by Amy Cross
“No,” I stammer as I try desperately to think of a way to explain, “please, you don't understand...”
“Don't let her get close to you,” the priest says firmly, as he holds up a vial of water.
“Help me,” I cry, reaching toward the boy. “I'm begging you...”
“Don't let her touch you!” the priest shouts.
“Please,” I sob, “you have to help me! I'm so sorry for what I did, but you have to understand, I tried to hold her back! I tried to stop her! I was always -”
Hearing the priest stepping closer behind me, I realize that I have to hurry. I rush toward the boy, but the pain is intense and I scream. A moment later, the priest throws more of the water at me from behind, and the pain flares as I tilt my head back, and then everything goes dark.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Mother, you can't give up now. You have to end this.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“She has to bring her back for me,” the priest sobs as I open my eyes. “That's what all of this is for. She has to bring her back!”
For a moment, I don't even know who I am. I remember the pain, and then everything went dark and then even the darkness disappeared and there was nothing at all. I remember sinking out of existence, as if my mind was un-threading. And then...
“Elizabeth,” I whisper, as I think back to the moment when I heard her voice.
It was really her.
She spoke to me as I slipped into the void, and something about her words made me come back. I remember who I am now, I remember sobbing, I remember the priest burning me with holy water and burning Shaltak too, and then Shaltak broke free.
“I bow down before you!” the priest shouts suddenly, and I turn to see that he's in a crumpled heap on the floor. “You're free now! You've been trapped in this church for more than seventy years, but now you can leave! You can do whatever you want in the world, and in return I ask only that you grant me the one thing that I need. Please, bring her back. I know she didn't just vanish into nothingness after she died. Her soul has to be somewhere. Bring her back, I -”
Suddenly a dark shape reaches down and grabs the priest by the throat, and I stare in shock as I see that this shape is a twisted, burned copy of my own body. I know instantly that this must be Shaltak in her new form, and I feel a shudder pass through my chest as I realize that she has taken my form. Perhaps she has no body of her own, or perhaps she is merely accustomed to the way I looked while she was inside me. There is an ugliness to her, however, and I can see the evil in her eyes as she grins and starts tearing at the priest's neck.
For a moment I can only watch with a growing sense of horror as Shaltak begins to twist the priest's head away from his neck, but then I turn and see that the boy is struggling to make his way out of the church. I know that the priest is a lost cause now, but in a flash I realize that the boy might yet be able to do something.
Racing along the aisle, I reach the boy just as he turns to look back at the priest. Screams are ringing out through the church, and I know I might only have a few seconds before I lose my final chance. At first I don't know what I can do, but then I see the wind and rain outside and in an instant I understand that Shaltak's fear of holy water might yet be turned against her.
“Water,” I stammer, before turning to the boy. “You have to use holy water. It's the only thing that can stop her!”
I wait, but he doesn't seem to be able to hear me. He's simply watching with a horrified expression as Shaltak continues to decapitate the priest.
“You have to use holy water!” I scream, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Bless the water! It doesn't matter what water. You can even use the rain. Just bless it, there are no special words, you just have to have faith in something. Do you understand? Draw her out there and bless the rain!”
The boy hesitates, before turning and limping out of the church. I try to go after him, but I quickly find that I can't leave the church. Already, the boy is disappearing away into the darkness, and I still don't know whether he heard what I said to him just now.
“Bless the rain!” I shout after him. “You have to bless the rain!”
He's already gone. He didn't look at me while I was talking to him, but I tell myself that somehow – deep down – he must have heard me. He might not even have realized, but my words must have reached him. I just hope he realizes before it's too late.
“Judith Prendergast,” a voice snarls behind me. “That's not you, is it?”
Turning, I see that Shaltak is standing in the arched doorway, holding the priest's head in one hand. Blood is dribbling from the severed neck, and a moment later the priest's decapitated body leans over and slumps down against the floor. Shaltak, meanwhile, is staring at me with a bemused expression, and a moment later a faint smile curls across those ravaged lips.
“Do you like the form I have taken?” she asks, holding her hands out and then dropping the head, letting it crunch down to the floor. “Inspired by you, with a few small changes here and there. I didn't want to copy your ugliness.” She pauses. “But tell me, how are you here? I felt certain that you'd simply fade away once I was no longer anchoring you here. Very few humans have the strength to remain in this world after their bodies are gone.”
“You won't succeed,” I tell her.
“Succeed in what?”
“In whatever evil you're planning.”
“And how do you work that out?” she asks.
“Because as demons go,” I reply, “you don't seem very impressive. If demons could run amok in the world, one of them would have done it by now. Something must always hold you back.”
“I'm sure you'd like to think so,” she says, “but you're wrong about me. I'm by far the most impressive specimen of my kind.”
“Again,” I tell her, “I find that very difficult to believe.”
