The Children of Black Annis Read online

  This time, I turn and vomit.

  "You're sad?" Annis asks, sounding genuinely surprised, almost like a child who has been caught playing with grown-up toys.

  "You're sick," I say, still leaning over in case I have to vomit again.

  "But this is how it should be," she says. "Brother and sister, back together again. I thought this is what everyone wanted..."

  I turn back to look at her, and this time I realize that Robert's sheet of skin is much larger than all the others. Finally I notice a line of stitches down the middle, and I realize that Annis has taken the sheet of Robert's skin and sewn it together with his sister Megan, to create a huge sheet. As well as Robert's eyeless face staring down at me, there's also Megan's, with thick fog drifting through their eye sockets.

  "You killed him," I say.

  "He was ugly," she replies. "He was a pretty little boy all those years ago, but time wasn't kind to him. He looked worse than ever, so I've made him beautiful again." She admires her work, apparently finding beauty in something so hideous. "He didn't wake up before it happened. I merely started cutting and he remained unconscious until the end. I can assure you that it was quite painless."

  "Still," I say, through gritted teeth, "you killed him."

  Suddenly there's a loud scream. I turn to see that Robert's bloody, skinless corpse is trying to get up off the ground, its mouth wide open as it screams in agony. Struggling, the corpse seems unable to entirely control itself. Before it can get very far, however, Annis steps over and drives a large dagger straight into his head. Robert lets out another scream, with blood bubbling up from his mouth, and then he falls limp and Annis lowers him back down to the ground.

  "Painless, huh?" I say. I'm pretty sure I'm in shock now. I should be screaming, running... but instead I just stand there, watching the whole horrific sight.

  "That was just a reflex reaction," Annis says as she goes over to a small wooden pail and wets her hands to wash off the blood. "You mustn't read too much into such things. He wasn't feeling any pain there. It was just his body reacting to the firing of neurons. That's what happens when the body shuts down." She pauses. "Trust me. I've seen it happen many times."

  I look up at the huge sheet of skin. Robert and Megan, separated for so many years, now reunited. I know I vomited before, but now I'm starting to see the whole thing as strangely beautiful. Damn it, have I become so desensitized that this kind of thing doesn't upset me any more? Yet another reason why it's time to abandon my human form altogether and become a wolf full-time. When I was in my wolf form, I didn't think about things in the same way; I was able to forget the horrors from the past and focus only on what was happening right at that exact moment. No regrets. No fears. No sadness. Just the vitality of being alive. That's all I want from life.

  "Is this really any different to what you do?" Annis asks, drying her hands. "When you hunt in your wolf form. When you pull down an animal and consume it. All I'm doing here, really, is hunting. In my own way."

  "This is different," I say. I can't believe she's comparing something as natural as a wild animal hunting another creature, to this kind of horror. "I'm nothing like you. This is torture. This is unnecessary torture. It's pageantry. You're just a cold-hearted killer. You're a monster, this is nothing like anything I've ever done."

  "Is it?" Annis asks, smiling. "You're wearing the skin of an animal on your feet right now."

  I look down at my shoes. Leather, of course. "It's different," I say.

  "It's the natural world," Annis replies. "If you're truly going to embrace your wolf form, you need to throw off your human sensibilities. You still look at the world through very human eyes."

  "That'll change," I say.

  "Not entirely," she replies. "You are what you are, just as I am what I am. We can both try to be different, to be good, but ultimately we both have to accept what we are. We have to accept what's deep within us." She pauses. "How is your friend, anyway?"

  "Duncan's fine," I say, trying to ignore everything Annis is telling me. Part of me wants to just turn and run, to get out of here and pretend I never saw any of this.

  "Not Duncan," Annis says. "Darla. She seemed very conflicted. Tell me, did she manage to find peace?"

  I take a deep breath. "Darla found peace," I say. I've been trying to forget about Darla, to stop thinking about her death. It's not been easy, and I still see her in my dreams from time to time. She shouldn't have had to die. She should have stopped trying to be wolf and human, and just chosen one or the other. More and more, I'm starting to think that no-one can manage to balance the two for long. Eventually, you have to choose.

