The Mercer's House (Northern Gothic Book 1) (27 page)

‘Don’t—do—that—to—me,’ he panted, pulling her along with each word.

She plucked desperately at his arm, trying to loosen his grip. He let go of her suddenly and she fell to the ground, winded.

‘You’re coming with me,’ he said.

He picked her up and threw her across his shoulder, but the fabric of her dress was slippery and she slid off, upsetting his balance. Immediately she staggered forward and set off across the beach. He swiped at her and missed, but it was hopeless, she knew it; she couldn’t possibly get away from him. All she could do was keep running as long as she could. Luck was with her, however, because just then the moon went behind a cloud, plunging the beach into darkness. Just as last time, the rest of Zanna’s senses were immediately brought into sharp relief, and she discovered that her breath was coming in sobs and gasps, and she fought to bring herself under control, so that he couldn’t hear her and find her. She began to run again, in the opposite direction from where she had last seen him, trying her hardest to tread lightly and avoid making a sound.

‘Where are you?’

His voice was nearer than she liked, and she turned involuntarily to see where it had come from. But now she had lost her sense of direction again, and she spun around, her eyes straining to see through the darkness. Then her heart leapt as she saw a faint glow in the distance, and recognized the Mercer’s House, its downstairs lights on dimly. If she could only make it back there, she would be safe. She set out towards it as quietly as she could, but once again the tides were treacherous, because just then she heard the crash of a wave, and before she could retreat the water rushed around her calves and knocked her off her feet. She fell onto her hands and knees, and gasped at the freezing water as it retreated with a hiss, dragging the sand out from under her as it went. She picked herself up and blundered forwards, and at that moment the whispering voices began again, all around her this time, and her fear turned into panic.

‘Stop it!’ she cried, sweeping her arms ahead of her, as if to ward off whatever it was. ‘Leave me alone!’

She was sobbing again, and just then the clouds parted and the moon returned, and she saw Garrett less than twenty yards away, blocking her way to the path that led up to the Mercer’s House. He saw her and she turned and ran back towards the rocky outcrop, the voices still murmuring in her ears. If she could only run fast enough she could find the path to the High Street and then she would knock on every door in the town until someone answered. But it was a vain hope. Within seconds he caught up with her and tackled her to the ground. He rolled her over and tried to lift her to her feet, but she scratched at his face with her fingernails and he pinned her wrists and gave her a sharp slap across the cheek, which made her cry out.

‘Don’t you ever do that again,’ he said, breathing heavily. He paused and looked around, as if wondering what to do. They were close to the edge of the water, and the sand under Zanna’s back was wet and cold. The tide was high, and still coming in, and a sudden wave washed over them both, making Zanna shriek and splutter. Garrett seemed not to notice the cold water. He stood up and hauled her up with him, but kept her arms pinned to her side.

‘Let’s go for a swim, shall we?’ he said, and before she could say a word he’d thrown her over his shoulder again and was wading into the sea.

‘What are you doing?’ she said in panic, but he ignored her and pushed on, as she struggled to free herself from his hold.

He stopped and set her down, and the shock and pain of the icy water took her breath away for a second. The sea was up to her waist and the waves were strong, making it difficult for her to keep her balance. Her boots immediately became waterlogged and felt like cement, while her clothes were plastered to her, and her teeth chattered with cold and fear.

‘Well, there’s not much use in us hanging around here, is there?’ he said. ‘You don’t want me and I’m certainly not going to let you go. We can do this together. It won’t take long.’

‘B-but we’ll freeze,’ she said. She was shivering violently. ‘You’ll kill us both.’

He took her arm and pulled her further into the sea with him. The swell was almost too strong for her, and she exhaled sharply as a wave smacked against her chest and then splashed her in the face. She struggled and gave a choked scream, but he wouldn’t let go.

‘We shouldn’t have to do this,’ he said grimly. ‘It’s all your fault. I don’t want to be here any more than you do. If you’d only said yes in the first place all this could have been avoided. But it’s too late now.’

