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    The Revenge of the Druids
    The Revenge of the Druids
    The Revenge of the Druids
    Ebook198 pages2 hours

    The Revenge of the Druids

    By Robert Smith?

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    In the late summer of 1834, a schooner fleeing the potato famine in Ireland beaches itself on the east coast of America near the Chesapeake Bay. On board the crew and passenger are all dead; they have killed each other in a vicious, bloody battle on-board.

    The ship and its dead cargo are sensed by Mary, an adolescent child who, in turn, is possessed by the presence that stalks the ship. On her death, the "miasma"; the essence of the combined hatred of the Druids following their final battle with Suetonius Paullinus, the Roman general exudes from her body and is released into the atmosphere above America where it will start a reign of terror the like of which the nation has never experienced before.

    Captain Bardeeen, Provost of Newport sets out in pursuit and finds himself embroiled in a series of deadly events. Gradually he forms a team to combat this evil. When you think it is all over, it isn't - and it is then that the druids exact their revenge. 

    A blend of historical fiction, horror, and adult fantasy, The Revenge of the Druids, follows the events as they occur as the Druids set out to reek revenge on the Romans, bringing fear and terror to America in a way never imagined before.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJack Lourens Publishing
    Release dateMay 11, 2019
    ISBN9781796623567
    The Revenge of the Druids

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      Book preview

      The Revenge of the Druids - Robert Smith?

      All characters and events in this book, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

      Contact: atende@outlook.com

      Facebook/RSAuthor

      Visit: www.thekingsofayutthaya.com

      ––––––––

      Also, by Robert Smith

      1809; The Year They Freed the Slaves

      The Georgia Secession

      The Pastor, The Atheist and the Unbeliever

      The Will of the People

      The Annunaki (Annunaki Book 1)

      The Revenge of the Druids (Annunaki Book 2)

      Deep State (Annunaki Book 3)

      The Return of the Anniunaki (Annunaki Book 4)

      The Annunaki Novels (Books 1 – 4)

      South-East Asian Series

      The Kings of Angkor

      The Kings of Ayutthaya (published by Silkworm Books)

      The Kings of the Toungoo Empire

      The Tiger King of Siam

      - Chapter One -

      Chesapeake

      Mary, child, wake up! You are having a nightmare, said Jake, placing the candle on the floor by her bed and shaking her awake by the shoulders.

      Her eyes opened wide with terror. Father, I can feel death, said Mary. Hundreds of souls are surrounding me.

      Settle down my child. 'Tis only a nightmare, said Jake trying to reassure her.

      No father, 'tis real. I can see them as clearly as I can see you. Hundreds of souls, the pain of their deaths is unbearable, she said, her voice rising as she spoke.

      We must go now. They are waiting for us, said Mary as she got out of her trundle bed.

      It is a nightmare. Settle down child, said her father.

      No, 'tis real. Hundreds dead over by the headland. I can feel them, I can smell them, said Mary urgently. We must go!

      Come my child. It is your imagination. You have been seeing things since your mother passed. It is just your imagination, said Jake imploringly.

      No, father. We must go now, she replied. The dead are calling. They cannot wait. They have met a black death, an evil death.

      The wind is up. A storm from the east is coming. The sky foretold as much last evening. Put on your shawl just in case. The sun is rising, said her father finally realizing he had no chance of quieting her.

      Quick father bar the door. We must hurry, she implored.

      Be patient girl. Lead on, he replied.

      Mary walked quickly along the barren path that led over the dunes above the headland. Jake struggled to keep up with her at times. They moved in silence. He was afraid for his daughter. Just thirteen she had endured so much. Her three brothers had died of the wasting sickness, and she had watched as her mother died giving birth to a fourth, stillborn. Her gangly, undeveloped legs showed no signs of slowing. Finally, they crested the rise that led down to the headland.

      Look, a ship, she said. They are all dead. I know it.

      They both broke into a run as they made their way down the hill and along the shore. The sun rose silhouetting the ship against the early morning sky. Jake gagged. The smell was overpowering.

      Mary fell to her knees only twenty yards from the aged hulk.

      We must get help, said Jake. Come!

      No father, I will stay with the dead until you return. They have much they want to tell me.

      Stay here and do not board the ship. Do you understand me? asked her father as he looked down at her. He realized it was futile to ask her to come with him. Mary just remained still.

