“Good morning boys!”
Bengo and Bardin had been having an early morning cup of tea up on the main deck of the galleon, when they heard this cheerful cry coming from below them.
“Well it’s either Glynis or a mermaid”, said Bardin.
The clowns strolled over to the portside bulwark and peered over. Glynis was standing on the roof of the yacht, improbably dressed in a black swimsuit, ankle-length thermal socks, and a raincoat. She too was carrying a mug of tea.
“Aren’t you cold?” Bardin shouted down “Or have you got whisky in that tea?”
“Oh we’re all still fired up with honeymoon fever here on the yacht”, Glynis replied.
“Good grief, I never thought Hal had it in him”, said Bardin.
“He must be making up for all those lost years”, said Bengo.
“There’s nothing like having a pair of lovebirds around”, said Glynis.
“Pretty annoying I would’ve thought”, said Bardin.
“Oh you are an old cynic”, Glynis laughed “Plus we’re glad to finally be coming to the end of this shoreline. It seems to have gone on forever”.
It had been a couple of days since they had sailed out of sight of the Loud House. Since then they had been following the bleak coastline ever northwards. The landscape had been blank and featureless, bereft of any trees, mountains or features of any kind. A vast open empty space. But now the end of the main land was coming into sight. And ahead of them stretched the vast infinity of the Northern Ocean, which was looking almost surreal in its current state of flat calm. The sun was muted, and everywhere the light was a silvery, metallic sheen. Somewhere out into the ocean stood a group of small rocky islands, which looked as featureless as the land they were leaving behind.
“I wonder if there’s anything on there”, shouted Glynis.
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough”, Bardin replied “We’ll take a slight detour to the islands before we carry on round the top”.
“Was hoping you’d say that”, said Glynis “My curiosity is piqued”.
Down below Kieran was still confined to his cabin. Although his health and energy had rallied slightly since leaving the vicinity of the Loud House, he was still far from being back to his old self. His skin was still covered in small blisters, rashes and boils, and Finia had to come in on a regular basis and drape damped cloths over him. At the moment he was being watched in his ministrations by Joby and Hillyard, who were standing along the side of the bunk like people paying their respects to someone lying in state.
“You’re thinner than ever”, said Joby.
“Oh come off it, Jobe”, said Hillyard “He was never exactly a chubster was he!”
“No, but look at him, he’s a right emaciated bonebag now”, said Joby.
“Thanks Joby”, said Kieran “Your bedside manner is getting almost as good as Bardin’s. He came in just now, took one look at me, said ‘I thought you’d be getting a lot better by now’, and promptly walked out again”.
“Hah”, Hillyard laughed “Wait til Bengo hears about that, he’ll chew his ear off!”
“Adam found a tin of stewed plums down in the hold yesterday”, said Joby.
“What of it?” said Hillyard.
“I’m gonna make a crumble out of it”, said Joby, in what sounded almost like a threatening manner “And If I have to force it down you, Kiel, I will”.
“Ach now Joby, you know I’m not a big fan of desserts”, said Kieran.
“I don’t care”, said Joby “You can’t go on like this. You’ll never get better if you carry on looking like a famine victim. You need something to put some energy back into you. It might even help to clear up your boils”.
“It takes time to clear up boils”, said Finia “They need lancing, and that isn’t always done at once. He always needs plenty of rest, and not too much stress”.
“Probably best if we ban old Bard from coming in here then”, said Hillyard.
“You don’t have to ban Bardin”, said Kieran “I quite enjoy his visits. It’s just that he’s always in such a flaming hurry. I wish he’d hang around and chat to me a bit. I’d like to know what our plans are for the next stage of the journey”.
“I’ll get him to pop in and see you after breakfast”, said Joby.
“The plan is to take a little detour to investigate some rocky islands up in the Northern Ocean”, Bardin explained to Kieran a short while later. Kieran had actually managed to persuade him to sit down for a little while.
“It probably won’t yield much in the way of produce”, Bardin continued “But I don’t think any of us are in any hurry to get round to the Henang region”.
“Well I’m certainly not”, said Kieran “Take as long as you like”.
“That’s what I’d like to do”, Bardin sighed “Between you and me I’m starting to feel like we’re running out of places to go. None of us have any wish to head back down to the Zilligot Bay area. The City will probably be about as welcoming as Magnolia Cove. We don’t know how far this Miserablist regime have spread. And Snow Lake seems to have vanished off the face of the Earth”.
“It does”, said Kieran “Over the years we’ve seen this world play many tricks on us when it comes to rearranging the landscape, but it doesn’t get any easier to adapt to”.
“And the New Continent is out of bounds”, said Bardin “Which leaves going back to the Hiatus Island”.
“Not necessarily”, said Kieran “There are other islands around. We just have to find them. They also come and go as if by magic. These rocky islands you mention are a case in point. I don’t remember them before. There are bound to be others like this, perhaps in more hospitable parts of the world. The journey is what’s important now. We have to accept that we don’t belong anywhere. We’ve tried to live normally in the past, and for a while it worked, like at Toondor Lanpin for instance. But those days are gone”.
“So we just keep sailing round for the rest of eternity?”
“No. We find a place where we can settle by ourselves. Like some of the monks of time gone by, who lived in remote regions and dedicated themselves to the spiritual life”.
“Like we did at Midnight Castle?” said Bardin.
“Yes”, said Kieran “Although to be blunt I think we have to find somewhere even more remote than that. Somewhere much harder for us to be found”.
“We need to put down a stake somewhere”, said Bardin “The animals need a break from being confined to the ship all the time, and we could do with some fresh produce. Find somewhere where Joby can start up a vegetable garden, an outdoor one for a change, that sort of thing. And you need to heal. Which of course does begs the question as to why we’re heading into the bleak cold far north!”
“I know it doesn’t look the most logical plan”, Kieran laughed “But I do think it might work. It’ll be a lot safer for one thing. I really do believe we won’t be followed up here. We do have to prioritise our own safety. I know the likes of Julian think I can be too Christian to a fault, but I’m not throwing all you lot under the bus to save the outside world”.
“That’s pretty strong for you”.
“Between you and me I’m quite angry. The people of Magnolia Cove actively allowed that Miserablist regime to take hold”.
“It might not be their fault”, said Bardin “Sometimes people are too busy living their own lives, and sometimes people are conned. It’s as simple as that”.
“They still should have been more on the alert. I don’t wish to sound hard, Bardin, but I lose patience when people allow themselves to be fooled by Evil”.
“Evil can be very convincing”.
“Those sort of regimes don’t happen overnight. There must have been plenty of warning signs along the way, and they chose to ignore them. It’s a sad fact of life that some people will be happy to follow any bastard regime as long as they don’t have to take any responsibility themselves. There was a saying back in my world, that ‘Some People Need A Fuhrer’. It means they want someone they can blindly follow. Ach now you look down, I didn’t mean to rant. It’s just that I am angry. One of the problems of living a long time is seeing people make the same old mistakes all the time, of the same old shit keep coming round. And we’ve seen far too much of it over the past few years”.
“Hm, Zilligot Bay went that route”, said Bardin “You sound like you’re throwing in the towel?”
“No, not that”, said KIeran “But perhaps going into retirement. I’ve had some pressure from … well from others of my kind to cross over, and sort of become a Spiritual Elder. I don’t feel I’m ready for that just yet. I want to find a safe haven for us, where we can establish our own community. God knows you all deserve it after everything that’s happened”.
Bardin returned to his own cabin at the other end of the ship. He found Bengo in there, rolling up socks.
“Isn’t that Toppy’s job?” asked Bardin.
“I said I’d do it”, said Bengo “So he can get on with polishing the dining table. You know how much he loves doing that. And I don’t want him farting around in here at the moment. I’ve been thrown out of the galley”.
“Why? What have you done?”
“Nothing. Joby wants to make a plum crumble, and we’re not allowed anywhere near him whilst that’s taking place. Adam’s been thrown out too. He’s not happy about it I can tell you”.
“Where’s Adam now?”
“Having a sherry with Julian, I think. I hope it calms him down a bit. Are you alright? You look a bit sort of put out”.
“I’m OK”, Bardin sighed, flopping into one of the fireside chairs “It’s just a bit disconcerting sometimes when Kieran shows his ruthless side”.
“Ruthless?”
“Yes, he’s angry with the people of Magnolia Cove. I’ve tried to say that it might not be their fault, but he’s not having it”.
“I guess he couldn’t exactly become Vanquisher of Evil without having a ruthless side”, said Bengo “And he doesn’t show it very often. He’s not going to do some sort of revenge thing on them is he?”
“No, nothing like that”, said Bardin “Fortunately he’s more fixated on getting us to a safe place. I can’t see it being the rocky islands somehow, but at least we can explore it. We are meant to be traveller nomads after all. Do you think Adam’s cross enough to take it out on my backside? I could do with a bloody good spanking right now. It seems to have been ages since the last one”.
“It’ll probably do him the power of good too”, said Bengo.
They arrived in the vicinity of the Rocky Islands early that afternoon. The sea was still unexpectedly still, and the whole atmosphere since arriving at the Loud House had been one of stillness. During their stay near the Loud House the weather hadn’t changed at all. It had been days of flat greyness. No wind, no rain, and not much in the way of sun. This calm malaise had persisted to this region. It was as if the evil of the Demon Lands had even managed to suck the life out of the weather. In some perverse way though it had a strange beauty all of its own.
“It’s weird and magical”, said Elaine.
“I sometimes think you could find a positive note anywhere”, said Rosa, as they stood together on the rear deck of the yacht.
“But it is though, don’t you think?”
“Yes I see what you mean. You have to open yourself to it. We’re so conditioned to see beauty in only colourful things, and bright sunlight. And yet this has a beauty too. Even so”, said Rosa, tugging her long woollen cardigan around her “It would be nice to have some bright sunlight occasionally, just for a change”.
Both boats sailed round to the eastern side of the island where there was a small slither of beach, and rocks where they could moor and clamber across. It was very precarious navigating the waterways around the island. An accidental stumble on a hidden rock could wreck enormous damage to the boats.
“We won’t go any closer than we have to”, said Bardin “Moor by one of the rocks on the outer edges, and then we’ll climb across. I doubt there’s much to see here anyway”.
He walked across the deck in the direction of the head of the stairs, and found Adam leaning against the hatch.
“I am NOT planning on us staying here for any longer than is completely necessary”, said Bardin “All this is just to satisfy people’s curiosity, that’s all”.
“Well from what Bengo’s just told me”, said Adam, in a soft voice “You might be quite anxious to get back”.
Bardin gave him a lascivious look.
“If anyone tries to linger on this blasted island”, he said “I won’t be at all pleased”.
“Let’s meet in your cabin at about 6 o’clock”, said Adam.
“Will that get in the way of preparing supper?”
“Joby can do it. As he’s so keen to have the galley to himself”.
“Ooh you’re a hard man to cross”, Bardin teased.
“I am perfectly serene about it”, said Adam “Particularly if I know I can firmly caress your lovely trim butt later. When I think of all the times in the early days when Joby would have a fit if I dared suggest he make a pudding, I’m finding this sudden overwhelming urge of his to make plum crumble quite amusing really”.
Bardin felt his behind tingling pleasantly at the prospect of what lay ahead later.
“Bardin!” H shouted from a short distance away “Mind if I take one of the air-buggies up and circle over the island?”
“Be my guest”, said Bardin “Will probably be the best way of seeing it, what there is to see anyway!”
Kieran appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing dark glasses and a blanket around his shoulders. He looked thinner and paler than ever in the ethereal daylight.
“Even this light’s a bit harsh on the old eyes”, he explained “I guess I’ve been down below for too long lately”.
“I take it you’re not coming with us?” said Bardin.
“No, but I think you’ll be OK”, said Kieran “As you take it cautiously, and get back on board before twilight comes”.
“If I have my way we’ll be back on board within the hour!” said Bardin.
In the end the shore-party was comprised of Bengo, Bardin, Hillyard, Rumble, Lonts, the girls from the yacht, (except Rosa, who was flying in the buggy with H), Nyx and Hal. No one else seemed terribly keen. Julian said he could see everything the island had to offer from the comfort of the galleon’s main deck. Ransey wanted to go below and play with the wireless set. Mieps said she had no interest in the island because it was plain to see that there was no wildlife there. There was nothing to hunt. Even bird life was conspicuous by its absence.
“That’s a bit odd for an island in the ocean isn’t it?” said Bengo “Normally you’d expect it be covered in bird crap”.
“Let’s just accept that anything is possible”, said Bardin.
“It seems odd going ashore without Kieran”, said Lonts.
“Don’t worry”, said Bardin “He’ll be watching us from the main deck”.
They clambered carefully over the rocks. The stillness on the island was so intense that even the sea didn’t seem to be making much impact in the way of noise. It lapped almost silently against the rocks. The only profound noises were the scrambling noises they were making themselves, and the drone of the air-buggy as it circled round the area.
“I thought the Northern Ocean would be all forbiddingly wild and stormy”, said Elaine, as she straightened up from a crouching position “I never thought it would be as still as this”.
“It’s a strange area”, said Rumble “I don’t think it’s entirely real. But Kieran would be the one to talk to about that. It’s much more in his line”.
Elaine scanned the high bank of rocks which loomed up at the back of the island. It would be impossible to scale them without strong ropes and a pickaxe.
“I know everyone’s going to say I’ve got an over-active imagination”, she said “But it feels like we’re being watched”.
She looked at Bardin and expected him to make some sharp rebuke at her, but he had had the same sensation himself.
“Let’s just have a quick look round and get back to the boats”, he said, pulling his duffel coat around him “I don’t know what we’re doing here anyway”.
He led the way up a clump of rocks which appeared to lead to a small aperture a short way up.
Elaine scanned the rocks again, and gave a start. She was convinced she had seen a shape like an eye cut into one of the boulders higher up.
“Come on”, Rumble squeezed her arm “Let’s do what the man says, and then the sooner we can leave”.
Bardin squeezed through the narrow gap in the rocks, closely followed by Bengo. Both switched on their torches and scanned the moderately-sized cavern inside.
“I’m not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t this”, said Bardin.
The chamber was sparsely-furnished but decorated like an Arctic bar. A wooden counter was at one end of the room, and a fur-covered banquette at the other. Fur carpets decorated the floor and a lot of the wall space. Behind the bar counter were a selection of bottles, which appeared to have been used, and just abandoned there. Some were completely empty, but others had the dregs of amber-coloured liquid in them.
“This doesn’t make any sense”, said Bengo, sounding quite aggrieved “What the hell is a bar doing in a Godforsaken place like this?”
“I don’t know”, said Bardin, quietly. He shone his torch over the walls and behind the counter, to see if there were any other significant gaps in the walls.
“OK”, he continued “I’m going to try and be charitable here, and think someone set this place up as a refuge for adventurous travellers like ourselves. I don’t want to think of it from the negative point of view, that it’s a trap of some kind”.
“Well there’s no signs of any violence”, said Bengo “Or blood. Perhaps it IS a refuge”.
There was a copper and glass hand lantern left on the bar counter, with a thick white church candle in it. Bardin held it up.
“This hasn’t been lit in a long while”, he said “And the dust is quite thick on the bar top and on the bottles. It seems we’re the first ones here for quite some time”.
“We haven’t seen any other ships since we left Magnolia Cove”, said Bengo “And none of them seemed to leave the harbour area. I can’t imagine anyone’s been up this way in eons”.
Elaine appeared at the entrance, looking very excited.
