Relics

by Shaun Hutson

  RELICS

  She stiffened, her body quivering almost imperceptibly as if a high voltage charge were being pumped through it. She sucked in a breath but it seemed to stick in her throat, and for terrifying seconds she found she couldn’t breathe. The skin on her face and hands puckered into goose-pimples and a numbing chill enveloped her. A small gasp escaped her as she actually felt her hair rising, standing up like a cat’s hackles. She swayed uncertainly for a moment as the feeling seemed to spread through her whole body, through her very soul, and Kim clenched her teeth together, convinced she was going to faint. On the verge of panic, she screwed up her eyes until white stars danced before her. Her throat felt constricted, as though some invisible hand were gradually tightening around it. Her head seemed to be swelling, expanding to enormous proportions until it seemed it must burst.

  And somewhere, perhaps in her imagination, she thought, she heard a sound. A noise which froze her blood as it throbbed in her ears.

  Also by Shaun Hutson:

  ASSASSIN

  BODY COUNT

  BREEDING GROUND

  CAPTIVES

  COMPULSION

  DEADHEAD

  DEATH DAY

  DYING WORDS

  EPITAPH

  EREBUS

  EXIT WOUNDS

  HEATHEN

  HELL TO PAY

  HYBRID

  KNIFE EDGE

  LAST RITES

  LUCY'S CHILD

  NECESSARY EVIL

  NEMESIS

  PURITY

  RENEGADES

  SHADOWS

  SLUGS

  SPAWN

  STOLEN ANGELS

  THE SKULL

  TWISTED SOULS

  UNMARKED GRAVES

  VICTIMS

  WARHOL'S PROPHECY

  WHITE GHOST

  Hammer Novelizations

  TWINS OF EVIL

  X THE UNKNOWN

  THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN

  CAFFEINE NIGHTS PUBLISHING

  SHAUN HUTSON

  Relics

  Fiction to die for...

  Published by Caffeine Nights Publishing 2013

  Copyright © Shaun Hutson 1986, 2013

  Shaun Hutson has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998 to be identified as the author of this work

  First published in Great Britain in 1987

  by Star Books, a Division of W H Allen & Co Plc

  CONDITIONS OF SALE

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher

  This book has been sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental

  Published in Great Britain by Caffeine Nights Publishing

  www.caffeine-nights.com

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  ISBN: 978-1-907565-49-6

  Cover design by

  Mark (Wills) Williams

  Everything else by

  Default, Luck and Accident

  RELICS

  Introduction by Shaun Hutson

  RELICS was originally published in 1987 and was what might be termed my first “apocalyptic” novel. A book that might possibly entail the end of the world wasn't something I'd thought about before but when I was planning it I thought “why not?”

  As I've said with other books the beginning of every novel is one central idea or scene and with RELICS it was the old Celtic festival of Samhain that caught my interest. I'd seen HALLOWEEN III and there's a scene where one of the characters is talking about Samhain and its slaughter of children and something just clicked in my mind and I began planning a book that would feature the ritualistic slaughter of kids as well as the awakening of some unspeakable creature from the dawn of time (as you do). One of the things with books then was that kids were usually spared the worst horrors so I thought I'd change that. Also, cruelty to animals didn't go down too well either so I decided to put in some very graphic stuff about dog fighting.

  I also worked in sub-plots concerning drug addiction and satanism and was pretty pleased with myself. I still believe that RELICS is one of my best books. It contains so many elements of the classic horror novel in my humble opinion. It was written very quickly (about a month if I remember rightly) because I was so enthusiastic about the subject and I handed it over to my agent thinking what a wonderful job I'd done and hoped she'd agree once she'd read it.

  She didn't. In fact she rang me and told me to come into the office as quick as possible because it looked as if the book was unpublishable! So much for my opinion of my own work!

  Apparently there were holes in the plot, the characters didn't work and fuck knows what else. I was on the verge of abandoning the whole book and starting something else (and these were the days of manual typewriters don't forget, not computers, if something was wrong you couldn't just hit delete and type it again. The whole fucking page had to be re-done even if one line was shit). I looked at it again and changed some things (I can't actually remember what to be honest) and thank God everyone loved the second draft which was the one that you're about to read now.

  I think I had more abusive mail and reactions to RELICS than to any other book I've ever written and the reason was the dog-fighting scenes. No one seemed to bother that there were kids being horribly murdered but the thought that dogs were being injured in the book was too much! I also got a call from the police for the dog-fighting stuff. I answered the door one morning to find a uniformed Policeman standing there with a copy of the book in his hand and wanting to know where I'd got my information about dog-fighting. It seems I'd been a little too accurate for someone's liking and the boys in blue wanted to know if my information extended beyond just research. Ah, well, I always did pride myself on realism!

