The Darkness of Vanity

By Doug Pountain

   Man has always had a dark side to his nature, but where does that come from? Is he the one who is really in control of his actions, or is it the darkness of his soul that is leading him as he rushess headlong into oblivion with his treatment and abuse of the earth and its resources? What unseen force guides his hand when he kills or abuses those weaker than himself including women and children. Is it his lust for control, or is it for his vanity, is he being used by an ancient adversary of man, a much darker force who's identity will only become apparent when it is to late to save his world. But while there is the darkness, there is also an army of the light, their only weapon is the power of the earth itself, a power that is centered in a small green field in the magical town of Glastonbury, England. They discover the truth and must eventually come face to face with their nemisis in the final battle. These people are not mortal, they are from two very different worlds seperated by 150 years, they have the ability to move through time and have been brought together by their destinies and their bloodlines with family histories that reach back to the beginning of time, a time when the earth was new, a time before man stood erect, they will do whatever is required to beat the darkness of vanity, but who win, mankind or the darkness, only time will tell?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug Pountain
• Release date: Jan 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215898314

Doug Pountain

Hello, its great to meet you. I live in a small village in Leicestershire, England, and now i am retired, i have the time to do what i most enjoy, writing. Reviews are the life blood of authors, and if you have enjoyed reading this book, i would appreciate your review. I can be found at https://facebook.com/dougpountain or email [e-mail] I wish you all happy reading as i make myself a cup of tea and begin writing. Take care, Doug Pountain.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1.

Daisy, was a strange girl in many ways, not by way of her own volition, but by that of her very overbearing mother. Daisy, was a very pretty 18-year-old young lady, and now she had finally reached a point in her life where she would need to take drastic action to allow her to get back some kind of control over her future. Daisy, was on the cusp of womanhood, and yet she knew very little of everyday life, and for as long as she could remember, her mother had ruled her every action, from when she awoke, to her going to bed. As a child, Daisy, was never allowed to overly mix with the others of her own age at school, and as such she was more or less regarded as a social outcast with her peers. Her schoolwork was second to none, but then, what use are brains and beauty, if you have no friends, and no confidants with which to share every other part of your life, music, clothes, in fact anything that makes you your own person and a unique individual in every way.

Her mother had always been a deeply religious woman, and as such, she attended her local Catholic Church as often as she could, and she also expected Daisy, to do very much the same, and also without question. But today would be like no other, today was going to be very different from all the other days that had gone before in this young woman’s life, and it could possibly even be a turning point in the direction that she hoped her future was going to take.

Today, Daisy, had received what amounted to for her as the greatest prize she could ever have hoped for. Her A level results from school, and these had turned out to be even better than she had expected. The results were akin to the young boy Charlie, when he had won the golden ticket" in Willie Wonker, and as such, they would allow her to go to university, and far away from the control of her mother. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her mother, no, far from it, it was just the unending interference in every aspect of her life that had not allowed Daisy to become a little more of her own person, and an individual in every way, something that would have allowed her to make her own decisions in life, whether those decisions be good or bad, but at least they would have been her decisions. Having said that, it was partially her own fault for not standing up to her mother as she should have done much earlier in her life, she was certain, or at least hoped that her mother would understand, but it was too late for hindsight, Daisy could now only look forward.

Daisy’s, father, David, hadn’t been so tolerant, he had left her mother many years previously. He was not prepared to play second fiddle to a snotty nosed Catholic priest telling them how they should live their lives, and also telling his congregation that whatever they did and accepted as normal, was in actual fact a sin against God. But then how could shopping at Sainsbury’s be classed as a sin, but according to him, everyone bought more than they required, and also things they didn’t really need, and as such they had sinned. But then how could the priest also then argue that gluttony was a sin, when he himself was a fat lazy bastard, and the way he looked at kids was always open to question and a little suspicion?

Since David, had left the marital home, he had always kept in touch with Daisy, and he visited her away from the family home as often as he could. She loved him dearly, and Daisy, as far as he was concerned could do no wrong, she was his little girl and he doted on her regardless of what her narrow- minded Mother thought about their relationship.

