Thriller: Horror: Spirit Doll (Mystery Suspense Thrillers) (Haunted Paranormal Short Story)

by Stephen Kingston

  Looking back at the window, Benjamin relaxed seeing no sign of George. Hopefully he had made some sense of the brief message.

  The three of them talked some more and eventually Van Lomas stood up and addressed them both. “It was so good of you to accept my invite this evening. You two are exactly what we needed tonight.” He said raising his glass towards the pair of them.

  As he did, the main door of the room opened and the butler appeared. He stepped aside as a group of what looked like monks began entering the room. They worked their way around the table surrounding Benjamin and Janey.

  “We would like to invite you to join us in a short stroll,” Van Lomas said.

  “A stroll?” Janey asked. “A stroll where?”

  “A stroll down to the circle of course. It is all prepared and ready for your arrival. Please don’t attempt to refuse me. My friends have been looking forward to this for some time. Some years in fact. I’m sure you understand they won’t take no for an answer.” Van Lomas said.

  As two of the hooded monks grabbed Janey’s arms, Benjamin took a swing. He was soon overpowered by the others and the pair of them were frog-marched out of the house.

  “Ben! Ben! Help me!” Janey screamed as she kicked and twisted against the grip of her escort.

  “Stop!” Van Lomas said. “Pay attention to what I say. As I mentioned before. They have been waiting a long time for this and won’t take no for an answer. If you keep resisting, I shall instruct them to silence you. Please save yourself that indignity and come quietly.”

  In silence they were marched down the winding path over the moors to the circle. Before they were in the circle the butler came running down the path after them.

  “SIR! SIR!” The butler shouted.

  Van Lomas held up his hand to stop the procession.

  “What is it Grayson!” He snapped.

  “The others Sir! The others in the cellar,” he almost whined.

  “Yes they are on their way. I wanted these two to see the wonderful job we had made of the circle before I brought the others down.” Van Lomas said.

  “No, Sir! They are gone. All of them gone. We went to get them out and they are gone!” The butler replied.

  “Don’t be so pathetic. They had enough drugs in them to knock out a horse. You said so yourself. How can they be gone?” Van Lomas snarled. He turned back to Janey and Benjamin. “Take these two down to the circle and hold them there, the rest of you, find them! Now! Wherever they are they can’t be far.”

  Four of the hooded group dragged Janey and Benjamin down to the circle as the rest hurried off towards the house and surrounding moors.

  Van Lomas was right. They had been busy. As Benjamin and Janey were walked into the circle they could feel the blood oozing under their feet. Beneath the bright full moon they could see the centre of the stone circle was awash with the carcasses and blood of dozens of small animals. The smell of the blood and bodies reached their noses and after the dinner and wine it was hard for them both not to retch.

  The group that had gone in search of the lost ones returned. They returned empty handed. Shortly after two more of the group arrived dragging a bloodied and beaten George.

  “We found this in the house,” said one as he threw George to the feet of Van Lomas.

  “Where are the others?” Van Lomas snarled at George as he kicked him in the side of the head.

  “Gone I reckon. Gone home. Gone walking. Maybe sat in your dining room finishing off your fancy fine meal. Oh no, that was me of course. So they must be gone.” George snickered through a broken and bleeding mouth.

  “It is midnight, Sir. We are out of time.” The butler said.

  “This maggot will go first. Whatever happens these three will be sacrificed tonight. On that alter.”

  From out of the hooded group that had formed around the circle, one of them stepped forward and stood before Van Lomas.

  “No Van Lomas. That is not the bargain you made.” Said the hooded voice lowering the hood of her cloak. It was Monique. Janey gasped.

  “I know what deal I made and these will die tonight.” Van Lomas snapped.

  "No Van Lomas, you will!” Said Monique. Turning to address the circle she spoke out so all could here.

