Hills of the North Ch. 04

"Jesus," she gasped. Reverend Hosking was in terrible danger. "I've got to warn him. Emily's possessed. And tonight she'll try and kill him!"

Sheathed in sweat, she fumbled for her smartphone. With trembling fingers, she thumbed through her list of contacts, pressing the number for the vicarage landline.

After several rings, nobody answered, and the vicar's terse answerphone message came on.

"Damn, he must be out somewhere." She hung up and phoned his mobile. Straight to voicemail.

"I don't believe this. He never switches his mobile off. What if...no, don't think about that. Ray. I've got to phone Ray."

Worse, she could smell the house burning.

The smoke odour lingered so long after she had awakened that she became convinced that her own house was ablaze. Quickly, she went from one room to another, searching for the fire.

There was no fire.

In the church, Ray thumbed through the diary that had greeted him when he checked his pigeon-hole in the vestry. The small, leather bound book had seen better days, given that it was over a hundred years old, and what it contained, shocked the curate.

"April 24th, 1870. By the time anyone reads this, I shall be dead. Perhaps an eternity in Hell awaits me. I do not know. That is for the Lord to decide. I have taken matters into my own hands. I have taken a life, and be sure your sins will find you out. My sweetheart is dead. I am ruined. Thus, I have been tempted to take a horse, ride until dawn and stow away on the nearest ship. But no. I cannot live with my guilt, and I feel compelled to tell the truth. Perhaps He will look upon me with mercy."

He turned the page.

"My God, what a piece of history this is...and it explains it all!"

The diary belonged to James Grimshaw, who was the young man Caroline had been in love with.

Ray's phone rang, and he almost dropped the diary. "Alice, Alice, calm down, I can barely hear you. What's wrong?" She sounded completely hysterical. He spent a minute calming her down and listened as she told him about the nightmare she'd just endured.

His heart was racing now. "I bet he's taken Emily to the cottage. He said they were going on Saturday, but I bet you any money he's decided to go tonight. We've got to get up there. I'm leaving the church right now and I'm bringing something with me that is the final puzzle piece we've been waiting for."

He hung up and raced out of the church.

"It's so beautiful up here," Emily said, as she gazed out of the window. Despite the rain, the front room had a fantastic view over Pendle and the surrounding hills. The cottage was poky, but tastefully furnished in a blend of minimalist Scandi and rustic hunting lodge styles. A large pair of red deer antlers hung on the stone wall above the wood burning stove. On the opposite wall, an antique, bone-handled hunting knife in a glass case glinted in the storm light. The cottage was one of a handful of small holiday rentals tucked into the scenic moorland and were reachable only by way of a private, gravel-surfaced road.

"Don't worry about the rain, I'm sure it'll be gone by morning. Just got to get the fire going and it'll be toasty in here," Reverend Hosking said, kneeling on the deer skin rug.

Emily shuddered as he fiddled with the stove. "I'll just...go to the loo."

"Okay. We'll have a drink once I've got this up and running. I've got a nice bottle of red standing by."

All the way from Alice's house, Ray barely managed to keep within the speed limit. Once clear of the town and on the open moorland road, he sped up.

"Ray, for God's sake, be careful! In this rain and on these winding roads. If you skid, it's game over for all of us."

"Trying my best, but the thought of Graham about to be butchered by a woman possessed by a vengeful spirit, well we haven't got a lot of time, Alice. It may already be too late."

"Fuck's sake, don't say that. I can't bear it. If only I'd figured out the dreams sooner."

"The diary. Read it. It's all in there. James Grimshaw wrote everything down. On the morning of 24th April 1870, he called round at Albert Gaskell's house, a smart Georgian property that stood where the current vicarage stands. He demanded to speak to Caroline. As you already know, he and Caroline wished to marry, but no way was Albert going to agree to that. He fobbed James off, stating that he'd had his daughter sent far away "for her own good" and that the lowly farmhand would never see her again. Little did James know that Caroline, knocked out with chloroform, was locked in a bedroom.

Some time later, James returned to the house, armed with a large knife. Entering the back door, he took Albert by surprise and stabbed him to death. James then set fire to the house, unaware that Caroline was trapped upstairs. By the time the fire had taken hold, she'd woken up and was frantically pounding on the door. The small rear bedroom had no window -- bricked up decades earlier to avoid the infamous window tax. No way out.

