by Marcus Brown
He watched as she picked up the ten nails, holding out her hand in front of the terrified girl’s face, to taunt her.
Oh, my, how she liked to tease and bait them. She moved onto the girl’s toenails next and the joy radiating from Miriam was utterly contagious.
He stood up, smiling, wanting to get a better view as Miriam moved onto the next girl.
The second young woman looked terrified, her eyes wide and flashing around the room.
“Don’t struggle, or it’ll hurt more,” Miriam said, sounding calmer than she had when they’d last entertained guests.
She carved the same symbol, an upside-down cross into the chest of the second girl and seemingly ignored the bloodcurdling screams, just as she had done with the first girl.
The girls couldn’t move, having been securely fixed with plastic ties to hooks knocked into the cold, damp, concrete base.
They’d tried to break free, the plastic cutting into the skin.
He watched as their bodies trembled against the cold damp floor.
Their ankles had been tied and securely fastened to the floor. Their arms outstretched, just like Jesus on the cross, allowing him to look upon their naked bodies, their pert breasts and smooth, hairless vaginas arousing him.
He wanted to hurt and defile them, but he wouldn’t act against the teachings of the Holy Bible.
He reluctantly peeled his eyes away from them having noticed Miriam’s icy stare burrowing into him.
He knew she was the jealous type and reminded himself to be careful. He couldn’t afford for her to lose faith in him at such an important stage. Her time to be in the spotlight would come soon enough.
“Now, now, Miriam, you mustn’t keep the last one waiting. We don’t want her to think we care more for her sisters than we do for her.”
The icy stares melted away and she smiled up at him with the usual doe eyed expression. “Yes, darling,” she replied.
Kneeling over the last girl, he watched as Miriam carved into her chest, cutting a little deeper than she had with the previous two. A high-pitched scream escaped the girl’s lips as blood sprayed up, speckling Miriam’s grinning face. She wiped the spray of blood from her face with a dirty cloth from the floor.
He laughed as the girl tried to kick out, but it was useless. He’d made certain they couldn’t escape.
Chapter Five
Tabitha’s car roared up the long driveway to the country manor house she shared with her sisters.
The brakes screeched as she parked opposite the front door.
Tamara was on the top step waiting for her, a concerned look on her pretty face. “What’s so urgent you’re coming home at this time of day?”
“Not out here,” Tabitha said through gritted teeth, “inside.” She ushered her sister into the house and slammed the door behind her.
“Talia,” Tabitha shouted. “We need you, now.”
“Coming,” Talia shouted.
Tabitha rolled her eyes as she heard Talia above, no doubt tottering about in skyscraper heels she could barely walk in, never mind rush about in when the need arose.
“Take those bloody shoes off and you might be able to move a bit quicker,” Tabitha yelled, looking up to the ceiling. “I haven’t got all day.”
She wasn’t in the mood to be patient.
“Okay, grumpy,” Talia shouted as she suddenly appeared before them.
Tabitha and Tamara jumped.
“What have I said about using magic unnecessarily?” Tabitha asked.
“You might be the eldest…” Talia responded, sounding annoyed, “… and by minutes, I might add, but you’re not in charge here, remember. Mother bequeathed her powers equally, and for a reason I might add.”
“Nobody said I was in charge, but we agreed. No magic, unless in an emergency.”
Tabitha didn’t have time to argue with her sisters.
“Err, FYI, it is an emergency, and I think you’ll find you bamboozled Tammy and I into that agreement. Anyway, you wanted me and here I am.”
“Hang on just a min…” Tabitha interrupted.
“No, you hang on,” Talia replied, “you were rushing me and these little beauties on my perfect, delicate little feet are brand spanking new and were flown in from Paris only this morning. I haven’t had time to break them in yet, so Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo, I used a bit of magic, and Je suis là.”
Tabitha rolled her eyes as Talia did a little twirl on the spot, slowly rising from the floor.
Tamara snorted. “Oh, Tally. Only you.”
“Don’t encourage her, Tammy,” Tabitha barked, grabbing Talia’s hand and dragging her back down to the floor. “And we don’t have time for that.”
“Oooh, sorry, your Majesty,” Tamara replied to her eldest sister, dropping a deep curtsey as Talia landed awkwardly on her heels before correcting her footing.
Tabitha rolled her eyes and returned her focus to Talia, then sneered. “But if you’re okay with using magic willy-nilly, then what do you think of this for a trick?”
Tabitha clicked her fingers and Talia’s new shoes vanished and were replaced with a pair of pink furry bunny eared slippers.
Talia looked down at her feet. Her expression was a picture of repulsion, most probably at what replaced her designer footwear.
Tamara roared laughing. “Oh, here we go,” she snorted again, sounding like a pig.
“Give me back my shoes, Tabi,” Talia shrieked. “Right now.”
“Not until you shut up and listen to what I have to say,” Tabitha replied. “I don’t have time for this childishness.”
“Come off it, Tabi. You rush home in the middle of the day with a face like a cat’s arse and start dishing out orders. Something’s obviously gone tit’s up, so quit being all mysterious and spill it -- but I want my shoes back first.” Talia stood with her hands on her hips.
