Dark Winter: Trilogy

by Hennessy, John

  Both Tori-Suzanne and Beth were bothered by a succession of men, and decided to drink up quickly, even though subconsciously, they wanted to delay going, to delay the inevitable.

  “Jesus Christ!” said Beth. “It’s like there’s more devils in here than out there in the Forest!"

  “Is that where you’d be going?” asked one of them.

  “None of your damned business!” Beth spat. “Now away with you! Come on, Susie, let’s go.”

  Tori-Suzanne hoped that Beth could be cooler than this.

  As they made their exit, a man stood in front of them and placed his hand on Beth’s arm, before she swatted it away viciously.

  “Get out of my way,” she said sternly.

  “Pretty girls make graves,” said the man.

  “What did you just say?” said Beth, turning to face him, with Tori-Suzanne wondering what all the commotion was about. She tried pushing Beth towards the door, but she stood rooted to the floor.

  “Pretty girls make good graves,” said the man.

  “Leave it Beth, he’s drunk,” said Tori-Suzanne.

  “No. No! He’s not drunk!” said Beth incredulously. “He’s a big boy. He knows what he said.” She jabbed a finger into his chest, and the group of men around him were surprised he was pushed back into them. It was hard to contain Beth’s temper once it was loosened.

  “Now what did you say? Huh?”

  “You’re going to die out there,” he said. “Right now, those graves are being dug for you. For both of you. For all who will stand against Diabhal.”

  A hush came over the Dying Swan. “Now that’s enough, Don.” The voice belonged to the bartender, Bren.

  Beth glared at Bren, then looked back at the man called Don, who had now disappeared from view. “Where the devil has he gone?” cried Beth. “Don, you say his name was?”

  Tori-Suzanne comforted her. “Easy now, Beth…that’s not who you think he is. He’s gone, remember? Don Curie’s gone.”

  “Aye,” said Bren. “Wherever you’re off to now, he can’t hurt you, Beth. Though er….I’d keep that cross of yours handy.”

  “We will, Bren,” said Tori-Suzanne. “We’re just going for a walk.”

  “You know the evil dead don’t rest,” said Bren, gesturing a nod towards Beth. “Look after her, Tori. I like her. Nice girl. I’d like to see her again. And you, of course, though I know you can look after yourself.”

  The pub landlord assumed Tori-Suzanne was armed. She shrugged, and said “I’ll try not to let you down, Bren. Have the Glenfiddich ready if we return.”

  Bren nodded, shut the door behind Beth and Tori-Suzanne, and lined the bar with several shots for himself.

  “By all goodness in Heaven….if those two return it will nothing short of a miracle.”

  ***

  The snow seemed to be getting worse. It was April, and it shouldn’t be snowing, but the dark winter was hanging on for grim death. Every time the sun shone in the day, the snow teased a bit and melted, but only just a little bit. The afternoons turned dark after 3:00, although light should have stayed until around nearly 5:00.

  “I think the blizzard is trying to tell us something, Beth,” said Tori-Suzanne.

  “You can go home if you want to,” said Beth, who seemed more assertive with every passing moment. “I’m going straight ahead.”

  Pleased that her companion was acting anything but flaky, Tori-Suzanne decided her fate lay with Beth. She didn’t want to admit it to herself, but the old man’s words rang in her head.

  Pretty girls make graves.

  Yes. Dana Cullen had found a dead body out here all these years ago, and then, she became a victim of the Forest too. Of course, who was Tori-Suzanne kidding? Everyone knew who was responsible.

  Diabhal’s strength was gathering pace.

  No. It wasn’t a good idea to even think his name, never mind the courage to speak it. The blizzard was getting worse, the snowflakes more dense, and Beth, who had been racing ahead of Tori-Suzanne, slowed to a crawl, before turning around, her hood protecting the back of her head from an icy blast.

  “That way is to the East, Susie. Can we get there on foot, you know, by conventional means?”

  “Yes,” Tori-Suzanne affirmed, “but you should know that even if we get there, I can’t be certain we’ll succeed.”

  “What?” After what you said?” Beth was cold from the snow, but increasingly angry with the display of flakiness from Tori-Suzanne.

  “You said there were two bodies, didn’t you?”

  “Two coffins,” said Beth. “There were two coffins. I wish to God I had opened the other one now. It would have saved us this journey. You really think it’s her?”

  “It has to be. Her grave is in the cemetery, but not the body.”

  “Toril told me her body was found by the authorities! She was buried, Susie.”

  “That’s right, Beth, but your caretaker man dug her up.”

  “Why?!!!” Beth was freezing, standing as she was on the spot, but before they went one more step, she had to know. She had to know why he had done that.

  “For the same reason we’re going there now. To be free of her.”

  The Forest howled. It knew who they spoke of.

  “If we don’t go now, we never will,” said Beth. “But I need to know why he didn’t get free of her.”

  Tori-Suzanne’s heart was beating fast, but she huddled Beth close to her, and step by step, they edged into the Forest. Behind them, the light of the Dying Swan dimmed, and their visibility ahead reduced significantly.

