Whitby Vampyrrhic (18 page)

‘You have proof in the form of teeth-marks on dear Sally's flesh. More proof will come your way very soon.' He smiled. ‘But you will keep interrupting.'

Eleanor said, ‘Theo. Tell them what happened to us.'

He nodded, then, in that smoothly polished voice of his, he unfurled past events that sent goosebumps popping up on Beth's spine.

‘Eighteen years ago, Gustav Kirk decided to break into a cave known as Hag's Lung. Firstly, it fascinated him because so many legends attached themselves to it. Secondly, he was an intelligent and imaginative young man, who'd become so bored of this quiet little town that even to be reckless and foolhardy was preferable to spending another dull night at home with his parents. So, one evening in 1924, armed with candles, crowbar and a rope, he headed in the direction of the cave, which lies behind the abbey ruin. On the way, he met Eleanor. My sister was a formidable female. Even as a nineteen year old. When she insisted she join Gustav, he had no choice other than to accept her as part of his expedition.

‘The cave had been sealed up on account of its dangerous reputation. More than one person has come to harm there down through the years. The pair broke open the big old timber door to the cave. Inside, they found the reason why the cave is known as Hag's Lung. A hole in the rock connects it with a sealed cavern. Geologists believe that fissures in that cavern run down to the shore at sea level. The action of the waves compresses the air in the hidden void, causing air to flow through the blowhole into Hag's Lung. It imitates perfectly the respiration of an animal. The air flows in and out. And, for reasons known only to my sister, she thrust her arm into the narrow opening. It was then . . .' He turned to regard her. ‘It was then that something bit her on the wrist. Gustav should have simply got them both back into town. But Gustav couldn't stop from indulging himself with a closer look at the blowhole. A burning, uncontrollable curiosity drove him. If Gustav was here right now—'

‘Heaven forbid,' whispered Eleanor.

‘Gustav would put his finger in the air and claim, “Ah, Tiw strikes again.”'

Sally frowned. ‘You mean to say, this Tiw creature got inside his head and made him act nuts?'

‘Absolutely. Anyway, as my sister slowly returned to her senses outside on the grass, Gustav used the crowbar to chip away at the narrow aperture in the rock to enlarge it. He succeeded only too well. When it was large enough, he managed to force his limb through the opening he'd made. A snug fit, I'm sure, but he did it. An act of madness. After all, he'd witnessed the attack on Eleanor, so it was hardly rational. And that's when mouths clamped on to his forearm. After that, Gustav wasn't Gustav any more – at least, not the man who'd been my best friend.' Theo stood up; a restlessness drove him to pace the kitchen. The surf attacked the beaches. A muted roar, as if a beast had woken from a deep sleep.

Eleanor said, ‘I don't remember a great deal, other than I must have staggered home.'

Theo's edgy manner quickened his voice. ‘Gustav underwent a fundamental change. He never returned home. As far as everyone was concerned he'd vanished into thin air. Oh, the police discovered that the cave had been broken into and found the crowbar that belonged to Gustav's father. The authorities concluded he'd entered Hag's Lung in a fit of insanity, then thrown himself off the cliff into the sea. No . . . that's not what happened at all. Theo underwent a biological transformation. Whether that was down to vengeful old Tiw, or some Darwinian evolutionary twist, I don't know. What I do know is that Gustav isn't human now. I don't normally use the word Vampire to describe him, but I wholeheartedly and passionately refer to him as Vampiric. A night creature. Sleeping by day. Searching for blood after dusk.'

Beth shook her head. ‘But how can you know what happened to Gustav if he disappeared? You said he was—'

‘Disappeared from sight, yes.' Theo moved faster. He seemed to be building himself up to reveal some secret . . . or maybe even to commit a wild act. ‘Vanished. Gone. Not a sign. Not a glimpse. Until ten days after his visit to the cave. Then he called on Victoria. I understand from Eleanor that she tried to stop you crossing the bridge. He attacked her. Biting her through her clothes, then supping her blood. Sucking at it, like you'd suck juice from an orange. Not a pretty image, eh? One to revolt and to horrify. Later, he attacked more of his friends the same night. Then, just before dawn, I heard a tap at my bedroom window. Back then, I lived in the hotel. I opened the window, and Victoria rushed in at me. A flurry of limbs, open jaws, pain; I couldn't shout for help. All I felt were the teeth . . . They ripped through my skin.' He ran his fingers over his chest. Beth could glimpse the same pattern of scars on the skin beneath the open collar. A :::: effect.

