The Witch of Stonecliff

by Dawn Brown

  “Haven’t you thought what it means that she was down here? She suspects. What if she’s told someone?

  Her tied hands made typing awkward, but she managed.

  dont reply The last thing she needed was the phone going off and giving away that she had it.

  kyle in dovecote on dr howard land

  “Who cares if she did?” Paskin laughed. “I could untie her, let her run upstairs and shout what she found. Not a soul would believe her.”

  A thin surge of anger burrowed inside her. Maybe not, but a little photographic evidence would go a long way. She leaned back and snapped a few pictures of the walls then texted them to Reece with the caption, paskins cellr.

  Whatever happened to her, Paskin would finally be stopped.

  “Now back to the bar, while I see to her.” Footsteps thudded her way.

  She tried to shove the mobile back in her pocket, but her tied hands made her fumble, the smooth plastic slipping from her sweaty fingers. The latch lifted. Eleri slid the phone to the back corner. Hopefully the shadows would keep Paskin from noticing.

  The door swung open and the man smiled down at her. “Time to take you to lover boy.”

  * * *

  Hot licks of pain shot up Kyle’s arms. Blood dribbled from his wrists, but the added slickness did nothing to ease the tension in the rope. If anything, all his struggling had only tightened the knots.

  Howard hadn’t been exaggerating when he said he’d been more careful tying him this time. What if he never got free? If he stayed tied to this cot until the day they took him to The Devil’s Eye, what then?

  The door opened and brilliant light from Howard’s lantern cut through the black, making Kyle squint.

  “I’ve brought you something to eat,” Howard said, setting his lamp on the table again. His gaze fell on Kyle and a deep frown furrowed his brow. “What have you done to yourself?”

  His wrists must look worse than he realized. Howard set down the tray he’d been holding on the stool and scowled at him. “I told you not to fight the ropes.”

  “Untie me and I won’t.”

  Howard chuckled and shook his head. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”

  “You have my sister’s life in your hands. I won’t do anything while you’re holding my mobile.” Surely, he’d proved that point when Howard had held the phone to his ear and had him speak to his sister from a prepared script.

  He’d heard the uneasiness in Sophie’s voice, but hopefully he’d reassured her enough that she wouldn’t come looking for him on her own.

  Howard seemed to consider his words, so Kyle pushed on. “I need to piss, and would really rather not do it all over myself.”

  “I’ll bring you a bed pan.”

  “Forget it.”

  “I’m a doctor, son. You’ve nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  He’d rather not have the man handling his prick while he was tied down, doctor or not. He tried a new tack. “Can you at least let me move my arms? I’m starting to lose feeling in my fingers. You can’t keep me trussed up like this for days on end.”

  Howard sighed, loudly. “Fine. But if you think of doing anything foolish remember how easy it would be for me to bring your sister into this.”

  The larger man leaned over Kyle, pulling his arms back farther. The ache in his shoulders intensified, and then he was free. He sat up and brought his arms down. Sharp pain stabbed his shoulders and blood flooded back into his hands with a rush of pins and needles.

  While his hands were still bound together in front of him, a long stretch of rope that had kept him tied to an iron hook in the wall dangled from his bindings. This reprieve would be short-lived unless he made the best of it.

  “Can I step out to…?” He gestured to his fly.

  “I’ll bring you a bed pan.” The man pushed a plate of beef stew at him. “I suppose I won’t have to feed you now that I’ve loosened the rope. Eat ,you want to keep your strength up.”

  Kyle awkwardly accepted the plate and fork with his tied hands and set them on his lap. “Wouldn’t want me weak when you kill me.”

  “No we wouldn’t,” the doctor said, flatly.

  “Why is that?” Kyle asked.

  “Sacrificed strength is what brings prosperity to the village.”

  “And if I die willingly?”

  “Back in ancient times it was an honor to be chosen, to die for the good of the people. For you to give yourself willingly would bring so much power to your sacrifice.”

  “I’ll do what you want. I won’t complain about how you tie me up, where you make me piss, I’ll clear my plate when you bring me food, and when you take me to The Devil’s Eye, I’ll die with a smile on my face. I just want two things.”

