The Devil's Daughter by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 11

Sleep did not come easily to the small family, as the next few days saw Alina becoming more excitable, almost to the point of manic. Anca and Nelu had begun arguing over trivial matters, due to the effects of several sleepless nights spent chasing Alina away from the window overlooking the priests' grave. She flew through the house without so much as a whisper, her face etched with a wide-eyed expression of childlike joy. Yet there was something else, something that terrified the young parents. It displayed itself on Alina's energetic face, but neither Anca nor Nelu could describe it and Ileana was no longer willing to help them. But the beginning of an answer would soon arrive in the form of something truly horrific, something that would shock the entire village.

The fourth night saw Anca and Nelu continuing to argue. But now, they had begun turning their frustration on Alina. However, despite the volume of their voices, Alina seemed unmoved and in fact, glared back at them as though plotting their demise. Having reached their wit's end, Nelu began leaving the house, trying to deflate his anger and frustration by taking walks in the cool night air as Anca remained inside, weeping for the future of her family. But one night, Nelu, taking a somewhat longer walk than usual, returned to the sound of crackling wood. He was tired enough that he knew he would need sleep and few hours would be better than nothing.

Still a good distance from home, Nelu, feeling the eyes of the night staring at him from the darkness of the forest, quickened his pace and arriving home, continued to hear the strange sound as it turned to a hollow ripping. With one hand flat against the door, he looked out over the faintly moonlit landscape of the village. At first glance, it may have gone unnoticed, but it was the sound that drew his attention and the sound was growing louder. Mustering his courage, Nelu stepped away from the safety of his home to cautiously investigate the source of the eerie sound. He had spent his life in the village of Gura Haith and knew its roads and houses well enough that he could navigate them almost with his eyes closed. It didn't take long for him to realize that the sound of fracturing wood was coming from the village cemetery and thought that, perhaps, a wolf had come down from the mountains and was clawing at the lid of an exposed coffin. Yet, he knew the difference between the sound of clawing and that of splintering wood. But, the sound had suddenly stopped, leading Nelu to convince himself that whatever had invaded the cemetery must have been scared off by his presence. However, stepping closer to the burial ground, Nelu became terrified to see a vague, dark form sitting at the edge of Father James' grave, bent down with its head deeply buried in the breached coffin lid. The land on which the village was built was rocky, covered by only a few feet of soil and clay. Its lack of depth made it easy for animals to dig down along the sides of the coffins, and it was not unusual for mice to chew through them and nest inside. But this was no mouse and instantly sensing Nelu's presence, glanced towards him, turned away, and ran off into the night. Nelu stood frozen in fear as he watched the formless creature dart through the darkness. But his fear peaked as he saw it in mid-stride, suddenly change to something more familiar. A wolf.

Terrified of the creatures' return, Nelu ran back to his house, tripping over his feet in the process. By the time he got to the door, his face was scraped and bleeding. Hearing the door slam, Anca came running to find her husband with an expression she'd never seen before. Normally, Nelu was a strong man, both physically and emotionally. On one of the many hunts he had participated in, he had somehow become separated from his group. He knew the way back, but something stood in the way of his return. There, in a small clearing, were three wolves, seemingly having appeared out of thin air and cautiously closed in on him. His hunting experience had led him to develop the ability of being able to shut off his fear, allowing him to think clearly and act quickly. As he confronted them, he saw their noses wrinkle with an expression of rage and heard them snarl as they planned their assault. But, Nelu was unmoved as the wolves prepared to attack, and as the first charged towards his right flank, he brought up his rifle and struck the animal soundly between the eyes, fracturing the front of its skull. Now, the wolf at his left flank ran in at him and was met by a single gunshot to the head. The last, being startled by the blast of Nelu's rifle, turned and disappeared into the woods.

Nelu adapted his strength to every part of his life and now that he had a family, he found it more important than ever to be strong, especially in the face of a crisis. But now, his strength had faltered as he ran through the house, being certain that all the windows and doors were bolted shut. Anca got up from in front of the fireplace, having finally gotten Alina to sleep.

“Nelu,” she began. “What is it?”

Checking and double-checking all the locks and bolts in the house, he told Anca to check on their daughter. “I just got her to sleep,” she said.

Nelu's fear became mixed with frustration as he turned to Anca.

“If she can get out of the house and go into those woods, she can do it again. Now, please go check on her.” Anca quickly walked to Alina's room as Nelu loaded his rifle, and having found her quietly sleeping, approached him about what it was that frightened him. “Nelu, what is it?” she asked.

Not wanting to frighten her with what he had seen in the village, Nelu gave her an intentionally vague response. “My imagination, I hope.”

Taking a few extra shells and an oil lamp, Nelu left for the cemetery. He knew the direction the creature had run but felt compelled to investigate Father James' grave first. It was only after a few minutes’ walk and as he approached what was now a vandalized grave, Nelu raised his lamp and to his horror, saw what was left of Father James. His body had been torn open, ribs snapped and pulled apart. Those organs that remained showed heavy signs of partial consumption, especially in the abdomen and with the body having begun decomposition, Nelu was left on his hands and knees, vomiting near the foot of the grave. With his lamp still lit, he rose to his feet and stumbling over to the grave again, inspected the lid of the coffin. The smell was horrific, prompting him to avoid breathing through his mouth. Smelling the odor was bad enough, tasting it would be far worse. However, with his hand over his mouth, Nelu examined the coffin and noticed that the lid had not simply been dug into, but ripped open. He realized that there was no animal he knew of that could tear open a heavy sheet of wood. Not even a wolf could do this kind of damage. Now, Nelu was truly terrified and again, lifting his lamp searched around the grave but saw nothing. Whatever it was that had looted the priests' grave was gone. At least, that's what Nelu hoped.

Now, the village had to be alerted and the first to be warned were the elders. Fighting off his fear, Nelu pounded on the doors of those who guided the village, but by the time they answered, others were also awake and with shotguns, rifles, and lamps in hand they were led to the cemetery. They stood in a circle, some with their hands covering their mouths while a few staggered away, their mouths quickly filling with bile. Ileana had also been wakened and limped out far enough to see the gruesome scene, as well as the terrified faces of onlookers.

“Perhaps this is a wolf,” she said. “Some get quite large and they do tend to eat the dead.” Another of the elders quickly spoke up. “The wolves rarely come into the village and no wolf has ever done this.”

Those still gathered around the grave agreed, as the voice of suspicion rumbled among them. “This is clearly something else, something that has never visited us before,” the elder continued. Looking around at the crowd, another elder, Aizic, firmly requested that everyone return to their homes. “Lock your doors and windows. We will deal with this in the morning.”

Those who had been taken ill by the sight of eviscerated human remains were led back to their homes, while the rest also returned to safety. As much as people would speculate about what had committed such a crime, no one could imagine what lay just beyond the villages' borders, waiting.