The Wrong Kind of Curse

"We've got to get out of here..."

Kathryn Devencourt stumbled out of the parlour and up the old set of servant's steps which ran around the back of the house, avoiding the main part of the building.

"Come on, Mary!"

She grabbed at the young maid's sleeve, dragging her along behind, the two women finding it hard to run in their long skirts, but after everything they had just witnessed, they were determined to at least try.

Their footsteps echoed hollowly on the cold stone floor as they skittered like two frightened shadows up towards the first floor of the grand old house in which they lived, the estate having been home to the Devencourt family for seven generations. The study was where Robert- Kathryn's husband of two months- had said to meet them, before he and the other men of the house had gathered any weapons they could find, and had set off after whatever it was that had left the bloody remains of the scullery maid lying on the courtyard steps.

Most of the staff had gone back to their own quarters for the night, before the attack, and whatever unfortunate errand the poor murdered girl had been forced to run, the look of sheer terror on her face had been enough for those who had found her to realise that her last moments had not been at all peaceful.

"I can hear it...I can hear it..." Mary breathed, her voice echoing in the small passageway, making her words sound all the more distressing.

"It's just in your mind, Mary. Do hurry, there's a good girl."

The lady of the house gripped her maid's hand firmly enough to prove she would not be having any nonsense, and continued to pull her along. But then, Kathryn could hardly blame the poor girl for being so frightened. As they had been making their way to a safer part of the house they had found the gardener- pitchfork still in hand- with his throat torn out, thrown across the kitchen stove, bloody paw-prints everywhere. That was enough to scare anyone senseless.

"Will Sir Robert know what to do?"

"I hope so," Kathryn replied, trying to keep both their spirits up, as she had no idea if the screams they had heard as they fled through the house had been ones of her husband or of anyone else unfortunate enough to come across this evil creature.

"The curse...I never thought it was true..."

"Mary...hush," Kathryn replied warningly, checking that everything was still and silent before running from doorway to doorway and up yet another flight of stairs. But the girl carried on regardless, her large brown eyes reflecting her anxiety.

"My father told me the story when I was little, to make sure I did not stay out late at night. He said that every ten years a creature would come to this place, a beast, damned and with a lust for human blood. It would prey on the innocent, for all eternity, or until one pure of heart could have the courage to destroy it for good."

"Folk-law and superstition," Kathryn uttered. "I have heard many such tales, all the same. They are stories to scare children and nothing more."

"Then what is that creature my lady, what IS that thing?"

Kathryn turned round sharply and gripped Mary's wrist hard, making the girl almost yelp from the pinching pain.

"Our only hope to survive this night is to keep our heads. When we found Graveston, God rest his soul, I saw blood, dark thick blood- which was not his own- also on the kitchen floor. The shots we heard being fired must have injured this...thing...which means if it can be hurt, then it can be killed too. You also saw how frightened Graveston was when we left the men...fear is what it follows, it can smell it, I am sure. And I will not let this cursed beast, if that is what it is, get the better of me. I am the lady of this house and I will not begin my life here as either a slave to my own fear, or as a corpse. Do I make myself clear?"

Mary bobbed her head, gulping hard, her mistress's eyes burning her.

"Yes m'arm."

"Good. Now we must find Robert."

With a determined fire burning from the very core of her soul, Kathryn made her way out onto the main landing of the second floor. The study was just round the corner, the master bedroom to their left. They passed one of the high windows and as Mary looked out, she saw yet another body littering the entrance, a torch still smouldering beside it, the main doors looking to have been smashed open like they were little more than matchwood. Whatever it was that was hunting them, it certainly wasn't human.

"Kathryn is that you?"

The young woman jumped, her hand going to her heart.

"Robert?"

From around the corner, a previously well dressed young man appeared, his shirt and jacket now caked in dirt and blood. By his side he carried a beautiful basket-hilt rapier, in his hand, a rifle. He seemed comfortable with both, and it was only due to his prowess in the fighting arts that he had survived up until now and had saved the lives he had.

"Where are the others?"

