by Adam Slater
‘Melissa, you can’t force this,’ he said.
‘I know,’ she replied. ‘It’s fine. The internet may not be the best resource, but it’s all I’ve got apparently.’
Callum sighed, exasperated. ‘Melissa, you’re going to be enough help as it is. Seriously, can’t you just –’
‘Bring a notebook,’ Gran interjected. Both Callum and Melissa turned to look at her, surprised.
‘Sorry?’ Melissa said.
‘Bring a fresh notebook,’ Gran repeated. ‘Tomorrow after school. And be prepared to listen to absolutely everything I say, without question.’
Melissa gasped. ‘Thank you a million times!’ she exclaimed. ‘Look, I know you don’t want to do this. I know you don’t trust me to do the right thing, and that makes me even more grateful. I won’t let you down.’
Gran let out a wry, mirthless laugh and shook her head. ‘I’m not doing this for you. It’s for Callum’s protection. I can’t have him around someone who’s been getting information from goodness knows where, trying to use rogue magic. Your best defence is to learn from a reliable source. I have no choice but to do it myself.’
Melissa nodded in silence, then looked down to study the cover of one of the chime child books sheepishly. She cleared her throat. ‘OK. Well, if I’m going to be back tomorrow I think I’ll wait until then to start reading these too. Uh, thanks again, Mrs Scott.’
Melissa turned to go.
‘See you, Callum.’
In spite of himself, Callum couldn’t help but return her triumphant grin as he saw her to the door. As he closed it behind Melissa, Callum sighed. After everything that had happened that evening, he felt suddenly exhausted.
‘I’m going to bed,’ he announced. ‘I’ll see you in the morning, Gran.’
He started up the narrow spiral stairway.
‘Callum, you don’t seem bothered by any of this,’ Gran said crossly.
‘I’m bothered by a lot of things,’ Callum said wearily, too tired to argue. He paused. ‘Listen, you can trust Melissa, you know. She may be a bit off-the-wall, but she’s honest. At least she’s not hiding anything.’
‘She’s determined, I’ll give her that,’ Gran said, her hands on her hips, ignoring his dig. ‘But she’s going to have to learn to take the danger seriously. Both of you are. You’re up against the Netherworld.’
Callum nodded and headed up to his room. But he heard Gran still muttering as he reached the top of the stairs.
‘I wish you both knew what you’re getting yourselves into . . .’
Chapter Six
In the murky darkness of an abandoned warehouse, a man’s footsteps echo across the concrete floor. He is the first to arrive but, as leader, he expected to be. He snaps his fingers. The sound bounces around the corrugated metal walls – and a flickering light appears, dancing at his fingertips. The purple stone of the ring the man always wears reflects the light of the flame. He lowers the small fire to a waiting candlewick, and then goes to light the others. Soon, a circle of light surrounds him. A voice behind him causes him to pause, but as he turns, he smiles.
‘Aradia,’ he says, greeting the tall, beautiful woman who has joined him within the circle. Her curtain of red hair glows in the low light.
She stops for a moment, surprised.
‘Varick.’ She nods respectfully, her voice low, velvety. ‘So, is it only our Craft names we must use from now on?’
‘I think it prudent,’ the man replies. ‘Where are the others?’
‘They follow presently,’ Aradia replies. As she speaks, three others file in and their coven is complete. Two men – one thin and lanky with close-cropped, white hair; the other shorter and more youthful, his broad shoulders strong. With them is one other woman. The wrinkles in her dark, worn skin are more exaggerated in the shadowy light, but her violet eyes glint with alertness. Varick eyes the group carefully.
‘Brothers and sisters,’ he begins, ‘the Shadowing falls on our mortal world once more.’
The other coven members nod silently, their faces expectant. They know there is more to come.
‘Our master awaits us,’ Varick continues. ‘For a century, he has waited. The Fetch all but completed his mission to eliminate the chime children, as we had summoned him to do. And now, the moment has finally arrived. This time, the Demon Lord will not await the thirteen moons to make his attempt to break through. This time, he has our coven on his side. Mortal and Netherworld are united. If our task is successful . . .’ He pauses. ‘When we are successful, it will lead to power untold. I trust you are all aware of what we must do?’
