Secrets Beneath The Sea

Chapter Three

Chapter ThreeJake pulled up outside The Narwhal, killing the engine. The village was quiet, save for a few people milling around the shops and front gardens. The main thoroughfare took up most of the village, a few side streets branching off on either side. There was a sign on the left, directing him to the seafront. A walk around can't do any harm? he thought as Jake climbed out of his Volvo. As he crossed the street Jake felt several sets of eyes focused on his every movement, a few people stopping what they were doing to stare at the stranger. He paid them no heed, heading down a winding lane that led to the sea. The rain had stopped, threatening clouds still looming overhead as the private investigator walked down the centre of the lane, tall hedgerows blocking any view. The sound of an approaching car snapped him out of his thoughts, a dark blue Land Rover heading his way, seeming to fill the lane in front of him. He found a small break in the foliage, stepping to one side as the vehicle approached. It slowed down, the driver peering to look at Jake who had pressed himself into the hedge.

Jesus, it's the same guy, Jake thought as a seated figure in a black hood regarded him for a few seconds before a bony finger pointed in his direction. He froze, an area of scarred skin on his chest beginning to itch. Instinctively, he looked down, scratching at his skin as the 4x4 sped away, spitting gravel against the private investigator's legs. Stepping out into the road, he watched as the Land Rover disappeared from sight, leaving the lane devoid of movement, the seagulls above bringing life back to his surroundings. “What the hell was that all about?” His fingers kneaded the skin on his chest, a faded scar where a black onyx pendant once hung. In its place, a purple stone from a distant land lay nestled amongst greying chest hair. He was cast back several years, remembering vividly how he'd received the scar. An image flashed in his mind of a grotesque creature who had appeared between two trees in a dark forest a few miles away from his home. The creature was a vampire called Anya, sent to kill him. Only blind luck and fortune had saved him as her fangs had lunged at him, the cross doing its job, sending the former human screeching into the night. Now as he stood there, a feeling of dread washed over him. You can walk away, he thought, weighing up his decision as another rumble of thunder stuccoed across the sky. No. All the vampires were destroyed, he thought, trying to reassure himself. It was just your imagination running away with you. He continued along the lane, coming out on a rocky beach a few minutes later. The clouds seemed to touch the sea, the top of the impressive lighthouse swathed in mist. The lane led out onto a rocky promontory, leading directly towards the stone structure that loomed over him. Jake walked onto the pebbly beach, seating himself on a low wall as his gaze drifted from the water to the lighthouse. A stout wooden door faced him, the rest of the building appearing impenetrable. Behind the main edifice, a low-slung section of building jutted out towards a jetty at the shore, steps leading down to the sea. Probably fifty feet height difference between the front door and the sea, he thought. I wonder if the place has a basement? If it does, that's where I would hide someone. He watched as a large bird of prey hovered on the thermals above him before Jake climbed to his feet, heading away from the lighthouse towards the village. A hundred feet above, a large glass window slid open, two men stepping out onto the gantry.

“Is that him?” the taller one asked, his features hidden beneath a grey hood.

“That's him,” the shorter one replied, his face also hidden. “Who do you think he is?”

“I don't know. But I do know one thing.”

“What's that, Lukash?”

“He's trouble.”

* * *

An hour later, Jake pulled up at his parent's former home. They'd moved close to Jake and Katherine years before, just as Alicia had made her arrival. They'd spent a few happy weeks there, until Alison was taken on a stormy night by a vampire named Elias. The police had surmised that Jake's mother had been washed out to sea by the floods, her body never found. It was only a short time after that Jake and his father had discovered the truth. She'd been turned, Killing Douglas, Jake's beloved father. The house had lain empty for a time, until Wilf had taken up residence, liking the new world that he'd found himself in. Along with the house, the older man had found Jo, the first woman he'd ever been with. At the time of their meeting, Jo ran a local pub in the village, recently widowed. They'd struck up a rapport, the old, usually brusque man vanishing whenever she was close by, replaced by a genial older gentleman. Jake walked up the path as low cloud blanketed Tintagel in a perpetual mist, the temperature feeling more like late autumn than mid-summer. A familiar face opened the door as he approached, Jo beaming at the man through the glass sliding door. “Hello,” she chirped, kissing him on the cheek before showing him in. “They're in the lounge.”

“Thanks, Jo. Has she been good?”

“Kinda,” the woman replied. “She's been giving Wilf a going over.”

Jake stepped into the cosy front room, smiling at the sight of his daughter and the old man from another world. They were sat on the sofa, Alicia sat on his lap with a large book in her hands. “Have you tired Wilf out?” he began. “He's missed his afternoon nap.”

Alicia slid off her great uncle, smiling up at her father as the older man levered himself upright. He walked over to Jake, clapping him on the shoulder. “She's been grand, reading me a story about three pigs and a big bad wolf.”

“We need to get you some more books,” Jake observed. “That story's for little children.”

Jo walked into the lounge, zipping up her jacket. “I'm just off down to the shop. We're almost out of milk and I don't want to get caught in a downpour.”

Jake nodded his head towards Wilf. “What would you do without this angel?”

Wilf stepped across the lounge, putting his arm around his woman, kissing her on the forehead. “She certainly is that,” he concurred.

