Dark Soul Silenced - Part One (8 page)

“The Almighty was watching over you four tonight,” she said, slightly out of breath.  “A minute longer and I’d have locked up for the night.  You would’ve had to camp in the stable and pray the creatures of darkness weren’t on the hunt tonight.  For that matter I wouldn’t have let anyone in at this time normally, or any time after dusk fell, but I’d already seen you walking the beach.  Walking it in full sunlight.  I knew you weren’t of the darkness.”

“
Our thanks,” said Daniel.  “But how could you have seen that?  We were far away still when the sun gave way to shadows.”

“
A gift.  A gift from another traveller, many years ago.  A sea captain he was.  He gave me a telescope, told me to use it to watch the path for any seeking shelter.  It has saved several others before you, though none arrived as late as you did.  Truth be told, if it wasn’t for the girl I wouldn’t have let you in.  My granddaughter is a similar age.  She’s in the kitchen now, helping with dinner, but I’m sure she’ll find an excuse to see you soon.”

“
I don’t understand.  What are you so scared of?” Sarah asked shakily.  The woman’s attitude was contagious.

The villager shook her head, then nodded at Mary who was staring around sleepily.

“Time enough for that later.  You’re all safe tonight, that’s what’s important.  Now, where are my manners.  Welcome to Gloria’s Inn.  I’m Gloria.”

They introduced themselves and were soon sat by a roaring open fire.  Sarah hadn’t realised how cold she was till that moment.  Even Jon looked better as the warmth seeped into him.  Mary curled up in front of the fire, dozing off again.  Having settled them down Gloria bustled off into the kitchen to fetch warm drinks and check on the evening meal.

The fire’s warmth seemed to soak into Sarah’s body.  For a few minutes she sat quietly, staring into the flames, too tired to think.  Her eyes became heavy so she closed them for a moment or two.  Soon after she was deeply asleep.

Dinner was a heavy beef stew, strongly spiced.  There was plenty for everyone — having seen the travellers in her telescope Gloria had made sure enough food was cooked.  Gloria and her family ate in another room, leaving Daniel and the other three to sit and eat by the fire.  They spoke little, each caught up in their own thoughts.

Once he’d finished eating Daniel settled back, enjoying the warmth from the fire.  Mary curled up near the fire and was soon asleep, worn out by the long day’s travelling. 

After a while Gloria returned, accompanied by a girl a year or two older than Mary who she introduced as her granddaughter Amber.  Amber shyly greeted them, then started to clear up after the meal.  Seeing that Mary was asleep Gloria beckoned to the three adults, leading them to the far corner of the room.  They could still see Mary but she would be unable to hear their conversation.

“You asked me what it is that we fear in the night.  If you plan to travel these lands then you need to know.  Ignorance is death.  I’ll tell you all that I can, all that I’ve been told, though how accurate it is I can’t be sure.  Most people foolish enough to wander at night either see nothing or wind up dead.

Being outside at night is dangerous, deadly, and that is a fact.  We have all seen the results when that fact is ignored.  Corpses drained of blood or torn apart.  Sometimes we hear too, hear the victim screaming.  Worst of all is when someone comes banging at your door in the middle of the night, begging to be let in.  More than one kindly soul has been caught out that way, opening the door to find the hunter, not the hunted, standing there.

As to what attacks them, we don’t truly know.  Only a few have ever survived an encounter, normally when the creature had a choice of victims, and every one of those survivors was badly disturbed by the experience.  Their tales vary greatly but some threads run through them all. 

The creatures are human, or human shaped anyway, and exceptionally strong.  The most striking thing is that the creatures have glowing red eyes.”

Sarah looked sharply at Daniel.  He understood why.  The description closely matched what he had almost become the night before.

“
What else is known about them?” Daniel asked.

“
Nothing really.  Some say they speak like you or I, others say they do nothing but roar incoherently.  I have heard the roars but I can’t say if they can also speak.  Thankfully I’ve never seen one of the beasts.”

“
How often do the attacks take place?”

“
It depends how many travellers we get.  We lose maybe one person every few years from the village, normally young men trying to show their bravery.  Most victims are travellers.  One year we found nearly twenty victims in a year, another only three.  Normally it’s somewhere between.”

“
Are there other dangers?  Not that those aren’t enough.”

“
Aye, there are.  Sometimes the dead don’t rest easy in these parts.  They clamber out their graves and go hunting, or causing damage.  We hear them at night, hear them rattling the doors and shutters, then next morning we find the long deceased corpses spread around the area.  We bury all our dead at sea now, even those of travellers, that way their souls can rest in peace.”

“
And the only defence against these creatures is a stout door, well bolted?”

“
The only one I know of.  If there are others I’ve never heard of them, and wouldn’t want to try them out either.  I’ll stick with what I know.”

“
They only attack at night though?”

“
Yes.  Any time from sun down to sun up, though the depths of the night are more likely.  They never attack during daylight, even on grey and dark winter days when the sun never appears daytime is safe.”

“
Why do you stay?” asked Jon.

“
Where would we go?  This is our home.  If we left we would have nothing.  Besides, living here is not that dangerous for us.  We don’t travel far and make sure we are home well before nightfall.  Everyone here does.  Except the fishermen — often they stay out for days but they won’t approach the coast unless the sun is high.”

“
We are looking for somewhere to settle, a town or city, is it safe for us to travel on?”

“
Aye, so long as you are careful and stick to the coastal trail.  This here is South Cael Bay, in case I didn’t tell you already.  Muddy Creek is the next village, nearly a days travel.  From there Southcott is only half a day but you’ll need to stay overnight.  The next village, Combrook, is a long days travel — don’t dally on that leg of the journey or you’ll be sleeping outside.  From there you have choices, but someone in Combrook will be better able to give you advice.”