“Guys! Something’s happened”, she said.
“What?” asked Bardin, cautiously.
“It’s snowing!!” she exclaimed.
“Is that all?” said Bardin “I thought something dramatic had happened”.
“Oh come off it, Bardy, this is pretty dramatic”, said Bengo “We’ve had nothing but blank weather since we left Magnolia Cove. It’s just been nothing but greyness really. That it’s snowing is quite something”.
“What on earth is this place?” said Elaine, standing wedged in the doorway.
“Probably the world’s remotest pub”, said Bardin “We’ll discuss it back on the galleon”.
He stepped out into the cold air, and saw thick, feathery snowflakes swirling down in a silent, graceful fashion.
“I never thought I’d be so pleased to see snow”, he said “At least that’s something we understand!”
Whilst the others were returning from the island, Adam was leaning on the wall outside the wireless room, which gave Ransey something of a jolt when he came out.
“What are you doing there?” Ransey demanded to know.
“I’m not allowed back in the galley until the sacred plum crumble is out of the oven”, said Adam “And I was somewhat concerned that you were obsessing over the wireless set again”.
“Not for much longer”, said Ransey “I’ve disconnected it again. I know I should have mentioned it to Bardin first, but I hope he doesn’t mind”.
“I can’t imagine he will. He hates it”.
“Does he? He’s never mentioned that to me”.
“Well he hasn’t said it in so many words”, said Adam “But he does tend to avoid that room, and he’s usually quite relieved when you’ve had one of your disconnecting sessions. What’s brought it on this time? Have you picked something up?”
“Come in here”, Ransey coaxed him into Bengo and Bardin’s empty cabin “Some weird garbled messages from Magnolia Cove. I’ve heard some barmy things in my time, but it makes me think that whoever is in that regime there has lost their fricking minds. If they had any to start with”.
“What sort of messages?” said Adam “Were they aimed at us?”
“Put it this way, they mention Kieran and his band of losers”.
“Oh dear”.
“We’re a band of losers and we’ve run away to our safe place”, said Ransey “A lot of demented jeering along those lines. Absolutely infantile stuff. I’m surprised they didn’t go the full hog and blow raspberries at us as well”.
“That sounds classically demonic to me”, said Kieran, appearing in the doorway like a supernatural wraith “Remember that strange chanting we heard at the old railway station that time? It sounds along those lines”.
“It was like that, yes”, said Ransey “They kept repeating the same words over and over again. It was like chanting. Deranged chanting. KIERAN. HIS BAND OF LOSERS. RUNNING AWAY. TO THEIR SAFE SPACE. TERRIBLE PEOPLE. I’ve removed all the effing-and-blinding that was sandwiched in, but otherwise it was like some weird free verse poetry. Frankly, if that’s the worst they can do, we’ve got nothing to worry about!”
“Sadly I doubt very much it’s the worst they can do”, said Kieran “Not by a long way. But if it’s any reassurance I’m taking it as a message that we’re reasonably safe up here. The taunting is to try and lure us back into their territory”.
“How on earth do they think that would work?” Ransey exclaimed.
“Because I suspect they judge everybody by themselves”, said Kieran “If someone threw out a challenge like that to them they wouldn’t be able to resist going back for a fight, and to completely destroy the person who had taunted them. It’s how they operate. They don’t understand the concept of turning the other cheek, or walking away from a fight. To them it’s cowardly. You did the right thing by disconnecting the wireless set”.
“I don’t know why we ever re-connected the blasted thing”, said Adam “I know it was to try and find out what was going on in the outside world, but I’m rapidly not caring what’s going on in the outside world. Perhaps we’ve been up here for too long, or out on the high seas, but the outside world feels even less real than normal these days”.
“If they are too afraid to follow us up here, then they’re the bloody cowards!” said Ransey.
“As I’ve said before, they’re afraid of the Loud House”, said Kieran “Evil operates on many different levels, and the Magnolia Cove lot, powerful though they undoubtedly are, are a rung below the ones at the Loud House. Evil can be afraid of each other too”.
“Hmm yes I saw that when I was in prison all those years ago”, said Adam “There were a hard core of inmates who terrified everybody. I knew men who deliberately harmed themselves or got into trouble to avoid spending any time in the same area as them. Hardened men who you wouldn’t think would normally be afraid of anyone”.
There was a flurry of activity outside the cabin door as the shore party returned. The dogs were barking excitedly, and Bengo and Bardin thumped down the quarterdeck steps, moistened by the snow flurries.
“You won’t believe it!” said Bengo, pulling off his woolly hat “But there’s a bar on that island. A bar of all things!”
“It’s been abandoned for many years I suspect”, said Bardin “Not much there. Some seats and a few old near-empty bottles”.
“You didn’t bring any of it back with you?” said Kieran.
“No”, said Bardin “God knows what that stuff is or how long it’s been there. It looked about as appealing as petrol”. “Oh and another thing”, said Bengo “It’s snowing!”
“I think we should move away from the island overnight”, said Kieran.
He was chatting to Hillyard outside his cabin door a short while later.
“We can move a bit further out into the ocean”, said Hillyard “Do you suspect something is on the island then?”
“I'm not sure”, Kieran sighed “But it never does any harm to be cautious and distrustful. I'm getting a little tired of thinking that way to be honest!”
“I think you need to have a nap. You look tired”.
“Yes I guess I have to brace myself for Joby's plum crumble. He's practically threatening to tie me to a chair and force it down me”.
“Well we have to get you better don't we?” Hillyard squeezed the shoulder of his old friend.
“All of this is very frustrating”, said Kieran “I miss helping you with the horses. And I guess being back in this region again has made me uncomfortably aware of the passage of time. We were so damn young back then”.
“We certainly were. You were such a skinny little sod. Mind you, not much has changed in that department!”
“I'm feeling tired with having to try and anticipate the next thing Evil will throw at us. It's funny how the nature of Evil has changed over the years. It was more straightforward somehow in our younger days, battling vampires at The Winter Palace, and Father Gabriel’s voodoo antics”, said Kieran “This new stuff is harder to grapple, like knitting smoke. It's more psychological, shape-shifting and ethereal. I can't help feeling that makes it more dangerous somehow”.
Kieran went into his cabin and flopped down on the bunk, pulling the blankets around him. He was so tired he immediately drifted off into sleep. Almost immediately a voice penetrated his slumbers, coming from somewhere deep in the astral plane.
“Hey you, you’ve got to help me!” it called out.
“Oh fuck off Angel, I know it’s you”, Kieran replied, murmuring in his sleep.
“You’ve gotta help me, I tell you!” it yelled “Do you think I’d be asking YOU if I wasn’t desperate”.
“Well OK I know it’s definitely you”, Kieran replied “It has all your natural charm”.
“I haven’t time for all that”, said Angel “I’m using all my energy to contact you like this. They’ve got me in prison. Back at Henang”.
“Henang hasn’t been in use for several decades. Nice try”.
“For fuck’s sake, listen to me! I’m being deadly serious. They’ve got me in total isolation here. It’s a living death. I’m incarcerated underground. No one’s allowed anywhere near me. You’ve gotta help me!”
“WHY?” Kieran shouted into the ether “It’s probably the best place for you! How did they get you?”
“I haven’t time for all that”.
“Who are They then?”
“You know who They are”, said Angel “You’ve seen what they did to Magnolia Cove, and They’ve done it to The City as well. That’s where they trapped me”.
“Even if all this is true, why the hell should I help you? As I said, it’s probably best if you are there. The world will be a damn sight safer”.
“Oh yeah? You haven’t got a clue, Kieran! Not if you think that. I thought you’d know better than that. This lot are a damn sight worse than I could ever be. I tapped into what you were talking about just now. About how Evil has changed, and you were right. This lot are a damn sight worse than you knew when you first crossed over here”.
“You’re using my words against me”.
“It’s true! Yeah I’m a vampire, yes, I use living things for sustenance. It’s the way I’m made! But this lot … they want to control people’s minds. It’s their souls they feed off. And you’re right to be worried about them. They are well on their way to controlling the world! And you needn’t think you and your merry little band are going to be safe. You might think you are at the moment, but do you really think you can stay up there in the cold wastes forever? At some point you’ll have to move on, and they will be waiting for you. And it doesn’t matter to them how long they have to wait. They’ve got me now, which has been a big bonus-point for them, but you’re the big one. They want you. If they can separate and destroy you lot, like they’re doing to me right now, then they will have absolute power. They will control everything. And I mean everything. Oh fuck, I’m losing energy. I’m drained. If you can’t help me, then do it for everyone else”.
“I have to think about this”, said Kieran “For all I know this could be a very clever trap. It might not even be you I’m talking to here, it might be one of them impersonating you”. “It’s me”, said Angel, now sounding completely exhausted “Alright, I’ll remind you of something. Something no one else knows. Remember that conversation you and me had at the Loud House, after we’d had our knock-down fight all those years ago?”
“Yes I do”, said Kieran, quietly “It was the one time you opened up to me. Let me in, as it were. But what if they’re telepathic? What if they can intrude on your thoughts and memories? I’m not trying to be stubborn here, Angel, but I have to consider all this”.
“They’re not telepathic”, said Angel “It’s one of the few areas they’re vulnerable. Yeah, they can get into people’s minds and manipulate them. That’s what they do. But they can’t read our thoughts, our memories, because they don’t understand them. They don’t understand how all that works. It’s too human, and they’re not multi-dimensional enough. I-I can’t explain it any other way. It’s complicated, and I’m almost out of juice here”.
“They’re spirit vampires?”
“Yeah, and they’re a damn sight worse than my sort, I can promise you that …”
He vanished suddenly. It was like a telephone line being cut off. Kieran woke up and stared up at the ceiling for a moment, whitened by the falling snow outside. He rolled onto his side.
“Think think think!” he urged himself “Dear Lord, please help me with this one”.
Kieran astonished everyone at suppertime by asking for TWO helpings of Joby’s plum crumble.
“Are you taking the piss?” said Joby.
“Oh now Joby, that’s scarcely very fair, old love”, said Adam “You moan that you’ll practically have to force it down him, and then when he asks for two helpings, you moan that he’s taking the piss”.
“That’s our Jobe for you”, said Hillyard.
“Everyone keeps telling me I’m having to keep my strength up”, said Kieran “And I need to eat more, so here I am!”
Joby set to, scooping up generous helpings of the crumble, which turned out to be very nice and very filling.
“Rosa will want the recipe”, said Adam.
“It’s a nice and simple one”, said Joby “Though the original recipe had fresh oranges too,, and we can’t exactly run to those at the moment”.
After supper Kieran asked Joby to come back to their cabin with him, and informed him of his plan to visit Angel.
“I thought it only right to tell you”, said Kieran “I don’t want to keep you in the dark about anything. I shall use the old astral plane to get to him”.
“Thought you might”, said Joby “Are you sure about this, Kiel? It sounds very unsafe to me”.
“Believe me, I wouldn’t risk it if I wasn’t confident I’d be OK”, said Kieran “I shall be there the very bare minimum of time, I promise you”.
“Are you really gonna let him out?”
“Angel may be a product of the darkness, but he’s still one of us”.
“Huh, I’m not sure about that”, said Joby.
“He’s been with us since the beginning”, said Kieran “He’s my dark side”.
“You’re nothing like him!”
“I think you know what I mean, Joby. What I’m trying to say is that even Angel isn’t anything like this new crowd”.
“Blimey, they must be bad”.
“They are. And although it pains me to say it we have to use bad things against them. Like when we released the smallpox victim back at the Loud House. If it’s any reassurance my feeling is that we can also achieve a lot by simply ignoring them. They will hate that. It deprives them of vital sustenance. But sometimes we also have to use dark tools”.
“Well Angel’s certainly a tool alright!” said Joby.
“I know you’re going to say I’m a gullible sod”, said Kieran “But I actually feel sorry for him”.
“Wait til he gets out and starts slaughtering things again”.
“What they’ve done to him is what they want to do to us if they got their greasy mitts on us. That thought is intolerable”.
“OK let’s crack on with is shall we”, said Joby, with resignation “I’ll tell the others you’re fagged out after eating my plum crumble and are having an early night”.
“Now don’t you sit in here all by yourself, waiting for me to come back”, said Kieran “I shall be as quick as I can. You go and find something to distract you”.
“I’ll probably end up reading a Happy Bears story to Lonts”, said Joby “He’s been nagging me to ever since we got up here”.
The most obvious thing Kieran noticed when he found himself in the underground chambers of Henang Prison was the intense darkness. A maze of corridors led off in all directions, all saturated in forbidding blackness. Fortunately this helped him find his way to Angel, as Angel’s chamber was the only one that had any illumination whatsoever, and that small speck of light shone out for some distance.
Angel was confined to a large glass cage, which was situated in the middle of a room. It was lit by a light hung above the cage, and the cage itself was furnished with only a bed and chair, and a small hole in the floor for lavatory purposes. It wasn’t easy to see Angel. He was standing at the back of the cage, wrapped in a blanket, and out of the direct range of the light.
“Holy Mother”, said Kieran, quietly “It’s Hannibal Lecter’s cage!”
“What are you talking about?” came Angel’s voice, which sounded weak and not a little rusty.
“Nothing”, Kieran approached the cage, but stayed out of arm’s length “Show yourself”.
Angel reluctantly stepped into the glare of the white light. He was completely emaciated. His eyes stood out in his skull-like face, dark and almost lifeless.
“They’re starving me”, said Angel “Occasionally they chuck food in here, but they know it’s not the kind of food I want. I can’t die, so they can’t starve me to death, but they can make me have an eternal living death”.
“Do you have guards?” said Kieran, looking round him “Where are they now?”
“They spend most of their time up there”, Angel looked upwards “I don’t think they like it down here. They come down once or twice a day, to check in on me. But they usually stay at the entrance. Why won’t you move any closer?”
“Because even a skinny bone-bag like me might be too tempting for you at the moment!” said Kieran.
“Why would I attack the one and only person who can help me? I might be evil, but even evil knows what’s useful to it and what isn’t”.
“Have you been in here all the time?”
Angel shook his head.
“When I first arrived here, they took me out into the old exercise yard”, he said “I think it was to parade me in front of the other prisoners. They were allowed to watch from their cell windows, but weren’t allowed to call down to me. I think it was done to show them that this place is so powerful it even has the Devil caged down in the basement”.
“There are other prisoners here then?” said Kieran “The last time I saw this place it had been derelict for years”.
“The powers-that-be started it up again recently. There aren’t many prisoners here. Only a handful. I don’t know who they are, but my instinct is they’re political prisoners, ones who stood up to the new regime in The City and Magnolia Cove. THEY brought them here to feed off them, feed off their terror I mean”.
“What I don’t understand is why you don’t get yourself out of here. You can move supernaturally”.
“Hah!” said Angel, mirthlessly “You don’t think they hadn’t thought of that one? They’ve saturated this place with things that limit my power. And I need energy to move, lots of it. And I’m getting less of it every day”.
“Are the guards human?”
“Yes. That’s why they’re afraid of me, and why they don’t like being in here”.
“Well that’s something in our favour anyway”, said Kieran.
“Odd for us isn’t it”, said Angel “Being back here where it all started”.
“If I let you out, there’s one condition to all this”, said Kieran “You don’t harm the other prisoners here”.
“Listen mate”, said Angel “If I get out of here I’m not hanging round long enough to harm anyone, I can promise you that! I don’t want to see this vile cesspit again!”
