Secret Of The Crest (18 page)

   ‘You are right!’ said Nicko.

   Gregor passed out the guns and showed them how they worked. They finally mounted the horses that Nicko had brought and went off. The full moon lit their path and shined on the trees that revealed every shadow as they passed. They saw nothing. Cassandra rode between Gregor and Mano and Nicko had the end of the line. After almost an hour they came to a point that slowly went upwards and led to the mountain top. It became more difficult for the horses to go up hill and their pace was slowed.

   Cassandra felt that the animals were being over strained and suggested they stop a moment so the horses could rest. They all got down from them and sat on some large boulders while she petted the beautiful animals.

   ‘May I sit next to you?’ Mano asked.

   ‘Why do you even ask? Of course you can, the rock isn’t mine.

   ‘If it was yours, would you still let me?’

   ‘Okay, okay, no I wouldn’t! I mean I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t…. no, absolutely not! Why would I even have invited you to stay if I wouldn’t want you to sit next to me? Wouldn’t that be silly of me?’

   ‘Just trying to be a gentleman.  I would never take advantage of your kind invitation.’

   ‘I’m sorry to be so blunt but I really hope you do!’ she smiled at him. They were interrupted by Nicko’s voice.

   ‘Gregor, look over there!’ the man pointed to the trees behind Gregor.

   Gregor pointed his flashlight in that direction and followed a small shadow that scurried into the woods. He went after whatever it was. His face changed and nails grew quickly into claws so sharp they could rip into the bark of a tree. His body slouched and he ran faster than the wind blew. Nicko and the others lost him from their sight but dared not call out for fear of attracting other ghouls to their site. They all sat together waiting patiently for him to come back.

   Gregor had moved deep into the woods and was finally closing in on the creature. It seemed familiar to him. The ghoul had left a trail of blood behind it. “
Where had it been injured, though?
” he thought to himself.

   Gregor stopped running abruptly. ‘Come out,’ he shouted, ‘I will find you wherever you go and when I do; you will wish you had never come into our territory.’

   After a long period of silence he turned to leave but walking only a few steps he heard a crackling sound making him look up. Before he knew it, Gregor was on the ground and the ghoul who had jumped onto him struggled with his fury in a pile of leaves. Gregor tore his claws through him, ripping the skin off his back. He had now gotten the upper hand and turning over was dumbstruck at what he finally came face to face with. It was his own employee, Fani. He stopped immediately.

   ‘What? Fani? What are you doing you are one of us!’

   ‘That’s absurd!’ he yelled. ‘I am not one of you! I am one of them, a ghoul, an eater, a flesh ripper!’ He screeched, drooling all over. ‘You, on the other hand, are nothing like us, like your original kind! You’re a mockery, a disgrace to our kind! You sicken me and I should kill you!’ he continued to shout.

   ‘You worked for me, you ate at my table and you slept under my roof and you dare to speak to me like that, you ungrateful feen!’ Gregor’s eyes had become blood red, his teeth ripped through his own lips.

   ‘Not only was I under your roof but I watched all of you during your naps. Had I had the chance I would have sucked the life out of all of your puny tenants, every last ounce of them! Oh, and I especially fancied Cassandra. I’ve watched her night after night since she has been here and when I see her again, I’ll make her mine!’

   Gregor had lost his temper at the sound of his sister’s name. That she had been watched and now targeted by Fani was too much.

   ‘You should know better than to speak your mind with such sickening thoughts, you two faced traitor! Threatening someone I care for was your second mistake and what is coming; you brought down on your self!’

   Gregor bit deep into Fani’s throat slowly, severing his carotid from his neck until he finally ripped it out, squirting blood all over his face. Fani gasped for air but blood had flowed into his lungs causing him to choke in his own blood.

   Gregor unsatisfied by his first move, plunged his claws deep into Fani’s chest and with only a single pull removed his still beating heart from its place. Blood dripped from the hole in his chest, forming a puddle at their feet as Fani’s lifeless body fell to the ground. Gregor let out a sigh of relief.

   He then loaded the beast on his shoulders and lit the body on fire at the bank, letting it burn away. He had no regrets about having killed him. This time, he knew for sure that what he had done was the right thing.  Gregor didn’t believe in killing ghouls. Not until now anyway. Today’s rage against Fani wiped away all his second thoughts. When the body was burnt enough, he dragged it into a ditch and covered it with large boulders so animals would not expose it. He knelt at the river washing his face and hands which were now in their original form. Gregor started back.

   He saw the beams of light coming from the others’ flashlights as they had begun to search for him. He heard Cassandra call out his name.

   ‘Stay where you are, I am coming to you!’ he said. Soon they were together again.

   ‘What took you so long?’ asked Nicko.

   ‘Chasing shadows into dead ends unfortunately!  It disappeared into the woods. I wasn’t fast enough.’

   ‘So now what?’

   ‘Now we go to the caves. It’s the best place for them to hide.’

   ‘You don’t mean the caves we were at the other day, do you?’ Cassandra asked.

   ‘No, those are in the opposite direction. These caves are not far from here and are very deep with many crevices and steep holes within them. I have a hunch that the creatures that we’re looking for might be hiding out there or even using the caves as a shelter.’

   ‘Lead the way then, we’re right behind you!’ Nicko said. 

   The breeze blew strong now, twirling around the looser branches of the trees. It seemed as if there was a storm heading in again. The sound of the wind and leaves rustling was enough noise to keep them from hearing each other much more a ghoul. They walked silently the whole way until finally they came to the caves. Gregor and Nicko entered the caves first making sure that there were no unpleasant surprises. After examining the caves, they called to Cassandra and Mano to come inside.

