by S E England
Despite the harsh words, a glimmer of a more glamorous life flashed before me.
“Eva, can I ask you something?”
Relief was washing through me. He’d been angry because of what he didn’t understand. It was as Lenka’s mother had said – the Mundanes got angry. It was okay; I’d never bring it up again. “Of course.”
As he raked a hand through his hair, a gossamer thread of moonlight filtered through the sylvan canopy, illuminating his features in a silver sheen. He had to be the most dazzling of men. Was he really mine?
“Well, three murders and the most incredible thought-transference abilities, yet you still haven’t worked out who I am?”
That took a minute. A full minute. I stared at him openmouthed.
“You really don’t know?”
He didn’t seek you out, did he?
“What? I don’t–”
He lunged forwards and grabbed both my arms, his accent no longer northern but cut-glass home counties. “Come with me to London and you will have everything you want – your own flat overlooking the river, more money than you can ever spend, a chauffeur to anywhere you want to go, exotic holidays and beautiful clothes. You’ll have the best education money can buy so you’re comfortable in the highest of circles. Eva, you know who I am! You know!”
“Der Orden der schwarzen Sonne?”
“The Order of the Black Sun here in Blighty, sweetie, but yes. Welcome to the most exclusive, elite club in the world. You have no idea how fantastic and exciting life is about to become. You will thrive. You need never be ill again, and, frankly, you’ve looked a bit ropey lately, so don’t tell me your demons don’t make you ill.”
“You’re not from Leeds, are you?”
That made him laugh. “Tell me what you have to do to keep the demons away, Eva. Are you going to go on murdering old ladies? And how long do you think it will keep those demons at bay for? You haven’t got a couple of dozen to supply, you’ve got thousands!”
“So you’re a Satanist!”
I couldn’t help it; I started to cry.
“Eva.” He pulled me into his arms as the tears burst out. It was all too much – all of it. He stroked my hair and whispered into my neck. “It’s not as bad as you make out. You’re just conditioned to believe Satan is bad and God is good, that’s all. In reality, we all have both good and bad in us. Really, this is simply a wonderful club to be in – we have a lot of fun, and I’m asking you to join.”
“Why?”
He held me away a little. “Look at it this way, then: you can either have the most incredible life with us or you can get sick and stay poor, and believe me you have no idea how bad that is going to get. A few decades down the line you are going to wish you’d made a better choice. So think about it and think hard. For a whole year, before you’re even asked to attend a single meeting, you get to live in an exclusive West London townhouse with personal tutors and a wardrobe to die for. We have a female assistant all lined up for you. She specialises in the occult and can help you with that. You’re going to feel and look incredible. We will take care of you, Eva. Proper care.”
The thought of never seeing him again, of being left there on my own, was piercing my heart. Everyone has their weakness.
“All right,” I said. “I’ll come.”
His smile switched back on as quickly as an electric lamp. Instantly enthused, he kissed my forehead and took hold of my hand. “Good. Come on then, let’s get you home. I think you’ve had enough for one day.”
“When will be going?” I asked as we walked back through the park. I was already picturing the new life in London, wondering what the house would be like and if he would live there with me.
He put his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go tomorrow, shall we?”
“Tomorrow? But my job, my mum—?”
“You can visit. Come on, let’s go tomorrow, let’s do this – strike while the iron’s hot, as it were!”
By the time we left the park, it was dark. There were no stars, and the moon was obscured by brooding storm clouds. A wind had blown up, shaking the full-leaved trees in a bouncing shimmer, and our footsteps echoed on the deserted street. Coming towards us, on the opposite pavement was a woman. It didn’t register immediately. In fact it was a while before the significance hit me, but by then of course, it was far too late. My mind had been on being looked after, being safe. One hand was in her pocket, the other partially hidden by the lapel of her jacket. The middle two fingers were tucked into the palm, and secured by the thumb. The horned one…
When we reached the end of my road, he turned to face me, dipping his head to kiss my lips. As he did so, an icy breeze fluttered against my cheeks, as soft as the wings of a bird.
“All roads lead to the Order of the Black Sun eventually, Eva. There is no escape. Not for any of us. You know that, don’t you?”
***
Covering Letter
May 1979
My dearest Nicky,
You are the only person I can send this to because you will understand and know that I am far from crazy. You’ve probably wondered where I got to? I know – it’s been a year! Suffice to say, the decision was a quick one with no time to say goodbye. I’m in London. Tomorrow is my initiation ceremony, and after that I can no longer be sure what will happen.