  “You people were fooled by this man’s lies. The pact he made with Lucifer was for his own immortal soul not yours. Tonight he agrees to sacrifice thirteen. Thirteen souls to release Lucifer on earth and thirteen hearts to give Van Lomas eternal life. Just him. Not you. You would be playthings for the evil one. Driven mad and desperate for your own deaths. Van Lomas has failed with delivering the thirteen hearts and now he has to pay. If he doesn’t pay, all of you will. He must pay with his own heart. That is the pact he made with Lucifer. You or him.”

  Van Lomas stood silent. His face filled with rage and in his hand lay the long ceremonial dagger he was to perform the ritual slaughter with. Monique lowered her hand and lifted the blade. She could feel his hand weaken as she removed it from his grasp and turned it towards him.

  “I do not kill you Daniel Van Lomas, you do. Step forward on to this blade and redeem an ounce of sanity for yourself.”

  Van Lomas gazed around the circle hoping for an escape. Hoping that somehow thirteen victims would arrive and save him. But he knew the truth and knew the pact. He groaned as he stepped forward onto the gleaming blade and as he felt it penetrate his heart he slowly slid to the blood drenched circle floor.

  As Monique stepped back from the now lifeless body towards her daughter and Benjamin, the dark figures around the circle melted away into the darkness. The butler, knowing nothing else but to serve his master Van Lomas and aided by two of the hooded group, lifted the lifeless Van Lomas from the ground and carried him off into the darkness of the moors.

  The four of them were left alone in the circle.

  “Mother?” Janey whimpered. “What the hell is going on? Who the hell are you?”

  Monique laughed lightly and lifted Janey from off the ground to stand in front of her.

  “Your aunt killed the father of Daniel Van Lomas and tonight I killed his son. Daniel Van Lomas too has a son. You must prepare to meet him. You will kill him. Our families shall continue this battle until no heir is left to carry on the ritual they wish to create. You will need this.”

  “What battle? I have no intentions of killing anyone. We must call the police.” Janey gasped, interrupting her mother as the woman tried to hand her a velvet covered object.

  “Many generations ago, as Christianity was making its first fumbling steps into Britain, an ancestor of Van Lomas was one of those first priests to have arrived here. Yes of course he knew the Bible backwards and forwards but he also knew many other ancient truths that would never be taught to the common people here. He knew the magical texts kept hidden by the Catholic Church. Lucifer himself. Eternal life would be granted to himself or his heirs if the proper ritual was carried out at the proper time and place. That of course is here and now.” Monique drew her daughter close, walking around the stones with her.

  “Your ancestor on the other hand was a simple boy that had been taken under the wing of the church to learn and to spread the word in this area. He had studied hard and, more importantly, had observed Van Lomas and followed him to see first-hand the rituals Van Lomas secretly indulged in. He continued to study hard but also made it his life’s work to study all that Van Lomas might know in an attempt to thwart his plan.” Monique paused to ensure Janey was keeping up with her dialogue and to allow her a moment to take it all in. She then continued.

  “Your, our, ancestor killed the first Van Lomas on a night such as this and in this location. Creating a book of all he knew, he passed it on to his daughter with the instruction that no Van Lomas must ever succeed in their diabolical ritual. Tonight was my turn. I have studied hard and long for this evening and have been in the utmost terror that I must fulfil this destiny. But now it is done. Now that burden is unfortunately yours.”

  Monique p
assed Janey the thick, leather bound velvet covered book she was always so eagerly seen to be reading. On the cover Janey noted the same inscription as they had seen on the rings the visitors wore.

  “Read it and study it child. Prepare, and ensure the future belongs to us, not them.”

  “But we need to call the police Mother. We need to get those people back to safety wherever they are.” Janey said as she clutched the heavy book to her chest.

  “The police will arrive and find nothing. The cult will be long gone along with the body of Van Lomas.” Monique replied.

  “But what about all those people that were kidnapped?” Janey asked.