Daisy, lived in an old Victorian, 2 up and 2 down, very small terraced house in Beeston, a pleasant enough suburb on the outskirts of the large industrial city of Nottingham. In every room of the house, there were pictures of Jesus hanging on the walls, including many religious quotes and sayings that had been hand written by Daisy’s, mother and placed in cheap picture fame’s that were sat on the rather tatty furniture that was spread around this rather tatty house. There were even pictures in the lavatory, but Daisy, would always turn them round when she went in there. She strongly objected to being watched by Jesus when she went for a pee, or even a number two, surely he didn’t need to know that sort of information at first hand to work out if she had been a good girl.

Now, finally, after all her hard work she had the key to her future life, her A level results, and it would now be time for Daisy, to make a momentous decision regarding what direction she wished to take on her first steps toward adult hood. Her mother, had wanted, and also nearly insisted that she should go to the university in either Nottingham or Leicester, something that would have allowed her enough time to return home each evening and to confess her sins of that day and to ask for forgiveness from God. Fortunately, her father had other ideas which he had already discussed privately with Daisy, about getting far away from the controlling influence of her mother, something that would allow her to break free and discover what life was really all about.

When her father had lived with the family in their home, he had been a geography teacher at the local comprehensive school, where he had tried as best he could to impart some small amount of knowledge of the world and the problems it faced in the future with regard to over population. David also provided his students with all the information he could muster as regards to the possible effects of man constantly stripping the Earth of all its resources in the name of consumerism, and so-called progress, but as hard as he tried, he had very little success. The older kids were more concerned with the latest music and games, some were also doing their best to increase the population as several girls at the school became pregnant, and all apparently without having sex with a boy according to them. Obviously, another Immaculate conception that someone could one day write a book about, a second-coming so to speak, or coming without realising it or without any protection. Surely there must be a computer game or an app that would solve the problem, press the button and you’re no longer pregnant.

Daisy’s, father eventually grew very disheartened, not only with the work at school, but also with the world in general, but mostly with his wife in particular. After much soul searching he made the difficult decision to leave his wife and his job, regardless of the consequences. He loved his children with all his heart, but for David, staying with a cold woman was like being in prison with the rope around your neck. To David, it was as if he had been found guilty of some heinous crime and the death sentence had been passed and he was just waiting for the executioner to pull the lever for the trap door to open and the noose to snap his neck as he took the long drop. He considered his position for several years before he eventually followed his heart and moved back to Glastonbury in Somerset, the town where he had originally lived as a child and where he had grown up with his own family before going to university in Nottingham, and it was here that he had met Daisy’s Mother who was working there as a student administrator.

She herself had actually come from a very loving family but had always found herself at odds with her parents over religion, and she would criticise everything they did as being against the will of God. In truth they were very good people, and over the years they helped many who had fallen on hard and difficult times. But Daisy’s Grandmother also had a very dark side to her nature, one that Daisy’s mother found she could not under any circumstances accept and she tried her best to deny its existence. Daisy’s gran, had a sixth sense when it came to the dead, their spirits would constantly follow her and initiate a contact with her to describe their death, she understood the circumstances of their passing and could also communicate directly with them. Daisy’s gran had a dark and very deep psychic ability.

She was aware, that when someone had died, and before their soul can cross over to the next phase of their journey, they must tell the story of their lives, and this was especially so if they had died of unnatural causes, whatever they may be.

Her senses were so profound that she had secretly helped the police several times in the past when people had gone missing and they had no answers as to that person’s disappearance or their whereabouts, but eventually the result had always been the same, they were never found alive, but with her assistance the missing persons remains had been discovered and it provided crucial information for the police, and in most cases it had led to a prosecution for murder. The fact they hadn’t been found alive always had a great impact on her, and as such she partly blamed herself for not being able to find their lost souls much earlier, it had always been a very heavy burden for her to shoulder.

But on a much darker note, and with the assistance of a man whom she had known for many years, the pair organised séances together. Here, they would try to contact the spirits of the abused dead and the missing, and those spirits would in their own way try to reveal their locations, information that would have allowed their remains to be found. The finding of a missing person, dead or alive would at least offer some kind of solace for their loved ones. But the affinity this woman shared with the dead made her unique, she realised there were many individual types of spirits, some were also very dangerous and certainly not forgiving, they wanted revenge for the abuse they had suffered at the hands of others. Gran knew that you cannot take a life in this world and not expect to have any retribution for your crimes.