Horrified at his actions, James was overcome with remorse. He confessed all in this diary, then hanged himself. There's the truth. But Caroline died cursing her father, believing he'd left her to burn to death because he thought she was a witch."

"But why was the truth hidden for so long?" Alice said, flicking through the pages. And where did this diary end up? You said you found it in your pigeon hole? Who put it there?"

"Albert must've made enemies. He was a cruel man. Somebody wanted the truth buried. Maybe a friend or relative of James? Could've been another member of the church. As for the diary, Reverend Hosking mentioned the other day that the workmen had unearthed a few personal effects of Caroline's. A tin box was found in a wall cavity by the side of the church. I assume he finally got round to opening the box and chose to put the diary in my pigeon hole, given that he left in such a hurry."

Alice's face was ashen. "And now Caroline's back. In Emily. Believing Reverend Hosking is a reincarnation of her father. This time she'll get her revenge."

"Unless we can stop her."

"How long until we reach the cottage?"

"Too long." Ray grimaced. "We'll have to do better."

The speedometer needle touched eighty.

Emily returned from the bathroom. Reverend Hosking seemed to be having trouble getting a fire started.

"Can't get this stupid thing to work," he muttered, flicking the switch on the handheld BBQ lighter. "Honestly, these modern gadgets...you're better off with matches. I'll go and get some."

"Forget the stove my sweet Reverend," she said, sliding her arms round his shoulders. "There are better ways to get warm." She whispered back and kissed him hard on his lips.

"Now why didn't I think of that?"

He gave into Emily's kiss at once, parting her lips and sliding his tongue into her mouth and seeking out her own. She was igniting a fire inside him.

He unfastened her top and bra, exposing her pale breasts. He lowered his head and sucked on her right nipple. Switching to her other breast, he removed more of her clothing, eager hands groping under her skirt and underwear until he found her tantalisingly warm wetness. Emily gave a yell as she felt him pressing her clit and squeezing her labia with tender fingers.

"Oh Graham," she exclaimed.

Reverend Hosking ran a finger ever so gently from her throat down to her crotch. Emily shuddered in ecstasy. He kissed her neck, massaging her narrow shoulders. "I I love you so much. Please...pray with me."

"Dear Father, thank You for all You have done to me and always shower me with Your Graces and Providence in my day-to-day life. I pray all these through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen."

Emily felt a finger being traced down her spine, holding her breath she was scared to move for a moment. Then she felt a brush of his hand on her arse. The vicar bumped against her, his hardness against her buttocks running his fingers between the cheeks until he found her pussy, sliding in one finger, then two.

She let out a shuddering sigh, leant back against him and spread her legs.

He removed his trousers, took the woman's hand and pressed it to his crotch. She removed his underpants to free his erection. Feeling his hardness, feeling its heat.

Reverend Hosking let out a moan. The fire within...he was afraid he'd cum at once, but managed to hold on. Emily rubbed the head of his cock, feeling the precious drops of pre-cum. He gave a groan and pulled her down.

With thunder rumbling outside, they made love on the deerskin rug.

"So we burst in and confront the two of them...and then what?" Alice said. "We know the truth, but how do we stop Emily...I mean, Caroline -- from taking her revenge? Suppose she can't be stopped? She might try and kill us too! No use calling the police either."

A slow-moving tractor appeared out of the mists ahead, and Ray passed it. For a moment the filthy spray from the vehicle's huge tyres drummed on the side of the Audi, and the noise was too loud for Ray to speak above it. When they had passed the tractor, he said, "I don't know. I'm working on it. Just trust me. As for the police, they're useless at the best of times. Sure, if Emily turns violent, we could call 999 and say that a mentally-ill person is trying to kill us. But that would be the worst-case scenario. Emily gets arrested, has no idea what she's doing whilst under the control of Caroline. She gets sectioned or jailed, poor Graham's relationship is over forever. Then Caroline's spirit goes on to possess someone else. The cycle begins all over again. No, we can't involve anyone else. This is our battle. We've got to finish it."

For a long while, Reverend Hosking said nothing, just held Emily close, stroking her cheek gently. For the first time in his life, he felt utterly content; his soul at peace.

When they'd both calmed, he staggered to his feet and pulled his underpants and shirt on. He was starting to feel chilly.

"Be right back, Em." He kissed her again. Need to answer the call of nature. I'll see if I can find some matches too."

Alone in the room, Emily dressed herself, then glanced up at the hunting knife.