  “Beth, I will tell you along the way, let’s hurry now.”

  They advanced slowly, in silence. Beth was learning to be silent, trying to listen hard, trying to be as good as her word. After what seemed an age, her companion spoke, and the shock made Beth exclaim another Jesus out loud.

  “Beth, as well as your parents, he murdered young children. Then She found him, and made him belong to her. You know of who I speak, so don’t dare say her name. He serviced her, and dug her body up, and returned it to Redwood. Yes, I’ll call it that, not the Other Name. Of course, her body had been devoid of life, for many a long year. He didn’t know any craft, don’t you see? She held all the cards. But over time, the reason for her after-death was learned. Her essence endures, and is housed in different places. We just have to find all those infernal dolls.”

  “Good!” said Beth. “If we can destroy them, we can destroy her. The nightmares will stop.”

  “I hope you’re right Beth. In any case, you carry a part of her with you, in that bag. Keep it safe now, at least until we are making our way back.”

  Beth smiled as the snow thickened on the ground. “It’s not so slippy,” she said. “You believe we’ll make it back, then?”

  “I’m not going to die out here,” said Tori-Suzanne.

  “Is that the prophecy, or your belief?”

  “A bit of both.”

  Beth went quiet again. Snow, far too heavy to stay on the branches above, hammered down on the duo. Finally, Beth spoke up. “Oh! I wasn’t sure where we were for a moment, but there’s lights ahead. That looks like Milly’s wood-cabin. Thank God!”

  Yes, in the distance, they could see Rosewinter. Beth’s happiness at finding the Mirror of Souls location was tempered by Tori-Suzanne’s ominous words.

  “Those aren’t lights, Beth. We ought to keep moving.”

  The lights belonged to the dead-eyed Zerythra, who appeared as dark shadows hissing around the wood-cabin. Toril’s spell still held. The Mirror was safe. Beth, meanwhile, could not understand the reason for Tori-Suzanne’s statement, or for the hint of fear that she detected in her voice. It wasn’t Beth’s gift, or curse, to see ghosts. Not like this. She could only see them when they wanted to be seen. Tori-Suzanne could see all the demons around them, and without her wand, she felt extremely vulnerable.

  Beth could only see the lights. It was the reflection of the zombies eyes when they were in close proximity
to the Mirror.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Just keep moving, Beth. No more talking now until we get there.”

  Beth, even with her new aim of keeping quiet for longer and listening much more intently, would find this difficult. Besides, talking a little made their quest much easier to cope with. Tori-Suzanne kept her head down as some of the Zeryths broke formation, and followed them.

  Tori-Suzanne could feel their icy breath on her neck. The chill affected her so much, that eventually, she broke the silence.

  “Beth, you never see ghosts outside of your nightmares? Real ghosts? Not the hallucinations, I mean.”

  “No, never,” said Beth. “Why do you ask?”

  Bony fingers extended from the dark shadows that followed them and grabbed at Tori-Suzanne’s hair. She swiped at the bony hands behind her, and Beth looked on in wonder at what she was doing. For all the world, it looked like Tori-Suzanne was swatting at a wasp on summer’s day.

  Tori-Suzanne neither denied nor confirmed anything. Finally, with the shadows far behind her, she said, “Sometimes Beth, I really do envy you.”

  Rosewinter was now far behind, and the women headed towards the East. The road narrowed, and raised in height. Beth clawed herself up. The ground felt hard, and she was able to dig the heels of her boots in to steady herself. Beth believed the elements were assisting them. Above, the snowfall slowed, petering out into a light drizzle.

  “We’re going to make it!” said Beth confidently. Just when it seemed like she was ascending without getting anywhere, the road opened up in front of them, and her heart sank.

  “Sweet Mother of all that is good and pure,” said Beth. “How in the name of God do we get past that?”

  Beth extended a gloved finger dead ahead of herself. Tori-Suzanne feared she knew what Beth referred to. Ahead lay a wide expanse of a place too small to be a graveyard, but almost too large to be a cemetery. Almost.

  “Sweet Jesus!” cried Beth. “There’s bodies everywhere!”

  The bodies were comprised of the dead that were not yet buried. In some cases they had been buried, but their makeshift coffins had broken, and the bodies just lolled about on the marshland. Some still had stayed intact, others were in an advanced state of decomposition. Strands of hair littered the place, and in some cases, the braids and locks had intertwined and the skulls of the dead banged together.

  Something seemed to be moving amongst the bodies towards Beth, who stood frozen to the spot, transfixed with full terror. If Tori-Suzanne was following behind her, Beth knew nothing about it.

  At first, Beth thought it was the current of the water, if a current could be detected in the marshland.

  No. Nothing like that. It was still moving towards her though, with real purpose. It seemed to have a head, and there were strands of hair on top of that head. Human, yet it could not be. Nothing human existed here.

  The figure rose out of the marsh, and extended its arms towards Beth. Fingers with skin, not just of bone, targeted her neck. Its eyes burned into Beth, and she was still unable to move. All confidence was taken from Beth in that moment. Stolen from her.

