The Apprentice Witch

by James Nicol

  Arianwyn tied the charm carefully around the boy’s neck. ‘There.’

  ‘Uncle? Uncle?’ Gimma’s voice echoed out in the hallway, startling Arianwyn from her moment of concentration. Seconds later she burst into the parlour. ‘Uncle, what’s happened? Mrs Oliva was just . . .’ She stopped, taking in the horror of the scene.

  The mayor moved to her side quickly. ‘Gimma, dear one, there has been the most awful attack near the Great Wood. Mrs Myddleton’s son has been wounded!’

  Gimma’s eyes flicked to Arianwyn and then away at once.

  ‘Mr Turvy was correct, it seems, and some terrible dark creature appears to be on the loose.’ The mayor swallowed hard. ‘It must have eluded Miss Delafield’s search.’

  Silently, Gimma stepped slowly and carefully around the couch. She gasped as she took in the full view of Cyril’s small frame and his dark festering wound. Her hands covered her mouth and she looked away.

  ‘Miss Gribble has placed a charm – she says there is nothing more to be done. What do you think?’

  Clouds of fear rushed across Gimma’s face. She appeared to struggle to find an answer for her uncle. ‘I’m sure Arianwyn has done what’s best, Uncle. But perhaps Arianwyn and I should have a quick chat. Out. In. The. Hallway!’

  Without waiting for a response, Gimma swept past Mrs Myddleton and out of the door. Arianwyn followed, uncertainly.

  ‘Oh my word,Wyn! This is because of the rift, isn’t it? Something got through.’ Gimma’s voice shook.

  Arianwyn nodded mutely.

  ‘What are we going to do? I’ll be in so much trouble! Have you said anything?’

  ‘No!’ Arianwyn gasped. She grabbed Gimma’s arm and dragged her further away from the door. ‘Of course I haven’t said anything. It’s not really up to me to say anything, is it? I didn’t summon the rift in the first place!’

  Twisting her arm free, Gimma looked down at the floor, knotting her fingers together and chewing on her lip. ‘Perhaps you could just—’

  Arianwyn didn’t wait to hear more. ‘No!’ she hissed. ‘Poor Cyril’s been hurt, Gimma. He might die! You have to tell them what happened. Now!’

  Silence filled the hallway.

  ‘You’re right,’ Gimma said, her voice small. ‘It’s time to face up to things at last. Thank you, Arianwyn.’ She reached out and took Arianwyn’s hand. ‘I couldn’t do it without you by my side. You’ve been such a good friend to me, I really don’t deserve it.’

  Arianwyn felt her cheeks warm and then in silence she followed Gimma back into the mayor’s parlour.

  ‘Well then, ladies. What’s the plan?’ Mayor Belcher asked, his voice laced with false cheer.

  Gimma smiled weakly at Arianwyn and went to stand beside her uncle.

  ‘I have something important to say about the creature in the Great Wood. I should have told you a long time ago. It’s not fair to keep a secret from you any longer, despite how personally difficult it might be for me.’ A huge tear rolled down her pale cheek. Arianwyn felt sick with worry.

  ‘Heavens, sweetheart. Please don’t upset yourself.’

  ‘Thank you, Uncle. But I can’t keep lying about this.’ Gimma took a deep breath and looked pleadingly at Arianwyn.

  ‘It’s OK. You can do this!’ Arianwyn mouthed to her.

  Gimma nodded.

  There was the sound of more hurried footsteps. Grandmother, Miss Delafield, Colin and Miss Prynce entered the room and stared at the sick boy on the couch, before glancing up at the mayor and the two young witches. Quickly, Gimma carried on.

  ‘Arianwyn opened a rift in the Great Wood and let that creature through.’

  Chapter 36

  A FINE OLD MESS

  t didn’t quite sink in at first. Arianwyn heard exactly what Gimma had said, but she didn’t seem to understand the words. Then she realized everyone was looking right at her.

  Miss Delafield’s hand hovered near her mouth. Grandmother’s eyes were wide.

  ‘Is this correct, Miss Gribble?’ Miss Delafield choked out the words.

  ‘What?’ Arianwyn mumbled, still not quite understanding.

  ‘Did you open a rift that caused all of this?’ Miss Delafield stepped forwards and gestured to the couch and Cyril Myddleton.

  ‘NO!’ Arianwyn finally said. She looked at Miss Delafield pleadingly. ‘I didn’t. Gimma, that’s not what happened.’

