“So you think the girl up there – is she worth the sacrifice?” Harold moved up close to Neil. “Three lives today. Three lives gone because of us.” He punched the wall next to the lad. “And one never even began.”
Upstairs, the ellyllon trilled.
Kellie kept still in the wardrobe as the little beasts grew in number. They surrounded the bed, at least twelve in the room within minutes. At any one time, several were trilling loudly. She watched them through the slats, as the one that appeared to be the leader gave instructions in a series of clicks and grunts, and pointed at various parts of Louisa’s body. The ellyllon started to jump up onto the bed. Two went to each arm, three to each leg. Kellie breathed in shallow breaths, the baby thankfully asleep under her cardigan, not even suckling on her pinky anymore. The creatures grasped the girl, their claws piercing her clothes as they lifted her up.
The leader froze in place. Then the beast turned slowly and leapt off the bed. Amelia crouched in the corner next to the wardrobe. Kellie drew a deep breath, and held it as the ellyllon stopped on the other side of the door. Through the slats, she saw Amelia shake and shiver. The creature inched towards Amelia, sniffing. It reached out with one hand, claws extended. Amelia let out a small shriek as the point of a claw pierced the flesh on her arm. A drop of blood grew, welling up before dribbling down her skin. The creature leaned closer, sniffing her, then seemingly satisfied, turned away slowly.
Not willing to risk even the soft sounds of breathing, Kellie kept holding her breath until her lungs burned. She knew she didn’t have to breathe. She wouldn’t die, but she would faint eventually. Even if they somehow missed hearing her collapse, surely baby Hope would wake, her screams alerting the creatures. Fuzzy dots crept into the sides of her vision, and she dared to take in a small breath.
The creature froze a second time and turned in the direction of the wardrobe. It sniffed the air, and stepped closer.
“Get off me!” Louisa had come to. “What the hell is going on? Someone help me!” she shrieked.
The lead ellyllon took one last look at the door and glanced at Amelia before stepping away from the wardrobe. It leapt up on the bed and marched up its length. The creature jumped up onto Louisa, only stopping on her chest, right above her face.
“No, don’t let them take me!” Louisa twisted and bucked but the creatures holding her limbs kept her down. “Help!” she screamed.
The ellyllon on her chest leaned over the girl so their faces were inches from each other. Then, quick as a cat, the beast struck her head with a fist. Instantly, Louisa stopped her struggling, and fell limp.
It clicked a few orders and the other creatures lifted Louisa from the bed and dropped her onto the floor. The group jumped down and renewed their hold. They grabbed onto her once more and left the room.
Kellie dared to take a deeper breath. She felt quite weak, light-headed. But she remained as she was between the coats. Amelia leapt up and ran to the window.
Neil gasped as the ellyllon dragged Louisa’s body down the stairs. He couldn’t tell if she was still alive. Did they need the sacrifices alive on the Otherside? He didn’t know. Blood seemed everywhere. The bottom half of the girl was sodden. Fresh cuts wept where the little beasts dug their claws into her skin for purchase.
Corpses don’t bleed, Neil thought suddenly and cringed, and pressed against the wall as much as possible. The creatures marched past, ignoring the three men, and the procession left the house.
Harold and Sean followed the ellyllon to the street. Neil waited in the doorway and peered into the darkness. From the way the ellyllon held her, their dark fur blending with the night, Louisa seemed to be hovering half a foot above the ground, as if levitating down the yard, and towards the cottage. Mounds of corpses barred the center of the road, and the floating girl changed course, gliding over the front of Kellie’s garden, and then returned to the road. Louisa didn’t struggle. Her head lolled back, her long hair brushing the tarmac. At the cottage door, the creatures did not pause and disappeared, along with Louisa, inside.
Suddenly everything was quiet. The chittering and clacking of the ellyllon stopped. They must have gone over to the Otherside. Maybe she’d already died.
Neil left the confines of Sean and Amelia’s house. As he stared at the now empty doorway, movement caught his attention; he caught a glimpse of his brother as he flitted past the gap between Harold’s and Kellie’s houses. Presumably Pete was on his way to the rear garden of the cottage.
He’s sick, Neil thought. Who would want to watch? He was too late, anyway.
“Everything was in vain,” Harold said. The old man looked tired. He raised his sword, and with a loud whooping war cry, charged into the mounds of ellyllon corpses. In one smooth movement, he skewered several of the bodies onto the blade. He stood on the tarmac, holding the blade out and jabbed it at the cottage before collapsing to the ground. Harold let out a long scream and with a flick of the sword, threw off the corpses. For a moment he remained still, and Neil took half a step towards him. Then he heard the sounds of the old man’s sobs.