  Howard’s thick brows lifted and he leaned back on his stool. “And what’s that?”

  “You stay the hell away from my sister.”

  The other man shrugged. “That’s a given.”

  “And you do whatever you have to do to get Eleri out of this mess. Lie, give her an alibi, help her leave Cragera Bay.”

  “You’re quite smitten with her, aren’t you?” His nose wrinkled. “I don’t see the appeal myself.”

  “Do we have a deal?”

  Howard chuckled softly. “Eleri James will not see the inside of a prison cell. I swear it on my life.”

  Dark amusement in the doctor’s tone turned Kyle’s insides cold. Howard was bullshitting him. Eleri wasn’t safe, and neither was his sister.

  He gripped the fork upright in his hand and nodded down at it. “I can’t feed myself tied like this.”

  “Right, I’ll help you, then.” Howard leaned over and Kyle brought both hands up in a fast, hard arch. The fork lodged in the fleshy skin under the man’s chin, blood spurted from between his lips. His head snapped back so fast Kyle barely glimpsed the shock in Howard’s round eyes before he stumbled over the stool and fell back onto the floor.

  Kyle jumped on him, pounding his face with his bound hands until Howard’s nose crunched into a bloody pulp and his limbs stopped flailing.

  Had he killed him? Some dark part of him hoped he had. But Howard’s chest rose and fell, each breath choked and labored.

  On shaking legs, Kyle stood, crossed to the door and stepped out into the cold night. An open padlock hung from a hook on the door. He snapped it closed.

  From where he stood on a low hill, he could see lights burning in a small cottage. He started toward it. Wind gusting off the field behind him chilled his sweaty skin and his wrists throbbed. He picked up his pace. He needed help and a phone before Paskin turned up again. If that cottage belonged to Howard, maybe he’d find his mobile.

  He started across a wide dirt drive, the house barely fifty feet away, when the brilliant glare of headlamps struck him full in the face, the loud rev of a car engine filling his ears. A white van barrelled toward him.

  Paskin.

  Kyle ducked into the shadows cast by the cottage, nearly tripping over smooth river stones edging the garden. He grasped the window ledge, regained his balance and backed toward the front door, pressing tight to the wall.

  The van jerked to a stop and the door swung open. Grunting and cussing, Paskin climbed out dragging something with him. A soft gasp reached Kyle’s ears and his blood turned to ice.

  No, no, no.

  “I saw you, you little shit. Come out before I snap her neck.”

  Kyle’s stomach sank to his shoes and he stepped away from the house. Under the white glow cast by the van’s lights, he could see Paskin clear as day right down to the feral smile stretched wide across his face. He had Eleri directly in front of him with one hand tangled in her hair jerking her head back and the other wrapped around her throat.

  “Let her go,” Kyle growled. Fury pumped through his veins, pounded behind his eyes.

  “What the bloody hell? Are you Houdini reincarnated? Where’s Howard?”

  “Dead,” he lied.

  Paskin snorted. “I told him not to undere
stimate you. You’re a slick little bastard, aren’t you?”

  “Let her go,” he said again.

  Eleri leveled her dark stare with Kyle’s. “Run. He’ll kill us both, anyway, and,” her voice hitched, “it will go better for me if it’s quick.”

  Kyle shook his head. He wouldn’t leave her.

  “Let her go, and I’ll do what you want. A willing harvest.”

  “I could give a rat’s ass about a willing harvest. That’s for that lot to worry about.” He nodded at the round building Kyle had left. “My job is to gather the harvest, and for that I get my prize.”

  The huge hand at Eleri’s neck eased down her chest and into her shirt. Kyle’s vision blurred at the edges. He bent his head and charged.

  Paskin shoved Eleri out of the way. She hit the ground with an airy oomph just as Kyle slammed into Paskin, knocking him backward. Kyle tried to lift his hands and swing them down onto the man’s face like he had with Howard, but he’d had the element of surprise with the doctor. Paskin expected his charge. He was bigger, stronger and had already pummelled Kyle once tonight.

