Annaldra

Ann had been crying uncontrollably since Donald left, but now she had spent her tears. It had been a way of releasing her anguish: a complete emotional outlet that involved little or no thinking. Once amidst her wailing an out-of-body calmness came over her detaching her from her emotions. In that moment, she knew she must murder Swain. She had no choice, but as soon as the thought had formed, despair piled on her once more. This time even heavier than before. With her face buried in her hands, no, no, no, she kept repeating until the words sounded hollow, nothing more than a meaningless noise. Never in her life had she felt so wretched, knowing what she was expected to do.

Perched on her bedroom windowsill now physically and emotionally drained, she watched the villagers arrive at the church. At least they would be safe, whatever she decided. Those who lived in the village arrived on foot, but many were coming in cars. Finley must have persuaded most of the congregation to come, who in turn had contacted friends and relatives that lived further afield. It did not take long until cars and vans, tractors and even coaches packed the square, bumper to bumper, nose to tail. The only other time she had seen it close to this busy was the day of the Country Fair, but unlike then, today most of the road was also being utilised as a car park. Only a single narrow track, wide enough for cars to pass, through remained.

Picking up the dagger her parents had given her, she jabbed the end of her finger drawing a bead of blood. She watched the globule as it grew, its redness deepening to a rich claret, then no longer able to support itself it trickled down her finger. She raised it to her lips and sucked the warm and not unpleasant tasting liquid from it. The razor-sharp blade would sink through flesh like butter; he may not even feel it entering his body. Drawing in a deep determined breath through her nostrils, she placed it in her satchel. Then grabbing a blanket, a bottle of water from the mini bar she stuffed them into her satchel, put on her jacket and headed to the church.

Finley was standing at the door greeting everyone, shaking their hands and welcoming them as he did every Sunday. Only now, his smile was rueful as though greeting them at a funeral, although he dressed casually in faded jeans and a hoodie. She could see the stress and exhaustion through his demure façade, having obviously not slept since she left him.

Looking at him stressed and worried, not for himself but for others, she realised she could never kill him, no matter what the consequences. She would rather die herself. Abruptly she stopped. Eureka, the thought hit her like a bolt of lightning. That is it! I must break the bond. Why does he have to be the one who dies? I will kill myself. That is what her mother so desperately wanted to keep from her. With that thought, Atlas relieved her burden, lifting the weight of the world back onto his shoulders. Everything was going to be okay.

‘You did it,’ she said with a broad smile that was probably inappropriate. ‘You made them come.’

‘It wasn’t easy,’ said Finley half-smiling, but Ann detected something else in his voice; something that stopped her smiling.

‘What is it? Is something wrong?’

Looking pained, Finley sighed heavily. ‘They would not have come if it hadn’t been for wee Ellis Dalrimpile.’ Closing his eyes, he shook his head.

‘What do you mean?’

Finley pulled her to the side of the church, away from the doors. ‘I told them the truth. How on the first night the shadows took evil people, then the bad, and would finally come for all other sinners tonight. I said I had an amulet that would protect them, but they were laughing and shouting. I tried to explain that Digger and Hamish Dubh died last night because of the armed robbery, but they just kept heckling me. Nobody believed me. How could they? Bob Dalrimpile was one of the nicest people in the village so I had to be lying. Then his daughter, wee Ellis, that sweet wee lassie… she is only eleven. She stood up, and came to the front and stood beside me. She took my hand, and the congregation fell silent. Well, that brave wee lass told everyone her dad was evil. He had done evil things to her. We all understood what she meant and knew it was true by the look on her wee face.’ Finley shook his head and slowly inhaled a deep breath fighting back his emotions.

Tears welled in Ann’s eyes for the little girl, but also for herself realising this was goodbye. This was the last time she would be with Swain, with Finley, in this life anyway. Her death would part them again. All she could hope was that sometime in the centuries that followed their souls would again find one another.

‘The villagers were shocked,’ continued Finley. ‘No, not shocked, horrified, but it made them believe. That wee lassie had the courage to tell them, when I couldn’t bring myself to tell them I had seen the amulet working because… Because, I did not want to tell them about Scott.’ Even though his voice was barely a whisper, his anger was still evident.

Ann’s lip began quivering, and she flung her arms around him, buried her face in his chest, silent tears rolling from her eyes. He squeezed her tight sensing her need for comfort. It did not matter he had misinterpreted the reason of her sadness. She did not want to let go of him… not ever.

‘I know,’ he whispered kissing her hair. ‘It’s horrific, that poor child. It doesn’t bear thinking about.’

Ann looked up at his beautiful face, absorbing every detail of it, knowing it would be the last time she would gaze on it. He smiled at her as an angel would smile, gently wiping away her tears with his thumb.

‘Here take the amulet. You should have it.’

