The Crowmaster (8 page)

I
woke up in near darkness, still lying down, but no longer on the ground.

I was on my back on Marion's couch, a blanket covering me from my feet to my chest. The room was draped in shadow, with only the dim light of the flames flickering in the fireplace to ease the gloom. In the half-darkness it took me a few seconds to realise I wasn't alone. Over by the shuttered window, someone stood peering through a gap, their back to me.

There was something else in the room too. I'm not sure how, exactly, but I could sense it there – lurking down on the floor right next to where I was lying. If I listened carefully I could hear the faint wheezing of its breath. It sounded like the breathing of something big, and I guessed it was the animal that had come out of nowhere and attacked the Crowmaster. I probably owed it my life, but the memory of those teeth put me off reaching down and giving it a hug.

Something hit the window with a hollow
thud
and the figure by the shutters took a sudden step backwards, muttering quietly. A sliver of light shone through a gap in the wooden slats, and I caught a glimpse of a face I instantly recognised.

‘Ameena?'

She whipped round at the sound of my voice, and her face was lost to the flickering shadows again. On the floor beside me, the hulking shape of the animal shifted. I heard it yawn somewhere close by my ear.

‘Hey,' Ameena said. Even in the dark, I could hear her smile. ‘You're up.'

‘I'm
messed
up,' I corrected, my fingertips cautiously exploring my broken nose and swollen eye sockets. My nostrils were choked up with dried blood, and my voice sounded weirdly nasal when I spoke.

Thud
. Something else smacked against the windowpane, making Ameena jump. Down on the floor, I heard the animal give a low growl.

‘Maybe I don't want to know,' I began quietly, gesturing towards the creature at my side, ‘but what in God's name
is
that?'

‘A dog, what do you think?'

‘A
dog
?' I spluttered, remembering the beast outside. ‘Are we talking about the same animal? Size of a bear? Teeth like a shark?'

‘See for yourself.' Ameena shuffled through the darkness and flicked the light switch. The sudden glow from the bulb forced my eyes shut. I blinked rapidly until my vision adjusted, then glanced down into the trusting brown eyes of a very large Great Dane.

It was the same animal, there was no doubt about it. The only difference was now it looked like a friendly – if a bit on the gigantic side – family pet. A far cry from the ferocious, slavering hell-hound I'd seen earlier.

The dog's rough, sandpaper tongue slobbered over my hand as I slowly reached for the little silver disk I could see hanging from its collar. The darkness made it difficult to see, and I had to angle the metal towards the window to read what it said.

‘Toto,' I muttered. ‘So
you're
Toto.' I let the nametag fall from my fingers. ‘Huh. I wonder who the other little guy was.'

‘What little guy?' asked Ameena.

‘Doesn't matter,' I said, pulling back the blanket and swinging my legs off the couch. Toto stood up, moved out of my way, then flopped back to the floor with a low grunt.

‘There's a body upstairs,' Ameena said gravely. ‘At least… I think it's a body.'

‘I know,' I nodded. ‘And it is.'

THUD-AACK!
We both heard the glass in the window crack. I didn't really need to ask the question, but I asked it anyway.

‘What
is
that?'

Ameena took a deep breath. In the light, I could see how pale and tired she looked. ‘A bird,' she said. ‘It's a bird. Been flinging itself against the window for the last ten minutes.'

I moved to stand, but my legs weren't strong enough to hold me up. I tried to act as if I'd just been getting comfortable on the couch, but I could tell from her face that Ameena wasn't fooled.

‘Just the one?'

‘Far as I can tell,' Ameena nodded. ‘Why? There aren't more of them, are there?'

I hesitated. ‘One or two.'

She gripped her mouth and looked up to the ceiling. Her fingers pressed hard against her jaw, leaving even whiter marks on her already ashen face.

‘Great,' she whispered. ‘Just great. It had to be birds, didn't it?'

‘Not much of an ornithologist, I take it?' I said.

She looked over at me and frowned. ‘A what?'

‘Ornithologist. They study birds, I think.' I stopped, suddenly doubting myself. ‘Or they might be a kind of dentist.'

Ameena stared at me blankly. ‘Or is that an orthodontist?'