  I've chosen.

  "My art -" Annis starts to say, looking up at the sheet of Robert and Megan's skin.

  "This isn't art!" I say, getting angry at her. "Duncan was right about you. You're pure evil."

  "Duncan said that?" she asks, looking genuinely shocked. "Well..." She pauses. "He's certainly changed his mind. I remember him introducing me to Anna as a friend."

  "Who's Anna?" I ask.

  She smiles. "Has he never told you about Anna? I should have guessed. Perhaps it's still a little too soon for him to talk about her. Forget I said anything."

  I stare at her. She's clearly playing with me, trying to manipulate me. I'd like to think I'm better than this, but there's part of me that knows Annis has a reputation that deserves respect. If she's toying with me, there must be a reason, and I have to figure out what that reason is, otherwise I'm liable to walk straight into a trap.

  "I'm sure he'll tell me when it's necessary," I say, though I know my tone of voice isn't very convincing.

  "Necessary for him," Annis says. "Not for you." She pauses. "But you can ask him yourself."

  "I can," I say.

  "No," she replies. "I mean, you can ask him yourself right now." She nods towards something off in the distance. "He's here."

  I turn and see a shape coming towards us through the fog. For a moment, it seems almost impossible that it could actually be Duncan, but finally he emerges in front of me. Lately, I've become used to a kind of know-it-all, mocking expression on his face; this time, however, he looks deadly serious.

  Black Annis

  I knew he would come. I thought perhaps it might take a little longer, but then one must never under-estimate Duncan. He probably knew long before he came to this estate that I was here; he probably manipulated Jess to come out here tonight. He always thinks he's one step ahead of everyone else, and he's often right. But sometimes - just sometimes - his confidence is his greatest weakness. He never stops to think that as he strides forward, a trap might be closing around him.

  It has been a while since I last saw him. There was the time in the Underworld recently, but I mostly avoided direct confrontation. Before that, there was the time in Ireland, long ago, when we were briefly lovers. He had come to me because he believed he needed to understand me. He knew he couldn't destroy me, so he came to my bed because he felt it was the only way to really get into my mind. Perhaps he was right. For a brief period, I allowed myself to become lost in his embrace. Those nights, spent making love for hours on end, were certainly memorable. Perhaps one day we shall revisit that connection.

  But for now, there can be no thought of passion. I have a job to do; I have a message to deliver. I knew that he would come to me, provided I first lured his latest little girlfriend in my direction. I don't know why Duncan allows himself this weakness, but it's becoming a pattern: he spends time with girls like Jess and then he allows them to be used as weapons against him. If I were him, I would have long ago committed to a life of loneliness. It's the only way, after all. But there's something about Duncan that craves companionship. Jess is just the latest in a long line of girls who have come into Duncan's orbit. She will undoubtedly meet the same fate as all the rest, even if she is a little different. And then Duncan will be alone again, looking for a new friend.

  "Good to see you again," I say, stepping towards him. I'm
telling the truth. Despite the circumstances, it is good to see him again. I only wish I could tell him the truth. Unfortunately, I fear that this might be the last time I ever see Duncan.

  Jess

  "That took a while," Duncan says, staring straight past me and fixing Annis with a determined stare. "I was starting to think that maybe you weren't serious about getting my attention."

  "What's going on?" I ask, starting to get the impression that Duncan knows a lot more than I expected about this situation. It's almost as if he expected to find us here. Damn it, I've always hated the way Duncan seems to be one step ahead of everything that happens. Just once, I'd like to actually surprise him.

  "Nothing important," Duncan says, walking past me, heading towards Annis. There he goes again: acting like I'm not important; acting like he can just ignore me while he does the serious work.

  "I wanted to talk to you," Annis says.

  "You couldn't have just sent me a text message?" Duncan asks.

  "You wouldn't give me your number," she replies.

  "There are other ways to get in touch with me."

  Annis smiles. "I like to be dramatic."