Before he could decide whether to comfort Harold, someone spoke from behind him. Neil turned to see Amelia appear in the doorway to her house.
“They gone?” Amelia took a few slow steps outside. “Are they gone?”
No one replied to her. A car door slammed down by Sulham Farm. An engine turned, caught, and the sound of the car revving filled the air.
“Must be,” Sean said in reply to his wife’s question. “Or Pete wouldn’t be off. Your brother’s a sick bastard, you know.” Sean flipped the black BMW as the car careered around the edge of the piles of corpses, and shot out the end of the yard.
“I-I-I know.” Neil hung his head.
“Sorry. Some apples are just rotten, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Sean put a hand on Neil’s shoulder.
“Maggie would have sorted him out,” Harold muttered. He clambered to his feet, wiping his shirt sleeve across his face before facing the others.
“Th-th-think we a-angered them?” Neil took a step towards the center of the road, and away from the deepest shadows.
“Probably,” Sean said, and shrugged.
“Are they gone yet?” Amelia asked again, still sheltered in the doorway of her house. She’d raised her voice a little, enough to make Neil and the other two men turn towards her.
“For goodness’ sake, woman. They’re gone already!” Harold said.
“I have to be sure,” she replied, her voice quieter now.
She stepped onto her garden path, a bundle in her arms.
“Does it look like they’re still here? Are the bastards swarming out of the cottage, charging at us with their nasty little teeth chattering?” Harold rolled his eyes, and turned away from her.
“You don’t need to be rude all the time, Harold.” Amelia walked up to her husband, nuzzling against him until Sean wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Behind them, Kellie and Eloise waited in the front garden.
“We have Hope now,” Amelia said to Sean, her head upturned to catch his gaze.
“Huh?” Sean met her gaze, frowning as he tried to work out what she meant.
“Hope. We have Hope.” She pulled the bundle open so the little baby’s face was exposed. “Louisa named her, before they dragged her away.”
Eloise spoke up, her voice high and clear, “Hope will save us all.”
“Don’t be daft, woman.” Harold took a moment to gaze at the infant before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Come on home,” he said and led his wife away.
“A baby!” Sean staggered back, his eyes wide.
Amelia glanced at him, a generous smile on her face. “Yes. Our baby.”
“We can’t keep her.” Sean peered down at the infant. She slept for now, her thumb wedged in her mouth.
“Why not?” There was a steely edge to Amelia’s voice. “Where else is she going to go?”
“What if she doesn’t grow up?” Sean whisp
ered. He placed his hand on the top of the baby’s head.
“Soft, isn’t she?”
Sean nodded. Tears ran down his cheeks.
“But what if she doesn’t grow…”
Amelia silenced him with a finger.
“Eloise’s right. Hope will save us. Just wait and see.”
Neil tentatively approached the couple. “M-may I?” he asked, and reached for the baby. Amelia placed the infant gently in his arms. He held her close. The newborn had a delicate scent, and he breathed deeply. “I-I could t-teach her sciences,” he said.
Kellie stepped up, and took the baby into her arms. “I know enough about English, and Maths. We can home school her. All of us here.”
“Not bloody Pete.” Sean glanced at the end of the yard. “I’ll not have him near my lass.”
“Don’t you worry,” Kellie said. “Do you think any of us would let him?” She handed Hope back to Amelia. “Why don’t you three sleep at mine tonight? We’ll clean the house in the morning.”
“Thanks.” Amelia leaned over and placed a small kiss on the Kellie’s cheek. “Thank you for saving her.”
“No problem. Go on, get inside. It’s too cold for her out here.”
Neil stayed out on the yard for a few minutes after the others went in, staring at the cottage. For a second the shape of the building seemed to grow imperceptibly, then settle back into its foundations. The portal had closed until the next year. He looked down to realize he still held the machete in one hand. He twirled the blade in the air.
Next year, he thought. Next year would be different. They would battle and win.
About the Author
Lisa C Hinsley’s career has been varied, working as an architectural technician, a pet sitter, a pharmacy supervisor and most recently a carer/companion for elderly ladies, all the while writing when she can. Born in Portsmouth in 1971, Lisa grew up in England, Scotland, and America. She now lives on the Wirral, in northwest England, with her husband, three children, four cats and a dog.
You can find out more about Lisa C Hinsley here:
Website: www.lisahinsley.weebly.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LisaHinsley.author
Twitter: @LisaCHinsley
If you enjoyed Sacrifice, please let Lisa know at [email protected] and leave a review on the book’s page.
Also by Lisa C Hinsley
Novels:
That Elusive Cure
Plague
The Ultimate Choice
My Demon
Coombe’s Wood
Short stories:
A Peculiar Collection
Sacrifice (Sulham Close Part 1) Page 12