Death Day (36 page)

    Four-fifty.

    Still giggling, they dressed quickly and retreated to the safety of the car just as spots of rain began to fall from the rapidly darkening sky. They sat there for a moment, both now free of the tension which they had felt for so long.

    'Maybe just two days,' said Lambert, smiling.

    Debbie leaned across and kissed him.

    He started the car and drove off. It wasn't until they reached the centre of Medworth itself that she realized what he was doing. Even after all he had gone through, the memory was still with him. She realized he was heading for the cemetery. To take one last look at his brother's grave. Lambert still bore the sting of guilt, but now, somehow, he had managed to come to terms with it. He had to see Mike's grave once more.

    By the time they reached the cemetery, the sun had retreated from the sky, driven away by a combination of gathering storm clouds and the onset of night. Twilight hovered like a hawk in the darkening heavens.

    Lambert shut off the engine and looked across at Debbie.

    'Stay here.' He smiled, warmly.

    But she was already out' of the car, reaching for his hand, their feet crunching on the gravel of the driveway. An icy wind had sprung up and the first large spots of rain were beginning to fall as they left the driveway and walked the pathway which led to Mike's grave.

    A silent fork of lightning split the clouds and Debbie jumped. Lambert smiled and hugged her tighter as they walked. They finally reached the grave and stood beneath the big oak tree which hung over it, listening to the rain pelting down. Lambert read his brother's name and felt no pain, just a deep sense of loss. The wound was healing and he knew it. He had at last found the strength to come to terms with his brother's death. It was as if the destruction of the past two months had somehow put it into perspective. What was the phrase…?

    
Just a drop in the ocean…

    They stood for long moments, close to one another, ignoring the rain which dripped onto them. Then finally, Lambert said,

    'Come on.'

    It was as they turned that they saw the figure emerge from the church.

    At first neither moved and it was obvious that the person hurrying across the cemetery had not seen them. The oak hid them from its view. Lambert squinted through the pouring rain to get a glimpse of the figure, which seemed to be dressed in a uniform of some sort. And it was carrying something…

    There was a blinding explosion of lightning and Lambert saw who the person was.

    'Oh my God,' he breathed, 'it's Briggs.'

    Debbie didn't understand but she felt a sudden, ungovernable terror rise in her.

    'He's got the medallion,' gasped Lambert, watching, riveted, as the Living dead thing shambled quickly towards the patch of waste ground a hundred yards away. Waste ground. Outside the boundaries of church land.

    The realization hit them both like a steam hammer, but it was Debbie who spoke first.

    'Tom, the Unconsecrated Ground. Mathias's grave must be there.' She was pointing to the line of trees which marked the outskirts of the scrubland. Lambert was running, screaming at her over his shoulder to get back to the car, bellowing to make himself heard above the driving rain and persistent roaring of thunder. Debbie watched him for a second then she too ran, the breath rasping in her lungs, heading for the cemetery gates and the safety of the car.

    Lambert reached the crest of the ridge in time to see Briggs tearing clods of earth up with his hands, furiously digging deeper.

    The Inspector paused and pulled the Browning from his holster. He steadied himself, aimed and squeezed off a shot. It threw up a small geyser of earth a foot from the rapidly digging Briggs who paid it no attention. Lambert fired again.

    This time the shot sped past its target and disappeared into the distance.

    The rain seemed to have intensified and even the loud retort of the Browning was drowned by the persistent rumbling and crashing of thunder.

    The Briggs-thing felt its fingers connect with wood and it redoubled its efforts, tearing the coffin lid free and exposing the moultly skeleton of Mathias. Grinning madly, the living dead corpse picked up the medallion, holding it aloft for a second, then placed it carefully on the chest of the skeleton.

    Lambert fired a last time and ran towards the thing crouching in the centre of the waste ground.