  ‘Then pray tell us, Miss Gribble, exactly how did all this occur?’ Mayor Belcher positioned himself in front of Gimma and glared at Arianwyn.

  Arianwyn allowed the memory to unfurl in her mind, the calvaria, the smoky fire spell, Gimma encountering Estar and the rift.’ It was Gimma who opened the rift. Something went wrong with the spell and we couldn’t close it again.’ Arianwyn’s voice shook a little. She felt as if she was on fire and her head throbbed.

  All eyes in the room flicked to Gimma. ‘How can you tell such lies, Arianwyn?’ Gimma gasped. ‘It was you. And when I tried to close the rift it was already too late.’ Her perfect face was pulled into a mask of concern and angelic confusion. A performance Salle would have been proud of.

  The room erupted into a volley of voices as everyone tried to speak and ask questions all at the same time.

  ‘THAT’S ENOUGH!’ Miss Delafield’s voice boomed across the parlour, silencing everyone at once. ‘Miss Gribble, please explain what you think caused the rift to open.’

  Arianwyn took a deep breath. ‘We were in the Great Wood after we had been to check on the calvaria spawning. We’d got wet by the river and decided to light a small fire to dry off. I went to fetch more wood and whilst I was away . . .’ She paused, thinking how best to avoid mentioning Estar. ‘. . . Gimma must have been frightened by something in the wood and summoned a rift.’ Arianwyn couldn’t meet Gimma’s eyes. Her cheeks burnt. She glanced up and saw a slow, sly smile spread across Gimma’s face.

  ‘Miss Alverston, would you like to say something?’ Miss Delafield asked.

  The sly grin vanished as everyone turned to look at Gimma once more. ‘Arianwyn was showing off in the wood and opened the rift. And she was helped by some strange little blue creature . . . with funny legs!’

  ‘That DEMON!’ shrieked Mayor Belcher. ‘I knew you’d lied to me about banishing that beastly creature!’

  ‘And last night Colin carried out an evaluation test on her, which I don’t suppose she’s mentioned,’ Gimma added gleefully.

  Arianwyn closed her eyes for a second and hoped she would just vanish.

  There were more gasps of shock from around the room. Gimma seemed to be working them up like an audience. ‘And if she lied about that,’ she added, her eyes flashing, ‘why wouldn’t she lie about this?’

  Throughout all of this, Arianwyn hadn’t known how to look at Grandmother. It was like the evaluation day all over again. Waves of disbelief crashed against her, mingling with a crushing sense of shame and humiliation.

  ‘OK, yes, I lied about Estar,’ Arianwyn blurted. ‘But that’s because you wouldn’t listen to me: I knew he wasn’t dangerous. He’s not even a demon, he’s a feyling. Even the spirit lantern could see that. And I didn’t tell you about the evaluation, which I think I failed again, anyway. But I swear I didn’t open the rift!’

  From the corner of her eye,Arianwyn watched as her grandmother slumped into a chair and gazed out of the windows across the town square and far away.

  ‘Miss Delafield?’ Arianwyn pleaded. ‘You believe me, don’t you?’

  The mayor snorted. Gimma folded her arms across her chest and leant back against the desk, satisfied at a job well done.

  Miss Delafield crossed to Arianwyn quickly and said, so only she could hear, ‘You lied about banishing a suspected demon. You took part in an illegal evaluation. Did you use that glyph? Is that what caused all of this?’ She shook her head sadly.

  There was nothing Arianwyn could say. They all believed Gimma. ‘I’m sorry.’ Arianwyn’s voice was swallowed up in the silence of the room.

&
nbsp; ‘Not as sorry as I am, dear.’ Miss Delafield carried on past Arianwyn and stood next to the mayor and Gimma.

  Arianwyn felt her last sliver of hope wither away.

  ‘Well, Miss Delafield? What do we do now?’ Mayor Belcher inclined his head towards Arianwyn.

  ‘Our first priority will be to deal with whatever the creature is in the Great Wood. It must be something clever if it managed to evade my searches. And we have to close the rift,’ Miss Delafield said, sharply. ‘We’ll deal with Miss Gribble later.’

  Standing between the mayor and Miss Delafield, Gimma’s face was lit up with a broad smile. Fighting back the urge to throw herself across the room, Arianwyn turned away.

