‘That’s good to know.’ His smile was grim and he guessed this was Delphine’s way of coping: imparting pointless knowledge. ‘Will you be setting a test later?’ He kept his voice light, hoping banter would take some of the fear away – his own as well as hers.
‘When I was little, I wanted to be a vet,’ she told him, her own voice somewhat quavery. ‘I always liked cats then.’
‘Tell you what we’re going to do.’ Ash saw one or two of the mean-looking wildcats had encroached onto the grass, delicately padding between the plaques, leaving the dead undisturbed. ‘We’re going to walk away very, very slowly, and get back among the trees. Now, they might leave us alone, or they might begin to stalk us. I don’t think it’ll be a sudden rush – they haven’t sized us up yet – and because they’re wild animals, they could be more scared of us then we are of them.’
‘I don’t think that’s possible.’ Her arm slipped into his as they prepared to move off.
‘Of course, there’s one other thing I could do.’ More and more wildcats were appearing from beneath the undergrowth and between the trees. Christ, he thought, there’s a whole army of them!
Delphine was peering up at him, expecting an answer.
‘I could,’ he said hesitantly, ‘I could rush at them, maybe scare ’em off.’
‘David!’ She was shocked at the idea. ‘Don’t you dare!’
‘Don’t forget, they’re not used to humans. To them we’re an unknown quantity. At least it might give you the chance to run in the opposite direction.’
‘I won’t let you do it. It’s stupid and I won’t allow it. We’ll walk away as you say, and they’ll leave us alone.’
He gazed down on her, and even in such a desperate plight, Ash could only feel her guileless inner spirit. But he grew steadily more angry at the thought of the woman he loved being raked and torn by long claws, bitten by ravenous teeth . . . He almost ran at the predatory creatures anyway, but Delphine’s common sense prevailed. Their only chance was simply to walk away.
‘Come on, David,’ she pleaded, afraid he might still go through with his plan, ‘let’s start walking away together.’ She emphasized the last word.
They both turned from the creeping beasts and, without haste, as though taking an almost leisurely stroll through the memorial plaques, they started walking.
The wildcats watched them leave.
And then, equally leisurely, they began stalking their quarry.
With Delphine clinging to his arm he could feel her tremors growing worse. They had travelled some distance back into the woods, with the sharp-clawed, sharp-toothed bestial felines trailing them languidly, both hunters and hunted equally aware that an attack was coming, the outcome of which was a foregone conclusion.
Ash saw a moving flash of colour in the trees on the left of the path they were on. They had been walking slowly for some minutes by now, and he feared time was running short. He knew the savage climax would come soon. The wildcats were stalking them ever closer, and it was as if he could actually smell the tension in the air. Each stiff step seemed hard won; each sudden rustle or snap of a twig might mean the assault had begun.
Yet they held their resolve, forcing themselves not to run, nor even walk faster, keeping their pace steady as if unconcerned about their deadly entourage.
Another flash of orange, to the right this time, and Ash guessed he and Delphine were gradually being outflanked. A trip, a fall – even a sneeze, in the eerily quiet forest – could set the cats off, and the investigator was only too well aware that they had to find some kind of sanctuary soon, or it would be all over. Ash determined that he would protect Delphine with every last ounce of strength in his body, yet there really could be only one outcome for both of them: they would be torn to shreds.
Ash spotted a stout branch lying in the grass beside the rough path and, without breaking step, he stooped and picked it up. He thought he heard a strange snarl from behind him, and then an elongated hiss. The time was coming.
The evil he sensed in Comraich Castle also dwelt in these woods.
‘Delphine,’ he whispered, although it sounded too loud in the quietness around them. ‘The cats will attack any moment now.’
She turned to him, that small movement too swift, an interruption in their evenly paced stride.
Ash winced as he heard a chorus of hissing from both behind and around them.
‘Stay cool,’ he urged her. ‘When they come at us, I want you to run. Run as fast as you can and don’t look back.’
