Ravens Deep (one) (30 page)

             
“Years ago they were probably used as escape routes, especially the one leading out of the church, or smuggling routes up from the river Thames.  There are various old derelict houses around this area that still have their tunnels unsealed,” he continued, as the flickering candlelight cast dark eerie shadows all around us. “But today they are useful passageways and tunnels to get rid of unwanted corpses, I have had to make use of them on several occasions over the years.”  I felt myself go cold and stared at him in horror. Darius looked at me directly. “You wanted all of my life, well this is it!” he said with sudden coldness.

             
“I know Darius, I just don’t need to know all the details,” I said just as coldly, trying to compose myself and repress the images that my mind was conjuring up.  It was as if I was listening to some bizarre horror story; if it wasn’t quite so chilling, it was amazing. 

             
My heart was pounding, and I felt myself tremble as Darius knew only too well 

the
effect his words would have on me, and right now the demon in him was trying to surface and provoke a negative reaction in me. I took a deep breath and tried to remain cordial. I looked down at the coffin.

“Have you never slept in a bed?”

             
“I lay in your bed,” he remarked icily.

             
“But you always leave me,” I reminded him. “Whenever I awake you are gone,” I said softly. Darius’s coldness just as suddenly disappeared, for his tone was even as he continued.

             
“When I sleep you know I am vulnerable.  It is better that I remain hidden and a coffin gives essential protection.  At first it felt right to sleep in a coffin because of what I am, a fitting place for the damned,” he remarked with a sinister edge to his voice. “Even though it was frightening being contained so, but over the decades I have grown accustomed to it and now I feel too vulnerable if I don’t,” he reasoned.  We soon left the basement and walked back up the stairs to the main part of the house, I was glad to be in more familiar looking rooms. Darius turned to me. 

             
“I have to leave you alone for a while,” he said, “then I must rest.” He kissed me very quickly, his lips and skin was chilled. “I will not disturb you when I come back. You are very safe here, Madeline. You may go anywhere in the house, but do not leave it.”  There was an underlying threat in his voice.

             
“I won’t, I promise.”

             
He left via the side door and I heard him lock both doors as he went out into the night. I walked to the kitchen and wondered why he had turned so cold towards me down in the basement.  Maybe that cruel cold streak surfaced when he was confronted with reality, because it was then that the inner demon had more control. I had to deal with it; it was a part of his life and now I was a part of that life too. It wasn’t as if he killed people for fun, he needed to do it in order to survive. I understood that he was tormented by what he was. 

             
If he can bear the torment, I would have to as well.

              I tried my hardest to reassure myself that everything was going to be all right, but I wiped away the tears that were running down my face.

             
In the kitchen I opened the cupboards and to my surprise I found there was a set of crockery and cutlery.  I had brought a kettle, so I could make some tea. It had been a long night and I felt tired.  Although I was curious about this house filled with more mysterious things, but I resigned myself to thoroughly explore in the daylight and before Darius awoke the next evening.

             
I walked upstairs to the biggest bedroom, and pulled back the covers from the bed. Dust filled the air and suddenly feeling better than earlier, I smiled to myself.

             
Immortals may be educated and refined, but they knew nothing about housekeeping!

*  *  * 

              We spent four nights in London and the hours I spent alone were filled with wonder at the contents of the house.  There were beautiful items in the house, exquisite paintings, ornaments and rare books to keep me amused and all these discoveries filled me with great delight. When I questioned Darius about all these objects d’art allowed to languish in the museum and here, he merely replied,

             
“Take anything you want, if it pleases you.”

             
I soon discovered that Darius was quite jaded with all his possessions -- he had so much.  The collection had grown in vast quantities over the years and I felt he just collected now for the sake of it and he was not really aware of everything he had acquired.  

             
I decided to take two paintings back with me to Ravens Deep.  They were so beautiful and I didn’t’t have to examine them closely to know they were originals.  Darius had exquisite taste and the snob in him would never have allowed him to acquire a fake of anything.

             
Darius realized that I was not so much of a threat to him in the city as he had first anticipated, but I did obey his warnings and did not leave the house without him. I did not wish to provoke that inner demon. Darius was correct in his assumption, that mortals only really see what they want to and we moved amongst them in the night time hours, without bringing any unwanted attention to ourselves. Darius did not even look out of place in a city like London.  Since the gothic revival, it was fashionable to look deathly pale and sinister and even with the vivid glass like quality of his eyes, anyone would have been fooled into thinking that they were just beautiful contact lenses. Shops stayed open late into the evening, and I was able to buy groceries and anything I needed, so I did not even have to think about breaking my promise to Darius.  

             
In truth, I felt Darius was quite at home and comfortable in the city, he knew no real attention would be drawn to him.  I suspected that it was me that he was more concerned about.  That I might remember, or miss this life and wish to return to it and to a normal existence but it was not what I wanted and I assured him of my longing to remain by his side forever.

             
After four nights in the city, I could sense his agitation, I knew he longed to be back at Ravens Deep. I also had begun to miss the peace, tranquillity and beauty of the moors. When Darius said it was time to leave, I had no regrets.

