The Retreat(81)

Julia called up, ‘What’s going on?’

I thumped on the door and shouted again. Nothing.

Then somebody screamed. The sound almost sent me hurtling down the stairs. It sounded like it came from inside the chapel, just beyond the door. One thing I was sure of – it was a woman.

‘Lucas, please, what’s going on?’

I ran back down to Julia, more confident on the slippery steps now, and began to tell her what I’d heard.

She grabbed my arm. ‘Lucas.’

‘A woman. Who could it be? Ursula. But why—’

‘Lucas!’

I shut up.

Julia pointed at the stairs. ‘The door. I think someone just opened it.’

‘Oh shit, I should have brought a weapon, a knife . . .’

I hesitated, listening for sounds of life above us. It was completely silent. I had to go up, to find out what was going on, even though I knew it could be a trap, was probably a trap. But what else could I do?

Slowly, I crept back up to the door. I turned the handle and pushed it open.

I didn’t know where Julia’s flashlight was and I’d left mine down with her, so the room was dark. I waited for my eyes to adjust. Shapes sprang out of the darkness. A chair, which had been used to wedge the door shut, lay to my right.

There was somebody on the floor between the pews. They weren’t moving.

I crept closer.

They sprang to life.

‘Get away from me! Get away!’ It was definitely a woman, but it was too dark to see her face, and although I recognised the voice I couldn’t place it.

‘Who is it?’

I spun round. Julia was in the doorway. She must have dragged herself up the stairs. She was bent almost double from the pain, but managed to lift the flashlight to cast the beam onto the woman on the floor, who was cowering in terror against the altar.

The woman lifted her face towards us.

‘What the fuck are—’

She cut me off with a groan.

It was Heledd.

‘I saw her!’ she babbled, eyes darting around the interior of the chapel. ‘She told me to confess my sins. The sins of my father and my mother.’ She crossed herself, gazing past us at the painting of Jesus.

I approached her and she shrank away.

‘She said . . . she said if I don’t confess she’ll come back for me.’ She began to mutter to herself, her words a rapid blur. It was a prayer. She crossed herself repeatedly. For a confused moment I wondered if Heledd had a twin sister, because this woman seemed so different to the cool, sane woman I’d been talking to just a few hours before. But no, this was definitely Heledd. Two books lay beside her. One was the ruined Bible I’d spotted earlier. The other, clearly identifiable in its brown leather binding, was Malcolm’s journal.

‘Who told you?’ I asked.

Heledd picked up the Bible and held it against herself. ‘The witch. The Red Widow.’ She pointed towards the door. ‘She was here. She told me to confess. The sins of the father and the mother. The sins of the daughter.’

Julia approached her, pointing the flashlight at her face.

‘Confess? What did you do?’ she demanded. Her voice rose to a shout. ‘What did you do?’

But all Heledd could do was sob.





Chapter 41

LILY – 2014–2015

It had been the worst Christmas ever. Not because the presents Mum and Dad got her were rubbish – Lily got pretty much everything she had asked for, except a new kitten – and not because it rained all day which meant she couldn’t go outside to try out her new Heelys. Dinner was nice too. Mum gave her an extra helping of roast potatoes and didn’t make her try any sprouts.

All of that was great. Lily’s tummy still fizzed with excitement at the Christmassy-ness of it all, even though she wasn’t a baby who believed in Santa any more, despite Mum’s insistence he was real. But what ruined it, what made it the worst Christmas, was the atmosphere between her parents.

Christmas night, Lily went to bed, taking Chesney with her, along with Big Cat and Little Cat, and bit back tears. Her tummy still hurt from eating too much dinner and she couldn’t get to sleep. So her brain churned.

There had to be something she could do to make her parents realise how lucky they were. Her attempt to run away had been a massive fail. She hadn’t been gone long enough for them to worry. They hadn’t even realised she’d left the house! Mum was all fretful and cross when Lily got home, telling her never to do that again. Dad echoed what Mum said and that had been good, seeing them agree about something for a change.

So maybe it hadn’t been such a fail after all.

But that had been weeks ago, and as Christmas approached the atmosphere between her parents had become as frosty as the morning grass.

Until today: New Year’s Eve. Earlier, Mum and Dad had locked themselves in their room for ages. She could hear them talking and then they’d gone quiet for a while. When they came out they were both smiling and the atmosphere around them had changed. It was amazing. They said she could stay up with them till midnight. But then they’d started watching this programme with all these ancient, boring rock stars, and they were drinking champagne and getting all lovey-dovey, which made her want to vomit. She wanted them to love each other and not argue, but kissing in front of her? That was gross. So she left them to it, went upstairs and Skyped Megan.