Damned by the Ancients

by Catherine Cavendish

  “A priest?”

  Yvonne didn’t have time to answer. A distinctive meow sounded at the kitchen door. She leaped out of her chair and Ryan opened the door.

  In walked Sekhmet as if she had never been away.

  Yvonne scooped her up and acquired four scratches as the cat raked her paw down Yvonne’s arm. She barely noticed as she hugged the squirming animal.

  “You’d better put her down,” Ryan said. “I don’t think she’s too partial to being manhandled.”

  “I’m so relieved to see her.”

  “So am I. I just wish she’d come back earlier. Right now, I don’t see what difference she’s going to make. Not this time. Heidi isn’t here for her to guard…” His words trailed off as they both watched Sekhmet’s behavior.

  The cat prowled around the perimeter of the kitchen once, her tail held high and crooked at the end like a question mark. Then she trotted out of the room and across the hall. Yvonne and Ryan followed quietly so as not to spook her. Ryan grabbed a flashlight on the way.

  Sekhmet marched into the library and straight over to the massive hole in the paneling. In a second, she had jumped through it. Ryan helped Yvonne through. By now, Sekhmet had reached the foot of the stairs. She stopped and turned, her eyes gleaming in the flashlight’s beam. She sniffed the air and selected her next route.

  She made for the room where they had last seen Quintillus with Heidi. At the exact spot where the vision had manifested, she sat and appeared to be listening, her whiskers twitching and her eyes reflecting Ryan’s flashlight. Presently she stretched and mewed, softly at first, then building in volume with each call. When her cry became a loud yowl, mist swirled a couple of feet away from her.

  “Look.” Yvonne pointed at the gray mist. The god Set materialized out of the vapor. He stood, facing Sekhmet. She stood up on hind legs too tall for a cat. Fur became olive skin. Paws became human female legs and arms, shrouded in the dress of an ancient Egyptian. The only feline features that remained were from the neck up. Her nose and mouth lengthened and took on a leonine appearance. Her head was covered by a blue-and-white-striped headdress topped with a gleaming gold solar disk and jewel-studded coiled cobra.

  Sekhmet the cat was now fully formed as Sekhmet the cat goddess. Everything Heidi had said had been true. The two gods faced each other. Set who had fought for Quintillus. Sekhmet who had guarded Heidi. Both held staffs.

  Yvonne squeezed Ryan’s hand. Whatever happened now, they would face together.

  Sekhmet slowly turned to face them. The lioness face held immense power, especially in the deep-set eyes.

  Without warning, the goddess threw back her head and roared. Yvonne and Ryan shielded their ears from the mighty sound. Set stood, a silent sentinel. Sekhmet closed her mouth and they all waited.

  Yvonne lowered her hands and Ryan did likewise. Faintly, at first, a child’s voice sounded as if coming from far away.

  “Heidi?” Tears spilled from Yvonne’s eyes. Set faded and was gone. To the right of Sekhmet, a shape began to take form. The more tangible it became, the less distinct did Sekhmet appear, until no trace of her remained.

  An apparition of Heidi took on form and substance, until she was in the room with them. She ran to her parents.

  Yvonne held her like she never wanted to let her out of her grasp. Ryan enfolded them in his arms. “Oh Heidi,” Yvonne said. “I thought we’d never see you again. I was so scared.”

  Heidi squirmed sufficiently free of her mother’s clutches so she could speak. “I don’t know what happened, Mum. You found me here and then…it’s all a blur until now.”

  Tears flowed freely down Yvonne’s face. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’re back.”

  “I thought I saw Sekhmet,” Heidi said, her eyes filled with hope. “Has she come back?”

  Ryan and Yvonne exchanged glances. “She was here,” Yvonne said. “But only for a while. Just long enough to bring you back. Then she had to go again.”

  Heidi’s face fell. “Will I ever see her again?”

  “I don’t know, love,” Ryan said.

  “She protected me.”

