Sample chapters from
Verdandi's Thread
Chapter Six
The Hooded Man
The sun had set now. Emmi shivered. It really was time to go back inside. As she turned towards the house, a sound of wings caught her attention. A large black bird was now perched on the weathered wooden table on the patio. A raven in fact, she noticed. Great.
Once again, Emmi had that vaguely unsettled feeling. It was the same sensation as when she'd seen the Rider approaching her last night; the same as when she'd seen the other raven (she dismissed the absurd thought that the same one was following her around) this morning. And both times, something bad had happened.
Emmi prided herself on being sensible and down to earth. She laughed at anything that seemed to verge on the superstitious. It had to be a coincidence, right? But she still felt uneasy. In any case, it really was high time she was indoors.
She turned her back on the bird and started towards the door. And immediately, her head swam. She pulled up short, swaying slightly. Where was she going again?
And then a new sound filled the air, bringing her sharply back to her senses. A loud, piercing cry.
Even as Emmi struggled to reorientate herself, a streak of brown-gold hurtled out of the sky, shrieking. And the next moment, the raven was gone, pursued by the other bird.
A hawk? In Lincoln? Emmi put her hand up to her head and waited for the remaining dizziness to subside. She probably would have to see a doctor about this after Christmas.
She walked, a little unsteadily, to the door. With her hand on the doorknob, she paused. Once again she felt uneasy, though the sensation was not quite the same as the one she'd just experienced. This was more familiar: a strong feeling that she was being watched.
She turned and took a cursory glance round the benighted garden: the patio; the back gate, shadowed beneath the old ash tree; the lawn with its shrubbery –
And then her gaze shot back, her heart thudding in her chest. No, she wasn't imagining things. There was a figure standing by the back gate.
Two seconds later, Emmi was inside the house.
* * * * *
"There's someone in the garden."
Edwin was about to take off his coat when Emmi burst into the hallway. At first he wasn't quite sure how to respond, but he could see that she was alarmed. And Emmi was not often alarmed.
"All right," he said, "Let's take a look."
"A look at what?" George was half way down the stairs.
"Looks like we have a trespasser out the back. I’m going investigate."
George frowned. "Ok, I'll come too. But let's not worry Henry and Cecily till we know what's going on."
Edwin readily agreed to this, and the three of them trooped past the living room door, through which the sounds of Christmas TV could be discerned, and into the kitchen, now filled with the comforting, earthy smell of cooking jacket potatoes. At the garden door, Edwin halted.
"You should stay inside, Ems."
For a moment, he thought she was going to do as he suggested, but after a brief hesitation, she dispelled this hope.
"I'll be fine," she said. "I wasn't about confront an intruder on my own, but there's safety in numbers. Whoever it was has probably gone by now anyway."
Edwin didn't like it; but there was truth in what she said. In any case, he knew she'd just get cross if he tried to stop her once she'd made up her mind. Sometimes she reminded him a little of Janie. He peered out of the window, but from the brightly lit kitchen it was impossible to see anything outside clearly.
"Ok then," he said. He opened the door and stepped outside.
The figure was still there, silent and still by the gate. As the three of them drew nearer, it became clear that it was the figure of a man, taller than Edwin and broad in the shoulder, though he seemed to be wearing some dark, hooded garment that reached to his feet and hid his face in shadow. The effect was not reassuring.
Edwin, with Emmi and George flanking him to either side, stopped a few yards from the man, who made no move to leave. Edwin took another step forward.
"All right," he said. "Who are you, and what do you want?"
"Stay within your home this night." The voice had a heavy accent, but it was hard to place. German? Swedish maybe?
"That doesn't answer my questions. Who are you? And what do you mean by skulking around people's gardens and frightening women?"
"There is danger. Stay within."
Edwin frowned. "Is that a threat?"
"A warning. The Host will be abroad this night. Do not leave your home."
And before they realised that he was moving, the man had vaulted the gate and was gone. By the time Edwin followed, he was lost to sight in the darkness of the alley.
* * * * *
It was late. Emmi couldn't be bothered to turn on a light to find out how late. She rolled over for about the twelfth time and stared at the wall. It was one of those nights when it seemed that sleep was just something that happened to other people.