I’ve been writing this for a long time, months, scribbling during the hours set for ‘homework’. Incredible as it is, I swear all I have written here is the truth This really is happening – all of it – and although people won’t believe it, largely because they cannot comprehend other people behaving in this way, that doesn’t mean it isn’t true..
As mentioned, my initiation into the Order is tomorrow. I’m hoping to get to the post office this afternoon on the pretext of a medical appointment, but that could be scuppered. I’ll be honest, I’m nervous. I’m not scared of dying, but I am of the punishment, something at which they excel and which will happen if I’m caught. However, I think there is a way to make it harder for them to inflict on humanity what they’re planning. It will have to be at the very last second, at the moment they hand me the sword for sacrifice, because that is the way black magic works. Believe me, I have studied this, and with the advantage of Lenka’s warning, I am no longer ignorant but have risen beyond ego and the importance of my own life. If it works, you’ll know because their objective is another world war, only this one will be the end because of what they will use and how it will be done. I had to study biochemistry and psychology, Nicky. I will be catapulted to the top of a major television corporation within a few short years. Do you see?
The Order has infiltrated every walk of life and is already drip-feeding people so they will accept what is coming. The public is absolutely unaware of what is working in the shadows, totally oblivious that creatures such as these even walk among them. Look at the most glittering, the most successful, the richest and most powerful on a global scale – and that is where you will find them. It’s a clandestine club closed to anyone other than the elite - Satan’s servants are rewarded well. But the aim above all else, is to extinguish our spirit, that which makes us human. Hence the Black Sun. Always the Black Sun.
However, without me, they will lose a powerful force that’s been carried through my family for generations. Don’t shed a single tear. This is a good thing. I intend to take my chances with repentance and forgiveness in the hereafter, and drop the illusion that I have no choice.
Nicky, please will you look out for my mum? She’s at Silverfields Psychiatric Hospital. Tell her I’m okay because I woke up just in time. And one more thing – you were, are, my dearest friend. I wish to God I had been able to follow a different path. You, though, well, you are the full sun. Shine on full wattage, Nicky, and don’t ever think for one moment that you can’t.
Love,
Eva xxx
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to Vera Slegtenhorst, who has kindly translated and proofread the German used in th
is manuscript. Thank you also, Vera, for constructing some creepy names for the villages. All of your help has been truly appreciated.
Also with regard to the German, thank you to Callum Harrop from Biddulph in Staffordshire.
And finally thank you as always, to my dear friend, Raven Wood, a traditional witch of Germanic and Celtic roots, who lives and practices the craft in Wisconsin, USA. Raven’s crow poppet is both on the cover and featured prolifically in the text. Thank you also, for providing me with your invaluable knowledge on rites and rituals used in witchcraft, not to mention your personal insight. I am most grateful, as always, for your help. Find Raven’s handmade products on: etsy.me/2L6rVih
References: ‘Slavic witchcraft’ by Natasha Helvin. Various textbooks on the Bavarian Illuminati and Kaiser Wilhelm 11.
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More books by Sarah England:
Father of Lies
A Darkly Disturbing Occult Horror Trilogy: Book 1
‘Boy did this pack a punch and scare me witless…’
‘Scary as hell…What I thought would be mainstream horror was anything but…’
‘Not for the faint-hearted. Be warned – this is very, very dark subject matter.’
‘A truly wonderful and scary start to a horror trilogy. One of the best and most well written books I’ve read in a long time.’
‘A dark and compelling read. I devoured it in one afternoon. Even as the horrors unfolded I couldn’t race through the pages quickly enough for more…’
‘Delivers the spooky in spades!’
‘Will go so far as to say Sarah is now my favourite author – sorry Mr King!’
***
Ruby is the most violently disturbed patient ever admitted to Drummersgate Asylum, high on the bleak moors of northern England. With no improvement after two years, Dr. Jack McGowan finally decides to take a risk and hypnotises her. With terrifying consequences.
A horrific dark force is now unleashed on the entire medical team, as each in turn attempts to unlock Ruby’s shocking and sinister past. Who is this girl? And how did she manage to survive such unimaginable evil? Set in a desolate ex-mining village, where secrets are tightly kept and intruders hounded out, their questions soon lead to a haunted mill, the heart of darkness…and the Father of Lies.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015NCZYKU
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015NCZYKU
***
Tanners Dell – Book 2
Now only one of the original team remains – Ward Sister Becky. However, despite her fiancé, Callum, being unconscious and many of her colleagues either dead or critically ill, she is determined to rescue Ruby’s twelve-year-old daughter from a similar fate to her mother.
