Suddenly there was a third roar from the boggart a followed almost immediately by a high thin scream, which was suddenly cut off. Moments later someone came running towards us. I readied my staff and so did the Spook. We relaxed when it proved to be Judd.
"I was in the western garden," he said. "It"s all clear there. I thought it best to leave things to the boggart."
"Aye, that"s the most sensible course of action," said the Spook. "I trained you well a though the witch couldn"t wait to get involved. This attack"s come from the south. We"ll know what"s what in a few moments."
Everything was silent, and even the breeze died down. We stood there, alert and ready for danger. After about five minutes Grimalkin emerged from the trees.
"It was a strigoi," she confirmed. "The boggart dealt with it before I got anywhere near. It didn"t seem happy with what it had caught and was busy tearing it to pieces."
We settled down before the embers of the fire but none of us felt like sleeping now. I suppose we sensed that another attack was likely.
It happened within the hour. Alice suddenly sniffed twice very loudly. "The witches a they"re almost here!" she cried, leaping to her feet and pointing to the east.
We all stood and searched the sky in the direction she had indicated. It was a clear night, the heavens liberally sprinkled with stars. Now some of the points of light were moving. I counted eight speeding towards us. Soon they had become distinct orbs, which paused above the trees of the eastern garden and began their dance, circling and weaving and exchanging places.
Both the Spook and Judd looked grim. They held their staffs in the diagonal position a though such weapons would offer no defence against the animism magic of Romanian witches, who would soon move in close and try to suck the life force from our bodies.
Grimalkin was whispering into Alice"s ear; she nodded as if in agreement. I suspected that they were going to use magic against our enemies. Back in Ireland I had witnessed the terrible power that Alice had at her disposal. She was reluctant to use it, for it signalled yet another stage in her journey to becoming a malevolent witch. And it would hardly be welcomed by the Spook.
The orbs ceased their dance and swooped towards us, but there was a sudden roar of anger from the boggart a a terrible howl to challenge the witches. Something red streaked up towards them, and they scattered before re-forming and attacking again. Once more the challenge was roared out, and the boggart soared upwards for a second time. This time there were several shrill screams, followed by flashes of light. The orbs gathered over the trees again, but now there were only five a which now dispersed again, each in a different direction.
"That seemed almost too easy," observed the Spook. "No doubt they were taken by surprise. The boggart dealt with several of them, but we need to remain on our guard. The rest could try again at any time. No doubt they"ll eventually conjure up some means of fighting it off."
Once again we settled down uneasily by the fire, but the attack never came, and soon the pre-dawn light began to colour the eastern sky. The five of us headed into the southern garden to investigate the aftermath of the intrusion. The remains of the strigoi host were scattered over a wide area: we found the skull up in a tree, impaled on a thin branch, twigs sprouting from the empty eye-sockets. Of course, the daemon itself would eventually find another host.
"We need to gather as many of the bones as possible and bury them," my master said. "These are the remains of an innocent person, after all."
We did as he asked, and I went back to the house and managed to find a spade that had survived the fire. It was badly singed but still intact, and I used it to dig a shallow grave beneath the trees. In it we laid the bones we had managed to find, then I covered it with earth. When I"d finished, we all stared down at the freshly turned soil and, very softly, the Spook said, "Rest in peace." That was just about the nearest he"d ever come to offering up a prayer.
"No doubt the boggart dismembered it because it felt cheated," he observed. "Any blood inside the strigoi would have been second-hand, taken from a victim. My boggart likes its blood fresh! Let"s hope it"s in a good enough mood to serve us breakfast!"
When we entered the kitchen, five steaming plates of ham and eggs were waiting on the table, and a central dish was piled high with thick slices of b.u.t.tered bread. We settled ourselves down without delay. The bacon was slightly overcooked, but we were all very hungry and we tucked in.
At last the Spook pushed his plate away and looked at each of us in turn, his eyes finally settling on me again. "It"s time to talk," he said. "We need to discuss what needs to be done." Then he turned to Alice. "I asked you once before, girl, and now I must repeat my question. Are you prepared to go into the dark and bring back what we need?"
"There"s got to be another way!" I cried out, before Alice could reply. "I won"t allow it."
"I don"t blame you, lad, for trying to protect her. But we know what needs to be done. Just how far are we prepared to go to achieve our aims?"
"We must do what is necessary. How long must I continue to carry this?" Grimalkin asked, rising to her feet and patting the leather sack. "Come with me, Alice. I need to speak to you alone."