The dead have their own methods of taking revenge and they will haunt you both day and night in ways that the living cannot possibly imagine or conceive, at least, not until it’s too late and you come face to face with them in the next world after your own death, but with the assistance of certain individuals such as Daisy’s gran, a spirit can also do so much more including physical revenge on the living. Abusers and those who take life can expect no forgiveness from the dead in this world or the next, and especially so if those abused were the sacred lives of innocent children.

Daisy’s Gran was also well aware that in every living person there lurks a dark inner force, a demon that will do whatever is required to take control of another human life and rule them against their will. These possessions were the dark side of someone’s nature which had laid dormant within that person ever since their birth, and it was these dark thoughts that were just waiting deep within a person’s soul for something to awaken this darkness and for them to do unspeakable things to others in their lust for control.

Most people had learned to control these dark desires when they are taught right from wrong as they grow, but these inner personal demons were also no respecter of age, they could also be present just as easily within young children just waiting silently for something to trigger them to rise to the surface and force that person to do great wrong and sometimes even kill. These dark desires within humans had been here since the dawn of time itself, these primal urges formed part of man’s DNA. They were a part of his basic instincts to survive in certain situations, but given the right circumstances, the darkness that lies within can also be waiting for an opportunity to rule and control others by whatever means necessary.

David was never certain of the facts, but he had always believed that Daisy’s mother had told of what she knew regarding her own mothers abilities to her priest, and who for his own agenda had interpreted it as unholy and against the will of God, and it was this which had finally turned her against her parents and made her what she was today, a cold and unloving woman who had been convinced by her own snotty nosed priest that he alone knew Gods will.

Fortunately, Daisy was nothing like her mother, she was a kind and thoughtful person, and subject to her exam results being good enough, which they were, she had already been offered a place at several top learning establishments including the university in Bristol as well as Nottingham, and if she decided that Bristol was indeed the correct choice for her, then she would be able to live with her father and his girlfriend on their smallholding just outside the town of Glastonbury in Somerset. To her advantage, Daisy had also recently passed her driving test and her father was going to buy her a car. Transport of her own would allow her to commute as required from his home in Glastonbury, to the university in Bristol, or to stay in halls of residence, it was to be her decision. Obviously, her mother wouldn’t approve of the idea that Daisy would be staying with someone who was living in sin, in her mind she would be tainted by association and God would see her sin, something that would make Daisy, unclean and no longer pure.

But Daisy had already made up her mind, and now that she finally had her results, Daisy had decided that she was going to accept the offer from Bristol, and to live with her father. Daisy wasn’t the only child, she also had an older brother named John, whom she hadn’t seen since she was 10 years old. He was 7 years older than she, and at one stage when they were young they had always been very close, with John always looking after his younger sister, but now her mother never spoke of him. Daisy was well aware that her father knew exactly where he was, and that they also kept in touch, but even though she had asked her mother many times why he had left home, she would basically deny his existence. She would also refuse to answer any questions regarding him and always changed the subject very quickly.

Daisy’s chosen subject was also, what some people may have considered to be a little heavy for a young person, she had chosen to study psychology which also contained a link with forensics. Daisy’s intention was to try and make some sense of the world we live in today while her mind was still open to new ideas, and definitely not fixated in any way by the opinions of others. Daisy, wanted to know what drove people to kill and abuse, and all without any real regret for their actions, what could possibly drive someone to take the life of another person.

Daisy herself had also experienced what she had considered to be dreams or a vision that she had been unable to interpret. In her mind, Daisy thought these to be the former lives of other people, and it was these which were now driving her quest and her thirst for knowledge. The visions, and her contact with them had also grown much stronger recently. But Daisy had been having them for many years, and especially more so since her grandmother had gone missing, it had always been assumed that she had tragically died through some association with the spirit world, but that was years ago when Daisy had been very young, but Daisy had always shared an affinity with her gran, something that she still had today. Again, her own mother had always disapproved of the close relationship without giving any reason, but no earthly remains of her grandmother had ever been discovered, and in Daisy’s mind she was still just missing.