“There's no point trying to delay me, you know,” she continues, stepping toward me. “First I'm going to go and kill that pathetic boy, and then I think I'll have some fun in Briarwych. And while your continued existence might be rather irritating, it doesn't really change anything. You're still trapped here. Perhaps I'll burn the entire world and leave this church for last, so you can watch the flames and contemplate your role in it all.”
“That won't happen,” I reply.
“You know nothing.”
“I know I heard my daughter's voice,” I tell her, “just before it was all going to end.”
“You're a romantic fool. Your daughter's soul died when her body died. In case you've forgotten what the world is like, Judith, there's not much hope out there. Bad things happen all the time, and where are the good things? There are barely any. Bad things always flourish. It's the bad that prospers.”
“We only notice the bad thing,” I reply, “because we're so used to all the good that surrounds us every day. The simple things, the complicated things, they're all out there. Sunrises, sunsets, love, hope, happiness, they're all part of the human condition. And maybe we don't notice them because we're so used to them, because we take them for granted. Meanwhile we notice the bad things precisely because they're so rare, because they stick out from everything else.”
“I'm sure a -”
“And you'll never persuade me otherwise!” I snap, as I take a step toward her and stare into her cruel, evil face. “Nobody answered my prayers, because they didn't need answering. Because although there was a lot of pain and suffering, ultimately good will always triumph over evil.”
“And you think you're going to stop me?” Shaltak asks with a smirk. “Is this going to be another tedious attempt to show your strength?”
“On the contrary,” I reply, hesitating for a moment before stepping aside and gesturing toward the open doorway, “I don't need to stop you. In fact, I'm sick of the sound of your voice, so I'd be grateful if you could hurry up and leave this church. Something is waiting out there to stop you.”
She opens her mouth to reply, but then I see a
flicker of doubt in her eyes. She heard what I said and it's got to her, and her smirk has faded. She pauses, and then she mutters something angrily under her breath before storming past me and rushing out into the rain.
Taking a deep breath and hoping very much that I didn't just make a huge mistake, I watch as Shaltak disappears into the rain-ravaged night. I take a step forward and stop in the doorway, and I watch as the rain continues to fall. If I was wrong, then perhaps Shaltak will keep her promise and burn the world all around me, leaving me all alone here to watch it all. After a moment, however, I feel a flicker of hope in my heart, and I realize that I wasn't wrong. Creatures such as Shaltak will always cause minor trouble, and will always torment young girls they first spotted on warm days in the English countryside. They'll always exploit the weak and the foolish. But if the world was going to be ravaged by a demon, it would have happened by now, and it would have been caused by a far more powerful demon that the miserable Shaltak.
She will fail now that she is out of the church. Of that, I am certain.
Epilogue
Five years later
“I thought I recognized you outside,” Father Prior says as he continues to speak to the young man. “I trust that you're fully recovered from your injuries?”
“Completely.”
“That's good to hear. I often wondered if you'd ever come back to see the place.”
“I never planned to,” the young man replies. “I don't even know why I came. I was just in the area, and I figured I should lay some ghosts to rest.”
“I don't believe there are any ghosts here anymore.”
“No, there aren't.” The young man looks around for a moment. “I should go. I have a train to catch.”
“Let me walk you out.”
I watch as they head over to the door. I recognize the young man, he was here five years ago with that wretched priest who conducted the ceremony here in the church. He seems like a nice, gentle soul, and it is pleasing to hear that he recognizes a change in our lovely church. There is perhaps still a little way to go before the church has entirely recovered from the evil that once lurked here, but we shall get there in the end. And I cannot help but notice that the cemetery grass is looking particularly beautiful this morning. I certainly see nothing to suggest that a powerful demon has begun to ravage the world.
And then, suddenly, poor Amanda Lawley appears in the doorway.
“Mrs. Lawley,” the priest says. “Is there any news about your dear husband?”
“There's no change,” she tells him. “I thought I'd pray for a while.”
“Of course.”
Amanda Lawley heads through the arched doorway, and I immediately go after her. I can hear Father Prior talking to the young man, but I shall leave them to their conversation. After all, I have more pressing matters to which I must attend, so I follow Amanda along the aisle and then I watch as she sits in her usual position on one of the front pews. I, in turn, sit in my usual position on the pew directly behind.
“Lord,” she whispers, sniffing back tears, “I feel so hopeless. Barry is still fighting, he's fighting hard, he's such a strong man. The doctors are hopeful, but I don't know how I can go on. Sometimes I want to just step out in front of the bus and end it all. I know that's wicked of me, but I simply don't have the strength to do this anymore. I'm scared I'm going to give up.”
I listen for a moment as she sobs, and then – as I always do – I reach out and place a hand on her shoulder. She continues to sob for a few more seconds, before slowly raising her gaze and looking up toward the crucifix on the altar.
For the next few minutes, we sit in silence.
Finally, quite suddenly, Amanda gets to her feet and dabs at her eyes with a tissue, before making her way back long the aisle. This time I do not go with her. After all, I know that I have done what I needed to do today.
“If there is anything I can do to help,” I hear Father Prior saying over by the door, “you must let me know.”