‘What are you
talking about
?' she snapped. ‘There's a dead body upstairs, a kamikaze crow out there, and you've got a face like a burst balloon. Why are you going on about dentists?'

I thought about this for a moment. ‘I have no idea,' I admitted at last. ‘Sorry. Think I'm still a bit dazed.'

‘Forget it,' she sighed, slumping down on to the couch next to me. She sat forward, her elbows resting on her knees, her head in her hands. Her left leg bounced up and down, vibrating the old floorboards beneath her.

‘So. What happened?' I asked her.

‘How should I know? I wasn't here, was I?' she bit back. ‘I found you lying out the front with Scooby Doo there trying to lick your face off. Been trying to call you for ages, but you didn't answer. What's up with that? What's the point of having a phone if you don't even answer?'

‘I meant at home,' I said softly. It felt like Ameena was teetering on a dangerous edge, and it wouldn't take much to send her plummeting over it. ‘What happened with Mum?'

Ameena's leg stopped bouncing. The only movement in the room was the twitching of one of Toto's ears.

‘He came out of nowhere,' Ameena said. Her voice was sombre and quiet – matter-of-fact, almost – and it made my heart beat faster. ‘Your train had gone, we were just about to get back in the car and then… he was there. He was just
there
. Behind her. Smiling.'

‘Go on,' I said.

Ameena rubbed her fingertips hard against her forehead as she continued. ‘He picked her up like she was nothing. I tried to stop him, but I was on the other side of the car, and he… he was moving too fast.

‘There was a noise, like… I don't know. Just a noise. Like a crash. The car alarm started going off. I didn't realise what had happened to begin with.' Ameena glanced at me, then quickly looked away. ‘But then I saw the blood on the windscreen.'

I tried to speak, but my mouth felt full of sand. All I could do was listen.

‘He'd cracked the glass. With her head. He'd cracked the glass with her head, and I hadn't even seen him move!'

‘What then?' I asked, finding my voice. ‘What happened then? How is she? Is she OK?'

Ameena's eyes darted from side to side, as if she was watching the scene replaying before her. ‘He ran off,' she said quietly. ‘Before I could do anything, he just turned and ran off. He just left her there, lying across the bonnet. Not moving.'

She gave a little cough at the back of her throat and rubbed her sleeve across her eyes. ‘Someone must've called an ambulance,' she said. ‘They turned up pretty quick. Took us to the hospital by the town.'

‘And what are they saying? Is she going to be all right? Have they said anything?'

‘She's banged up, but she's stable,' Ameena told me. ‘They say she'll be OK. I wouldn't have left her otherwise.'

That was reassuring to hear, but I wasn't as relieved as I expected. I couldn't quite believe it was that simple, that Mum was going to be fine. And I wouldn't believe it, not until I saw her for myself.

I'd done it again. Even when I was trying to keep her safe, I'd put Mum in danger. And Marion too. One of them hurt, one of them dead. All my fault. Mine.

Ameena stood up suddenly and turned away. Her arms were tense by her sides, her bony fingers curled tightly into fists. ‘I swear, if I ever see that fat freak again, I'll—'

‘You won't,' I said. She turned and I caught the confusion in her red-ringed eyes. ‘He's dead,' I explained. ‘Really, really dead.'

This seemed to take the wind from her sails a little. She hesitated for a moment, then sat back down on the couch. ‘Oh,' she nodded. ‘Well… good.'

‘He didn't do it. The fat guy. It wasn't him.'

She was back on her feet again. ‘Yes it was! I saw him,' she snapped. ‘Trust me, I know what I saw, and I saw a fat guy smashing your mum off—'

‘It wasn't him,' I repeated, more forcefully this time. I didn't want to hear again what had happened to Mum. ‘What you saw – the fat guy – he wasn't real. It was… I'm pretty sure it was, like, a costume.'

‘No, Kyle, I've seen costumes before, and this was real!' Ameena argued.

‘Trust me,' I told her, ‘you've never seen a costume like this.'

She glared at me, still unconvinced. I held her gaze, though, and eventually she shook her head, let out a long sigh, then flopped back down on the couch.

‘Well, if that's true, who was wearing it?'