In her dreams, Daisy had witnessed the abuse and death of people she didn’t know, not only in the recent past, but also much deeper into history, not that she was actually a part of, or involved in these acts, but events that she had in her mind been witness too, she believed the dead were calling out to her for help, but she didn’t fully understand the meaning of the dreams, something which frustrated her.

Daisy realised that certain people had always had the mind-set and strength to hold great sway over others and to influence a person’s decisions for their own selfish desires and agendas, such as the Nazi’s had done over a complete nation in the 1930s, and which had led to the killing of millions in a totally unnecessary war. There were also the religious extremists of all denominations today, people who had been brainwashed, not by God, but by others who sought control over them in some devious and perverted way.

Daisy, was well aware that she had also personally sensed great pain and suffering whenever she had read that a person, whether adult or child, had been abducted or possibly murdered and the police had reached a point in their investigations where they were unable to solve the crime or even find the body. To her, it was as if the dead were calling out to her just as they had done with her grandmother, but it was help that she was unable to offer as she didn’t know how. She had never told anyone of these dreams for fear that she would become a laughing stock, or a person of ridicule, she certainly didn’t want that at a time when she was just starting out in her life and finally breaking free.

Daisy realised that at university there would hopefully be lecturers and other intellectuals who may be able to offer some kind of help and assistance and possibly guide her to make some kind of sense or understanding of the thoughts and dreams in her mind that she had been experiencing, but were now becoming much more vivid, at least that’s what she was hoping for.

The momentous day which she had eagerly awaited and looked forward too with both excitement and also a little foreboding had now finally arrived, and Daisy was going to tell her mother that contrary to what she had wanted regarding university, that she had now finally decided to accept the offer to study in Bristol.

Daisy had carried out her research very carefully, she already knew that one lecturer in particular in the faculty had published a paper which on the surface appeared to show that it was possible for a person to have psychic link and also contact with the dead, and if this proved to be correct then Daisy may be able to get some answers to her own dreams and visions. She was also aware that the paper had not been well received, but then again, it was a very controversial subject and little researched, and it was also frowned upon by the Catholic Church as unholy even in this enlightened age, but was that through some deep seated fear of the truth, or of losing their own control over the lives of the very people who funded them, after all, even priests have to live regardless of who pays the bill.

On this particular day, Daisy had paced up and down the small house looking for the right moment to tell her mother of her intentions to leave home, but she knew in her mind there was never going to be a right moment as far as her mother was concerned, and so she dug very deeply and summoned up the required courage and looked directly at her mother.

Mum, it’s no use me beating about the bush any longer, I have to tell you that I have decided to take the offer and go to the university in Bristol, it’s the right course for me and it offers what I am looking for, I also need to expand my horizon a great deal more than the suburb of Beeston. Dad is going to buy me a car, but I will possibly stay in halls of residence for my first year, but then I am going to live with Dad and Judy in Glastonbury. I love you Mum, but I need you to understand, that this is something I must do for myself, there is a whole new world out there just waiting for me to discover, and I must take the opportunity to grab it with both hands or I will regret it forever. Daisy was now very relieved that she had finally plucked up the courage to speak her mind, but now she had to wait for her mother’s reaction to her very unusual and rebellious behaviour.

Her mother’s shoulders visibly dropped and it was also very clear that her confidence had also been badly affected by the news she had just received. She looked soulfully back at Daisy with tears in her now very sad eyes as she fully absorbed her beautiful daughter’s dramatic statement of intent with great sorrow.

I always knew this day would come, but that doesn’t make it any easier for me to accept. I have always tried to bring you up in the fear of God for your own protection and to save your soul from damnation in this very dark world. There are temptations everywhere that are designed to steer you away from his side and into the darkness and despair of evil, and you are not yet prepared to face those perils.

Your father is a fornicator with the Devils Bitch and they will lead you astray and down the dark path. If you go then you must promise me that you will repent every day for your wrong doings, even if you think you have not sinned. You will be seen throughout your life by God, he will observe all of your actions and you may stray from the path of light at the peril of your very soul, do you understand? It was obvious that Daisy’s mother was now very afraid for the righteousness and virtue of her beautiful young daughter.

Mum, I do understand that in your eyes just waking up in the morning is a sin, but how can a person know what is right or wrong without the experience of life and an education. There is no such thing as the completely righteous person, everyone sins or does a little wrong in their lives, and I am certain that God will forgive them without praying every ten minutes.

