The Disappearance of Katie Wren (30 page)

“They are coming,” Katie whispers.

I turn to her. “Who are?”

“They do not give up,” she continues. “I would have thought they had been beaten back by now, yet still they swarm. My followers are not the only ones who have kept their faith alive. My enemies, too, have managed to wait for my return. They are coming in great number, defying the hopelessness of their task. Even if they raised ten million of their number, I would swat them aside like vermin.”

“We must prepare,” Harry says, turning to the others. “We must be ready!”

“Let's go home,” I tell Katie, tugging on her hand. “Darling, please, all you have to do is come with me and everything will be okay. I promise!”

“How dare they still come at me?” she asks, turning and looking around the chamber. After a moment, she stops and stares at a large glass window high up near the ceiling. “Do they really think they can slow my progress? Perhaps the fools are doomed to try. After all, they're dumb creatures. Perhaps they can't reason with their fate. Perhaps they can only do what they were told to do.”

“Please just come home with me,” I whimper, still trying to pull her toward the door. “Katie...”

“I hear their wings now,” she continues with a grin. “Let them try!”

“Katie, you must -”

Before I can finish, there's a loud crashing sound above. Looking up, I'm shocked to see scores of crows and ravens smashing through the window and flying into the chamber. Within seconds there's a swarm, with hundreds of black birds arcing and swooping all around, and the sound of their caws is deafening.

“Defend Hiirux!” Harry yells, as the other hooded figures get to their feet. “Keep him safe!”

“I don't need your help,” Katie sneers.

I duck down as several crows swoop low over me. Hundreds more have already rushed through the broken window, filling the chamber above us. Their anguished caws echo all around, along with the sound of their flapping wings, but Katie stands perfectly still, as if she feels no threat at all.

Nearby, one of the hooded figures lets out a sudden cry. Turning, I see that he's trying to attack one of the ravens, but two others have set upon him and now all three birds are pecking furiously at his face. He falls back, slumping to the ground as he tries desperately to push his assailants away, but his face is a pulpy mess and I watch in horror as one of the birds neatly excises his left eyeball and holds it in its beak.

Behind me, more men cry out, and I turn to see that the ravens and crows are making swift work of the worshipers.

“Get Hiirux out of here!” Dominic Stewart shouts, running toward us. “Don't let -”

Before he can say another word, several crows slam into his chest and knock him back. He screams as he tries to brush them away, but they're already pecking at his neck and pulling long, stringy clumps of pink flesh from his throat. Such is the force of their attack, they actually start lifting him up in the air, before the strings of flesh are torn and his corpse slumps back down.

“It might be wise to retreat to another part of the house,” Harry says as he hurries over to Katie. “There's no need to expend excess energy, not when you've only just arrived.”

“You want me to run away?” Katie asks with a smile, turning and watching the carnage as if she actually enjoys seeing all these men being killed.

“Of course not,” Harry continues, “but -”

“You'll note that not one of them has come for me directly yet,” she adds. “They don't dare. They prefer to go for the weaker targets first, perhaps to build up their courage. Deep down, they know that my followers don't matter at all. I don't need sycophants or adherents, not now. Let the crows and ravens feast. All creatures should have full bellies when they die.”

“Stop them!” I shout, putting my hands over my ears as the din becomes unbearable. “Katie, we have to get out of here!”

Her response is to laugh. As more and more screams ring out all around us, and as the birds tear apart the rest of the hooded figures, Katie simply stands and watches and laughs. It's as if she's amused by the sight of so much blood being spilled, and she doesn't even react when the birds start landing on the various surfaces all around and begin to observe her. All I can do is keep pulling futilely on her arm, even though I can tell she's not going to budge. Finally the last of the hooded figures falls still, and the birds settle to watch Katie with the dark, beady eyes.

“Come on, then,” she says after a moment, goading them. “This is what you've been waiting for, isn't it? Two thousand years have passed since you were given your task. Why delay now? Come and stop me!”

“We should leave,” Harry tells her.

She pauses, still keeping her eyes on the birds. “You're right,” she whispers finally. “But before we do that, I need to deal with these annoyances.”

He shakes his head. “Time is of the -”

“Let them burn!” she hisses, and instantly several of the nearest birds burst into flames.

As the fire spreads, the burning birds start flying again, shrieking as they soar through the chamber. Several of them dive toward Katie, only to burst into a shower of ashes as soon as they hit her bare flesh. She laughs, but the birds are everywhere now and – together – Harry and I are finally able to drag my poor, delirious daughter toward the door.

“Look at them!” she giggles. “Look how pathetic they are!”

“That's all very well,” Harry mutters, “but -”

“I want to see them kill again!” she shouts, grabbing him by the shoulders and shoving him to the ground. “I want to see what you can do!” she yells at the birds as they swoop toward her. “It amuses me to see your efforts! Show me!”