It was my turn to stand up. My legs still felt shaky, but this time I didn't fall down. Toto's eyes followed me as I crossed to the window and looked out through a gap in the shutters. A crack ran the length of the windowpane from top to bottom. A series of smaller cracks spread out from the centre of the glass, presumably where the bird had hit.

The world beyond the window was thick with gloom. A layer of ominous black cloud had rolled across the sky, turning the landscape dark. The trees up on the hillside moved stiffly, jostled and shoved by the wind. With each strong gust they seemed to bow towards the distant mobile phone mast, like ten thousand worshippers pledging loyalty to their god.

I couldn't see the bird that had cracked the window. In fact, for maybe the first time since I'd arrived here, I couldn't see any birds at all.

I felt a warmth on my elbow, and realised Ameena was standing beside me. She was so close her arm was touching mine.

‘Hey,' she said, joining me in peeking through the gap, ‘crazy bird's gone.'

‘Yep,' I nodded. I smiled awkwardly at her, then turned away, feeling my cheeks flush red. Her warmth left my arm and I scurried to where Toto was sleeping on the floor. The dog made a cat-like purr as I scratched behind his ears.

‘That's good news, right?' Ameena continued. She was still staring out. She probably hadn't even noticed that I'd moved.

‘Yep,' I said again. ‘Sure is.'

‘Must've been scared off,' she reasoned.

‘Must've been,' I agreed. Had she leaned on me like that on purpose, or just so she could see outside?

‘Probably that scarecrow over there.'

I nodded. ‘Probably.'

Half a second later, my racing brain properly processed what she'd said.

‘Ameena!' I cried.
‘Get away from the window!'

‘What? Why, what's—?'

I heard the glass shatter and the shutters break almost before it happened. The wood splintered into slivers no bigger than matchsticks. A streak of screeching black tore into the room, catching Ameena on the side of the head and sending her spiralling to the floor.

Sparks were already buzzing through my brain as the bird rocketed towards me. It crossed the room in a heartbeat, flying faster than my startled brain could work. The power was there, but I wasn't quick enough to use it. The bird's black beak pulled open and a piercing screech escaped from within it.

For a fraction of a second I saw myself reflected in its eyes, crouching there, hands in front of my face, like a statue of a coward. And then the bird was too close for me to see anything but black.

Something bumped against my legs from below, knocking me backwards. I felt a sharp, sudden movement; saw a brief blur of speed; and the bird was gone.

Down on the floor, the crow struggled briefly in Toto's jaws. Then, with a crack of bone, the bundle of black feathers went silent and limp. It made a soft
plop
sound as it landed in a messy heap on the floor.

Toto looked lazily up at me, licked his chops, then settled back down to sleep.

I wasted a few seconds getting my breath back. My eyes were still fixed on the dog, who had already begun to snore. My mouth was dry as I swallowed. ‘Good boy.'

Ameena and I both stood up at the same time. Blood oozed from a deep gash on her forehead, but she didn't even acknowledge it. She was at the window again, her body tucked out of sight, her head angled so one eye could look out.

I darted over to join her, positioning myself on the other side of the shattered shutters, so we were standing on opposite sides of the window. I stole a glance outside, and felt an icy band of fear tighten around my throat.

The Crowmaster was prowling around outside the house. He looked a little different from when I'd last seen him. His dungarees had four or five large tears in them, and one of his sleeves had been ripped right off. Whatever damage Toto had done to his body looked to have knitted together again, but he seemed to be limping a little on his impossibly skinny legs.

I glanced back at Toto. ‘Good boy,' I whispered again.

The torn clothes weren't the only things to have changed about the Crowmaster. A tall, crooked hat was now pulled down on to his sack-cloth head. It had a wide brim and came to a point at the top. It looked like a hat from a fancy-dress witch's costume, but tatty and torn, and chalky with dust.

On his left shoulder sat a crow. Its claws were dug in deep, and its head was constantly on the move, swivelling this way and that, its eyes scanning the entire area every few seconds.

All of a sudden, the bird's head stopped moving. Its gaze locked on to something on the ground. The Crowmaster skulked towards the object, his own empty eye sockets looking blankly into nowhere.