I have thoughts circulating in my head, feelings that I don’t understand and I need to find the answers. I feel the presence of others close by who I believe need my help, and I am certainly not going to find those answers here. I need to open my mind to many new things, some of which will be good and some of which will be poor, but whatever I do they will all be my decisions and I will have to live with them, but I must get the knowledge I seek from those who can help me. Look Mum, I need to ask you once more about my brother John, why did he leave us?

It now became obviously clear that Daisy’s, question regarding her brother was something which her mother had always tried to avoid at all costs, but why the secrecy? Daisy wasn’t prepared to let the matter drop this time, she wanted an answer as to why John had so suddenly left his family behind, especially his little sister, Daisy. The expression changed dramatically on her mother’s face, it was no longer the look of sadness at her daughter’s decision to leave home, her expression had now turned to one of fear, but she could no longer ignore Daisy’s, line of questioning, it was time for the truth, whatever that may be. She hesitated for quite some time, finally wiping a tear from her eye, it was as though she had aged in seconds at Daisy’s question, and she was visibly shaking.

I swore I would never tell you the truth about him for your own safety and protection and also that of your soul, but I see in you that same look of the understanding of the dark side of man’s nature. Your grandmother had something very special, a gift as she called it, but that gift wasn’t passed onto me, but it was to your brother, and now it appears that you also have the same talent. Let me ask you a question, do you have visions, and can you hear the dead calling to you from beyond the grave? When your grandmother was alive, she was hounded by the dead, she told me that her power was a force that came from God himself, but I never wanted any part of it, in my eyes it was a very dark magic that came not from God, but from the Devil.

She went out one evening to see someone who she was helping in some way, but I don’t know who it was, or exactly what she was doing, that was the last time I saw her and she was never seen by anyone again. My father reported her missing to the Police, they searched for quite some time, but she was never found and there were never any clues as to her disappearance, but you were far too young to remember any of that.

"And then a few years later, as you know, my own father died. Your brother always said it was from a broken heart at being unable to bury my mother, but I believe he knew a great deal more than he was saying. Some months later your brother told me that he had seen your grandmother who told him exactly what happened when she disappeared, he told me she had been murdered, but I didn’t know if he was telling me the truth or some version of it to protect her. I told him that he must stop all of the contact with her for his own protection.

Even though I was uncertain if he had told me the truth, I said that it was a sin to have contact with the dead and that it was unholy, and then we had an almighty row about it, and he packed his bags and left. That was ten years ago, and I have not heard from him since that time, but I do know that your father sees him. All I have ever wanted and tried to do, was to protect you both, but I see I have failed, and now I believe that you are in great danger.

Daisy’s reaction to her mother was instantaneous, she realised the pressure that she must have been under for so many years trying to do what she thought best for her children, but now the truth of her actions was becoming very clear.

Your wrong Mum, you have not failed me or my brother John, you taught us right from wrong in your own way. I understand all you have done for us, but can you not see that by over protecting someone, then it can leave them at great risk and also very vulnerable through lack of knowledge of the world, and I know so very little of anything in real life? I believe that I was given a brain to help me through life with whatever that may bring, and I also realise that a person can use the knowledge that it contains to do good or bad, every person has a choice.

But I am also aware that the dead have information that can, and must be heard to ease their suffering and possibly help the living, and I believe that is a task that I must undertake, I need to help them. I know you won’t like the idea, but Dad is coming for me on Saturday morning, but I would like you to be civil to him for my benefit, I will call you very often, and visit you regularly. I really do love you, and I am so grateful for everything you have done for me, but this is something that I alone must do, I need to find the answers too many questions, not just from the dead, but also the living. Daisy, had always known she was different, she knew that she was on this earth for a reason that she hoped time would reveal.

Daisy’s, mother looked at her beautiful daughter for the first time through very different eyes. She didn’t in any way agree with what she was doing, but she realised that Daisy was passionate about using the knowledge that she already had and also that she was to obtain through her education at university. She realised that it would be wrong for her to deny Daisy the chance to help mankind in ways that she herself did not fully comprehend or understand, her mother was just very concerned for her soul and who could say that was wrong of her?

