‘It won’t be a mock wedding,’ Nicola protested. ‘Tom and I love each other. This is what we really want.’
Joshua rubbed his jaw as he worked through some weighty problems. ‘Of course, it won’t be a marriage ceremony that will be valid in the eyes of the law.’
Nicola’s voice rose. She sounded excited. ‘What does it matter if it’s not valid according to the letter of the law? We want it be valid in the eyes of those gods, ghosts – whatever they are! – that have made my family prisoners. I’m going to break this curse on my flesh and blood. I’m going to smash it into a million pieces!’
Mrs Bekk groaned. ‘You will trigger the curse, Nicola. This is where you face the greatest danger.’
Joshua’s gaze roamed across everyone there. ‘It will be an extremely unconventional ceremony, and that’s the opinion of this extremely unconventional priest, but I say the marriage goes ahead. I believe in taking bold risks. There is a chance that these two people being wed might spare us from that creature. Therefore, I am prepared to conduct the ceremony.’
‘I say it goes ahead, too.’ Rachel nodded. ‘I’m for anything that saves my children.’
‘You don’t have a ring,’ Chester pointed out.
‘Here.’ Rachel pulled a ring from her right hand. ‘This was my grandmother’s wedding ring. I only wear it because it looks nice. I want you to use this ring for what it was made for.’
‘Something borrowed.’ Nicola smiled. ‘Thank you.’
‘If this wedding gets my children out of here alive, then keep the ring with my blessing.’ She smiled back. ‘Consider that to be your first wedding present.’
Tom and Nicola nodded their thanks. Then Nicola handed the ring to Chester. ‘Usually, it’s the groom who invites someone to be the best man. But would you do us the honour, Chester?’
‘Maybe it’s time I started making amends.’ He sighed as he took the plain gold band. ‘And maybe we’ve deserve what’s coming to us.’
Nicola took hold of his hand. ‘Chester. You were always kind to me at school. You didn’t join in with the others when they were being cruel.’
He smiled. ‘I’ll be honoured to be best man. Thank you for asking me.’
Joshua beckoned them towards the altar at the far end of the church. ‘These are going to be the fastest preparations ever for a wedding. So, if the bride and groom would kindly follow me? Everyone else fall in behind.’ Clearly, the priest felt happier now that he could actually perform some useful task. The man became energized; his eyes sparkled behind the white-rimmed glasses. Show time. ‘Mrs Bekk, you come along, too. It’s not every day that a mother sees her daughter getting married.’
The procession might have been dishevelled, exhausted, and still frightened, but it was a procession nonetheless. Burning candles cast a soft golden light on the scene. Joshua went first, leading his party along the central aisle of the ancient church. Tom and Nicola went next, walking side-by-side. After them, there was Chester Kenyon. Following him, Phil, Rachel and her children, and then the rest of the survivors, including the white-haired man who’d taken refuge behind the tapestry earlier.
Mrs Bekk followed, too. Her expression was unreadable. Tom thought he’d seen a glimmer of hope in her eye – that maybe the ancient magic, which was both the Bekks’ curse and protection, could be broken.
Even Bolter tottered forwards, too – the last member of the procession.
All of a sudden, there was a piercing scream. Rachel pointed at one of the windows and shouted in panic.
Tom now realized that Helsvir hadn’t left them alone, after all. Because there, pressed against a stained-glass window that depicted a sun rising over a green hill, were dozens of heads. The centuries’ old panes distorted and blurred the faces. But the staring eyes were plain to see.
Helsvir had climbed up the side of the church. The protective steel mesh over the windows prevented it breaking in straightaway. Even so, it could still push itself forward against the stained glass.
‘It must have been there all along!’ shouted Rachel. ‘That thing’s been listening to what we’ve been saying!’
Joshua’s eyes remained so solemn and wise as he said, ‘Then Helsvir knows what we are intending to do. So this won’t come as a shock to him.’ Joshua went to stand before the altar, and as he turned to face the group he lightly touched his priest’s white collar. He seemed to find reassurance in its presence around his neck. With that small ritual of his accomplished, he took a deep breath, and when he spoke, his words rang out with absolute clarity and strength: ‘My friends, we are gathered here tonight . . .’