    His final shot was on target. It powered into Briggs' side just below the right armpit, tearing through the rib cage and exploding from the other side to send a confetti of shattered bone and gobbets of lung tissue flying into the air. The impact toppled the creature but didn't kill it. Blood pumping from its wound, it staggered to its feet to meet Lambert's onslaught. The Inspector used the butt end of the pistol like a club, smashing it down on Briggs' head with a force that buckled the metal. The head split open and the creature keeled over.

    Lambert, gasping for breath and almost blinded by the rain turned and looked down into the coffin where Mathias lay. He saw a bony hand grab for his ankle, but as he backed off he realized that he was too late.

    Debbie had never worked a handset before and now, in the moment when she most needed it, she couldn't find the knowledge what to do next. She suddenly had an idea. The Capri roared into life as she twisted the ignition key. She stepped hard on the accelerator and it shot forward, spraying gravel out behind it.

    Mathias stood erect in the centre of the waste ground, the medallion gleaming around his neck.

    Lambert was shaking, his eyes riveted to the spectre of pure evil which confronted him.

    It must have towered a good six inches above him, and he guessed its height to be somewhere around six feet six. The tattered shroud which was the only thing that covered its body hung in gossamer wisps, scarcely hiding the yellowed flesh which was stretched over thick bones like parchment. And yet there was a power there which Lambert could almost feel, not least in those gaping black eyeless sockets which fixed him in their stare, tiny pinpricks of red light at their centres gradually expanding until they filled the whole gaping maw. Two blazing red orbs which glowed like the fires of hell and made the Inspector stagger. He was gripped by a cold so intense it penetrated every fibre of his body until even the slightest movement seemed a monumental effort.

    He realized he still had the Browning and he fumbled in his pocket for a fresh clip, slammed it in and raised the weapon. The trigger wouldn't move. The impact on Briggs' skull must have damaged the firing pin in some way.

    With a shriek of terror, he flung the pistol at Mathias and finally found the strength to run.

    He knew without looking round that the thing was after him.

    Gasping for breath, Lambert climbed the short incline and went sprawling on the gravel drive, cutting his palms. Then, all at once, he saw the twin beams of the car headlights speeding towards him.

    'Oh God,' he gasped.

    Debbie saw him and slammed on the brakes. Then she saw Mathias behind him, no more than a yard behind him, and she screamed. The Capri skidded on the gravel, spinning round once. Lambert grabbed for the handle of the passenger door and flung himself in. Debbie immediately drove her foot down on the accelerator and the car burned rubber for precious seconds.

    There was a fearful explosion of glass which showered them both as Mathias broke the back window with a single blow of his fist.

    The car jerked forward and the Black Magician pulled his hand free just in time to prevent it being torn off at the wrist. Lambert looked over his shoulder and saw the vision of the creature receding, but just as it was leaving his field of view he saw it raise both arms skyward.

    He heard Debbie scream and turned round in time to see that the cemetery gates had slammed shut. She twisted the wheel, stabbing at the brake simultaneously. The car slowed down a little but not enough. It left the driveway, the wheels skidding on the wet grass, sped a few yards and slammed into the high wall surrounding the cemetery. Lambert felt his head snap forward, crashing hard against the dashboard and blood ran down his face. Debbie slumped back in her seat and he had to shake her out of unconsciousness, gratefully realizing that she had only fainted. She shook herself and looked at him, the blood pouring down his face.

    'We've got to get out,' he panted, throwing open the door and taking her hand.

    As she clambered after him she saw the image of Mathias filling the rear view mirror and she could swear that he was grinning.

    'The church,' shouted Lambert as another bolt of lightning tore open the clouds.

    They ran with a speed born of terror and reached the hallowed building, praying that the door wasn't locked.

    Lambert pulled on the metal handle and the door gave. They tumbled in, immediately enveloped by a stench of dampness. The sound of their footsteps reverberated throughout the ancient building as they ran towards the altar. Within seconds, Mathias was driving the first of a series of powerful blows against the massive oak door of the church.