Zanna fought down the cold and the terror. She was out here in the black, icy sea with a madman, and with voices whispering all around her, and there was no way out except one.

‘All right,’ she said, with a sob. ‘OK, if that’s what you want. Don’t do this, Garrett. I’ll do what you say.’

‘That’s more like it,’ he said. His hair was plastered to his forehead and his expression was unlike anything she had ever seen on his face before—brutal, savage, even. ‘Now you’re co-operating at last. It’s a pity you had to be so stubborn.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.’

‘All right, then,’ he said. ‘Tell me you love me. Say it, and we can go home.’

She opened her mouth to say it, say the words that would make it all right and save her life.

‘I—I—’ she began. That slight hesitation was enough for him. His face darkened and his grip tightened.

‘I knew you would try and trick me,’ he said. ‘It’s no use, is it? I don’t think I even want you any more. I bet you’d only cheat on me, anyway. Well, this has all been a complete waste of time.’

He gave her a shove and she almost lost her footing, but he was inexorable, wading further and further into deep water, pushing her along with difficulty in front of him, one arm around her neck, restricting her breathing, and the other pinioning her hands behind her back. The tide was getting stronger now and she was beginning to lose her balance with each wave. The water was chest deep here, and she knew that if they went much further they’d be caught by an undertow and thrown against the rocks. Her feet were heavy and her legs ached, and the chill was seeping through into her bones, weakening her, until she barely had the energy to shiver.

‘I can’t walk,’ she gasped at last, and felt him hesitate. ‘Let me take my boots off, at least. It’ll be faster.’

He stopped, but didn’t let go of her. She stood on the heels of her boots one after another and lifted her feet out of them with an effort, as they were a dead weight, and now she felt the water flowing freely around her legs. If only she could get away from him, perhaps she could swim back to shore. How long had they been here? Ten minutes? She couldn’t stay out here much longer, or she’d die of cold—if she didn’t get swept away and drowned first.

‘Are you done?’ he demanded.

‘Please don’t do this, Garrett,’ she pleaded. It was one last desperate attempt to make him see reason. ‘You’re going to kill us both.’

‘What’s the point in sticking around without you?’ he said, and for the first time she heard genuine despair in his voice. ‘Nothing’s worth it any more if you don’t want me. I hate my job. I hate my life. You were the one thing that kept me going. You understood what it was like—how it felt to be miserable all the time. We could have supported each other.’

‘I didn’t know you were unhappy,’ she said. ‘You never said anything. You always seemed so cheerful. I’d have helped you if you’d only said something.’

‘That’s not my way of doing things,’ he said.

‘Then why not give it a try? This is no way to sort your problems out. Come on, Garrett, don’t be like this. This is me you’re talking to. Zanna. Let’s go back and get you some help.’

Her voice was as persuasive as she could possibly make it, and for a second he paused, and seemed to waver. Then he gave her another shove in the small of the back and she knew all was lost.

‘Good try,’ he said. ‘But I know you’re lying.’

Her body was like ice and she hadn’t even the energy to shiver. Just then a wave sloshed against her neck and some of the water went in her mouth and made her cough and retch. Her thoughts were becoming fuzzy and she felt herself beginning to lose concentration, and she fought to regain control. She couldn’t afford to succumb to the cold if she was to have any chance of surviving. She had to keep alert, or the waves would sweep her away and then she’d have no hope. Still, the fuzziness persisted, and she began to think how nice it would be to stop fighting and let Garrett and the sea do what they would. It would be so much easier that way. What was the point in struggling? It was all over now, that much was obvious.

He had paused for a minute to get his breath back, and she waited patiently for him to decide what to do next, since her own mind had gone blank. Soon she wouldn’t have to think about anything any more. The waves buffeted and bumped her, and she swayed gently, held up only by Garrett’s arms. He’d been right—it was so much easier to do what he told her. Why hadn’t she realized it before? It had all been her own fault, and now she was getting what she deserved. Her eyelids grew heavy and she felt as if she could sleep. But someone was disturbing her with their talking, keeping her awake. It was the whispering voices again. They had faded almost to nothingness, but suddenly they returned in full force, murmuring and hissing, taunting and insinuating, all around her and above her. Then came a piercing scream, followed by a heart-rending wail, and she felt Garrett jump and come to a standstill.