On the other side of the window Helsvir, the monstrous protector of the Bekk bloodline, began to hiss. The same kind of menace-filled sound that a venomous serpent makes just before it attacks.
SIXTY-ONE
Joshua Gordon Squire’s voice possessed such power and resonance that even time itself seemed to stop and listen: ‘My friends, we are gathered here tonight to witness and to celebrate the joining together of this man and woman in matrimony. I’m not going to use the traditional Christian marriage ceremony, because this isn’t a traditional marriage. I will not presume to know the religious beliefs of these two people. However, the willing and voluntary union of two people in heart, body and mind is a universal institution of human beings since the dawn of time . . .’
Tom Westonby stood before the priest, and maybe even before the Lord of Creation, and he listened to that wonderful voice say those beautiful words. Nicola stood beside Tom, the candlelight falling on to her face and shining on the pale blonde hair. He loved her more than he had ever done before. His heart beat with a measured rhythm that was strong and true.
Meanwhile, Helsvir pressed its loathsome body against the stained-glass window. Its many faces were pushed right up to the coloured glass as it stared in; the eyes were entirely white apart from their fiercely black pupils. Helsvir appeared spellbound by what it witnessed, because the creature had the stillness of death.
Joshua’s melodic voice soared on the tranquil air. ‘Into this union, Tom Westonby and Nicola Bekk now freely and joyously consent to be joined. And we, who are gathered here, witness the joining of this couple in marriage. Do you, Tom, take Nicola to be your wife?’
‘I do.’
‘Do you, Nicola, take Tom to be your husband?’
‘I do.’
‘Best man, hand the ring to the bridegroom, please. Tom, place the ring on Nicola’s finger.’
Tom slipped the gold band on to the slender finger. He felt her hand tremble as if a numinous power had suddenly blazed through her flesh.
The creature hissed, and its faces became even more distorted as they were forced harder against the glass, as if they wanted a clearer view of what was happening inside.
Joshua’s voice sang out: ‘Then I declare before God, and before all these present . . .’
Helsvir’s limbs suddenly struck the steelwork covering the window. The blow was so ferocious that the entire building trembled. Dust spiralled down from the roof, glittering like tiny falling stars in the candlelight.
Helsvir punched the grid again. Reverberations from the blow even made the bells tremble in the tower, producing a sustained chime that only faded away after several seconds.
Taking a deep breath, Joshua surged on; the huge boom of his voice even defeated the clatter of Helsvir striking the mesh: ‘Then I declare before God, and before all these present, that you are husband and wife.’ He wouldn’t let Helsvir’s fury deflect him from his mission. The priest smiled at the couple. ‘Tom Westonby, you may now kiss your beautiful bride.’
Tom kissed her.
An absolute silence fell.
Nicola put her hands at either side of Tom’s face, pulled him down towards her, and pressed her lips against his.
At the sight of the kisses, and the gold ring on her finger, Helsvir went berserk. A flurry of hands tore at the steel mesh as it screamed and bellowed.
Despite
the noise, Nicola turned to the people behind her; she smiled and showed them the ring. Then she shot Tom an OK-here-goes look as she faced Mrs Bekk. ‘Are you happy for us, Mother?’
‘I wish I could be.’ Mrs Bekk spoke sadly. ‘I wish you could break the curse and be happy. But I know for you . . . for both of you . . . the worst is still to come tonight.’
One of Helsvir’s fists punched through the window, right in the centre of the yellow rising sun in the stained glass.
‘You haven’t stopped it,’ Phil cried. ‘It’s got through the mesh!’
‘Breaking news.’ Bolter stared in horrified fascination as a naked arm wormed through the hole in the pane. ‘Breaking news! The monster is smashing its way into the church. Men, women and children are in imminent danger of death.’
Nicola spoke to Tom. ‘We’re married now. I’m finally your bride. We’re going out there together, and we’re going to face Helsvir.’
They walked quickly to the church’s main entrance, pulled back the bolts, swung open the door, and went out into the moonlight.