    Lambert looked around, searching desperately for something with which to defend them. He glanced at the door.

    'That won't hold him for long,' he said.

    Debbie was close to tears and Lambert found his own breath coming in gasps. He scanned the building frantically. There was another powerful blow on the church door and the wood bent inward a fraction.

    'The medallion is giving him his power,' said the policeman. 'I've got to get it away from him somehow.'

    Debbie grabbed his arm, 'Tom, he'll kill you.'

    The tears were streaming down her face. 'That's no man out there.'

    Another thunderous bang and a large portion of the church door showed a split from top to bottom. A minute more and Mathias would be in. Lambert's head was throbbing, both from the pain of the gash and also from the effort of trying to find some way of saving them from the horror awaiting them. He held Debbie tight and looked into her face.

    'You must get out, understand? When I distract him, you run for the door. Get help, just get out of here.'

    She shook her head despairingly, the tears coming with renewed ferocity.

    'Do it,' he said, his voice low but full of power.

    He pushed her behind him as the first panel of the door splintered inwards.

    'Behind the altar,' he told her, his gaze now fixed to the sight before him.

    With four powerful blows, Mathias demolished the door, huge lumps of metal and oak flying into the church under the impact of his onslaught. He passed through what remained of the door and stood in the entrance, peering into the church. In the cold light cast by the frequent flashes of lightning, the golden medallion winked evilly at Lambert who reached behind him and grasped a metal candelabra for protection. He also found a heavy golden cross which he picked up.

    Mathias advanced slowly down the central aisle, heading straight for the waiting Inspector.

    Lambert gripped the puny weapons until his knuckles went white, then, with a scream of angry fear, he ran at the Black Magician and swung the candlestick. The creature raised one hand to shield its face and the metal cracked savagely against its forearm. There was a snapping sound as the bone broke and Lambert pressed his advantage, using his own body as a battering ram, actually managing to knock Mathias to the ground. The two of them crashed into a row of pews and Lambert felt a powerful hand hurl him effortlessly to one side. He rolled once then was on his feet, brandishing the cross and candlestick before him. Mathias lunged and managed to grab the candlestick and Lambert felt the power in that ancient hand as it forced him back. And all the time, those blank red orbs fixed him in an unholy stare. The thin, almost transparent lips drawn back to revntl rotted teeth, the mouth opening occasionally lo reveal the gaping maw within. The stink was unbelievable.

    The Inspector felt himself being forced to the ground and struck out with the golden cross, driving the end towards the empty socket which had once housed an eye. The top of the cross disappeared into the hole, swallowed up in the red light which filled the eyeless pit. Mathias only grinned and struck the weapon away, seizing Lambert in a vice like grip, and lifting him by his throat in one huge powerful hand.

    'Run,' shrieked the Inspector, and he caught sight of Debbie dashing past them towards the remains of the door. Wind and rain blew in and she could feel them on her face.

    Mathias turned, still holding Lambert and pointed his other hand towards the escaping

    Debbie. The Inspector felt a force like an electric shock run through his entire body as, through pain-clouded eyes, he saw one of the huge wooden pews at the back of the church lift a good six feet into the air and hurtle across the entrance of the church.

    Debbie screamed and fell back. Mathias now seemed to have tired of the Inspector and, with a contemptuous heave,-flung him to one side. Lambert struck the cold stone floor of the church and looked up, stunned, to see the figure of Mathias raise both arms skyward.

    There was an earsplitting roar and a large rent appeared in the church roof. Masonry tumbled down. A particularly large lump hit a pew and splintered it to matchwood. Rain poured in through the hole but the Black Magician was oblivious to it and remained where he stood.

    Lambert looked on in horror as a large crack appeared in one of the thick stone columns supporting the roof. Dust and ancient stone fell to the floor, mingling with the rain that was now pouring in through the roof.

    And the cold. Lambert felt it once more, seeping into his bones, a cold the like of which he had never known, and with it, came the overpowering stench of rotted flesh.