   ‘We must light our lanterns for better illumination in here. Flashlights are too dim a light to guide us’ said Gregor.

   ‘Look out!’ Mano shouted pulling Cassandra out of a bat’s way. In a moment, it was back again swooping over their heads repeatedly.

   Mano covered Cassandra’s head and shoulders with his own body. Nicko took out his gun.

   ‘No!’ shouted Gregor. ‘We can’t afford to let them hear us if they are in here!’

   Nicko put it back in its holster abiding to Gregor’s wish. He trusted him. They went a long way back. Gregor lit a torch he made in seconds and waved it into the air until the bats were gone. Gregor knew they wouldn’t find any ghouls, Fani was the attacker and he had been taken care of but he could not reveal this to anyone. Especially now that he had killed him the way he did. Were they to see Fani’s body, they would suspect Gregor for what he was. Cassandra knew but his friend Nicko would be devastated and torn between doing what’s right and pretending he didn’t know.

   Nicko was a loyal man. Backed up everything he believed in with his deeds. How could Gregor disappoint him? Besides, he knew that if it came to Nicko finding out, he would have to kill his best friend instantly and live with it the rest of his life.

   “
Why would I put him through that? No, he must never find out!
” he thought to himself.

   The charade would go on for a few more hours and then Gregor would lead them back to the hostel again. Nicko and Gregor had worked together before and he knew Gregor could get the job done no matter how hard. What he didn’t know was how he did it. They had become friends when Gregor saved his life after he had been attacked by a ghoul. Ever since, Nicko trusted Gregor with his life. Gregor knew better than to think he could ever reveal his true nature. His feelings toyed with him.

   ‘This way. No one should stop without saying so, we should stay as close to one another as possible.’

   They all walked down into the narrow tunnels of the cold damp cave searching in every dark passage and corner that was revealed to them. There were no ghouls here, not even a bit of evidence that they had passed through here. Gregor had played the part well, keeping everyone safe in a cave he knew the ghouls would never enter because of the plethora of bats that had made it their home. He played the game out although with some guilt for playing Cassandra. He would explain it to her later.

   After almost two hours of searching Nicko said, ‘Gregor, I’m afraid whoever it was that attacked was a passerby. We haven’t found any clues to show otherwise and we should get back!’

   Gregor nodded affirmatively and the others agreed. They were hungry and exhausted and more than happy to get back and get some sleep. The four of them took the trail back to the hostel. Upon arriving there, Gregor told Nicko he would have a bed prepared for him as it was much to late for him to go home.

   ‘Make yourself comfortable in my room,’ Gregor said handing Nicko some clean sheets.

   ‘I’ll see you in the morning!’

   ‘Thanks, you too!’

   Mano and Cassandra had already dispersed to their rooms. Gregor had lost his sleep now, with everything that happened. He went into Marina’s room and woke her.

   ‘What is it, Gregor?’

   ‘Grandmother, the attacker. It was Fani.’

   ‘Our Fani?’

   ‘Fani!’ he said in a sharp strict voice. ‘I killed him tonight, far from the others’ sight and burnt his body. They don’t know it’s over.’

   Marina took his hands in hers and said, ‘but is it, Gregor, is it?’

Chapter Eight

   The rain tapped on the window pane waking Rebecca, she opened her eyes smiling as she had been dreaming of Gregor.

   ‘For goodness sake, I have been sleeping too long!’ she spoke aloud looking at her watch.

   ‘Cassie!’ she poked her head into the room. ‘Cassie, you’re still sleeping silly, wake up! Time for breakfast, love!’

   Cassandra was taken by Morpheus into the depths of the sleep and heard nothing that came from the real world.

   ‘Aw, you poor baby, it looks like you need the sleep. I’ll call on you later then.’ Again not even a twitch by Cassandra.

   Rebecca prettied up and decided to pay Gregor an early visit.  As she raised her hand to knock on his door she heard his voice from behind.

   ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you, you might be surprised at who will open the door!’

Rebecca turned and fell right into his arms. ‘Good morning, lover! What are you doing out of your room so early?’

   Gregor greeted her with a kiss. ‘I could ask you the same? My excuse is that I have given my room to Nicko.  The other rooms weren’t prepared yet.’

   ‘Your poor grandmother; she has so much to do around here. How does she do everything? Couldn’t your employee that… ah… Fani guy prepare the rooms?’

   ‘Not really, he left us. Said we weren’t paying him enough. That ungrateful bastard!’

   ‘What a shame. Well I would be more than happy to help with anything that needs to be done.’

   ‘I knew the moment I saw you that God had sent an angel from heaven!’

   ‘Come on, you charmer, let’s get some breakfast!’ Arriving downstairs they found the diner closed still.

   ‘I’ll put a pot on and get prepare some toast’ Gregor said.

   ‘Alright, love, and I will set our plates and pour some juice. Remember, I’ll have the tea not the coffee! I can boil up some eggs as well; I usually can find my way in the kitchen!’ They worked together in the kitchen preparing their breakfast as Marina came into the room.

   ‘Mrs. Marina, good morning! May I get a cup of coffee for you today?’

   ‘No, thank you child. I don’t have my coffee until much later. Gregor, later, after you have had your breakfast come to the storage room. I would like to talk to you about something.’

   ‘Yes, grandmother, I will be there in a bit.’