  The figure closed its hands around her throat, and bore a sick grin at Tori-Suzanne, who had finally made it to the top of the hill. The devil lifted Beth into the air, and laughed at Tori-Suzanne’s attempts to free her. As it turned to look at her, Tori-Suzanne recognised the face.

  “Curie! Let her go!”

  “Your wish is my command,” he said mockingly.

  Beth’s body fell into the marshland populated by the bones of the dead, the undead, and God only knows what else. The shock of hitting the freezing water underneath forced Beth to come around, but Curie stood in the way of Tori-Suzanne.

  “Get back!” screamed Tori-Suzanne.

  “Oh, you want me to get out of the way, do you? Tell me, witch, does it depress you to know that both of you will die tonight?”

  “Get out of my way!” screamed Tori-Suzanne, loud enough to wake all of the dead.

  Curie moved to intercept her. “You’re supposed to be dead,” said Tori-Suzanne.

  “That must be a real disappointment to you then,” said Curie.

  Of course, he looked anything but alive, not in the human sense of things. But he was not about to let Tori-Suzanne ruin his fun. Beth screamed from the marshland, and she flailed about wildly.

  “Susie!! I can’t-can’t s-swim. Can’t swim!”

  Beth could only grab onto arms that once had blood pumping through them, but she could not keep her head above water. Tori-Suzanne burst into a run, but Curie got in her way once again.

  “Going without saying goodbye? How very rude,” said Curie, the cut from a previous encounter with Beth, throbbed angrily above his eye. He grabbed Tori-Suzanne by the arm, and she began to lose her composure.

  “For pity’s sake, let me help her.”

  “Just wave your hand, and you can lift her out of there, Tori. Whatever are you waiting for? I assure you, the dead will pull Beth down to join them if you don’t. Come on! Give her a wave!”

  Tori-Suzanne clenched her teeth together. “I can’t!”

  “Oh!” Curie clapped his hands in delight. “And the truth shall set you free! Yes, yes, Tori, normally, you would be a real threat to me, wouldn’t you? Yet you come here, to East Gorswood, without your wand and pentacle. It’s the sort of rookie mistake I would expect your whore of daughter to make, but she’s more powerful you, it seems. Tell me, how does it feel to be surpassed by your daughter? I bet the Circle are very interested in Toril. Very interested indeed.”

  “You know why I didn’t bring my items,” said Tori-Suzanne.

  “You hoped to go undetected.”

  “Yes. Now I have told you the truth, Stand aside and let me help Beth.”

  Curie smiled again. “I am sorry, Tori.”

  Thank goodness, thought Tori-Suzanne. He’s going to let me save Beth after all.

  “I’m sorry you forgot to bring your wand or wear your pentacle.” With a supernatural strength, Curie hurled Tori-Suzanne towards Beth’s direction. Tori-Suzanne was fortunate to land on a strip of solid marshland, and pulled a stricken Beth onto it. Slowly, they began to sink.

  Curie made his way towards them, gliding over the decomposing bodies.

  “You’ll like this, Beth. I’m walking on water! Who do I remind you of? Tell me, and I’ll save you!”

  Beth was in shock. Although Tori-Suzanne was freezing, she took her coat off and wrapped it around Beth, who was shaking violently.

  “You came here without your wand, Tori. But you should have brought it. You stand no chance without it.”

  Tori-Suzanne turned the air blue with her curses. Curie crouched in front of them and rested his chin on his fist. The pose looked a lot like those gargoyles you see on the old cathedrals. Impish, yet terrifying.

  “You know, Tori, your daughter is the very spit of you. She was a useless Wiccan whore as well. But nothing would have made her relinquish her wand. Now. You are up to something. A witch never goes anywhere without her wand, so what gives? Tell me, and I will help you pass the marshland.”

  “Go to hell.”

  “Is that all you Withers girls can say? Go to hell. Damn you Curie. I’ll never tell you anything…..God! You are all so predictable.”

  Tori-Suzanne huddled Beth close. Curie edged closer.

  “Leave us alone!” screamed Tori-Suzanne.

  “What? Leave you alone? Why would I do that, with so many specimens of the dead surrounding you. You’re not alone, Tori, but you are alone, aren’t you? What a fix you’re in. Maybe when Beth dies, you can eat her flesh to stay alive a little longer.”

  Tori-Suzanne shook her head in disgust.

  “Oh? That disgusts you, does it?”

  “That’s inhuman. Sub-human. I won’t do anything like that.”

  Curie’s tone became more sinister. “Then you are as stubborn as that daughter of yours. You’d be amazed what hunger does to some
one, Tori. Just when you think you really can’t face the thought of eating another human, young Beth’s flesh will become very appetising, I assure you. It’s a survival instinct we all possess. All I ask is that you save me a kidney, and a few ribs. Hah! If I eat her, she’ll always be a part of me. We’ll always be together. I bet she never saw that coming!”

  “Get lost, you bastard,” swore Tori-Suzanne, her speech slowing as the cold began to bite.