Banshee Angel Of Judgement (8 page)

As darkness fell she
sensed a presence though could not see who or what it was at first.
The feeling persisted keeping her from leaving to fulfil the task
she had for the night. She began searching, still nothing other
than the awareness that something was watching.

As she
re-entered the kitchen a shadow moved in the corner. “Who is it?
What is it you want?” she demanded, readying herself to attack the
intruder in her screeching fury.

At first there
was no answer; then the old clergyman took form before her. His
eyes showing the kindness she remembered so well as she grew
through her short life.

“
Why have you come?” She
asked bitter at the memory of what she had lost and knowing
he to was now lost to her too.

“
Oh, what have
you become my dear child?” Sadness tinged the words, pulling at
her.

“
I…” She
didn’t know how she could explain.

“
You can not
continue this vengeful murderous existence you have chosen, you
must give up and allow yourself the peace that the lord offers,”
she could feel his words had power to free her but the darkness
that she had dwelled in prevented her from the light he
offered.

“
How is it
you are here?”

“
It is simply
my time as it was yours.”

“
No it was
not my time, they took everything from me and for what?” Her hatred
grew at the thought of all they had taken from her as the shadows
grew around her.

“
You must
forgive them,” he hoped he could convince her before he crossed
over that somehow he might be able to bring her tranquillity so she
could find the rest she needed, to find an escape to the damnation
she now brought upon herself.

“
Forgive,”
she mocked, “for plotting to send me to the death of a witch and
for what so the laird could get back his little bit of land, that
his father gave to my mother for the kindness she showed
him.”

“
The laird,” he showed his surprise at this
news
, as it had never crossed
his mind that the laird could have been involved in the
accusations.

“
Yes the one
that set them all against me as well as you,” anger now mixed with
the words along with a cold tempered hatred.

“
You can’t
believe this to be true, who told you such lies?” The troubled soul
of the minister showed the shock of this revelation.

“
I heard it
from his own mouth, the night I took my first soul,” she gloated
venomously.

It dawned on him what she
was saying. He also knew what she planned to do. “But you can’t,
not the laird.”

“
And why not?
After all he plotted against you too,” pleasure at the look this
brought to his face filled her.

He took a moment to
answer, “He is you’re half brother so you must forgive
him.”

His words were like a bolt
of lightning striking deep into her being. She could tell this was
the truth, she knew he had no reason to lie.

“
Forgive!”
She cackled
dryly, “and what of his plotting your down fall as
well.”

“
No matter now, I am beyond his reach now
as are you so you must turn away from
the evil you have wrought.”

“
But still he
goes unpunished,” she said coldly.

“
It is not
for you to seek such things, it is for the Lord,” he beseeched
her.

“
And that is
not enough; I have become the instrument by which justice shall be
visited upon him,” the venom grew within her.

“
Please, come
with me to the light and find forgiveness,” his imploring words
found only the stone wall of her soul, which the cruelty she had
endured had created within her.

She could feel
the sadness that this brought to him yet
, she herself was only filled with the need for
retribution. He shook his head as his eyes fell to the floor, no
words he knew could now reach the girl he had always thought of as
in some way his.

He turned then
drifted into the shadows and was gone. She knew he had left to find
the rest he had wanted for her but knew she could not find until
all
those she sought was
imprisoned in the jar she had found in the shattered remains of
happier times.

She
remembered without a wisp of regret
the old Minister as she placed her jar on a stone plinth that had
once acted as a cooling stone when this small oblong room had been
used for food storage.

She didn’t need much space
for she never slept just waited for the glorious night and her
chance to wander freely. She didn’t use the other part of the
cellar for from time to time curious children would come in the
summertime to explore.

Sometimes she
would have fun with them by making noises to scare them; scratching
at the decaying wooden wall, which hid her room from the rest of
the tiny underground cellar, the door long ago boarded
over.

C
hapter 11

“
Did you say something?” Mick
y said as he turned his head to look up at his friend as he
held open a black bag.

“
No,
why?”

They had made
good progress sweeping all the way to the front of the walled
garden though they could have easily done more
if they had wanted too. Micky kept his younger
friend from working to hard though, after all they only got minimal
wage for the work so why push themselves as Micky liked to put
it.

“
I just
thought I heard you say something but didn’t hear what it was,”
Micky explained looking at his wrist watch, “anyway that looks like
it’s about lunchtime so let’s just get the rubbish
bags.”

Andy scooped
the last of the pile of dead leaves into the
half filled black bag. Micky tied the plastic
container shut then tossed it to the side of the road next to an
already full one, as Andy made to pick up the other one. “What you
doing?” Micky asked frowning at the tall youth.

“
Getting the
bags,” Andy answered wondering what was wrong.

“
We’ll get
those ones on the way back up,” Micky shook his head, “no need to
carry them all the way down to the front of the park just to carry
them back and we’ll get the brushes after lunch.” He referred to
the cleaning utensils that leaned against the wall.

“
Oh, right I didn’t think of that,” Andy felt a little
embarrassed at having to be told the obvious
and showed a little redness to his
cheeks.