  Yvonne and Ryan exchanged glances. “I don’t really know what just happened,” Yvonne said to her husband. “But if I’m not mistaken, Quintillus went a step too far and the gods have deserted him. Maybe it was because he was using an innocent child for his selfish ends.”

  Ryan nodded. “That makes sense. But whatever the truth of it, I don’t care. We’ve got Heidi back and that’s all that matters. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  He led the way. Yvonne followed, keeping a tight hold on Heidi’s hand, but she kept looking over her shoulder. At any moment, Quintillus could appear. He wouldn’t accept defeat—even when the gods had shown their displeasure by bringing Heidi back from his clutches.

  Nothing stirred as they hurried out of the basement. And that was the problem.

  It was too quiet.

  * * * *

  Outside, the city was waking up to a new, sunny, warm summer day. People going about their business, catching trams or buses, driving their cars, walking to work.

  “You take normality for granted,” Yvonne said, “until nothing in your life is normal. I wonder if it ever will be again.”

  “We got through that. We’ll get through whatever else that bastard throws at us. He’s not going to win. We have one big advantage. We’re alive and he’s not.”

  Yvonne wondered whether Ryan truly felt as confident as his words sounded. Quintillus might be dead but he was still a powerful threat, and now that he had been deprived of Heidi, his anger would surely intensify. Who knew what he was capable of? Even, apparently, without Set’s support. And next time they might not have a powerful cat goddess on their side.

  They drove back to the hotel. Yvonne once again sat in the back, holding Heidi. She had come so close to losing her, would she ever be able to let her go?

  * * * *

  The doll lay on the chest of drawers in their hotel suite, still wrapped in the clear plastic ziplock bag the police had returned her in. Yvonne viewed it with distaste. Its arms were once again by its sides, the black dress slightly ruffled. At least they had cleaned the blood off. The lace that had covered its face was also in the bag, but now the doll’s bright eyes and painted smile seemed oddly grotesque. Yvonne was reminded of a clown.

  She hated clowns.

  “What are you going to do with it?” Ryan asked.

  “I’d like to chuck it away but—”

  “She’s back!” Heidi grabbed the doll and ran off with it before either of her parents could protest.

  “What’s the harm?” Ryan said. “She’s lost her cat. Let her have the doll. It’s only a bit of plastic.”

  If Yvonne could only believe that. She squashed her fears, but her stomach churned and she dashed to the bathroom. Only bile came up, the sour taste making her mouth feel dirty.

  Ryan knocked on the door. “Are you okay in there?”

  “I will be. Just give me a second.” Yvonne hunched over the bowl, retching and swallowing. When she had recovered herself, she rinsed with mouthwash, wiped out the sink and joined Ryan in the living area. He handed her a glass of water.

  “Better?”

  She nodded. “It’s everything that’s been happening, and the feeling that there’s more to come. If we could get away from—”

  Heidi’s piercing scream cut off her words. “Oh my God, what now?” Yvonne and Ryan raced into their daughter’s room. They found her hysterical and crying on her bed—the doll nowhere to be seen. Her little girl ran to her.

  Yvonne grabbed her. “Whatever’s happened?”

  “Dr. Quintillus,” she sobbed. “He was here. He took my doll and said he’d be back for me. He sounded so angry, Mum.”

  Yvonne hugged her.

 
“I’m going to call Fräulein von Dürnstein,” Ryan said.

  “After what happened last time? She’ll hang up on you.”

  “It’s her bloody house. Surely she must know what’s in there. It’s her responsibility, damn it.”

  Yvonne said nothing. Right now, she was out of ideas and if Ryan thought there was even a small chance of finding some way of dealing with this nightmare, he had to take it.

  A rapid exchange of German and Yvonne could hear the woman’s voice on the other end rising in crescendo and pitch. Ryan’s face grew redder as he clenched and unclenched one hand. The call ended and he threw the phone on the bed.

  “Fucking cow won’t do anything. According to her, he hasn’t targeted anyone in their family for years. She doesn’t believe the recent activity even took place. As far as she’s concerned, I just made the whole thing up in order to get out of paying the full three years’ rent. She said she’s not prepared to discuss it any longer and hung up on me.”