  Mrs Myddleton stepped forward and smiled at her. ‘Thank you for all you’ve done, Miss Gribble,’ she said, quietly. It was a small chink of comfort, but it didn’t make Arianwyn feel any better.

  ‘Right then, off to the woods!’ Miss Delafield rolled her shoulders and pulled her bag strap tight across her chest. The mayor beamed and returned to his papers and Gimma flopped into a chair and swiped up a magazine. Miss Delafield glared at them both.

  ‘What?’ Gimma asked.

  ‘Well obviously, you’ll be coming along to assist me!’ Miss Delafield said.

  ‘Oh, yes of course!’ Gimma blushed, looked at her uncle and reluctantly tossed the magazine aside.

  ‘And you as well, Mayor Belcher!’

  ‘But hadn’t I better . . . stay here to keep an eye on Miss Gribble?’

  ‘She’s not dangerous! Perhaps a little foolish. Besides, I’m sure her grandmother will make sure she doesn’t disappear.’

  The mayor muttered and stood up again.

  ‘Where was the glyph summoned?’ Miss Delafield asked Gimma as they peered at the huge map of Lull and a tiny portion of the Great Wood.

  ‘I don’t know where we were.’ She stared intently at the map. ‘It was near the river, I think.’

  ‘Arianwyn?’ Miss Delafield gestured to the map.

  Arianwyn let her eyes rove over the map for a second, snaking along the twists of the Torr River. There was the clearing: not far from the old wood-smiths’ cottages. Her finger hovered there for a second.

  ‘Well?’ Mayor Belcher huffed.

  ‘There,’ Arianwyn said pointing to the clearing just along from the bend in the river, where the calvaria had spawned.

  ‘Let’s go, then!’ Miss Delafield marched towards the parlour door, Gimma skittering along behind her, trying to keep up with her long strides. As she reached the door, Miss Delafield turned. ‘Wait here,’ she said to Arianwyn. ‘I’ll deal with you when I get back!’

  Chapter 37

  SOMETHING GREAT INSIDE

  randmother got to her feet and walked slowly around the mayor’s office, chewing her lip and humming quietly, thoughtfully. Arianwyn watched. She could feel herself glowering, hurt that Grandmother had not tried to defend her.

  All of a sudden Grandmother stopped, planted her hands on her hips and stared at Arianwyn. She looked as though she was just about to speak when there were hurried footsteps from the hallway and then Salle, Colin and Bob the moon hare burst through the door.

  They skidded to a halt, picking up on the evident tension in the room. But Bob skipped across the dark floorboards and silky rugs to greet Arianwyn, all the same. She gathered the creature up into her arms, burying her face against its brilliant white fur. At last she let a small sob escape.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Salle asked. ‘We just saw Miss Delafield and Gimma and the mayor heading off to the wood.’

  Arianwyn turned away, quickly wiping hot tears from her face. She heard Grandmother explain it all in a hushed and broken voice.

  As Grandmother’s tale ended, Arianwyn burst out: ‘I swear I didn’t open that rift! But nobody believes me!’

  Grandmother spoke, her words firm. ‘I know you would never lie, except to protect someone or something. Never to protect yourself. You’re always looking out for others. But even a blind man could see that that girl doesn’t need protecting—’

  ‘She wants locking up!’ Salle added quietly.

  ‘So what’s the plan?’ Colin asked, glancing from Arianwyn to Grandmother cautiously.

  Arianwyn looked away. ‘No plan. I’m done now.’ She placed the moon hare on the floor and it ran around her feet.

  ‘What? You can’t mean that,’ Colin said.

  ‘Well, I do. Leave it to Miss Delafield to sort out. She’ll be fine. I was going to resign anyway.’

  ‘Resign?’ Salle and Grandmother gasped together.

  ‘I’ve done everything wrong and I’m frightened, Salle. The power of that glyph! This creature! I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.’

  Salle’s face became stormy. ‘You can’t just run away,’ she declared, her hand slapping down hard on the mayor’s desk. Her eyes sparkled with tears. Everyone turned to look at her. Bob jumped and ran for cover under the sofa.

  ‘You don’t understand, Salle. I’ve put a whole town in danger!’

  ‘You’re right, I don’t understand. My friend, Arianwyn Gribble, would never back down from anything. She’s amazing, she’s not scared of anything and she always helps and she always does the right thing.’

  ‘But I don’t, Salle. I’ve made so many mistakes!’

