Dead Souls Volume Three (Parts 27 to 39)

by Amy Cross

“Edgar!” Kate shouted, stumbling to her feet and rushing over, just as one of the horses began to get up.

  “I'm fine,” Edgar replied, although he sounded a little out of breath.

  Making her way to the restless horse, Kate put a hand on its side, hoping to calm its fear, before she saw that Edgar was kneeling next to the other horse, which remained on its side in the mud.

  “Is it hurt?” she asked.

  “Come and see for yourself.”

  Walking around the first horse, she looked down and saw to her horror that the other animal was badly injured, with several large chunks of flesh having been torn from its neck and the side of its face.

  “What -”

  “Something attacked it,” Edgar explained, leaning closer to take a look at the wound. “Something bit into its flesh, causing them both to become startled and bolt.”

  Looking around, Kate saw nothing but darkness.

  “This animal is too far gone,” Edgar said after a moment, getting to his feet and reaching into the upturned carriage. A moment later, he returned with a pistol, which he cocked before firing once into the horse's head.

  Kate instinctively took a step back, as smoke rose from the pistol in the cool night air.

  “The other horse is fine,” Edgar continued finally, “and will be sufficient to get us back to the house.”

  “But the -”

  “I recognize the bite marks,” he added, as he began to unstrap the dead horse. “The body can remain here, I would prefer to let nature take its course.”

  Making her way over to the corpse, Kate peered at the glistening flesh. “What could have done this? It must have been something huge...”

  “No,” he replied, “not huge, not huge at all, but very hungry and very adept at killing.”

  “And you've seen this type of injury before?”

  “A long time ago.” Finishing with the straps, Edgar pulled them loose before walking over to the surviving horse and stroking its mane for a moment. “It's okay,” he said quietly, his voice filled with calm, “you're not in any danger at the moment. Your friend is lost, but he's at peace now.” He paused, and the animal was clearly becoming less agitated. “I know what you saw,” he continued. “It's gone now, you don't have to worry. You're safe.”

  Kate waited for him to finish.

  Finally – once the horse seemed to have settled – Edgar made his way around to the side of the upturned carriage and paused for a moment, as if he was trying to determine the best way to get it up and running again.

  “I think you'll need to get some help for that,” Kate told him. “It must weigh a ton.”

  Ignoring her, Edgar took hold of the carriage's side and braced himself, before starting to push. Although his efforts seemed futile at first, to Kate's surprise the carriage soon began to shift, and finally Edgar was able to ease it up from the mud and tilt it higher, until it toppled over and slammed down into the mud, this time the right way up and with all four wheels intact. Stepping back, Edgar seemed out of breath for a moment, before finally turning and looking out across the dark field.

  “It's still nearby,” he said eventually, a little breathless. “It's watching us.”

  “What is?” Kate asked, looking around. “Edgar, what is that thing?”

  “I'll take you back to the house and show you,” he replied. “I doubt it'll attack us at the moment, it will be seeking weaker targets, but one can never be too sure. I never would have thought it would be so brazen as to attack a horse.” Opening the door on the side of the carriage, he checked inside for a moment before taking a step back. “We must get moving at once, Kate. Everyone on the island is in great danger, and it's not safe to be out here.”

  Realizing that there was no point arguing with him, she climbed up into the carriage.

  “Edgar,” she continued, turning back to him, “is there a -”

  Slamming the door, Edgar made his way to the front of the carriage and climbed up, leaving Kate to sit in silence as she contemplated the events of the past few hours. Looking out the window, she couldn't help but shiver as she thought of something hiding in the darkness; although she knew there was a danger that she was imagining things, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. A moment later, she felt the carriage start to shudder as Edgar attempted to get it moving, and finally she heard Edgar jumping back down.

  “The axles are damaged,” he explained, reaching up and helping her out. “Have you ever ridden before?”

  “A horse?”

  “No, a man.” He paused. “Of course a horse, come on.”

  Following him to the animal, Kate barely had to contemplate what was happening before Edgar took her by the waist and hoisted her up. Grabbing onto the animal, she managed to maneuver herself into an upright position, just as Edgar finished removing the straps and then climbed up in front of her.

  “This might be a little uncomfortable,” he said as he grabbed the reins. “There is nothing to be done about that.”

  “Okay, but -”

  Before she could finish, Edgar kicked the side of the horse, causing it to immediately start cantering. A moment later, as Kate put her arms around Edgar's waist from behind and held on for dear life, the animal began to run, racing across the field on its way up toward the mansion.

  ***

  “Idiot,” Estella muttered, holding the hem of her skirt up as she made her way along the desolate, lonely path that led to Edgar's mansion. “Who the hell does she think she is, threatening me with a gun? I should -”

  Hearing a noise nearby, she stopped and turned. She was roughly halfway between the town and the house, having walked several miles and with several more to go. Looking around, she saw nothing but darkness, but a moment ago she'd heard the faintest clicking sound, accompanied by what had seemed to be a rustling noise in the long grass. Now, however, everything seemed quiet and peaceful again.