“That's very kind of you,” she replies. “You know, sometimes I genuinely feel that I can't go on. But then I come here, and I pray, and I sit for a short while, and somehow I don't feel so alone. Something about the church here gives me strength. Is that strange?”
“Indeed it's not,” he says, as they head outside. “You'd be surprised how many people tell me the exact same thing. This church has had a difficult history, but now it seems to be a source of great comfort.”
Their voices fade into the distance, leaving me sitting here all alone in the church. I feel so desperately sorry for poor Amanda Lawley, and I wish I could do more to help her deal with her suffering. As it is, I can only be here for her and try to offer her some peace and calm, a role that I play for all the poor souls who come here for help. I sit with them, and I truly believe that in some ways they recognize my presence, even if they do not realize that I am truly here. Not that I require or even desire recognition, of course. I am just glad that after all the horrors that have befallen this beautiful place, we have weathered the storms and emerged with the ability to do some good.
That is my role here now, for I am – and shall always be – the ghost of Briarwych Church.
BOOKS IN THE BRIARWYCH TRILOGY
The Haunting of Briarwych Church
(The Briarwych Trilogy book 1)
The Horror of Briarwych Church
(The Briarwych Trilogy book 2)
The Ghost of Briarwych Church
(The Briarwych Trilogy book 3)
OTHER BOOKS
BY AMY CROSS INCLUDE
Horror
The Briarwych Trilogy
Stephen
The Farm
The Haunting of Hardstone Jail
Asylum (The Asylum Trilogy book 1)
Meds (The Asylum Trilogy book 2)
The Madness of Annie Radford (The Asylum Trilogy book 3)
The Devil, the Witch and the Whore (The Deal book 1)
Like Stones on a Crow's Back (The Deal book 2)
The Devil's Blade
Haunted
Devil's Briar
The Night Girl
Last Wrong Turn
Friend From the Internet
The Haunting of Caldgrave House
The Haunting of Blackwych Grange
The Bride of Ashbyrn House
The Ghosts of Hexley Airport
The Curse of Wetherley House
The Haunting of Marshall Heights
The Ghosts of Lakeforth Hotel
The Body at Auercliff
The Soul Auction
The Border
Eli's Town
Laura
Annie's Room
The Priest Hole (Nykolas Freeman book 1)
Battlefield (Nykolas Freeman book 2)
Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories
The Ghost of Longthorn Manor and Other Stories
Room 9 and Other Stories
Fantasy / Horror
Grave Girl
Raven Revivals (Grave Girl book 2)
The Gravest Girl of All (Grave Girl book 3)
The Library
Beautiful Familiar
Dark Season (book 1, 2 & 3)
The Hollow Church
The Vampires of Tor Cliff Asylum
Dead Souls (book 1 to 13)
Lupine Howl (books 1 to 6)
Dystopian / Apocalypse
Ward Z (The Ward Z Series book 1)
Terror at Camp Everbee (The Ward Z Series book 2)
The Dog
Also by Amy Cross
THE FARM
No-one ever remembers what happens to them when they go into the barn at Bondalen farm. Some never come out again, and the rest... Something about them is different.
In 1979, the farm is home to three young girls. As winter fades to spring, Elizabeth, Kari and Sara each come to face the secrets of the barn, and they each emerge with their own injuries. But someone else is lurking nearby, a man who claims to be Death incarnate,
and for these three girls the spring of 1979 is set to end in tragedy.
In the modern day, meanwhile, Bondalen farm has finally been sold to a new family. Dragged from London by her widowed father, Paula Ridley hates the idea of rural life. Soon, however, she starts to realize that her new home retains hints of its horrific past, while the darkness of the barn still awaits anyone who dares venture inside.
Set over the course of several decades, The Farm is a horror novel about people who live with no idea of the terror in their midst, and about a girl who finally has a chance to confront a source of great evil that has been feeding on the farm for generations.
Also by Amy Cross
ALICE ISN'T WELL
(DEATH HERSELF BOOK 1)
“There are lots of demons in the sky above London. The problem is, this one came crashing down to earth.”
Ten years ago, Alice Warner was attacked and disfigured by an attacker in her own home. She remembers nothing of the attack, and she has been in a psychiatric hospital ever since. When she's finally released, however, she starts working as a security guard at an abandoned shopping mall. And that's when she starts to realize that something is haunting her, keeping just one step out of sight at all times...
Meanwhile, seventy years earlier, a little girl named Wendy is left orphaned after a World War 2 fighter plane crashes onto her house. Taken to a monastery, Wendy is quickly singled out by the nuns for special attention. They say she has been possessed by a demon, and that there's only one way to save her soul. Fortunately for Wendy, however, there's someone else who seems to know far more about the situation.
What is the shocking connection between Alice and Wendy, reaching out across the years? Does a demon really lurk in the girl's soul? And who is Hannah, the mysterious figure who tries to help Wendy, and who seventy years later begins to make her influence felt in Alice's life too?