Thin, helpless tears trickled down Delphine’s cheeks. They both knew their situation was hopeless: there were at least twelve wildcats, more joining them all the time, openly stalking them, starting to divide their forces, some to rush at David, the others to chase after her. All cats had incredible speed, and these were true hunters: they would bring her down in seconds.
‘I’ve told you, David,’ she said decisively, ‘I won’t leave you.’
Although touched by the determination in her voice, he was exasperated. ‘You’ve got to try and get away. It’s your only chance.’
The big scabrous beasts were drawing in, arrogantly bold, but still a little wary. One was now creeping along beside Ash, its mangy scarred head low to the ground, shoulder muscles bunched, its haunches high and quivering with power. Its tail twitched from side to side like a silent metronome.
‘David, I’m staying with you,’ Delphine repeated. ‘We’ll fight them off together. Who knows? They might not even attack. We may be able to walk straight back to the castle.’ They both knew it was a forlorn hope, though Ash couldn’t help but admire Delphine’s optimism.
He looked sideways at the wildcat that had the nerve to come closest and, hesitating for only a moment, the investigator flicked at the animal with the branch he carried to see whether it would make it back off. He was well aware that such an experimental manoeuvre could also provoke an attack, but the situation was desperate.
In the end, it did neither. The creature hissed and its front paw struck out at the offending stick, although not violently; it was as if the cat merely thought it an irritant, perhaps even a plaything. It padded along, gracefully for such an unkempt specimen, keeping pace with its prey. Then, suddenly, the noises increased.
The pack began to make strange snarling sounds, unearthly wailings and hissing, curious choking sneezes as if clearing their throats of fur-balls, then raising their heads and sniffing the air. Ash wondered whether they could smell his and Delphine’s fright.
Ash decided he’d had enough. The animals were going to attack sooner or later and now, as far as he was concerned, he’d prefer that it was sooner. The investigator stopped in his tracks, bringing Delphine to a halt beside him. He released himself from her clutching arm and turned towards the predators, noting that they were now surrounded.
‘I’m going to force their offensive, Delphine, only it’ll be me attacking them, not the other way round. You never know – they might be surprised enough to run away.’ He gave a short humourless laugh at the thought that the cats would be scared of him! Holding out the thick branch to its full extent, he slowly waved it round in a wild circle, as if it might intimidate these wild beasts into breaking the circle.
Delphine had been looking around frantically, and suddenly her grip on Ash’s arm became even tighter.
‘David, I think we can get out of this. Look . . .’
‘I’m a bit busy here,’ he said, not daring to take his eyes off the wildcat he was facing. He wondered if perhaps she was in the first stages of hysteria.
‘Look, there’s a wall over there,’ she said.
Her steady tone told him she wasn’t the hysterical type. He glanced across quickly. ‘I suppose if we had something solid at our backs we’d have a better chance of defending ourselves,’ he conceded.
‘No,’ she implored. ‘It’s a very old walled garden. I often bring Lewis there. There’s a summerhouse inside,’ she told him, her voice reverting to a whispe
r. ‘It’s big and it’s strongly built. We might be safe there.’
Ash could have kissed her.
‘Right,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘I’m going to smash this one’s head in first, create some chaos. I want you to make a break for the garden as soon as I do.’
He was again aware of Delphine’s reluctance to let him face the wildcats alone. ‘This time I mean it, Delphine. It’s our only chance,’ he told her.
Nodding her head, she squeezed his arm again for reassurance.
Okay, you scrawny bastard, Ash thought, adding impetus to the blow he was aiming at the cat. Time to meet your Maker, whatever perverse clown it is!
Yelling loudly, Ash brought the heavy length of wood hard down, trying for the creature’s evil (somehow grinning) face, but the beast’s reflexes were acute and it managed to avoid the full force of the blow. Nevertheless, the end hit the wildcat’s shoulder and it squealed as it jumped back a couple of feet in the air.
For a brief moment there was a stillness in the forest, broken only by the injured animal’s mewling. Ash pushed the psychologist and she was off, running wildly through the brush and trees towards the wall she’d glimpsed, hoping one of the four entrances was not too far away.