‘What’s that?’ he said. ‘Was that you? Don’t scream like that.’

‘I didn’t,’ she said.

The screaming had now been replaced by the sound of sobbing. It was impossible to distinguish the words, but it sounded like a woman pleading. Then a deeper voice gave a shout, and Garrett jumped again.

‘Who said that?’ he said. His grip on her tightened, and she heard his breathing quicken, felt his head turn this way and that. ‘Did you hear that?’ he said.

‘Hear what?’ she managed.

‘Someone’s here. I can hear them. Who is it?’ He seemed confused, disorientated. The cold must be affecting him too. ‘Stop it!’ he cried. ‘Who are you?’

He let go of Zanna, and she saw him looking around, terrified.

Zanna knew this was her only chance. With a last desperate effort she shrugged off her heavy jacket and began to wade back towards the shore, but the undercurrents were strong and she could feel her strength ebbing away from her, and so she threw herself forward and began to swim, fighting the sea as best she could. Her limbs were sluggish, but she kicked as hard as her legs could manage, ploughing desperately back towards the beach, back to safety. Only once did she look round, to see Garrett still standing there, chest deep in the water, his arms over his head as though he were trying to protect himself from the sound of the voices.

‘No!’ she heard him shout, and then she stopped looking, and focused all her remaining energies on getting back to dry land. She was so weak that she could barely manage more than a dog paddle, but she kept going, determined that she was not going to die out there in the sea because of Garrett. She reached shallower water and her feet touched the bottom, and she tried to stand up but couldn’t, and fell forward again. A wave buffeted her towards the beach and she grasped at the wet sand, but the water pulled her back again as it retreated. For a few seconds she scrabbled, trying to get a purchase before the tide turned and dragged her back out to sea, but didn’t make much headway. Now she could see vehicles with flashing lights on the sea front, and she wondered vaguely whether they were for her. With one last burst of effort she crawled out of the water and onto the beach, then collapsed on the soft, dry sand, her strength gone. She knew she had to get up and go towards the flashing lights, or she would die of hypothermia, but a delicious warmth was stealing over her, and she could feel herself drifting off. All she wanted to do now was sleep; she’d think about everything else later.

Then she heard unfamiliar voices, and felt strong arms lifting her up, and the voices were speaking into crackling radios and strange hands were undressing her and wrapping her in warm, scratchy blankets, and she was too exhausted to resist or understand what was going on, except that she knew she was safe now, and that none of these people wanted to hurt her.

‘Let’s get you to hospital,’ said a female voice she’d never heard before. Zanna nodded hazily and closed her eyes.

‘Garrett,’ she said, and then the sleep overwhelmed her and she knew nothing more.

G
ARRETT’S BODY was found two days later, twenty miles up the coast. Zanna, in hospital in Newcastle, answered questions from the two sympathetic policewomen who came to interview her as best she could, but nothing was really sinking in. She wanted to know where they had taken Garrett, and found herself telling them over and over again that he hadn’t been a bad person; it was very important that they should know that. He hadn’t been bad, just misguided, and it wasn’t his fault he’d gone temporarily out of his mind. Then a victim support officer came and told her it was quite normal to feel guilty in circumstances like these, and gave her a number to call if she wanted counselling. When the support officer went away Zanna went back to staring at the wall. She wanted to get out, but the doctors had insisted on keeping her under observation for a couple of days. She’d been lucky, they said. Even another five minutes in the water and she might have died. As it was, it looked like she’d made a full recovery, but they didn’t want to take any chances, and so she lay in her uncomfortable bed in a ward with two old women and a student who’d had appendicitis, and tried not to think about things, or about the fact that she felt more alone than ever.