“Before you leave here completely”, said Kieran “There’s an island to the north-east of here, up in the Northern Ocean, there’s no one on it …”
“I know it”.
“Meet me there tomorrow, just for a few minutes. For some God only knows what reason, there’s an empty bar on the island. We can meet there. I know you can get yourself there supernaturally, so there shouldn’t be any problem there”.
“Why do you want to meet me there?”
“There are still some things I want to ask you”, said Kieran “And it’ll be safer to talk there. It won’t be for very long. Now might be a good time to remind you that you will owe me some massive favours after this”.
“When don’t I?” Angel gave a brief, bark-like laugh.
Kieran muttered a few words of prayer to himself, and then leaned against the cage door. He felt a strange sensation, as if the bars of the cage were gently melting under his body. Still clutching the blanket around him, Angel stepped through the bars, which were like a force-field that hadn’t entirely disintegrated. When he was safely out of the cage, he and Kieran stood facing each other in the grim room for a few moments.
“Don’t linger”, said Kieran, and then he slowly disappeared, like a ghost de-materialising.
The Governor of Henang Prison was an exhausted man. When he had first been sent to this grim outpost of the world he had actually been quite relieved. It was not exactly a desirable place to be, but at least he would be well away from the relentless fear of so-called “civilisation”. In the few months he had been here he had not felt the presence of “Them” at all, and could only assume they had no interest in coming out here, where the pickings for fuel were so small. They couldn’t even feed on the fear of the prisoners, who were such a beaten down lot that most of them simply lived in a state of weary resignation. But the grim surroundings, and the constant fear that They could appear at any moment, had made the Governor seriously ill. A fact which he had tried to keep from the outside world, because he didn’t want to risk being recalled to the City, where They had installed themselves in the old Ministry HQ.
And now something terrible had happened. And if it got out then there was no knowing what the retribution from Them would be.
“How?” he said, looking aghast at the trio of shabby prison officers standing in front of him.
None of them looked in any better condition than he did. They were tired and scruffy. One of them had wrapped bandages around his hands, from where he had been self-harming.
“We don’t know, Sir”, said one of the guards “It’s beyond us. There was no sign of any violence or a break-in. When we went down there for the usual 8 PM check-up, the cage was just completely deserted. It was as if he’d vanished into thin air”.
“But that cage was completely impregnable!” the Governor protested “Every possible measure was taken to ensure that it was. Was there any sign that the door had been tampered with?”
“The only thing I noticed”, said another guard “Was a strange sort of thin liquid around a few of the bars. A gel-like liquid. I have no idea what it could be. It felt warm to the touch, and evaporated like smoke”.
“Something supernatural if you ask me”, mumbled the one with the bandages “Sorry Sir, but that’s the only explanation there can be. Something out of this realm rescued him”.
“Another vampire?” asked the Governor, in a weak voice.
The guard shrugged and held out his bandaged hands, in a helpless gesture.
“B-but how could a vampire have got in?” said the Governor “We secured the basement with every possible psychic booby-trap we could think of”.
“There must be something we didn’t think of then”, said one of the other guards, bluntly “Either that or it’s a vampire so powerful that it’s impervious to our barriers”.
“My God”, the Governor paced up and down for a moment, running his hand over his head. He stopped and turned to look at the others.
“We mustn’t let this get out”, he said “If news of this reaches Them in the City, then there will be no hope for us. Do you understand? We must carry on with the routine of the prison as normal, as if that creature was still down there. Don’t mention this to anyone! As far as the rest of the prison is concerned, Angel is still a captive here”.
“That should be easy enough”, said one of the guards “Apart from that one time in the exercise yard when he was first brought here, none of the other prisoners ever saw him”.
“What if he’s still around here though?” said the one with the bandages, nervously “What if he chooses to hang around and haunt the place? What if he preys on the other prisoners?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it”, said the Governor “We can always say they’re imagining things, the result of too much time banged up in their cells. The stress of it all and the extreme isolation. Bound to have an effect on someone. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling though that he’s gone. Or perhaps I’m clutching at straws, simply hoping he has. We must simply try and ride this one out. And we must support one another on this, understood?”
The guards all nodded wearily, and turned to leave the room.
“I hope I wasn’t too long”, said Kieran, when he and Joby found themselves alone in their cabin once more.
“No, as long as you’re back safely, that’s the main thing”, said Joby “How did you get on?”
“Well he’s out”, said Kieran “And I’ll have to live with whatever the consequences are of that. I know you probably think I’m being a soft-hearted silly old eejit, but my motives weren’t entirely Christian. In this latest unholy battle Angel is a lot more use to us freed, than he is caged up”.
“What was it like there?”
“Put it this way, not the sort of place you’d want to spend your holidays! I only saw the basement, and that was about as grim as it gets. Excessively cold, silent and dark. Reminded me of parts of the old Winter Palace, back in the grim old days. Neither of us felt the urge to linger, and I wasn’t in any mood to go looking for our old cell, for old time’s sake”.
Kieran sat down wearily on the sofa.
“I had to keep fighting down an anxiety feeling”, he said “That I might not get away from it again”.
“Can understand that”, said Joby “I’ll pour us a whisky. It should warm you up”.
“You’re a champ”.
“Where’s he gone now?”
“Probably not far tonight”, said Kieran, gratefully accepting a tumbler of whisky “I want to meet up with him tomorrow on the island here. Just for a few minutes. I’ve got some added things to say to him, but I didn’t want to spend any further time in that place. Don’t worry, it won’t be for long. I can’t imagine he’s going to want to stay and chat for a long while either. He urgently needs nourishment”.
“If you want to meet him tomorrow we’re gonna have to tell the others what you’ve been doing”, said Joby “That might set the cat among the pigeons”.
“Probably not as much as you might think”, said Kieran “Nobody went ballistic when I went travelling over to the Demon House back there. My only concern is that some of us - particuilarly the neighbours - might worry that Angel will be after them. He won’t be. He knows better than to shit on his own doorstep. If he tries anything like that I’ll tear his other ear off!”
“I think you need some extra warmth tonight”, said Joby “This room is bloody freezing. Let’s go and camp out in Bengo and Bardin’s cabin. Take advantage of their fireplace”.
“That sounds a great idea”.
“Better give it a little while though. Adam giving Bardin a good old seeing-to at the moment. We had to wait until all the neighbours had gone back to the yacht”.
“Ah good”, said Kieran “So Bardin will be all mellow and chastised tonight”.
“Not for long probably”, Joby snorted “Better make the most of it whilst it lasts!”
“I wish I knew what the exact date was. I can get some idea from the position of the stars, but it’s not perfect”, said Bardin, standing on the main deck in the chilly, grey dawn light the following morning “At some point, if we stay up here, we’ll be heading into permanent darkness”.
“I don’t even know how long it is since we left Magnolia Cove”, said Rumble, who was just coming to the end of night-watch duty “We seemed to stop taking account of the time at the Loud House. I don’t know how long we were there”.
“The Winter seems to have been closing in since we got up here”, said Bardin, tasting stray snowflakes on his lips “We’re going to have to decide where we head off to next. Do we stay hiding up here, or risk going back further south”.
“I think anything’s better than heading backwards down that way”, said Rumble, gesturing behind him.
“That won’t happen”, said Bardin “Anything but that. Go and get some sleep”.
He turned to go below deck, and took a look at the rocky island. There was a narrow entrance to a cavern at the eastern point of the island. It looked like someone squinting at them.
“I wish this place would stop giving me the feeling it’s watching us!” he said.
He went down the quarterdeck steps. Below deck felt cosy after the chilling temperatures above. Adam, Joby and Bengo were preparing breakfast, and the dogs were sprawled in the corridor. Bardin stepped over them, and went into his cabin, shedding his outdoor clothes as he went.
“Is it still snowing?” said Kieran, who was sitting by the fire.
“Mm yes, and the wind’s getting up a bit”, said Bardin, shaking his hat free “We might be heading into blizzard conditions. Try not to be too long on the island. I think we need to get away from here as soon as possible”.
Angel had been feeding. His face had a slightly bloated look, which Kieran recognised of old. Kieran held up his lantern to look at him, but Angel backed away instinctively. Joby put his own lantern on the bar-counter, and sat down on one of the stools. The squally wind was starting to howl around the island.
“Animals”, said Angel, as if answering a telepathic question of Kieran’s “Outside of the prison there are no people up in this part of the world. I shall have to head south when we’ve finished here”.
“I had a feeling you would be”, said Kieran “It’s one of the reasons I let you out. I want you to tell me what you find there”.
“So I’m to be some sort of scout messenger for you?”
“Angel …”
“I owe you favours”, said Angel “Yes I know I know”.
“How did They catch you?” asked Joby.
“It was at the Ministry HQ in The City”, said Angel.
“What were you doing there?” said Joby.
“Partly nosiness”, Angel shrugged “Plus they’ve got people captive down in the cellars there. Easy pickings. People are so scared and wary in The City these days that not many venture out on their own, particularly after dark. But the amount of prisoners they’ve got underground is remarkable”.
“Presumably They’re feeding off their torment?” said Kieran.
Angel nodded.
“I stupidly kept returning to it”, said Angel “They must have sensed I was around, and laid a trap for me. They cornered me in a cell, and secured it with a lot of anti-vampire stuff, like they did at the prison. I couldn’t get out. They bound me down with knotted ropes. I tried to dematerialise, but I couldn’t manage it completely. As my energy got drained, the more easier I was to secure. They’re thorough, you have to give them that. There isn’t a torture or a captivity they don’t know about. I tell you something, they have actually got people buried alive in the walls down there …”
“OK OK I get it”, said Kieran.
“You might have to go there at some point”, said Angel “If you want to do it astrally, I can accompany you. I know my way around there now, and I’ve got much wiser to their traps. But I think you need to get stronger first. You’re still not in good shape, and it won’t take much for them to overpower you right now”.
“The Loud House did a lot of damage to him”, said Joby.
“It’s alright”, said Kieran, softly “I know the score”.
“Neither of us are in good shape are we?” said Angel.
“Does that make you feel better?” said Joby.
“Not really”, said Angel “I’d like to work with you, believe it or not. I’ve had enough boredom lately to last me several lifetimes. And I hate those bastards for what they did to me at Henang. No one’s imprisoned me since the first time we were there, and those bastards aren’t gonna do it again, not if I can help it. I want them destroyed every bit as much as you do. I tell you, Kieran, this lot are worse than anything we’ve known before. At least you know where you are with my sort. That lot are like a bunch of shapeshifting tricksters”.
“I’ve been saying pretty much the same meself”, said Kieran.
“There’s something else you need to know right now”, said Angel “It’s extremely important. This bunch are going to bring back the Purge Of The Women”.
“What the focking hell?!” Kieran exclaimed.
“But surely people won’t let them do it again?” said Joby.
“Hah!” said Angel “Humans are so brain-dead gullible at times that they’ll follow anything. There’s enough of ‘em who believe in these shapeshifters. They’re not cowed by fear, like some are, they actually believe They’re a force for good”.
“I can’t believe it”, said Kieran, slapping the bar-counter in frustration “Not again. No”.
“You need to know this”, said Angel “You’ve got women amongst you now, and They’ll be as much after them as They are after you, if not more so”.
“There must be something we can do to stop it”, said Kieran “There must be!”
“It’s all just words at the moment”, said Angel “But believe me, They are actively considering it. There is nothing this lot aren’t capable of”.
There were voices outside the bar. Bardin was clearly getting restless.
“We have to leave now”, said Kieran “The weather’s closing in. But I want you to keep me informed as much as you can”.
The boats left the island as soon as Kieran and the others left it. They were only travelling a short distance for the rest of the day, until the night closed in once more. But it was comforting for many of them to hear the engines running again. The strange little island had been eerily unsettling. Even the vast expanse of the Northern Ocean felt preferable to being within its vicinity for much longer.
“Bardin, you’ll wear a hole in that carpet if you keep this up”, said Kieran, now ensconced by the fire in Bengo and Bardin’s cabin. Bardin had been pacing up and down the room ever since they had got back on-board. He paused and turned to face Kieran.
“How can you be sure we can trust him?” he said “Angel I mean. How do we know this isn’t all an elaborate trick? That he’s not working for Them?”
“The idea of Angel being anyone’s lackey!” said Kieran, giving a snort of laughter “One thing you must understand about Angel is that he only does things for the benefit of himself. He’s a lone wolf. The idea that he would willingly help anyone else is just unfathomable”.
“Well he’s helping you”, Bardin pointed out.
“Because I released him from that horrendous prison cell”, said Kieran “Angel may be a lot of things, but he’s not a master deceiver. He’s a very basic creature, motivated by blood lust, resentment and anger. He hates that lot for imprisoning him, the same way a savage wild animal would hate being caged. He wants revenge on them for that, and he knows I’m his best chance of getting it”.
“I hope you’re right”, Bardin mumbled “How do I break it to the girls what he’s told us?”
“You don’t have to”, said Kieran “I’ll go over to the yacht tomorrow morning and tell them myself”.
“It would be better coming from you”.
“It’s not something I’m looking forward to, but they have every right to know. Damn this world sometimes”, said Kieran, staring intently into the fire “Sometimes I think it is time I crossed over. I’m getting to that dangerous state of mind where I don’t believe it’s worth helping anymore”.
Bardin tried desperately to think of a response to this. He was saved from doing so by Tamaz suddenly bursting into the room, looking like an avenging angel.
“What’s the matter with you?” said Bardin.
Tamaz slammed the door shut behind him and stamped over to Kieran.
“You seem to be forgetting one thing”, said Tamaz “I can help too!”
“Tamaz, I appreciate what you’re saying”, said Kieran “But this lot we’re up against now are intangible shapeshifters …”
“Rubbish!” said Tamaz, gripping the back of the armchair on the other side of the fireplace “They have to take solid form sometimes, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to exert the power they do, and I can gorgonise them then”.
“Even if you did”, said Bardin “Wouldn’t they just live their solid bodies and disappear back into their ethereal selves?”
“No no, Tamaz has a point”, said Kieran, although he was saying it mainly as a means to encourage Tamaz to carry on being forceful. Tamaz had been forlorn and downbeat since leaving Zilligot Bay, and it was easy to forget what a fiery little soul he had once been.
“Of course I’ve got a point!” said Tamaz, with more than a flash of the old Tamaz.
“But you’d be putting yourself in danger too”, said Bardin.
“Oh big deal!” said Tamaz “As if I hadn’t done that before! What do you think I am, some kind of delicate, fragile creature?”
“Well you’ve been giving a pretty good impression of one these past few months!” said Bardin.
Tamaz glared at him and slammed back out of the room again.
“Good grief”, said Bardin “I’m amazed I didn’t turn to stone then!”
“It’s good to have him back”, said Kieran.
First thing after breakfast the next day Kieran prepared to go over to the yacht. They were all anchored out on the icy, eerily flat calm of the Northern Ocean. Everywhere around was bathed in a silvery-grey half-light. It felt like being on a different planet. Hillyard tied a rope around Kieran and lowered him onto the roof the wheelhouse of the yacht. He was collected there by Woolly, who helped him below. The four women were assembled in the saloon area of the yacht.
“I don’t like the feel of this”, said Elaine, as the four of them stood in a row awaiting Kieran’s arrival “Why does he only want to see us?”
“I guess we’ll soon find out”, said Rosa, standing solidly in her ankle-length candlewick dressing-gown.
“He’s not going to send us back is he?” asked Elaine.
“Back where?” said Glynis “Don’t be a goose, Elly”.
