His Vampyrrhic Bride (33 page)

On the other side of the window Helsvir, the monstrous protector of the Bekk bloodline, began to hiss. The same kind of menace-filled sound that a venomous serpent makes just before it attacks.

J
oshua Gordon Squire’s voice possessed such power and resonance that even time itself seemed to stop and listen: ‘My friends, we are gathered here tonight to witness and to celebrate the joining together of this man and woman in matrimony. I’m not going to use the traditional Christian marriage ceremony, because this isn’t a traditional marriage. I will not presume to know the religious beliefs of these two people. However, the willing and voluntary union of two people in heart, body and mind is a universal institution of human beings since the dawn of time . . .’

Tom Westonby stood before the priest, and maybe even before the Lord of Creation, and he listened to that wonderful voice say those beautiful words. Nicola stood beside Tom, the candlelight falling on to her face and shining on the pale blonde hair. He loved her more than he had ever done before. His heart beat with a measured rhythm that was strong and true.

Meanwhile, Helsvir pressed its loathsome body against the stained-glass window. Its many faces were pushed right up to the coloured glass as it stared in; the eyes were entirely white apart from their fiercely black pupils. Helsvir appeared spellbound by what it witnessed, because the creature had the stillness of death.

Joshua’s melodic voice soared on the tranquil air. ‘Into this union, Tom Westonby and Nicola Bekk now freely and joyously consent to be joined. And we, who are gathered here, witness the joining of this couple in marriage. Do you, Tom, take Nicola to be your wife?’

‘I do.’

‘Do you, Nicola, take Tom to be your husband?’

‘I do.’

‘Best man, hand the ring to the bridegroom, please. Tom, place the ring on Nicola’s finger.’

Tom slipped the gold band on to the slender finger. He felt her hand tremble as if a numinous power had suddenly blazed through her flesh.

The creature hissed, and its faces became even more distorted as they were forced harder against the glass, as if they wanted a clearer view of what was happening inside.

Joshua’s voice sang out: ‘Then I declare before God, and before all these present . . .’

Helsvir’s limbs suddenly struck the steelwork covering the window. The blow was so ferocious that the entire building trembled. Dust spiralled down from the roof, glittering like tiny falling stars in the candlelight.

Helsvir punched the grid again. Reverberations from the blow even made the bells tremble in the tower, producing a sustained chime that only faded away after several seconds.

Taking a deep breath, Joshua surged on; the huge boom of his voice even defeated the clatter of Helsvir striking the mesh: ‘Then I declare before God, and before all these present, that you are husband and wife.’ He wouldn’t let Helsvir’s fury deflect him from his mission. The priest smiled at the couple. ‘Tom Westonby, you may now kiss your beautiful bride.’

Tom kissed her.

An absolute silence fell.

Nicola put her hands at either side of Tom’s face, pulled him down towards her, and pressed her lips against his.

At the sight of the kisses, and the gold ring on her finger, Helsvir went berserk. A flurry of hands tore at the steel mesh as it screamed and bellowed.

Despite the noise, Nicola turned to the people behind her; she smiled and showed them the ring. Then she shot Tom an
OK-here-goes
look as she faced Mrs Bekk. ‘Are you happy for us, Mother?’

‘I wish I could be.’ Mrs Bekk spoke sadly. ‘I wish you could break the curse and be happy. But I know for you . . . for both of you . . . the worst is still to come tonight.’

One of Helsvir’s fists punched through the window, right in the centre of the yellow rising sun in the stained glass.

‘You haven’t stopped it,’ Phil cried. ‘It’s got through the mesh!’

‘Breaking news.’ Bolter stared in horrified fascination as a naked arm wormed through the hole in the pane. ‘Breaking news! The monster is smashing its way into the church. Men, women and children are in imminent danger of death.’

Nicola spoke to Tom. ‘We’re married now. I’m finally your bride. We’re going out there together, and we’re going to face Helsvir.’

They walked quickly to the church’s main entrance, pulled back the bolts, swung open the door, and went out into the moonlight.

Tom called to Chester, ‘Lock this door shut. Don’t open it until we come back.’

If we come back . . .

Tom, however, didn’t speak the thought aloud. He was with Nicola now. They both trusted each other.