“Fine.” Tabitha clicked her fingers and the bunny slippers disappeared, her shoes reappearing. “Now, are you ready to hear what I have to tell you?”
“Go for it,” Talia replied, looking down, obviously admiring the shoes.
“I think Numen has found us.”
Tamara gasped and Talia pulled a face.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Tabi. He’ll never get out of there. Book banished him good and proper,” Talia replied.
Tabitha turned and stomped toward the kitchen wanting to throttle Talia.
“Woah, hang on just one moment, Tabi,” Tamara said. “You can’t drop that on us then leave us hanging like that.”
“I need a drink,” Tabitha replied.
“Then I’ll get you one.” Talia snapped her fingers and out of thin air, a bottle of mineral water appeared in Tabitha’s hand.
“Tally, enough,” Tabitha protested.
“Well, I’m sorry, but we’ve spent over three hundred years hoping he’d never escape from wherever we sent him and now you rock up and say he’s found us. What makes you think he’s here now?”
“Those murders I’m investigating, the ones that have been in the news...”
“Yeah, so? What does that have to do with Numen?” Tamara asked.
“Look, we’ve held back loads of details about the murders just in case some sicko wants to do a copycat.”
“And?” Talia and Tamara asked in unison.
“And the victims were horribly mutilated. Inverted crosses carved on their chests, Fingernails and toenails ripped out, hearts, lungs, kidneys and eyes missing – the works.”
“Shiiiit,” Tamara replied.
“You read my mind, Tam.” Talia looked shocked.
“That’s not all. I just got off the phone with the chief and three more people have been reported missing.”
Tamara shook her head slightly. “You’re always so suspicious, Tabi. People go missing every day.”
“Not when they’re identical triplets. All girls,” Tabitha replied.
Chapter Six
“Now I’m worried,” Tamara stated.
“Me too,�
� Talia agreed. “What if after all this time, he’s really found us?”
“Then we’ll find a way to stop him again. Simple,” Tabitha said.
“He swore revenge on us for what we did. But’s that was hundreds of years ago. Why now?” Tamara asked.
“I don’t have the answers to your questions,” Tabitha replied.
They made their way down the wood paneled corridor. The kitchen door was at the far end, but they finished just short of the threshold.
“Grab a torch, Tammy,” Tabitha ordered.
Tamara clicked her fingers and a torch magically appeared in her hand.
Tabitha was about to protest and opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t manage to utter a single word.
“Don’t even go there.” Tamara jumped in before her younger sister had the chance. “Tabi, I’m sick to death of your constant orders. We’re in our own home, so save your breath.”
Tabitha knew she was fighting a losing battle and kept quiet. She raised her hand and pulled the light fitting attached to the wall downwards and watched as one of the wood panels shifted to the left, revealing a set of stone steps that descended into the basement of their grand manor house.
Tamara turned the flashlight on and shoved past her sister, leading the way. Tabitha and Talia followed their sister a hundred feet below ground level until they were standing in a dimly lit corridor.
They reached a doorway on the left-hand side of the corridor.
Tamara paused to place her hand on the door. “What if we…” she said before she was interrupted by Tabitha.
“No, Tammy,” she stated firmly.
“Before you rule it out, what terms did we all agree on?” Talia asked softly.
“That we would only consult her when our situation was so dire, that it warranted nothing less,” Tabitha reminded them.
“But, isn’t this one of those times?” Tamara asked.
“No, Tammy, it definitely is not. Only when our own lives are at stake, or we are in real danger of exposure are we allowed to enter that room and consult her.”
The sisters looked at one another and individually placed their hands on the door.
“Blessed be,” they said in unison, bowing their heads.
The sisters jumped back upon hearing an almighty crash, as though something heavy had been thrown at the door.
“Come on,” Tabitha said gently, giving them a little push, moving them past a door on the right-hand side of the corridor. “Let’s go and consult the book.”
“You know,” Tamara added, “we really should give it a name. I’m a bit fed up of calling it book.”
Tabitha and Talia ignored her.
A door at the very end of the corridor was slightly ajar, a little flickering from inside.
Tamara led the way again and pushed the door open. “Thinking about those missing girls – it could be merely a coincidence.”
“But what if she’s right,” Talia added, ‘and Numen has found a way out and he’s coming for us?”
“Then he would come straight for us. Why would he play these games and murder innocent mortals?” Tamara asked.
“We don’t know enough about Numen to know what he is or isn’t capable of.” Tabitha cast her mind back to the day they left Salem for England. “We were only able to see him once mother transferred her power to us. Who knows what secrets she knew about him? Girls, we don’t even know where he came from.”
“Then we need to find out what we can and prepare ourselves, because if it is him, he’s bound to be angry after being locked in another dimension for three hundred odd years. I know I wouldn’t be happy.” Talia was obviously trying make light of the situation.
Tabitha grumbled. “Stating the obvious as always, Tally.”
“Don’t have a go at me ‘cos you’re pissed off. We were happier not knowing anything, but now you’ve involved us, we’ll do everything we can to help.”