      Her father crossed to the western side of the headland where the small fishing community of Cape Charles lay. Some hours passed before he returned on foot with William Suggins, the village headman who was accompanied by four men - all carrying weapons. Mary had not moved.

      It's no more than an old schooner, said William. It looks like a derelict. How did it make the journey across the ocean? he asked as they crested the dunes and looked down on the wooden hulk, beached, but almost intact, below.

      The stench is overpowering. I am a'feard what we will find, said Jake. I hope my child has fared well.

      Jake ran ahead to where Mary waited. She was still in the same position as he left her, on her knees looking toward the ship.

      Mary, child? he asked.

      Mary looked at him, her eyes blazing like that of a madman. He knew he had lost her before she spoke. Suddenly she sprang to her feet and shouted what seemed to be curses at him in a language that he did not know. Her arms flailed wildly as she moved to attack him. She was only a slip of a girl, but the ferocity of the attack forced him back. She was his daughter, but was she still?

      Together, the village headman William Suggins and his men pulled her off. She used her hands viciously as she clawed at their faces while cursing and spitting, all the while her face contorted with hate. Finally, they subdued her.

      We will find some rope on the ship to tie her with, said William. Dai, go and get some.

      Dai, a six-foot Welshman, looked at William.

      We have to board the ship. There is no braver man than you amongst us, said William reassuringly.

      No William, she is my daughter I will go, said Jake.

      Be quick. Holding her is like holding one of the possessed, said William.

      Jake moved slowly toward the ship as the word possessed resonated within him. Dai moved by his side, and together they neared the ship.

      It's like it has drifted quietly onto the shore, said Jake as he looked at the ancient ship with its timber rotted by the centuries. These people must have been desperate to undertake such a journey in this vessel. A coffin ship.

      The stench is overpowering! said Dai as he put his hand up to cover his face.

      It is the stench of death. The coppery smell of blood is unmistakable, said Jake in reply.

      They clambered up some netting onto the deck of the vessel.

      What has happened here? asked Jake as he surveyed the scene. Bodies and body parts lay strewn across the deck. Blood, still wet, tinged the aged timber a deep red and made it slippery underfoot.

      Throw this down, said Jake to Dai as he picked up a length of blood-soaked rope. He wiped it off on his tunic without thinking.

      What have you found? asked a voice from below.

      Hell, said Jake quietly. Hell.

      With Mary secure, William, accompanied by his son William Jr, clambered aboard. The four men stood in silence until William Jr was violently sick.

      Hell, said Jake slowly.

      Dai was the first to move. He carefully made his way around the blood-soaked deck being careful to avoid the bodies and limbs. He made his way to the hatch where the sight of bodies piled on bodies made him recoil.

      We need to get off this ship and alert the authorities, said William. This is beyond anything we can deal with.

      The men required no second bidding.

      She is like a captured raccoon, said young Abe Bell, who had been holding a tied Mary down. What did you find on the ship?

      Death, said William.

      Death like you have never seen before, added Dai.

      Jake moved toward Mary. She immediately came at him spitting and cursing. If her hands had not been tied, he had no doubt she would kill him.

      Did you notice the dead were all skin and bones, said William Jr.

      Aye, said his father. The ship must have run out of supplies.

      No, said Dai as if over-ruling the village headman. They are Irish. This is a ship trying to flee the potato famine. It's a coffin ship. The girl there, she is cursing us in Gaelic. It is not Gaelic as I speak it, but there is enough for me to understand some of what she says. They are Irish, I'm sure of it.

      Young Abe, you stay with the ship. We will go back to the village and send for help from Norfolk. This catastrophe is beyond us, said William as he regained his composure. I will send men to relieve you as soon as we get back to the bay.

      Young Abe, no more than seventeen years of age, watched them as they crested the ridge and vanished. Alone with the dead, he began to shake. He hadn't seen what they had found on the ship, and he vowed to himself that he had no intention of finding out.

      We will have to lock your girl up. I will make sure my out-house is secure, said William to Jake after they had returned to the village. We will find a crib for you for a few nights to save you from trekking back and forth.

      Thank you, said Jake. I want to be near my girl, but I don't understand what has happened to her.