Then, all was confusion as the other cats launched themselves at the crouched investigator. He used the branch to swat them away, their pained screeches deterring others briefly, but they soon gathered around him again. He took the fight to them, which not only surprised the cats as he’d hoped, but caused several to retreat into the undergrowth, while others had to gather their nerve again.
Swinging the rough staff like a baseball bat, and continuing to shout and yell, Ash caught one mid-air, sending it flying against another blood-crazed savage and amazingly, a skirmish broke out between the two. Many of the wildcats – and there were many more than he’d caught sight of following himself and Delphine earlier – were distracted by the fray and some joined in. He felt a searing pain down his left leg where one cat had darted forward and clawed him all the way down to the top of his boot.
He yelled in pain, but managed to kick the animal away. Another jumped and bit into his upper arm. With his free hand, Ash grabbed the fur on its neck, breaking its hold. It was heavy, but adrenaline had given him extra strength. This was primitive combat. He tossed the cat into its brawling fellow felines, whereupon it immediately joined in the fracas.
Ash quickly realized this was his chance. While many of the animals had become involved in the general melee, the few he was left to face seemed to have become more wary of him. One approached and stood only three feet away from him, its haunches raised, quivering shoulders low to the ground, evil, slanted, yellow eyes looking straight into Ash’s. He could feel its venom, its cunning as it prepared to lunge at him.
The investigator struck first. Taking one step forward, he brought the branch down hard between the beast’s slanted eyes. He felt rather than heard the crunch of the wildcat’s skull splitting, as the reverberation ran up the branch and along his lower arm. The animal dropped instantly, its companions sniffing its corpse, a little more wary of their foe. This two-legged animal was more dangerous than those they had slaughtered and maimed the night before.
The wildcats slowly backed away, but didn’t leave. He saw they were slyly regrouping, and that the skirmish among the other wildcats was dying down.
Then he heard Delphine scream.
The investigator looked in the direction she had fled. She’d got further than he’d thought possible, but now she was bent over, a wildcat clinging to her back, tearing her coat with its claws and using its back legs to try and bring her down. As he watched, another cat jumped onto her shoulder and tried to sink its fangs into her neck. Fortunately, her coat’s thick collar was protecting her, but it wouldn’t be long before they brought her to the ground.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a wildcat springing at him. Holding the branch like a baseball bat, he swiped at the creature while it was still in the air. It flew several feet, tumbling and screeching wildly as it landed on the back of another of its cohort.
Ash felt teeth sink into his lower leg, just above his ankle. This time he held the stout branch vertically and plunged it down into the creature’s exposed head. It dropped to the ground lifeless with hardly a squeal. Surprised, Ash watched as the other wildcats pounced on their prone companion and bit into its unmoving body, tearing out lumps of flesh to chew on.
This was his chance. With one last strike at an advancing cat, knocking it to the ground, Ash bolted after Delphine, leaping over fallen branches as he ran, barely breaking pace. Most of the wildcats sped after him, spreading out between the trees as they did so in a flanking manoeuvre. It was this that gave him an edge, for their instinctive hunters’ ploy made it just a little harder for any of them to get ahead of him. Delphine’s screams forced him to run faster, dodging trees and high brush with a skill he never knew he possessed.
It took only seconds to reach Delphine, who was bent double trying to dislodge one wildcat whose claws were now entangled in her hair. He grabbed the animal under its belly and literally tore it off the terrified psychologist, its claws ripping away some of her hair. He tossed the surprised beast at the tall, brick wall close by, stunning it, then turned on the one still hooked into Delphine’s back, front and back claws raking through her coat and the thin clothing beneath. This time, Ash struck the animal’s arched spine again and again until it could stand the pounding no longer.
Snarling and hissing, the wildcat let go of Delphine and fell to the forest floor. Its spine broken, it dragged itself away on its belly, making small mewling sounds. The semicircle of wildcats waited until their wounded comrade collapsed before pouncing almost as one on the defenceless creature. Easier meat, Ash recognized wryly.