Kieran came into the room, shaking excess moisture off his oilskin coat.
“This sounds serious”, said Glynis.
“It is”, said Kieran “And I’ll get straight to the point. Angel has given me some information which is very disturbing, and I think you all have a right to know what it is”.
“At a shrewd guess, something to do with us being women”, said Jane.
“Those evil shapeshifting bastards at Magnolia Cove, and in The City”, said Kieran “Are said to be planning to bring back the Purge of The Women”.
Elaine raised her hands to her mouth and had to stifle a scream. Jane turned slightly to face away from him, to give herself a moment of privacy to absorb the news.
“I always dreaded that this day might come again”, said Glynis, quietly.
“Surely people won’t stand for it again?” said Rosa.
“I’d like to say that I have more faith in people that it won’t”, said Kieran “But we have to be realistic here. We saw how the population of Magnolia Cove allowed themselves to be virtually lobotimised by the regime there, and what it’s done to them. And from what I can gather the ones in The City aren’t much better”.
“Could Angel be tricking us?” said Elaine.
“Bardin asked me that too”, said Kieran “But I don’t believe he is. There is no denying what kind of a creature Angel is, but in all the years I’ve known him I’ve never known him to be a trickster. It’s one of the very few things he has going for him! He also hates that bunch of bastards even more than I do, which takes some doing. As I said to Bardin, they imprisoned him, and he won’t forget that in a hurry”.
“And he owes you a debt of gratitude for releasing him from it”, said Rosa.
“That’s another thing in our favour”, said Kieran “Angel operates almost on an old gangland level. He won’t forget a debt. That’s another thing that the shapeshifting bastards won’t understand. Theirs is a wholly inhuman mindset. Beyond my comprehension, frankly”.
“But what do we do?” said Glynis.
“For the time being, we stay up here”, said Kieran “It’s not ideal I know, but if we take care of our supplies, then we should be able to sit it out for quite some time. Although we do have to find a solid shelter of some sort. We are out of range up here. I may have to go on some astral travels, but it will only be done out of necessity. I need to think about all this in a lot more detail before I can give you any further information”.
“Right”, Rosa sighed “Well I think we should all have a glass of brandy. Kieran, will you join us?”
“I can never refuse an offer like that!” said Kieran.
“He’s been gone a long time”, said Joby, in the galley with Adam and Bengo.
“Good”, said Adam “That means he’s having a nice long chinwag with them. We can rely on Patsy not to be brisk and abrasive when delivering news”.
“Unlike Bardy”, said Bengo, who had been ordered to sit by the stove and make sure the rice pudding didn’t burn.
“Well Patsy certainly makes the better diplomat”, said Adam “I hope the girls are OK. This is going to be hard on them. None of us want those days back, and certainly not them”.
“We need to find somewhere to hole up for a while”, said Joby “Even if it is in a blizzard, at least we can find some way to make a temporary settlement”.
“We could hibernate”, said Bengo.
“A lovely idea”, said Adam “I’ve a feeling we will settle on any island that has a decent space to exercise the animals. That island we’ve just left wasn’t just damn spooky, it wasn’t terribly practical either. Ransey wants me to do another full inventory with him later, which will give us a good idea of how we are on the supplies front”.
There was a flurry of activity overhead, and Kieran appeared on the quarterdeck stairs.
“Come up and have a look”, he said “There's a strange light, a blueish tinge to everything. It's OK, I don't think it's anything to be alarmed about”.
Adam and Joby grabbed their oilskins, and followed him aloft. Bengo had wanted to go too, but to his disgust, had been told to stay by the stove and keep an eye on the rice-pudding. Bengo could have quite happily wished the rice pudding in Hades at that point.
Topside, they found the previous silvery-grey light had been replaced by a deep blue. It was as if a giant coloured lens had been placed over the entire view. Although the others all seemed tremendously excited by this latest development, Bardin felt a wave of weariness, as though he wanted to sleep for a hundred years. He had a craving for normal life that almost felt like an acute pain. He was tired of being anxious and hyper-vigilant, alert at all times for the next problem or excitement.
There were a handful of islands dotted around the vast expanse of the Northern Ocean. Some little more than rocks sticking out of the sea. But he did see a reasonably sized one in a north-westerly direction, which had a slither of beach and a flattened top. He gave the order for the ships to sail there, and sit out whatever this latest development was.
*
Angel had headed to Magnolia Cove. He soon made his presence felt in the town. The population of Magnolia Cove were already in a state of almost nervous collapse, due to the sinister irrationality of their current leadership, and it didn’t take much to make them feel on edge. Although they gave an outward appearance of being lobotomised, they emphatically weren’t. In fact their feelings and sensitivities had become more acute than ever before. It was simply they had had to downplay their human feelings in public for survival reasons. If they had shown fear or anguish in public then the powers-that-be, because of the psychic vampires that they were, would have immediately latched onto it and fed from it. Pretending to have no feelings was one of the few forms of protection which they currently had.
Although Angel wasn’t the kind of traditional vampire which could be destroyed by sunlight, he still preferred to operate in the shadows. His favourite hunting times were at dusk. It was easier to prey on people then. They tended to be tired, or fraught with nerves and anxious to be home. It made them extra vulnerable, whereas in broad daylight they often felt more naturally protected. Whispered rumours that there was a vampire at large in the town soon spread like widlfire. As twilight fell, and the daylight gradually faded away, nerves became stretched at the thought of what may be lurking out there in the darkening streets. People bid each other hurried goodbyes as they left their workplaces, and hurried home. Public transport became even more crowded than usual, as no one wanted to be out walking alone.
To compound the situation there were also wild rumours that a man riddled with smallpox had been sighted on the outskirts of the town. All of these wild rumours reached the shapeshifters in the establishment, who reacted with confusion. They wanted the populace scared and nervous, but not when it was caused by things They themselves didn’t understand! They wanted total control, and what was happening now didn’t fit that agenda at all.
“We need to alert the Government in The City”, said the Grand Marshal, at yet another of their interminable meetings “There’s something going on here, and I don’t like the feel of it”.
“A blood vampire at large?” asked the Town President, who in physical form was a somewhat frail-looking old man. He constantly needed more fuel to keep himself going, and these latest unexpected developments were sapping his energy alarmingly.
“Certainly not one of our own”, said the Grand Marshal.
“There were rumours a while back that a blood vampire had been captured at the Ministry HQ in The City”, said the Town President’s Assistant “And it had been moved to the Henang Prison. Could it have escaped?”
“Impossible”, snapped the President “Every precaution would have been taken to ensure its captivity. I know about all that. That creature was incarcerated in a bulletproof glass cage in the basement, under 24-hour armed guard. It would have been impossible for it to break out”.
“Well be that as it may”, sighed the Grand Marshal “The fact remains there seems to be one at large here now”.
Angel had eavesdropped on this conversation, lurking in the dim shadows at the far end of the meeting room. Much as he was enjoying his time in Magnolia Cove, he decided that he should move on to The City, and spread some fear, alarm and confusion there as well. The effect it was clearly having on the establishment of Magnolia Cove was proving to be very satisfying, but to have revenge on the bastards at the Ministry HQ who had captured him, would be the ultimate satisfaction.
They nicknamed it Grass Island, as it was the only island in the sprawling archipelago of the Northern Ocean that had any kind of vegetation on it at all, and this consisted of a flattened space of windswept wild grass at the top. In this weather it was permanently coated in frost. The galleon and the yacht anchored as close to it as they could, and settled down for a period of respite. Although the strange blue tinge had slowly evaporated after a few hours, they knew it was not the kind of area to stay for a long while, as there was very little there for sustainability. But for now it was enough to simply sit things out, and catch a moment of repose.
“You can get a bit tired of perpetual motion”, said Rosa.
She and Woolly, both clad in oilskins, were fishing from the rear sun deck of the yacht.
“Rather”, said Woolly “Although I do like driving this old vessel, particularly in a storm. It can be tremendously exhilarating and satisfying”.
“Back in Zilligot Bay I would never have had you down as a great adventurer”, said Rosa.
“Oh I think it was there underneath”, Woolly chuckled “After all, when I first left The City, I did work my passage down to the Bay on a fishing-trawler. So it’s not a way of life that’s unknown to me”.
There was a loud droning noise overhead as H circled the area in his air-buggy.
“At least this place doesn’t have the strange vibes of the Rocky Island back there”, said Rosa “I never felt really at ease with that place. That might be because it was still too close to the Demon Lands for comfort. Although I’ve heard they can’t cross water very well”.
“So we should definitely be alright here”, said Woolly.
“Having said that, Angel never seems to have any trouble”.
“I get the impression Angel is rather unique”.
“I’m astonished how much Kieran seems to trust him”, said Rosa.
“Well they do go back rather a long way”, said Woolly “From what I’ve heard they once fought each up in this area. That must have been quite something”.
Down below deck on the galleon, Bardin had retreated to his cabin. He was feeling very tired, and collapsed on his bunk, still wearing his coat, hat and boots. Bengo came over from the galley, and gently removed the boots from his feet.
“I’ll make you some tea in a moment”, said Bengo.
“The way I’m feeling right now I feel like giving up being Captain”, Bardin sighed, rubbing his face wearily “You can’t say I haven’t had a fair old stint at it. It might be time for someone else to take a turn”.
“Oh don’t be bloody stupid!” said Bengo “I can’t imagine anyone else as Captain, and neither can any of the others. And no one else wants it anyway!”
“Julian?”
“He certainly doesn’t. He loves slopping around in his slippers. And Kieran won’t want it because he’s preoccupied with other important things”.
“Adam? Joby? Hillyard?”
“No one else wants it!” said Bengo “And what the heck would you do with yourself if you weren’t Captain? Knitting? Helping Finia to repair the blankets? Or helping Toppy to polish the glasses or do the ironing?”
All of this was so absurd that Bardin had the good sense to laugh at it. “You would have far too much time on your hands”, Bengo continued “You’d be poking around mithering us even more than you do already. You’d be unbearable”.
“Thanks”, said Bardin, dryly.
“Well don’t come out with anymore garbage like that”, said Bengo “Or I’ll go and fetch Ransey, and get him to talk sense to you. He’s only in the dining-room next door”.
“Yes alright, don’t go on. Where’s this tea you promised me?”
“You’ll get it if you behave”.
“Getting a bit above ourselves aren’t we?” said Bardin.
“I have every right to”, said Bengo “Things have been unsettling enough for so long now that we need any stability we can get. And you suddenly stepping down from being Captain would really mess everybody up big time. C’mon. Where’s your sense of keeping up public morale gone? You should be ashamed to call yourself a clown!”
“I’ll pummel you to bits if you keep this up”.
H had taken one of the air-buggies up, accompanied by Jane, Nyx and Glynis, who had been apprehensive about the idea. She had never been wholly at ease with getting in the air-buggies after her experience in the Southern Land Mass, but Jane had persuaded her that it was better to face her fears.
“And we won’t be staring into any caves, I promise you”, said Jane “I can’t see any here”.
Nevertheless Glynis elected to sit in one of the back seats, uncertain if she wanted the full view out of the front window. At first it seemed there was nothing to look at but the ocean and the islands. But then H sighted something in the far distance, in a north-north-westerly direction.
“Can you see that?” he shouted “Eleven o’clock position”.
Jane picked up the binoculars. In the far distance was another island, but this one appeared to have some kind of building on it. A stone-built structure, which looked like a set of jagged teeth.
“Can you make anything out?” asked H.
“I think they’re turrets”, said Jane “Good grief, don’t tell me there’s a castle way out here!”
Glynis leaned forward between the two front seats, and squinted into the distance.
“It keeps going blurry”, she said “As if it’s trying to hide itself”.
“How extraordinary”, said Jane, passing the binoculars to her.
“We could take the air-buggy right out that way”, said H “But I feel nervous about risking it over this ocean. Might be better to sail up there. Should only take us a few hours”.
Elaine had gone over to the galleon, and was chatting in the dining-room with Adam and Bengo. Bardin had been prised off his bunk, and was sitting nearby with the long-awaited cup of tea.
“Well married life certainly seems to be agreeing with you, old love”, said Adam “You are positively blooming”.
“Hal is a marvellous man”, said Elaine, much to the astonishment of the two clowns “He’s so cultured and intelligent”.
“Hal is?!” said Bardin, nearly spitting out his tea.
“Yes you don’t understand Hal, Bardin”, said Elaine.
“Obviously”, said Bardin.
“He keeps us enthralled with his conversation sometimes”, said Elaine.
“Hal’s a great conversationalist?” said Bengo, sounding almost weak with shock.
“Yes”, said Elaine “Just to give you one example. Last night we were all talking about our dream perfect houses. And Hal summoned up some terrific imagery of a luxurious big house, with its own private theatre and sumptuous red leather seats, and a library with a billiard table in it, and brandy decanters”.
“We’ve got those on the galleon”, said Bengo.
“We’ve got a billiard table knocking around somewhere too”, said Bardin “A fold-up one. It’s just it’s not warm enough to set it up on deck at the moment, and there’s not room for it down here”.
“But this would be a proper one”, said Elaine “Oh I could picture it all. It was like being there. You could almost feel the comfy chairs as you sank into them. Really, he should have been a writer. He would have made a spellbinding novelist”.
“News to me”, said Bardin “I always thought he was barely literate. Getting him to read a script sometimes was downright painful”.
“Now Bardin really!” said Adam “Elaine is clearly bringing out a side to Hal that had yet to be discovered”.
“It must have been buried bloody deep, that’s all I can say!” said Bardin.
Fortunately this conversation was interrupted by Ransey returning below. He had gone topside to greet the air-buggy when it returned.
“Everything OK up there?” asked Adam.
“Yes, they’re fine”, said Ransey “But I think I’m going to have a session with the wireless set”.
“Is that wise, old love?” said Adam “You know how much it stresses you out”.
“H tells me that they’ve sighted what appears to be a castle on one of the remote islands”, said Ransey “To the north-west of here”.
“A castle?” Bardin jumped to his feet, and pulled his coat off the back of the chair.
“They’ll explain it better than I can”, said Ransey “I was going to have a go on the wireless and see if I can pick up anything from that area. That OK with you?”
“Yeah yeah course it is”, said Bardin, waving his hand dismissively “You don’t have to ask me if you want to use it. And I can trust you to be cautious”.
“I don’t really think it’s in Ransey’s nature to go recklessly divulging our information”, said Adam.
“You never know”, said Bengo “They might be nice people for a change. Not bloody demons and vampires”.
Later that day Ransey called Bardin into the wireless room.
“I’ve located someone”, he said “The direction appears to be coming from the island the others saw earlier”.
“Friend or foe?” asked Bardin.
“Appears to be very much a friend”, said Ransey, although he didn’t sound thrilled by this “I got a lot of exuberance from him, put it that way”.
“What did he say then?”
“A rather exhausting monologue about how they rarely got visitors in this part of the world, and we were welcome to go there. They would love to see us etc etc”.
“Why do I get the feeling you don’t seem too keen?” said Bardin.
“No particular sinister reason”, said Ransey “I think it’s just me. All the bluff heartiness booming into my ears felt rather like an onslaught. Like being caught in a howling gale. He did seem genuinely pleased to see us here, but … as I said, I think it’s just me. It’s been so long now since we’ve been around people, apart from our brief stop in Magnolia Cove, that it feels odd. I don’t count anything that happened at the Loud House”.
“Hm, I need to think about this”, said Bardin “I feel like you do. Let me have a think, and I’ll call a meeting up on deck later. Put it to all the others, and see what they think. I’ll have an outbreak of democracy for once”.