Alec digested what he'd heard. ‘And yet you weren't transformed.'

Theo ran his hands through his hair. ‘Rumours spread about the attacks. It's happened before here in Whitby, and in Leppington up in the hills. A family there, who pass down certain secrets from parent to child, knew what to do. They visited Victoria and myself – fortunately, we hadn't vanished from sight, unlike Theo and the others. They administered the same treatment as Sally received from Eleanor last night. Because of the delay between the attack and them reaching us, the treatment was only partially successful. The infection had reached too deeply into our systems.'

Eleanor added, ‘Victoria and Theo's condition is held in check by the Quick Salts.'

‘However, as you see, we lead lives that are greatly diminished. Basically, we're reduced to husks that merely resemble our past selves.'

This shook Sally. ‘Does that mean I'll be like Theo? Has the bite infected me?'

‘Trust me, dear –' Eleanor smiled – ‘you'll be fine. I applied the powder in time.'

Beth found her eyes drawn to Eleanor's wrist. ‘But Eleanor was bitten first. Why isn't she now like Gustav?'

‘Ah, that's the great mystery!' Theo's manner had become volatile. ‘That's what we'd all love to know! Gustav is bitten. He becomes Vampiric. He attacks a number of his friends. They turn into demonic night creatures. But what of my beautiful sister?' The sheer volume of his voice rattled pans on the stove. ‘The skin is breached on her skin. One of the monsters in the cavern suckled. But why didn't Eleanor become infected? Why is she immune? What lies hidden in my sister's blood? A certain something that has kept her clean.'

‘I don't feel clean,' she hissed. ‘Look.' She pulled back the sleeve to reveal what resembled tiny pink roses budding from her wrist. ‘Those are open wounds. They never healed. What's more, they never will heal. My life is blighted.'

‘
Afraid a man can never love you, with your skin all punctured like that?
' Theo's voice had become savage – raw emotion coarsened it. ‘But you've shared our mucky little secret with your friends here. That Whitby is plagued by vampires. So, now you've told them, what do you intend to do with your comrades in arms? Because that's what you've become. I can see it. You four people have forged a bond. You are a team. You care for one another. But will you die for each other?' He raked his fingers through his hair.

‘Theo, calm down.'

‘How can I be calm? I know too much, Eleanor. Do you know, at night I watch from my bedroom window? I see Gustav and his Vampiric friends swarming through town. They race through the streets like hungry panthers out on a hunt. Gustav has added more to his squad. There's a man in a pilot's uniform. He's also recruited Mary Tinskell. And you know something? They excite me. I want to run with them. I want to feed. I want to taste what they taste.' The black pupils in his eyes grew more pronounced, fiercer. His gaze raked over the people in the room. By now, he obviously couldn't remain still if he tried. His hands ran over the timbers of the door. When he spoke, the sentences came out fractured, guttural, as if a transformation was taking place inside his head. ‘I see everything. I know everything. There's a boy who runs with a black dog. The dog is as alive as you warm, healthy people. Yet the boy is Vampiric. He was taken seventy years ago. He searches for a way back home. His parents? Oh . . . his parents are long dead. Instinct drives him. Home is what he hungers for, not blood. Home, home . . . Strange that, isn't it?' He paced the room again. ‘Then not everyone bitten becomes Vampiric. Isn't that the truth, dear Eleanor!'

‘Theo,' Eleanor said firmly. ‘Drink the medicine.'