Sir Robert gladly grasped his wife's hand, holding her close to him for a moment. She was safe, and so was Mary. The two briefly looked at each other for a moment, wanting to continue their embrace yet knew they had little time to express their feelings for each other, their reasons justified or not.

"The ones who are left I sent down to the cellars," Robert informed them quickly, "The doors are strong and there are things they can barricade the entrance with. But even if that fails there is a passage down there which will lead them away from here, to Garrison's farm, should the worse come to the worst. My great grandfather had it made during the wars, as another way out, just incase. Well, it was either that or he foresaw this day..."

"And what of us?"

"I left a distraction for the creature, to gain us some time so that we can get down to the horses in the stables. We can ride to the town and raise the alarm. I took all the fresh meat from the kitchens and laid it down in the hallway, sadly poor Graveston lost his life defending me there. I managed to shoot the damn thing before it got me though."

Kathryn looked at Mary knowingly.

"Come," Robert beaconed them, "This way. Even you do not know all the secret passages this place has, Mary. Do not be frightened dear child, we will away long before-"

But he never finished his sentence as from behind them they heard the sound of heavy padding footsteps, coupled by the snort of heavy breathing.

"Oh no..."

All three backed away, back down along the hallway, towards the study.

"How did it find us..." Kathryn whispered; even so close to this kind of danger, her voice level and steady.

Mary looked down at her hand, and Kathryn caught her glance.

"You're bleeding..."

"I only caught it on some broken glass in the kitchen m'arm...I didn't mention it as you grabbed my sleeve and told me to run...I didn't think...I..."

"You foolish girl," Kathryn almost cried, but looked more in pity at the girl than with true anger. "You should have told me immediately. It has smelt you."

"Please...please don't let it kill me...please...I am sorry...I'm...so...sorry..."

"Hush..." the other young woman comforted, holding Mary close to her, Robert standing protectively in front of them, glancing round to look at his wife. His expression was pained, like he was torn between two choices and it was killing him inside. His vivid blue eyes and dark swathe of thick brown hair made him look all the more handsome in the role of their guardian, yet that was a position even Robert himself was unsure if he could fill.

They froze as a bulky black shape appeared, its movements animalistic and predatory. It sniffed the air before lounging a little closer, passing through the light of an open window.

The beast stood still for a moment, its fur mangy and unkempt, blood crusted across its muzzle, as the light of the full moon reflected hauntingly in its savage red-tinged eyes. Its feral brain recognised the fact that its prey no longer had anywhere to run. They were trapped and their fear could now be smelt in the air; a stench so powerful it made the animal sniff again, then lick a thick pink tongue across its fangs. A length of saliva dribbled out of its mouth as it tasted the air once more, its breathing now hard and rough, a light growling beginning to rumble from the back of its throat.

"Get inside the study and lock the door."

"No...no..." Kathryn uttered grappling pathetically at her husbands arm. She knew he was going to try and fight the beast off himself. It would be pointless, he would be ripped apart like every other member of their household staff who had already attempted it.

"I can't lose you...Robert. It's been two months...only two months..."

Her husband pretended not to hear her words and shook his head sadly, placing one last tender kiss on his wife's lips.

"It is my duty to protect you. Stay in that room no matter what happens. I'm sorry, my darling. Take her, Mary."

The young maid, suddenly finding she was the one in charge, pulled her mistress into the nearby room and shut the door, Robert hearing the bolt snap shut. He was glad to hear the scraping of furniture also, as they barricaded the door. Hopefully they would be safe in there. If they could stay in that room until dawn they would survive, and the longer he could hold off this evil beast the better.

He had always dreaded this moment, the time when he would have to search his soul for the strength to fight such a terrible creature. Ten years ago his own father had been cursed with the same task; of defending Devencourt House and the nearby towns and villages from this evil abomination.

Killing werewolves, (Sir Robert was not squeamish when coming to admit what it was he was fighting) was a family tradition and it went back generations...seven in fact, but every time one of these werewolves was killed, another one seemed to take its place. It matched his own family, generation for generation, and without a son to follow him as of yet, Robert knew that if he did not win, only destruction would follow. But the timing was all wrong, he had only just married Kathryn...and he hadn't had a chance to tell her of his family's plight...nor of their other dark secret.