  “I met George some way down the track before he came to the house.” Monique answered. “We agreed he would bring them down to Ben’s van and load them quietly aboard. They were in no fit state to climb down the moors and they would be safe until the deed was done. George and Benjamin can now drive them back to the village and tell all to the police. All, except a mention of us. We were never here. Our anonymity in this matter will be what helps us prevail on the next attempt. There will be a next attempt Janey, have no doubt. Now, let us get off this accursed moor and down to the pub. I believe we may have saved the world and earned a drink or two.”

  Janey looked at her mother and Benjamin in bewilderment. So much had happened so quickly that she couldn’t take it all in. But Van Lomas was gone, the evil was gone, and they were all safe once more. For a little while, at least. Taking Ben’s arm on one side and drawing her mother close to the other, Janey walked away from the terror of this night with the two people she loved most in the world safe beside her. A new life had begun for them all, she just hoped she was up to the challenge.

  The End

  Crossover

  Paranormal Romance

  About the Book

  Two weeks of camping had Tana Jackson bouncing with joy. No chirping mobile phone once she turned it off, no television, nothing but peace and quiet, nature, and the hard work of hiking up a mountain. Tana’s idea of heaven. Then she discovers a village full of crazy cult members that are bound to ruin her trip.

  An accident leads to Tana’s introduction to the village and the crazy idea that she’s somehow stumbled into a parallel universe. Unfortunately, Kajika, the sex god that she meets upon waking, turns out to be more of a scummy demon and makes her time there a nightmare.

  Injured and knowing she won’t be able to get off the mountain, Tana settles in to learn more about the villagers, and comes to respect the people there, even if they are in need of mental help. There’s a lot of talk about the Land of the Living and the Spirit world, and it’s all too much for Tana to deal with. Between Kajika’s nastiness and a fear that she’s starting to fall for the cult’s beliefs, Tana determines to leave.

  As she fights to get back to the Land of the Living, she also starts to fight back against Kajika, and slowly she wears him down until his attitude changes entirely. A horrifying discovery could soon change Tana’s future and she’ll have to make a choice, a life with Kajika or freedom from the world entirely? Only Tana can make that choice; but the new life she leads, the new love and friendships she has could be the deciding factors in the most important decision of her life.

  Chapter One

  Tana Jackson pulled into a parking spot at the bottom of the latest mountain she was determined to hike and smiled happily. Two weeks of camping, hiking, and total peace from the world outside awaited her. World War III could start and she’d never know because she was going to be hiking up a mountain, through thick woods, and cooling her feet in cold mountain streams. Just the kind of holiday she’d been longing for.

  Tana pulled her gear out of the back, checked in with the office, and pulled out her map, refreshing the trail in her mind. Finding the trailhead, she started her way up. Early morning sunlight barely penetrated the canopy of the trees and Tana knew she had hours to go before she made her first campsite. The canopy overhead provided shade and kept it cool but Tana was sweating an hour into her hike and pulled the electric blue fleece she had on over her head, and tied it around her waist.

  Wiping her forehead, Tana looked around the rocky terrain, wondering how much weight she’d shift on this holiday. She wasn’t vastly overweight but she never denied herself whatever she wanted to eat so that she could look like a supermodel. Brushing at the strands of long red hair that had escaped their clip, she reminded herself that life was meant to be lived and enjoyed, denying yourself food so that you could go to parties where you hated everyone else didn’t appeal to her. In any case, she reminded herself, exercise usually shifted most of it and she was a healthy 28-year-old woman. She wandered off the trail for a moment to snap some pictures of a stream that had caught her eye, and then carried on, wanting to set up camp by lunchtime.

  Halfway up the mountain, Tana stopped and made her first campsite, using an area provided by the forestry service that oversaw the parkland. The wind was up a bit so she used a barbecue pit provided by the service to cook her lunch rather than making a campfire herself. The sky was a little more open where some of the trees had been cleared out for the campsite, and Tana knew the night wouldn’t be too cold, especially with a sleeping bag to warm up in. She set up her one-person tent, slid the sleeping bag inside of it, and pulled out a book, deciding a little rest was called for after that hike up the mountain.