Daisy hugged her mother and kissed her, this was something that very rarely happened, her mother was not overly fond of shows of affection and it was this which Daisy had thought may have contributed to the breakup of her parent’s marriage, her father was by nature a very warm and caring person, especially where Daisy, was concerned.

Over the next few days, Daisy, and her mother’s relationship improved dramatically, and now she wished that she had stood up to her mother much earlier in her life instead of leaving it until she was about to leave home and make her own way in life. During that week they collected together all of her clothes, which to be fair didn’t take a great deal of time as she had so few, but her books were a different matter and they took her a great deal longer. To Daisy, books were her world and her life force, the blood that pulsed through her veins, in her mind they contained all of the information required to drastically change the world for the better, but she also realised that the intervention of man to use the powerful knowledge that he had gained over the centuries would be required to make that world a better place, and that was certainly not going to happen unless there was some kind of profit to be gained in one way or another.

Saturday morning eventually arrived, Daisy was up very early and eagerly awaiting the arrival of her father, but with also a little trepidation in her mind as to the greeting he would receive from her mother, but in a way, Daisy, had got past caring, Que Sera Sera. What will be will be? As she thought of the words in the Doris Day song to herself? But she realised that her mother would not be that forgiving.

The old clock on the mantelpiece above the open coal fire was just striking 10.30 on this very bright Saturday morning when suddenly there was a loud knock at the door. Daisy ran through the small house nearly falling over the worn and threadbare carpet and quickly and very excitedly answered it to find her father stood there, beaming from ear to ear. In his mind, it was the thought that he was finally getting his little girl back from the clutches of hell before she could morph into a being similar to that of her very narrow-minded mother.

Come in Dad, what was your journey like? I’ve got all my things together and I am so excited, but also a little sad to be leaving mum.

Moments later, and before David could make any kind of reply to Daisy he received the intervention he had been expecting from his ex-wife, and on this particular bright sunny day he certainly wasn’t going to be disappointed

Yes, please come in, David the fornicator, that’s as long as you have haven’t brought that Devil worshipping strumpet with you.

Mum, you promised me that you would be nice to Dad.

I thought that I was being nice. I am sorry David, would you like a cup of tea, if so, the café down the road is open, and there is a sign outside that says they are offering free cups of tea to fornicators today, and so you should be first in line and be more than capable of getting one, in fact they may even give you cake.

I am so pleased to see that you haven’t changed Mildred, it was always a pleasure to come home to you when we were married. Oh, the fun we used to have, I was always surprised that we had any children at all, unless you had an immaculate conception of course, and that wouldn’t have surprised me as you spent so many hours at Church begging forgiveness for sleeping with me.

But Daisy quickly intervened, nothing was going to spoil this day.

Look you two, this is my time, and you two have had yours and look what happened. I think I should put my things in the car and leave before this argument goes any further.

David truthfully couldn’t have cared less about the welcome he had received from Daisy’s mother, he had just won the fight over his daughter’s future, and as such he put the sarcastic comments from his ex-wife firmly to the back of his mind as he carried out Daisy’s, belongings, but he decided to wait outside by the car to avoid any more nastiness with Mildred. Daisy, and her mother stood just outside of the front door of the house and they shared one last very shallow hug.

Let me know that you have arrived safely, and don’t forget to look out for that strumpet putting curses on you, the Devil worshipping Bitch. The parting words of her mother were ringing in Daisy’s ears as she finally got in to the car, and she and her father drove away.

It suddenly all felt quite surreal for Daisy as she and her father drove through the many side streets and passing her old school with the knowledge that she was leaving the only home she had ever known, it was as if a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she felt free, this one moment in time was to be the precursor to her new life.

You know Daisy, I will never understand why you didn’t move out years ago and leave that nasty old bag to the Church, she ought to live there, she spends most of her life talking to priest’s and plaster statues as she waits for answers that never come.

Look Dad, no matter what you say about her, she is still my Mum and I love her, even though she can be very strange at times, and you must also have seen something in her at one time to have had two children.

I think the old bag must have drugged me.

Dad, that’s enough, let’s just get to Glastonbury, I am so looking forward to seeing Judy again and getting settled in.

"Judy is unbelievably