the haunted kingdom by Charles E.J. Moulton (best detective novels of all time .TXT) 📖

I am asking what that is that is approaching us.”
Rebecca waited. “Can you see anything?”
No answer. Her terror turned into anger.
“Answer me, you stupid twit.” she growled. “What in the name of Jesus is that? Can you see anything out there besides branches and leaves and darkness? I want to get out of here, Eric. Now.”
”Not anything but the torch and some leaves.” he responded, unimpressed. “It is all dark.”
She sighed. ”Hell, why did we have to leave the castle?”
“Blame me? You packed the bags!” he said. “But you didn’t tell us to leave. I told you.”
That sound again.
“Oh, shit.” Rebecca felt like meat being slowly shoved into a grinder. The darkness seemed to be everywhere, her ankle hurt her and there seemed to be snakes crawling up everywhere on her body.
Up her legs and into her body, up her buttocks and into her mouth. “Oh, shit, shit, shit.” She cried again. He held her tight and turned around.
Whispers behind them. Cackles. Two voices.
(Do you think we should?)
(No, give them a chance. They are sooo close now!)
Two pairs of eyes looking at a cave wall, realizing there was an entrance into a grotto here.
“Don’t look behind you.” Eric said. “I think the spirits are right behind us.”
Slowly the two young couple that resembled squirrels in a dungeon, looked behind them and what they saw made them want to gasp for air. Two faces without bodies.
(Adnicul!)
(Yes!)
(Do we show more than our faces?)
(No!)
(Just look into the crystal ball! That is all! You can see them can’t you?)
(Yes, I can)
(Keep looking … they will find their way)
The faces were white. Pale. Hanging in mid air. Grinning. Open hollow eyes. Both faces with open mouths. The one blond girl scarred, the one eye cracked. The other was very pretty, but dark. Black hair. Rebecca shrieked.
(Walk into the cave!)
The couple walked backward and bumped onto the back cave wall.
The two spirits pushed them.
(Walk into the cave!)
They hit a snag and had to climb over a stone. The faces led them to an opening and soon they were in the opening of the cave. They turned around and the two faces were disappearing. Suddenly, the couple had a vision together. They saw how this forest had been born. They saw the seeds of the original tree. They saw a demon being dragged across the plains.
The couple turned around to realize that the opening was now long gone and that they were wandering down a path that seemed to be leading to some light far down. They tried to walk up to the surface again, but no matter what they did they could only walk downwards. Every step lead in the same direction. The dust beneath their feet lead only to that same shimmering light.
They dared not say anything, not even to each other. The path seemed to go on forever. The torch was still lit. The light from downstairs was getting stronger. Soon a torch was not necessary.
The light appeared.
They were by a lake now, an underground lake that led into a tunnel. It was a tunnel with mossy stonewalls that ended in a very bright light. At the end of the tunnel the light lead upward and downward. To the right and to the left of the beam of light there seemed to be paths. The left one lead down and Eric could hear screams coming from down there.
No that was wrong. They were wails.
“You hear that?”
Rebecca nodded. “I hear it.”
The lake glittered and shone, moss and musk covering the walls.
There were several stones in the water. There was a white clad figure on the biggest stone not far away from the cage, its blond hair swimming in the water.
There was a sign in it. It said “Hwee-Ael-Sihl”.
A cage was there; a black, rusty metal cage was hanging from the cave roof.
A figure was in there. He was kneeling, eating a rat.
Suddenly, he looked at them with his wide black eyes.
He was red and furry. He had hooves and a long tail and horns.
An eternity passed until the couple reacted. They saw the creature drop the rat, wrap his claws around the bars and chew the cage open, never letting his eyes leave the youngsters.
The beast jumped down onto the water and landed safely upon the surface of the water as if it had been solid ground, fixing his eyes on them. He walked steadily, hips swinging like a woman with slow steps, toward them. The couple took one step back, and then another step back. They hit the wall. They were holding hands.
The creature came to the beach of the underground lake, shook off the water off his feet and walked up to the boy.
“Hi, Eric! I have been waiting for you!” it said. “How do you like my humble cave?”
The grin was foul, like murder. It was a grin full of envy, spite and hate.
No happiness in there.
The beast breathed and ice came out. The ice drops cracked and fell on the ground, turned into scorpions that ran toward the water.
The beast crushed one of them, threw it up in the air, caught it in his hand and threw it into his mouth without even letting his gaze disappear off Eric.
“Midnight snack!” he whispered.
(Midnight snack!)
Now Eric realized the two faces were back, appearing by the wall. Adnicul was one of them.
The bodiless faces were cackling.
The beast looked at Rebecca, who frozen with terror could not move, moved Eric’s head to the side, opened its mouth, displayed brown fangs and bit into his neck.
Blood spurted onto her face from her lover’s throat.
The beast plucked off Eric’s head with a plop and the body slumped over. The girl began to shout, the beast looking at her with an open, skeptical gaze. She screamed at the top of her lungs and began to run. She ran for her life, leaving the lake behind her, stumbling into the darkness, hitting cave walls, hitting darkness, and not knowing where she was going. There were four pairs of apocalyptic walkers all the time patiently behind her, shuffling their feet and making no effort to hurry.
She ran out, without even waiting to save Eric and was outside soon enough. She ran down the path they had come to get here. Her ankle was hurting less now, but the open wounds on her legs were festering. She ran and stumbled over a stone and hit her head. Her cheekbone broke. She shrieked, blood gushing out of her face. She ripped off a bit of cloth off her dress and pressed it against her cheek. Blood oozed between her fingers. She looked behind her.
The four demons were calmly approaching her. She shrieked again, stood up and twisted her ankle again and tried to stumble up, zigzagging the path and crashing into a tree, her head now a mess of blood and tissue, her skull cracking open. She tried to stand up, but both her ankles were broken.
She crawled on all fours and all she could think of was staying alive. Four pairs of feet shuffled behind her. The eyes, she felt them gazing at her from the back. She ran up, fell, ran up, fell, ran up, fell. Then she turned around, scurried backward and saw them coming nearer.
“No!” she cried. “No!”
(Yes, backward, move backward)
“No-no-no-no-no-o-o-o!”
She felt something sharp penetrate her back, but it was too late to run away.
She couldn’t breathe anymore, there was sharp pain she’d never felt before.
It was piercing into her lung.
She gasped. The four apocalyptic shufflers stood silent and hollow as she slowly gave up the ghost, feeling her hand letting go of the sharp stone behind her. Her eyes rolled upward, blood oozing out of her open mouth, the four ghouls looking patiently at one other in complete silence.