Ann pulled back, his words rousing her from her anguish. She could not take it. It would delay her plan. ‘No, no, I can’t have it. You must keep it—’

Finley half chuckled, looking surprised by her reaction. ‘No, it’s yours and whatever happens, I want you to be safe,’ he said pushing it into her hand.

‘But—’ She stared down at the crude pendant in her hand as a solitary tear splashed on it, its wetness making it gleam, as though varnished.

‘No buts, take it.’ He looked determined.

Closing her hand around the pendant she nodded reluctantly, knowing it would be futile to resist; she put it in her pocket. It was such a typical Swain gesture. There would be no arguing with him when it came to her safety.

‘Have Donald and Norlu arrived?’ she asked as they walked back to the church entrance.

‘No, I haven’t seen them.’

Ann peered over her shoulder hoping to see her friends before going inside, but there was no sign of them, just a middle-aged couple with three teenaged kids walking towards the church and behind them Dark Mark, his arms laden with blankets.

The church was uncomfortably warm, with masses of people squashed together in a relatively small space. Ann estimated there was well over a thousand people. All the pews were taken and the front altar area was also full. The church could hold a few hundred more before they would be clambering on top of each other, like bees in a hive.

‘Do you think this will work?’ came a voice from behind.

Turning she saw a pale looking Scott. Gone was his usual cocky confidence, his superiority quashed, being replaced by nervous fidgeting. He reminded her of hunted prey, wide eyed and trembling, be it ever so slightly, but she could detect it, and his perspiration reeked of fear.

‘I hope so,’ she replied, although she was actually reflecting on whether her own demise would work or not.

‘Well, it worked last night for me, didn’t it?’

Ann nodded and forced her train of thought back to the amulet. If her death were not the answer, the village would need the amulet. ‘It’s this holy ground thing. We don’t know how amplified the amulet’s power will be if at all. I thought I would feel something from it, but I don’t. The energy is the same. I expected it to be stronger.’

‘Ann, Ann!’

Ann turned. The shouts were coming from the church door. She recognised the voice as Donald’s, but she could not see him for the people who had gathered behind her.

‘Excuse me, excuse me,’ she kept repeating as she edged her way through the crowd towards the door.

‘We’re in the wrong place,’ blurted Norlu. ‘This is not sacred ground!’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Finley who had joined them.

‘It’s the Clementina Stones. That is where we should be. That’s the sacred ground, not here,’ said Norlu between pants.

‘Of course, how stupid was I to think it was the church.’ Ann turned to Finley, ‘Sorry, Fin, but earth people do not recognise buildings as being sacred. They are always outdoor spaces. The amulet is from Tunkeeta. When she said sacred ground, I should have known.’

‘You’ve spent way too long in the West,’ Norlu joked giving her friend a pat on the back.

Ann turned and smiled warmly at her friend as she mouthed the words ‘I am sorry’. A huge wave of relief washed over her as Norlu gave her a massive hug, squeezing her so tightly she could hardly breathe, but it felt good being relieved of another weighty burden. After all, it wouldn’t do having to face death with unresolved issues. The less baggage you took to that event, the better, she reckoned.

‘We don’t have much time,’ said Donald interrupting the reunion. ‘It is just over an hour until sunset. We have to get everyone to the stone circle now.’

‘Listen everyone, Listen,’ shouted Finley, but only those close by turned around. Placing his fingers in his mouth and blowing, he let out a piercing whistle that almost deafened those close. The church fell silent as everyone turned to see the source of the noise.

‘Listen!’ shouted Finley, ‘We have to go. We are in the wrong place. The amulet will not protect us here. We must go to the Clementina Stones.’

At once, the volume in the church shot up with mumbles and shouts from the congregation. Everyone looked confused.

Finley raised his voice again, ‘If you don’t go, you will die!’

What! How! You are lying, and even Witchcraft, were some of the shouts from around the church. The standing stones were Pagan, raised in a time when people were savages. At least that was the mindset of many of the congregation thanks to the damage the Christian Church had done with the lies they fabricated over the centuries. Eventually it became easier for the Church to punish those who clung to the old ways and would not convert, so they labelled them as devil worshippers and witches. Even now in modern times, the impression left by the Church on such things was still strong in some folk’s minds. Ann had experienced it herself the time Tunkeeta had come round to offer her mum healing for her cancer. Ann knew this was against all Tunkeeta’s principals offering to help a westerner, but she also knew she was doing it for her, not her mum. Never had she felt such shame as she did when her mum hissed at Tunkeeta, ‘She would rather die than accept help from a witchdoctor who conspired with the devil.’

‘We must go now. Come if you want to live.’ And with that, Finley headed for the church door, closely followed by his family, Ann, Norlu, Donald and a few dozen others.

Once in the square the group stopped and looked back.

‘Why aren’t they coming?’ whispered Elaine when the trail of followers trickled dry. Less than two hundred had exited with them.