“We need to ask the book, see what it tells us,” Talia added. “The three of us glean more from it when we’re together.”
The book was sitting on an old rowan wood plinth in the middle of the room. A circle of white church candles surrounded the plinth.
The candles in holders around the walls of the room had been bewitched and burned eternally, never needing to be replaced.
The sisters stepped into the circle and stood before the plinth.
“Blessed be,” they said in unison and the candles surrounding them came to life, their tiny flames blowing in the gentle breeze. “Beloved book, give us the answers we seek.”
As expected, the pages began to move and settled on a blank page.
She picked up a pot of red ink from the plinth and tipped it onto the page.
The red ink dropped onto the page and settled in a pool.
“The book doesn’t know,” Talia said, pushing her long blonde hair away from her face.
“That’s not possible – the book knows everything,” Tabitha responded. “Whoever it is has used magic of their own and is cloaked to us.”
“But who would be strong enough to do that? We were the last of our kind,” Tamara reminded her sisters.
Tabitha shook her head. “You’re wrong, Tammy. We were the last of our line. There’s a difference.”
“Let’s try again,” Talia suggested.
“Book,” they called in unison. “There is an enemy close by and hidden from us. Where does this threat come from?”
The pages of the book didn’t move and the sisters looked fearfully at one another. But, suddenly, the pages moved slowly, again settling on a blank page.
“Zero,” Tabitha said, kicking the plinth.
Suddenly the ink began to move about the page.
“Wait,” Talia said. “It’s showing us something.”
“What’s it say, Tally?” Tammy asked, obviously impatient.
“Wait for goodness sake. I can only see what you see,” Talia replied waiting for the word to form. “Looks like the number one.”
“How does that help?” Tabitha asked.
“Seriously, Tabi. You’re driving me mad. Just wait. The book will tell us in its own time.” Tamara pursed her lips together.
The ink pooled back together and began to form another number.
“Number six. I don’t understand.” Tabitha waited anxiously.
The number vanished and another one formed from the pool of ink.
“Number nine now,” Talia said.
Tamara tapped her finger on the plinth, obviously becoming as impatient as her sister.
Once again, the number disappeared and the ink pooled before forming another.
“Two,” the sisters whispered together. “Our enemy comes from 1692.”
“It’s Numen,” Tabitha said quietly, gazing fearfully at her sisters. “We’re in deep trouble.”
Chapter Seven
Tabitha tried to ignore the constant buzzing – the carved wooden bedside cabinet vibrating with every ring.
It had taken her hours to get to sleep and now somebody was calling her at this unholy hour.
She opened her eyes and knew her sleep was over for the night. She was wide awake now and nothing short of a miracle would let her drift back off into unconsciousness.
Picking up the phone and looking at the screen, Dembélé’s handsome face flashed at her.
“What the hell?” she said, accepting the call.
“’Bout time, Sleeping Beauty. What took you so long?” he asked.
“Do you know what time it is?” She was exhausted and would make him suffer somewhere down the line for waking her.
“Call me when you’re done, no matter how late it is. Those were your exact words, or did I mishear?” he stated smugly.
“Smart arse,” she replied, completely stumped. “What do you want, Dembélé?”
“I’ve just finished the autopsies and you’re gonna want to hear this.”
“Go on,” she said.
“Cause of death is the same as the othe
r victims.”
“And that couldn’t wait until a more reasonable hour?” She was growing more irritated by the second.
“I haven’t finished yet. As I said, cause of death, the same. MO is also the same, as we guessed it would be, but this time our killer left us a clue.”
Tabitha pushed herself into a sitting position. “Seriously?” she asked.
“You bet. Stuffed into Mademoiselle’s left ocular cavity was a page from a book.”
“You’re kidding me -- what book?”
“Chadwick Hansen’s Witchcraft at Salem.”
“Are you sure the page is from that particular book?”
“Yes, I read it when I was in college and typed some of the words into Google just to be sure I wasn’t mistaken, and it’s definitely the same book. But listen, I found more than one page, Tabitha. Four pages in total.”
“Let me guess. One page was stuffed in each ocular cavity.”
“You got it. Now if you want my opinion, I wouldn’t make the pages of the book common knowledge, just yet. I hate to think it, but Tony Marshall and his pack of vultures will dine out on these murders for years to come.”
“I’ve no intention of telling that man anything, but keep this between us for now, please.”
“I can’t withhold evidence from my superiors, especially in a case like this, no matter who’s asking.”
“I’m not asking you to withhold evidence. I’m merely asking you not to reveal the full facts for forty-eight hours, that’s all. If the chief is right and we have a leak, I don’t want this part of the story out there, yet.”
“Well, okay. I’ll buy you some time, but no more than forty-eight hours. Whoever is doing this left the pages purposely, but why, and who are they meant for?”
*
Tabitha closed her eyes, psychically calling for her sisters.
One by one, they appeared before her.
“What the hell are you playing at?” Talia mumbled, her face plastered with a thick black face mask that resembled tar.
“I might ask you the same question.” Tamara pointed and laughed. “You know that stuff’s a waste of money. You might as well smear frog spawn over your face, all the good that would do.”