‘We are,’ they chorus.
Varick smiles slowly. ‘Very well. Then let us prepare . . .’
Chapter Seven
When the final school bell rang, Callum sprang from his chair and headed to his locker to collect his books. With all that had happened the previous evening, he’d had a terrible night’s sleep and an even more distracted day. He was glad to be heading home, even if it would involve a diversion to the churchyard for his next lesson with Jacob and Doom.
The eerie, bitter cold that gripped the country didn’t seem to be letting up, and the corridors of Marlock High School were packed with kids muffled in scarves, chattering about the weather. Incredible, Callum thought, how quickly the student population moved on from one issue to the next. A few weeks ago the Fetch had killed Ed Bolton, one of the school’s worst bullies, in broad daylight on a public street outside the school – but now everyone seemed caught up in something as mundane as the unnaturally cold weather.
Callum could see Melissa was waiting for him at the gates to the car park. He was pleased she’d waited – they hadn’t had a chance to talk properly since everything that happened the night before. Callum was well liked at school, but he had always tried to keep himself apart from other kids – except when he was doing the sports he loved. He hadn’t liked the idea of mixing normal people up in his supernatural troubles. But when he’d started talking to Melissa, Callum had realised how much he was missing hanging out with people his own age.
‘Hey, Callum.’
As he got closer, Callum almost laughed, but managed to stifle it just in time. Melissa was wearing a scarf made of black wool and glossy green-black feathers, bundled up around her neck so that she looked a bit like a fluffy fledgling blackbird. Melissa might be trustworthy, brave and clever, but she had the most bizarre dress sense of anyone in Marlock High School.
‘How mad was last night?’ Melissa said, shaking her head. ‘And now today seems so normal that it feels like a dream. You know what I mean?’
Callum didn’t answer. The events of last night had definitely been stressful, but not really that much weirder than the daily parade of ghosts and premonitions he’d lived with all his life. ‘Yeah, it’s been a lot to wrap your head around . . .’ Callum paused, then blurted, ‘Melissa, why did you start going on about wanting Gran to teach you magic?’ He knew it was a little abrupt, but he’d been dying to speak to her about it.
‘Jacob said only those with power can take on the Netherworld,’ Melissa pointed out. ‘Lovely Assistant isn’t the same thing, is it? I really do want to fight. So I need power. Besides, we need all the help we can get – you’re not exactly primed for taking on heaps of Netherworld demons, are you?’
Callum sighed, walking with his head down as usual, trying not to look at the spectres that always haunted the streets of Marlock village. He supposed she had a point.
‘What makes you think my gran’s the source of all knowledge, anyway?’ Callum said. ‘You saw how she was – she’s always on the defensive. All she’ll teach you are avoidance tactics. I don’t think she knows anything really big, it’s all just wards, charms, and little spells and stuff.’ He glanced up to look at Melissa. ‘But anyway, at least you’ll get a chance to crack open the chime child books tonight. Maybe there’s something useful in them, something that might even give you a head start, magic-wise.’
‘O
h, yeah, definitely!’ Melissa’s voice was suddenly injected with enthusiasm and excitement. ‘I’m really looking forward to going through the books properly. I don’t think I’ve ever actually touched anything so old, you know? And it’s really important, I’m not just going to be reading them because I’m curious. Plus,’ she said with a grin, ‘I get to be your teacher, imparting vital chime child knowledge. During our study sessions, you’ll be calling me Miss Roper, right?’
Callum laughed. ‘Dream on!’
They had reached the housing estate at the edge of town. Melissa waved at a couple of little kids messing about on the cable pyramid in the play park.
‘Everything seems so ordinary, you know?’ she said, looking around, her tone serious now.
‘Yeah,’ Callum agreed. ‘And they’re all so –’
‘– innocent.’
‘It scares me,’ Callum confessed. ‘The way no one knows what’s going on. You’d think there ought to be a big media panic: LOCK YOUR DOORS AND STAY AT HOME. THE SHADOWING IS UPON US. But life just seems to be going on like nothing’s changed.’