“You have those more than you realise”, said Ransey.
Everyone from both ships was assembled on the main deck of the galleon. Bardin said he had heard about the latest development with the wireless set, and wanted to know what the general mood was about whether they should sail over to the other island, or ignore the message and stay where they were. He was surprised when the overwhelming consensus seemed to be that they should stay where they were.
“OK”, said Bardin, feeling temporarily thrown “No one’s interested in going over there then?”
“I wanna stay here, Bard”, said Mutton Broth, blinking owlishly from behind his glasses.
“What’s so special about here?” said Bardin.
“It’s quiet”, said Mutton Broth “But not spookily quiet like the rocky island was. And we’re safe, as the demons can’t get this far over the water. Can’t we sit out the Winter here?”
“I don’t think I’ve got the energy to go meeting new people right now”, said Rosa.
“If they’re as exuberant as the one on the wireless set was, I’m not surprised!” said Ransey.
“Is there anyone who is interested?” asked Bardin.
Adam raised his hand.
“Adam?” said Bardin, in surprise.
“Only in the sense of seeing if we can barter any goods with them”, said Adam “We do get awfully tired in the galley of the same old ingredients all the time. That’s the only reason though really”.
“I can’t imagine they’ve got much out there”, said Hillyard “They probably live off fish and sea birds, and we can do that already ourselves”.
“Right then”, said Bardin “For the time being, we stay here. Hunker down, and try and make the best of it”.
They all hunkered down for about a month, although they didn't have much idea of the passing of time. They existed in either darkness or half-light during this time. On the occasional days when some semblance of light filtered through, they went over to the island, and let the animals have some exercise. The rest of the time they carried out maintenance on the boats, and some maintenance on the human inhabitants as well, such as haircuts, clothes mending, and attending to niggly health problems.
Ransey had disconnected the wireless set again, which meant no further communication from the other island, although they did occasionally see a light twinkling from there in the darkness. But there was certainly nothing threatening coming from that direction either. Bardin even suggested relaxing the night-watches for a while, until Rumble protested.
“You don't actually enjoy doing that?” said Bardin.
“In all these years have you ever heard me complain about it?” said Rumble “I quite like the night. OK it can be perishing cold, but it's peaceful. You get a chance to think”.
At that moment there was an unholy cacophony of singing and dogs barking coming from the big saloon at the other end of the galleon.
“I can understand that”, said Bardin.
One morning Bengo took a brief sojourn up on the main deck, but after ten minutes of a bitingly cold easterly wind, he sought refuge below again.
“That wind is so cold it’s made my face go numb”, said Bengo, going into his cabin, where Bardin was sitting coiled in an armchair, deep in thought “I can barely move it”.
“You don’t seem to be having any trouble right now”, said Bardin.
“Ha ha, very funny”, said Bengo, shedding his oilskin jacket and dropping it on the floor.
“Pick it up”, said Bardin “You know how it traumatises Toppy when you do things like that. Has it been snowing again?”
“A little bit”, said Bengo, picking up the coat and draping it over the back of a chair “A few flakes, nothing dramatic. What have you been doing?”
“Not much. I seem to sit here sometimes and get lost in nothing. Can’t even say I’ve been thinking of anything particularly constructive”.
“Well that’s OK. Does no harm to have a breather now and again”.
“Are you alright?” asked Bardin.
“Yeah”, said Bengo, flopping down onto the opposite chair “Just getting a bit sick of this weather. I miss the sunshine. I can't remember the last time we saw any”.
“Certainly not since coming to this island”, said Bardin “I had a very vivid dream last night. We were back at the Bay, and lying around on the beach. We were sprawled in the surf, and it was so vivid I could almost feel the waves ebbing and flowing over my legs. The sun was sparkling off it. God, I almost wanted to cry with disappointment when I woke up”.
“Oh Bardy”, Bengo commiserated “Perhaps we should make that our next stop when we leave here. We certainly deserve it”.
“We need to find out how things are in the outside world first”, said Bardin “We can’t risk falling into their hands, not just for our sakes, but for the girls as well”.
“People are gonna have to fight back”, said Bengo “They can’t allow that Purge to happen again”.
There was a loud noise of somebody thundering down the quarterdeck steps. Hoowie burst into the room, breathless and flushed.
“Calm down”, said Bardin “Take a moment. You’ll pass out at this rate”.
Hoowie hung onto the back of Bengo’s chair and gasped the words out.
“We’ve got a visitor”, he said “A guy from the castle on the other island. He’s turned up in a small boat. Yelling up at us, wants to see you”.
“Oh God”, Bardin groaned, rubbing his hand across his face wearily.
“It’s OK, mate”, said Hoowie “He seems friendly enough”.
“Maybe”, said Bardin “But I have a feeling this is going to take more energy than I have to give!”
The booming voice was apparent as soon as they neared the top of the quarterdeck stairs.
“I’m exhausted already”, Bardin confided to Bengo.
The main deck of the galleon was crowded, but everybody looked apprehensive. There was no sign of life from the yacht, except Rosa and Ernesto, who had taken the little fishing-trawler out to try and do some deep sea fishing in the icy waters of the Northern Ocean. Fortunately they were unencumbered by a completely iced-over ocean, but there were sporadic ice-floes around, which they steered their way through using poles. They had been busily engrossed in this when the man on the boat had appeared.
Bardin reluctantly went to the rear of the galleon, and peered warily over the bulwark. Down below a hefty, bearded man was standing up, somewhat precariously, in a rowing-boat. Seated nearby was the poor sap who had rowed him out from the other island. This man was elderly, and by contrast with the beefy, bearded one, looked far too frail for such a task. He sat morosely on the wooden seat in the centre of the boat, plainly just counting the minutes until he could row back to the island again.
“You must be Captain Bardin!” shouted the bearded one, waving his hat in the air.
Bardin had to restrain an impulse to say “must I?”
“Can I help you?” he asked, instead.
“Well if you won’t come to me I must come to you!” shouted the man “We have been waiting for you for the past month”.
“Why?” said Bardin.
“Well … I … er”, the ebullient man seemed momentarily thrown “It can’t be much fun for you on this barren rock”.
“It serves a purpose”, said Bardin “We just needed somewhere to seek sanctuary for a while”.
“But this is no good at all”, said the man, shaking his head almost in sorrow “Why stay here in this Godforsaken place, when you can come and be more comfortable with us?”
Bardin began to relax his stiff pose a little. He sensed that the man meant no harm. He was simply rather hearty and boisterous, that’s all.
“There are a lot of us”, he said “Two boats full. I’m sure you don’t need all the chaos”.
“But I THRIVE on chaos”, the man shouted “I don’t get nearly enough of it!”
“Lucky you”, said Bardin, which at least made Bengo laugh.
“No I won’t hear any more of it”, said the man “You must come over to our place. If nothing else, we need to discuss the situation in the outside world”.
“You know about it?”
“Oh we know about it. We have a wireless set”.
“So have we”, Bengo blurted out “But we’ve disconnected it”.
Bardin shot him a warning look, and Bengo piped down.
“Ah that explains why I haven’t been able to reach you”, said the man.
After the man, and his longsuffering rower, had returned to the island, Hillyard volunteered to go over to the yacht, and inform them of the latest development. The reason no one had come aloft when the unexpected visitor had arrived was because they had all been having an impromptu yoga class in the saloon, which had degenerated into a mass of riotous Mucking About instead. Hillyard clambered down onto the roof of the yacht, and then down the steps to the rear deck, where he tapped on the glass doors which led into the saloon. Glynis threw on a thick sweater over her pyjamas, and joined him on the deck.
“Are we going over there then?” she asked, when he had appraised her of the situation.
“When Rosa and Ernesto get back from fishing”, said Hillyard.
“Bardin must think the man is to be trusted then?” said Glynis.
“I don’t think he wants to go at all”, said Hillyard “I think he’s doing it for Adam’s sake, to see if we can barter some food”.
“Yes I can see that makes sense”.
“And to see if they’ve got any fresh info about that weird mob in the City and Magnolia Cove”.
Both the galleon and the yacht sailed over to the other island that afternoon. The castle was an interesting sight, as it appeared to be carved into the main bulk of the island. A lot of it was hidden, except the main entrance, which was well-lit and at the top of a path which wound gently down the side of the island. A small group went over, comprising of Bardin, Bengo, Hillyard and Ransey. Kieran showed no interest in going, and it was decided not to push him any further on this.
The big, bearded, beefy man was called Wolfstan, which seemed appropriate somehow, as he resembled a rather affable werewolf. He greeted them at the entrance to the castle.
“It is a delight to welcome you to my home”, he said, gesturing wildly, with his hat in one hand “We haven’t had visitors in a long time”.
“How long have you been here?” asked Bardin.
“About 2 years”.
“Two years?!” Bengo exclaimed “That’s a long time to be holed up on such a small island!”
“I suppose I’ve somehow gotten used to it”, said Wolfstan, with a momentary flicker of melancholy on his face “Come along in, out of this cold wind”.
The main entrance was more of a large iron gate than a door. It led into a winding stone passageway, lit by flickering torches in the wall. They followed it at a narrow incline, down into a more dimly-lit passageway which was slightly below ground. In this passageway Wolfstan paused, and threw open a heavy door. This led into a cavernous dining-room. At one end was a substantial fireplace, which was fuelled by driftwood and old tree-branches which had floated northwards.
“Please warm yourselves on the fire”, he said, rubbing his hands over it “We normally have to be so frugal with our fuel. The driftwood stuff we do get can take so long to dry out, so we make the most of a fire when we get it”.
“How many of you are there here?” said Bardin.
Wolfstan paused, as though this question was strangely difficult to answer.
“Three of us”, he said “Myself, my wife, Catarina, and my manservant Wilfrith, whom you’ve already met”.
Disconcertingly, there didn’t seem to be any suggestion that Catarina was going to put in an appearance.
Ransey had been loitering near an open doorway, in the wall adjacent to the fireplace.
“I can see your wireless set”, he said, indicating into the room beyond.
“Yes, my one connection with the outside world”, said Wolfstan “I use it regularly”.
“What do you use it for?” said Bengo.
“I insult those terrible beings at the Ministry”, said Wolfstan, suddenly asserting a proud bearing.
“How do you mean?” said Bardin.
“I go on there regularly”, said Wolfstan “And I fill their delicate little ears with as much abuse as I can think of”.
“Isn’t that a bit reckless?” said Bengo “They might come out and find you”.
“They won’t come all the way up here”, said Wolfstan “They can’t. I’m sure you know that. I’m safe as long as I stay here”.
“But what’s the point of insulting them?” said Bardin.
“It’s my fight you see”, said Wolfstan, now sounding so enthusiastic that he seemed positively threatening. Bardin instinctively took a step backwards.
“I do apologise, my dear fellow”, said Wolfstan “My passion can get the better of me at times. It’s just that I see it as part of my divine fight against the Evil that they have unleashed on the world. I am on the battlefield of the airways. Not so much boots on the ground as boots on the air”.
“Does it have any effect?” said Bardin “Do you get a response from them?”
“Not yet”, said Wolfstan “But I know they’re listening, and I know that my words have an effect on them. They must do”.
Bardin privately thought that the demonic shapeshifters were unlikely to be thrown by a few choice insults over the airwaves, but he didn’t want to get waste valuable energy getting into a debate about this.
“Is your wife around?” said Bengo “It would be nice to meet her”.
“My wife is not well”, said Wolfstan “And she is a very shy person anyway, so I doubt she would want to come and face complete strangers”.
On the contrary, right at this moment Catarina was having a conversation with Hillyard. He had wondered out into the dark corridor, more out of mild curiosity than anything else, and because he was finding Wolfstan’s insistent behaviour a bit tedious. Suddenly he felt someone lightly touching his arm. A woman emerged from the shadows. She was early middle-aged, extremely thin, with long dark hair. She wore an ankle-length sea-greeen gown. At some time she must have been very attractive, but she appeared to have been suffering from ill health, which had drained her and left her with a slightly haggard and drawn look to the face.
“I’m sorry”, she said, softly “I didn’t mean to make you jump”.
“You didn’t, it’s alright”, said Hillyard “I just wasn’t expecting to see anyone here”.
“My name is Catarina”, she said, holding out a small, pale hand.
“I’m Hillyard”, he replied, shaking it as gently as he could. He had a feeling that he could easily crush it in his workman’s paw.
“I was resting upstairs”, said Catarina “And I could hear your voices below. I wanted to come and see you, but my husband is extremely protective of me. He knows how ill I’ve been, and tries to shield me as much as possible, but I did so want to meet fresh faces”.
“This must be a very lonely spot”.
“It is. Wolfstan bought me here when the Shapeshifters first took over in Magnolia Cove”.
“Is that where you’re from?”
“Yes. I grew up there. There were rumours that a Purge of the women might take place again early on, and he brought me here, out of harm’s way”.
“Even so, it must be a hard life here”, said Hillyard.
“Yes”, said Catarina “Wolfstan meant it for the best, but there are times when I wonder if it might be better if we tried to find somewhere else in the world. Somewhere less cold, and with better opportunities for fresh food. The Shapeshifters can’t control everywhere can they?”
“That’s what we’d like to find out”, said Hillyard “We were hoping Wolfstan might have fresh information along those lines”.
“It’s no good”, said Catarina, shaking her head “He uses the wireless set simply to shout at them. He never uses it to get information”.
“That seems a bit of a waste of a good wireless set”.
“I can understand why. His anger at them is so immense …”
“Catarina, my dear!” Wolfstan appeared in the doorway “I didn’t realise you were awake. Come in. Wilfrith has broken out the ruby port”.
They followed him into the dining-room, where the gnome-like Wilfrith was pouring the deep red liquid into small silver cups.
“You are honoured”, said Wolfstan, addressing all of them “Wilfrith is extremely protective of the port. It is strictly for special occasions only. Please meet my beautiful Catarina”.
He introduced the other Indigo-ites to her, including Ransey, who had returned from the wireles set looking as if he was about to hit Wolfstan with it. Fortunately Catarina’s gentle presence added a calming influence to the room.
“Isn’t she lovely”, said Wolfstan, beaming with pride “The most beautiful woman in Magnolia Cove, and I was the lucky one who got her”.
“I don’t expect that would be very true now”, said Catarina “I know I look very drained most of the time these days”.
“Nothing that some real warm sunshine wouldn’t fix”, said Bardin, with his characteristic Sagittarian bluntness “It’s the same for us. It feels like we’ve been living like underground moles for the past month”.
“We have a fully qualified doctor over on the yacht”, said Ransey to Catarina “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind taking a look at you”.
“And an ex-nurse”, said Bengo “Glynis”.
“You have women with you?” said Catarina “I thought I heard some time ago that you were male only”.
“The girls are on the yacht”, said Bardin “They left Zilligot Bay when we did a few years ago. They didn’t feel safe there anymore. They’re a good lot”.
“I’m sure they’d love to meet you”, said Bengo, knowing full well that Elaine would go nuts over Catarina’s long sea-green gown.
“That would be splendid, it’s so long since I’ve spoken to another woman”, said Catarina, but Wolfstan butted in.
“They’re not rowdy girls are they?” he asked.
“Rowdy girls?” Bardin exclaimed “They’re not boisterous little schoolgirls! They don’t run around screaming and jumping over the furniture”.
“My dear fellow, I meant no offence”, said Wolfstan, patting Bardin’s shoulder “It’s just I have be so protective of Catarina, and I know how tired she gets. She can get drained very easily”.
