Destined To Be Damned By David Blake Smashwords Edition Copyright 2012 David Blake Smashwords Edition, License Notes Thank

you for downloading this free ebook !ou are wel"ome to share it with your friends This book may be reprodu"ed# "opied and distributed for non$ "ommer"ial purposes# provided the book remains in its "omplete original form# although se"tions of it may be %uoted for the purposes of review David Blake should be "redited as the author at all times &f you en'oyed this book# please return to Smashwords "om to dis"over other works by the author Thank you for your support (lease note that this is a work of fi"tion and the resemblan"e of any "hara"ters to persons alive or dead is purely "oin"idental ) ) )

*s soon as & set eyes upon the house# & instin"tively knew that my destiny lay within the "old embra"e of its limestone walls &t "ertainly wasn+t the building+s pitiable visage that led me to su"h a "on"lusion# its shell grey and flaking like old bones# its low# slate roof shorn of several tiles by elements of time immeasurable and the utter la"k of any manner of garden or pathway before its entran"e morosely indi"ative of its damnable position in so"iety ,y 'ourney of years had traversed land and sea# hill and valley# hope and despair- now my lonely and perilous trek a"ross the barren moors and the mires and marshes of ./ Se0 1run# the land of "ontemptible souls and dreamless sleeps# had brought me hither# in distant sight of 2hial+s "ottage and on the brink of3 redemption4 *ye# a feeling emanated from that de"repit "onstru"tion of ages past# a sense of foreboding that greatly trans"ended its hideous aspe"t and took a hold of my soul like the darkest raven snat"hes its prey Drawn & was towards the house by some invisible tide of waters tainted by the blood of legions and by the time & rea"hed the door and rapped my fro5en knu"kles upon its "ra"ked and rotting wooden body# & was somehow "ognisant that my presen"e was not only sensed but expected. 6lad & should have been to find shelter from the relentless hustle of the wind# the "austi" driven rain and the thi"k# heavy sky whi"h "ast the surrounding lands"ape of morass and "oarse grass in morbid shadow# yet as & was ushered inside that infernal pla"e my dis"omfiture grew a thousand$fold The person who fa"ilitated my entran"e 7 & shall not say wel"omed me in 7 was tall and so gaunt that the "ontours of his skull were to be seen on his pallid fa"e 8e was dressed mu"h as & was# in simple hemp garments that were frayed and stained# his "ape adding a sanguine tou"h of grandeur to his appearan"e and the "owl lowered to display the long unkempt flows of his mud$ "oloured hair Though his "omple9ion suggested youth# the pair of grey eyes with whi"h he regarded me bore all the languor of longevity# and his "ountenan"e was a grim mask long deserted by "hildish wonder .o words were e9"hanged as & "rossed the threshold# passing into a musty# dim room whose sparse and simplisti" furnishings "ould offer "omfort to neither inhabitant nor traveller & heard hurried s"atterings as & entered but was too slow to spot the

sour"e of these sounds# noti"ing only the silent vigil of the spiders who sat in the "obwebs of the darkest "orners# and from behind the door leading to the ne9t room & dete"ted & was being observed by eyes belonging to & knew not what &n"ongruous amongst the room+s meagre and rather wret"hed "ontents was a huge mirror# running from floor to "eiling and framed in resplendent gold !et even as & looked at it# & was taken by how the refle"tion seemed brighter than the room & was now in# and by the barely per"eptible ripple and flow of its image But my attention was then drawn away from it by my mysterious host who fed me a bowl of hot broth as he e9plained# in deep solemn tones# that the mysti" summons had drawn me not to the "ottage but to the "onfluen"e of vorti"es around whi"h it had been built in days of yore :&t is other worlds that "all you# for you do not belong in this one#; he told me and at on"e & had not only the answer but the question my mind had been sear"hing for throughout my miserable thirty$nine$year e9isten"e# 'ust as a desperate# starving rat forages for food *ye# at last & e9perien"ed the final realisation as to why & had always been "lothed in damnation# why men were not my brethren but were instead my s"ourge ,y broth finished# my host wasted no time 8e read me a short passage from an an"ient leather$bound tome# during whi"h & heard the s"rabbling of small feet on"e more and the thing "losed tightly shut the door it hid behind# and then he walked me to the mirror & "ould feel a slight breeze "oming from it :<ook= <ook upon your refle"tion=; he bade me :&t is the last you will see of this parti"ular one ; Then & stepped into the mirror# pushing through it as a baby pushes out of its mother+s womb & felt the i"y blast of winds and there was a strong no9ious odour akin to that of laboratory "hemi"als# and then3 nothing 8ow long this >nothing+ persisted for & "ould tell not# for in that unfeeling# silent bla"kness there was no sense of time# no sense of spa"e or of beginning or end# 'ust a vague sense of being Then that phase ended and & found myself here# beholding new spe"tra of "olours# smells# tastes# sensations and even ideas The men in this eldrit"h new realm "alled Earth were similar but markedly different to those from when"e & "ame and & walked among them instilled with tremendous hope that & now belonged But & soon learnt that & did not belong# no more here than in the previous world 8eavy$of heart and weary in soul# & thus began my %uest anew# another lifetime of sear"hing# another lonely 'ourney to seek meaning and# perhaps# a final pea"e
) ) )

About the author: David Blake was born in the northwest of England in 1?@0 and grew up on a diet of ,arvel Comi"s# 2000 AD and television s"i$fi 8e had been writing fi"tion for as long as he "an remember and remains an avid reader 8is other interests in"lude travelling# vintage British television programmes# vintage "inema# football# eating toast and even having the odd drink The author wel"omes all feedba"k providing it is fair and "onstru"tive httpsABBwww smashwords "omBprofileBviewBDavidBlake