Tom called to Chester, ‘Lock this door shut. Don’t open it until we come back.’
If we come back . . .
Tom, however, didn’t speak the thought aloud. He was with Nicola now. They both trusted each other.
The flood hadn’t risen any higher. The band of dry earth still remained around the church. As islands go, it was a small one, but at least it wasn’t shrinking any further. They quickly circled the church to the other side.
There they found Helsvir ripping at the mesh. Every so often one of its forest of arms would punch another hole in the glass.
‘Helsvir.’ There wasn’t a trace of fear in Nicola’s voice. ‘Helsvir. Stop this now.’
‘It’s time to go, Helsvir.’ Tom stood side-by-side with Nicola. ‘We both want you to go away forever.’
The monster had been pulsating with fury as it attacked the church window. Now it abruptly stopped. The thing even seemed to freeze as if afraid to turn round. Then the heads that budded from its pale back suddenly twisted a full one hundred and eighty degrees to face Tom and Nicola. The movement was a smooth ripple effect, almost like when a bird fluffs out the feathers on its body. Dozens of eyes locked on Tom, then they fixed on Nicola.
‘I don’t need you now, Helsvir.’ Nicola took hold of Tom’s hand and raised it so those glaring eyes could see their fingers were knitted together. ‘I have a new protector.’
The beast dropped down from the window. The ground shuddered from the impact.
Helsvir advanced on them. A menacing hiss filled the air. The heads bristled from the body. Those eyes were sizing Tom up. The creature was getting ready to attack.
‘No, Helsvir.’ Then Nicola made such an intelligent statement of fact that the words took Tom’s breath away. ‘This man is Tom Westonby. He is going to be the father of my children. If you kill him, those children won’t be born. And that will be your fault. I will blame you for his death. And I will blame you for ending my family’s bloodline.’ That’s when she did something that terrified Tom to the core. Because she walked forward and rested her hand on the creature’s expanse of damp, grey skin.
‘Careful, Nicola. Stay away from it.’
She shot a smile back at him, which said: it’s OK, I know what I’m doing. Softly, she continued speaking to Helsvir: ‘I used to think I saw you in my dreams. Now I know you were real. And I know that we were friends. Whenever you could, you protected me. But even you couldn’t follow me into school.’ She gently rubbed the wet flesh as if rubbing the neck of a much-loved dog. ‘I’ve grown up now, Helsvir. I’m no longer the little girl that needs you to keep her safe. And I’ve married the man I love. So I want you to take a good look at him. In a way, Tom’s part of me now – just as I’m part of him. If you hurt Tom, you hurt me.’
Helsvir kept the faces locked in the direction of Tom. There was bewilderment duplicated in those dozens of eyes. Even hurt . . . Definitely sadness.
‘Tom and I are going to live together . . . We’ll look after each other. And we’ll take care of the children we have, and we will love them with all our hearts.’
A sound came from the lips on all those faces. A pained gasp as it finally understood.
Tom finally understood too; he found himself echoing the same gasp as he realized the truth. ‘Helsvir didn’t just guard you, Nicola. He loved you, too.’
At that moment, Tom saw Helsvir as the faithful dog that loved his mistress and would die to save her life. But now that role had gone.
Each eye changed in the animal. Each one was shot through with pain.
‘I’m sorry, Helsvir.’ She stepped forward to touch it again.
This time it shrank back. An aura of absolute horror radiated from the animal. It knew its relationship with her was over. The body seemed to become smaller as it continued to shrink away from her. Helsvir soon reached the water where it continued to move backwards until the water covered it.
Tom knew it was leaving. Even when the entire body had become submerged, he could see the waves the creature made as it headed back into the flooded street. In seconds, those flurries of ripples were retreating to where the river was deepest. Then the ripples themselves faded away.
Hand in hand they walked back to the church door. Chester swung it open so they could walk inside.
‘Helsvir’s gone,’ Tom said.
‘For good,’ Nicola added.
Joshua clapped his hands together. ‘I knew you could do it. Indeed, love does conquer all.’