"Why?" Robert accused the werewolf, its cold claws glistening as it flexed them menacingly.

Already he had drawn his sword, but instead of holding it out threateningly, he simply threw it to the floor, as he then did his jacket and his belt, until he stood there in just his shirt and breeches, his trembling hands rolling up the sleeves of his baggy white shirt.

"I was happy...I was so happy..."

The creature padded towards him, snarling, pacing, yet with a slight hesitancy, as if this prey was different from the others. It sniffed the air and its wiry fur bristled.

"That's right...it's all becoming clear now isn't it?" Robert laughed, mocking the creature as he began to take control of the situation instead.

There was a window just to his left and as Robert stepped forwards, a beam of moonlight broke through the clouds and bathed him in its delicate silvery rays, his skin turning white.

He looked calmly out at the view, as if it were a nice spring morning and he had just risen from a peaceful slumber to admire his house and gardens. He gazed across the hills and the nearby forest, then up at the brilliant full moon, blazing down from the thick black velvet sky. But as his eyes flicked back to face his enemy, they were no longer the cool and friendly shade of blue they had previously been, instead they flashed a vivid amber for a second; wide and savage and inhuman.

"You chose the wrong man to mess with," Robert snarled, shuddering as he felt his whole body tense, a sharp yet somehow comforting pain running down the back of his spine as he craned his neck upwards and closed his eyes. He had never done this before, but before his father had died, he had told him that when the time came, he would have to willingly accept their own curse to protect the ones he held dear, even if it meant risking being injustly hunted for the crimes of another.

The werewolf took another pace forwards, but the look its eyes held within them showed the first signs of its own realization.

"You came to the wrong house, fiend..." Robert just managed to growl, as every bone and every muscle began to snap and bend and contort, a sleek wash of thick fur appearing and covering every inch of his writhing body. "It was already cursed."

From inside the boarded up room, Kathryn and Mary huddled together in one corner. They could hear some quite horrific noises, but none quite as frightening as a gut wrenching howl which seemed to shake the foundations of the house itself. It sounded as if some poor animal was being tortured to death.

"What...what's happening?" Mary whispered, Kathryn's arms wrapped round the frightened girl.

"I do not know," her mistress replied, but it sounded as if there was a fight going on. A terrible crash made both women jump, the door bowing in slightly as something was thrown up against it from the other side. Cold savage snarls could be heard and an incessant scraping of claws down the woodwork.

"It wants to get in..." Mary sobbed, covering her eyes.

Without warning there was another loud crash, this time of broken glass and splintering wood. There was the sound of ripping flesh and yet another cold, inhuman howl as Mary sobbed even louder, Kathryn's comforting murmurs not enough to keep pictures of the beast tearing Sir Robert apart, from the fragile girl's mind.

But Kathryn had seen what that creature could do to a human being, and Robert might be an excellent swordsman but he was no match for a werewolf. He should have been dead by now. That was why she was very quiet, a cold flush having crept over and coated every nerve in her body. She had not heard her beloved husband scream or cry out once...but she was sure she had heard two very different howls ringing out into the night.

Suddenly the door was ripped off its hinges, the furniture behind it tossed away by the beast that now stood before them, blood dripping from its jaws. Mary fainted, but Kathryn just gazed in wide-eyed, silent terror. Yet as it went to pounce forwards, another dark shape appeared from behind it, grabbing the other creature in its claws and dragging it to the ground.

The two rolled over and over, smashing into vases and plates, everything either splintering, snarling or breaking. With a sudden snap, one of the creatures brought its jaws down hard around the other's neck, the werewolf's large furred body shaking itself viciously to get free, a claw swiping up and catching the other sharply across the muzzle. Panting and bleeding and with a fatal looking gash running through its throat, the more mangy looking of the two beasts ran, loping on a mixture of two and four legs, and jumped straight out the window, glass and wood exploding everywhere once more.

Then everything was silent.