“If there’s anyone who drains her I expect it’s him!” said Bardin, sitting in one of the armchairs in his cabin and removing his boots with a grateful sigh “Just a few minutes in his company and I felt like crawling into bed for a long nap!”
“Well it sounds an interesting set-up”, said Adam, leaning on the back of the opposite chair “Would Catarina be up for joining us for dinner one night?”
“I expect she’d love it”, said Bardin “I don’t think I’ve ever met a lonelier woman. Whether he’ll let her, and whether I can cope with an entire evening of him is another matter”.
“Oh I can imagine the others would help to drown him out a bit”, said Adam “It sounds rather as if he holds too much sway on that island. Another Lord Robert clone. It might do him good to be cut down to size a little”.
“The idea of that big, bearded wolfhound being cut down to size!” said Bardin.
“Did you get any idea if they’re up to any supply-swapping at all?”
“Don’t get your hopes up too high there. They’ve probably been living off fish, sea-birds, and recycled water. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were reduced to eating seaweed sometimes. I was talking about Catarina to Glynis when we got back on deck, and she said it sounds like Catarina’s severely malnourished. And so is that emaciated little gnome they have working for them”.
“But what about Wolfstan”, said Adam “He doesn’t exactly seem like he’s fading away from lack of sustenance”.
“He probably feeds off their energy”, said Bardin “And I’m not entirely certain I’m joking there!”
“I shall ask Joby to make some more of his plum crumble for her”.
“Well she could certainly do with it. Her torso must look like a xylophone!”
Soon after dusk Kieran came up from feeding the horses in the hold, and walked along to his cabin. He stepped inside and nearly jumped out of his skin when he found Angel loitering there in the gloom. Kieran hastily put down the hurricane lamp he had been carrying, and then peered out into the corridor before closing and bolting the door.
“Do you have to suddenly appear like that?” he hissed.
“Would you rather I made a grand entrance up on the main deck?” said Angel, with a sneer.
“No I wouldn’t”.
“Good, ‘cos that’s not my style. I thought you wanted me to keep you up to date with the news”.
“I do”, Kieran sighed, trying to catch his breath, and walked over to the sofa “What have you got for me?”
“I’ve been spending a lot of time prowling round the Ministry HQ”, said Angel, plonking himself down at the other end of the sofa “That’s one helluva fascinating place. There’s multiple layers below ground. They’ve added a lot more since your time”.
“I’m not sure I want to know what goes on down there”, said Kieran.
“You’ll have to come with me one day, and then you can see for yourself”, said Angel “Everyone there knows there’s someone odd lurking around, they can sense me, but they don’t know who exactly I am. I got into the suite used by the top dog there. Your old quarters. The new President. He’s a weird one”.
“Well somehow I didn’t think he was going to be a normal, regular sort of a guy”.
“Sort of Chief Shapeshifter. But he’s not as invincible as he’d like everyone to believe. He’s off his head on drugs for one thing, and it’s getting harder for the regime to cover that up in public. He was seen at one event constantly twirling his head around as if he was in la-la land”.
“Any idea why he’s a dope addict?”
“Probably any number of reasons, but I suspect the main one is that he’s finding it harder and harder to stay in human form for any length of time. The drugs give him the added willpower and strength he needs to maintain it. There’s been some talk that he’s started to fade out when in meetings, like a vanishing ghost. And it’s troubling him mightily. I have a bit of fun there, because he can sense when I’m in the room. I do a bit of poltergeist stuff, chuck a chair at him that kind of thing. He fucking hates it. Really loses it big time when I do that!”
“Well be careful”, said Kieran “They trapped you once before don’t forget”.
“Am not likely to forget that one. I make sure he’s on his own before I make myself known. I don’t believe he can take me on all by himself. The fucker hasn’t got it in him. He wants to believe he’s some kind of invincible vampire warlord, but he’s a gigantic pussy really”.
“If only people knew that vampires can hate each other as much as they hate anyone else”.
“I don’t see why that’s so hard to believe”, said Angel “We don’t have complicated feelings like you humans do. I’m scarcely gonna start feeling loyal to him, just because he’s a shapeshifting version of my own kind. Anyway, he and his henchmen trapped me and locked me in the basement of Henang. Whereas you released me. It’s as simple as that”.
He paused for a moment, and looked uncharacteristically pensive. Kieran didn’t want to accidentally discourage this very rare moment of contemplation on Angel’s part, so he stayed silent.
“In some ways I was lucky they sent me to Henang”, he said, eventually.
“Lucky?!” Kieran exclaimed.
“Well at least I had a fighting chance there of reaching you”, said Angel “If they’d imprisoned me in the bowels of the Ministry HQ, I wouldn’t have stood a cat in Hell’s chance. I’ve heard the voices of people they’ve walled up down there. And I mean they literally wall them up. They hollow a small space in the thick walls, manacle them to the wall inside, and then seal it up again. It varies how long they take to die, but sometimes I’ve heard their voices getting fainter and fainter. Of course if they did that to me, I wouldn’t die. I’d just be there for all eternity, getting weaker and weaker, but never actually going”.
“That’s what they want to do to us too”, said Kieran.
Voices could be heard out in the corridor.
“I’ll come back another time”, said Angel.
The following evening Wolfstan, Catarina, and Withrin were invited over to the galleon for dinner. Umbert had been put on high alert to start playing the piano loudly if it looked like Wolfstan was in danger of trying to dominate the room. Catarina appeared wearing another long, clinging gown. This one in the colour of a deep ruby red. The ladies from the yacht went into raptures when they saw it. Catarina was certainly a striking-looking woman, although it was more obvious than ever that she was quite painfully thin. She looked as if she would shatter into thousands of pieces if anyone were to accidentally brush against her.
“Now Joby has made some of his special plum crumble, in honour of the occasion”, said Adam, hovering near her at the dining-table “And he will be very disappointed if you don’t have at least two helpings”.
“And there’s some custard too”, said Bengo, putting a small copper jug on the table.
“I haven’t had custard since my schooldays”, said Catarina, her eyes lighting up at the sight of it “We used to fight over who got the skin on top!”
Whilst she tucked into the crumble, the other women barraged her with questions. They were delighted to find out that Catarina had once been an expert sailor.
“I was Captain of our all-women sailing club in Magnolia Cove”, she said “We used to have big regatta’s every Summer, and take on the men in races. It was all very exciting. But of course none of that happens anymore”.
“You were Captain?” said Elaine “Ooh Bardin, watch out, she’ll be after your job!”
“She can have it”, said Bardin “I could do with a rest”.
“Bardin!” scolded Bengo “Not that again!”
“I don’t think Catarina will want to to do that”, said Wolfstan, reprovingly “She needs plenty of rest these days”.
As if on cue Umbert immediately began playing a rousing tune on the piano.
Unfortunately, no amount of raucous piano-playing could prevent Wolfstan from breaking up the party at 11 o'clock, on the grounds that Catarina was tired. It was true that Catarina look a little fatigued, but she still showed every sign of wanting to stay at the table. Before disappearing up the quarterdeck steps she urged the other women to come and visit her at the castle the next day.
After breakfast the following morning, Julian called some of the others into his cabin for a sort of party night post-mortem. Adam, Bardin, Hillyard and Ransey duly assembled.
“I don’t know what to make of them to be honest”, said Adam “I have to say that I’m not a fan of Wolfstan. Joby calls him a big, bearded twat, and I’m not inclined to disagree. I don’t feel he’s an outright wrong ‘un, but I do think that, given half a chance, he will use his size and booming voice to control people”.
“He certainly controls his wife and that weird little gnome he has working for him”, said Bardin.
“Hm”, said Julian “The question is did she become ill after moving out here, or did he make her that way?”
“Glynis says a lot of it is down to severe malnutrition”, said Hillyard “Though if he’s depriving Catarina and the Gnome from food, so that he can have it himself, then that makes him a monster as far as I’m concerned”.
“Some of it is also psychic”, said Adam “A man like that will wear people down if you’re exposed to him day-in day-out, and that will be fatal in a gentle soul like Catarina. I think she’s shut a lot of herself off so that she can cope with him”.
“She also probably feels she has to be grateful”, said Ransey “For him removing her to safety. He goes on that bloody wireless set, and then fills her head with all sorts of horror about the outside world. She gets that every damn day. I sensed that straightaway. He’s got piles of notes scattered around that wireless room. He’s even written on the blasted walls. I could have happily ripped the entire damn wireless set out and chucked it at him”.
“I thought you looked pissed off when you came out”, said Bardin.
“Wireless sets are undoubtedly useful things to have”, said Ransey “But not when you’re obsessively hanging on them all day long like he is”.
“Joby hates him”, said Adam, suddenly.
“What’s old Jobe picked up on then?” said Hillyard.
“Nothing in particular”, said Adam “I think it’s Catarina’s extreme thinness that’s triggering him. It reminds him of when Kieran battled anorexia all those years ago”.
“Catarina hasn’t done that to herself though”, said Hillyard “It’s not an eating disorder”.
“I know, but it’s still triggering him”, said Adam.
“Tell him to keep making the plum duff”, said Julian.
“Oh Julian!” said Adam.
“No I mean it”, said Julian “Get some flesh on her, and some energy into her. She might not feel so exhausted all the time then”.
The women from the yacht went over to see Catarina that morning. Fortunately Wolfstan was busy sending out ranty messages on the wireless set, so they weren't perturbed by his presence. Catarina took them up a narrow, winding set of steps to her bedchamber. It was a large, pleasant room, if a trifle on the chilly side. But it had a large wooden four-poster bed, and a window which afforded a stunning view of the Northern Ocean.
Catarina knew they wanted to see her gowns, so she opened up a substantial wardrobe, and showed them her dresses, all in a different colour.
“You have all the colours of the rainbow here”, enthused Elaine.
Rosa was more taken with the room itself.
“You have so much space here”, she said, standing in the middle of the floor “And such high ceilings! You really notice that after living on a yacht”.
“Too much just for little old me”, said Catarina, leaving them with the distinct impression that Wolfstsan didn't share it with her.
Jane reached for a framed photograph, which was sitting on a shelf above the dresses.
“Is this you?” she asked.
The picture showed a younger Catarina, looking bronzed and healthy in a shirt and shorts, proudly leaning against the front of a yacht.
“Yes that's me”, said Catarina, glancing over at it “Taken in Magnolia Cove about 10 years ago. That was my crew's yacht”.
No knew what to say to this. Catarina was now a mere shadow of that girl in the picture.
“We all get older I guess”, she shrugged, almost in an embarrassed way.
Elaine broke the awkwardness by saying “you must come and see our yacht. We'll show you round”.
“I would love that”, said Catarina “I shall check with Wolfstan first”.
“You don't need to run it past him!”Jane exclaimed.
“He worries about me you see”, said Catarina.
“You will be quite safe with us”, said Glynis, firmly.
Catarina didn’t need much persuading to come down and look over the yacht. Her enthusiasm was palpable before she had even set foot on it.
“My old yacht was almost identical to this”, she said “Though a tad smaller”.
Her enthusiasm was maintained all around it. There was nothing she didn’t want to see. It was as if she had been transformed in a moment.
“You all cram in here?” she said, when they entered the main bedroom.
“Myself, Jane and Rosa take the big bed”, Glynis explained “Hal and Elaine have Woolly’s old cabin, and I’m afraid the other boys sleep where they can. Usually in the main saloon area, or on a camp bed in the passageway. If we’re in a warm area, sometimes on the sun deck, although obviously that doesn’t happen up in these climes”.
“There is also our little fishing trawler”, said Rosa “If anyone feels like some privacy. My brother and I slept on that when we first set off on our travels. It’s more roomy than it looks”.
Catarina glanced at an inflatable mattress which was on the floor near the bed.
“Woolly sleeps there”, said Glynis “He generously gave up his cabin for the honeymooners”.
“I don’t think it was much of a sacrifice for him”, said Rosa “He loves being in here with us. He really is one of the girls. H is convinced he’s not really gay, and that he only pretends he is so that he can come in with us”.
“Somehow I think Woolly is gay”, said Catarina, with a mischevious smile. She really was a transformed woman.
Things went a bit strange after Catarina’s excursion to the yacht, in that the castle suddenly went silent on them. The inhabitants didn’t appear in public, and even Wolfstan was oddly quiet. This was a tad disconcerting, particularly on Wolfstan’s part. He was normally the type of person who would be in your face morning, noon and night, given half a chance. He wasn’t the kind of person to suddenly disappear off the radar without a word. For a while the Indigo-ites decided to ignore him though.
“I expect he’s sulking”, said Joby “Catarina enjoyed herself on the yacht. He wouldn’t like that”.
“Silly man”, said Adam.
In the meantime Joby had concerns of his own. Kieran had quietly announced to him that he was going to do the first of his planned astral visits to the Ministry HQ with Angel. This was even more ambitious than the trip to Henang had been.
“I know I can’t stop you doing it, Kiel”, he began.
“I’m not going to take any unnecessary risks, I promise you”, said Kieran.
“I hope not”, said Joby “It’s gonna be a bleedin’ long way to come and rescue you!”
“This time we’re just going to have a nose at my old quarters”, said Kieran “And spy on the weirdo who’s now in charge there. He’s the one ultimately responsible for everything that’s going no now. We’re not pissing about with the underlings, we’re going to go straight to the top”.
The evening that this was planned, Joby distracted himself as much as possible. He went on a pie-making spree in the galley. He wanted to do this by himself, but Bengo insisted that Joby would need company, and helped alongside.
“Jayz, it feels even darker and bleaker than I remember”, said Kieran, standing in the stone first-floor which led to his old presidential quarters “It never was the most cheerful of places, but this .. oh God”, he gave a shudder “It reminds me of that infernal building at the back of the Loud House”.
“Come on, let’s get into his suite”, said Angel “I can’t wait to drive him nuts again”.
The old presidential suite contained no comforts at all. There was a mattress and a blanket lying on the floor, and a large desk and chair in the corner. That was about it. The only light came from outside the south-facing window, which looked out over a part of the City. Kieran noticed what seemed to be the glow of a bonfire. He crossed over to the window and peered out.
“Part of the City’s on fire”, he said.
“They’ve started doing that”, said Angel “The humans, the people I mean. At night they set fire to some of the factories and the businesses”.
“But how’s that going to help?” said Kieran “If they turn on each other and their livelihoods?”
“They’re doing it to their own businesses”, said Angel “They want to hit this lot where it really hurts. The economy. They’re going to destroy the whole infrastructure around the Shapeshifters. It’s working too. This moron in here is panicking his head off about it. He never expected humans to be so ruthless”.
“They are when they’re desperate”, said Kieran.
“Hang on, I can sense him coming”, Angel gestured for Kieran to join him in a window alcove “He can’t see us. At least I don’t think he can. But I’m not 100 per cent certain if he can see you or not. Best to be prepared”.
They slipped into the alcove, and pulled a curtain shut to screen them. Kieran peered thorugh a rip in the purple velvet fabric, and saw a large shape enter the room at the far end. The shape almost seemed to disappear into the intense gloom, but Kieran could make out a large, dark-haired man, dressed entirely in black. As he ventured more into the centre of the room, Kieran could see that his face had a slightly bloated shape to it, which meant he had been feeding recently. His eyes were typical of those of a hard-core drug addict, and they seemed to roam about the room as if he was searching all corners of it at once.