  Telling herself that she must have imagined the whole thing, she turned and continued her journey, while muttering to herself as she relived the incident with Jennifer again.

  “I should tell Edgar about this,” she whispered, filled with anger. “He'd never stand for it, he'd -”

  Hearing the clicking sound again, much closer this time, she turned and looked back the way she'd come. For a moment, the long grass next to the path seemed to be rustling a little more than usual: more than the wind might cause, at least, but still not enough to necessarily indicate any kind of presence.

  “Hello?” she said cautiously. “Is somebody there?”

  She waited, but all she heard was the faint rustling of the grass.

  Turning and hurrying along the path, she found that she could no longer focus on her altercation with Jennifer Kazakos. Instead, she was starting to imagine something hiding in the grass, watching her and waiting for a moment to strike. She told herself that she was imagining the whole thing, that there couldn't possibly be anything on the island that might harm her, but at the same time she was hearing more and more clicks and hints of movement nearby, and finally – as she reached a short ridge on the very edge of Edgar's property – she stopped and opened her bag, hoping to find something she might be able to use if she needed to defend herself.

  Slowly, the clicking sound came closer.

  She turned, but there was still no sign of anything. After a moment, however, she saw that the grass on one side of the path was moving against the wind, as if something was hiding. She took a step back, but now the clicking sound seemed to be moving around her.

  “I'm warning you!” she called out. “I'm the fiance of Baron Edgar Le Compte! I'm assuming you know who that is! He will not take kindly to anyone who thinks they can play a foolish trick on me!”

  She waited, and after a moment she realized she could hear another sound coming from deep within the long grass: a kind of faint hissing sound.

  “I suppose you think this is funny,” she continued, taking a step back while forcing herself not to start runn
ing. “Well, the joke's on you, because there'll be consequences for your idiocy. Do you hear me? If I were you, I'd -”

  Suddenly a face appeared briefly in the grass, with two large, unblinking eyes staring at her, before the face slipped back again.

  “What...” Feeling her blood starting to run cold, Estella took another step back. Frozen for a moment, she tried to make sense of what she'd seen, but a few seconds later she heard the clicking sound again, as if something was slowly making its way closer.

  Turning, she began to run, but she only managed a couple of paces before she felt something landing on her back, digging into her flesh and pulling her down as she screamed.

  ***

  “Put the horse in the stable,” Edgar said firmly as he handed the straps to Jacob. “See to it that he's properly fed.”

  “But Sir, where is the other -”

  “I shall make arrangements for a new animal to be shipped over as soon as possible. For now, we must make do with the one horse.”

  Climbing down from the horse, Kate couldn't help but notice the look of shock on Jacob's face.

  “Very good, Sir,” the old man said finally, looking down at the trailing straps behind the horse. “And... What of the carriage, Sir?”

  “What of it?” Edgar asked.

  “Well... It appears to be missing, Sir.”

  “Minor accident,” Kate told him as she hurried past, following Edgar up the steps. In the distance, the sounds of the party were still going strong, but as they reached the hallway she could tell that Edgar was no longer in any mood to join the festivities.

  “There you are!” Nixon said with a smile, clearly drunk. “Where -”

  “Not now,” Edgar barked, pushing past him.

  “Huh,” Nixon continued, turning to Kate. “Whatever's got into -”

  “Not now,” she told him, hurrying along the corridor as she ran to catch Edgar. Following him into the study, with music still playing in the distant ballroom, she watched as he made his way to the desk and began to frantically search through his papers. She waited for him to say something, for him to fill her in, but he seemed lost in his own thoughts.

  After a moment, she realized he was muttering something under his breath.

  “So are you going to tell me what's going on now?” she asked finally. “Edgar, what the hell was that thing? It took down a horse!”

  “The horse is the least of my concerns,” he replied. “Right now, nothing is safe out there.”

  “Safe from what?”

  “From something that has no business being on this island.” He hurried to one of the bookcases and began to search for a volume. “I must be sure. Those teeth-marks on the animal's bone, they looked familiar but I must be absolutely certain before I make my move. If it's what I think it is, there's no telling who it might target, and if it reaches the town, all hell will break loose. Fortunately, I think it will be more cautious.”

  “Can you please tell me what you think is out there?”

  Taking a leather-bound book from one of the shelves, Edgar immediately began to leaf through the pages.

  “Well this is no way to host a party,” Nixon said, entering the room and stopping to lean against the wall. “Edgar, you're being frightfully rude to -”

  “Shut up!” Edgar and Kate both said, at the same time.

  Nixon opened his mouth to reply, but he finally seemed to get the message. Taking another sip of champagne, he tottered across the room and began to look over Edgar's shoulder.

  “What is that book?” Kate asked.

  Too busy to reply, Edgar continued to look through the pages.

  “It's an encyclopedia,” Nixon explained finally. “It's a list of – Oh, am I allowed to speak now?”

  “A list of what?” Kate asked.

  “Animals,” he continued, taking another sip. “Creatures and... things that exist in various worlds. I believe most of the information is culled from the pages of the Book of Gothos.” He paused for a moment. “There's nothing in there that should be of concern to any of us tonight, though.”

