first choice. I tried to get myself seen by so many people over the last few weeks as I looked for a Watcher I could communicate with.’
‘So, do you think I should help Victoria find the spirits that do return?’
She shook her head. ‘I said, I won’t tell you what you should do, Erin. Any spirits that do return will be extremely dangerous to everyone, but especially to those that try to capture them. Only you can decide whether you want to take on that responsibility.’
There was a shout from inside the cottage. Victoria had come downstairs and was calling to me in the darkness. Then the door slid open and Victoria leaned out, using her legs to prevent Sampson from following her outside.