  Anyway, enjoy RELICS and for the animal lovers among you, no dogs were hurt during the writing of this book.

  Shaun Hutson 2013

  Acknowledgements

  As with any book I'd like to thank Brie Burkeman my agent and my publishers obviously and, as ever, Graeme Sayer.

  I also have to thank all the management and staff at Cineworld Milton Keynes for continuing to put up with me on an almost daily basis. So I will say a big hello and a big thank you to Mark (MJ), Barry, Adam, Nick, Alex, Jamie, Alun (got the spelling right), Tammy, Darren, Daryl, Phil, Phillip, Mel, Lucia, Dani,Vicki, Luke, Paula, Annika, Caroline, Marc, Kirsty, Neville and Christ knows how many others who's names I've neglected to mention or who are no longer there. It could be worse guys, I could be a proper customer!

  I always did and I always will thank my readers for their loyalty and support.

  And of course I thank my Mum, who never ceases to amaze me and my daughter, Kelly who makes me proud of her every single day in some way shape or form.

  Shaun Hutson 2013

  For my wonderful precious daughter, Kelly, with all my love.

  She's taught me more than I've ever managed to teach her.

  Maybe someday a real rain really will come. Let's hope so.

  ‘The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.’

  H.P.
Lovecraft

  PART ONE

  ‘Beware of night, for we all know he’s loose again . . . ’

  Queensrÿche

  One

  The knife felt cold against her flesh.

  As if some icy forger were tracing a pattern over her skin, the girl felt the blade being drawn softly across her cheek.

  The point brushed her lips, nudging against them for a moment as if seeking access to the warm moistness beyond. She opened her mouth slightly and, for fleeting seconds, she tasted steel. Then the knife was gone.

  The girl’s eyes were closed, but as she felt the point gliding down towards the hollow of her throat she finally allowed herself to gaze upon the one who wielded the blade.

  He was almost invisible in the darkness but she knew that, like her, he was naked.

  As were the others who stood close by, little more than pale outlines beneath the dense canopy of trees whose gnarled branches twisted and curled together, rattled by the chill October wind which whistled tunelessly through the wood. It also ruffled the girl’s long dark hair, causing the silky tresses to writhe like reptilian tails.

  She was barely seventeen but her body was shapely and belied her youth. Her breasts in particular seemed over-developed, the nipples coaxed to stiffness by the cold air. She shuddered involuntarily as she felt the knife being moved in a circular pattern around her aureola, brushing the puckered skin for a moment before prodding the nipple. This time she felt not only the needle-sharp point of the blade but the actual cutting edge too as it rested against the swollen bud of flesh. She closed her eyes again as the same movements were repeated on her other breast.

  The pressure increased and she gritted her teeth, waiting for the cut.

  But she felt only an icy tickle as the cold blade was drawn between her breasts, down to her navel and then towards the dark bush of hair between her legs. It parted the tightly curled down, guided with unfaltering skill by the powerful hand which grasped it.

  She let out a low sigh, her breath clouding in the cold air, as the knife was pressed slightly harder against that most sensitive area. She opened her legs wider, as if to welcome the blade like some kind of steel penis.

  For what seemed an eternity it remained there; then she exhaled slowly as it was eased aside.

  Opening her eyes once more, she saw the one who held the blade turn slightly, until he was facing a youth no more than a few months older than herself. He was powerfully built, his head supported by a thick bull neck which he offered willingly to the wielder of the knife. The cutting edge left an almost invisible white mark as it was pressed against the boy’s throat. But after a second the pressure eased and the blade found its way to his chest before plunging deeper towards his limp penis. He tensed as the cold steel brushed his organ, tracing the course of the thick veins before gliding over his contracted testicles.

  A moment later it was withdrawn and now both the girl and the youth knelt, fallen leaves crunching beneath them. They were close, within arm’s length.

  Suddenly they caught the powerful smell which drifted on the wind.

  A goat was being led towards them by a rope tied around its neck.

  Another thick length of hemp had been wrapped tightly around its jaws so the only sound it could make was a low mewling deep in its throat.

  The young couple lay face down on the carpet of leaves as the goat was coaxed between them. It was held firmly by the man who gripped the knife. He now moved behind the creature and straddled it, holding the blade before his chest in one strong hand. With the other he gripped the horns of the goat and yanked its head back so savagely he almost broke its neck.

  The knife flashed forward, shearing through the animal’s throat, slicing effortlessly through muscle and sinew.

