Refuge (24 page)

Lucas stared at the hazy figure in front of him. ‘What – just throw it away now? Down the steps into the sea?’ he asked.

Kester nodded. ‘You do not need it,’ he said. ‘You are not a slayer. That is not your future.’

‘A slayer?’ cried Lucas. ‘Like a vampire slayer? I don’t want to be one of those! I don’t want anything to do with those things... I didn’t even think they existed!’

‘You see, that is where we are different,’ said Kester. ‘I wanted to hunt them down. I wanted to kill every last one of them. You have to be born that way – destined to it. There is no room for anything else in your life when you are a slayer. It would not, I believe, suit you.’

‘Damn right!’ said Lucas. He stared at the dagger. ‘Can I do it now? Can I just get rid of it?’

‘You can indeed,’ said Kester. ‘Then I suggest you take a little time to yourself in here. Gather your thoughts and rest while the tide is high. I will stay with you for a little while if you wish.’ He moved over to the corner of the hut and seemed to sit down on the bench. Another wave of peace washed over Lucas, as Kester settled down.

‘You don’t scare me,’ stated Lucas. ‘I always thought I’d be scared. But I’m not.’

‘There’s no reason to fear me,’ said Kester. ‘Now please, discard the dagger and rest. We have a while, I believe, before the tide goes down.’

‘I could get the boat – I could go. What if another one comes here?’ said Lucas. He began to panic; a memory washed over him of Cass’s face as she bore down on him. ‘The other one – Jenny.’ He swore. ‘Was she one as well...?’

‘There are no more vampires here,’ replied Kester. ‘I swear to you. Now, open the door and throw the dagger away. You are protected.’

‘But how do I know I can I trust you?’ said Lucas.

Kester looked at him calmly. ‘Only you can make that decision,’ he said. ‘Sometimes, we just have to work on instinct.’

 Lucas stared back at Kester. It was the oddest feeling. As he concentrated on the young man’s clear, open face, he felt the fear begin to fade. He became aware of the weight of the dagger again and knew without a doubt that what Kester told him was the truth. He moved over to the door and opened it. A gust of sea air rushed in and made him gasp. He took one last look at the dagger and cast it out, away into the sea. It tumbled into the water and was swallowed up in a great wave which rose up to meet it. Lucas saw a flash of silver as it sank into the waves and realised he had been holding his breath. He exhaled and turned to Kester.

The young man nodded. ‘Well done,’ he said. ‘Now rest.’ Lucas closed the door behind him and stumbled over to the wooden bench by the wall. He sat down at the opposite end to Kester and exhaustion overcame him. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall. ‘Why don’t you sleep?’ asked Kester.

Lucas nodded, still with his eyes closed. ‘Good idea,’ he mumbled. He lay down and curled up on the bench. He pulled his coat over his shoulders and barely felt the hard, slatted seat beneath him. He was aware instead of the calming, tranquil sensation that emanated from the figure in the corner. ‘Will you stay with me?’ he asked. His brain was churning with the events of the evening. ‘And will you be here when I wake up?’ He heard a soft laugh.

‘I will stay as long as need be,’ said Kester.

‘Thanks,’ murmured Lucas and gave himself up to sleep.

***

Lucas didn’t know how long he had been asleep, but grey, early morning light was leaking through the windows of the refuge when he opened his eyes. He had woken up with a start, not realising at first where he was. As his eyes became accustomed to the milky dawn, the events of the previous evening started to crowd into his conscious mind: the man from the B&B, Cass, a dagger... and Kester. Lucas sat up quickly and looked around the room. The spirit, if that’s what it was, had gone. The room felt quiet, though, sort of like how a church felt.

‘Hello?’ he tried. He listened for an answer – nothing. ‘Umm, is anyone there?’ Still nothing. He stood up and shrugged his jacket on. He moved towards the door. He pulled it open and stared out. The tide had subsided, and the causeway was just clearing. Three inches of water, maybe four covered the grey ribbon of road which led onto the island. He smelled the salt and the morning air and suddenly felt at peace. His boat was still tied up, half sunk into the sand and he could see a battered old land rover bumping through the water towards the refuge.

