Jack of Ravens(199)

She craved sleep for escape, even though she was not allowed the luxury of dreams, but sleep would not come.

She was not alone. Several container lorries were parked nearby, their cabs dark. Yet Caitlin felt that in one of them someone was watching her. She always felt she was being observed, tracked, hunted, wherever she was, whatever she was doing. Paranoia, she thought wearily, another mental illness to add to the constant buzzing voices in her head. Her doctor had prescribed pills, several different types, and for a while she’d taken them; the voices stilled, the unease dulled, and with it went any sense, however slight, of being engaged in life. Eventually she threw them all out and consigned herself to a future of never being happy.

She closed her eyes. Sleep still did not come.

Wake up, Caitlin.

One of the voices, the little girl. She fought against the urge, then gave in and looked around, hating herself for it. It always made her feel queasy when the voices told her things her unconscious could not possibly know.

An attractive, charismatic Asian man loomed up at the passenger window, his black hair gleaming in the car park lights. A leather eye-patch covered one socket, but it did not make him appear in the least menacing. He smiled and tapped gently on the glass. Yet Caitlin could see he was on edge, his eyes flickering from side to side, searching the dark.

Go away,’ she said.

We need to talk.’ His voice was calm, yet insistent.

No, we don’t. If you’re not away from here in ten seconds, I’m going to turn on the ignition and drive over you.’

The sound of a lorry door opening echoed across the quiet car park. The Asian man glanced in its direction, became a touch more urgent.

‘My name is Shavi,’ he said. ‘I am a Brother of Dragons—’

‘I’m not interested in your little cult.’

‘You are a Sister of Dragons. We share a heritage—’

‘Six, seven, eight …’

Forgive me,’ Shavi said. Shattering the window with a tyre iron, he yanked open the door. Caitlin yelled and leaned on the horn. Barely one blare had echoed across the car park when Caitlin went woozy from the fumes from a small wooden box that Shavi had thrust under her nose.

‘Just herbs,’ he whispered. ‘Do not worry.’

Dreamily, she saw herself being hauled out of the car as if she were watching a stranger. Shavi carried her effortlessly away from the bright lights to the dark of the moorland that pressed up hard against the service station. Behind them, Caitlin was vaguely aware of movement; rescuers responding to her cries, she thought obliquely.

She was aware of the stars and the moon, the lush smell of vegetation, but she couldn’t muster either fear for herself or any desire to fight back.

It was only when they lay behind a scrubby bush on cool grass with the lights of the service station a distant glow that she began to think coherently once more. Her attacker, she realised, didn’t seem violent; in fact, there was a benign, gentle air about him. Yet she struggled as soon as she was able. He placed a firm hand over her mouth and said quietly, ‘Hush. Look.’

Responding to something in his tone, she peered past the bush towards the car park. Shadows shifted across the moorland. People searching for her? Shavi released his grip on her mouth, and it was that action which convinced her to trust him.

What is it?’ she hissed. Some quality to the quickly moving silhouettes did not appear right.

Keep watching,’ he said. But if they come too close, be prepared to move quickly into the wilderness. If they see us, we will not be able to outpace them.’

His words unnerved her. What is out there? she thought.

A shape loomed up on the other side of the bush and she almost cried out. It had approached from a different direction, moving quickly. Shavi pressed her down, holding her still. His heart thundered against her back. Their chance of escape gone, they could only hope against discovery.

Caitlin could smell a foul farmyard odour. Breathing like the scraping of rusty iron echoed loudly. Whatever was on the other side of the bush had stopped. It sniffed the air.

Its bestial qualities increased the beat of her heart another step, and she became afraid that her body would betray her with some random muscle spasm. Yet she had to see. Twisting her head slowly, she looked through the branches of the bush.

There was not a hint of humanity in the brutish thing that waited. Eyes gleamed with a yellowish light in a face that combined the qualities of hog and gorilla. The body was thick-set and covered with powerful muscles. From its posture, Caitlin couldn’t be sure if it moved on two legs or all four. She saw it was clothed, and with a second, chill glance, she realised the nature of those clothes. Flayed human skin, scalps, and internal organs had been stitched together in some sickening amalgam of uniform and war trophy. An eyeless face stared back at her blankly from the side of the creature’s head.