Saturday's Child (12 page)

By the time they got there, she had stopped shaking and her breathing returned more or less to normal. “I’m sorry I woke you. I didn’t know what else to do.”

He glanced at the clock. “It’s not a problem. I said if you needed anything, to come and find me. Besides, I have to be up in a couple of hours to milk the cows, anyway.” He sat her in Nancy’s chair and went to fill the kettle.

Meggie wrapped her arms tightly around herself, watching his every move.

“Want to tell me what you were dreaming about?”

She shivered. “I wasn’t dreaming. I mean, I was at first, but I know I was awake at the end. Before I came and woke you.”

“You sure it wasn’t one of those dreams where you dream you wake only you’re actually still dreaming?” He set the kettle on the stove and lit the gas.

“No. I was awake. I know I was.” Her voice shook, more with frustration this time.

“OK.” He flicked on the wall lights, flooding the kitchen with as much light for her as he could. “Talk to me. It might help.”

“There was something in the room with me.”

Aaron froze. Dread ran the length of his spine and his hands dropped to his side as he stared at her. “What?”

Nancy sat in her chair, tears running down her face. “I’m not making it up. There was someone in the room with me.”

“There can’t have been, love. The window and door were closed and when I got there it was just you.”

“I’m telling you, Aaron, there was. When I woke, he was on top of me, his nails digging into me.”

“Show me the marks.”

“There aren’t any, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there. Aaron, you’re my husband…why won’t you believe me? The only reason I slept in there was because I didn’t want you to catch this awful cold.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but…”

“You didn’t see it.”

Meggie looked at him. “There was someone, or something in the room with me.”

“Like what?”

“It was on top of me, pinning me to the bed. It’s nails—claws…” She rubbed her arms and winced. She pushed up her sleeve.

He gasped. Vivid red scratches ran from the edge of her sleeve to her wrist. “Meggie…”

She glanced down and pulled off her shirt. Deep marks covered the whole of her arms and shoulders, extending below the vest she wore. The ones just below her shoulders looked like a figure three—one straight line and two at an angle. Blood seeped from the deepest cuts. “They burn.”

A mix of terror and regret squeezed his heart. Should he have believed Nancy? Not written her off as dreaming—or hallucinating, as Tanis had suggested? What if she had been attacked and he’d failed to protect her? What if he’d put Meggie in danger simply by letting her stay in that room?
God, please no.

The words were automatic. The first prayer he’d uttered in years.

“Let me clean and dress those for you.” He grabbed a cotton cloth and rinsed it under the tap.

“Least I know it was real…” She swallowed hard, losing what little color she had left.

Aaron gently cleaned her wounds, his stomach lurching at the look of pain that crossed her face. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her more. “Sorry.”

She bit her lip. “It’s all right. Just a little sore.”

“More than just a little,” he said quietly. “What did this thing look like?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see it, at least not outside of the initial dream. It was just there, you know?”

“No, I don’t. Please tell me, because you got hurt in my house. I want to understand.”

Meggie sucked in a deep breath. “In the dream there were two of them. The one on top of me was heavy. He had red eyes and claws. There was this awful smell, too.”

“Like in your car?”

“Yes. When I woke, the presence was in the room with me. It crawled up the bed, pinned me down. Its breath was hot on my neck. I could feel it…It wanted me…” She broke off.

Aaron rubbed her arm gently. “You’re safe now. I’m not going to let anything happen.”

She nodded slowly.

“What happened next? What did you do?”

“I tried to scream, but my voice didn’t want to work. I prayed like Pastor Jack suggested, prayed hard, and it moved. Then I ran to find you.” She gripped his hand tightly. “That’s not all, Aaron. Last night I found this picture of Jesus as the light of the world. It had fallen off the wall behind the tallboy. I tried to rehang it, but it wouldn’t stay on the wall. It fell twice, and then flew across the room, only just missing me. My Bible wouldn’t stay open either and the room was really cold. I couldn’t keep my eyes open.”

Could she see the way he felt? It was like history repeating itself. He looked back down at Meggie’s arm, working on the cuts.

“You don’t seem surprised by what I said.”

“Nancy said the same thing about that room. She put the picture in there. But it just vanished one night.”

