Percy delicately wiped the blood fromhis mouth with a pocket handkerchief. “And now this merriment and cursing mustend. Og is most please – she says we have done well. But now it’s time we wereaway to Brimstone Manor – to take back my home. Soon all of Underwood will bein the thrall of Og. So my army grows!”
Beauty stamped her hooves andwhinnied. Percy and Grace leapt up into the air and landed on her back. Thebikers left their victims bleeding on the floor and got on their bikes. With aloud revving of engines, they followed Percy out of the square.
Davy and Jimmy hadn’t followed. Davylooked down at his sister lying unconscious at his feet, a red streak of bloodoozing from her hand, staining her night dress. She opened her eyes and moaned.
“I’m scared Davy,” she said. “I feelill, I hear a scary voice.”
Davy didn’t reply. He looked over aJimmy who was standing over their friends lying unconscious on the floor. Hewas gazing at their ripped clothes and torn wounds – hands and legs covered inbite marks crusted with congealed blood. For a split second the boys wereappalled by what they saw, wanted to help their friends, to help their sister,but then the iron grip of Og’s will once more dominated their thoughts.
Jimmy and Davy got on their motorbikesand rode away without looking back.
ChapterFifteen - Small Mercies
As your precious children grow.
You teach them all that’s good and true.
And one day they are big and strong.
They don’t need the likes of you.
You watch with interest as they live their lives.
But somehow evil’s crept inside.
They laugh at things that you despise.
– A Parent’s Lament
– By Gerald Mann, Poet, 1967.
“Myboys!” exclaimed Daisy, wringing her hands and pacing up and down the kitchen.“What’s happened to my boys?”
“Come on Love,” said Jim, knotting hisbushy eyebrows as he took her hand and squeezed it gently. “Try to calmyourself.”
“I swear to God Jim, it was thestrangest thing. They didn’t even know their own mother. And how could my sweetboys take their little sister away, just like that? I’m frightened, Jim, veryfrightened. What’s going on with ‘em.”
Daisy and Jim both sat down at thelarge kitchen table, each pouring a mug of hot tea from a flowered china tea-pot.Two Labrador dogs and three cats gathered around their feet, looking up attheir masters dolefully.
“They’re not themselves, Love. They’resick that’s all.”
“But Pagans, Jim! Some evil cult.They’re brain-washed. Who’d have thought we’d get that around here? Good peoplegetting mixed up with evil.”
“There were a lot of Pagans aroundhere at one time. Granddad told me tales.”
“Oh Jim, I thought all that waslegends and stories to scare the children.”
“It looks like more than just storiesLove.”
Daisy tried to hold back tears butcouldn’t stop herself from wailing, “My own sweet boys!”
“I’m sure there’s a way to fix it.”
Jim gazed imploringly across the tableat Arthur, Ophelia and Bill. He wanted them to say something, anything thatwould help his wife feel better.
“Well there’s always...” said Arthurtentatively. He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Vita Dantis,” said Ophelia.“There a drug that stops it. You inject it... into the vein.”
Daisy gave her an indignant look. “Myboys have never taken drugs in their lives and I’ll be damned if I’ll let themstart now.”
“It’s medicine.”
“There may be something else,” saidBill. “A scientist was working on a cure.”
“You don’t say,” said Jim.
“Yes. It was all done a very long timeago, around a hundred years to be exact. He wrote it all down in his journal,it was very detailed, spelt it all out. I’m sure there’s something in it.”
“A hundred years ago,” said Jimincredulously. “Surely modern medicine would know better?
“All this stuff’s been banned andsuppressed for decades,” said Ophelia. “That’s what our Professor said. TheVictorians made all the progress but then it was stopped.”
“And you say it’s all in this book,eh?” said Jim. “So where is this ‘ere book?”
“No too far away,” said Bill. “It’s upat the Manor. I know where it is. I’ve read it many times.” Bill felt anoverwhelming desire to see the book again, to leaf through its pages, to studyits diagrams. He realised he was become obsessed with it.
“Well if there’s a cure then that’snot too bad, eh?” said Daisy with a slight smile. She looked at Jim andsqueezed his hand.
Bill was suddenly aware that what hewas saying was giving Daisy false hope. He had to add, rather sullenly, thatnothing he’d seen in the book had made very much sense. Daisy nodded and hersmile faded.
Suddenly, there was a loud and steadyknocking at the front door, so loud it rattled the latch and echoed around thehallway. Everyone looked at each other with trepidation. It was repeated – asteady pounding rhythm. The dogs jumped up and down, barking furiously.
Daisy stood up with a hopeful look.“My kids, they’ve decided to come home. They’re all better!”
Before anyone could stop her, sherushed out of the kitchen and into the hallway. The others followed, hopingDaisy wasn’t going to do anything rash.
The slow and steady knocking boomedout again.
“Who’s there?” said Daisy, reachingout and touching the front door.
“It’s me mum,” said a young girl’svoice.
The loud and violent knocking seemedvery odd when they realised it was done by a skinny child with such a weak andhigh-pitched voice.
“You’ve got to let me in. Let me inthis instant. I’m scared. I met this strange man...I can hear a voice. PleaseDad!”
“It’s my little Poppet!” said Jim.Before anyone could stop him, he’d stepped forward and opened the door.
Rosie stood on the doorstep, lookingvery odd. She smiled forlornly when she saw her father and held out her armsfor a hug. There were a couple of very nasty looking gashes on her hand,crusted with congealed blood. The front of her nightdress was filled with awide dark stain that glistened. She looked pale and her teeth were verystrange.
“I’m going to bite you daddy,”