  Huge gouts of blood erupted from the massive wound, spraying into the air with the force of a high pressure hose. The crimson fluid splattered the young couple as the goat bucked madly between the man’s kegs, its body jerking uncontrollably. The knife-wielder watched the white clouds of vapour rising into the air as the hot blood continued to fountain from the ruptured arteries.

  From either side, figures approached, all of them men. All of them naked.

  They lifted the goat into the air, its struggles now becoming more feeble as its life fluid gushed away. It suddenly re-doubled its efforts as the knife-wielder thrust his blade into its exposed belly, slicing open the fleshy sac with one powerful movement.

  Intestines burst from the wound like the bloodied arms of an octopus, huge thick lengths falling to the ground with a loud, liquid splat. Steam rose from the spilling entrails, the pungent odour now mingling with the reek of excrement as the goat’s sphincter muscle loosened and a stream of liquid and solid waste pumped from its writhing body.

  Still no one spoke, but as if a signal had been given, the young couple rolled over to face each other.

  The girl closed her eyes and rolled again, allowing herself to slide into the thick mass of viscera. She felt its warmth surround her, felt the slippery wetness of the pulsing organs beneath her buttocks. She spread her legs and waited for the boy to join her. His penis was already swollen and he found no difficulty penetrating her, for she was as eager as he. They writhed amidst the blood and internal organs, now oblivious to the choking smells which surrounded them and the crimson fluid which coated their bodies. They were aware only of the pleasure which they both felt.

  The man with the knife watched impassively as the frenetic coupling continued.

  Blood ran down his hand from the blade of the weapon and he gaud at the crimson droplets in fascination as one fell onto his own rigid penis, staining the head bright red.

  He chuckled.

  So much blood.

  And there would be more.

  He looked around at the other naked bodies in the clearing.

  Much more blood.

  Two

  It was getting difficult to breathe inside the tent. The air was full of dust and the small structure was definitely too small to adequately accommodate three people. Nevertheless, Kim Nichols looked on with rapt attention as the piece of hard stone was broken open.

  A fragment came free as the tracer was worked slowly around it, exposing the encased relic.

  Charles Cooper picked up the small hammer which lay on the table before him and tapped the wooden end of the tracer. The chisel-like implement shaved off some more stone and the article within became more easily visible.

  ‘It looks like a currency bar,’ Phillip Swanson said quietly as Cooper prised away the last of the clinging rock. He swept the metal ingot with a small brush, then laid the rusted artifact on the white cloth before him. A number of other articles already lay on view there, including coins, a couple of arrow-heads, a brooch and a roughly hewn figurine shaped like a phallus.

  ‘It’s strange,’ Kim observed, picking up the metal ingot and turning it carefully between her thumb and forefinger. ‘Coins and currency bars used by the same tribe. The Celts usually kept to one form of currency, didn’t they?’

  ‘Don’t forget there was trade with other tribes,’ Cooper reminded her. ‘Atrebates like the Iceni and the Trinovantes would still have traded with Demetae such as the Brigantes and the Cronovii.’ He prodded the other slim metal bars with his index finger.

  ‘A tribe that used both forms of currency,’ Swanson mused. ‘It must have been a large settlement from the amount of stuff we’ve found.’

  ‘Then why haven’t we found any bones?’ asked Kim, but she received no answer from either of her colleagues. Cooper merely sat back in his chair and ran a hand over his hairless head. It was a feature which made him look older than his thirty-five years. Apart from the tufts over his ears and at the back of his head he was completely bald. Even his eyebrows appeared to be thinning. His sad, baleful eyes looked as though they had seen all the worries of the world and still carried their imprint. It was Cooper who had initiated this particular dig.

  Builders working on a nearby si
te had unearthed a number of artifacts and Cooper had been notified. He’d ordered an electro-magnetic search of the area which had revealed a large ancient settlement of unknown origin. Subsequent aerial sweeps had confirmed the presence of a Celtic settlement which covered an area almost a quarter of a mile square.

  Kim, who worked at the museum three miles away in Longfield, the nearest town, had joined his team of twenty archaeologists and their work had so far revealed a positive treasure trove of relics. A profusion of gold torcs and other neck rings had convinced Cooper and his team that this particular site had been home to one of the most powerful Celtic tribes of the time. Slave chains and shackles had also been discovered, suggesting that the tribe, unlike their contemporaries, had used forced labour.

  Bones were the only thing missing.

  Shields, weapons, currency, pottery and sculpture had all been unearthed during the past two weeks. Some of the finds were not only valuable in a financial sense but priceless in their archaeological worth. All these artifacts confirmed that the settlement had been very large indeed, yet still no physical remains of the tribe who’d created the horde had been found.

  Kim looked down at the relics laid out before her.

  What the hell had happened to the tribe?

  Three