But as we began our descent through the trees towards the north pasture, what I saw was more a cause for wonder than fear. There were campfires to the south of the farm – a dozen or more – and smells of wood smoke and cooking were in the air. Who were those people camping in Jack's fields? I knew he wouldn't welcome strangers on his farm so I wondered if it had something to do with Mam.
But I'd little time to think about that because I sensed at once that she was home already. Faint brown smoke was rising from the chimney into the blue sky and I felt the warmth of her presence. Somehow I just knew that she was back!
'Mam's here now – I'm sure of it!' I told the Spook, my eyes glistening with tears. I'd missed her so much and couldn't wait to see her again.
'Aye, lad, maybe you're right. You go down and say hello. You'll have a lot to talk about and be wanting some privacy. I'll wait up here.'
I smiled, nodded and ran down the wooded slope towards the new barn. But before I could reach the farmyard, my brother Jack came round the corner into my path. The last time I'd seen him he'd been seriously ill after being beaten to within an inch of his life by the witches who had raided the farm and stolen Mam's trunks. Now he was tanned by the sun and looked strong and healthy again, his eyebrows bushier than ever. He gripped me in a bear hug and almost squeezed the breath from my body.
'Good to see you, Tom!' he exclaimed, holding me at arm's length and smiling broadly.
'It's great to see you fit and well, Jack,' I told him.
'And no little thanks to you. Ellie told me everything. I'd be six feet under now if it wasn't for you.'
Together with Alice I'd helped to rescue Jack and his family from Malkin Tower.
'Mam's back already, isn't she?' I asked excitedly.
Jack nodded but the smile slipped from his face. There was a certain uneasiness; a hint of uncertainty and sadness in his expression.
'Yes, she's back, Tom, and she's really looking forward to seeing you again, but I have to warn you that she's changed—'
'Changed? What do you mean, changed?'
'At first I hardly recognized her. She has a wildness about her – especially her eyes. And she looks younger, as if she's cast off the years. I know that doesn't seem possible but it's true . . .'
Although I didn't say anything to Jack, I knew only too well that this might well be the case. Human rules of ageing didn't apply to lamia witches. As the Spook's Bestiary had explained, there are two forms for a lamia, and they slowly change from one to the other. Mam was possibly slowly shape-shifting her way back to her feral state. It was a disturbing and scary possibility. Not something I wanted to think about too much.
'Tom – you know all about these things because of your line of work . . . could she be a changeling?' Jack asked anxiously, his face suddenly full of fear and doubt. 'Anything could have happened while she's been in Greece. Maybe she's been captured by goblin folk and replaced with one of their own?'
'No, Jack. Of course not,' I reassured him. 'There's no such thing as goblin folk. It's just a superstition. So don't you worry about that. I'm sure it's just the warm Greek weather agreeing with her. I'll go and see her and we'll talk later. Where's James?'
'James is busy. He's making more money with the forge than I am with the farm at the moment. But I'm sure he'll find time for his youngest brother.'
James was living here now and helping Jack out with the chores, but by trade he was a blacksmith. It sounded like his new business was shaping up to be a real success.
'Who are all those people camping in the south meadow?' I asked, remembering the fires I'd seen as we'd descended Hangman's Hill.
Jack scowled at me and shook his head angrily. 'You'd better ask Mam that question!' he retorted. 'But I tell you – they have no right to be here. No right at all! Witches from Pendle, they are. And to think they're camping in my field after all that happened last year.'
Witches? If indeed they were, I could hardly blame him for being angry. The Pendle witches had put Jack and his family through hell last year. With that in mind, why would Mam allow them so close to the farm?
I shrugged at Jack and set off across the farmyard.
Just behind the barn, facing the rear of the house, I saw a new building – and James, working at his forge within, his back to me. Just outside in the yard, a farmer was holding the reins of a horse waiting to be shod. I almost called across to James but I couldn't wait to see Mam.
As I approached the house, I was surprised to see Mam's climbing rose bush in flower. Last time I'd been here it had looked dead – the blackened and withered stems had been ripped from the wall when the Fiend attacked the house in his attempt to kill me. Now there were new green shoots climbing up the stones and a few roses were in bloom, gleaming a bright County red in the sunshine.
I paused at the back door and rapped lightly on the wood. I'd been born and brought up in this farmhouse but it was now no longer my home and it was polite to knock.
'Come in, son,' Mam called, and at the sound of her voice my eyes watered and a lump filled my throat.
How I'd missed her! I stepped into the kitchen and we were suddenly face to face.