      I fear she may be possessed in some way. I have sent Dai and my boy over to Norfolk to bring back the provost and the militia. I have asked them to see if Father Mulroney will come back across the strait with them. I know he is your priest, said William.

      Aye, to talk with Father Mulroney will be a blessing and take a weight off my mind, said Jake.

      Join me at the inn for a drink. As word spreads, I feel there will be precious little work being done for the remainder of the day, said John.

      No, thank you for the thought. Tonight, I will stay outside by Mary's side, said Jake.

      Not long after sunrise four small ships arrived from the other side of the inlet to the bay. William looked with distaste as he saw the figure of the Provost of Newport disembark. They had long been old adversaries.

      Your man arrived with a fanciful tale. He insisted I needed at least twenty men. He'd better not be telling tall tales. I don't take kindly to mere villagers wasting my time, said the arrogant and portly, self-styled Captain Bardeen.

      John looked at the captain. He stood resplendent in his self-commissioned uniform with its sword sheathed. Popinjay, thought John, but he knew the man had high political aspirations. Talk with care, he thought to himself.

      He is not telling tall tales. We have a ship aground to the east of the inlet facing the ocean. If you doubt what he tells you, then it is best you make up your own mind, said William.

      That I will, that I will, responded Captain Bardeen. Your man said a girl knew the ship had run aground and that she had gone mad.

      She awoke from a nightmare, and she knew. I don't know how. It has affected her greatly of that there can be no doubt, said William as he, Captain Bardeen, and Dai moved to the small, bleached wooden shack that housed Mary.

      Jake, this is Cap'n Bardeen he has come to take a look at Mary, said William.

      Aye, she was raving but has been quiet these past few hours, said Jake as he took the key from William and unlocked the door. Mary sprang on him like a mountain cat, hands like claws and cursing in a language with which they were unfamiliar. The captain and William pulled her off and threw her unceremoniously back into the shack as Jake recovered his footing.

      Yesterday she was fit as a fiddle, he said.

      Now it looks like she belongs in the madhouse, said the captain as Mary flung herself forward again spitting and cursing at the mere sight of him.

      Judge for yourself after you have seen the ship, said William as he and the captain gathered their men and set off in the direction of the stricken vessel. Jake stayed outside the out-house, by Mary's side.

      They could smell the ship at some distance. The captain pulled out a kerchief which he held to his nose. William smiled inwardly. It would take more than a kerchief to mask the stench of death. Captain Bardeen sent two of his men forward to assess the situation. He quickly realized that everything Dai had told him the previous evening was true. He would soon realize that it was worse than he had been told.

      I owe your man an apology. I belittled him and the tale he told me. I was wrong, said the captain. Suddenly he went up in William's estimation. Behind the carefully calculated facade of the past twenty years lay a real man.

      We must remove the dead, but first I must go aboard and see for myself, Captain Bardeen said as he steeled himself.

      Accompanied by William Jr., he was silent upon his return. After a pause of five long minutes, he indicated for his men to remove the bodies and looked on as the started the gruesome task. His sergeant had the men place the bodies in a line along the shore. Eventually, it was ten-deep. Limbs and other body parts were simply piled together.

      The captain called over one of his men. Go back to Newport. Tell Governor Williamson what we have found. Tell him that I estimate the body count at nearly a four hundred souls almost certainly Irish escaping the potato famine. Dai was right about that. Tell him the manner of the death resembles a bloody battle. These people had no peaceful death.

      Father Mulroney, the Catholic priest from Newport, had crossed the bay at Captain Bodeen's request. He stood alone with Jake outside the shack that housed Mary.

      I would ask that you see Mary, Father, said Jake. Her soul is deeply troubled. Perhaps you can bring her peace.

      I cannot carry out an exorcism without permission of the bishop but will try to talk with her, said Father Mulroney. Little did he know the fury he was about to face. It was as if the simple Catholic vestments he was wearing threw Mary into a vicious frenzy. She attacked him with a violence he had never seen nor experienced in his life.

      She is possessed, said Jake as he pulled Father Mulroney out of the shack, and, together, they secured the door.

      She is not possessed, not as I know it, said Father Mulroney. "I have attended exorcisms in Ireland as a novice and also here in New York. Mary bears no resemblance to those misguided souls. She was not speaking in the language of the Devil. She is troubled in another way. Dai said he thought

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