Warm Food Cold Body

by S. Y. Robins

  “You’re crazy Ben. There isn’t a chance you’ll get anywhere in this house without being noticed. The butler was sneaking around all the time you were at the bathroom. And he said something to Van Lomas, I’m sure.” Janey replied.

  “Well I know what I heard and we have to do something.” Benjamin said. He had no sooner finished speaking when they were both shocked by a tap on the large window directly behind them. It was George. He was smiling and giving a thumbs up sign.

  Benjamin looked at Janey. “That man is a bloody idiot! Keep an eye out for Van Lomas and the butler Janey. I’ll get rid of Sherlock Holmes.”

  Benjamin moved to the window and gently cracked it ajar.

  “What the hell George?” Benjamin asked with some frustration.

  “Just keeping an eye on you both. How’s the food?” George replied.

  “Listen George. I think there’s someone in the wine cellar. I heard a groan. We can’t get out of this room without being watched. Got to go.” Benjamin whispered, just as Van Lomas re-entered the room.

  Benjamin snapped his head round to see the tall man approaching the table.

  “Was just trying for some fresh air. That fire makes it quite stuffy after a big dinner don’t you think?” Benjamin asked smiling as he pushed the window closed.

  “Why yes, I suppose it does Ben. Are you suitably cooled? We shall have more wine I believe. Portuguese. One of my favourites. The French wines are so overrated don’t you agree?” Van Lomas remarked.

  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 generat
ions 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 passed 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

  Spooky Followers

  Cozy Mystery

  About the Book

  Lorna Grindstaff lived an ordinary life in an ordinary village in Derbyshire. Running from the city to her refuge in the country after a bad breakup Lorna expected to live out her days in an ordinary fashion as an ordinary woman. Lorna craved ordinary but fate had different plans for the young woman.

  Shortly after the beginning of October Lorna meets a young couple on her nightly walk home from work. First the young man, and then the young woman. An odd pair they’re well-mannered if dressed oddly, and obviously in love. But are they what they seem or is there more to their story than even Lorna can imagine? Soon Lorna is tangled in a web that she can’t get out of and must find the answers that will give the young couple the freedom they need. But first Lorna has to learn the truth, are the pair ghostly spectres from the past or are they modern people simply living a lifestyle that's from 70 years ago?

  1

  “I’m off home now, Mildred!” Lorna Grindstaff called out to her employer at the Druid’s Grove pub as she bundled her mass of curly dark auburn hair under a thick scarf and walked out into the early October darkness outside of the pub. The darkness was thickened by a deep fog that made it impossible for the street lights to illuminate the rain-slicked car park or the street just outside of the pub.

  Sighing deeply Lorna knew it was going to be a harrowing trip home down the hill in this fog. The stones of the footpath and the road itself were going to be slick with pebbles and damp leaves from the oak trees that lined the road waiting to take your feet out from under you as you walked down the steep incline. Tossing one end of the scarf out of her clear grey eyes, Lorna placed an earbud into one ear but left the other free so she could hear any approaching cars; there wasn’t much chance of seeing the headlights of one tonight, not in this fog.

  Stepping onto the road Lorna started the walk home, down the 'hill of death' as she called it, and down the road to her house. Humming along to the song playing on her mobile she wasn’t aware that she was approaching anyone until she ran smack into them in the darkness. Falling to the ground Lorna had an instant vision of sliding the rest of the way down the hill on her bum but she only came to a sudden stop without shooting off into the darkness. She looked up out of the darkness, confused as to what had just occurred.

  A handsome young man’s face appeared out of the dark and fog, the dark hair styled in an old fashioned manner, his head covered by an old cap that Lorna thought gave him a jaunty air, and smiled as he offered his hand in aid.

  “Sorry, miss, must have been you I heard humming behind me then. An unfamiliar tune but lovely, all the same. I thought it may have been a ghost out to catch me unawares. The sound of it stopped me dead and I wasn’t sure whether to stay and listen or to run. You hum nicely by the way.” The young man said jovially.

  Lorna assumed the young man was a few years younger than her 24 years and harmless looking. She took his offered hand and stood up, brushing off the back of her red coat. She’d saved for weeks until she had enough to buy the red wool coat; she hoped she hadn’t damaged it.

  “Are you alright, then?” She asked as they began to walk again.

  “I’m just dandy. What time is it? I’m meeting my girl at the Nine Ladies Stone Circle and I expect I’m late already. She’s afraid to be up there on her own. Things that go bump in the night and all that jazz!” He said with another laugh. “I’d best be off in any case. My apologies again, keep humming it seemed to make you happy!” The young man said before rushing off.

  “Young love!” Lorna said to herself as she continued slowly and carefully down the hill.

  For a moment she wished she had such a reason to rush down the hill but then thought better of it. She’d been in love once and he’d run off with her best friend. A year later Lorna now lived a solitary life, far from the city she was born in, with perfect peace and quiet. Just the way she liked it. She called for her Yorkshire terrier, Jack, as she came through the door and was greeted with puppy kisses and excitement as her number one fan welcomed her home.

  Settling in for the rest of the night she had the dinner she’d brought home from work, sharing tiny bites with Jack, then watched a movie. One day was much like the next and as far as Lorna was concerned that’s just the way she liked it. Only hours later did she wonder about the young man again. His clothes could have been considered normal for today’s youth, a hipster perhaps, but his manners were impeccable and his speech odd. Perhaps he was just a well-reared youth, something sorely lacking in today’s youth. As Lorna slipped into her cold bed, punching her feather pillow into place, she thought the man’s girlfriend was one lucky bird but she wasn’t going to be so lucky. A lonely life of solitude was all Lorna had to lo
ok forward to and she was just fine with that.

  The next night Lorna left her kitchen as clean as she could before preparing to leave. As the head chef she wanted to set an example for her staff. The Druid’s Grove’s menu was popular throughout the county and she was the reason for that. She cared about the food she sent out and wanted her customers happy with their experience. It kept them coming back, after all. She walked out of the back door after calling out her goodbye to Mildred and realized the weather was a copycat of the night before.

  Leaving off the earbuds this time so she could hear better Lorna started off down the hill. She was halfway down when she heard a feminine voice singing a familiar song softly but she couldn’t quite catch the words to identify the song. Then Lorna heard a feminine yelp. Hurrying down to where she thought she’d heard the sound Lorna found a pretty young woman of around 18, her blonde hair done in a similar style to Lorna’s grandmother’s pictures from when the woman was a teenager during World War II. Ah, this must be the girlfriend then she thought as she helped the young woman up. Apparently some kind of new style movement was going on that Lorna didn’t know about.

  “Are you alright, love?” Lorna asked as the girl looked up at her gratefully.

  “Oh yes, thank you, miss. I slipped on some leaves I guess. My feet just flew out from under me! Oh, you must be the woman Brian ran into last night. He mentioned the beautiful red coat. I’m Sadie.” The girl held a hand out to Lorna with a big smile.

  “Hiya, I’m Lorna. Yes, but it was more like I ran into him, the poor fellow. Are you sure you’re alright?” Lorna asked, letting Sadie’s hand go and looking her over. She was as short as Lorna was, Brian must tower over her completely!

  “Yes, I’m fine; I’ll walk with you until your turn shall I? It’s a horrible night out and I don’t mind having some company for a short while, if you don’t mind?” Sadie asked, starting back down the hill.