The Royal Palace of Iuventus Sacrum
Friday, March 24th, 1424 A.D.

Belinda mounted her steed yet again that morning.
Her steed, Timothy, had been in the stables all this time, ridden by Robert and by Theo to keep him trim and fit. The stallion had forgotten what it was like to have Belinda sitting on his back. Belinda rode to the lake again and skinny-dipped under the waterfall whilst Marie breastfed the boy.
She had felt strange bathing in the lake again, really looking behind her all the time to see if someone was going to jump at her and hurt her again. She felt good putting her clothes back on after the swim and even better when she rode back to the palace, knowing that the lake was safe to swim in. Steven and she had spoken of bathing here again, but it had never really happened. It felt like Belinda was getting rid of old ghosts that lurked in her mind’s hallway. On the other hand, the ghosts might have just been on duty leave.
That Friday was the day when the birds really started singing. Alexander had invited some of the senators to discuss important business. The messengers had come and gone like before, but now she really saw that she was back in the saddle when she noticed that she took initiative to work and not only be a responsible mother.
Alfred was still always with her and he was crawling around during important meetings. The Senators were briefed before the meeting that her highness was not going to sacrifice her child to her royalty. If the child needed milk she would give it to him. Cretan would have to wait while she went next door to do her motherly care. It made the meeting longer, but her duties as a mother to help the child were more important than an Senatorial conference.
One Senator complained that the displaying of royal bust was not fitting for a conference. Belinda responded that he should feel lucky that he lived in a society whose infrastructure had been kept alive on foundations built by Wandiffia and ancient Rome. This was not a barbaric world where it was a shame to breastfeed or, for that matter, display a royal bust.
So, the word for guests was patience when coming to the castle. The Senators noticed that on this Friday. When someone did not appeal to her, she would breastfeed the babe right then and there. She did this in spite of complaints from her protective father and any old fart Senators. No one that was honest and fair thought it wrong that she was making these kinds of decisions.
Furthermore, Steven had defended her all along when one of the Senators made a racket about her plucking out her breasts during a Senatorial break. He really felt how wonderful it was to be a father and said that the Senator should be so lucky as to be able to witness a royal breastfeeding.
There was no more discussion that day about this matter.
That evening, Patricia was invited for a stroll in the garden and a lavish dinner in the Grand Hall. Alexander, Sieglinde and Belinda personally thanked her for filling in for her all this time. They also announced that the period of official assignment was over. The princess now wanted to take over her duties as royal crown princess. Patricia was touched by the fact that she was given the title “Royal Assistant To The Crown” or in short a R.A.T.O.C.
It was a new title, but it entitled her to help Belinda if she could