Read The Hand of the Devil Online
Authors: Dean Vincent Carter
The Hand of the Devil (24 page)
‘What . . . is that?’
‘It’s a very . . . dangerous . . . insect.’
What do you think you’re doing with her? She should be dead!
‘I had to save her. You must understand—’
I do not understand! It makes no sense! I should kill her right here and now. Perhaps when you see her lifeless body dissolving away into the earth, you will see how utterly meaningless she is
.
.
‘Just let us go. Please.’ I was still fighting the fatigue that plagued my body. My energy was again ebbing fast, along with my resistance to the mosquito’s persuasion.
‘What are you doing?’ Gina had spoken to me, though her eyes were still fixed on the Ganges Red.
‘I . . . I’m talking to it.’
‘What? But it’s—’
‘Yes, it’s hard to explain, but it can communicate with me.’
‘How?’
‘I don’t know – it just can.’
‘You’re imagining things,’ she said.
Oh, don’t you start
, I thought. ‘Please, just believe me. It’s not like other insects.’
, I thought. ‘Please, just believe me. It’s not like other insects.’
‘I can see that. But I don’t think—’
‘Please. Humour me.’ I looked into her eyes. ‘Our lives depend on it.’
‘Don’t forget that creep in the pit. He could be on his way here right now.’
‘Him we can deal with. This one could be a little trickier.’
So Mather is alive?
‘Just about,’ I said.
Gina turned to me, shaking her head. She must have thought I was delirious. ‘Look, we really need to get going,’ she said. ‘Regardless of how dangerous that thing is.’
You are not leaving! If you value the life of this woman, you will remain on the island
.
.
I looked at Gina, who returned my gaze, as if trying to read my thoughts.
‘If we stay, what’ll happen to her?’
The insect was silent for a while, thinking of a response.
Gina whispered to me, ‘What are you doing?’
‘We’re trying to come to some sort of arrangement.’
‘Look, I don’t understand what’s going on but right now I don’t care. Ash, we
have
to get off this island. That maniac could come back any second and kill us!’
have
to get off this island. That maniac could come back any second and kill us!’
‘Look, trust me. This is something beyond our understanding. We have to be very careful.’
‘How dangerous is it?’
‘If she gets her feeding tube into you she can inject a toxic saliva that’ll dissolve the flesh around the wound.’
Gina said nothing, but merely stared open-mouthed at the mosquito.
That’s good. Make her fear me
.
.
‘So,’ I began, facing the Ganges Red. ‘What will happen to her?’
I am considering it
.
.
I thought of lunging for the creature. Maybe there was I chance I could crush her in my hands before she could retaliate. I didn’t like the idea of getting her saliva all over me, but it might be the only way to stop her from attacking Gina. She wouldn’t be expecting me to take such drastic action. But then, as if to remind me that she could read my thoughts, she flew up into the air and over our heads, stopping behind us.
Into the house! Now!
It was clear to me then that any attempt to surprise her would be fruitless. She would be aware of my plans almost as soon as I was. There was no other option. I had to do as she said.
‘Come on,’ I said to Gina, the desperation no doubt evident in my voice. ‘We’re going inside.’
‘What? This is ridiculous!’
‘Please, just trust me. There’s no choice.’
‘Ash, for God’s sake, come on,’ she said, turning back towards the beach. ‘We’re going now, even if I have to bloody drag you!’
The mosquito darted at Gina’s face, just missing her with its feeding tube. Gina screamed and ran into my arms.
Watch her – or next time I’ll give her more than just a warning
.
.
‘All right, all right,’ I said, holding a hand out at the mosquito. ‘Gina, please, just trust me. I won’t let her harm you.’ We returned to the house in silence, the Ganges Red following close behind.
I had hoped never to see the interior of that building again. It seemed strangely different when we walked inside. The shadows appeared denser, more secretive, the light less substantial. From the look on Gina’s face, it was clear that she shared my discomfort.
The mosquito instructed me to lead Gina into Mather’s bedroom, perhaps because she herself felt more comfortable there. This was, after all, her home, her sanctuary. I sat on the bed next to Gina, while the Ganges Red hovered in the air before us. I could see no sign of Mr Hopkins. The struggle must have ended elsewhere in the house.
I watched the mosquito for a short while, trying to gauge her intent, then asked: ‘What now?’ Gina looked across at me, even though she knew I was addressing the insect.
I’m sorry. But this has to be done
.
.
‘No!’ I had to be mindful of what I was saying. Gina was unsettled enough; it would be so easy to make things worse.
It is the only way
.
.
‘Please. Whatever you think might happen between us – it’ll never work.’
At this the insect laughed, then hovered closer to me. Gina’s face contorted into an expression of complete incredulity. I could only guess at the thoughts that were going through her mind.
Perhaps, but I have the gift of persuasion. In time you will see things my way, and you will love me
.
.
‘You’re wrong. You can’t force someone to love you.’
You underestimate me. Everything Mather has done since I found him has been by my direction. You are both strong-minded men, but as his mind bent to my will, so will yours. If I want you to love me – then you shall!
‘Not while I draw breath I won’t.’
At this she just laughed again.
‘What’s going on?’ Gina had been straining to hear something. Perhaps she thought I was sane after all.
‘A disagreement.’
‘What?’
‘Oh, nothing.’
‘Nothing my arse! Why are you talking to it?’
‘It wants me.’
‘What?’
‘It’s hard to explain.’
‘Is this thing going to hurt us or not?’
‘Not if I can help it.’
You cannot save her. You may as well tell her the truth. She will be dead soon
.