Alice followed the witch a.s.sa.s.sin out into the garden, leaving the Spook, Judd and me to stare at our empty plates.
"We have our present problem to deal with before we consider the Fiend," said the Spook. "And it"s urgent. We may be relatively safe within the boundaries of this garden, but what about the poor folk outside it? Those to the east near Todmorden may already be losing their lives. We have to help them. It"s our duty."
"You mean return to Todmorden?" Judd asked. "I knew we"d have to go back a but surely not right away!"
"It"ll be weeks before I"m strong enough to make the journey, let alone be effective once I get there," said the Spook, shaking his head. "It hurts me to have to ask others to do the work but I have no other option. By now those soldiers from Burnley will be setting off to investigate Todmorden, but they fight wars against human foes and have no knowledge of dealing with the dark. We need to send expert help. Would you go, Judd, and take the lad with you? I don"t expect you to cross the river, but you could certainly help those on the County side. Our enemies will likely prey on isolated dwellings beyond the town to begin with. Those are the ones who will need you."
"Of course," Judd said. "The townsfolk won"t welcome us, though. They"ll be concerned about their own survival. Still, it must be done. We"ll set off immediately."
I nodded in agreement. It was better to be out there doing something than just waiting for whatever our enemies decided to dish out.
After that we fell silent again. I was just wondering where Alice and Grimalkin had gone and what they were saying to each other, when suddenly I heard a distant bell.
Someone was at the withy trees crossroads, ringing the bell to summon the spook. Usually I went to find out what the problem was. It could be anything, from a rogue boggart to a graveside-lingerer. Sometimes people were just scared and under no real threat; at other times a whole family was in danger, and my master would set off to sort things out immediately.
"Sounds like someone"s in trouble," the Spook said. "You"d best go and see what"s up, lad."
"Then I"ll keep him company," said Judd. "It could be a ruse to lure one of us out of the garden."
"Aye, you"re right. It"ll be safer with two of you," my master agreed.
Soon we"d crossed the garden and were heading for the crossroads. "It"s just like old times!" Judd joked. "When I came down here as young apprentice, I was usually shaking with nerves: I knew it meant setting off on spook"s business within the hour."
"Me too," I said. We"d crossed the meadow and had entered the trees again. Now we were nearly at the crossroads, and heavy rain clouds were bl.u.s.tering in from the west. It seemed to be growing darker with every step we took. Suddenly the bell rang out again.
"At least they"re still there," said Judd. "Sometimes they used to lose their nerve and head off back the way they came."
"Some of them are more scared of the Spook than a boggart!" I agreed.
We both laughed, then stifled our laughter simultaneously. Because, despite the gloom, we could now see who was ringing the bell.
It was a pretty young woman and I remembered her well a the one who had lured us to Todmorden with the promise of books for the Spook"s new library.
It was Mistress Cosmina Fresque. Or, to be precise, the daemon clothed in her flesh.
"I bring you a message a the chance of life!" she cried, letting go of the rope. The bell continued to dance in the wind, pealing several more times before falling silent.
We approached her warily, holding our staffs diagonally across our bodies. There were two clicks as we released the retractable blades.
"Just give us what we want! Give us the head of our master, the Fiend!" the daemon told us. "Do that and we will return to our own land, and your homes will be safe and your people may live out their little lives in peace."
"And what if we don"t give it to you?" Judd said. We were still walking towards the figure a now she was no more than ten paces away. She was standing beneath the bell rope, her back to the tree. I glanced sideways at Judd and saw the tears running down his cheeks. Daemon she might be, but the face and body were that of a girl a the girl he had loved.
"Then this will become a land of the undead: we will rule here and take blood wherever we choose."
"This is our answer!" cried Judd, and he drove the blade of his staff towards the daemon. She stepped sideways to evade the thrust, but he then went straight into the cla.s.sic manoeuvre taught by the Spook. He flicked the staff from his left hand to his right, and drove it straight through the heart of the daemon, pinning her to the tree trunk.
She let out a tremendous shriek, and blood spurted from her mouth and dripped onto her shoes. Then her eyes rolled up into their sockets and she gave a great shudder and slumped backwards. She would have fallen to the ground, but the blade held her fast against the tree. The silver alloy must have penetrated her heart: almost immediately a glowing orange helix rose up from the body, hovered for a moment, gained elevation, then shot off eastwards.
We both stood staring at the body of Cosmina. Finally Judd turned to me, tears still streaming from his eyes. "Do me a favour, Tom," he said. "Go back to the house and bring me a spade. I need to lay her remains to rest."