‘Oh, you want me to drink now. To imbibe! To revert back to the tenth of a man I once was! You only dragged me back to my senses so I could reveal your horrific secrets for you. Because you're still afraid to admit that this tragedy ever occurred.' He sucked air through his nostrils. ‘And do you want to know something really horrific? I hear them in the sump cavern. All of Tiw's vampires. You know, he raised the dead from a battlefield over a thousand years ago. Hundreds of dead Viking warriors gathered up into Tiw's supernatural embrace . . . He breathed life back into them, then left them in the sump cavern. There they bided their time. Waiting. Now a war is raging. The country is forced to remain in darkness by night. A mandatory blackout. And isn't the blackout a perfect environment for the vampire?' He listened again. ‘I hear them singing. Last night, a ship blew up near the cliffs. The blood of all those men washed through fissures into the sump. Picture it: a broth of crimson surging in with the tide. It painted the bodies a glorious, living red. They bathed in blood. And they exulted. The vampires sing about their excitement. About their lust to be free. To join Gustav and to drink the blood of Whitby men and women dry.'

‘Theo, take this.'

‘Alec. Ask me how I know. Interrogate me, Beth. How can I know all this . . .?' He pushed his fists against his temples. ‘But I do.'

Alec and Beth moved towards Theo. Sally pulled back one of the kitchen chairs. Eleanor picked up the glass that contained the glittering liquor.

Theo's nostrils flared. ‘I can smell it in your veins. All that red nectar . . . it's pounding through your heart. And I know Gustav and his kind are worming their way out of holes in the cliff face. Those are their lairs, you know. During daylight, that's where they sleep. High in the cliff where nobody will find them. The boy will be pushing himself out of his tomb to join the dog. They'll be running towards Whitby soon. I know all this . . . but I've not set foot outside the hotel boundary for years. So – how do I know? As Gustav would say, “Ah, Tiw strikes again!”' He turned to face the door.

Beth sensed the man's eagerness. What's more, tension sizzled in the air. She'd sensed it in the studio when she'd wandered into the set of Whitby that had never existed in the first place.
Perfidious Tiw. Is he going to meddle in human affairs again? Is he planning another calamity to befall us?
She blinked hard, trying to squeeze the unsettling thoughts from her mind.

Alec took another step towards Theo.

Without looking back at him, Theo said, ‘Alec, a few days ago you were spared death. You must be wondering why. Ha, no doubt you'll find out very soon.' Theo whirled round. ‘I knew that you'd become a warrior band. You don't even realize it yourself, but see how you can almost read one another's minds? Sally has the chair ready. Alec and Beth plan to grab me. Then, when they force me into the chair, my dear sister will pour that elixir into my mouth.' He grinned, but his face no longer seemed handsome. A monstrous quality distorted it. Whatever it was that the drug normally suppressed, it was beginning to surface. ‘Ladies and gentleman. You have become a pack of hunters.'

Alec reached out to take Theo's arm. The gaunt man flinched back so quickly that his back slammed against the door.

‘Don't worry, my friends. I'll drink the blessed potion.' He struggled to maintain self-control. ‘Because if I didn't take my medicine, the thought of what I will become terrifies me.'

His movements were jerky rather than graceful now. Quickly, he sat at the table, took the glass from Eleanor; drank it down in one. By the time he placed the glass back on the table, the tremors had stopped in his limbs. His features relaxed. His air of relaxation even reached out into the room as a whole. The tension that had been building in the very fabric of the walls eased.

‘Theo,' Eleanor murmured. ‘Go back upstairs. Why not read for a while?'

Slowly, he lifted his eyes to hers, gave a sluggish nod, then stood up before climbing the stairs.

Beth picked up the silver spoon that Eleanor had used to stir the powder into the water. Sally watched her actions with complete mystification.

However, Eleanor knew perfectly well what she was doing. ‘That's quick-witted of you, Beth. You're testing the vampire theory by checking the spoon for my brother's reflection.'

‘It's distorted, but he does have a reflection.'

‘And according to the myth,' Alec added, ‘vampires don't reflect their image in a mirror.'

‘That's what happens in stories,' Eleanor agreed. ‘But the myth became scrambled through the centuries. Vampires are capable of being seen in mirrors, just the same as you and I. In truth, those creatures that are Vampiric avoid mirrors, because they can't see themselves as they really are. Do you follow? When a vampire looks into a mirror, they delude themselves; they believe they see a beautiful, healthy man or woman. Not a loathsome creature, driven half mad by the desire to gorge on blood.'

Alec gazed very directly at Eleanor. ‘So you believe that Gustav is a vampire?'

‘The more accurate term is Vampiric.'