“I know you're in here!” he suddenly shouted, in a raspy voice “You don't fool me! Why are you tormenting me like this? I'm only giving people what they want. I'm not doing any harm!”
Kieran had to resist doing a sharp intake of breath at this point.
The Shapeshifter came over to the alcove and pulled the curtain back. He stared intently at Angel and Kieran, barely inches from them. His nostrils flared, as though he could detect an aroma, but it was obvious that he couldn’t see them. He put up a hand as though to prod Kieran, who instinctively stepped back. It was a relief when the Shapeshifter moved away. It had been a very disconcerting feeling to be that close to him.
Angel suddenly ripped down the torn velvet curtain, causing the wooden curtain-rings to rattle against the rail. He hurled it in the Shapeshifter's direction, who let out a yowl like an indignant cat. To Kieran's great surprise he ran out of the room.
“Told you he was a big pussy didn't I?” said Angel.
“I'm going to head back home”, said Kieran “And leave you two to play for the time being”.
“Next time I'll show you the basements here”, said Angel, sounding like a proud home-owner giving a guided tour.
“I can't wait”, said Kieran, glumly.
“Are you two dating now then?” Julian quipped, when he’d been informed of Kieran’s latest adventures.
“Oh for goodness sake, Julian”, said Adam, in exasperation.
“Any more stuff like that and I’m hiding my Magic Whisky Bottle”, said Kieran “Don’t think I don’t know that you haven’t been sneaking in behind my back and taking swigs from it occasionally”.
“Just having a little joke, dear one”, said Julian “It’s good for morale you know”.
The sound of somewhat rough-and-ready piano playing broke out in the dining-room next door.
“What is that infernal racket?” said Julian.
“Umbert is teaching Dr Xavier how to play the piano”, said Adam “I think he’s picking it up rather well”.
“That’s all I need”, said Julian.
The continued non-appearance of Catarina was becoming more and more concerning as time went on. By now the days were getting lighter, and the temperatures - although not exactly warming up considerably - were beginning to get less abrasive. With it all a general restlessness was setting in on both boats. A desire to move on from this polar twilight wilderness. There was a feeling that it was now time to move southwards and take their chances with the world. But Catarina’s disappearance was something that had to be addressed first.
“I’ve occasionally come across Wolfstan when I’ve been scanning the wireless airwaves”, said Ransey, chatting to Adam and Bardin one morning “The usual ranting garbage. I can scarcely make sense of him sometimes, but he’s certainly still alive. He spends an inordinate amount of time on that thing”.
“And in the meantime where is Catarina?” said Adam.
“I think I’ll go over to the yacht and speak to the girls”, said Bardin “Some womanly insight might be useful here”.
He donned his duffel-coat and clambered down from the galleon and onto the sun-deck of the yacht. Jane greeted him there.
“I feel I should be piping you aboard”, she said.
“You can borrow my whistle if you like”, said Bardin “I’d like to chat to you and the rest of the sisterhood”.
“Well Rosa’s gone out fishing with Ernesto again”.
“That’s OK, I think it’s Glynis who might be most useful. Being an ex-nurse she might have some knowledge of wives in troubled marriages”.
“I take it you mean Catarina?” said Jane “Yes, it’s getting rather concerning. I hope Wolfstan hasn’t got her locked up somewhere. He did seem to get rather miffed about her little excursion to us. The silly man”.
She opened the deck doors and led him into the saloon, where Glynis was sitting on the sofa, stuffing random bits of scrappy material into what looked like an old stocking.
“Is that someone’s leg?” said Bardin.
“I’m making a draught excluder”, said Glynis “Getting fed up with the way the cold wind whistles through those doors sometimes. I should have done it much sooner. Sit down”.
“I’ll mix us some drinks”, said Jane, going behind the small cocktail bar in the corner.
“I’ve come to talk to you about Catarina”, said Bardin, sitting down on a nearby chair.
“I was hoping you would”, said Glynis “We’ve been talking about her a lot here lately. I don’t like this sudden disappearance one bit. Elaine wants us to storm the castle and search for her”.
“Well for once I think she might be right”, said Bardin “There’s no point just asking him where she is, he’ll probably just bellow and tell us to mind our own business”.
“Yes, that’s what I thought”, said Glynis “I’m so glad you haven’t gone down the Mustn’t Interfere Between Husband And Wife route. I’ve no time for that. When your senses tell you something is seriously wrong, it’s best to act. That man may like to act as if he’s taken her here for her own safety, but the fact is he’s made her seriously ill. I don’t call that Love, and if it is it’s a very selfish form of it”.
Jane came over with a small tray with 3 glasses of brandy on it.
“When do you think we should go over there and try to see her?” she asked.
“When we’ve finished these drinks”, said Bardin “And I’ll go back home and rustle up a couple of the others to take with us”.
Elaine ran up the steps from below.
“When you go over to the castle”, she said “Can Nyx and I come too?”
“If you want to”, Bardin shrugged.
“It’s just that I’d love to help”, said Elaine “And … well I think my brother has developed a bit of a thing about Catarina. I mean, not that he wants to go breaking up any marriages, but I think he’d like to help”.
“We are becoming very amoral”, said Glynis.
“Oh hell, why not?” said Bardin.
Bardin decided that they should leave it another full day before going over to the castle, just to see if there was any sign of life from Catarina in that time. There was no sign of life from any of the inhabitants, although Ransey said he had continued to come across Wolfstan on the airwaves. Still ranting and still not making much in the way of sense.
“Isn’t all this a bit reckless though?” he said “Perhaps we should send Kieran across to ask after her”.
“Fat chance of that”, said Julian “He’s too busy having away day frolics with Angel!”
“I’ve got a bad vibe about this”, said Bardin “The Catarina situation I mean. I feel we shouldn’t leave it much longer, and with the Wolfstans of this world it doesn’t pay to be subtle”.
Adam suddenly shivered and ran his hands along his arms.
“Are you alright?” said Julian.
“Just a strange feeling came over me”, said Adam “I think I’ll go and make some fresh tea. Bardin, do you want Bengo to go over with you?”
“I suppose I should”, said Bardin “Or I’ll never hear the end of it about how I left him out of it. And he might come in handy if Catarina needs calming down. Bengo can be quite reassuring in his own way sometimes”.
In the end the rescue party was made up of Bardin, Bengo, Hillyard, Glynis, Jane, Nyx, Elaine, and Ransey.
“You’ll be able to shoot Wolfstan if necessary”, said Bengo, cheerfully.
“Contrary to popular belief”, said Ransey “I do not spend all my time going around shooting people! Come on, let’s get this over with”.
The 8 of them went onto the island and walked in single file up to the castle entrance. They made no effort to be furtive or stay silent. They were ready to explain themselves if anyone came out. Fortunately the entrance gateway was open, and they wound down the passageway to the main living area. From a muffled shouting noise it was clear that Wolfstan was back in the wireless room again. There didn’t appear to be any sign of the strange gnome-like little man who acted as their butler.
“Where do you suggest we go now?” Ransey asked Bardin.
“You know where Catarina’s room is don’t you?” Bardin asked the girls.
“Yes, it’s at the top of those narrow stairs in the corner”, said Elaine.
“Then we’ll try there first”, said Bardin.
“I’ll hang around outside the door here”, said Ransey “In case he comes out”.
The others went up the narrow stone staircase which led only to Catarina’s room at the top. As they got nearer they could hear a slight scraping noise, as if someone was trying to drag a chair across a floor.
“I think we’re onto something”, Bardin whispered, reaching the door first “There’s no lock to this door, thank God, so that helps us”.
He pushed open the heavy wooden door, and saw Catarina at once. She was tied to a wooden chair in the middle of the room. Thick rope was tethered under her arms and around her feet. Her hands were tied behind the back of the chair, and a gag was bound tightly around her mouth.
“Bloody hell”, Bardin breathed.
Catarina tried to push herself against her bounds, and made a yearning sound.
“OK come on, lets get her out of this”, said Bardin “She looks like she’s been forced into an escapology act!”
Everyone went over to her, and busied themselves trying to untangle the mass of ropes. Jane removed the gag from her mouth, and pulled out a hanky which had been stuffed inside. Bardin pulled a penknife out of his pocket, and set to, sawing through the rope that bound her hands.
“How long have you been like this?” asked Elaine.
“There’ll be time for all that when we get her away from here”, said Bardin.
“Please get me away from here”, Catarina wept, her voice hoarse “I don’t want to be here anymore. I’d rather take my chances in the outside world … t-than live like this. It’s a living death”.
“He’s done this to you before?” said Jane.
“I’ve said”, said Bardin, firmly “We’ll do all the post-mortems when we get her away from here”.
When she was finally released from her bounds, Bengo helped her to her feet. Catarina nearly swayed with dizziness. Hillyard immediately stepped forward, and supported her with his weight.
“Can you carry her down?” said Bardin.
“Those narrow stairs will be tricky”, said Hillyard “But I can manage it”.
As the others filed out of the room, Elaine suddenly went over to the wardrobe and pulled out an armful of Catarina’s colourful gowns.
“It will be crying shame to leave these behind”, she said to Bengo, who took a couple of them from her.
“Good job you’re as light as a feather”, said Hillyard, as he carefully navigated the twisting stone steps with Catarina in his arms.
Catarina was feeling too emotional to speak. She felt like pinching herself to see if it was real. Since coming back from the yacht a few days earlier she had spent almost her entire time tied to the chair, only grudgingly released occasionally to be allowed to use a chamberpot, or the gag to be removed so she could take sips of water. She had felt as though she was doomed to spend the rest of her life in that situation.
“What are you doing?” Bardin exclaimed, when they all assembled at the bottom of the steps. He was referring to Bengo who had been staggering under a pile of Catarina’s gowns.
“I’ve been demoted to Wardrobe Assistant”, said Bengo.
“You’re lucky you didn’t break your neck!” said Bardin “You know what a clumsy little sod you are. If anyone’s going to do a pratfall it’s you”.
Bengo stuck his tongue out at him.
At the other end of the passageway Ransey was holding onto the handle of the wireless room door. Wolfstan could be heard hammering on it from the other side.
“Get her over to the yacht”, said Ransey “I’m not sure how long I can hold him off”.
Hillyard didn’t need any further persuasion. He carried Catarina to the entrance of the castle. Bardin directed the girls and Nyx to follow him. Bengo was allowed to stay, but he offloaded the dresses onto Glynis and Nyx.
“Watch out!” said Bengo, as Wilfrith, the little gnome-like manservant, emerged from a side passage.
“You won’t get no trouble from me”, said Wilfrith “He’s been holding her prisoner here for the past 2 years. She was a bonny, healthy woman when we first came here. I’ve had to watch her getting thinner and thinner, and more and more exhausted”.
“Why the fuck didn’t you do something then?” said Bengo.
“What could I do?” said Wilfrith “I’m an old man, all skin and bone. I was no match for him”.
“OK everybody stand back”, said Ransey “I’m going to let him out”.
With one hand he pulled his revolver out of the holster on his chest, and with the other he released the door handle. Wolfstan burst out of the room like an enormous dark cloud. He had a face as red as a pepper.
“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded to know “What are you doing here? And why are you pointing that gun at me?”
“Well you said you loved chaos, so we thought we’d give it to you”, said Bardin.
“What the hell do you mean?” said Wolfstan “How dare you point a gun at me in my own home!”
“We don’t want any further trouble from you”, said Bardin “The gun is just a precautionary measure, although I should point out that Ransey is extremely skilled with it”.
“Never mind all that”, shouted Wolfstan “I demand to know what you are doing!”
“We’re rescuing Catarina”, said Bengo, who thought that Bardin was never going to get to the point at this rate.
“You’ve kept that woman incarcerated upstairs for several days”, said Bardin “And from what we can gather, this isn’t the first time you’ve done it”.
“How dare you interfere between husband and wife?” bellowed Wolfstan “I adore that woman! I worship the ground she walks upon. Everything I do is entirely for her benefit and her safety …”
“Yours is a frightening form of love”, said Bardin.
“You’ve almost destroyed her, Wolfstan”, Wilfrith suddenly spoke, in a quiet, measured voice.
“You traitor!” said Wolfstan, turning his gaze upon the little man.
“Call me what you like”, Wilfrith shrugged “There’s nothing more you can do to me. All I want now is that Madame gets well away from you”.
“And to where?” said Wolfstan “Back to Magnolia Cove? The City? YOU FOOLS! You must be aware that the evil regime are threatening to bring back the Purge Of The Women. You will be taking her right into the lion’s mouth!”
“We haven’t decided where we’re going yet”, said Bardin “But you can be sure we will take every precaution”.
“She’ll still stand a better chance out there”, said Wilfrith to Wolfstan “Than holed up in this gloomy morgue with you”.
Whilst all this had been going on, Kieran had been having further adventures of his own. Tired from some of his astral rambles, he had fallen asleep in his cabin. He came round to find himself in what appeared to be a makeshift one-roomed hut with a rough floor. Nearby a priest was on his knees muttering in Latin. Kieran recognised it as the Catholic Prayer For The Dying.
“What’s going on?” said Kieran, getting to his feet.
“It’s time”, said a man, dressed all in black, standing at the open doorway.
The priest raised his head, and Kieran saw that tears were streaming down his face. Kieran walked over to the doorway and stepped out. He was on a grassy hill overlooking The City. It seemed to be twilight. Several fires were burning in different areas, and smoke hung heavy over the scene. The priest followed him out of the hut, and collapsed onto his knees again. This time he grabbed Kieran’s hand and kissed it, wetting it with his tears.
Kieran gently extracted his hand, and turned. To his horror he saw a hangman’s noose suspended from the branch of a tree. And then it all became clear. Whoever the man in black was, he was going to hang him.
“THIS ISN’T REAL!” Kieran yelled “IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THIS ISN’T REAL!!”
He came round to find himself back in his cabin.
“Now come on Kiel”, said Joby, when Kieran had told him what had happened “I know it must have been pretty upsetting, but what could they have done to you? They couldn’t really kill you, given you a bit of a sore throat perhaps”.
“You don’t really think about such things at the time”, said Kieran, sombrely “The Fear takes over, which was probably exactly what was intended”.
“Do you know something”, said Joby, slightly shifting his position on the sofa in their cabin “I think we should get out of here. Out of this Northern Ocean I mean. We’ve had a basinful of this for months now, and that includes all that you went through in the area of The Ruins. And now it seems that they’re starting all the psychological warfare on you up again. I dunno if it’s gonna be any different elsewhere, but let’s at least give it a go. But sail down the Western route, even if it means going past Henang. I don’t fancy the area of The Ruins again”.
“I think that’s what the others want”, said Kieran.
“Then let’s do it”, said Joby “I don’t see how anything more can be attained by staying up here”.
Over on the yacht, Catarina had been placed on the sofa in the saloon. She was wrapped in blankets, due to a sudden shivering fit which had come upon her.
“It’s shock”, said Dr Xavier, as he finished examining her “It will pass, but let’s get her some brandy”.
“Of course”, said Elaine, going over to the drinks cabinet “We should have thought about that”.
“Hot sweet tea too”, said Jane, heading to the steps which led down into the bowels of the ship, where the galley was situated.
Outside Wolfstan could be heard shouting in the distance.
“What are we gonna do about that tosser?” said Nyx, indignantly.
“Nothing”, said Bardin “Let the old windbag shout. I suspect we will be getting out of here pretty soon”.
“It’s n-n-no g-good”, Catarina stammered “He will f-f-follow me”.
