When a man who casts no shadow is of this world and Ethereal.
Beware the fated love he brings for it’s your soul he comes to steal
No one shall walk before him nor in his footsteps tread .
For he dwells amongst the living,……… as well as the dead .

– Michael Fletcher







The Prologue .



Torbridge , Devon . 1973 .

When Elaine Hamilton finds a new born baby dumped on the church doorstep three days after the funeral of her father, Reverend David Hamilton, she saw it as a sign from God. Wrapped in just a thin blanket and naked as nature intended, the child was close to death after being left outside on a cold, snowy, wintry night. The baby was in need of urgent medical help, but the blizzard that raged outside had taken the phone lines down and snow drifts blocked the roads in and out of the village. It was several miles to the nearest hospital and around half that distance to the nearest Doctors Surgery in the neighboring village of Horrabridge. Dressed in her herringbone overcoat, Wellington boots and thick wooly scarf, Elaine braved the elements for the long arduous trek on her mission of mercy.
The child was blue in the face and its breath was faint and shallow when she arrived at his surgery almost two hours later.

After examining the infant, Dr Shaw shook his head. “I’m sorry my dear, there is very little hope. The baby was born premature, of that I’m sure. His lungs are not developed properly yet and he’s suffering from hypothermia. It will be a miracle if he survives or a blessing when the Lord takes him.”
“The Lord giveth and the Lord shall taketh away!” chanted Elaine. “Why would God take my father, then deliver this child to me if it wasn’t meant to live? It can’t die, I won’t let it!” She cradled the almost lifeless infant in her arms and carried it over by the fire. “Can’t you give him something to ease his suffering?”
“It’s a little too late for that, I’m afraid. Even if I could get him to a hospital, the chances are he wouldn’t make it. All we can do now is pray.”
“Then I will!” She placed the baby near to the hearth, knelt beside the ailing infant and put her hands together. “Almighty God, have mercy on his soul. Give this child the strength and courage to make it through this night and allow him the chance to live in this world before calling him into the next. Let me teach him to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ and tread the path of righteousness. Amen!” She picked up the child and cradled it to her bosom, but the little sign of life it once had was gone. Elaine gave out a cry of anguish, held out the limp bundle at arms length and looked up towards Heaven. “Why? I’ve never asked for anything in my life before, even now, I asked it only for him.”
Dr Shaw took the child from her arms and placed it on the examination couch and covered it with a sheet.
Elaine threw herself down onto the floor and sobbed uncontrollably.
“I’ll ask Mrs. Bates, my house keeper to make you a nice cup of tea. I’m sure you’ll feel better.”
“Tea! Why do people think a nice cup of tea makes you feel better? I’ve just buried my father and that’s all I’ve heard, “Let me make you a nice cup of tea, it’ll make you feel better”, well it doesn’t!” Elaine became quite irate and muttered incoherently. She squatted in a corner and tucked her knees
firmly under her chin and wrapped her arms tightly around her shins. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she stared across at the Doctor and his housekeeper.
“Poor girl, she looks like a scared rabbit,” exclaimed Mrs. Bates.
“She’s probably suffering from shock! Bring my bag and I’ll give her a sedative.”
*
It was almost daylight the next time Elaine opened her eyes. Her head felt heavy with the sedation and her legs weary from the journey. She had slept in a high – backed armchair, covered with a heavy woolen blanket to keep out the chill. The blizzard outside had ceased and the air was still as she glanced through the window. In the distance, a snow plough weaved its way between the many abandoned cars that littered the streets and rushed by like it hadn’t a care in the world. Her thoughts were of the dead child, and for the desperate mother who had left him.
Suddenly, a faint cry pierced the silence and she mustered the energy to push herself up from the chair and walk slowly towards the door. The curtains had been drawn and the room was in darkness as she opened the door and stared at the still, white sheet covering the examination couch. Could it be, God has answered my prayers, she thought. Her hands were shaking and her breath excitable as she peeled back the sheet; gasping as the sight of perfect pink skin came into view. “It’s a miracle!” she cried, joyfully. Elaine hurriedly folded the sheet in half, then in half again and wrapped the baby up like a papoose. She tucked the child inside her coat before sneaking silently out through a side door.

On awaking and discovering that both Elaine and the baby had gone, Dr Shaw notified the police and the coroners office of the baby’s demise. And, although he reported the child’s death was due to natural causes, that’s all he could report. Elaine had never given her name or told where she lived.