‘Well, nothing much has yet,’ Melissa said. ‘It’s like before the Blitz started, isn’t it? All the kids had gas masks and got evacuated but nothing happened.’
‘At least they were ready. These guys don’t have a clue,’ Callum muttered. ‘And I’m the one who’s meant to protect them all . . .’ He shook his head.
He didn’t have a choice; if he had to work twice as hard, if he had to study twice as much and train for it as well, he’d do it.
‘Maybe you should stay for dinner after your lesson with Gran?’ Callum said. ‘I think we should have our first session as soon as possible.’ He needed to prioritise, organise his brain, focus on one skill at a time. That was the kind of thing his rugby coach always encouraged the team to do.
‘Yeah,’ Melissa replied. ‘I’ll ring my mum and ask if it’s OK.’
Callum nodded, but he was distracted by a strange figure walking along the road some distance ahead of them, near the start of the woods. The man seemed confused and agitated, shuffling back and forth. Something about him seemed odd . . . threatening. Callum’s fingertips started to tingle ominously, and a chill swept him as the man slowly turned around. Callum stifled a gasp.
The figure only had half a face.
A gaping, bloody slash was opened across his head from his right temple diagonally down to the left side of his lower jaw – he had no right eye, no nose, no upper lip. Whatever had cleaved the guy’s face had mangled half his features. The mutilated man stood staring directly at him. Callum froze. He didn’t know what to do – something told him this wasn’t a situation he wanted to draw attention to . . .
‘Callum,’ Melissa’s urgent whisper made him jump. ‘D’you see that guy up ahead?’
Callum’s heart began to beat loudly. ‘Uh . . .’
‘Just where the footpath goes narrow as it enters the wood,’ Melissa said. ‘He’s got . . . oh, what, what’s wrong with . . .’ She trailed off, open-mouthed.
‘You . . . you can see him?’
The nightmarish figure raised one arm shakily, still staring at Callum with its only eye.
‘What do you mean, can I see him? How could I miss him?’ Melissa’s voice was low and trembling. She took a step backwards. But they both stopped short as the figure opened his mouth.
‘Yoooou . . .’ His voice was horribly choked.
‘Oh, no,’ Callum whispered. ‘Melissa . . .’
‘I-is he talking to you?’ she said, her eyes wide.
‘Melissa . . .’ Callum said again.
‘I – Callum, I think he must have escaped from hospital or something . . . I think we should . . .’
‘MELISSA!’ Callum shouted.
The terrifying figure took a shuffling step towards them.
‘Wh-what’s he doing?’ Melissa’s words came out as a strangled murmur.
‘Melissa,’ Callum croaked. ‘That’s a ghost.’
Chapter Eight
‘H-how can it be?’ Melissa gasped, frozen to the spot. ‘It can’t be a ghost! I can’t see ghosts – except Jacob . . . B-but –’
‘RUN!’ Callum shouted, grabbing Melissa’s arm.
The figure was shuffling towards them with quicker and quicker steps, his ragged clothes floating around him, his arm still outstretched. ‘Sssstop . . .’ its gurgling voice called after them.
‘Callum . . .’ Melissa said, her voice tight with panic.
‘Over here, behind these trees,’ he shouted, ducking behind a frosted trunk deeper into the woods. He and Melissa crouched silently for a moment, watching for movement.
‘What does it want?’ Melissa whispered, panting.
‘I don’t know,’ Callum said, shaking his head.
‘Callum, what on earth is going on?’
‘Shhh,’ Callum said suddenly. ‘Don’t move.’
The ghost was on the pathway near the trees, like a smudge of dirt and blood across an otherwise pure and glittering landscape. They both stared as it turned its head this way and that: it looked up into the bare, icy canopy above and peered into the woods on either side, then glanced over its shoulder down the road behind it. It was as if the spectre had heard Melissa’s cry, and was trying to work out where the noise was coming from.
‘Stay still,’ Callum hissed. The ghost continued to look around searchingly.
‘What do you think he’s –?’ Melissa began to whisper.
‘Shhh.’ Callum clamped a hand over Melissa’s mouth.
But when he looked back at the path, the ghost was gone.
