The Devil's Daughter by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 43

The night was filled with a chaotic choir of screams, as the people of Gura Haith were quickly and methodically slaughtered. Most never saw so much as a blur of what sprang out at them from the cover of night. By dawn, the village stood empty as silence descended like a ghost on what would, in time, turn to decay and ruin. The road to freedom and was littered with the eviscerated bodies of everyone who allowed themselves to be taken over by fear and irrationality. They lay sprawled out on the ground, with many draped over tree limbs, their torn entrails dangling from their open bodies. As for Aizic and Sabin, they had been struck with the terror of being left behind and followed the rest to a fate they never could have imagined. But there was one person who remained. Not wanting to argue about staying behind, Ileana had locked herself in her house and curled up in a corner with her hands pressed over her ears, trying to protect her sanity from giving way to the throng of screams and gurgling voices crying out for God's deliverance. She was old, too old to make the journey to Targu Mures, or anywhere else and believed that it was time for her life to come to an end, having nothing more to contribute to her people.

Now, with her mind beginning to fracture, Ileana ventured out into the morning light. She wandered barefoot through the deserted village until confronted by Alina. Standing at the edge of the road, the small girl stood with an innocent smile, her blouse still heavily soaked with blood. “Alina,” Ileana began.

Her voice trembled at the sight of the child, whom she assumed was left behind during the chaotic exodus. But her expression was not one of fear, as her eyes turned angry, and burned into Ileana's soul.

“What are you doing here?”

She suddenly remembered being frightened by the child's odd behavior, while speaking to her mother in the church, and the voice she heard in her head.

She hesitated as Alina turned and glanced back over her shoulder and as if on command, a large wolf appeared from the woods, sitting at the child's side, its nose and mouth covered with blood. Ileana slowly backed away, as her eyes widened with terror and the realization of what Alina truly was.

“It was you!” she said. “You did this! You brought this thing to our village!”

Continuing her retreat, Ileana suddenly collapsed, falling back on the cold morning earth. Now, as if by silent command, the wolf ran from Alina's side and pounced on the old woman. Unable to get to her feet, she began screaming as the animal tore into the side of her face, ripping part of it from her skull.

She had been wandering the Carpathian Mountains for centuries, always with the Grozavie tucked away, deep in her soul. It had always been part of her. In fact, one might say that she, herself was the creature, disguised as a helpless child, taking advantage of others' kindness while instilling fear in the suspicious and feeding on it. Now, she would continue to wander, leaving the mangled bodies of Gura Haith to melt into the ground, their shattered bones strewn throughout the woods. Suddenly, as if directed to do so, the creature stopped and raising its head, looking back at Alina. It ran back to the road as she calmly walked up to the frail woman, helplessly lying on the ground and still with a child-like smile, spoke the fulfillment of a promise she had made.

“See, I told you I'd let you live.”

End