The flood hadn’t risen any higher. The band of dry earth still remained around the church. As islands go, it was a small one, but at least it wasn’t shrinking any further. They quickly circled the church to the other side.

There they found Helsvir ripping at the mesh. Every so often one of its forest of arms would punch another hole in the glass.

‘Helsvir.’ There wasn’t a trace of fear in Nicola’s voice. ‘Helsvir. Stop this now.’

‘It’s time to go, Helsvir.’ Tom stood side-by-side with Nicola. ‘We both want you to go away forever.’

The monster had been pulsating with fury as it attacked the church window. Now it abruptly stopped. The thing even seemed to freeze as if afraid to turn round. Then the heads that budded from its pale back suddenly twisted a full one hundred and eighty degrees to face Tom and Nicola. The movement was a smooth ripple effect, almost like when a bird fluffs out the feathers on its body. Dozens of eyes locked on Tom, then they fixed on Nicola.

‘I don’t need you now, Helsvir.’ Nicola took hold of Tom’s hand and raised it so those glaring eyes could see their fingers were knitted together. ‘I have a new protector.’

The beast dropped down from the window. The ground shuddered from the impact.

Helsvir advanced on them. A menacing hiss filled the air. The heads bristled from the body. Those eyes were sizing Tom up. The creature was getting ready to attack.

‘No, Helsvir.’ Then Nicola made such an intelligent statement of fact that the words took Tom’s breath away. ‘This man is Tom Westonby. He is going to be the father of my children. If you kill him, those children won’t be born. And that will be your fault. I will blame you for his death. And I will blame you for ending my family’s bloodline.’ That’s when she did something that terrified Tom to the core. Because she walked forward and rested her hand on the creature’s expanse of damp, grey skin.

‘Careful, Nicola. Stay away from it.’

She shot a smile back at him, which said:
it’s OK, I know what I’m doing.
Softly, she continued speaking to Helsvir: ‘I used to think I saw you in my dreams. Now I know you were real. And I know that we were friends. Whenever you could, you protected me. But even you couldn’t follow me into school.’ She gently rubbed the wet flesh as if rubbing the neck of a much-loved dog. ‘I’ve grown up now, Helsvir. I’m no longer the little girl that needs you to keep her safe. And I’ve married the man I love. So I want you to take a good look at him. In a way, Tom’s part of me now – just as I’m part of him. If you hurt Tom, you hurt me.’

Helsvir kept the faces locked in the direction of Tom. There was bewilderment duplicated in those dozens of eyes. Even hurt . . . Definitely sadness.

‘Tom and I are going to live together . . . We’ll look after each other. And we’ll take care of the children we have, and we will love them with all our hearts.’

A sound came from the lips on all those faces. A pained gasp as it finally understood.

Tom finally understood too; he found himself echoing the same gasp as he realized the truth. ‘Helsvir didn’t just guard you, Nicola. He loved you, too.’

At that moment, Tom saw Helsvir as the faithful dog that loved his mistress and would die to save her life. But now that role had gone.

Each eye changed in the animal. Each one was shot through with pain.

‘I’m sorry, Helsvir.’ She stepped forward to touch it again.

This time it shrank back. An aura of absolute horror radiated from the animal. It knew its relationship with her was over. The body seemed to become smaller as it continued to shrink away from her. Helsvir soon reached the water where it continued to move backwards until the water covered it.

Tom knew it was leaving. Even when the entire body had become submerged, he could see the waves the creature made as it headed back into the flooded street. In seconds, those flurries of ripples were retreating to where the river was deepest. Then the ripples themselves faded away.

Hand in hand they walked back to the church door. Chester swung it open so they could walk inside.

‘Helsvir’s gone,’ Tom said.

‘For good,’ Nicola added.

Joshua clapped his hands together. ‘I knew you could do it. Indeed, love does conquer all.’

‘Breaking news.’ Bolter’s druggie eyes gleamed. Even he was happy. ‘The monster’s vamoosed.’

The others clustered round. The men slapped Tom on the back. Rachel kissed Nicola on the cheek and thanked her. As Tom held on to Nicola’s hand her grip suddenly tightened. He thought this was due to the powerful emotion she must be feeling right now.

But then came the dreadful moment of truth.

Bolter pointed at her face
.
‘Look at her eyes! What’s happening to her?’