  Paskin hit him in the ribs knocking him sideways, and the larger man overpowered him quickly, shoving Kyle onto his back and straddling his hips. Huge hands wrapped around his throat and squeezed. Kyle tried to push the man off, but his own hands, still tied together, were trapped under the weight of Paskin’s barrel chest.

  “I’m not going to kill you,” Paskin whispered, though the hands cutting off his airway suggested otherwise. “I’ll keep you alive. Let you watch what I do to her.”

  Kyle shoved up with both hands, but the larger man didn’t budge, he only squeezed his throat tighter. Kyle gasped, choked and fought to drag in air. His lungs burned and his vision grayed. Tiny white lights danced before his eyes.

  From some distant place, he heard a primal yell followed by a thud. Weight collapsed onto his chest, but the pressure around his throat eased. Kyle dragged in deep gasping draughts of air, as much as the weight squeezing his lungs would allow. Not just a weight; Paskin’s unmoving body on top of him.

  Kyle pushed up with his forearms, managed to roll the larger man off and sat up. He looked down at his attacker. Paskin’s blank eyes stared empty. Kyle turned to Eleri, who stood over him, one of the stones from Howard’s garden in her hand.

  “I…I didn’t… He was killing you.” She dropped the rock to the drive with a hard thud.

  Kyle swallowed. His throat hurt. He reached up with his bound hands, took Eleri’s and pulled her to him. She dropped onto his lap and he managed to lift his arms over her, holding her as tight as his ropes would allow. With a choked sob she pressed against his chest.

  “I was so afraid he’d kill you.”

  Kyle brushed his lips over the top of her head and whispered, “It’s over now.”

  The distant wail of sirens rose up from the night.

  Epilogue

  Eleri lifted a stick from the wet grass and threw it as far as she could. A big black dog of no particular breed bounded after it, only to have it snatched away by a three-legged beagle at the last moment. Lola, a bulldog, didn’t even bother chasing after them; she just plodded along beside Eleri.

  The back door to Kyle’s parents’ farmhouse opened, and Kyle stepped out onto the patio. Her heart swelled in her chest. She nipped her lip. Her feelings for him were so mixed-up.

  Actually, that wasn’t true. She knew exactly how she felt about him. She had fallen in love, and the prospect of leaving hollowed out her insides.

  Three weeks had passed since that terrible night at Dr. Howard’s. Rather than the memories turning soft and fuzzy with time, they remained as vivid as ever. She didn’t know if she’d ever be able to close her eyes and not see Stephen Paskin choking the life out of Kyle right in front of her.

  The days immediately after, however, seemed to move in a blur. Kyle said she might have been dealing with a bit of shock. And why not? She’d killed a man that night. She supposed she should feel some regret at having taken a life, but she didn’t. Before leaving Morehead, Eleri had a vague recollection of Detective Miller apologizing to her, Harding standing next the man and glaring daggers at her the whole time. Despite all that had happened, he clearly wasn’t convinced she wasn’t still involved somehow. In the end it hadn’t mattered what he believed. Kyle had heard the man had been fired. She probably should have felt a certain vindication, yet even after everything she didn’t bear him any ill will. She’d never cared for Dr. Howard and had seen Stephen Paskin’s dark side, but she’d never suspected either of them of murder.

  Dylis had been taken into custody. Dr. Howard would have been as well, but he’d succumbed to his injuries while in the hospital. The police investigated the round room. Between blood stains on the stone walls and Paskin’s photographs in his cellar, he’d obviously tortured and murdered a number of women there. So far there were no leads as to where he’d disposed of their bodies. Maybe his wife, who’d been covering for him for years, would be able to lead police to the murdered women. After leaving Cragera Bay, Brynn and Reece had gone to his home in Holyhead. Eleri and Kyle had come here to his parents’ in Dorchester.

  At first she’d been overwhelmed by his big family, sisters, brother. Kyle’s mother fussed over her. No one had ever fussed over her before and as kind as the woman was it had been a little unnerving. Kyle’s father, on the other hand, she adored. He was a soft-spoken and gentle man.

