Again he paused, hoping his message had sunk in to the whole room. It had: they all looked concerned, angry, despairing.
Grant spoke once more. ‘These are desperate times. And desperate times call for desperate measures. Now, I want you to listen carefully to what I have to say. And listen with an open mind. Several of us have been taking part in, shall we say, unorthodox practices recently, in order to keep our land, our livelihoods, our –’ He paused, looked at his wife who was sitting next to Paul Priestly. He looked away again. ‘As I say, unorthodox practices. But they’ve worked. So I want to say to all of you, what worked for us might work for the whole village.’
He scanned the room once more, making sure his message was hitting home. It looked like it was. Pirate John just frowned. Wondered how – and what – he had missed out on.
‘You all know what I’m talking about. Most of you have been part of it. We’ve tried everything to make our voices heard, to get our position understood, and we’ve got nowhere. So we’ve been delving back into the old ways. Making them work for us. And the results have been nothing less than astonishing. So I’m asking you now to take the next step in our crusade to get that marina built here and save St Petroc. Are we all agreed?’
A loud murmur of assent went round the room. Pirate John had no idea what was happening.
And then it clicked. He remembered Bill Watson, alone in his field, covered in cow’s blood, howling at the moon. Bill Watson with his problems that mysteriously got sorted out after that night. Pirate John understood. The old religion. That’s what they were talking about.
‘Good. Then let me welcome to the floor someone you’re all familiar with.’
Morrigan stood up, walked slowly to the front of the room, turned and looked at the crowd. Smiled.
‘You all know me. I’ve been active in the Round Table for years. Born and bred here. And, as you know, I’m something of an expert on the old ways. Looking round this room I see plenty of faces that I’ve helped over the years. I’ve turned sceptics to believers. I’ve shown you that the old ways may have fallen out of fashion but they still retain their power. And you believe that. All of you. Or you wouldn’t be here tonight, listening to me.’
A few nods, no dissent. Morrigan continued.
‘I can ensure that the marina comes here. I can ensure wealth, jobs and stability for all our futures. There are plenty of people in this room who will vouch for me and what I can do. What I have done. The question is, do you want me to do it this time? And are you with me if I do?’
They all looked at each other. A few shrugs, a few nods. Grunts of assent.
‘Anyone against?’
No one. Pirate John wondered what he had got himself into but still didn’t dare raise his hand.
‘Carried unanimously,’ Morrigan said, those dark crow eyes smiling.
A few laughs. Morrigan became serious.
‘Now. Before we proceed there are a few things you all need to be aware of. What we will be doing may not be strictly within the law. But I assure you, if my instructions are carried out to the letter, no harm will come to anyone in this room. OK? Now. Anyone who doesn’t want to take part should leave now.’
Pirate John wanted to get up, to speak out. What was happening? He certainly hadn’t got the memo. But no one else moved. So he stayed where he was too. Morrigan smiled once more.
‘Good.’ Morrigan looked towards the back of the room. Kept smiling as the door opened and some newcomers arrived. ‘Noah. Good of you to turn up. Oh. You’ve brought friends.’
Noah entered. Some of his travellers, tall, well-built ones with flattened noses, prison tattoos and scarred arms, entered with him. They stood at the back, arms folded. People turned round to look, faces all concerned, worried.
‘Please don’t be alarmed. I invited Noah and his friends to attend. They’re part of our community as well and after all, we’re going to be allies from now on. Working together for all of our futures. So again, if anyone has a problem with this, leave now. If you stay, then we must all assume each other’s complicity in what we are about to achieve.’
No one spoke. No one moved. Pirate John felt like he had slipped outside his body and was watching it from above. Numb, unable to move, to speak.
‘Now. I’m going to ask you all to open your minds. As Grant said. To embrace practices and beliefs that you may never have had any dealings with before. Powerful beliefs that can change not just the way you think and feel, but the way you live. For all of us. You must be prepared to think the unthinkable, do the undoable. Whatever we decide, we go forward together. As one. You have all agreed, you are now committed. You are part of this. And no one will be permitted to drop out. So for the last time, are we all together on this?’