"What was left unfinished, shall be finished now." The voice wasn't hers. A look of pure rage appeared on her face.

The sound of the rain was very loud.

"This is it," Ray said as he turned off the main road and headed down the narrow gravel road. "It's the first cottage on the left. Lights are on. Look, I can see the vicar's car."

Alice was trembling. She wanted to scream. Like a fox fleeing hounds, she wanted to run, run far away from this cottage, run to somewhere safe.

There are no safe spaces.

"There's something else, Ray. About Emily. Remember when I said I saw the face of Jordan when I saw her? I now know why that is. She's...Ruby, my daughter. Today is April 24th -- the anniversary of Caroline's death. It's also the anniversary of me giving Ruby up for adoption."

The Audi screeched to a halt.

"What the hell?" he gasped.

"I just know she is, Ray."

"Your second sight again?"

"It's never wrong. And that biological daughter of mine could be about to kill."

Like her, he was close to pissing himself. "Come on. We've got to go in."

"What's the plan, Ray?"

He held up the diary. "Leave it to me."

After using the toilet, Reverend Hosking entered the kitchen. He looked through all the drawers, seeking matches. Finally, in the end cupboard, he found a box.

Then Emily appeared. She was carrying a knife.

Ray and Alice hurried towards the cottage. The rain seemed to be getting worse, and they were both soaked through.

"Fuck," he muttered, barely able to see. He squinted through the main window. The room was deserted. "Can't see either of them."

"You don't suppose they're...uh, you know, in bed?" Alice said.

Suddenly, the sound of screaming and things being broken was heard.

"Oh shit, there's trouble. I'll go in first." He grabbed a four-pronged garden fork that was propped up against the wall. "Alice...whatever happens -- save yourself. I'll give you my car keys. I'll..."

She put her hand on his. "No Ray. We're in this together, remember? Come on."

Reverend Hosking stood in the middle of the kitchen, unable to move, numbed by fear, frozen. Ten feet away, Emily stood with the hunting knife. Her eyes were owlish, as if she were high on drugs, and her face was distorted by rage. "Emily?" He said at last. "Please put the knife down. Whatever it is, we'll talk."

"You stinking, foul and rotten bastard!" She said, through clenched teeth. "I hate you!"

Though she spoke, the voice wasn't hers. It was another woman's entirely. The reverend's first thought was that she had schizophrenia. Had she stopped taking medication?

Lightning cracked open the sky, and the falling rain glittered.

"I hate you!" Emily said, She took one step towards the vicar.

"Stop this right now," he said, refusing to retreat. "You will be calm. You will relax. I will help you. Just put the knife down."

The woman took another step.

"Emily, drop the knife."

"My name isn't Emily. It's Caroline!"

"W-what?"

"I'm going to punish you this time, Father. For what you did to me. You won't escape this time!"

"I-I'm not your father. It's me, Graham! I'm your partner. We're getting married, don't you remember?"

"The only man I wanted to marry was James. But you forbid me to! I hate you, Father! I'm going to cut your head off. Then I'll put it on the altar in your church. That's what you think witches do, isn't it? Because that's what I am, yes? A witch?"

Reverend Hosking edged toward the back door. Emily quickly circled in that direction, blocking access. Then she started toward him, moving fast, grinning. The vicar turned and ran toward the lounge.

He looked for something with which to defend himself. The only thing available was a poker in the rack of fireplace tools. He grabbed it. Behind him, Emily said, "I hate you!"

Reverend Hosking spun round. The woman raised the knife.

He brought the poker up without any time to spare, and it rang against the gleaming, viciously sharp blade, deflecting the blow. The impact rang back the length of the poker, into his hands, numbing them. He couldn't maintain his grip on the iron rod; it fell from his tingling hands. The impact did not ring back along the bone handle of the knife, and Emily still held the weapon as though she had superhuman strength.

Reverend Hosking backed up against the wall. He nowhere else to run.

"Now," Emily said. "After a century and a half. It ends here."

She lifted the knife high, and the vicar crossed himself and begged God for help.

Suddenly, Ray and Alice burst into the room.

"There's a fire!" Ray yelled.

Emily froze. The knife hovered above the vicar's head.

"Oh God, fire!" Alice joined in. "There are flames everywhere!"

Reverend Hosking watched, bewildered, as a look of stark terror took possession of Emily's face.