  "She kills people," I say, trying to get Duncan to pay attention to me. "She killed Robert."

  Duncan turns to me. "Who's Robert?" he asks.

  "The guy from the street," I say. "The guy with the headache." Duncan stares at me blankly, and I realize he doesn't pay attention to the stuff that happens most of the time. "Never mind," I say.

  "You were supposed to complete a task," Annis says to Duncan. "You had a deadline. That deadline has passed. I've been asked to remind you of the importance of your work."

  "I'm getting there," he replies, seeming a little annoyed. "It'll be done. It's not exactly a quick job."

  "Nevertheless," Annis says, "there are people who are becoming angry that you're taking so long. Excalibur needs to be found. Its power is required, and a lot of people have placed their trust in you."

  "I'm working on it," Duncan insists.

  "How?" Annis asks. "By hanging around with dirty little hybrids?"

  It takes me a moment to realize that she means me. I'm used to people denigrating me because of my heritage. When Duncan and I went to the werewolf estate in Scotland, I was treated as a second class citizen because of my half-human, half-wolf heritage. Real werewolves, pure werewolves, tend to be given a lot more respect.

  "There's still time," Duncan says. He seems annoyed, as if he's tired of being pestered. The truth is, in all the time we've been hanging out, he's only mentioned Excalibur once, and even then it seemed to be something of a joke. I've heard of Excalibur, of course: it's said to be the sword of King Arthur. There's only one problem: King Arthur and all those stories are clearly rubbish. There was no King Arthur, and no Excalibur.

  "Time's running out," Annis says.

  "So you killed people," Duncan says. "You slaughtered people, including children, because you thought you'd be able to attract my attention."

  "It worked, didn't it?" Annis asks, smiling.

  "Wait a minute," I say, stepping between them. I'm sick and tired of being swept aside and ignored, like I'm some kind of idiot. "All this death was just because you wanted to get Duncan's attention?" I stare at Annis. "You did all this, just to get him to turn up?"

  Annis pauses. "Duncan can be very hard to get hold of, for those of us who don't have his ear. Granted, you can wake up close to him every day, but those of us who are kept at arm's length... Well, we have to be more creative when it comes to getting him to come and visit us."

  "You have my full attention now," Duncan says, staring at her.

  "Find Excalibur," she replies, the humor gone from her expression. "Find it, and make sure its power is used for good. Otherwise, you know what will happen."

  Duncan nods.

  "What?" I ask.

  "It doesn't matter," Duncan says.

  "It matters!" I say. "If I'm going to be helping you, I want to know!"

  "Who says you'll be helping me?" Duncan shoots back.

  I fall silent. I don't really know what to say right now. It seems like something's happening that I don't really understand. There seems to be so much history between Duncan and Annis, I feel like it's almost beyond me to even intervene. They seem to be involved in some dispute that started many, many years ago. At the same time, I can't help thinking that it's wrong for Duncan to be freezing me out. He's treating me like some kind of accessory, like someone who he can just assume will be there. I don't like that.

  "You know what you have to do," Annis says. She smiles. "You know, if you'd just come sooner, I wouldn't have had to kill so many people. You can be a difficult man to track down, Duncan. Perhaps you should consider getting a forwarding address."

  "I'm not available for hire," Duncan says.

  "It's not me you have to persuade," Annis replies. "They want you to do this for them."

  "Who are they?" I ask.

  Annis and Duncan ignore me. It's as if they're locked into their own private argument, and they don't have time to fill me in on all the details.

  "They need to be a little more patient," Duncan says.

  "Maybe," Annis says, smiling, "or maybe they think you're stalling. You have to finish the job you started. Why not just get it over with? You know you can do it; it's certainly not beyond you. So just go, get it over with, and then you can relax."

  "It's never like that," Duncan replies. He sounds annoyed now, as if Annis is really getting under his skin. "They just want more and more every time. They never stop making demands."

  "I promise you," Annis says. "Do this, and they'll leave you alone forever."

  Duncan sighs. "And this is why you're here? This is why you're on this moor, killing people? To attract my attention and deliver a message?"