Harry cries out, but already several birds are attacking him. I watch in horror as their razor-sharp beaks start shredding his flesh, tearing strips from his face and neck. While some of the birds are burning, many more are still rushing in through the broken window and the ceiling is now a mass of swirling black caws. Several rush down past me, battering my face with their wings as they hurry to join the attack on Harry, but he's already stopped fighting back and now he's simply flat on his back as the birds jostle for position on his carcass.

“That was fun,” Katie says after a moment. “Perhaps next, once they realize they have no chance of stopping me, they'll turn on one another. I'd like to see that.”

“Fun?” I stammer, still shocked by her newfound love of such awful horror. “Katie -”

“There's that name again,” she continues, turning to me and tilting her head. “You're not like the rest here. You're not a worshiper.”

“I most certainly don't worship you right now!” I snap. “Katie Wren, you -”

“I want to see another.”

“Another what?” I ask breathlessly.

She smiles. “Death. I want to see it again. It was fun to watch.”

I reach out and grab her hand. “Katie, you're seriously mentally -”

“You'll do!”

Suddenly she puts her hands on my shoulders and shoves me back, sending me slamming to the ground next to Harry's ravaged body. I try to get up, but several of the birds have already hopped over to me and have started pecking at my arms.

“You're funny,” Katie continues, smiling as I scream. “Fragile, but funny.”

Chapter Forty

The Escape

Pushing the birds away, I stumble to my feet, only for more of them to land on my back and start pecking at my shoulders. I stumble forward, but Katie is already in the doorway, as if she means to seal me inside the chamber.

“Help me!” I shout, flinching as I feel tiny beaks and claws scratching at my face. I reach out to her, but her smile only broadens. “Katie, please... I'm your mother...”

“Perhaps some part of Katie can see you now through these new eyes,” she replies, starting to swing the door shut. “I think maybe I hear her crying out, deep in -”

Suddenly there's a loud cry of anger, and a vase smashes into the side of Katie's head from behind. She stumbles forward against the door-jamb, and I'm shocked to see a bloodied Annabelle limping into view. As Katie drops to her knees, Annabelle grabs my hand and pulls me away from the birds, and then we both turn and watch the vast swarm swirling through the chamber. The burning birds are dead, but more and more are coming to take their places, and the flaming carcasses have already set fire to the huge red cloths that adorn the walls.

Turning to Annabelle, I see that she's clutching the wound in her chest, where glistening red blood continues to ooze from her body.

“Looks like you've been busy,” she groans. “Were the birds your idea, or did they show up on their own?”

“We have to get her out of here,” I reply, reaching down and hauling Katie to her feet. “We only -”

Suddenly Katie turns to me and screams, slamming her fist against the side of my head and knocking me to the ground. She lets out another angry cry as she lunges at Annabelle, sending them both tumbling down.

“Stop!” I shout, but Katie already has her hands around Annabelle's neck and appears to be choking her.

Annabelle reaches up to push her away, but her bloodied hands are too weak.

“Leave her alone!” I yell, hoping against hope that Katie will understand. “Katie, stop!”

When she fails to reply, I look around for something I can use as a weapon. Finally spotting the vase, I grab it and then get to my feet. I hesitate for a moment, horrified by the prospect of using this thing against my daughter, but I quickly see that Annabelle is losing consciousness. Finally, I raise the vase up high and then I bring it crashing down with such force that it shatters when it hits Katie's head. She lets out a groan and drops down, and Annabelle quickly pushes her away.

“You hesitated!” Annabelle hisses.

“I -”

“Yes you did!” she continues, brushing herself down as she stumbles to her feet. “I saw it in your eyes. There was a moment where you weren't sure whether to actually lamp her!”

“I only -”

Before I can finish, several crows fly through the door and settle on Katie's unconscious body. They start pecking at her bare flesh, but I quickly shoo them away.

“Well
they're
going nuts about something,” Annabelle points out. “For a moment there, when I looked into your daughter's eyes, I saw...”

She pauses.

“Never mind,” she adds, shaking her head. “It's not possible. She's just a deluded, middle class -”

Suddenly hearing an agonized cry, we both turn just in time to see that Harry is rising from the chamber's floor. Most of his flesh has been pecked and scratched away, and several birds are still attacking him, but somehow he still manages to get to his feet. For a moment, I'm too shocked to react as he starts limping toward us, and I can't stop staring at the patches of glistening bone that are visible on one side of his face, with threads of flesh and muscle hanging down. One of his eyes has been pecked hollow, while the other is bloodied.

“Praise Hiirux!” he growls, his flapping tongue visible through a gap in his throat. He reaches toward us. “Praise -”

“Sorry,” Annabelle says darkly, slamming the door shut to seal him inside. “I'm really not in the mood to be praising anyone!”

She flinches as Harry slams into the door's other side, and for a moment he can be heard hammering to get out. He's still screaming, but more birds can be heard scratching at his body and finally I spot his shadow at the bottom of the door as he slumps down.

“You deserve that!” Annabelle hisses, still holding the door shut. “For every lie you told, you deserve another peck from those birds. And I think you told a hell of a lot of lies.”

I can't hear Harry anymore, but I can still hear the birds furiously filling the chamber. A moment later, I also hear a faint moan from nearby, and I turn to see that Katie is starting to stir.