The remaining creature held the side of its muzzle with a paw-like hand, licking the blood away with its tongue. It was covered in wounds and scratches, and tried to calmly clean itself, small shards of broken glass clinging to its fur and glittering in the pale moonlight.

Kathryn had been trying to keep very still, but as she placed her hand down, to shift to a more comfortable position, the floorboards creaked and the creature sharply turned its head towards her, fixing her in a calm, level gaze, almost as if it hadn't realised she had been there at all.

The young woman noticed for the first time that unlike the other beast, this one was a lot darker in its colouring, a very thick grey fur rippling across its fearsome muscled torso. There was also something much more intelligent about it too, as the second it laid eyes on Kathryn an almost pained expression washed over its face, its beautiful and distinctive blue eyes gazing back at her from behind a sleek and handsome muzzle. There was no mistaking it now.

"Robert...Oh my word..."

The creature sadly lowered its head as it paced slowly towards where the trembling Kathryn was crouched. He stopped before her and closed his eyes, letting the young woman gently reach out and touch the soft fur of his cheek, his breathing low and deep and unthreatening.

"It can't be..."

He was soft and warm and Kathryn found herself curling her fingers deep into the sleek fur of his chest, a comforting strength washing over her as he pressed his fearsome wolfish muzzle against the side of her face and licked her cheek, his warm breath moving her hair.

"Why...why?" she uttered. "But you can't be like that...that other creature."

His eyes sadly met her own and he regretfully turned his head away as if ashamed of what he was.

"Sweetheart...Robert..."

Cold, silent tears began to run down Kathryn's cheeks, but she still had her fingers curled deeply in Robert's thick fur, the only sliver of comfort she could gain being from his reassuring presence. She wanted to hold him, she wanted to feel his arms around her, to hear his voice and for him to tell her everything would be alright.

"M...m'arm..?"

The werewolf instantly sprang back, startled, as Mary stirred, a slight growl at the back of its throat. It took one final glance at the two women before retreating back down the corridor and out of the window, dropping easily to the ground, before loping away into the darkness of the night, Kathryn's tear streaked face haunting its still human soul.

"I've got to go after him..."

"After who? What happened? M'arm?"

Kathryn scrabbled to her feet and went to the window. From it she could see only darkness, but it would not be long before the soft rays of dawn began to colour the horizon.

"Mary...you must stay here. Find all those who remain and stay in the cellar until dawn is upon us. Then go to the village and buy what you need to clean the house, do everything as you would normally do. Get Henry to start mending these windows and call in on Father Keely, we will need fitting burials for those who lost their lives here tonight. But I want everything to continue as normal. This beast will not stop us from living our lives."

"But Lady Kathryn...that was the beast, the one of legend...I know you are not from around these parts, but-"

"I will have no more talk, Mary," Kathryn said, almost icily, cutting the girl off. "We have more important things to take care of. Now go and do my bidding. There will be no more deaths tonight, and woe betide that creature if it lays a claw on anyone else I care about. Now please...just go and stay safe."

"But...what of you?!"

Kathryn had already buttoned her collar up tightly up and was heading down the hallway, Mary following hot on her heels.

"Lady Kathryn?!"

But Kathryn was not listening, she ran into her bedroom and went to the closet, pulling out a large winter coat before running round to the other side of the grand four poster bed and pulling out from the nearby dresser a loaded pistol. She dragged on the coat and slotted the pistol into a belt she found in Robert's closet, fastening it tightly round her waist.

"Do not ask me questions, Mary. If I do not return then that is because the fates have decreed it so. I will be with my husband either way. Now go."

She shooed the girl away, before making sure she had all she needed.

Robert's sword lay discarded along with his jacket and other clothes in a small tattered pile. Kathryn bent down to pick up the fine blade- any weapon would help her- but as she did so she noticed the other remnants of ripped clothing, and fur lying scattered about just by the door, claw marks too, long scratches in the doorframe.

It had to be true...her husband was no longer human.

Kathryn closed her eyes in pain, but refused to cry. She would find him...yes...and she would bring him back and they would get to the bottom of this once and for all. She was not scared that the night still held its dangers, she just wanted to be with the man she loved, and if that came at a price then so be it.