                ‘Lucas!’ he heard. ‘Lucas, mate! Is that you?’ Drew was hanging out of the back window, but he couldn’t tell who was driving the vehicle. Lucas raised his arm in acknowledgement and waved at his friend. He felt weird – displaced, sort of. Had last night really happened? It didn’t seem feasible in the daylight. He turned and looked back at the room. He shivered. The memory of those...things...evaporating and crumbling, pushed back into his mind. The man from the B&B. Had he been one then? A good one? Were there such things? Or had he dreamed it all? He rubbed his chest and felt a slight, half-moon shaped bump. A tiny scar showed up faintly against his skin and he stared at it. It had been real. All of it. He ran his fingers over his shoulder and felt the same little raised mark. His heart began to beat faster and he recalled the terror when Cass had come towards him for the third time. Then, just as quickly, he felt the fear subside and remembered Kester’s words - ‘
You have divine protection now. Have faith
.’ He stood up a little straighter and pulled the tattered edges of his shirt together, zipping his jacket up. Thank God he had brought a jacket - he couldn’t explain the bloodstains away any time soon. The land rover chugged through the final few metres and Drew jumped out, splashing his way to the refuge steps. Lucas had never seen him look quite so scared and as young as he did at that moment.

                ‘Jesus, Lucas. You been here all night?’ Drew asked. ‘When you didn’t come back, we were all worried. Christ, I haven’t slept all night. That bloke’s gone as well from the B&B. He didn’t come down to breakfast. Hasn’t been seen since last night. There were only a couple of things in his room when they checked it as well. No-one travels that light do they? He’s vanished. And we all thought you had, well, you know. Thought you’d…’ Drew shrugged his shoulders. ‘You know, like the paper said.’ His voice cracked a little. Lucas tactfully ignored it.

                ‘I’m fine,’ said Lucas, stepping back to let Drew into the hut. ‘I was supposed to meet someone here last night and she didn’t turn up...I got stuck.’ He thought quickly. ‘Maybe she went off with the bloke from the B&B instead?’ He felt sick to the stomach lying to Drew; but what else could he do? He knew for a fact he could never tell anyone what had happened here. Best to let them think they’d both buggered off. Drew’s face brightened. Obviously, this seemed to be a simple, non-offensive solution - the sort he liked.

                ‘Yes. That’s it. Nice one. Wahey!’ The old Drew was back. ‘God, wish I could pull one like that. Not a Ginger though. Nah – quite liked the other one. Dunno where she’s gone. Maybe with them? The three of them?’ In Drew’s mind, the question seemed to be happily resolved.

                ‘Yeah. Maybe,’ said Lucas. ‘Can we go now? Can we get a lift back? I need to take the boat back too...’ Although he didn’t have a clue what to do with the boat – it had been Jenny’s, hadn’t it? He shivered again.

                ‘Sure, come on,’ said Drew. ‘Nice place you’ve got here,’ he said and laughed. ‘Not quite the warm comfy bed I had last night though.’

                ‘And I want to go to the Priory later,’ added Lucas. Drew opened his mouth. ‘Alone,’ stated Lucas. Drew closed his mouth again and looked insulted. ‘Stuff I need to study,’ said Lucas. ‘Sorry mate.’ Drew shrugged.

                ‘Ok, whatever.’ The word “study” had clearly put him off. ‘You got everything, then we can go? Got your mobile?’

                ‘No mobile,’ said Lucas. ‘No signal. She said...’ He realised it had just been a ploy. To make sure he couldn’t call for help - or to make it look like suicide. A chill ran down his back. ‘Come on. Let’s go.’

                ‘They yours?’ asked Drew, nodding towards two small objects on the bench. Lucas moved closer to them - two small, old-fashioned, glass flagons, full of liquid. They looked like they had some sort of white fabric, a ribbon, or a handkerchief or something, stuffed inside them as well.