‘I don’t know, but I have to go back and persuade them,’ said Finley. ‘You all have to go now. Annaldra has the amulet. She knows what to do.’

‘No please,’ begged Elaine in a fearful tone. ‘Come with us now.’

Finley hugged his wife affectionately as she cradled their child and tenderly kissed both their foreheads. ‘You have to go. I won’t be far behind you, I promise.’

Elaine stifled her sobs and nodded, not daring to look into her husband’s eyes for fear it may be the last time.

‘Come on,’ said Ann, placing her hand on Elaine’s arm. ‘It will be okay. I promise.’

The small group set off for the stones at a fast pace; no one spoke. As they reached the end of the village, it was Padraig, who looked over his shoulder. ‘Look, they’re coming, most of them are coming,’ he shouted.

The group looked back and saw a sea of people rushing towards them. Finley appeared last, waiting to help the elderly. Some less able-bodied people got into cars to drive the short distance to the path that led to the mound.

‘Thank you Lord,’ Ann heard Elaine whisper under her breath.

Everyone was panting by the time they reached the Clementina Stones. They were fortunate it was a large circle: large enough to encompass a few thousand people if necessary. There was plenty of space for everyone, a lot more than at the church.

Ann walked to the centre of the circle and placed the amulet on the central cup mark, grooved into the flat stone. It was the same stone she had used to cast the spell. The one Donald had told her the locals called ‘The Sacrifice Stone’.

‘Yay, I can feel it. I can feel the amulet’s power,’ she beamed. A delicate vibration emanated from the amulet, radiating out like ripples on a loch. ‘This is going to work. You will all be safe here.’

‘Thank god,’ Scott breathed a sigh of relief.

The crowd was strangely quiet considering the sunset was five minutes away. Everyone watched as the sun drowned in the horizon: its rays of light glimmering in the darkness of a few clouds, the pale moon clearly visible with Venus, the most beautiful of Night’s diamonds, by her side.

‘She’s a witch. She will kill us all with her voodoo!’ Everyone turned to see where the commotion was coming from. It was Seonag ranting, hopping around wildly like someone possessed, while pointing in Ann’s direction.

‘No, not again,’ said Padraig sounding deflated.

Then someone screamed. Everyone saw it. Rising behind them on the eastern horizon was a dark cloud like a swarm of locusts filling the darkening sky. The shadows were coming, like a blackout curtain closing over the sky, covering the stars that had woken. The circle fell as silent as a snowy night. Some villagers held hands while others hugged, but all looked afraid.

Ann looked down to check on the amulet. It was not there. Shock and fear paralysed her for a moment. No, this could not be happening, not now.

‘Where’s the amulet?’ she shouted while scanning the ground, hoping someone had kicked it out of place.

‘Look she’s got it!’ yelled Norlu pointing towards the figure with one arm raised running in the distance.

It was Seonag. A wave of helplessness washed over Ann as she watched her run to the edge of the stone circle, and with one mighty thrust, fling it as far as she could down the hill. Looking around, she saw the shadows were less than a mile from them, their darkness swimming steadily towards them. The villagers had also seen what happened and panic arose; the air filled with sobs and wailing as terror gripped the throng. Many had dropped to their knees and were praying, tears streaming down most of their faces, though some were wide mouthed, paralysed by terror. Couples clung tightly to one another while mothers and fathers wrapped themselves around their children hoping to protect them as they waited all for the inevitable. Knowing this would be their end.

Fumbling, Ann tried to undo the buckle on her satchel. I must get the knife, but the more she hurried the clumsier she became as her fingers had turned to thumbs. If she did not kill herself before the shadows reached them, everyone there would die.

‘I’ll get it,’ shouted Donald.

’No, Donald, noooo…’ screamed Norlu, her arms outstretched in the direction he was running. ‘He will never make it.’

Ann looked up from her buckle trouble and watched. Donald was going after the amulet, but he had no chance of making it back before the shadows reached him. He slipped and skidded down the hill faster than he could run. When he reached the amulet, he picked it up and flung it back into the circle. A villager caught it. He ran and placed it on the ‘sacrifice’ stone. The shadows had almost reached Donald. Norlu turned and buried her head in Ann’s shoulder not bearing to watch the shadows take her newfound love. The darkness of a hundred shadows swooped down on Donald obscuring him from sight, but almost as quick, they wisped away again. Through the darkness, Ann could see Donald still standing. The stone circle had fallen silent except for Norlu’s sobbing.

‘He has a pure soul,’ whispered Ann to herself.

Her words made Norlu raise her head and slowly turn.

‘Look,’ said Ann pointing, ‘the shadows are not taking him.’

There standing at the bottom of the hill was Donald. He shrugged, palms facing upwards, looking unsure what had just happened. Norlu dropped to her knees as sobs of joy replaced her sobs of despair.