I ran back, briefly told the Spook what had happened, then collected the blackened spade from under the new lean-to at the side of the house. When I reached the crossroads again, Judd was kneeling down, holding the corpse"s hand.
"I"ll dig it if you like," I offered.
Judd came slowly to his feet and shook his head. "No, Tom, that"s my job. Thanks for bringing the spade. You go back to the house. I"ll be there as soon as I"ve finished."
But I didn"t return immediately. There was a chance that the daemon hadn"t come back to the crossroads alone, so I headed into the trees and watched Judd from a distance. He dug the grave beneath the tree and lowered Cosmina"s body into it. Suddenly he gave a terrible cry of anguish and struck hard down into the grave with his staff.
He had cut off the head of the corpse. It was one way to ensure that no daemon or other ent.i.ty could possess her again. I could hear him sobbing as he filled in the grave and collected some stones to lay on the soil to ensure that no dog or wild animal could dig up the body. Only then, when he knelt with bowed head and stared down at what he"d done, did I set off back to the house.
His task had been a painful one. How would I fare if I had to sacrifice Alice? It didn"t bear thinking about. Time was running out. I had to find another way to destroy the Fiend that did not involve her death. But Mam was powerful and had struggled to find the method she"d presented to me. How could I hope to do better?
THE FOLLOWING DAY, just after noon, we prepared to carry out the Spook"s wishes. Leaving him behind with the dogs and the boggart, Grimalkin, Alice, Judd and I set off for Todmorden once more.
As we left the garden, Alice came up alongside me. She was carrying a book. "Here," she said. "This is for Old Gregory. I wrote it myself."
With a smile, I took it and read the t.i.tle: The Secrets of the Pendle Covens.
"It"s about some of the darkest secrets than n.o.body but a witch knows a not even a spook. It should be really useful. Your master won"t accept it from me, but if you pa.s.s it on he might put it in his new library."
"Thanks, Alice. I"ll give it to him when we get back," I said, putting it in my bag. "I"ll give him my notebooks too. Everything helps. But I"ve a question for you. What did you talk about when you went off with Grimalkin yesterday?"
"It was women"s talk, Tom. Nothing to concern you."
I stared at her, annoyed, but hurt too.
"Ain"t happy, are you? Don"t like me keeping secrets from you. But do you tell me everything?"
I opened my mouth in shock. Had she somehow found out about the sacrifice that was required?
But before I could reply, Alice strode on, leaving me to walk with Grimalkin. Our conversation had saddened me, but I thought it best to ask no further questions.
The sky was grey and a light drizzle was drifting in from the west but the air was mild. It was what pa.s.sed for summer in the County.
I glanced round at Judd, who was clearly still upset. After a while he came alongside me and clapped me on the back. "Cosmina"s body has been laid to rest now, something I"ve been hoping to do for a long time. I feel as if I"ve turned the corner at last."
"What will you do afterwards? Will you go back to Romania?" I asked him.
"No, Tom. I"ve had my fill of travelling for a while. Maybe I should take over poor Bill Arkwright"s patch north of Caster."
"That"s a great idea!" I exclaimed. "You"ll certainly have plenty on your plate with all those water witches. As far as I know, no spook has been working in the region for well over a year. The Spook told me that Bill left the mill a to be used by future spooks. So you"d have a roof over your head."
While we talked, Alice and Grimalkin were deep in conversation ahead of us. Clearly they were hatching some sort of plan and I was shut out of it. Then, as we continued southeast, skirting Accrington, they dropped back to walk alongside us.
"Grimalkin needs to speak to you alone, Tom," Alice told me.
I glanced at the witch a.s.sa.s.sin, who nodded and pointed towards a copse on our left. She began to walk towards it and I followed.
"We"ll wait here for you!" Alice called out.
I wondered why Grimalkin couldn"t speak in front of Alice and Judd. No doubt he was the problem. Maybe she didn"t trust him after his betrayal of the Spook ... I"d find out soon enough.
The witch a.s.sa.s.sin came to a stop amongst the trees and turned to face me. She eased the leather sack off her shoulder and placed it on the ground between us. "The Fiend has asked to speak to you," she said, "but you must choose whether to allow this or not. No doubt he wishes to intimidate you or make threats. But I believe that we can learn from whatever he says."
"Do you speak to him?" I asked.
Grimalkin nodded. "From time to time we have exchanged a few words, but recently no amount of goading has made him speak. However, he said he was willing to talk to you."
