The Evil Inside: A Horror Novel by Marc Layton

Author:Marc Layton [Layton, Marc]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-08-21T16:00:00+00:00

30

Peter’s mind had already put the pieces together, but he had to ask, “How?”

“Your grandfather, as he says in his diary, picked up the key,” Hasse explained, “He took it back to America with him. I am sure that he was a good man when he arrived here, but he had accidentally opened himself to Watzmann. He had shed blood on the ground here, shooting down his enemies. His reasons were not important to Watzmann, only his actions. The killing gave Watzmann an opening. It exploited that, burrowing into your grandfather’s mind, corrupting him from the inside out.”

“His changed behavior,” Peter said, nodding, “After he got back from Europe he became a much crueler man, a changed man.”

“It is true,” Hasse agreed, “I have that from your father, and I have seen that in the writing in your grandfather’s diary.”

“I thought you only read the one page,” Peter said, surprised.

Hasse’s smile broadened. “How much do you remember of that night in the bar in Portland?”

“Well, it is a bit hazy,” Peter admitted, “I don’t know, maybe I drank a bit too much. Why?”

“At this point, Peter, let’s just say that magic is still, even today, something that can be learned. I’m afraid I used some on you. I needed to know the truth of your grandfather, so I may have, ah…temporarily sent your conscious mind to sleep, a bit.”

Peter felt he should be disturbed, angry even, about that. He wasn’t, though. The shock of all Hasse’s revelations seemed to have deadened almost all his feelings.

He simply shrugged. “I guess you had to.”

“I am sorry, Peter,” Hasse said, putting a hand on his shoulder, “I had to know.”

Peter nodded. “So, what did you find out?”

Hasse looked off across the clearing again. “Your grandfather was a smart man, Peter. Even though Watzmann was working on him, he fought it off, for some time. He did research, a lot of research, on books I am surprised he could find, tomes that took me many years to unearth in my work. His studies seemed to be on how he could control something like Watzmann, though he appeared to have no idea exactly what Watzmann was. The house at Little River, for example, did you notice the markings on the concrete patios?”

Peter thought for a second, trying to remember the house in detail. “Yeah…I think so. There were some colored stones around the sides.”

“Wards, Peter, to keep evil out,” Hasse explained, “Your grandfather did everything he could to make the house as safe as possible, even while he was working to learn about the thing that demanded his obedience. In his diary, he mentioned placing the wards, and his desire to make the house safe and comfortable for his family. I think he was trying to protect them, to protect your father. He meant well, but over time, well, Watzmann was able to turn him more and more into his creature. It is well, for all of us, that he died when he did.”

That brought Peter’s head up with a start.

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