The Bones of the Dead by J.E. Mayhew

Author:J.E. Mayhew [Mayhew, J.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Obolus
Published: 2020-09-17T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Once, when Alex Manikas was a teenager, he’d stolen a big bottle of Metaxa from his father’s drinks cabinet. He’d done it because it was the only way to get invited to a house party being held by some of the coolest kids in his school. He remembered a feeling of guilt and a premonition of doom as he knocked on the front door of the cool kids’ house. It turned out to be a really bad idea as the unconscious bodies and pools of vomit littering the lawn attested to by the end of the night.

That feeling of dread returned to him now as his taxi pulled up on a dark roadside somewhere in Thurstaston. The taxi driver looked back at him as he took the money. “You sure this is the right place? Only there’s nothing but fields here.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Alex said, trying to sound confident. “Don’t worry about the change.”

The car drove off and Manikas looked at the instructions on his phone. There was a five-bar gate just a little along the fence which he had to climb over and then head across the field for the treeline.

Living in Liverpool, Alex wasn’t really familiar with the area, so he’d read-up on it a little. Not far from this field was a huge sandstone outcrop and local beauty spot. The centrepiece of this heathland was Thor’s Stone where most people thought the area got its name from. It seemed that this link to the thunder god might be wishful thinking. Magnussen had told Alex that his father owned some of the land next to the common and that was where the party was taking place.

Blake’s words boomed in Alex’s head as he trudged over the field, six pack of lager in hand. He shouldn’t be here. He should have stayed at home with a few beers and the TV. This was a fool’s errand and he’d been explicitly told not to come. If Blake found out, Alex would have his proverbials nailed to the front of Canning Place HQ. Alex stopped. He could back out now. Nobody would know. Magnussen, or whatever his name was wouldn’t be particularly bothered. It made sense.

A flame flared across the field and a bonfire blazed into life. Dark silhouettes flitted through the light. Distant shouting drifted across the field. “Sod it,” Alex muttered and strode towards the fire.

The hulking figure of Thor Magnussen sitting on a felled tree trunk filled one side of the fire. A girl with long blonde plaits, a tight leather jacket and leggings cuddled up close to him. Nobody else in the group quite had Thor’s physique but they were all big lads with thick, long beards, partially shaven heads, and wearing leathers. Dotted amongst them were similarly dressed women, with long plaited hair and runic tattoos. The Viking biker look made Alex feel a little out of place in his hiking boots and North Face jacket. There must have been around fifteen Sons of Sol around the fire and a few daughters, too.

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