"Then let"s hear what he has to say!"
We sat down on the gra.s.s, and Grimalkin undid the leather sack and pulled out the Fiend"s head by its horns, placing it on the ground so that it was facing me. I was shocked by its appearance. It looked smaller than when it had first been cut from his body, and the face was crusted with dried blood. One eye was gone a there was just a red-rimmed, pus-filled socket, and the lids of the other eye were st.i.tched together. The mouth seemed to be stuffed with nettles and twigs.
"What happened to the eye?" I asked.
"It took it in revenge for the deaths of my comrades," Grimalkin replied. "He may keep the other one for a little while."
She reached forward and pulled the nettles and twigs out of the mouth. Immediately the head, which had previously seemed still and dead, became animated. The st.i.tched eyelid twitched, and the jaw and lips began to move, showing the stumps of yellow teeth.
"It could have been so different, Thomas Ward," the Fiend said, his voice hardly more than a croak. "We could have worked together, but you rejected me and reduced me to this. Now you will pay a terrible price."
"You are my enemy," I told him. "I was born so that I might put an end to you."
"Of course," said the Fiend, his voice becoming stronger, "that is your "destiny" a or so you have been told. But believe me, a very different future awaits you. You think I am helpless? Well, you are wrong. Do you think that taking one eye and st.i.tching the other makes me blind? My spirit can see all it wishes. I see exactly where you are most vulnerable. I see those you love and the means by which they can be hurt. Do you think that sealing my mouth renders me dumb? I speak to my servants all the time, and they are as numerous as the stars. They are eager to act for me. Defeat one, and another will rise up to do battle with you. You will meet your match eventually a and far sooner than you think!"
"This is just empty talk," hissed Grimalkin, seizing the head by the horns.
"We will see!" cried the Fiend. "You are a seventh son and have six brothers. This day, one of them will die at the hands of my servants. And he will be only the first to suffer thus. Soon you will be the last of your mother"s sons!"
As I got to my feet, my head spinning at the thought of what might happen to my brothers, Grimalkin stopped the mouth again and returned the head to the leather sack.
"Take no notice," she said to me. "I was wrong to subject you to that. And we have learned nothing new. He could have sent his servants against your family at any time. He is making threats to unsettle you and divert your focus from what needs to be done."
I nodded. On returning from Ireland two weeks earlier I had sent a letter to the farm enquiring about the health of my eldest brother Jack, his wife, Ellie, and their child; I"d also asked about my brother James, who had been staying with them to help out with the farm work and build up his business as a blacksmith. The reply had been rea.s.suring. All was well, and apart from the loss of a few animals, the war had left them unscathed.
We were a long way from the farm now, though. As for my other brothers, they were scattered across the County. I could do nothing to help them a I just had to put my concerns aside.
We returned to join Alice and Judd. I told them what the Fiend had said and the threat he had made. Judd nodded sympathetically and Alice squeezed my hand. For now, there was nothing that any of us could do.
"Where did you plan to make your base?" Grimalkin asked Judd.
"We could stay to the west of Todmorden, well clear of the village," Judd said. "That way we can start to work the area without drawing too much attention to ourselves."
"But that"s exactly what we do want to do a we want to attract their notice!" the witch a.s.sa.s.sin exclaimed, her eyes flashing. "We should stay at the inn. Let them come to us. Once we"ve depleted their numbers we"ll move on to the attack. It"ll be like clearing out a nest of rats!"
"Isn"t that risky?" Judd asked. "By keeping our distance we could do some good before they even notice we"re there."
"You might help a few people, yes," Grimalkin replied. "But it would reach a crisis soon enough anyway. It would be a matter of hours before you were detected. This way we decide the killing ground. They will abandon the quest for other victims and come for this!" She held up the leather sack. "They will come for it and die. Our struggle against these Romanian ent.i.ties is just one in a series of battles we have waged against the servants of the Fiend. I want to put an end to it quickly so that we can get down to the real business a his final destruction. So what about you, Tom Ward? Are you in agreement?"
I looked at Judd and shrugged. "Sorry, but I have to agree with Grimalkin," I told him.
"Me too," said Alice.
Judd smiled. "It seems that I must bow to the will of the majority. Let battle commence!"
We continued on our way for another couple of hours. By now the cloud had cleared and it promised to be a fine night. As the sun sank towards the horizon, we set up camp for the night beside the track. Alice caught three rabbits, and soon they were turning on spits over the fire, the aroma making my mouth water.