Hannah had spent a couple of days healing in the warmth of Jane's house. She had eaten home cooked meals and had been given the space to think. Jane's patience had been rewarded when Hannah told her the story of her life with Carl.
"From the moment I saw him I was hooked. It was as if he cast a spell on me. Well, not just me, my family too. I had a sort of life plan. Get a good education, maybe even go to university, and then get a job. Once I met Carl, it all went out of the window. Before I knew it, I had left school and was living with him. Then he moved us away from my family to here."
"Did you feel that it was wrong at all? Him telling you what to do and you just going along with it."
"YES. When he was out at work, whatever that was, I was full of doubts. When he was with me, I didn't worry so much. It nagged at me though. I was happy a lot of the time, but there were days when I could see that it was wrong. Not seeing my family. Not going out to work. I knew I had been isolated and it scared me. And then there was the baby."
"The baby?"
"I got pregnant. We left here when I was about seven months gone."
"I thought you were pregnant. I gave you the hamsa to protect you and the child."
"Well, I hope it worked. Carl took me to some remote house. I had never seen a doctor or anything, so when I had the baby no one would even know about it. Anyway, he took my baby away. I held my little boy for a short while and then he was gone. That was like the final straw. It still took me a long while, months, before I could break away. The memory of him stealing the boy was one of the main things that gave me the strength to escape."
"What happened to the child?"
"Carl left him outside of a shop in a box. You probably read about it in the papers. The nurses called him Anthony."
"Baby Anthony was yours." Jane said sadly. "You said escape from Carl. Was he holding you prisoner?"
"Not in the sense of keeping me under lock and key. It was more a state of mind. I couldn't leave. I kept trying to pack a suitcase and go. All I could do was put one shoe in and that was as far as I got. After he took Anthony, things changed, although I didn't let him know that I was different. When he was out, I would try to pack the bag and, over nearly a year, I got to the stage where I could almost fill it up. Then I knew that I was ready to leave."
"Why didn't you go back to your family?"
"I knew that he would look for me. I watched their house and, sure enough, he turned up there. He would have gone in, worked his charm, and then they would have told him if I went there. I didn't know what to do and then I thought of you. I hope you don't mind."
"Oh, Hannah. I don't mind at all. I'm glad that you found your way back here. Everything happens for a reason and we will find out what that is in due course."
It was time for the older lady to tell her story. It would prove to be a familiar tale. Jane's sister had been in thrall to a man similar to Carl. Jane explained how she could see people's auras and, the inky swirl she had seen around her sister's boyfriend, was the same as the one around Carl. She had recognised the evil in Carl and had feared for Hannah's wellbeing.
Jane had made it her life's work to learn more about these people who had an aura of dark around them.
"I call them beasts. Legend has it that they can change into animals, or at least have animal characteristics. There is also talk of them using sorcery. I think that refers to the hold they have over women and how they can make you believe that they are okay. I've looked at old books and used the internet. A couple of sources mentioned that they were draped in black. That is certainly what I see."
"It's a vague memory, but I think I have seen Carl when he was part animal. I get a flash in my mind of him with thick hair around his neck and large teeth in a misshaped jaw. I didn't know if it was from a nightmare or it was real. That image, along with the loss of Anthony, combined to help me escape." Hannah spoke her fear out loud for the first time.
"You actually saw him as a beast. Remarkable."
"What else have you learned?"
"There was quite a lot of talk of maidens in the stories. The dark men stole the fairest girls away. They want the ones that shine the brightest, like yourself."
"Carl said that I was his goodness. Its like he needed me to keep him calm and good."
"I met a woman who had once been the partner of a beast. It was sad to see. She was dull and tired. She said that she had been set aside as if she were no longer any use."
"I have come to the conclusion that it is very hard to get away from a beast. Carl was able to control me for a long time. He could persuade me to accept most things and I did love him, in a way. It was different for me though. Because he took Anthony and I had seen what he really was, I found the strength to go. He was probably furious that I left. I know he went to my parent's house to look for me and I'm sure he is still searching."
"Let's hope that he doesn't come looking in Cartham."
"Yes. I do NOT want to see him ever again. He would want me back and I dread to think of what would happen when I said no. What happens to these beasts? The tales you have read must talk about how people dealt with them in the past."
"The legends all end the same way. Once they have been identified they are hunted down and killed. There is nothing magical. You don't need a silver bullet or a wooden stake. Death seems to be the only thing that stops them. If they had any family, they were killed, too."
"When Carl took Anthony away, he said that the boy would be just like him. It means that Anthony will be a beast, too, doesn't it?"
Hannah put her face in her hands and sobbed. The child she had held for such a short time would end up like his father.
"Is there anything we can do to stop him becoming a beast? He's still a child and yet we know that he will grow up to be some sort of a monster. Jane, I've got to find some way to help him."
The older woman vowed to do everything that she could to help.
After some more time to convalesce and come to terms with all that had happened to her and all she had learned, Hannah would find a job. Jane was happy to finance them both, but Hannah wanted to pay her way. When she was not working her and the older woman would devote their time to finding a way to break the curse.
They would use the internet to make searches, but it was unlikely that they would find the answer there. It could supply clues which may lead them to another source in their quest for answers. It was more likely that they would find what they wanted in some old manuscript or archive and that would mean travelling to other areas of the country.
Hannah was an intelligent woman who had never been given the chance to achieve her potential. Within a couple of months of starting work on the supermarket tills she was promoted to supervisor and her boss was already talking about further career progression. She would cry at night for her lost baby and her lost life. She would then give thanks that she had been able to leave Carl and start again.
Going out to work made Hannah ecstatically happy. A prisoner in her various homes for too long, had made her lose all sense of worth. Carl had loved her, but he had also undermined her. Convinced every day, that her place was in the home and that she was not capable of doing anything else. It was now apparent that he was wrong.
Jane was forty-eight years old when they started their crusade. Neither of them thought that it would take so long for them to find what they were looking for. It would take many years before they would even get a hint of what they were looking for. When they were frustrated by a dead end, Hannah would think of Anthony and they would find reserves of resolve and forge on.
They settled into a routine which suited them both. Hannah would go out to work and Jane looked after the house. They were like an odd couple spending their time on their hobby with occasional trips to the cinema or theatre. Hannah was finally getting to do the things that ordinary people did and she loved it.
Young and attractive, Hannah had many requests from men who wanted to date her. There was no chance after what had happened with Carl. A few more years, at least, had to pass to get over that relationship. Everything had to be about Anthony. Until he was safe there was no time for romance.
As time passed Hannah felt less afraid of Carl coming back. All the distance and time had helped make her strong. What she had learned had made her more resolute. Even if Carl was holding her hand, he could be dismissed. There would be a temptation to give him a swift kick before he was sent packing.
That did not mean that her and Jane were not on their guard. Jane had put charms and items around her house with a view to protecting them. Hamsas hung at the windows, horseshoes were nailed up over doors and they always kept dogs. Many times, they had been alerted by the growl of one of their pets. So far, this had just signalled the presence of cats and foxes.
Hannah was now living by the sea surrounded by the beautiful rugged countryside. There were now two spaniels to walk across the rocky beach. This was the life she thought she would share with Carl. All the Gods were thanked every day that she was in this lovely place and he wasn't.
With each year that passed they were both acutely aware that Anthony would be growing older. It was an instinct, but Hannah felt that the problem must be solved before he turned sixteen. Did this mean that once that landmark had been attained, they would be too late? They were putting an increasing effort into finding a cure as the boy reached his teens. They were still hopeful of finding what they needed, but they would also have to find him.