“It was wedged behind the tallboy. I saw it by accident and got it out.”

“She described the same thing you just did. She slept in there the once, when she had a really bad cold and didn’t want to disturb me. Only she didn’t have any marks on her arms.” He finished dressing the wounds. “There you go.”

“Thank you.” She slid her top back on. “What happened?”

“She wanted the house and that room in particular exorcised.”

“Did you get someone from the church in to do it?”

“No. Tanis refused. She said it was all mumbo jumbo and convinced Dad that Nancy had watched one too many horror films. Dad was a staunch Baptist and therefore didn’t believe in exorcism anyway.”

She tilted her head. “Why not?”

“He said it was a Roman Catholic thing. Anyway, upshot was, it was his house, so nothing was ever done.”

“I see.”

“Nancy hated cleaning in there. Tanis would have people from her club stay over. Nancy said the room was a mess afterwards and would smell horrible. Not just incense, but something else. She said it was like someone had died in there. Which of course it hadn’t. Tanis said Nancy was imagining things. But now, now I’m beginning to wonder what’s real and what isn’t. I mean, this is visible proof that something is happening. Something unnatural.”

Meggie ran her hands over her arms. “I can’t go back in there.”

“It’s fine. I’m not going to ask you to.” He took the kettle off the stove and made the tea. “Is there anything you want or need from the bedroom?”

“I don’t know. I can’t sleep in there, and can’t leave here until the road’s clear.”

“I can make you up a bed in here if you want.” He watched terror fill her eyes and backtracked. “Or I can get a blanket from the bedroom, and we can sit on the couch and talk until I have to go and see to the cows. Then I’ll follow you home and make sure you get there. I’ll take the tractor, trailer, and a saw just in case we find debris anywhere.”

“Thank you.”

“I really am sorry. I should have stopped her from putting you in there.”

Meggie wrapped her hands around the warm mug and sipped the tea. “It’s not your fault. You said it’s not bridge they do in the front room. Then what is it? You never did explain.”

Aaron took a deep breath. “I’m not really sure this conversation is one to have in the dark.”

“Really? After all we’ve said so far?”

He looked at her, more than a little scared. The hairs on the back of his neck rose at the hint of memory. “Not when you’re already freaked out. We’ll talk in daylight, I promise.”

“OK.”

He took a long drink of his tea. When Nancy was scared, she read her Bible and prayed. Perhaps it would work for Meggie now. Only Tanis had made sure there wasn’t a single Bible in the house, saying they reminded her too much of Dad. Even the old family Bible had been boxed up and stored elsewhere. “Is your Bible still in the bedroom?”

“Yeah, it is. It should be on the bed. I fell asleep holding it.”

“If I go and get it, would you read some of it with me?”

Her smile brightened her whole face, chasing away some of her fear. “Sure.”

He stood. “I’ll be two minutes.”

“I’ll be here.”

****

Aaron pushed open the door to the red room. A faint odor hung in the air, but he couldn’t put a name to it. He could see his breath in the cold air. The picture Meggie found lay face down on the floor. The bedclothes were rumpled and…was that a hole in the sheet?

He crossed to the bed. The sheet
was
torn. Ripped rather than cut. As if someone had long nails or had been tugging at it too violently. Hair rose on the back of his neck. It really did look as if she’d been attacked there.

He looked for her Bible. It wasn’t on the bed.

Dropping to his knees, he searched beneath the bedstead. The Bible lay just out of arms reach. He shoved the bed hard, moving it enough so he could reach. Taking tight hold of the Bible, he pulled his arm back.

Pain tore into his wrist and blood trickled from a cut. He straightened his arm. Was there something sharp on the carpet under there? He couldn’t remember the bed ever being moved. But there shouldn’t be anything that would do that. He peered under the bed, his heart thudding as for an instant something glowed, and then vanished.

He leapt to his feet, backing away from the bed. Not wanting to get blood on the Bible, and wanting to protect it against whatever was in the room with him, he tucked it under his other arm and headed to his room to wrap his wrist.