  “I have to be wrong,” Edgar muttered. “There's no way -”

  Stopping suddenly, he began to read the entry on one of the pages.

  “Crikey,” Nixon said with a smile, drinking more champagne, “that brings back a few memories.” He finished the glass before heading over to the drinks cabinet. “Can I fix anyone a little refresher?” Receiving no reply, he looked over and saw that Kate had joined Edgar to look at the book. “No? Just me, then?” Grabbing a bottle of brandy, he tried to examine the label before giving up and filling his champagne flute.

  “What's a... Tenderling?” Kate asked finally.

  “Hah!” Nixon said with a smile. “That's a name I haven't heard in a long time.”

  “Edgar,” Kate continued, “most of this writing make no sense to me. I've never seen an alphabet like it.”

  “A Tenderling is a creature of nightmares,” he replied, still reading from the page. “That's not an exaggeration, either. They literally feed off the nightmares of other living beings. That's their preferred food source, anyway. When they're desperate, they'll go for pure meat, but they prefer psychic energy.”

  “It looks like a little red goblin from that picture,” Kate pointed out.

  “It's said that some of the cold-blooded vampires in the war used Tenderlings as guards,” Edgar continued. “The idea was never proven, but the idea was said to be that Tenderlings are very patient creatures, so they were willing to spend years, decades, even centuries guarding the same location, so long as they thought there would be a meal at the end of it. And then their victims...”

  “Like the horse?”

  “The horse was lucky. It was killed quickly. When a Tenderling begins to drain the nightmares of a real victim, the misery can last for months, sometimes years. It drains them slowly, drawing out the pain for as long as possible, taking small pieces of the soul night after night until all that's left is a listless, wandering husk.”

  “Why are you suddenly so interested in Tenderlings?” Nixon asked. “It's not like there are any of the bloody things round these parts, is it?” He waited for a reply, but slowly the drunken smile on his face began to fade. “Edgar? There can't be Tenderlings on Thaxos.”

  “They're very solitary beasts,” Edgar replied. “If there were two of them on the island, they'd most likely spend their time fighting until only one was left. This is just one animal.”

  “But you think that thing we saw was one of these Tenderlings?” Kate asked. “I've never even heard of them before!”

  “Of course you haven't,” Edgar continued. “They come from the Underworld originally, although they've spread to some of the other worlds. They've been spotted as far afield as the Great Library, but for the most part they stay clear of the human world since humans...” He paused for a moment. “Well, humans tend not to make such appetizing meals. The psychic energy of a typical human is several orders of magnitude weaker than that of a vampire or a werewolf.”

  “You think so, huh?” Kate replied.

  “This Tenderling was left behind in that chamber to do a job,” Edgar explained. “It didn't get to Thaxos accidentally or under its own steam, but it's most certainly here now.”

  “Oh, that's impossible,” Nixon said, although his voice was tinged with fear as he watched them from the desk. “Edgar, please, don't entertain such nonsense! How exactly would a Tenderling even reach Thaxos? I doubt they're very strong swimmers, and they're not exactly known for their desire to expend energy.”

  “The bite marks match,” Edgar muttered, turning to the next page in the book. “There can be no doubt.”

  “Are you serious?” Nixon asked.

  “We accidentally released it,” Kate told him. “It was buried in a chamber under the stone circle.”

  “It was guarding something,” Edgar whispered. “But what?”

  “No no no,” Nixon said, setting his glass down as he seemed t
o sober up immediately. “Edgar, please tell me this is some kind of a joke. There can't be a Tenderling loose on Thaxos.”

  “Don't worry,” Edgar replied, “it won't come anywhere near the house or the town. It'll most likely prefer to pick off easy targets.”

  “Oh God,” Nixon continued, hurrying over to him, “you don't know, do you?”

  “Know what?”

  “About Estella! Edgar, she's out there alone!”

  Part Thirty-One

  I

  “Master Nixon,” Jacob began, “would you -”

  “No time!” Nixon shouted, racing out the door and making his way quickly down the steps.

  “But...” Pausing, Jacob seemed flustered for a moment, as music from the party continued to drift through the house. “Very good. Master Nixon,” he muttered, watching as Nixon disappeared into the distance.

  ***

  “Edgar,” Kate said, hurrying across the study, “are you sure you shouldn't go with him?”

  “I'm sure he can take care of everything,” Edgar replied, setting another book on the desk and frantically looking through the pages.

  “But Estella -”

  “Nixon is more than capable of searching for her. I can be of more use here.”

  Kate stared at him for a moment, shocked by his apparent lack of concern. “But aren't you worried about her?” she asked finally. “If she's out there alone, with that thing on the loose...”

  “I'm sure she can take care of herself,” Edgar replied. “I thought you, of all people, would be glad that I'm not treating her like a helpless fool.”

  “Taking care of herself is one thing,” Kate pointed out. “Dealing with some kind of monster, that's another. Edgar, she's not like you! She's just human!”

  “So are you, but you seem to manage.”

  Exasperated, Kate stared at him for a moment, seeing the stubbornness ingrained in his features as he studied the book.