‘The curse is happening to her.’ Mrs Bekk’s voice held such depths of sadness. ‘Tom, didn’t I warn you there would be consequences if you married Nicola? Now you’ll have to watch your bride as she leaves this life behind.’

E
ven though the church was silent – nobody moving; everyone staring at Nicola – Tom heard thunder. This was the blood pounding in his ears as pangs of dread ran through him.

Because Nicola is changing.

His memory summoned vivid images of Nicola’s brothers and sisters in the forest. Mrs Bekk had told him that her children had been transformed into those still, silent creatures, because they’d dared turn their backs on the family legends. They’d chosen a modern life of careers, nights out with friends, and they wanted lovers that no longer believed that Viking gods were the masters of the universe.

So they’d left their ancestral home beside the River Lepping. What Nicola’s brothers and sisters had not succeeded in leaving behind, however, was the ancient curse. They’d changed. Just as Nicola now changed. Into something inhuman. Into a creature that Mrs Bekk had called a vampire.

Chester, Joshua, Rachel, and the others in the church, couldn’t take their eyes from Nicola. They watched in horror at what was happening to her face.

‘I warned you,’ hissed Mrs Bekk. ‘I told you to watch out for the first symptoms of the change. This is your fault, Tom. You used that silver tongue of yours to persuade her to marry you.’

‘We love each other.’ Tom’s eyes were locked on to Nicola’s face. ‘Nicola wanted to marry me as much as I wanted to marry her.’

‘Well . . . you got what you wished for. Now you can witness the consequences of defying her heritage. I’ve seen this happen to all my sons and daughters. Remember what I told you, Tom?
It’s like watching a death.
’

Bolter stared, too, with a mixture of glee and bug-eyed terror. ‘Breaking news . . .’ The idiot still revelled in the drug-induced delusion that he was a television reporter. ‘Breaking news . . . We stand here tonight, watching Miss Nicola Bekk turn into a bloodsucking monster. You’ll notice how pale her face is becoming . . . how her eyes are now being transformed. Nicola Bekk is—’

‘
Shut up.
’ Tom had never been so angry before. ‘I don’t want to hear Nicola’s name coming out of your damn mouth.’

‘Viewers might want to look away now. Because Nicola Bekk is turning into a monster.’

That did it. Tom threw a vicious punch. Its sheer power lifted Bolter off his feet, sending him crashing backwards to the floor.

Still nobody else moved. They hardly seemed aware that Tom had knocked the thug down. Everyone watched, with horrified fascination, as Nicola Bekk stopped being Nicola Bekk. They felt themselves compelled to see what she became.

Bolter lay there with blood spewing from his mouth. Tom didn’t give a damn what happened to that piece of crap. Instead, he focused his senses on Nicola. Because his new bride changed by the second.

Bolter had been right about her skin colour. Her face paled until it became absolutely white . . . Somehow the whiteness was shocking: a strange, luminous white that didn’t even seem like human skin any more. Meanwhile, the blue leeched away from her eyes.

By the light of the candles, Tom saw the pupils of her eyes contract into fierce, black points. The veins in her neck darkened, too. Within moments, a swirling pattern had formed on her throat; something like black tattooed lines. An eerie map that traced the route of her transformation from a beautiful, lively woman to this dead-alive statue.

Nicola didn’t move. She didn’t even seem to breathe. Even though she’d done nothing and said nothing since this began, Tom could tell that her personality was undergoing a transformation, too. A mind profoundly different to the one he’d known, and grown to love, slowly and relentlessly took control of her slender body.

As Bolter hauled himself to his feet, he started chuckling. ‘Breaking news . . . Mr Tom Westonby is just moments away from death.’

‘R
un, Tom. Go away. Don’t come back. You’ve got to go now.’ Nicola oh-so-gently whispered the words. Her eyes were completely white apart from a black dot in the centre of each one. Those fierce pupils fixed on him. ‘You must go while I can still stop myself.’

‘Stop yourself from what?’

‘You know what, Tom. Hurting you . . .
hurting you.
’

Nicola stood near the church door. Her skin had become alabaster – a whiteness that was eerily luminous. While her veins were now the blackest of black.

He gripped hold of her hands. ‘You can still fight this. The Viking gods are finished. They aren’t worshipped any more, their temples have gone. They’re nothing. Please, Nicola. Don’t let them do this to you.’