Underbelly (60 page)

Grey seized the opportunity to make a break for it, running to the front door and pulling it shut behind him. Clemence leapt through the front window as he held the door handle, making Grey clutch his heart at the shock, feeling close to having a heart attack. He had no time for that, no time to grieve Allan Whitlow; his only thought could be escape at any cost. His legs had felt powerful, his stride strong as he had chased them as they took Allan away. Now that he was the target they felt leaden, and he knew the only reason they hadn’t caught him immediately was because Adelaide ordered Clemence to wait for her. She wanted the thrill of the hunt, and he stood about as much chance of survival as a lone fox against a whole country club of hunters with a hound for every day of the year.

Three men who were leaving a bar saw Grey bounding in their direction, one of them shouting, “It’s late for a jog, sonny.”

Grey consciously tried to steer the monsters as far from them as possible, trying to lead the Alieus out of town, away from people. He knew he couldn’t lose them – they were supernatural beings and would eventually catch him. His only hope was that Germaine would tell Laura, but he knew he had a world of pain to endure before she came to the rescue, and that was assuming that she could defeat the Alieus, not a foregone conclusion, though he had faith that she’d have a plan. As Grey ran past the drinkers he slowed down for a moment and said, “Go back inside for one more pint, trust me.”

Grey was gone before they had chance to respond and they talked amongst themselves, wondering what he was on about. They saw soon enough as a monstrous shape, running like a feline but with a body that was uniquely individual, scurried past them after Grey. Their jaws dropped and their eyes strained as they fixated on the figure as it ran away into the distance.

“
Must be the circus,” the drunkest of the three said, not seeing it as clearly as the other two.

“
Circus? Ain’t no circus freak like that!”

As they talked animatedly amongst themselves over what they just witnessed, Adelaide Alieu walked up to them leisurely and said, “That was the first sign of the impending apocalypse. Kill yourself tonight or face legions of them tomorrow.” She walked away, leaving her statement hanging ominously in the air. One of the three would heed her advice, maybe two, and this thought brought a smile to her lips.

Grey led them out of town and they ceased playing with him, catching up with him effortlessly.

“
Look, Clemence, he’s chosen this as his burial spot,” Adelaide said as she grabbed hold of his broken wrist, fixing it instantly and she put her hand to his throat and Grey felt that she was repairing this wound too. As she healed him, holding him securely, Clemence used her destructive gift to damage the ground underneath her feet, the grass and soil disintegrating under her touch and she created a small foxhole that became a deep trench, which she and Grey and Adelaide shared. As they sunk lower Grey started to panic, realising he would soon struggle to climb out if they went any deeper. Adelaide told Clemence to grab him and they swapped roles, Clemence guarding the prisoner as Adelaide used her restorative power on the earth, touching the sides above them and forming a roof of healthy grass and soil. With a roof above them they both set to work, Grey secure enough without either holding him, and Clemence took them further down as Adelaide restored the ground above them until they were around 10 feet down in the soil in a small area around 30 cubic feet, so small that they all had to sit.

The sight of the earth repairing itself above him and casting him in pitch-black, buried alive with two extreme sadists, made Grey shake uncontrollably as he felt abject terror. He had played a dangerous game, but he had still not anticipated such an outcome. He said a silent prayer for himself and used the time while they prepared his torture chamber to try to pull himself together.

As soon as Germaine awoke she remembered the previous day and questioned her decision to stay at Audrey’s cabin home – even if it had meant putting herself in jeopardy she knew she should have gone to James, who would be torturing himself if he hadn’t been able to keep Allan from their foul clutches. Audrey hadn’t slept and was scrubbing the kitchen floor when Germaine got up.

“
Did you sleep well?” Audrey asked warmly.

“
Yes. I feel I shouldn’t have under the circumstances,” she said guiltily.

“
You were emotionally drained. What would you like for breakfast?”

“
Nothing, thank you. I have to go to James now. Is there a bus soon or do I have to walk?”

“
I think you should sit down,” Audrey said softly.

“
I shouldn’t have even slept so I’m not going to sit down and get comfortable. I have to make a move. Wouldn’t you in my position?”

“
We’re in the same position. Your husband’s gone. I’m sorry.”

“
What do you mean?” Germaine said in bewilderment.

“
I called the Alieus and added him to the list. They have him now,” Audrey said flatly.

“
You put James’ name down?” Germaine said, too shocked to be immediately furious, though a rage was building inside of her.

Audrey nodded and walked away from her, finishing off her household chores. Germaine followed her to the sink and asked, “Why?”

“
They wanted me to put your name down too and I promise you that I will never, ever do that,” Audrey promised solemnly.

Germaine shook her head vigorously. “That’s supposed to make organising my husband’s execution acceptable. ‘I’ve killed your husband but I won’t kill you’. The men who you had slaughtered could have said the same thing to you. He…whua…what did he do to you to make you give his name forward?” Germaine spluttered, searching for the right words.

“
Nothing. I know what those two animals are, black-hearted beasts that should never have been born. They didn’t start off like that. They were like him, a little bit different to the rest of us. He might seem all right now, but he is not like us. You should find yourself a normal man.”

