Ravens Deep (one) (23 page)

             
Darius paused. He had a very distant look in his eyes, I could not find the right words to say to him, and so I remained silent and took his hand in mine. That action brought him back to the reality of the moment and he looked down at my hand in his, and then continued slowly.

             
“I once told you about Theophilus Shaw who had died several years before, and only James and Madeline, my uncle and mother,” he emphasized their relationship to make it clear to me of whom he was talking. “Only they had dealt with the body and burial and the location of the unmarked grave. They had trusted one other, the priest, Father Talus. But unbeknown to James or Madeline, Father Talus’s loyalties had always been with Theo. Much later I discovered later that Father Talus and Theo, had presided over many occult ceremonies here in our very own woods.  They blatantly used black magic to supposedly conjure up evil entities to give them power over the simple country folk, whom were already fervently superstitious.”

             
“How . . . what did they conjure up?” I said incoherently, my voice sounding tense.  Darius shrugged and shook his head.

             
“Who knows what they really got up to?” he replied, “I never found any evidence that the ceremonies actually did conjure anything at all.  I have to believe that Theo was insane.  If he had been a poor man he surely would have been locked away in an asylum and left to rot, but he was rich, and with his money and power came the faithful followers, the disciples who will carry out anything that may be required of them, regardless of the consequences. So when by unknown means this book came into the possession of Father Talus, he acquired the secret that had been handed down through the ages; the knowledge of how to resurrect the dead!”

             
I felt the hairs stand up on the back of my neck at that statement. Darius sensed my feelings.

             
“Do you want me to continue?” he said, looking troubled.

             
“Yes, absolutely,” I answered quickly.

             
“I don’t want to give you nightmares,” he said with a wry smile.

             
“You will be here to chase my nightmares away,” I said confidently.” Darius’s smile faded as he continued.

             
“By the priest’s reckoning, what better person to resurrect, than Theophilus Shaw.  He believed Theo would make him immortal in return, and give him the gift of eternity for his loyalty.  Father Talus believed he and Theo would endure an eternal reign of terror, unstoppable in all the acts of horror they could dream up together.

             
However, Father Talus’s plan went horribly wrong. He did manage to resurrect him, but Theo, who had been one of the completely un-dead, woke with such an insatiable hunger that he drained the priest of every drop of his blood.

             
In his haste to resurrect Theo, Father Talus had failed to read the warnings within the writings of people that had gone before him. I have studied the Grimoire in detail and there were many accounts and forewarnings of the terrible risks and consequences to anyone who would choose to follow that dark path. That night the Grimoire had also been within Theo’s grasp, but like me he had probably thought it was a Bible and he had left it with the body.  The reality did not sink in straight away, but as I read, it revealed to me the horrifying detail of the life’s work of evil men.  Not only did it give detailed accounts on how to resurrect the dead; it described how to make certain the dead remained in their graves. As frightened as I was that night, that notation was the one I paid careful attention to. It revealed that the only true way to ensure death is by fire, for once the body has become ashes, the soul can never live again.

             
My greatest fear was that the priest might not be entirely dead.  I believed back then that he would change into a hideous walking corpse or some other terrible fiend,” Darius said with a hint of a smile, “so I burned his body, right there and then in front of the church.

             
A little later I approached Ravens Deep, but my mind was in turmoil from what I had witnessed, the contents of the Grimoire in my possession, and the act I had been forced to commit in the churchyard.               I was barely aware that something was terribly wrong when I entered the house. Calling out to my mother, I walked up the stairs when suddenly I heard a noise coming from her room. It was an unearthly noise that made me shake with fear. I ran up the rest of the stairs and burst into my mother's room. The scene that met my eyes was one of the most unimaginable horrors.  For the man who could only have been  Theophilus Shaw was standing over the dead body of my sister Isobelle and as I entered the room, he released the lifeless body of my mother and she too fell to the ground. Her blood still staining his lips.

              The rage inside me was unstoppable and with one movement I pulled my father’s

sword
from the wall, which my mother kept in her bedroom, and lunged at him.  I cannot

remember
how many times I drove that sword through him.  He had an unearthly strength and despite the terrible wounds I was inflicting upon him, he resisted fiercely. He fought me like the demon he had become. There was such intensity in the way he refused to weaken, regardless of what I was doing.  His hands gripped my throat and as his terrifying eyes met my own, I was horrified by my own awareness that I was trying to kill my own dead grandfather!  We finally fell to the floor and before he gained total control, I somehow summoned the strength to push him from me and gain an advantageous position.  I aimed the sword once more and adrenaline or fear must have given me the strength for one final blow, as I brought the sword down with force -- I decapitated him. 

             
My mother and sister were dead. I was distraught, but I was aware of the awful situation that could unfold if I didn’t act fast, for I was uncertain of how much time I had before Theo might spring to life in front of me.  I was all too aware of the contents of the Grimoire and the frightening reality that Theo may still be un-dead.  Even worse still, I was not certain if my mother and sister would befall the same fate. Not knowing what else to do, I took the oil lamp and tipped its contents over all of their bodies. The fire spread quickly and engulfed the room in flames.  I managed to escape just before the ceiling fell in, and made my way back down the stairs and out of the house.  I think, I collapsed in the garden overcome with grief, exhaustion and the effects of the smoke.  The servants, who had been in the other part of the house, came running carrying buckets of water. The stable boy rode to alert the tenants at Ravens Farm and together they put the flames out, but not before the fire had destroyed a large portion of the house.