A few murmurings, anxious glances around to look at Noah and his boys. Someone stood up and, head down, walked out. Another followed. Then silence. Pirate John wanted to move but felt he was rooted to his chair.
‘We are an army now, waging a war we cannot lose. The Morrigan is flying above you all. The crow who sees everything. The Morrigan can foretell the death of our enemies, the victory of our forces. The Morrigan will reward the righteous, punish the blasphemers, the weak. The Morrigan is the goddess of fate and battle. The Celtic great queen, the crow, the raven. You will all now henceforth address me as Morrigan.’
Morrigan talked. Outlined the plan, the parts everyone was to play.
‘Follow my instructions to the letter and we will not fail. I have never failed yet. This will not be the first time.’
‘If this is to proceed and we are to get the right and just outcome, we need one thing above all. A sacrifice.’
No one interrupted.
‘This sacrifice should be an outsider. Not one of our own. No one we know. No one we love. No one we can be in any way attached to. Their suffering, their screams, will fortify us. Give us power. Make us unstoppable. Their ultimate death according to ritual will provide us with what we need to fertilise our earth, to make the future grow from it. The ritual must be carried out on a specific date and at a specific time. The sacrifice will be chosen by—’
‘What the hell is going on here?’
All eyes turned to the source of the new voice. They moved slowly, like sleepers wakened from a dream or enchantment, mesmerised by Morrigan’s presence and words.
Tony Williamson had stood up.
‘Just listen to yourselves. Listen to what you’re actually proposing. It’s madness.’
‘It’s the will of the people,’ Morrigan replied. ‘And you have to serve the will of the people.’
‘Is it bollocks the will of the people,’ said Tony. ‘It’s mass hysteria, is what it is. It’s desperation. It’s lies.’
‘Lies? Desperation? Aren’t there enough examples of what I’ve achieved from the people in this room tonight? Haven’t they witnessed my power first-hand?’
‘No, they haven’t. Just auto-suggestion and mass hysteria. That’s all. It’s pathetic. Don’t you agree?’ He looked at some of his friends. Or those he had thought were his friends. None of them would make eye contact now. ‘Really? You’re going to say nothing, let this charade continue? Bill, what about it? It’s all bollocks, you said so yourself. Tell them that.’
Bill Watson turned away. Mumbled at the floor. ‘Reckon there might be something in it.’
Tony shook his head. ‘Grant? Please. Please, Grant . . .’
Grant looked away from him also. ‘Please, Tony. You don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘But Grant—’
‘You don’t know the full facts. You’ve got to see the bigger picture.’ He looked across at his wife, smiled. She returned it.
‘Jack, what about you?’
Jack, resplendent in his new tweeds, just shrugged. ‘Sorry, Tony.’
Morrigan smiled. ‘Shall we take a vote?’
Tony stood up. ‘Do what you fucking like. I’m not going to be part of this.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘Away. From here. From all of you mentalists. Jesus Christ . . .’
‘You are forbidden to speak of what has been discussed in this room tonight.’
‘Am I bollocks. First opportunity I get, I’ll be shouting it.’
Everyone seemed to move uncomfortably as one.
Morrigan’s eyes glittered darkly. ‘I would advise you not to, Tony.’
‘Really? Or what? You’re going to kill me or something? Put a spell on me?’ He gave a bitter laugh. ‘Get real.’
‘I don’t need to kill you, Tony Williamson.’ Morrigan leaned forward. ‘Consider yourself crow-warned. You know what that means.’
‘Yeah. And I’m terrified.’ He didn’t hide the sarcasm in his voice.
‘Remember one thing, Tony Williamson.’ Morrigan again.
He turned, waited.
‘Beware the calling of the dead.’
He laughed. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake.’