What manner of species were these that they would turn against their own with such brutal, dispassionate savagery? He couldn’t help but wonder if all Scottish wildcats were like this, or if this particular pack – an unusual phenomenon in itself – were influenced by the malign forces that perhaps had drawn them to Comraich. With horror, he watched the defenceless creature as it pitifully tried to crawl away from the frenzied mob, while its companions gorged themselves on its belly and hind legs. These were not just hunters, thought Ash, but were scavengers too.
Delphine was now leaning against him, and he could tell she was hurt, although all tears were gone. He also realized how very close they were to the old stone wall. Walking backwards, taking Delphine with him, and brandishing the tree branch that had served him well as a weapon so far, he whispered to her, never once taking his eyes off the swarming wildcats, ‘Have you found a way inside?’
Several wildcats on the fringes of the teeming mass were beginning to take a renewed interest in them. Their strangely bushy tails were risen and twitching stiffly from side to side.
She replied to him softly, her voice less quavery. ‘I think we can make it. The doorway in the wall on this side is just a bit further along.’ She guided him backwards so that he could keep an eye on their pursuers.
The commotion was dying down and a few of the cats were moving away, obviously content with the meat they’d already consumed. But others were stirring, starting to stalk Ash and Delphine once more.
The investigator’s boots crunched on the gravel.
‘The path goes all the way round the walls, the entrance is midway.’ Delphine was anxiously pulling him along somewhat faster than before.
‘Don’t panic,’ he told her gently. ‘Let them stalk us for a while, but if they break, we break too, okay?’
‘Okay.’
Ash could tell the wildcats were readying themselves to renew their attack. It was as if he had some kind of psychic link with the creatures. Somehow he knew they finally intended to finish the hunt.
He was ready a second or two before the wildcats were.
‘Run, Delphine!’ he yelled as the animals began to charge. ‘Run like hell an
d don’t look back!’
56
For a brief moment it felt as if he’d entered a portal to paradise with the Devil’s own demons at his heels.
Although Ash had no time to ponder the metaphor, the image flashed through his mind nevertheless because the beautifully maintained walled garden was filled with colour, even so late in the season. The contradiction of being chased by snarling, hissing beasts into such a tranquil haven was not lost on him either.
Ash had roared at the cats, challenging them to take him on, pounding the gravelled pathway with the wooden staff to deflect their attention from Delphine. He’d laid some of them out with the makeshift club, but each time he disposed of one, another took its place. Finally, Ash had had no choice but to follow Delphine and hope that she’d managed to reach safety. His arms had grown leaden and the length of wood felt heavier with each strike. Taking one last swat at the horde, he’d run after the psychologist as fast as his tiring legs would allow, the wildcats in close pursuit.
He’d reached the entrance to the walled garden just as the claws of the nearest animal began raking his jeans. Delphine was waiting inside the arched door, holding it open just enough for him to get through. He’d squeezed in, then tried to slam the stout door shut, but the wildcat had managed to get its head into the gap. It screeched in pain, its gaping mouth revealing vicious pointed fangs. Ash turned swiftly and kicked at its head, then used the staff to shove it back out, allowing Delphine finally to close the green-painted door. There was no bolt, but the sturdy old latch would hold off the creatures for a while.
Now he had time to think.
Ash rested his back against the thick wood and felt the fierce but ineffectual thumps as the wildcats threw themselves at it from the other side. His knees were slightly bent from both exhaustion and relief and Delphine slumped into his embrace. He dropped the bloodied tree branch and held her with both arms, quickly scanning the interior of the walled garden. Stone paths skirted the flower borders, cutting through them in neat symmetrical lines. Although his chest was heaving as he gasped for air, he held Delphine tightly, listening to the yowls of the wildcats as they scratched the wood just inches from his head, frantic to get inside and at their prey. He saw three more entrances to the walled garden, one of which was directly opposite them, and another to his left; both of those had doors that were shut, but to his right at the end was a wider entrance with no door at all.