‘Breaking news.’ Bolter’s druggie eyes gleamed. Even he was happy. ‘The monster’s vamoosed.’
The others clustered round. The men slapped Tom on the back. Rachel kissed Nicola on the cheek and thanked her. As Tom held on to Nicola’s hand her grip suddenly tightened. He thought this was due to the powerful emotion she must be feeling right now.
But then came the dreadful moment of truth.
Bolter pointed at her face. ‘Look at her eyes! What’s happening to her?’
‘The curse is happening to her.’ Mrs Bekk’s voice held such depths of sadness. ‘Tom, didn’t I warn you there would be consequences if you married Nicola? Now you’ll have to watch your bride as she leaves this life behind.’
SIXTY-TWO
Even though the church was silent – nobody moving; everyone staring at Nicola – Tom heard thunder. This was the blood pounding in his ears as pangs of dread ran through him.
Because Nicola is changing.
His memory summoned vivid images of Nicola’s brothers and sisters in the forest. Mrs Bekk had told him that her children had been transformed into those still, silent creatures, because they’d dared turn their backs on the family legends. They’d chosen a modern life of careers, nights out with friends, and they wanted lovers that no longer believed that Viking gods were the masters of the universe.
So they’d left their ancestral home beside the River Lepping. What Nicola’s brothers and sisters had not succeeded in leaving behind, however, was the ancient curse. They’d changed. Just as Nicola now changed. Into something inhuman. Into a creature that Mrs Bekk had called a vampire.
Chester, Joshua, Rachel, and the others in the church, couldn’t take their eyes from Nicola. They watched in horror at what was happening to her face.
‘I warned you,’ hissed Mrs Bekk. ‘I told you to watch out for the first symptoms of the change. This is your fault, Tom. You used that silver tongue of yours to persuade her to marry you.’
‘We love each other.’ Tom’s eyes were locked on to Nicola’s face. ‘Nicola wanted to marry me as much as I wanted to marry her.’
‘Well . . . you got what you wished for. Now you can witness the consequences of defying her heritage. I’ve seen this happen to all my sons and daughters. Remember what I told you, Tom? It’s like watching a death.’
Bolter stared, too, with a mixture of glee and bug-eyed terror. ‘Breaking news . . .’ The idiot still revelled in the
drug-induced delusion that he was a television reporter. ‘Breaking news . . . We stand here tonight, watching Miss Nicola Bekk turn into a bloodsucking monster. You’ll notice how pale her face is becoming . . . how her eyes are now being transformed. Nicola Bekk is—’
‘Shut up.’ Tom had never been so angry before. ‘I don’t want to hear Nicola’s name coming out of your damn mouth.’
‘Viewers might want to look away now. Because Nicola Bekk is turning into a monster.’
That did it. Tom threw a vicious punch. Its sheer power lifted Bolter off his feet, sending him crashing backwards to the floor.
Still nobody else moved. They hardly seemed aware that Tom had knocked the thug down. Everyone watched, with horrified fascination, as Nicola Bekk stopped being Nicola Bekk. They felt themselves compelled to see what she became.
Bolter lay there with blood spewing from his mouth. Tom didn’t give a damn what happened to that piece of crap. Instead, he focused his senses on Nicola. Because his new bride changed by the second.
Bolter had been right about her skin colour. Her face paled until it became absolutely white . . . Somehow the whiteness was shocking: a strange, luminous white that didn’t even seem like human skin any more. Meanwhile, the blue leeched away from her eyes.
By the light of the candles, Tom saw the pupils of her eyes contract into fierce, black points. The veins in her neck darkened, too. Within moments, a swirling pattern had formed on her throat; something like black tattooed lines. An eerie map that traced the route of her transformation from a beautiful, lively woman to this dead-alive statue.
Nicola didn’t move. She didn’t even seem to breathe. Even though she’d done nothing and said nothing since this began, Tom could tell that her personality was undergoing a transformation, too. A mind profoundly different to the one he’d known, and grown to love, slowly and relentlessly took control of her slender body.
As Bolter hauled himself to his feet, he started chuckling. ‘Breaking news . . . Mr Tom Westonby is just moments away from death.’