Jake looked at them, loving how happy they looked. They had found happiness, albeit late in life. Jo was a few years older than Jake, with an attractive girl-next-door look about her. She was tall, almost matching height with the grizzled man next to her. Wilf had melded well with his new home. Gone were the medieval-type clothes and long straggly hair. His grey hair was now cut short, his attire befitting a senior citizen. He looked at home. He looked at peace. “Well, we'll be off in a bit, Jo. Taking Alicia up to Birmingham for a few days. Show her my old stomping ground.”

“Sounds like fun,” the woman replied happily before giving father and daughter a farewell hug.

Moments later, the three of them sat together, the lounge seeming to darken somewhat as mist pressed itself against the windows. “So,” Wilf breaking the silence. “Where are you really going?”

“Alicia wants to see Elksberg,” Jake responded.

Wilf nodded slowly. Elksberg was the land that the older man had spent much of his life in. A simple, yet harsh existence, living in a large forest that had been blanketed in cloud for as long as he could remember. He'd worked the land with his older brother Cedric, ensuring the safety of the villagers until an outlander had appeared one day. That outlander was Jake, who'd found a doorway between his world and Wilf's as he'd tracked a vampire called Elias. That had started a chain of events that had eventually brought Wilf to Cornwall years later. Gone were the horrors, replaced by a serene existence that the older man never knew could have existed. “Are you prepared?”

“We are. Got everything that we'll need, just in case.”

“How long will you stay out there?”

“Just a night. I was thinking of taking Alicia down to Shetland.”

Wilf stared past Jake, lost in his memories. He pictured a spit of land, battered by an unrelenting sea. A place that he once called home. It had been called Shetland, after his grandfather, George Drysdale had settled there many moons before Wilf had come into existence. Wilf had never known him, hearing countless stories of his courage and adventures, handed down throughout the ages. “Give them my best regards. Tell them that old Wilf is doing well.”

“We will,” Jake replied, clapping the older man on the shoulder.

“Bye-bye, Papa Wilf,” Alicia said, jumping into his embrace.

His face lit up as the young girl buried her face in the crook of his neck, squeezing her fiercely. “Now, you be good and listen to your Father. You may have vampire blood in your veins, but the land you're about to visit is not one to be taken lightly.”

“I know,” she countered, her face suddenly serious, her grey eyes peering up at him.

“Safe travels,” he said simply, walking with them towards the front door. Wilf stood on the doorstep as the Volvo sped off down the road. “No more drama,” he said to himself before closing the door behind him.

* * *

Hours later, Jake and Alicia sat in a darkened forest that lay at the southern edge of Birmingham. The Lickey Hills country park had been a constant in Jake's life, where he'd spent many years traversing its three hills as a youngster before finally realising that the trees held untold secrets that little or no one else knew about. He looked over at his daughter, who sat cross-legged on the bracken-strewn forest floor. She seems so at peace in the darkness, he thought. She really does have Reggan's blood in her veins. His thoughts drifted backwards several years. An image flashed before him, a huge beast a full head taller than Jake. Greyish skin and large tusk-like fangs floated before him, Jake remembering with startling clarity the moment when the vampire had literally taken a chunk out of him. Jake had barely escaped with his life, eventually destroying Reggan before beating a hasty retreat back to his own world with Wilf, Katherine and his dear friend, Tamatan the demon.

As if reading his thoughts, Alicia broke the silence. “You've told me so much, Dad,” she began. “I can't wait to go through the doorway. I've seen it so many times in my dreams.”

“Well, the door is due to open in a few minutes, I hope. It's been years since I was here. Let's hope the doorway still works.”

“I'm sure it will. I wonder if anyone else has ever been through it?”

“No idea, love,” Jake replied. “The last time I was here was to help Vicky to find her son. The doorway only opens for a minute or so, and at this time of night the forest is empty.”

“Have you heard from Vicky?”

Jake smiled in the darkness. “Yes. I told her that we were taking a trip up here, but she's on holiday with Jasper. I'm sure we'll meet up with them both soon.” Jake had told her about his involvement with Vicky and Jasper, who lived a mile away from their position. He remembered the face of the boy, floating in a bubble in front of him as he'd clung to life on a dark mountain. He was trying to get home, the vampiric virus inside him slowly taking Jake into an eternity of darkness. They'd made it home, Jasper eventually reunited with his mother, thanks to the help of Alana. It all seemed so long ago, almost another lifetime.

“Can you feel that?” Alicia said, standing up as leaves blew across the forest floor.

“Yes,” her father replied. “The doorway is about to open.” He walked over to a tree, kicking his motorbike off its stand before wheeling it back to his daughter as a blue doorway appeared in front of them.

“Oh my,” Alicia blurted.

“Come on,” her father urged. “Let's get through.”

The girl walked forward, her fingers extended as she tested the doorway that shimmered in front of her. She felt a slight resistance, liking the warm feeling that spread up her arm. Without thinking, Alicia walked through the doorway, coming out on the other side a moment later. The forest that she now stood in was deathly quiet, no passing traffic, no animals scurrying around in the darkness. “Wow. It's real,” she breathed as Jake leaned the bike against a stout tree trunk.

“You're finally here,” he said as a thick mist roiled around their feet. “Come on. Wilf's old village is a few hundred yards over there. We'll sleep there tonight and go exploring when the sun comes up.”

“Okay, Dad,” the girl replied, following her father across Amatoll forest, the blackness of night pressing down on both of them.