‘Mock all you like. But if you walk along the cliffs around here, where there have been shipwrecks off the coast, you can hear the dead calling out their names. And sometimes they call out the names of those about to join them. Take care you don’t hear your name among them.’
‘Well, that’s wonderful to hear but I’ve got to go,’ he said. ‘The twenty-first century called. They want me back. Fucking superstitious inbreds, the lot of you. I hope you’re all disgusted with yourselves. You should be.’
And he left, slamming the door behind him.
Morrigan waited until the hubbub had died down, then nodded towards Noah. He nodded in return, gestured to two of his boys who also slipped out of the door. Morrigan looked at the rest of the room and smiled.
‘I trust no one else wants to follow his example?’
Everyone stayed where they were. Pirate John didn’t dare move. He was part of it now, whether he liked it or not.
Morrigan smiled. ‘Good. Now that we’re all on the same page, is there any other business?’
That was the last time anyone saw Tony Williamson alive. His body washed up several months later, further down the shore. It was barely recognisable; partially eaten by animals and fish, buffeted and torn by rocks. Only identifiable by the remaining contents of his wallet. There was a coroner’s inquest. No one called told of the argument, of his leaving the Round Table meeting early. Nor of Noah’s men leaving at the same time. The verdict: death by misadventure. Walking too close to the cliff edge at night. No one from the village contradicted it. No one dared.
*
Pirate John came awake, reverie over, back to the present meeting. A lot had happened since that first one. He hadn’t listened to the details tonight, didn’t want to know too much, even though he was already implicated by his presence. Morrigan was concluding.
‘Go. To your homes, your places of work. Wait. Not long now: the time is almost upon us. There is one last piece to be moved into place tonight. The most important piece. That is already under way. Then you will all receive the call. You know where to gather, what to do. And once our task has been accomplished, we can all look forward to a bright and prosperous future for each and every one of us.’ Morrigan smiled, lifted wing-like arms. ‘Go.’
52
Lila couldn’t concentrate on her book, on the TV, on anything. She was scared. Every creak, every groan in the house made her jump. The branches outside hitting the windows, the distant sea washing up on the shore. Everything conspired to make her feel unsafe.
She had felt safe with Tom. For the first time in a long time – years, even – and that, she thought bitterly, had been her biggest mistake. To think, she had been about to share secrets with him, tell him things that might have made him hate her, might have led him to turning her in. She was beginning to think he wouldn’t. But the policewoman’s arrival changed all that.
So she and Tom were lovers. And she’d said she was off duty, not interested in Lila. It shouldn’t have mattered, but it did. If she told Tom everything, he might tell the policewoman. And she wouldn’t be off duty then. Lila couldn’t take that chance. She would have to go. She didn’t know where, but she couldn’t stay here any more.
He had tried to talk to her before he left but she hadn’t given him anything in return. Afraid of what would come out, she had said nothing. Just waited for him to leave, then sat, afraid all night.
There was a knock at the door.
Lila froze. It wasn’t Tom. He wouldn’t be knocking at his own house. And it couldn’t be the policewoman, she knew Tom was out. Lila shuddered. Or could it be? Perhaps she’d come back to talk to her on her own, make her confess, take her in.
Another knock.
She listened, unmoving. No voices. She hadn’t heard a car or anything approach. And she had been listening intently.
Another knock. And with it, a voice:
‘Lila . . . Lila . . . you in there?’
A fist slammed into her stomach, her heart. She knew that voice.
‘Lila . . .’
Kai.
She could hear her blood pumping all round her body. She had thought the policewoman was the last person she wanted to see. She was wrong.
‘Lila, please . . . I know you’re in there. Please . . . talk to me, it’s . . . you’ve got to let me in . . .’
His voice was so pathetic. Pleading. Desperate. Scared. But she wouldn’t open the door. No way.
‘They’re . . . I’ve got to get away. They’re coming after me now, I . . . please, just . . . talk to me, please . . .’