They'd reported the strange man and his 'warning' to the police. If the authorities had an official database of time wasters and nutcases, Emmi was probably on it by now. The Police had said that there was nothing they could do. And fair enough, no one had any idea who the man was or where he'd gone. But a little more enthusiasm on their part would have been encouraging.
Emmi shifted in bed, trying to get comfortable. The thing that bothered her most was that she didn't know if the man under the hood had been the same man who had attacked her the previous night. The horseman hadn't spoken, and tonight it had been impossible to make out any face under that hood. It seemed unlikely that more than one person should have such a bizarre vendetta against her, though.
She starred at the ceiling, and wished she could go back to the nice normal life she'd had two days ago, when her biggest problem had been that she didn't know who she was.
After a while, rustling behind her revealed that Janie wasn't sleeping either. When the rustling became accompanied by mysterious bumps, Emmi rolled over again. She could make out Janie across the room, sitting on the side of her own bed. She was dressed, and was doing up her trainers.
Emmi sighed, and Janie looked up.
"You awake, Ems?"
"Yes. What are you doing?"
"I can't sleep. I’m going for a jog around the block." She moved on to the second shoe. "Don't worry, I'll stay where there's street lights."
"Please be joking."
No answer.
"Janie, you know there's some weird guy hanging around and making threats. Do have a little sense." As soon as the words were out, Emmi knew they'd been a mistake.
"Look, I am second dan you know! I’m not some helpless little victim, Emmi."
"I know. I know you're not." Emmi hoisted herself onto one elbow. "I didn't mean to offend you. But a lot of strange stuff is happening at the moment. And the guy did mention a 'host'. He could be bringing his friends next time."
A snort in the darkness. Emmi decided to try a different tack.
"Think how worried Cecily would be if she knew."
"She won't know. Unless you tell her."
Emmi cursed under her breath. The girl could be so stubborn. "Well, I'll know. Will you at least think of my peace of mind?"
Janie stood up. Even as a silhouette, her body language spoke defiance.
"Janie please." Emmi put a hand out to her as she passed. "It's been a rough few days for me. I don't need anything else to worry about."
Hesitation.
"I'm serious. Please Janie. Just stay indoors. For me."
A long sigh. A less defiant silhouette.
"Oh all right." It wasn't said with a good grace. But at least it had been said. "I'll see if Henry still has those dumbbells. Last time I saw them, they were in the cupboard under the stairs."
Emmi smiled in relief. "Anybody else would just get a cocoa or something to eat."
"Well, I'll probably do that too."
The door closed behind her.
* * * * *
Emmi sat up sharply. She must have dropped asleep after all. But that hadn't been a dream, she was sure. That had been a real yell.
Not a scream, a yell. A woman's yell.
Janie's yell.
In an instant she was out of bed and running for the landing window. The shout had come from the front of the house, so there was no hope of seeing anything from her own window.
Heavy footsteps from above told her that Edwin was on his way down from the top floor. She reached the window.
It had turned foggy; there was something odd about the fog, but Emmi had no time to work out what. All she could think of was the heap of red cloth in the road. She turned and ran for the stairs.
By the time she reached the head of the flight, Edwin was right behind her.
"Why did you let her go out?"
They thudded down the stairs.
"I didn't let her go out. I made her promise to stay indoors." Emmi reached the front door. "Anyway, since when did anyone let Janie do anything?"
They were both in the street now. The little red heap that was Janie lay perhaps fifteen yards from the door. A hooded figure was stooping over her.
"Hey!" Edwin yelled. He was past Emmi now, and covering the ground fast. "Hey you! Get away from her!"
The figure raised its head. Emmi still couldn't make out a face under there; none at all. The next minute it was on its feet and vanishing into the mist.
Edwin didn't bother to pursue it. He dropped to his knees beside his sister.
"Janie!"
Emmi had reached the spot now. Janie lay like a broken doll, her limbs splayed at unnatural angles. She was very pale.
"Janie!" Edwin was almost in tears now. "Janie wake up!"
If you'd like to know when this book becomes available,
sign up for R.M. Fanshaw's email
and get a FREE ebook!
This is the last sample chapter from Verdandi's Thread.
You can start reading from Chapter One here.
© R.M. Fanshaw
You can share this page as much as you like, but please don't copy it,
because that's just not nice.