Elaine Hamilton was an only child. Her mother had died when she was barely into primary school and, for the past twelve years, had suffered the wrath of her father’s strict religious upbringing. She didn’t have many friends to speak of, and now, at the age of seventeen her life was about to turn a new chapter. Now the last of her immediate family had departed this world, she felt very alone, and yet, she believed that the little miracle delivered to her doorstep was somehow recompense for those who had been taken from her early in life. Still stricken with grief and afraid of any backlash from her visit to Dr Shaw’s surgery, Elaine packed a few clothes, drew out all her savings and moved far away from Torbridge, the small Devonshire village she knew so well, and headed North, renting an apartment in a high – rise on the outskirts of Sheffield, Yorkshire. She mingled in perfectly with the locals; many of the residents were single parents or divorced and of mixed dialects and races; where a new mother and child on the block wouldn’t seem anything out of the ordinary. She named the child Clayton after her favorite cowboy actor, Clayton Moore, who, played The Lone Ranger in the popular T V series of the same name. She changed her surname by deed poll to Walker, fearing any incriminations should she be found out for not reporting the child’s abandonment. Elaine knew life from now on wasn’t going to be the same; looking over her shoulder all the time or awaiting that dreaded knock on the door wouldn’t help her already shattered nerves.

Living on a high-rise estate was tougher than she thought. Everyone knew everyone else’s business, crime and drugs were rife, burglaries and muggings were an everyday occurrence, and trying to juggle a job and look after a baby at the same time was almost an impossibility. She made many friend over the years and when Clay reached the age of nine, Elaine married local shopkeeper Archie Monroe, a man much older than herself. Almost a year to that day she gave birth to a daughter, Austine. Two years after that, Susan came along, followed by Kenny a year later. Ten happy years they spent together, until his
business went bust and Archie ran off with a pretty nylon stocking saleswoman half his age.
Clay had reached his nineteenth birthday by then and had turned into quite a handsome young man. All the girls loved him and all the boys were envious. He was streetwise and tough, those who didn’t move in his circles kept out of his way, those who got in his way, wished they hadn’t. By day, he worked hard for a living doing menial jobs, earning just enough to put food on the table and keep the bailiffs away from the door. By night, he studied relentlessly and completed a five year modern construction apprenticeship attending evening classes and practical workshops; gaining distinctions and honors along the way.
At the age of twenty – eight, Clay was well established as a competent builder and property developer. They moved upwards and outwards after buying a five bedroom detached house in the beautiful rural village of Brunswick, South of Sheffield. The family continued to prosper and their lives couldn’t have been better, but for Clay, there was always something missing. He’d suffered reoccurring nightmares from an early age and would get strange notions in his head that his life was incomplete and that he had a mission, a destiny to fulfill and he had to discover it. Elaine thought it was just pangs of wanting to know who his real parents were after revealing the truth to him about what happened all those years ago. She hoped the pangs would go away.
They didn’t!
On the eve of his twenty – ninth birthday, Clay packed a bag and fuelled his 4 x 4 in readiness to leave after his birthday celebrations, much to the disappointment of his family and friends.




CHAPTER ONE .


Brunswick, South Yorkshire. 2003.
It should have been a joyous occasion for Clayton Walker. In seven hours time he would be twenty – nine years old, in less than forty hours, he’d be on his way touring the Southern coast of England in the hope of finding his long lost parents. Family had always been his number one priority and when troubles arose, he was always the one to sort things out. His youngest sister Susan was a typical post – school teenager, thinking she was all grown up and that she knew best. She was very adolescent in her actions and her naïve ways were a cause for concern. It had come to Clay’s attention that she was talk of the town, talk he didn’t like to hear or want to believe of his little sister. Things needed to be sorted before he could embark on his long awaited journey, and come what may, everyone had to tow the line when he laid down the law.

“Clay, how long will you be gone?” asked Austine, staring into the cup of tea she was continuously stirring.
“I don’t know? A week, a month, till I get home sick.” He hunched his shoulders.
“But why? Everything you’ll ever need is here. Your family, friends, home, your business.”
“Haven’t you ever felt that you needed to be somewhere else, even though you didn’t know why you had to be there?”
“No, I’m not that adventurous.”
“Maybe I just need to get it out of my system. Maybe when I do get to wherever, I find I was wrong and caused all this fuss for nothing.”
The door slammed and in walked Kenny. Kenny was almost sixteen now and the youngest member of the family, he doted on Clay’s every word and would miss him the most while he was away.
“Hi, shortstop, what yer’ been up to?” Clay had a nickname for them all and was referring to Kenny’s unusual small size for his age and untidy appearance. Austine, the elder of his two sisters, fondly known as sweet cheeks, because of her plump rosy complexion and the fine downy facial hair that resembled peaches, and Susan, ultimately became known as smarty-pants, the academic one of the family. Top of the class in every subject at school and now attending technical college.
“I just had a fight with Billy Walton!” said Kenny breathless.
“I thought Billy was your mate?”
“Not any more, he was slagging you off in front of everyone. He said you were leaving because you’ve slept with half the married women in Brunswick and their husbands are out to get you.