  ‘Everyone makes mistakes,Wyn! But you will put things right, won’t you?’ She looked at Arianwyn; her eyes were willing, pleading, her to do the right thing.

  ‘I . . . I can’t, Salle, I don’t know what to do.’

  Salle looked at Arianwyn, Colin and Grandmother, and she fidgeted. Anxious and angry. ‘Well, I’m not going to stand by and do nothing!’ Quick as a flash she turned and ran out of the parlour.

  ‘Salle, wait!’ Arianwyn called, but only her own voice echoed back to her.

  The room was silent for a long time.

  Colin stood like a statue by the door. He was watching Arianwyn and Grandmother carefully. Grandmother paced the floor like a caged beast ready to pounce. Arianwyn sat in the mayor’s seat, staring at the piles of paper and half-eaten buns on his desk.

  She felt sick and foolish and helpless.

  After a time, Grandmother came to Arianwyn’s side. She reached for her hand and said softly, ‘You know that undoing another witch’s spell is the most difficult kind of magic. You had no chance of closing that rift.’

  The words hung in the air for a minute.

  ‘Then why didn’t you say anything before?’ Arianwyn asked, pulling her hand slowly away.

  Grandmother gazed levelly at Arianwyn. ‘Because I feel partly responsible. I thought I was doing the right thing by sending you here. I thought things would be easy and you could build your skills slowly, until you were ready for your re-evaluation—’

  ‘Oh, don’t even mention that!’ Arianwyn groaned. ‘Another disaster!’ She hid her face behind her hands.

  ‘Oh! The evaluation!’ Colin said, the words a burst of excitement. He darted forwards and fumbled in his pockets for a second.

  He pulled out the thin strip of paper from the evaluation gauge and held it out to Grandmother.

  She studied it for a second. Then glanced up at Arianwyn, her eyes wider still. ‘Is this reading—?’

  ‘Yes!’ Colin said quickly, proudly. ‘It’s Arianwyn’s!’

  Grandmother slowly straightened from where she had been crouched beside the mayor’s seat. The reading quivered in her hands.

  ‘You’re sure this is accurate?’ she asked.

  Colin nodded. ‘And I’ve verified it with the

  C. W. A. this morning. They weren’t happy about the unscheduled evaluation but . . .’ He smiled broadly.

  Arianwyn felt as though there was a secret that they were not sharing with her. She looked from Colin to Grandmother and back again.

  ‘But this means . . .’ Grandmother paused, a smile blooming across her face. ‘There’s no way you could have failed the evaluation before—’

  Colin explai
ned quickly, ‘You broke the machine because your reading was so high and we didn’t adjust the settings accordingly!’

  Arianwyn listened but she didn’t seem to understand what Colin was saying.

  ‘I knew you were going to be amazing,Arianwyn Gribble. I knew you had something great inside you!’ He smiled and his cheeks flushed.

  ‘With a reading this high I think you could do just about anything!’ Grandmother laughed and she did a little dance right there on the rug in the middle of the mayor’s parlour.

  But their joy was only to last a few seconds more.

  Outside came a screeching wailing noise, like a siren or the howl of some wild animal or perhaps a mixture of the two.

  Arianwyn turned towards the tall balcony doors, which still stood wide open. She could see out across the town square and the roofs of Lull, over the walls that circled the town and towards the Great Wood. Rising high up above the trees was something bright. Like a flare, or firework. But it was brighter than either, brighter almost than the sun, and a deep fiery, bloody red. As it curved up into the cloudy summer sky, the wailing intensified, until Arianwyn felt the need to cover her ears.

  ‘Someone’s in trouble! That’s an old spell flare!’ Grandmother said quickly.

  ‘Miss Delafield and the others!’ Colin said, looking at Arianwyn.

  Arianwyn stopped dead, fear clamped around her heart.

  ‘Salle!’ she said quietly, and then she turned and raced for the stairs.

  Chapter 38

  THE NIGHT GHAST

  he spell flare had attracted a lot of attention.

  As Arianwyn emerged from the town hall she saw people peering up at the sky, their faces marked with worry. They wandered around, swapping ideas about what was occurring. Arianwyn had to push past a few clots of people as she headed towards Wood Lane. She glanced back and was relieved to see Grandmother a little way behind her. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she felt better knowing she was with her. Colin had stayed behind to contact the C. W. A. and send for help from Flaxsham.