Jon and Sarah continued to quiz Gloria but Daniel only listened with half an ear.  He was busy thinking about the creatures in the night with their blazing red eyes.  Another lost memory had been disturbed by the description, but it wasn’t able to break free yet.  It was like an itch he couldn’t scratch — he knew it was there but couldn’t get to it.

Daniel twisted against his bonds, once again trying to ease the agony that came from being tied up and hung from a tree.  Yet again his struggles were in vain.  It seemed like days ago that the outlaws had finished beating him and strung him up, yet it was a few hours at most.  Now the daylight had faded and he hung in the light of the moon.

Suddenly there was movement at the edge of the clearing and wolves padded silently into the clearing, coats seeming to glow in the moonlight.  They circled, sniffing him, studying him.  He tensed inside, waiting for the first one to leap.

Without warning a shadow fell over the clearing, though strangely the moonlight still shone down.  The wolves cowered and crept from the clearing.  Daniel became aware of movement, a patch of darkness seemed to break away from the trees and move towards him.  He could see nothing in the darkness except two brightly glowing points of red. 

As the shadow came closer he realised they were two eyes, somehow lit from within.  He should have been terrified, but instead he felt himself relax.  Felt the pains in his body fade away and his mind drift in warm comfort.  Something cut him down, lowered him to the ground as if he were a small child, but he could not focus on what it was.  Then consciousness faded completely and darkness overwhelmed him.

Except it didn’t.  Not this time.  He was vaguely aware that he had lived through the moment before, but things were different this time — he was different.  This time he saw everything, was aware of everything, as it happened.  Yet he also felt detached from it — everything felt one step removed.

His sight cleared now, no longer clouded by the power of the other man.  And it was a man Daniel saw, or at least had the shape of a man, despite the glowing red eyes.

“You will remember none of this, yet I tell you my name anyway.”

The man’s voice was deep and rasping, commanding.  A voice used to giving orders.  He continued speaking.

“I am Rafael sen Gottfried sen Sepp von Ebner and I claim you as my own — you, your life and your power.  While I live you will have no choice, blood commands blood.  Let the ritual begin.”

The man Daniel now knew as Rafael bent down and plunged his teeth into Daniel's neck, starting to suck not just Daniel’s blood but also his life.  For a few moments Daniel lay helpless, a chill growing inside at what was happening, then Rafael jerked back — spitting blood from his mouth.

“What is this?” he demanded.  “What foul taint do you carry in your veins?”

Somehow Daniel knew that this was different, this was not what had happened before.  Throwing off the lethargy he climbed to his feet then felt the wound at his neck.  He wasn’t surprised to find it already sealed and starting to heal.  Rafael had climbed to his feet too, was standing staring at Daniel in horror.

“What
are
you?” Rafael spat, his voice sibilant. 

He started to back away towards the trees, keeping his gaze locked on Daniel.  Daniel sensed that if Rafael reached the dark shadows beneath the trees he would be gone.  Without quite knowing how he reached out to the sky and tore a hole in reality.  Before there had only been the night sky.  Now the sun shone down, lighting up the clearing and pinning Rafael in place.

Rafael dropped to the floor, trying to use his cloak to stop the sunlight reaching him.  It didn’t work.  The cloak started to smoke then burst into flame.  Within seconds Rafael followed suit, screeching inhumanly as the sunlight burnt his body. 

Daniel watched, fascinated, knowing it was similar to what had happened to him when he sat on the beach to welcome the dawn.  Similar, but not the same.  In Daniel’s case the darkness being burnt out was not part of him, hadn’t yet managed to gain a true hold in his body or mind.  Daniel had sensed that the dark power saturated Rafael’s body, was mixed with every part of his being, now as the sunlight purged the dark power it also incinerated Rafael’s body.

Daniel stood by as Rafael burnt, feeling no sadness or joy — simply knowing that what was happening must happen.  The screaming seemed to go on for a long time, with Rafael’s body twisting and bucking on the ground the whole time.  Finally the screaming stopped, as did the movement.  The body imploded, leaving nothing but a large patch of ash on the ground.

The sun seemed to grow brighter, strengthening until Daniel could see nothing but its glare, then strengthening again until he could feel the heat from its rays passing straight through him.  There was no fear, he knew that he was safe.  Far from harming him, the intense light seemed to fill him with power.  He felt his body start to rise from the ground.  Then he was flying towards the sun.  He could see nothing but blinding light, could feel nothing but the sun’s intense heat, yet he still had no fear.  The warmth inside was growing, his strength multiplying.  He felt that when he reached the source of the heat and light he would be complete once more, that he would understand all that had happened to him.  With joy in his heart he flew on.

“Time to wake up!”

Several heavy bangs on the door accompanied the shout.  Daniel woke with a start, finding himself blinded.  For a few moments he thought he was back in the dream, then he moved and found that sunlight was blazing through a crack in the shutters.  That light had been in his eyes.

For a moment he wondered if the dream was just a dream, maybe caused by the sun falling on his sleeping face.  He quickly dismissed the thought though.  He knew in his heart that the encounter with Rafael had taken place, but that it had played out very differently.  Rafael had attacked him but there had been nothing in Daniel’s blood or life force to repel his attacker.  That power came from the trials Daniel had survived, and from his transformation on the beach when sunlight had burned the darkness out.

He doubted that Rafael had been destroyed.  That part of the dream felt more like a vision of what could be than something that had actually happened.  Daniel climbed out of bed and washed in chilly water before dressing, all the time thinking over what he had learnt from the dream.  The more he thought about it the more certain he became that he would face Rafael again one day.