  "It is," Annis says. "And think about it, Duncan. If you continue to ignore the message, they'll just find other ways to deliver it. And they'll make sure you can't turn your back any longer."

  "People have died here," Duncan says.

  "People die everywhere," Annis replies. "Every day. Every place. People die. I'm just shuffling up the order a little."

  "And if I agree to do this?" Duncan asks. "Will you pack up and leave this place forever?"

  She smiles. "Forever's a long time," she says, "but I'll go away, yes. It's not as if I particularly want to be hanging around here. I've delivered the message, so I'm free to leave. There are things in the Underworld that require my attention. They'll keep me occupied for quite some time."

  Duncan pauses. "Fine," he says. "I'll go and do it."

  "You'll need help."

  "I've got help," he replies. "I've got leads, too. I've almost done it already. I just need to follow up a few questions, and I can go pick up Excalibur. Shouldn't take more than a week or two."

  "Sounds easy," Annis replies.

  "Probably will be," Duncan says. He takes a deep breath. "So is that everything? Are we done here?"

  "I suppose we are," Annis says. "Unless you want to catch up?"

  "No time," Duncan replies. "Jess and I have to get moving."

  "Yeah," I say, though I instantly realize how stupid I sound. I've basically been a spare wheel since Duncan turned up. There's so much I still don't know about his world. For a moment, I find myself feeling pretty frustrated at being kept out of the loop, but then I remember my plan to abandon this world entirely and just live as a wolf. I'm still sticking to that plan, so I guess I should just relax. I'll stick with Duncan for a couple of weeks, just like I planned, and then I'll go and start my new life.

  "Let's go," Duncan says, turning and walking away.

  "Are we just going to leave her alone?" I ask, shocked that Duncan seems to have no intention of punishing Annis for what she's been doing. "She's a killer."

  "We're not in charge of the world," Duncan says, turning to me. "It's not our job to go around dealing with the bad guys. We're not super-heroes. She's going to go back down to
the Underworld, back down to all the monsters and beasts that live there. It's where she belongs. That's enough for me." He walks away, heading back into the fog and towards the town.

  "You'd better go with him," Annis says, "or you'll get lost." She pauses. "Or you could stay with me. I'll take you to some fun places. We can explore the world. We can even have some excitement along the way."

  My first instinct is to attack her. It would be so easy to shift into my wolf form and throw myself at her, but I'm pretty sure she could fight me off. There's something about Annis that suggests vast power. "No thanks," I say, though I feel a little as if I'm betrayed Robert. I should try to strike back at Annis for the way she killed him.

  "Shame," she says, stepping towards me. "We could have had fun together."

  She reaches out and touches my face, but I pull away from her. "Don't do that," I say.

  She smiles. "Promise me one thing," she says. "Don't trust Duncan blindly. If there's a moment when you think he might be wrong, don't hesitate to question him. If it comes down to your beliefs or his, go with your own." She pauses. "Sometimes he makes mistakes. Don't let yourself be another victim of those mistakes. Trust your instincts, and don't put your life at risk just to save him."

  "Thanks for the advice," I say, "but I'm fine." I turn and hurry after Duncan. I just want to get as far from Annis as possible.

  "It was nice to see you again, Jess!" she calls after me.

  I don't reply. Hurrying through the fog, I catch up to Duncan. He doesn't say anything as we continue to make our way through the vast greyness. Eventually we emerge back at the outskirts of the town. I spot the sign on the fence again, the one that warns people not to go out onto the moor. I guess if Annis is leaving, maybe people won't have to be so worried any more. Not here, at least. But she'll be somewhere, and the thought of her being out in the world isn't one that I like very much. She basically went unpunished for the things she did to Megan, Robert and the others. Duncan seems to just accept that those things happened, as if Annis is somehow inevitable. I guess if he could stop her, he would have done it long ago. Besides, I'm starting to think that Duncan picks and chooses his fights very carefully. I'm also starting to realize that there's a lot he hasn't told me yet.