Chapter Twenty Four - A Sacrificial Site

              We left the bright lights of London behind, and my thoughts turned to Darius’s

house
that I had not yet seen.  I changed my position and looked at him hopefully.  

             
“Will you take me to the house in Wiltshire?” I asked, “just for one night?”  From our present location we could be there in a little over two hours. Darius gave me a questioning look before returning his attention to the road ahead.

             
“Why tonight?” 

             
“I really would like to see it, and it would be very easy for us to go there tonight and then continue on to Exmoor tomorrow night,” I reasoned.  He didn’t’t answer me straight away, he was obviously thinking my plan through.

             
“I will take you there tonight,” he said at last, “but it will not be as comfortable as the other houses, and there is nothing in the house to keep you amused.”

             
“I am sure I will manage,” I said, with a confident smile, “besides, realistically we will only be there for a few hours.”

             
Later on we were driving through the Wiltshire countryside, the landscape seemed to transform completely. Wiltshire was famous for its chalk uplands, vast plains and of course its most famous monument.

             
“Do we pass close to Stonehenge?” I asked, as an idea was beginning to take root in my mind.

             
“Yes very close,” he replied.

             
“Can we stop at the stones?  The weather is perfect; there is almost a full moon with no clouds in the sky.”  Darius didn’t’t answer, but returned my smile with his own, which I took to mean that he was agreeable to my request. 

             
As we approached the ancient ruin and I thought how mystical and magical it appeared, as it rose out of the darkened earth and was bathed in the bright moonlight.  The road on which we travelled seemed to roll up and down over the ancient burial mounds and most of the landscape was bare of any trees or undergrowth. The only notable exception was a large clump opposite the ancient monument.  We headed for this copse and at our approach I could see it hid various buildings, a mixture of touristy gift shops, a visitor centre and other out-buildings. It was deserted, as we had arrived in the early hours of the morning.  Darius passed by all these buildings and chose to stop at the far end of a designated parking area.  He parked very close to the trees and as we walked away, I noticed that the Wraith’s silhouette seemed to vanish into the obscurity of the darkened foliage.

             
We crossed the deserted road and walked up the small incline. Salisbury Plain stretched out before us.  From the road the stones had looked large, but now standing so close to them I was in awe of their magnificence, which was enhanced only by the moonlight casting mysterious shadows around them.

             
In recent years the fences that barricaded this ancient monument had come down, in response to the protests of the people, and quite rightly so I thought, everyone should be able to walk around these stones -- not just a select few.  Standing so close to them, I could not help wonder just how many druid priests had worshipped at this site, or how many pagan festivals had taken place here. I took hold of Darius’s hand and we walked round the megalithic ruin in silence. I ran my hand over one of the upright Trilithon stones and wondered how many countless other people had also touched this stone over the centuries.

             
We walked into the inner horseshoe made up of the Preseli bluestones and as soon as I entered this area, I could feel their power and their magic. There was energy here and I wondered if all stone circles possessed that same energy.  I considered the message they wished to convey, for I was certain this mysterious site had some real purpose, some reason for its existence.

             
“What do you suppose this was really used for?” I asked, looking at Darius. He looked up at the stones.

             
“There have been various theories over the years,” he said. “The ancients may have used it for sacrificial purposes, but there has also been a belief that it is a temple made for the worship of ancient earth deities or even an astronomical observatory. There are so many mysterious things you cannot expect to understand them all.”  He released my hand and bent down to place his hand on one of the fallen Sarsen stones. 

             
“Do you feel anything?” I asked, fascinated to find out if he felt their energy too.

             
“I feel death,” he answered darkly, looking up at me from under his eyelashes. I

laughed
.

             
“You would say that, knowing that people were probably sacrificed here and we are standing surrounded by hundreds of burial mounds.”

             
“What do you feel?” he said, amused at my comment.  I turned from him and walked into the centre of the horseshoe. I stood still for a minute, then turned back to face him.

             
“It feels like a place steeped in mystery and magic, I feel that there is energy here. It is something I have never felt before.” Darius was now sitting on one of the fallen stones watching me attentively. 

             
“Tell me you feel it too,” I said, walking slowly towards him.  “I am not just imagining it, am I?”

             
“No,” he said, suddenly alert, “there is something here.” As he spoke he reached forward and pulled me down beside him.

             
“What is it?” I whispered, feeling suddenly afraid.

             
“We are not alone.”

             
I turned and looked at the stones directly behind me, half expecting to see an apparition of some kind -- but there was nothing. I turned back to Darius, to get him to explain.  But he had vanished. I jumped, I had not felt him move from my side. My heart raced, and every sense was horribly alert. It was eerily quiet and I sat still not daring to move. I hoped there wasn’t anyone else here.  If there was. . . I dreaded Darius’s reaction to that possibility.

             
A sudden movement, made me turn my head quickly to the side.  A hooded figure wearing a long dark robe move out from the shadows of the stones, his face was obscured by the material of the hood. My blood went cold in my veins and the sensation of fear made its full impact throughout my entire body.  .