Callum’s fingers were beginning to go numb with cold – and the insistent tingling. Turning slowly to see what was there, Callum let out a cry as he saw the bloody face of the ghost loom directly in front of him.
Without thinking, Callum pushed out hard. To his shock, the ghost tumbled backwards. He hadn’t made physical contact with the spirit, but the move was enough to confuse it. Before it could recover, Callum leaped from the cover of the trees, grabbing Melissa’s arm as he did so.
‘Let’s get out of here!’ he shouted, and together they scrambled back up to the path and ran as fast as they could. They didn’t stop until they reached the lane that led to Nether Marlock Church.
‘What – what do you think it was going to do?’ Melissa gasped, her teeth chattering. She bent over to catch her breath.
‘I don’t have a clue,’ Callum replied, his own breath pluming in rapid clouds in the cold air. ‘The ghosts don’t usually seem to know what’s going on around them. And they’ve definitely never tried to attack me. Plus I don’t understand how you could see it too.’
‘M-maybe it’s part of the Shadowing,’ Melissa panted. ‘Maybe with more activity around the Boundary, humans and ghosts are becoming aware of each other.’
Callum nodded. It made some sense, but he certainly didn’t like it.
‘Well, whatever was going on with him, I think he ought to stay dead,’ Melissa said in a low voice, and a visible shiver ran through her whole body. ‘Do you think he’ll come back?’
Callum clenched his teeth tightly together. ‘I doubt it.’ He sighed hard. ‘I should get to the church, and you should be getting to Gran’s.’
‘Where shall I tell her you are?’
‘Tell her I’m doing some training on my own – she should understand that I need to start . . . preparing. Just don’t mention Jacob, obviously.’
Melissa nodded, but she was clearly apprehensive.
‘Do you want me to walk with you for a bit?’ Callum asked.
Melissa’s jaw set. ‘No. I’m going to have to start getting used to this sort of thing, I guess.’
Callum nodded, and then tentatively looked around him. The usual ghosts were clustered there at the crossroads, but he found himself eyeing them all closely. Most of them were so familiar to him they now seemed like . . . not old friends, exactly, but at least neutral. They might be hiding dark secrets, bu
t he saw them every day and they minded their own business. There was the figure in the hooded cloak that always stood facing away from Callum. There was the cluster of weeping women in black veils, and there was the gravedigger who had chopped a slice out of his shin with his spade – all milling about in their usual places, and all thankfully ignoring Callum.
‘Can you see any ghosts here?’ he asked Melissa tentatively.
‘No . . .’ She stared around her, and then returned her gaze to Callum. ‘But they’re all around, aren’t they? I can sort of feel them. You know how it feels when you’re in a cinema and it’s dark, but you know there are people everywhere?’ She hesitated, watching Callum’s face closely, and grimaced a little as she spoke. ‘I’m right, aren’t I?’
Callum nodded grudgingly. He didn’t want to scare her, but as he looked around him again he realised the ghosts were looking at each other anxiously, as though they were suspicious of one another. One of the veiled women kept glancing over her shoulder at the gravedigger; the gravedigger kept waving his spade threateningly at the cloaked figure. Their movements were nervous and furtive. They seemed confused and – was it possible for a ghost to be afraid?
Maybe not afraid. But certainly uneasy. Still, they seemed oblivious to Callum and Melissa, for now at least.
‘It’s the usual suspects though,’ Callum said. ‘I know it’s a bit creepy, but I don’t think you’ll run into any trouble.’
Melissa gave him a wry smile. ‘Let’s hope not. Remember the good old days when the only thing to worry about was the Fetch digging my eyes out of my head?’
Callum laughed. ‘Sure you’ll be OK?’
‘I’ll be fine.’ She gave a quick wave, took a deep breath and then set off down the road towards Gran’s cottage. Callum watched until she was out of sight, and then he turned towards Church Lane.
*
As Callum let himself through the gate, the evening was already drawing in and the churchyard was in shadow. Jacob and Doom were waiting for him in their usual spot beneath the yew at the far end of the cemetery. Jacob tilted his head slightly in greeting and, without a sound, Doom stalked to Callum’s side to lead him into the ruined church.