She was perched on a stool, stirring the big pot of lamb stew that simmered over the fire. As usual, the curtains were drawn to keep out the sunlight, but even in the gloom, when she got to her feet and took a step towards me, I could see what Jack had meant when he said she'd changed.
Her smile was warm but her face was a little gaunt, her cheekbones more prominent than before. Her black hair was no longer streaked with grey and she really did look younger than when I'd last seen her eighteen months earlier. But in her eyes I saw a wildness; an anxious, haunted look.
'Ah, son . . .' she said, and she put her arms around me and pulled me close. Her warmth enfolded me and I sobbed deep in my throat.
Holding me at arm's length, she shook her head. 'Sit yourself down, son, and be strong. It's good to be together again, but we've lots to say to each other and we both need clear heads.'
I nodded and sat down facing her across the hearth, waiting to hear what she had to say. I desperately wanted to ask her about Alice and whether she might be the Fiend's daughter, but Mam's business had to come first. It must be important to bring her all the way back to the County for this meeting.
'How have you been, Tom? And how's your master?'
'Fine, Mam. Fine. We're both fit and well. How about you? How did you get on in Greece?'
'It's been hard, son . . .'
Mam caught her breath and I saw the emotion in her face. For a moment I thought she was too upset to speak, but then she took a deep breath and her manner became businesslike.
'I'll come directly to the point. I've already visited Malkin Tower in Pendle and collected the bags of money that were in the trunks I gave you. Originally I meant them for you, to help your own cause here in the County, but things have taken a turn for the worse in my own land. Things are critical . . . I desperately need that money now to finance what must be done to avert a terrible disaster. Are you happy to surrender it back into my keeping?'
'Of course, Mam! It's yours anyway. Just do what you think best. Is it to help your struggle against the Ordeen?'
'It is, son. It is. Did your master tell you what we face back in Greece?'
'He doesn't know much about the Ordeen. He was hoping that you'd fill in the gaps in our knowledge. He's waiting up on Hangman's Hill to allow us some private time together, but he wants to talk to you later.'
'Well, I can do that for him at least – though I fear that when we've talked, things may not be so easy between us. Your master is a good man with high principles: he won't be able to condone what I plan to do. But we'll have to see. Perhaps he'll realize that it really is for the best. Which brings me to the second thing I'd like to ask you. I need you, son. I need you to return to Greece with me and help me to fight the dark there. Others will help too, but you have a special strength that might really make a difference an
d turn things in our favour. If I could avoid this, I would, but I have to ask. Will you come back to my homeland with me?'
I was astonished. My duty was to the County, and Mam's wish had always been for me to become a spook's apprentice. But if she needed help elsewhere, how could I refuse?
'Of course I'll go, Mam. But will Mr Gregory be coming too? Or will I have to stop being his apprentice for a while?'
'I sincerely hope he'll journey with us, son. But that must be for him to decide. I simply can't predict how he'll react.'
'What are you planning?' I asked. 'What do you need the money for?'
'All will be revealed in good time,' Mam told me, and I knew now was not the time to press her further.
'Mam, there's one other thing I have to ask you,' I said. 'It's about Alice . . .'
I saw the expression on Mam's face change. One moment it had been stern and businesslike. Now it suddenly softened, and sadness filled her eyes. Even before I asked the question, I feared the worst.
'The Fiend told me that Alice is his daughter. He's lying, isn't he, Mam? Surely it can't be true, can it?'
Mam looked at me and I saw her eyes brim with tears. 'This time he isn't lying, son. It hurts me to say it because I know how much you care about Alice. But it's true. She is one of the Devil's daughters.'
My heart sank.
'That doesn't mean she's doomed to belong to the dark, son. There's a chance of redemption for us all. A chance to be saved. Alice has that opportunity too . . .'
'How long have you known?' I asked quietly. Her confirmation hadn't shocked me. I think that, deep down, I'd known it was true.
'Since the moment I first saw her, son, when you brought her here to the farm.'
'You knew then, Mam? And yet you kept it from me?'
She nodded.
'But there were things you said. Things that don't make any sense now – that Alice and I were the future and hope of the County and that my master would need us both at his side. Why did you say that?'
Mam got to her feet again, put her hands on my shoulders and looked straight into my eyes, her expression firm but kind. 'What I said then, I still stand by. Alice cares a lot for you, and it's that affection that's kept her safe from the clutches of the dark this far.'
'Alice contacted me just a few days ago. Warned me that a maenad assassin was in the Spook's garden. But for her, I'd be dead now.'
I saw the alarm in Mam's face; the fear in her eyes.