“That's not a good sign,” Annabelle tells me. “Wallop her again!”

“She's my -”

“Oh, fine!” She leaves the door and hurries over, quickly grabbing the back of Katie's head and then slamming it back down against the stones.

“You'll hurt her!” I shout.

She turns to me. “You think?”

“We have to get her out of here,” I stammer. “She's lost her mind. She thinks she's the reincarnation of this Hiirux creature. I saw it in her eyes, she's absolutely convinced.”

“Yeah, well...” Annabelle turns and looks down at the bottom of the door, where dark smoke is starting to leak through from the burning chamber. “I think we've done enough damage for one day. You're right, Winnie. It might be time to roll out of here.”

She turns to pick Katie up, but suddenly she lets out a gasp and drops to her knees, clutching her wounded chest.

“I'll help you,” I tell her, hurrying over and grabbing her arm.

“I'm fine!” she hisses. “You're gonna have to carry Princess Snowflake! I can't do it!”

I hesitate for a moment, before realizing that she's right. Stepping past her, I reach down and slip my hands under Katie's bloodied, ravaged body, and then finally I lift her up. I'm by no means a strong woman, but my heart is pounding and I somehow manage to scoop her into my arms.

“Now run!” Annabelle shouts. “Don't look back!”

Turning, I start carrying Katie along the corridor, heading back toward the front of the house. After a moment, however, I glance over my shoulder and see that Annabelle is struggling to keep up.

“I'll be fine!” she yells. “Just run!”

“But -”

“Run!”

I turn and carry Katie to the end of the corridor, before looking back again.

“Keep moving!” Annabelle shouts, as more and more smoke fills the air behind her. “I'm fine! I'm just a bit slow!”

It takes me a few minutes to reach the front of the house. There's more smoke in the corridors now, and it's clear that the fire has spread from the chamber. For a moment, I start to worry that I'll never find my way out of this maze, but all of a sudden I spot several maids rushing past, so I follow them and quickly reach the front door. I look over my shoulder and back toward the flames, and finally I spot Annabelle still limping after us. Convinced that she'll make it, I carry Katie out the front door and down the steps. A crowd has gathered outside, evidently drawn by the flames that are now bursting out through the roof of the building, but they step aside as I stumble to the pavement and set Katie down on the cold ground.

“Call an ambulance!” I scream, looking down at my poor girl's bloodied face. “Somebody -”

Suddenly I hear a loud rumbling sound over my shoulder. I turn and look back at the wide-open front door, but the entire facade of Knott's Court is shaking and a moment later I see the roof crashing down into the house's interior. Flames burst up into the night sky, filling the air, but it's clear that nobody could get out now. As sirens ring out in the distance, I get to my feet and step back toward the house, only for someone to grab my arm.

“You shouldn't get too close,” she warns me. “I think the whole place is coming down.”

“Where's Annabelle?” I whisper, looking around at the gawking faces. She wasn't far behind us, and I'm certain she must have found her way out, but I don't see her anywhere.

“What happened in there?” another bystander asks.

“Where's Annabelle?” I stammer again, still looking around before turning back to the house just as the rest of the roof collapses, raining fire down upon what's left of the interior. “A woman! She was right behind me! Did you see her come out?”

“I didn't see anyone come out after you,” a woman says.

“Me neither,” adds the man next to her. “You carried that girl out, and then the whole place pretty much collapsed straight after.”

“She made it,” I whisper. “She must have. Please God, she must have made it out after us and -”

Before I can finish, there's another loud, ominous creaking sound from the house, and I see that the facade is starting to lean toward us as the foundations of the building crumble.

“It's gonna fall!” a man shouts. “Everyone get out of the way!”

Hands grab my arms, pulling me back. I turn and see that several strangers have picked Katie up and are carrying her along the street, and I'm quickly swept along by the rush of people trying to get to safety. I look back toward the flaming ruins, desperate to see some sign that Annabelle escaped, but to my horror the entire house creaks and groans as it topples down. The facade crumples, smashing down to the street and sending plumes of thick smoke high into the orange-tinted night sky, obliterating the spot where we were standing just a moment ago.

“Annabelle!” I scream, but I know it's already too late.

Part of the house has hit the construction site on the other side of the street, and I look up just as the large red crane swings around. The ground rumbles for a moment, and finally the crane tilts over and crashes down onto the remains of Knott's Court. I hear screams in the distance, and the sound of further collapses, and for a moment the scene looks like an absolute war-zone.

Hugh clouds of dust fill the air, billowing along the street before starting to disperse.

There's nothing left of Knott's Court now. The entire building is just a burning pile of rubble, and the flashing blue lights of police cars and ambulances are finally arriving. Flames are reaching high into the sky, carrying cinders toward the darkness. Knott's Court has been entirely destroyed, and it's quite evident that nobody else is going to emerge from the ruins. Feeling a cold shudder pass through my chest, I turn and watch for a moment as several men attend to Katie's unconscious body.

High above, scores of crows are circling. And watching.