             
The next morning I stood amongst the ashes, still dazed by my grief and the shock I had experienced, I remember absently bringing my hand to my neck and the horror I felt as I discovered two puncture wounds. Caught up in my rage and the intensity of the fight the night before, I had no idea I had been bitten.” 

             
Darius paused. the memories greatly pained him still, and I squeezed his hand to give him encouragement to continue. But I was shocked and unable to speak at that moment.

             
“I was the only remaining infected one,” he said at last.  “The only one, soon to become un-dead.  The infection spread slowly, despite what you think, it does not happen instantly.  Instead it takes over your being like a creeping poison through your bloodstream; a venom that slowly pulsates its way with every beat of your dying heart.  I knew I had to act fast, I knew I was damned, although I did not know how much time I had left. In the week that followed, I arranged for three more sarcophaguses to complete the four in the churchyard that remain now. One each for my mother and sister, to be placed next to my father’s that was already there, and the fourth for me, for when and if I did die, to enable me to lie in eternal rest with my family.  Obviously the fourth remains empty for now,” he remarked dryly, looking at me.

             
“Theo’s remains or what was left of them were re-buried in his grave.  Ashes at last, he can never be resurrected.  My mother’s and sister’s ashes were placed in their respective tombs.”  Darius paused for a few moments, his words made the atmosphere seem very sombre and I felt great sadness and horror for him at what had occurred in his life.  Darius, sensing my melancholy, smiled softly at me and his next words were spoken in a more cordial tone.

             
“My mother had been wealthy and owned not only Ravens Deep and the farm but all the surrounding lands. Not only inherited from my grandfather Theo, but my father John who had been a man of substantial means. I also owned properties in London, one of which I eventually turned into my museum. 

             
The portion of Ravens Deep that was destroyed was levelled to the ground and then I salvaged the existing wall to have the chamber built where I now sleep.  The foundations of the part of the house which burnt are concealed beneath the undergrowth that has grown up over the years.  Now, there is only the memory of them in my mind.

             
I inherited everything, the house, farm and surrounding lands.  The property in London I already owned and the museum is a private one.  In recent years it has had the facade of a rare bookstore, and operated by loyal people that I pay extremely well to take care of business matters.” Seeing the look on my face he added, “They do not know. They think I have the illness I once told you about, so they understand I cannot have too much contact with them, and it explains why all my business transactions are conducted in the hours of darkness. I believe they think of me as some eccentric, reclusive collector, but the family has been loyal and I have never wished them harm.

Many years later I purchased the house in Parson Place, another safe haven for me

when I spend time in the city.  Existing amongst the living is a constant reminder of the dangers that surround you.  That was especially apparent in my early days, when my hunger drove me to be there.”  As I watched Darius I noticed a change in his demeanour and a distinctly sinister edge to his voice.

“It is easier to find prey in a big city where no one pays too much attention to a few corpses here and there, especially when they are found well decomposed or have been in the Thames for long enough to not be suspicious.
” I had been entranced, deeply saddened and horrified by his story, shocked into silence throughout most of its content, but now I could contain myself no longer.

             
“Why do you come back here?  When surely it must be harder for you to exist?” I asked at last. Darius considered for a moment before answering.

             
“I find peace here, not true peace, but it quietens my soul. I grew up here, I truly belong here and the need for blood, my hunger, does not control me as it once did.  Once it was all consuming and powerful, but now I have learnt control,” he said looking at me.  “I have come to believe that being un-dead gets easier with time. At first it is like having a terrifying, tormenting demon inside you, that you have no control over, but to survive you must be able to live amongst the mortals without drawing unwanted attention. Perhaps now that I am older I do not need to feed as much -- not even every night. Any blood will do.  Being with you I have gone through enough animals to keep my skin warm and appear more mortal to you.”  Darius sighed. “Feeding is in fact of little consequence in the scheme of things, the worse thing is the endless time. Until you have eternity you do not realize how long and tedious it can be,” he remarked wistfully. 

             
“I have to fill my waking hours with more than feeding and now that is not so demanding, it is even more important to me.  In the past I have looked for many distractions, something or someone to spark my interest.” He hesitated for a moment.

             
“What I have told you in the past is true, I have travelled extensively and collecting for my museum became a huge source of my interest.  I travelled to acquire rare artefacts or a rare book for the bookstore, but in modern times travelling can be very dangerous especially in strange cities so I do not travel so much anymore.”

             
“Is that why you decided to complete your ancestry?” I questioned.  Darius looked at me thoughtfully before answering.

             
“I suppose curiosity and boredom made me decide to complete it in recent years.  I decided to find out if any relatives did indeed exist as I believed they must.  I had obviously seen my uncle James before I became immortal and I had told him a story of sorts about what had occurred at Ravens Deep.  I convinced him that the place was cursed and so was I, and made him promise he would of never return, for I would have killed him. Thankfully he kept his word and never did. Whatever he thought had happened to me, he did not wish to involve his own family, and I never saw him again. 

             
I vaguely followed the births and deaths of the family down through the generations, they were an interest to me as they were my distant descendants.”  As I watched Darius I was suddenly curious myself about this ancestry.

             
“So why me?” I asked directly. “Why was I lured to Ravens Deep out of all the others?”  Darius leaned back thinking.