"Fire!" Ray yelled again. "It's an inferno! We'll all be burned alive!"

Emily screamed and dropped the knife, which clattered against the stone floor. Alice grabbed it and put it safely out of reach.

"W-what's happening?" The vicar stammered. On the floor, Emily appeared to be coughing and choking on imaginary smoke. She writhed around like a person in mortal agony.

"It'll be alright Graham, don't worry. It'll be over soon. As soon as I tell Caroline the truth."

Alice gently led the vicar over to the couch, while Ray knelt before the writhing woman.

"Caroline? Can you hear me? James sent me. I'm a friend. There's something very important he wants you to know."

Emily stopped thrashing about and calmed down. "James? My James?"

"Yes. Please listen." He pulled out the diary. "It's time you knew the truth, Caroline." He sat her down in an armchair.

Alice comforted the vicar and they all listened in silence as Ray read the events of that fateful morning of 24th April 1870.

By the end of it, there was no screaming or rage, just Caroline, in Emily's body, weeping like a person in deep mourning.

Reverend Hosking wiped his eyes as he finally understood.

"There's no fire, Caroline. Not now. Not any more. You're not a witch. You are loved. God sees you and He loves you."

"He didn't mean to kill me," Caroline said at last.

"I know, my dear. He didn't know you were there."

"He murdered Father. He meant to do that."

"Yes. Yes he did. How do you feel about that?"

"I hated my father. He was a cruel, wicked man. He did unspeakable things to me. Things that are a sin to speak of in polite company. I shall shed no tears for him. But he did not want to kill me. He just wanted to control me."

The vicar nodded. "Caroline, what do you want?"

"I want to be free."

"Then let us say a little prayer together."

They began to say the Lord's Prayer. All of a sudden, Emily's body was gripped by spasms. She went limp in the vicar's arms and collapsed.

The lights of the cabin flickered, dimmed and then returned to normal.

"Is it...over?" Alice whispered.

"I don't want to be overly optimistic, but I think it's over," Ray answered.

"Caroline...Emily?" Reverend Hosking said, as he stroked her face. "Oh please wake up." Tears ran down his face. "We need to call an ambulance!"

"No, she'll be just fine," Ray said, reassuring him. "Just fainted. Being possessed must be incredibly tiring, as the person's mind is suppressed."

"And Caroline Gaskell is finally at peace."

A few minutes later, Emily began to stir, and opened her eyes. "Uhhhh...Graham. What happened?" Her voice was her own again. She looked round. "Alice...Ray? Did something happen?"

"Oh it's a very long story, my love!" The overjoyed vicar replied, embracing her.

Ray handed James' diary to him. "It was you left this in the vestry, yes?"

"Yes I did. I meant to give it to you sooner. I only got round to opening the box of Caroline's things last week. I never bothered to read the diary. How could I have been so blind?"

"What's that about Caroline?" Emily interrupted.

"We've found a box containing a diary and some of her jewellery. The diary belonged to James, the man she was in love with. It's a fascinating piece of history and we're going to donate it to the library and get a proper exhibition up and running, so the public can learn all about her life. There are some serious errors that need correcting."

"That sounds brilliant. Um, Graham. Why are you wearing just your shirt and undies?"

Ray stifled a laugh as the vicar scrambled for an excuse. "That was my fault," he said quickly. "I was careless and spilled a cup of coffee all over the vicar's trousers. Which luckily for him was only lukewarm."

"Can't take him anywhere," Alice added. "Don't ask me why I love him so much." She turned to Reverend Hosking. "We're in love. I'm...going to divorce Mike. I'm afraid our marriage died a while ago. I understand it might raise a few eyebrows, but..."

Instead of disapproval, the vicar nodded, smiled and embraced them. "I think you two are made for each other.

Three months later...

"Getting married on the top of Pendle Hill. Has that been done before?" Alice said as she read through the vicar's official wedding invitation. Surely he's not expecting the older members of the congregation to go hiking up there? It's normally blowing a gale too."

Ray chuckled as he stroked Binx. "Hopefully not up the steep slope of it. Worry not. I think he's holding another ceremony in the church so that everyone can attend."

In just a few weeks, their lives had changed so much. Alice was in the process of getting divorced, and to her relief, Mike had agreed at once to it, feeling that is was best for both of them. He seemed unconcerned with her new romance with Ray; Alice later discovered that his business trips to Milton Keynes were actually meetings with his secret lover.