  Heidi had calmed a little and Yvonne released her. Her daughter dried her eyes.

  “Mum, why is the man doing this? Why is he frightening us? Why does he keep trying to take me away? I know he wants his queen back but why did he choose me?”

  Yvonne wasn’t about to tell her. “I don’t know, love.”

  “Please make him stop.”

  Ryan spoke. “We’ll do our very best. Just lie down now and get some rest. We’ll be next door if you need us.”

  “No. Don’t leave me. What if he comes back?”

  “It’s all right, Heidi,” Yvonne said. “We’re not going anywhere.”

  Somewhat reluctantly, Heidi lay down. Her eyes were closing. All the stress had exhausted her.

  Yvonne pulled the duvet over her and joined Ryan on the double bed. She spoke in a low whisper. “Why did he take the doll?”

  Ryan shook his head. “I have no idea.”

  “It must mean something. I’m convinced he’s done something to it. I’m sure it scratched Heidi and me, and then there’s the eyes. I swear it actually looked at me.”

  A soft knock sounded at the door.

  “You go,” Yvonne said. “I’ll stay with Heidi.”

  Their daughter hadn’t stirred and seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Ryan left the room and Yvonne heard voices. After a few minutes, she heard the door open and close and Ryan returned. He signaled Yvonne to come out into the living area. Yvonne took one more look at Heidi, who slept on. She joined her husband.

  “That was the police. They’ve identified the bodies. It took a bit of doing as there were no DNA records or anything helpful in Austria for Paula Bancroft, but they’ve been in touch with the Metropolitan Police in London and got a match for her. The second is a local woman called Lena Stein, but the body in the garden isn’t Phil.”

  “Then who?

  “An estate agent called Stefan Bloch. He worked for the same firm as Anton and has been missing since around the time Paula and Phil disappeared. Cause of death in all three cases has not been determined. The autopsies were inconclusive so more tests are being done. The one thing they’re certain of is that none of them died from any kind of toxin. They’ve performed a barrage of tests for practically every known drug in the universe and they all came up negative apart from traces of alcohol, which wouldn’t have been enough to make a hamster drunk. There’s no sign of strangulation, no visible wounds. It’s as if their hearts simply stopped beating even though there is no sign of serious heart disease in any of the bodies. Stefan Bloch was riddled with cancer, apparently. It would have proved terminal at some stage and may have contributed to his death, but that’s all they can say for sure.”

  “But of course no one is suggesting for one moment that there is anything unnatural going on here, are they?” Yvonne couldn’t help the sarcasm that laced her voice like molasses.

  “You know PC Plod. Imagination is never a strong point where the police are concerned.”

  “What’s betting they return an open verdict at the inquest? If they have such an option in Austrian law,” Yvonne said.

  “Well, it would keep it all nice and tidy and make it go away, but wouldn’t you have gone along with that before all this happened? And don’t forget that wallet. They still don’t know how that got there, or what’s happened to Phil Bancroft.” Ryan spoke the words gently. Infuriating how sensible he could be even in this situation.

  “I suppose it’s possible that Quintillus used Phil. Maybe he’s buried around here somewhere.” Yvonne shivered. “Please God, not another one.”

  * * * *

  She slept fitfully that night. Nightmares and strange lucid dreams. Every few minutes she awoke, heart thumping, breathing hard, only to sink back on the pillows and drift back into her troubled unconscious world.

  She awoke again, feeling Ryan’s hand on her shoulder, comforting her. She slid back, hoping he would curl himself around her, spoon fashion. She needed his closeness, but she couldn’t find him. What position was he lying in?

  She ran her hand behind her, over the mattress.

  Nothing there.

  His hand was still on her shoulder. The pressure was gentle but nevertheless there.

  So where’s the rest of him?

  She raised her hand, slowly. Her mouth ran dry. Inch by inch she moved her fingers toward where his hand lay. She found something.

  But it wasn’t Ryan’s hand.