They walked
slowly back to where they had started a few hours before, the sun
in their faces as they sauntered along. They took equally extensive
a time on their way back, collecting the six bags of rubbish,
enjoying the sun warming their backs as they
went
, nodding to the circus
performer on their way.

“
I
’ve not seen the
maintenance crew much today,” Andy commented.

“
They’ve been
in the FORT OF DOOM,” Micky tried to sound scary by deepening his
voice and slowing his speech as he gave the name of the walled
garden.

“
Oh yeah, the
new ride,” Andy remember that the day before he’d heard them
talking about it.

“
Yeah, they
were putting the last of it together today,” Micky stretched his
back as he walked, lifting the bags in his hands as he did
so.

“
Do you think
it will be ready for tomorrow?”

“
No,” Micky
shook his head slightly, “it’s still to be tested, it will be after
Easter before it opens for the public,” he added.

“
You really
think?” Andy asked with surprise that it would be so
long.

“
It could be the summer before they open it,” Micky nodded,
“after all they’ve got
to get
all the bugs out it before that.”

“
I suppose
but the summer seems a bit long doesn’t it?” Andy felt astounded at
this news.

“
Well it has to be safe for the punters to go on, after all
they don’t want to see folk
s
thrown through the air out of it,” Micky gave a giggle at the image
this conjured in his mind as they turned into the gates to the
canteen building.

Loud voices
came from an open window as the
y carried their load on past the building to the rear and
the large industrial skip that the park used for all of its waste.
The black receptacles were tossed unceremoniously into the giant
trash bin.

Both
men
were soon around the
building to the front and in to the cabins locker-room to collect
their lunchboxes before entering the double room used by the staff
for refreshments.

“
Hey, it’s
the part timers,” Charlie the head of maintenance said as they
walked through the doorway.

“
Where have
you two been hiding then?” Johnny, the park carpenter or Chippy as
everyone called him, asked cheekily.

“
We could ask you the same,” Micky countered to the mirth of
the
other seven men in the
room.

“
Hey, by the
way Micky what are you two doing later?” Charlie asked as his
jollity subsided.

“
After lunch
we’re brushing up the walled garden,” Micky said before asking
hopefully, “Why do you need us for something?”

“
Yeah, we
might later on with putting the cars on the new ride,” Charlie
looked up from his plate of steaming spaghetti and toast with a
large mug of tea beside it.

“
No problem,”
Micky said with a nod as he sat his lunch on a table opposite the
man then headed to the sink at the back of the large room to wash
his hands and make himself some coffee.

A large urn
bubbled away in one corn
er on
top of the extended kitchen worktop the sink in the other. He dried
his hands on a paper towel he took from the pile sitting by the
draining board as did Andy; then deposited it in the large bin
sitting near by.

Taking his cup
from where he’d left it earlier o
n the draining board Micky soon had his coffee adding milk
from the large fridge near the sink and waste receptacle before
taking a seat with Andy joining him at the same table they’d
deposited their lunches.

“
So what you been up to the day then?” Chippy asked Micky,
as he took another large
bite
of a sandwich held firmly in his right hand, washing it down with a
swig from a large half pint size mug.

“
We finished
painting the fence you put up last week and brushing up the drive
from the booths down at the front of the park up to the walled
garden,” Micky explained as he too tucked into his
lunch.

“
Why are you sweeping up the drive? There’s a road sweeper
coming in tomorrow to do that,” Charlie shook his head at the
stupidity
as he thought of
half a dozen other things that still needed doing around the
park.

“
Just doing
as the gaffer told us,” Micky shrugged his shoulders, unbothered by
the pointlessness of the task he had been asked to do.

“
Who? The new
rides manager?” Charlie pulled his eyebrows down as he answered his
own question with the other.

“
Yeah,” Micky
said between mouthfuls.

“
By the way
you never told us your girlfriend was having a baby,” Chippy said
after a moment.

“
Well she’s
not due till August so I never thought, still letting it sink in,”
he told the carpenter.

“
How lo
ng since you
found out?” Charlie spooned another helping of spaghetti up to his
mouth slurping as some tried to escape being
eaten.

“
Just a couple
of weeks,” Micky answered after he swallowed.

“
And it’s
still not sunk in yet,” Chippy joked.

“
And it won’t
till it arrives then you’ll know all about it,” Charlie stated,
knowing to well what it was like.

“
Yeah, maybe,” Micky to
ok a sip from his cup but found the liquid still to hot to
take more than that.

“
Just wait
till you’ve got a really stinking nappy to change,” Charlie screwed
up his face at the memory.

“
I’ll not be
changing the nappies, no way, that’s her job,” Micky gave a short
incredulous chuckle.

“
Just you
wait,” Chippy nodded consciously, “before you know it you find
you’ve no choice.”

“
I’m telling
you there’s no chance you’ll get me near a shitty nappy,” Micky was
defiant.

“
Okay, say
the girlfriends not in, what you going to do then?” Charlie began,
“you can’t just leave the baby in a nappy filled with crap, can
you?”

“
Well, she can
stay in till it’s out of them,” Micky sounded cocky.

“
You just
wait, you don’t know what’s hit you yet,” Charlie laughed with
Chippy joining him.