  Tana spent the rest of the day exploring the area, taking photographs, resting her feet in the spring that ran down the mountain, and generally just enjoying where she was. She prepared another dehydrated meal that evening, changed into more comfortable sleep attire, snuggled down into her sleeping bag, and quickly fell asleep, looking up at the stars through the trees, totally at peace with the world and quietly happy.

  The next morning she set off early, wanting to reach the peak of the mountain and see the views from the top before the sun went down. This part of the hike took considerably longer as the altitude increased and the terrain became rockier. She consulted the map periodically because she’d lost the trail markers somewhere along the way, but she was certain she’d stayed on the right path.

  Tana was near the top when she started to smell smoke. The scent confused her at first, but then she realized there must be some campers up top. As long as they didn’t impinge on her quiet time she didn’t mind other people around. Sometimes campers liked to party until the morning hours and that usually made Tana a very unhappy camper. She giggled at her bad joke and carried on trudging up the mountain.

  She started to hear voices, children’s laughter, the yips of dogs chasing each other, and what sounded like wood being chopped. Oh good grief, there was a whole village at the top by the sounds of it. Her mood souring and her hopes for a peaceful evening quickly disappearing, Tana climbed the last little bit and stood behind a tree, expecting to see a whole commune of tents and campfires. What she saw made her jaw drop.

  The top of the mountain was mainly clear of trees with some kind of wigwam structures dotted all along it. People walked in between the structures, clad in buckskin clothing, working; performing a variety of jobs from curing more of the leather used to make their clothing and footwear, to chopping wood, and preparing food around a large fire. An elderly man with long grey hair sat in front of one of the cooking fires caught her attention, and she watched him for a moment as he turned meat on large stones set over the fire. Well that was one way to get the job done, Tana thought. As her gaze drifted over the village, Tana became aware that she needed to relieve her bladder and glanced at the old man once more.

  “Such a brilliant way to cook food,” she said to herself as she turned around. Tana was startled to find the old man standing in front of her and tried to backpedal but her left foot caught between two rocks and she fell, rolling 20 foot down the slope of the mountain before landing against a tree. She cried out in agony just before she passed out, the side of her head colliding with a rock.

  The old man watched as Tana rolled, horrified th
at he’d startled her so badly. Looking back up the slope he wondered how he was going to get such a large woman up to the village to tend to her injuries. He was going to have to go for help.

  “She’s so big, none of the women in our village, or other villages are as tall as her, as round. She must be from another village far, far away. Or she’s come from the other side of the vale. I don’t know Kajika; I’ve just never seen a woman so big.”

  Tana scrunched up her face and tried to open her eyes, but they were being held down by stones it felt like. Her entire body was screaming at her in pain, her right collarbone, shoulder, and left ankle holding a competition to see which could get her attention first. Finally managing to drag her eyelids open, she looked at the two men staring down at her and decided she’d rather be dead than listen to that old man and what had to be the sexist man alive discussing how large she was. Scrunching up her face, she tried to roll over but stopped immediately as her ankle finally won the screaming competition.

  She bit back a scream and a swear word, punching the soft blankets that cushioned the place she was resting instead. Finally, the pain ebbed to low-grade torture, and she opened her eyes again. Yep, the sex god was still there. The man was beautiful with dark-black hair, crystal blue eyes, and a mouth that women would pay for. His body looked like it had been sculpted from marble, and she could see quite a bit of it as it was only covered in a loincloth of some sort at the moment. Who wears loincloths in this day and age, she thought? This must be some really weird cult, just wait until I get back down the mountain and tell them what kind of nutjobs have taken over up here.

  “Could one of you stop gawking at me and help me please?” She finally asked with the need for a toilet burning in her lower regions still. She was almost afraid to sit up but she needed to go so bad.