“He can follow all he wants”, said Bardin “The high sea is open and free. We can’t stop him. But that doesn’t mean he can come aboard”.
“You’re safe with us”, said Glynis.
The galleon and the yacht set sail the following day, heading in a south-westerly direction, taking the opposite coast to the one which had The Loud House on. No one knew - or very much cared - what Wolfstan was going to do, but there was a general uneasy feeling that he wasn’t going to let Catarina go without a confrontation.
“Nyx is threatening to smash his head in if he tries to come aboard the yacht”, said Joby, whilst he and Adam were doing a food inventory in the hold.
“Good heavens”, said Adam “And I always thought Nyx was such a quiet man”.
“They’re the worst when their dander’s up”, said Joby “He’s really fallen big for Catarina, and Elaine said Nyx is far more capable of deep feelings than people realise”.
“Oh lor”, said Adam, with a sigh.
They opened up the cupboard where they had stored the packets of emergency rations they had bought in Magnolia Cove. Adam was gratified to find there were still a substantial amount in stock. Joby was less so.
“Blimey, it would be nice to buy some proper food sometime”, he said.
“Now come on, old love”, said Adam “I’ve heard you say you quite like the packet chocolate pudding”.
“Yeah, but nothing beats the real thing”, said Joby “And how many fricking packets of mashed potato have we got here?”
“Enough to keep us going I’m sure”, said Adam.
There was a loud thumping noise as Lonts thundered down the steps from above, cannoning into Joby at the bottom.
“Watch it!” said Joby.
“Sorry Joby”, said Lonts “But you really need to hear this”.
“Oh God, what’s happened now?” Joby groaned.
“Wolfstan’s following us!” said Lonts.
“I suppose that was inevitable”, said Adam, resignedly.
“He’s yelling from his boat”, said Lonts “He’s threatening to storm the yacht”.
“Uh-oh”, said Joby “There’s gonna be trouble”.
There was bedlam up on the main deck. Wolfstan was pursuing them in a little tugboat, and yelling above the tok-tok of the engine. He was standing at the bow-end, yelling and shaking his fist.
“He’s turning out to be a bit of a bore isn’t he”, said Bardin, quietly.
“What are we gonna do, Bardy?” said Bengo “Catarina’s terrified of going back to him. We can’t let him get her. She’ll be devastated if she has to go back to that place”.
“Alright calm down”, said Bardin “She’s not going back there. He can yell all he wants, but we out-number him, and we’re armed. And if none of that works we’ll set the dogs on him”.
In the saloon on the yacht Elaine was trying to deter Nyx from going out onto the rear deck. Wolfstan could still be heard shouting in the near distance.
“Please ignore him”, she beseeched her brother.
“How can I ignore him? Get real!” Nyx exclaimed “Look at Catarina. Look at the effect he's having on her!”
Cataina was huddled on the sofa, chewing the edge of a blanket.
“Don't let him get me”, she implored “I will die if I go back to that island. I couldn't bear it!”
Nyx wrested himself free of Elaine, and pulled open the doors to the sun-deck.
“Come and get her, you bastard!” he yelled “And if you try and set foot on this boat I'll kill you with my bare hands!”
Bardin leaned over the bulwark of the galleon, and blew several loud blasts on his whistle.
“Everybody calm the fuck down!” he hollered.
“They have kidnapped my wife”, roared Wolfstan, indignantly.
“It's not kidnapping if she goes voluntarily”, shouted Bardin.
“And she doesn't want to go back to you”, said Nyx to Wolfstan “She's made that abundantly clear. She doesn't want to see you”.
“I want to hear that from her lips in person”, said Wolfstan.
“Oh yeah?” said Nyx “So you can grab her away from us?”
The rear doors opened, and Catarina stepped out onto the deck, with the blanket wrapped round her shoulders. She looked both fragile and dignified in the glare of the Northern sun.
“I will not, I will not”, she said, firmly “Come back to you, Wolfstan. For the first time in two years I am free”.
“You don't understand”, said Wolfstan, holding out his hands imploringly “The world is a dangerous place. They are bringing back the Purge of The Women…”
“Even if that is true”, said Catarina “I will take my chances with freedom, not spend the rest of my life incarcerated on that gloomy rock with you!”
She said the final words with such vehemence that even Wolfstan finally seemed to get the message. The big man seemed to collapse in on himself. He looked so crestfallen that for a moment he almost looked pitiful.
“What will I do without you?” he said.
“That is your decision”, said Catarina, in a softer voice “I can't decide that for you. But perhaps don't stay on that rock, only communicating with the world via a wireless set. It's not a healthy way to live”.
“I hope she doesn’t give into him, Bardy”, said Bengo, following Bardin down the quarterdeck steps “He could end up talking her round”.
“I doubt it”, said Bardin “He tried the Little Boy Lost look just then, and she stood up to it. If there was a moment when she succumbed it would have been then. Somehow I get the feeling she’s seen it all before”.
“That was a very forceful voice you used just then, Bardin”, said Adam “It’s amazing how loud a little fellow like you can be”.
“Must be those Voice Projection classes we were given as kids”, said Bardin “How to make ourselves heard at the back of the theatre”.
He paused at the bottom of the steps.
“I don’t think we’re shot of him though”, he said “He might end up following us all. We’re going to have to be ready for that”.
“Yes, a man like him won’t give up easily when it comes to losing a prized possession”, said Adam “And I’m afraid that’s how he will see Catarina”.
The boats wound their way down towards the mainland, keeping a reasonably safe distance from the shore. They were heading down the west coast, so there was no danger of going near The Loud House area again. This landscape was bleak and empty, but it didn’t have the unsettling surreal vibe of the equivalent area on the east coast. Unfortunately Wolfstan continued to follow them, and he showed no sign of returning to the island. The only good thing about it was that the constant hollering was at least finally having an effect on his voice, and he was having to limit how much he shouted. Nevertheless the occupants of both the galleon and the yacht were on constant alert in case he attempted to get on board. Catarina at least seemed more reassured that no one was going to hand her back to him, and she managed to switch off from his presence with admirable ease, although she didn’t venture out again onto the rear deck of the yacht. She was an expert needlewoman, and happily occupied her time mending garments and blankets in the saloon.
*
One night Angel came onboard the galleon again. This time he met up with Kieran on the poop-deck, in the still watches of the night, when it was only Rumble and H doing the night-watch.
“I don’t like having him onboard like this”, muttered Rumble, giving a shudder “It gives off a really bad vibe”.
H glanced over at the other end of the ship, where Kieran and Angel were standing at the prow. Although it was a fairly moonlit night, Angel seemed to be permanently in shadow, which only added to the unsettling vibe.
“Hopefully he knows better than to cause any problems on here”, said H “Kieran would go gunning for him if he did”. “Even so”, said Rumble, lighting a roll-up cigarette “I’ll be glad when they’ve finally finished what they want to do”.
Kieran went to the Ministry HQ, via astral travel, the following night. Angel was impatient to show him the basement, something that Kieran had not been looking forward to. It was even worse than he had anticipated. The two of them crept stealthily through the underground corridors, which were lit by either flaming torches stuck into wall sconces or hurricane lamps. There was a perpetual sound of quiet sobbing and agonised groans, although it was hard to see who was making them.
“Many of them are walled up”, Angel whispered, although it was doubtful either he or Kieran could be seen or heard by anyone.
“What is the point of this inhumanity?” said Kieran, angry beyond words.
“They”, Angel raised his eyes to the ceiling “Feed off the misery. And let’s face it, you can’t get much more miserable than this”.
Kieran pressed his hand against the brickwork of one wall.
“It’s solid”, said Angel “It would take you forever to break down these walls, and even if you managed it, chances are most of them would be dead by then. Most of them only survive a few days like this”.
“I think a major earthquake has to be arranged”, said Kieran.
“Hm”, said Angel, in a vague sort of agreement “But first things first, let’s get that drug-addled blobby Shapeshifter. I can’t wait any longer. He was the one who was behind me getting sent back to Henang, and he’s the one who’s behind all this …”
“Alright, you don’t have to sell it to me”, said Kieran “Let’s get upstairs”.
It was relatively easy to overpower the chief Shapeshifter. He was dazed from excessive feeding and drug use. He wouldn’t even have been aware enough to fight them if they had appeared in normal flesh-and-blood form. Kieran tore down one of the long curtains in the bedchamer and threw it over him, holding it down tight, whilst Angel used one of the braided curtain cords to fastened it around him. The Shapeshifter was so mentally out of it that he didn’t struggle, merely moaned in a somewhat desultory manner.
“He’s been like this for a while now”, said Angel, sitting back on his haunches “I’m not sure he’s aware of anything anymore. This whole place could be dismantled around him and he wouldn’t notice”.
“He’s not the only culprit here though is he”, said Kieran “There’s the old fella from Magnolia Cove, the chief vampire”.
“You leave him to me”, said Angel “That old pervert has been blood-sacrificing children both there and here. He’s mine”.
Kieran cast his mind back over the years, and remembered what Angel had done to Tomce, the child abuser. Basically feeding him his own testacles.
“That’s fine by me”, he said “Holy Mary, I never wanted to see vampires back in power at this place”.
“And a pretty pathetic brand of vampires if you ask me”, said Angel “These are the real old school ones”.
“How do you mean?”
“They can’t appear in daylight”.
“Oh really?” said Kieran, glancing towards one of the windows “And it can’t be far off daybreak now. It’s so quiet around here. My memories of the Ministry HQ was there was a constant level of noise in the background at all hours, a bit like a hospital. I can’t hear a damn thing here, except the wind whistling round the building”.
“A lot of the staff have deserted it”, said Angel “There’s only a small core of the real hardened lot left, and even they’re not much use. They’re usually pissed out of their heads in the wine stores”.
“It’s real end-of-regime stuff”, said Kieran.
“Come on”, said Angel, getting to his feet “I’ve got an idea. Let’s get him to the top of the tower”.
Even though he was completely out of his mind, the Shapeshifter was still a tall, bulky character, and it was an exhausting process dragging him up the nearest turret steps, particularly trying to wind round corkscrew corners. But sheer determination can do a lot to bring out inner stores of strength and exertion.
“He must be completely away with the fairies”, Kieran panted “If he can’t be bothered to suss out what we’re doing with him”.
“He’s a total loser”, said Angel.
Kieran was relieved when he noticed a cold draught blowing down from the wooden door at the top. He paused and pushed it open, before they dragged the Shapeshifter the final few feet onto the enclosed circular top of the tower. Kieran straightened up, and looked out over the City. There were many fires still burning in random pockets all over the town, and out into the surrounding countryside. The smell of smoke dominated the air. The remaining buildings in the town itself looked largely dark and deserted.
“Are there many people left here now?” he asked.
“A few”, said Angel, somewhat evasively. Kieran had a strong suspicion that he had been feeding off some of the ones that were left, but it wasn’t the time to “go getting all moralistic”, as he later said to Joby.
“Where have the rest gone?” said Kieran.
“Out into the countryside I suspect”, Angel shrugged, dismissively.
Kieran did a full 360 degree circuit of the tower. At one point he recognised the hill where he had been taken in his dream. The one with the hangman’s noose.
“So it is a real place”, he said, quietly.
“The sun’s almost up”, said Angel “Let’s get him staked out quickly. The bastard could come to his senses at any point. We can’t take anything for granted. Let’s get working”.
Using more of the strong curtain braid, purloined from the presidential bedchamber, they fastened his ankles and knees together, and then pulled his arms above his head, and fastened his wrists together. At the last moment they carefully removed the blanket from him. This movement at least seemed to rouse him into some form of semi-consciouness.
“W-what’s going on?” he slurred, his eyelids moving rapidly.
“Can you see us?” said Kieran, leaning over him.
“Y-yes I can”, the Shapeshifter exclaimed. He looked over at Angel “YOU?!”
“Yeah, me”, said Angel.
“You were put in Henang”, the Shapeshifter protested “It’s impossible to escape from that place. You’re not a shapeshifter, h-how …?”
“I had help”, said Angel. The Shapeshifter moved his attention to Kieran. He focussed his eyes.
“You are the enemy of vampires!” he spat out.
“That’s nice of you to say so”, said Kieran.
The Shapeshifter looked constantly from one to the other, trying to work out what had happened.
“Don’t waste your final moments trying to figure it out”, said Kieran “There’s a red glow on the horizon. Sunrise is happening. You will be gone from here soon. And if it has to take me the rest of Eternity, I will make damn sure that no vampires ever get power here again!”
The screams of the Shapeshifter rang out over the burning City, as the sun rose on the horizon.
Kieran returned to the galleon very soon after, aware that Angel was anxious to get his hands on the old man. He left him to it. On reaching his cabin he slid down exhausted onto the floor, and reached up for the Magic Whiskey Bottle.
“What happens to the ones in the basement there?” said Bardin, when Kieran joined him in his cabin a couple of hours later. The ship’s engines added a comforting note of motion and continuity in the background. The intense silence of the Ministry HQ had been very unsettling.
“Some are beyond help”, Kieran sighed, sitting in one of the armchairs by the fireplace. He looked drained, and even thinner than he usually did “For the others, well I can only hope that the major earthquake that will be striking there soon will cause the walls to crumble”.
“Are all the vampires destroyed?”
“There can be no certainly of that. But their power is broken, and the ones that have survived will have to scatter. It’s not ideal I know, but perfection would be a pretty steep aim in these circumstances”.
“At least we should have scuppered any chances of another Purge Of The Women”, said Bardin.
“Officially yes”, said Kieran “But that’s not to say that some great ape might not try it again in the future. That’s the problem with longevity. We get to see the same hideous mistakes being made over and over again”.
The door to the cabin opened, and Bengo came in, carrying a tray on which was a bowl of steaming soup and a hunk of bread.
“What are you doing?” said Bardin, in exasperation.
“Kieran needs sustenance”, said Bengo, carefully placing the tray on Kieran’s lap “It’s alright, it’s tinned vegetable soup. It will also warm him up. He was freezing when he came in here”.
“And that was in spite of the whiskey!” said Kieran “Thanks Bengo, it’s a nice gesture. I appreciate it”.
Bardin suddenly became aware of some shouting topside.
“I suppose I’d better go and see what that is”, he sighed, getting to his feet “It never lets up round here sometimes”.
When Bardin got topside, he noticed that they were in the vicinity of Henang Prison. In the distance he could see a handful of men standing on the rooftop. Some of them had guns aimed at the ships. They were shouting.
“What’s the matter with them?” said Bardin.
“From what I can gather”, said Hillyard “They’re warning us to stay away. If we go any closer they’ll fire”.
“They think we’re from the Ministry”, said Joby, coming down from the poop-deck.
“They think we’re the Government?!” Bardin exclaimed, which at least made Hillyard laugh.
“We’ve got no bloody intention of going to the prison!” Bardin continued.
“Was hoping you’d say that”, said Joby “I certainly don’t want to see that place again. They’re welcome to it”.
“How do we persuade them we come in peace then?” said Hillyard.
“We can’t”, said Bardin “We just have to keep our distance, and keep chugging on past. With any luck, if we keep moving, they’ll see we’re no threat. If they start firing at us, just fire some warning shots into the air. They’re not exactly any danger to us. I can’t see them coming down here and storming aboard”.
Hillyard gave a thumbs-up sign. Bardin could hear Wolfstan still shouting from his boat.
“That tedious bastard’s still around”, he said, with a heartfelt sigh “I’m going below to see if Bengo’s got any more of that vegetable soup. Now remember what I said, just keep chugging along”.
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