But no one asking questions in the desolate ex-mining village Ruby hails from ever comes to a good end. And as the diabolical history of the area is gradually revealed, it seems the evil invoked is both real and contagious.
Don’t turn the lights out yet!
***
Magda – Book 3
The dark and twisted community of Woodsend harbours a terrible secret – one tracing back to the age of the Elizabethan witch hunts, when many innocent women were persecuted and hanged.
But there is a far deeper vein of horror running through this village, an evil that once invoked has no intention of relinquishing its grip on the modern world. Rather, it watches and waits with focused intelligence, leaving Ward Sister Becky and CID Officer Toby constantly checking over their shoulders and jumping at shadows.
Just who invited in this malevolent presence? And is the demonic woman who possessed Magda back in the sixteenth century the same one now gazing at Becky whenever she looks in the mirror?
Are you ready to meet Magda in this final instalment of the trilogy? Are you sure?
***
The Owlmen
If They See You, They Will Come for You
Ellie Blake is recovering from a nervous breakdown. Deciding to move back to her northern roots, she and her psychiatrist husband buy Tanners Dell at auction – an old water mill in the moorland village of Bridesmoor.
However, there is disquiet in the village. Tanners Dell has a terrible secret, one so well guarded no one speaks its name. But in her search for meaning and very much alone, Ellie is drawn to traditional witchcraft and determined to pursue it. All her life she has been cowed. All her life she has apologised for her very existence. And witchcraft has opened a door she could never have imagined. Imbued with power and overawed with its magick, for the first time she feels she has come home, truly knows who she is.
Tanners Dell, though, with its centuries-old demonic history…well, it’s a dangerous place for a novice…
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079W9FKV7
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B079W9FKV7
***
The Soprano
A Haunting Supernatural Thriller
It is 1951 and a remote mining village on the North Staffordshire Moors is hit by one of the worst snowstorms in living memory. Cut off for over three weeks, the old and the sick will die, the strongest bunker down, and those with evil intent will bring to its conclusion a family vendetta spanning three generations.
Inspired by a true event, The Soprano tells the story of Grace Holland – a strikingly beautiful, much admired local celebrity who brings glamour and inspiration to the grimy moorland community. But why is Grace still here? Why doesn’t she leave this staunchly Methodist, rain-sodden place and the isolated farmhouse she shares with her mother?
Riddled with witchcraft and tales of superstition, the story is mostly narrated by the Whistler family, who own the local funeral parlour, in particular six-year-old Louise – now an elderly lady – who recalls one of the most shocking crimes imaginable.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0737GQ9Q
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0737GQ9Q7
***
Hidden Company
A dark psychological thriller set in a Victorian asylum in the heart of Wales.
1893, and nineteen-year-old Flora George is admitted to a remote asylum with no idea why she is there, what happened to her child, or how her wealthy family could have abandoned her to such a fate. However, within a short space of time, it becomes apparent she must save herself from something far worse than that of a harsh regime.
2018, and forty-one-year-old Isobel Lee moves into the gatehouse of what was once the old asylum. A reluctant medium, it is with dismay she realises there is a terrible secret here – one desperate to be heard. Angry and upset, Isobel baulks at what she must now face. But with the help of local dark arts practitioner Branwen, face it she must.
This is a dark story of human cruelty, folklore and superstition. But the human spirit can and will prevail…unless of course, the wrath of the fae is incited…
***
Monkspike
You are not forgiven
1149 was a violent year in the Forest of Dean.
Today, nearly 900 years later, the forest village of Monkspike sits brooding. There is a sickness here passed down through ancient lines, one noted and deeply felt by Sylvia Massey, the new psychologist. What is wrong with nurse Belinda Sully’s son? Why did her husband take his own life? Why are the old people in Temple Lake Nursing Home so terrified? And what are the lawless inhabitants of nearby Wolfs Cross hiding?
It is a dark village indeed, but one which has kept its secrets well. That is, until local girl Kezia Elwyn returns home as a practising satanist, and resurrects a hellish wrath no longer containable. Burdo, the white monk, will infest your dreams… This is pure occult horror and definitely not for the faint of heart…
***
http://www.sarahenglandauthor.co.uk
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