“
He’s more normal than you. You’re so quick to call others evil. Take a look at yourself! I can’t believe you’d do this to me, after everything I told you last night,” Germaine said in disbelief

“
I did it for you, and I didn’t do it lightly.”

“
You did it for yourself, to save your own skin,” Germaine said angrily.

“
You’ve known hardship, but for you it’s been isolated incidents. For me hardship has been every day.”

“
Don’t you think it’s becoming the same for me? I’m already an orphan and you’re trying to make me a widow at 16, and the worst part is that I want to be, because I know that every second he has left now is suffering, which they can keep up for years. I have no sympathy for how hard your life is because you’ve made mine hell!”

Audrey had signed her husband’s death warrant, and yet she didn’t react as she hoped she would. She was devastated, the thought of his suffering like a knife through her own heart and her own future bleaker than it had ever been, but her anger, which was considerable, was a letdown. She should have been punching Audrey, attacking her with abandon, but she couldn’t.

“
If James is lost to me I swear that you’ll pay,” she said, unable to sound threatening.

Audrey tried to put a comforting arm around her and was shrugged off. “Germaine, that just isn’t in you, child. You’re a good person. If you hate me I understand, but I have acted in your best interests. You aren’t capable of hurting anyone, and that’s to your credit.”

“
You’re right, I don’t have vengeance in me. I want you to understand this. You have destroyed my life and if you don’t feel guilty about that then there is no hope for you as a human being,” Germaine said, aghast at Audrey’s indifference at the fate she had condemned her husband to.

“
I don’t expect you to understand, but I did this thinking of you.”

“
He’s a medium, not a demon.”

“
Is there such a difference?”

“
He has more humanity than you. Maybe I’m not capable of vengeance but James has a friend who is, a friend who has more power than the Alieus, and if you don’t call them off him, then she will seek revenge.”

“
I don’t think you’d set her on me. You don’t want to be like me. You don’t want other people’s deaths on your conscience.”

“
Of course I don’t, but she might be able to save him and I will tell her the whole story. She’s a good friend and I know I certainly wouldn’t want her as an enemy,” Germaine said, aware how formidable Eleanor was.

“
Don’t you see? She sounds like another demon and your husband is friends with her and likely introduced you to her. That world is killing your innocence.”

“
You are as bad as they are. I pity your husband,” Germaine said, her words making Audrey’s eyes glaze over for a second, a flicker of emotion and vulnerability, enough to make her feel bad for saying it. Why? She was supposed to be scratching her eyes out, not pitying her. Germaine was the one who started crying as she said, “You’ve made a widow out of me, my child will have no father, but don’t feel guilty for us. Feel guilty for James, a good man who came to try and help you too, a man who would have acted to help Earl and yourself when you needed it if he’d been there, a man who is suffering because of you. Don’t just forget about it because you can’t see it, I want you to picture it, because by God, I am.”

Germaine made a sharp egress, followed by Audrey who shouted, “I’ll help you with the baby.”

“
I’ve had more help from you than I can stand,” Germaine muttered as she departed through the woods, needing some time to think things through, praying for Eleanor to show up.

Grey was coping better than he dared hope after his first 12 hours in his tomb. They hadn’t stripped him yet, preferring to save that for later when the torture became serious, and apart from a few superficial cuts hadn’t hurt him. Adelaide had spent some time healing him, removing his socks and shoes and massaging his feet, restoring them back to full health so that it would disturb him more when they were damaged afresh, full sensation restored. At first his tomb had seemed pitch black but he could see a little now, Adelaide’s body providing a phosphorescent glow. Adelaide taunted him and he didn’t respond at first, relying heavily on Del to keep his head together, his friendship and support proving invaluable.

“
Are your toes okay now?” Adelaide said in a babyish voice, sucking his big toe just to make his leg spasm with pleasure before she pulled her head away and looked to Clemence who slashed at his right foot with her claws, severing every toe, unspeakable agony. He grunted, repressing his screams, and turned to Del.

They just…they just chopped off my toes. I haven’t the strength for this, Del.

You’re going to have to. I can’t take it for you, much as I want to.

I wouldn’t let you, but I can’t endure this – they’re talking about years and they say that they start off mild. Fuck, fuck, FUCK! This is…give me a bullet over this.

Think of Germaine and your kid. You’ve got to hang in there. It’s killing me to think of you going through this but I’ll be there every step of the way.

I’d like that but they’re going to kill me. Let’s find a way to grant you peace at least while I still can. I know you say that you don’t want to find eternal rest yet and I promised I’d look into reincarnation for you but I can’t do that here and Heaven will be better than you think.

You don’t know for sure that spirits go there. I want one more crack of the whip, and I’ll get another medium to do it. In the meantime I’m staying with you. You outsmarted Cecil Winston, who sounded smarter than two prossies. You’ve got more at stake here so get thinking.

The pain doesn’t make that ea…ah, thank fuck, she’s fixing them
, Grey said, feeling Adelaide reattach his toes, which felt perfect again. Del was right – he had to think his way out of it, and he was quick to speak before he was tortured again, as the pain at such moments made plotting impossible.