.
‘You won’t touch her!’ I blurted it out, and straight away cursed my stupidity.
‘Ash,’ Gina said. ‘Look, I think that blow to the head has confused you. You’re not thinking straight – and I’m not surprised – but—’
‘It’s all right. Just leave it to me.’ I tried to think of a way out of the situation. The Ganges Red was silent. I didn’t want to tell Gina the truth, but I lacked the energy to lie to her. Given the surreal nature of our predicament though, it was unlikely that she would believe me anyway. But I had to say something.
‘Well,’ I breathed deeply.
‘Hey,’ she said, taking my right hand in hers. ‘It’s OK. I know you’ve been through a lot.’
I stared her straight in the eyes. ‘Yes.’ I smiled. ‘But you’re still not going to like it.’ Something landed softly on one of the windowpanes. I didn’t take any notice to begin with; neither did Gina or the mosquito. I supposed it must have been a leaf or something. ‘Look, I know how crazy this sounds, but you’re just going to have to humour me. You see, that thing wants to kill you because she thinks she’s destined to be with me.’
Gina’s eyes widened even more. ‘Oh.’
‘I know, it’s ridiculous.’
‘Well . . . it’s going to take some beating, that’s for sure.’
‘There’s a possibility that once she drinks my blood she’ll become a woman again.’
‘A woman! My God! Can you hear yourself? Wake up! We really have to get out of here, Ash. We haven’t got time for this.’ She made to stand up, but I grabbed her arm firmly, pulling her back down onto the bed. The mosquito buzzed angrily at her.
‘Look,’ I told her. ‘I believe it. Well, bits of it . . . I think.’
‘OK,’ she said, clearly not believing any of it. ‘So why does it need your blood?’
‘She says I’m a descendant of her late husband. I carry his blood, and she needs his blood to lift the curse.’
‘I see . . .’
‘She thinks that once she’s human again, we can be together . . . as a couple.’ I didn’t have to look at Gina to know what expression she was wearing.
‘And it wants to kill me because it thinks I’m the competition?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, I’m glad that’s cleared up. The first thing we need to do when we get back home is take you to a doctor.’ She looked towards the window. ‘Is that thing a friend of the mosquito’s?’
‘What?’ I followed her gaze to the window and saw it for the first time. Attached to the glass, looking straight into the room at the three of us, was a huge dragonfly. It was slightly smaller than the Ganges Red, but no less striking.
Only then, when she realized she had lost our attention, did the mosquito turn to face the window. Almost instantly there was a reaction. She darted backwards like a bullet and hit the wall by the door, then dropped to the carpet, thrashing about for a second or two, as though trying to regain her senses. She then rose into the air and faced the window again, this time positioning herself further from the glass.
No . . . not now!
She continued to scream, but this time in a language that made no sense to me. She zipped about the room, unable to keep herself steady. The dragonfly remained motionless. It could have been an ornament for all the life it displayed. Then, as if hearing my thoughts, it detached itself from the glass, its wings humming into life, and moved away from the house, to hover some metres away. The mosquito’s scream grew louder and louder until it became a high-pitched whistle. I looked at Gina, who was rubbing her ears. Then suddenly the window shattered, spraying the two of us with thousands of tiny shards. Instinctively we turned away, worried that the glass would shred our faces, but thankfully we were unharmed. We stood, while the Ganges Red continued screaming her distress. She had been caught in the blast of the glass shower. A red liquid was now oozing from one side of her abdomen. I looked through the hole in the window at the dragonfly outside, convinced that it was watching me. Then I heard a voice, a voice more commanding, more insistent than the mosquito’s. It spoke only one word, but it was enough to spur me into action.
Go
.
.
I grabbed Gina’s coat sleeve and hauled her with me as I made for the door. We had almost made it to the threshold when the Ganges Red flew across to hover before us, still dripping blood onto the carpet. She held her position with what seemed to be a great effort, proving how desperate she was to keep us under her control.
Get back! Away from the door!
‘No. It’s over. We’re going.’
You’re going nowhere. I haven’t waited this long to be cheated!
‘He won’t let you get what you want. He’s been on this island watching you for some time now. If he wants to put an end to this tonight, he will.’
I won’t let him! I—
Looking over my shoulder, I saw that the dragonfly had now entered the room. It remained close to the window, moving up and down slightly, its attention concentrated on us. Suddenly the Ganges Red started shrieking again, and fell to the carpet, twisting this way and that.
Go!
I looked down at the Ganges Red as I moved to the door. Gina lifted her foot up as it moved in front of her, and gritted her teeth.
‘No! Don’t do it!’
‘Why not? I can kill it right now!’
‘No. It’s not up to us. That dragonfly has come for her – let him do it.’ I pulled on her arm to get her moving and she followed me out of the room.
Instants later we were heading down the hall. Behind us I could hear the mosquito squealing from the pain of its injuries and the torture the dragonfly was inflicting. It could only be a matter of time before the killing blow was delivered. I followed Gina out into the night, heading straight across the clearing in the direction of the beach and her boat.
Looking up, I could see that the sky was clear. I hoped there would be no more rain, no more rough weather, so that we could get across the lake unimpeded. The nightmare had to end soon. The island’s horrors had already taken their toll on me, and I was worried that my mental health was in jeopardy.
We attacked the trees in our fury to get through, not even bothering to stick to the rough trail. I heard the fire before I saw it: it made loud cracking sounds as the wood buckled and snapped. Then, once we were through the trees and on the slope leading down to the beach, we could see the wild conflagration.
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