  Kyle had never pushed to talk about that night, but they had. It had been inevitable. She’d told Kyle everything about Paskin: the pictures, the terrible things he’d done, even what he had tried to do to her—what he would have done if Griffin hadn’t stopped him. Despite the fury bright in his pale gaze, he’d spoken calmly, held her carefully, and Eleri loved him even more.

  “It’s turned quite nice,” Kyle called as he started toward her. The early morning rain had gone and only scraps of gray cloud sweeping across the deep blue sky remained. Midday sun hit the drops clinging to the long grass and made them glitter like liquid gold.

  The black dog perked up at the sound of Kyle’s voice, abandoned the stick to the beagle—who was even now racing back to her with it—and bounded over to greet him. Kyle grinned and scratched the dog behind the ears.

  She met him halfway. He smiled and dropped a kiss on her mouth. Just a tender peck, but a swell of emotion rose inside her with something more, longing.

  “Did you finish?” she asked.

  He nodded and laced his fingers with hers. “All done and sent off.”

  He was writing again, freelance, and nothing like the stories he’d worked on before. He was getting on with his life, and she needed to, as well.

  “What is it?” he asked, frowning.

  “I’ve been thinking,” she began, surprised by just how difficult it was to force out each word. “I can’t stay with your parents forever. I should probably move on soon.”

  “There’s no rush. We can stay until you’re ready. They enjoy having you here.”

  She smiled softly. He had no idea how much she’d loved staying, but every day she stayed her feelings for him grew. Every day she stayed only made it harder for her to leave.

  “That’s kind of them, but this is their house.”

  “Where did you have in mind? Not Stonecliff.”

  “No. Never.” Even with her name cleared, she doubted anyone in the village could look at her and not still connect her with The Devil’s Eye. The stories had gone on too long. Besides, there was something wrong about Stonecliff, something evil. Now that she was finally free of that place, she was never going back. She hadn’t even returned to the house to say goodbye to her father. He was dying and she didn’t think she could muster up sympathy or forgiveness for the man who’d left her to the wolves for most of her life.

  She could go to Holyhead, maybe, to be closer to Brynn. Or back to Manchester. Maybe she could even get her old job at the flower shop back. She liked her time there—though, it held no real ap
peal just now. Her life was finally her own. Unfortunately what she truly wanted wasn’t an option. “I’m not sure yet, but I should get on with my life, let you get on with yours.”

  He stopped walking and turned to face her. His expression caught her off guard. She’d expected him to be relieved. Instead, he looked confused, hurt like she’d punched him in the stomach. “I thought we would be doing that together.”

  She nipped her lip and frowned. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m not your responsibility.”

  His face darkened and something flashed in his pale green eyes. “Is that what you think? That I only feel obligation toward you? We share everything—what we think, feel, a past, a bed—I thought we’d share a future. I love you, for God’s sakes.”

  She blinked. “You do?”

  “Of course I do.” Some of the anger leached out of his expression. “Have I never said so?”

  She shook her head, warmth welling in her chest.

  He sighed and stepped closer, cupping her face with both hands. “I love you, Eleri. I want to be with you now, forever.”

  “I love you, too,” she whispered.

  He pressed his mouth to hers, sweetly at first, then deepening. When he lifted his head, his eyes met hers, bright and hungry. A thrill shot straight to her core.

  “Let’s go back.” He nodded at the house.

  “Good idea.”

  He grinned and slung an arm over her shoulders and together they started back to the house. She was truly happy for the first time in her life. Her future with Kyle stretched out before her. Yet doubt nagged at the back of her brain.

  “If you’re ready, we could start looking for a place of our own…. Why are you frowning?”

  “I was thinking about when Brynn first came to stay at Stonecliff and she went to the pub. She got fall down drunk after only two drinks. Do you think Paskin would have taken her to the round room if Reece hadn’t found her?” A chill crawled down her back.

  Kyle’s expression remained stony. “It’s possible.”

  “Paskin admitted to being in my room, that he was the one who’d tried to choke me. Which means Warlow saw him and denied it, covered up for him. You said there were three people at The Devil’s Eye the night you almost died, and Paskin, Dylis and Dr. Howard are three, but…”