He paused, staring at them. ‘Yes,’ he said finally. ‘Yes. I’ll take them.’

                ‘Good. I’m missing breakfast to come out here,’ moaned Drew. He went out of the hut and Lucas followed him down the stairs. They splashed over to the land rover, the wet sand sucking at their feet. The boat was already loaded onto the roof rack and Lucas clambered inside. The landlord from the B&B was driving and his wife was in the passenger seat.

                ‘Thank goodness!’ said the landlady. She smiled at him. ‘We were worried about you.’

                ‘Thanks for coming for me,’ said Lucas.

                ‘We couldn’t wait any longer,’ she said. ‘We don’t know where Mr Montgomery has gone...’ her voice trailed off. She seemed to be remembering something, then shook her head a little and began to speak again. ‘He seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. He wasn’t with you in there was he? No – that’s daft. He’d have come out with you, wouldn’t he?’ Lucas didn’t answer.

                ‘The girl Lucas was meant to meet didn’t turn up either,’ said Drew, nudging his friend and laughing. ‘Bet they’re together.’

The landlady laughed. ‘Yes, that’s it. I suppose they left last night. He’ll be married or something,’ she said, ‘The quiet ones are always the worst.’ She looked at her silent husband and laughed again. ‘Definitely.’

                ‘Thanks, Chris,’ muttered her husband, but there was no malice in it.

                The vehicle bumped onto dry land and Lucas finally felt able to relax. He saw the Priory a short distance away and leaned forward.

                ‘Do you mind just dropping me here?’ he asked the landlord. Brian, he thought he was called. ‘I just need to nip over the road for something.’

                ‘Yeah, no problem,’ said Brian, and stopped the car.

                ‘Thanks. I’ll be back shortly,’ he said. He smiled at the landlady. ‘I’ll be back for breakfast, I won’t be long,’

                ‘OK,’ she said and Lucas climbed out.

                ‘I’ll get on with your bacon while you’re gone!’ called Drew, as the car pulled away. ‘Don’t hurry back!’ Lucas lifted his hand and watched them drive away. He took the shortcut through the houses he had spotted and hurried over to the early morning Priory. The Island was just beginning to wake up, but he doubted anybody would be at the Priory just yet. Good. There was just that one final thing he had to do, then he wanted to forget this whole business.

***

Lucas climbed over the fence into the Priory grounds. He stood, staring about him, wondering which way he should go. What had Kester told him? The
piscina
? He looked around and his eyes settled on a pale, golden haze somewhere over in the direction where the sun was rising. He wrinkled his nose – was that just the rays of the early morning sun or something else? The ancient stone walls seemed to be bathed in the light and he turned to face the east properly. Well, he had to start somewhere. Maybe there would be an interpretation board up somewhere that would help him if he needed it. He wandered down the length of the silent Priory and, bizarrely, the golden light seemed to draw him closer. Finally, he reached the wall and found himself staring at a small niche, with what looked like a drain in the middle of it. He stepped towards it to inspect it and the soft ground beneath it gave way slightly under his toe. He looked down and saw a small sign fixed onto the bottom of the wall –
Piscina
and
Aumbry
.

                Lucas’ heart began to beat faster. This was it. Whether it was the sunrise, or Kester, or something else entirely, he knew that he had to bury the phials right here. He crouched down and began scooping the earth away with his fingertips. Soon, there was a hole wide enough to lay the two bottles in, side by side. Lucas placed them carefully together and covered them with the soil.

                He patted it down and sat back on his heels. ‘I’ve done it,’ he said. ‘That’s it, isn’t it? That was what I was supposed to do?’ He looked around him, half-expecting a voice to answer him. Nothing. ‘OK. I’ll take that as a “yes”,’ he said. He was beginning to feel a little bit silly, hunched over a pile of earth in a ruined Priory. Then the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle. He had the feeling that somebody – or something – was creeping up on him, watching him and waiting for his next move. He tensed. What if it was another one of those things? How could he be sure he had divine protection? One word, in Kester’s voice, came into his head. ‘
Trust
’.