‘It’s working, it’s bloody working,’ someone shouted.

Ann looked up. The sky above the stone circle was clear. The stars that had twinkled for a billion years and would for a billion more looked down on them: a shining vision of eternity. They were standing in a funnel, its walls swirling, smoky shadows. The air filled with whoops of joy as the jubilant crowd celebrated, hugging, kissing; a few even danced. Some of those who had been praying now had their arms outstretched, their heads facing the heavens giving thanks for their answered prayers. The amulet was protecting everyone, keeping them safe. Thank you, she whispered to herself.

Everyone hushed as they watched Donald approach the stone circle. Every so often, a shadow would swoop down on him, only to be instantly repelled away. He looked nervous. He still had to walk through the wall of thick shadows if he wanted to re-join them.

‘Come through Donald. Your soul is pure. They cannot harm you,’ encouraged Ann.

Cautiously Donald edged to the side of the circle then stopped.

‘Come on,’ begged Norlu gesturing him in.

Donald tested the wall of shadows with his arm. He shrugged as if the darkness felt of nothing, no different to the clear air he was standing in. He smiled at Norlu through the smoky curtain before calmly walking through the shadows.

Norlu hugged him tightly as a crowd gathered round him. ‘I thought you would die.’

‘I thought we were all going to die,’ he laughed nervously.

The crowd around Donald patted his back and shook his hand. In that moment, he was more popular than he had ever been.

Having watched Donald’s exploit outside the protection of the stone circle, Ann reconsidered her suicide, deciding a death by shadows was not only the cleanest method, it would also be quick and the simplest. All she had to do was walk outside the circle. Her soul, after sleeping with Finley, was not pure, if it ever was, and would dying this way be suicide? She thought not; well not as blatant as stabbing yourself through the heart was. Suicide; she shook her head; it was a dirty word. She could imagine what her mum would have said had she been here. Ann; her tone would have been disapproving and judgemental. What you are about to do is a mortal sin and you will go to hell for it. Her shoulders juddered at the thought. Though she was in no way a Catholic, some of her mum’s beliefs had stuck. Suicide did feel morally wrong, like spitting in the face of God. Life, after all, was a glorious gift, so should be cherished; not flung away and wasted like some worthless rag. Except in this case, her death would be a blessing to all those who would now live, and that took precedence over any concerns she had about her soul being damned.

Ann was glad everyone was making a fuss of Donald. It gave her the opportunity to sneak away without anyone noticing. She headed for the standing stone the locals called Goliath at the opposite side of the circle. The area was quiet as most of the villagers chose to be close to the centre of the circle and the amulet’s protection or were at the other end praising Donald for his unselfish bravery. Goliath, as its name suggested, was the largest of all the megaliths so offered the most coverage from curious eyes. It stood at an angle as though falling back, directly across from the smallest stone in the circle, the one aptly named David. It had what looked like a smudged circle of dark brown paint in the centre near the top that had dripped, that could, with a little imagination, be mistaken for dried blood. Local lore told how long ago, when giants roamed the earth, the giants left their children on top of Clementina Hill to play while they went fishing on the shore. The children sat in a circle playing catch with a large boulder. However, unbeknown to them, some giants had angered the gods and to punish them the gods turned all giants to stone. Unfortunately, for Goliath it happened just as the boulder was hurtling towards him. It struck his head and as he began to fall, he petrified. The boulder still lies just beyond the stone circle, behind Goliath, in the exact position it landed that day.

On reaching Goliath, Ann glanced over her shoulder. She could just make out Finley through the crowd talking to his wife. She smiled to herself; she was glad he had Elaine. In time, his memory of her would fade and he would find his way back to Elaine and they would be happy again. Of that, she was certain. He had loved her as his truelove before so could again.

Strangely, she felt at peace knowing these would be the last few moments of this existence. She had faced death many times in the past and could recall most of them. Almost all had involved pain. A lot had been violent, when she had been prey for hunters further up the food chain. Some had been sudden, and in a few, she had endured great suffering through illness. None, she could recall, had ever been peaceful. Still, there was always a first time. But even if this was not that time, it did not daunt her. Her death would save the human race, and this was something she must do. As she stepped out from the sanctuary of the stone circle into the shadows, her last thought was Swain.

Blackness swooped in on her, the force knocking her to the ground. A million shadows pushing heavier and heavier trying to penetrate her flesh. Gasping she tried to breathe; the weight bearing down was suffocating as though a giant python had wrapped itself around her entire body, squeezing the air from every inch of her. Desperately her hands grappled around her neck as she fought for a breath. She wanted to die, she needed to die, but survival instincts were stronger than desires no matter how strong a desire was. Breathe, breathe! Her breaths were short and far between; her mind was floating, drifting further and further into the darkness…