And then he started sobbing.
‘Please, Lila . . . help me, please . . .’
She moved to the front door, put her back against it, said nothing. Listened.
‘They . . . I’m sorry. For what I did. I’m sorry. So, so sorry . . .’
More crying.
‘It was . . . I had no choice . . . they, they made me do it . . . I’m sorry. So sorry . . .’
Lila listened. Because after all, it was Kai. The man who had loved her – said he’d loved her. And he was breaking his heart now. Her own heart softened slightly.
‘Kai . . .’
‘Lila? You’re there? You’re there? Please, let me in, please . . .’ Frantic scrabbling at the door. ‘I need to talk, I need to say sorry . . . please . . .’
‘Why? Why should I believe you? Why should I let you in?’
‘Please, you have to believe me, please . . . they’re after me, they . . . I escaped. They . . . Noah and them, they . . . Kyle. That student. He’s . . . oh, God, he’s . . . they killed, him Lila. He’s dead . . .’
‘What?’
‘And now they want me to take his place. They want me to . . . please, Lila, plea-sse . . . I’ve got . . . I don’t know who else to turn to . . .’
She said nothing. Listened.
‘I’m . . . I’m running. Getting away. They’re after me and . . . I’m running.’
‘How did you escape?’
‘They weren’t as clever as they thought. Same way you did. And I’m sorry. Sorry for what I put you though. For what I did to you. I know that now and I hate myself for it. But I’m getting away from here. And it’s not safe for you, either. They’re still looking for you . . . Come with me, Lila. Come on. Come with me. We can escape together. Start a new life somewhere where they can’t find us . . .’
Lila’s hand went to the lock, paused.
‘Are you lying to me?’
‘No . . .’ Almost hysterical in his reply. ‘Please, please . . . why would I come here? Why would I warn you, help you, try to get away? Why?’
She could hear her own breathing, deafening in her ears.
‘Please, Lila . . . hurry . . . they know you’re here . . . come with me . . . we haven’t got much time . . .’
Lila’s hand went to the door han
dle once more, faltered. Tom was a good man. Or had seemed to be, until the policewoman showed up. Now, she didn’t know if she could trust him any more.
Kai . . . she didn’t know how she felt about him. She had never loved him, not really, or at least she didn’t think so. And she hated him for how he had betrayed her. But maybe . . .
Maybe he was what she deserved. Who she deserved.
The thought hit her hard.
Maybe her mother was right. She was worthless, the wrong one to die. She had a demon inside her and didn’t need saving, didn’t need a new life. Maybe Kai was her destiny. The life she had to live.
So, with a heavy heart, she opened the door.
He looked dreadful. She had never seen him looking so bad. Bruises on his face were fading to sickly yellow but still held hearts of dark purple. His clothing was torn, tattered, his eyes wide and staring. Haunted. He smiled when he saw her. The kind of smile to break a heart.
‘Lila . . .’
He grabbed her to him, held her close.
‘Kai, come on, we’d better . . .’
She tried to pull away. He kept her tight to him.
She felt other arms on her, gripping her from behind. Strong, immovable.
‘Kai, what—’
The arms pulled her away from him. He looked behind her, gestured. She heard a motor, saw headlights starting up, rounding the corner coming towards her. The men pulled her towards the vehicle.
She stared at him.
Kai shrugged.
‘Sorry, Lila. You or me. What could I do?’
Lila tried to scream. It was cut off by a gag in her mouth. She was bundled into the van, Kai jumped in after her, slid the door shut, and they disappeared into the night.
53
Tom was restocking the back shelves with pint glasses when the meeting broke up and the Round Tablers collectively made their way downstairs.
‘Here we go,’ Pearl said to him, smiling. ‘Brace yourself for the rush.’
There were only ever a few who stayed after the meeting to drink; Tom understood her sarcasm.
Emlyn was the first to the bar, beating the others who were manhandling the wheelchair down the stairs.
The Old Religion Page 24