'A maenad? I knew they were aware of the new threat I pose . . .' she muttered, straightening. 'But I hadn't expected them to know about you and send one of their number across the sea to the County. Darkness clouds my foresight. Things I would once have known are obscured, and it's happening at the worst time possible . . .' She looked really worried.
'Although the maenad came from Greece, Mam, I could hardly understand a single word she said.'
'There are many dialects in that land. But her killing frenzy wouldn't have helped. Talking to a maenad is difficult because they're creatures of emotion rather than intellect. They listen only to their own inner voice. But never underestimate them. They're a powerful group because they exist in great numbers.
'Anyway, we must be grateful to Alice for saving your life. Once she accepts that her birth doesn't necessarily mean she is destined to become a malevolent witch, Alice may prove a formidable adversary for her own father. Together the two of you might just manage to finally defeat him.'
'Together? Mr Gregory will never agree to that.'
'I fear you may be right, son. And neither will he find it easy to accept what I plan to do . . .' Once again she stopped short of telling me about her intentions.
Why was she holding back?
'There are campfires in the southern meadow,' I said, staring hard into Mam's face. 'Jack says they're witches from Pendle. That can't be true, can it, Mam?'
'Aye, Tom. It's true. We need them, son. We need their help.'
'Witches, Mam? We've made an alliance with witches?' The enormity of what Mam had done began to sink in. I dreaded to think what the Spook's reaction would be.
'I know you'll find it hard because of what your master's taught you,' Mam said, laying a hand on my shoulder, 'but we can't win without them. It's as simple as that. And we have to win, we really do. We have to defeat the Ordeen. We cannot afford to lose. If we do, not only the County but the whole world will be at risk. You go and bring your master down to see me. Then keep out of the way while I try to talk him round.'
I did as Mam asked – went up to Hangman's Hill and told the Spook that she wanted to speak to him. I revealed no more than that, but perhaps my master read something in my face, for, as he walked down towards the farm, he looked far from happy.
Leaving him in the kitchen with Mam, I headed towards a small rise from where I could look down upon the campfires of the witches in the southern pasture. The smell of cooking wafted towards me on the breeze – rabbit stew. Folk in the County were short of food and rabbits had been hunted so much that their populations were depleted and they were now hard to find. But no doubt our visitors from Pendle had their own dark methods . . .
I thought back over my own dealings with witches and shuddered with horror. I remembered being trapped in a pit while Bony Lizzie sharpened her knives as she prepared to cut the bones from my living body. Then there was that awful moment when Mab Mouldheel had held a knife to little Mary's throat, clearly prepared to kill her had I not surrendered the keys to Mam's trunks.
Malevolent witches were ruthless creatures of the dark who killed innocents to use their blood or bones in their magical rituals. So the Ordeen must be terrible indeed if Mam was prepared to forge an alliance with such evil beings. But could I blame her? I too had been forced to compromise by fighting alongside Grimalkin to defeat Morwena and a host of water witches.
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the back door slamming, and then I saw the Spook striding across the yard, his face like thunder. I ran towards him but he scowled and turned north before I reached his side.
'Follow me, lad – we need to talk!' he snapped over his shoulder as he set off towards Hangman's Hill. After crossing the north pasture, he paused at the border of Jack's farm and turned to face me.
'What's wrong?' I asked, by now thoroughly alarmed. I was sure that the discussion with Mam had gone badly.
'What's wrong? Everything, lad. Just about everything! You know my feelings about using the dark. It just can't be done. You can't make alliances with witches and suchlike and hope to avoid being contaminated and drawn towards the dark yourself. Above all, lad, you can't risk it. That's exactly what the Fiend wants, as I've told you often enough. So you've got an important decision to make. Think it over very carefully—'
'Think what over?'
'What your mam's proposing. Going to Greece, joining forces with witches and . . . well . . . I'll let her tell you herself. I can't do it – the words would choke in my throat. I'm going straight back to Chipenden now. If you're not back within three days I'll know that you're following your mam's wishes. In that case your apprenticeship with me is over!'
'Please!' I called, following him across the boundary. 'Don't go. Can't we talk about it?'
'Talk? What is there to talk about? Your mam's made an alliance with the Pendle witches. It's as plain as the nose on your face. So think on, lad, and make your choice. I've already made mine!'
So saying, he turned, climbed over the fence and set off up the hill without a backward glance. I watched him disappear amongst the trees, hardly able to believe what he'd just said. He was ending my apprenticeship? How could he do that after all we'd been through together? I felt shocked, hurt and angry. I didn't deserve that.
The Spook's Sacrifice Page 3