Free Dawn of the Demontide by William Hussey

his son, but as soon as Jake slipped away the party atmosphere returned. The problem was that none of them had seen him since Claire’s death. A death so sudden and terrible that they did not know how to console him. Only Rachel had bothered to seek him out.
    ‘Fancy grabbing some fresh air?’ she asked.
    Jake followed her through the corridors of Green Gables, Dr Holmwood’s huge manor house. By trying a dozen winding routes they found the back stairs and the door to the gardens. Once outside, Jake breathed a little easier.
    ‘Bit much?’ Rachel said, nodding towards the house.
    ‘Yeah. Bit much.’
    They walked on in silence. The grass crunched beneath their feet and the scent of jasmine hung heavy upon the night air. A hundred species of rose grew in the neatly tended beds that bordered the pathways. Sleepless insects droned around their heads. When they reached the riverbank, the sun was just dipping over the horizon, its last rays touching the water and dyeing it the colour of blood.
    ‘We missed you at school,’ Rachel said.
    ‘We?’
    ‘Sure. There’s that kid in the year below you get on with. The one into zombies and stuff. And then there’s Miss Bowles from biology, she asked after you. Even Killjoy Kilfoy misses you. Told me the other day that he hasn’t read a decent horror story since you … ’ Rachel took his hand. ‘ I’ve missed you, Jake.’
    Was that pity in her voice? Jake didn’t want her pity. But if she’d genuinely missed him …
    ‘Where have you been?’
    The question was bound to be asked by someone, sometime. Jake had thought he wouldn’t be able to answer it. Now he found the truth rushing out of him in a flood.
    ‘After Mum died—after she was killed—my dad took six months off work. We travelled a lot; saw some amazing things—the pyramids, Niagara Falls, the ancient city of Petra. We stayed in the poshest hotels. Dr Holmwood paid for it all. It was … very nice of him. Everywhere we stayed, Dr Holmwood arranged for someone to see me, you know? Check that I was doing OK. I’m fine though.’ Jake stole a glance at Rachel. ‘Really, they said I’m fine now. I’m not mental or anything.’
    Rachel squeezed Jake’s hand.
    ‘When we came home, I could’ve gone back to school but…’
    ‘You weren’t ready.’
    ‘Dr Holmwood paid for private tuition. I’m behind, but I’ll catch up. Probably have to take my GCSEs next year, though.’
    ‘They were a nightmare!’ Rachel said, rolling her eyes. ‘But a brainbox like you shouldn’t have any trouble.’
    ‘The only thing I’m really behind with is biology. My mum used to help me out—she was a biologist before she switched to engineering. She used to…’ A sob hitched in his throat. ‘She … ’
    ‘It’s all right, Jake. Let it out. You’ve been so brave … ’
    Jake’s anger flared in an instant. He tore his hand from Rachel’s.
    ‘Brave?’ he snarled. ‘You think I’m brave? Are you some kind of idiot?’
    Anger burned through his body. It spread out from his heart and engulfed his mind. All at once the world around him seemed to fade and he could hear a faint voice whisper deep within: Welcome to your prison, Coven Master …
    ‘Jake? Can you hear me? Are you all right?’
    The vision fell away. He saw Rachel, confused and hurt.
    ‘I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. It’s just, I wasn’t brave, Rachel. My mum and Simon were murdered right before my eyes, and I did nothing to save them.’
    ‘The paper said it was a lunatic. He could’ve killed you too, Jake. He tried. I heard you’d been hurt.’
    Jake pulled up his trouser leg. An ugly purple scar ran around his calf.
    ‘My God, it looks like an animal bite.’
    ‘I guess that’s exactly what he was,’ Jake said bitterly. ‘An animal.’
    ‘Do you remember much about him? What he looked like?’
    ‘No. The police went on at me for days but the psychiatrists said I must have shut it out. They even tried to hypnotize me.