11

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. Psalm 22:11

By the time four-fifteen came around, Meggie and Aaron had read through the entire gospel of Mark and prayed several times. She wasn’t sure what had caused the sudden change in him or his take on faith, perhaps he was also worried by what had happened. From what Aaron said, it wasn’t the first time someone had been attacked in the house. And she used the word attack deliberately, because that’s what it was.

Whether it had been a physical entity or some kind of demonic presence, it was a physical assault. Any doubt she had about the spirit realm had vanished. She needed to talk to Aaron and Pastor Jack about this. Or Cadfael. Maybe she should ring him while Aaron was milking the cows. Her brother wouldn’t mind that.

Aaron pushed to his feet. “Want to come and help with the milking?”

“I should dress first.”

He nodded. “Yeah, it might be an idea. It’s cold out there this time of day. Do you want me to come upstairs with you?”

Meggie hesitated. She did, but then again, she didn’t want to come across as a scared kid. Or worse, send him the wrong signals.

He tilted his head. “I need to dress too, so how about I come with and you take your things into the bathroom.”

“Sure.”

While Aaron held open the bedroom door, she dashed in and gathered her bag and the outfit she’d worn the previous day.

The bed clothes were as she’d left them in a crumpled heap. Flies buzzed in one corner. Why hadn’t she noticed them the night before? After making sure she had everything, she left the room.

“I’ll see you back downstairs.” Aaron headed into his room.

Locking herself in the bathroom, Meggie pulled her phone from her bag. She dialed Cadfael’s number, knowing he’d answer and not berate her for the early morning call.

“Hello?” As always her brother answered on the second ring, years of pastoral experience telling him only the needy called during the wee small hours.

“It’s Meggie,” she whispered. She slid down the wall to the floor, curling up against the tiles. “Sorry I woke you.”

“Megs?” All trace of sleep vanished from his voice. She imagined him pushing up in bed and swinging his legs out of the covers. Bryony, his wife, would glance at him before turning over and dozing again. “It’s twenty past four in the morning. What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“No, I’m not sick. I’m scared, really, really scared.”

“What happened?” The bed creaked and she knew he’d be heading to his study, so as not to disturb Bryony further. “Iestyn said you were safe after the tornado.”

“Yeah. I stayed with a friend, but…” She sucked in a deep breath, barely holding her tears at bay, her voice betraying her by its incessant wobble. “Something happened, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Did he hurt you? Do something you didn’t want?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. Aaron didn’t hurt me, he wouldn’t, but I did get hurt.” She took a deep breath, slowly telling her brother everything that had happened over the past couple of days. “I looked demons up on line until Pastor Jack stopped me. He said not to mess with the spirit world, but Cad…it’s real and here, and I’m so scared…”

“It’s very real.”

“I know that now. I…when I woke it was on top of me. I’ve got these cuts all up my arms and over my…” She broke off, heat flooding her face. “Everywhere,” she finished.

Her brother took a deep breath. “Megs, what you described isn’t uncommon. I’ve dealt with it before.”

“Really? With the physical marks and all? Or just eyes and rotten egg smells and stuff?”

“All of it. You need to get your pastor up there, and he needs to pray over the farmhouse before you even consider having the church bonfire there.”

“But we’re not using the farmhouse.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He paused. “I know Gareth is coming up on Saturday. Would you mind if I came, too?”

Relief flooded her. “Please. I’d like that.”

“Then I will. Megs, I’m going to pray for you now. For you and Aaron. Is he there with you?”

“No, he’s getting ready to go milk the cows, while I get dressed. He’s still in the house though.”

“Are you going with him?”

“Once I’m dressed. I don’t want to be on my own.”

“Well, let’s pray now.”

She closed her eyes.

“Lord God, I ask Your protection for Megs and for Aaron from the evil spirit that is in the house. Surround them with Your Holy Light from which all darkness flees. We know, Lord, that satan is a defeated foe, and yet still he launches attacks against us in the hope that we too would fall. He wants nothing more than our downfall and to destroy us. These demons are part of his attack force, and, Lord, one of them hurt Megs. Thank You, that the attack wasn’t worse, that she escaped and was kept safe. Draw close to her now, Lord. Make both her and Aaron very aware of Your love and presence with them. Amen.” He paused. “Megs…call me again if you need me. It’s straight down the M4 so I can be there in a couple of hours.”