  Hard plastic.

  She shot up in bed and snapped on the lamp. Ryan appeared at the door. Yvonne looked at him, then back at the bed. Whatever was there, she mustn’t scream, mustn’t traumatize Heidi any more than she already was. She bit her tongue and threw off the covers.

  Selena’s painted smile beamed up at her.

  Yvonne grabbed the doll and scrambled out of bed. She motioned Ryan to follow her into the living area.

  “What the hell?” he said. “I went to the bathroom. You were fast asleep.”

  “And the doll?”

  “As far as I know, it wasn’t there.”

  “I believe you, but it…it touched me. On my shoulder. I thought at first it was you. I swear it felt like a living thing. Your hand…”

  Yvonne examined the doll. Its hands were so small. Too small, surely, for the sensation she had experienced. She shuddered. Even the touch of the thing repelled her. She passed it to Ryan. He laid it down on a side table. “Maybe Heidi will let it go now.”

  Maybe, but Yvonne doubted it. The child had been through so much.

  Ryan opened the fridge and took out two miniatures of schnapps. He offered one to Yvonne. “Try it. It’s the real stuff. Forty percent proof. Not that awful peach rubbish they sell in England. Williams Pear Schnapps. It’s got a real kick to it.”

  He unscrewed his bottle and tossed his head back, gulping down the contents. Yvonne sniffed at hers. It smelled pleasantly of pears. She took a sip and the fiery liquid burned her throat but warmed her on the way down. She took another sip and smoothness replaced the heat.

  The two sat deep in thought until a scratching noise disturbed the silence.

  “What the hell?” Ryan said. “It’s that fucking doll.”

  Yvonne shot out of her seat. The doll was moving, trying to stand, but its fashion-doll feet were way too small to support it. It put out its hands and crawled across the table. It seemed to become aware of being watched and turned its head toward them.

  The absurd smile seemed grotesque now. Yvonne and Ryan could only stare, fixated, not believing what they were both seeing.

  The doll fell off the table and wriggled on the floor. Sparks, like bolts of lightning, flew out of its hands and feet. Its hair singed and melted. Yvonne and Ryan stared as the plastic face collapsed in on itself and the black dress smoked. In seconds, the doll was reduced to a pile of charred ash.

  The ash fluttered, swirled into a m
ini whirlwind. From out of it a woman appeared, regal-looking and dressed in a flowing white gown of ancient Egyptian style. She scarcely glanced at her former host but fixed her intense violet eyes on Yvonne and Ryan. The force of her gaze drilled into Yvonne’s brain but she stood her ground. She heard a noise and Heidi came out of the bedroom.

  Yvonne called out to her. “Go back. Don’t come out here.” But the girl ignored her mother’s words and kept advancing, a strange expression on her face, as if the woman was drawing her to her side.

  The woman spoke and Heidi replied. Again, that foreign language that sounded like the one she had used when communicating with Sekhmet. The woman stretched out her hands to Heidi.

  “No!” Yvonne tried to get between them but a force struck her and pushed her back. She fell against Ryan and he steadied her.

  He pushed forward but got no further than Yvonne had. The woman raised her hand and he fell to the ground, in obvious pain.

  The woman spoke again. This time Yvonne could understand her. “I need your daughter. She knows her destiny.” The voice sounded so much like that of the last woman who had possessed Heidi. Not Paula. Someone infinitely more powerful. More connected to this malignant obsession of Dr. Quintillus.

  “Leave her alone,” Yvonne cried.

  The woman ignored her pleas. She put one hand on each of Heidi’s shoulders. “It is time. You can say good-bye now.”

  Heidi turned and looked at her parents, but her eyes were glazed, hypnotized.

  “No!” Ryan and Yvonne surged forward and slammed into an invisible wall.

  It was too late anyway; the woman had gone.

  And so had Heidi.

  Chapter 22

  “No. Not again. It can’t be happening again.” Yvonne wept in Ryan’s arms.

  “No,” he said. “There has to be a way of getting her back. We need to find that cat.”