by Holly Rivers
‘What is this?’ asked Demelza, reaching for a piece and popping it into her mouth.
Grandma Maeve smiled. ‘This, my dear, is one of our oldest recipes. It’s what us Spectre Detectors call Bread of the Dead, and it’s a very special food indeed.’
‘Yuuuuuck!’ Demelza nearly spat out her mouthful. ‘You mean . . . it’s made from dead people?’
Grandma Maeve chuckled. ‘Oh no, don’t be daft! It’s just a symbolic name. It’s called Bread of the Dead because we eat it to remember everyone who has passed.’
Demelza let out a sigh of relief as she took another piece of the loaf and contemplated a plate of familiar-looking chocolates, but as she spotted the trays of ladyfingers on the next table she could only hope that their name was purely symbolic too.
As the night progressed, the clearing filled with music. A small band of spectres played jigs on fiddles, bells and whistles and the crowd danced merrily around the bonfire. Flagons of Howling Jack – a honey mead so strong that even the tiniest whiff was enough to make Demelza dizzy – were passed around and swigged in abundance. Grandma Maeve must have had at least a litre’s worth, and soon enough she’d flung her walking stick into the trees as she and Demelza tapped their feet to the music.
‘I think I’ll just go and get some more pudding, Grandma,’ Demelza said after a particularly fast-paced dance led by the spectre of an ancient samurai warrior named Toyotomi. ‘This dancing malarkey is hungry work!’
‘That’s your third helping, ain’t it?’ said Grandma Maeve, ruffling her granddaughter’s hair. ‘But I suppose it’s good to see a young girl with such an appetite. Be quick, though, and come straight back.’
‘Will do!’ said Demelza, and off she skipped across the clearing to the dessert table. She was just picking up a bowl of delicious-looking treacle sponge and custard when something caught her eye. Over in the trees at the edge of the clearing, branches were stirring and an owl suddenly launched from its nest with a shrill hoot.
There was a flash of movement.
A crunch of footsteps.
A cough.
Demelza edged forward, and as she squinted through the darkness, her dessert bowl fell from her fingertips.
Even though the trees were shrouded in shadow, the light spilling from the bonfire was just enough to illuminate a pair of eyes hidden under a pointed hood.
Someone was watching.
CHAPTER 18
Firecrackers
With her heart in her throat, Demelza careered back across the clearing as quick as a flash. Even though she hadn’t seen the watcher, it had to be the Snatcher. Ms Cardinal had followed them here, just as she’d feared!
Not daring to look back even for a second, Demelza bounded over to Grandma Maeve, breathless. ‘Grandma, Grandma!’ she panted, tugging at the old woman’s cloak. ‘Over there! Look!’
‘Excuse me, young lady!’ snapped Grandma Maeve. ‘What have I told you about interruptin’ when I’m in the middle of talking to someone? It’s very rude!’ She turned back to the spectre of the wild-haired cave woman who floated beside her. ‘I’m sorry about that, Edwina, you were saying . . . ?’
‘Grandma, you don’t understand!’ Demelza persisted. She snatched a quick glance to the edge of the clearing, and to her horror the hooded figure was still there. ‘We’re being watched! In the trees! I think it’s the Snatcher!’
Grandma Maeve turned with a huff. ‘Demelza, if this is one of your practical jokes I’ll—’
She didn’t finish her sentence.
As she clocked what Demelza was pointing at, a sharp gasp came from behind her golden mask. ‘Demelza, wait here and don’t move!’ she ordered, and within an instant she’d run into the crowd and was screaming at the top of her voice. ‘Intruder! Intruder!’ she cried, her arms flailing in the air. ‘Intruder in the trees!’
All around, faces were suddenly awash with panic. Within seconds, the clearing was a whirlwind of Spectre Detectors, all packing up their possessions and trying to locate family members and friends. People began to copy Grandma Maeve’s words and soon shouts of ‘Intruder’ echoed around the clearing.
Caught up in the scramble of arms and legs, Demelza looked around, not knowing what to do. This was all her fault. She’d caused all of this!
‘Spectre Detectors!’ bellowed the Sage she’d seen earlier. He’d climbed atop a table near the bonfire and was striking the wood with his foot. ‘Pack up your things immediately and leave not a speck of evidence! Keep your apprentices close! Spectres, return to the Quietus!’
The sound of feet trampling across the cold ground rang through the air as Spectre Detectors fled in all directions, like a colony of ants. Spectres began to disappear too, speeding off through the trees like bright white comets.
It was then that Demelza heard the scream.
She spun around and saw the hooded figure pelting across the clearing with something bundled under its arm. Demelza pushed her way through the moving throng of people and gasped. The something was a child – an apprentice Spectre Detector, probably only a little younger than herself! Her hair was red and curly, and her mask had fallen from her face, revealing pale, freckled skin. She was writhing around and yelping in fright.
Demelza scanned the jostling crowd for assistance, trying to catch someone’s attention, but it was a tornado of chaos. Grandma Maeve was nowhere to be seen either. ‘Help!’ she called into the crowd, but under the tumult of the exodus, her cries were useless.
What now? She couldn’t leave the young girl in the hands of Ms Cardinal! In the hands of a potential killer! She had to do something, and fast.
Demelza set her jaw and pushed her way through the stampede. With no time to lose she grabbed one of the lanterns from the base of the bonfire. It was crackling and hissing ferociously now, smoke twisting from its flames in dark feathery fronds. Demelza took a deep breath, and sheltering the lantern from the wind, pelted as fast as she could in the direction of the hooded figure.
Across the grass she ran, the night wind whipping through her hair. At first, Ms Cardinal’s strides were long and fast, but the weight of the struggling girl began to slow her down. It didn’t take Demelza long to catch up, and soon she was only a few metres away.
But what now? There was no way she could bring down an adult all on her own. Especially one whose favourite pastime was murdering young Spectre Detectors . . .
But then she remembered!
Still running, she reached to the bottom of her satchel and pulled out one of her Fantastic Fizzing Firecrackers. Its cylindrical shape was smooth in her palm, and with a trembling hand she held its wick to the flame of her lantern. It ignited in a flash of sherbet-like orange, and with all the strength she could muster, Demelza propelled it through the night air.
BOOOOM!
It landed at Ms Cardinal’s feet, exploding with a crackling shower of sparks. She fell to the ground, the young Detector tumbling from her grip.
‘Quick!’ shrieked Demelza, beckoning to the girl frantically as Ms Cardinal lay, dazed. ‘Get over here! Run!’
With tears and snot streaming down her face, the girl scampered through the grass on her hands and knees. She cowered behind Demelza, trembling uncontrollably.
‘What’s your name?’ asked Demelza, not taking her eyes off Ms Cardinal for a second.
‘It’s . . . it’s Hazel,’ sobbed the girl.
‘OK, Hazel, don’t worry. My name’s Demelza. You’re safe with me. No one’s going to hurt you now.’
But Ms Cardinal had already begun to stir, and was pulling herself up. As she looked around for an escape route, Demelza stepped forward. ‘Don’t move!’ she hollered, trying to sound as fearless as she could. ‘I know who you are! I have more explosives and I’m not afraid to use them!’
Just as she was reaching into her satchel for another firecracker, she was jostled out of the way. Two burly Spectre Detectors in bronze masks came rushing past, each yielding flaming torches. Ms Cardinal instantly s
tarted to run away.
‘STAY WHERE YOU ARE!’ shouted one of the Spectre Detectors.
‘YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS!’ bellowed the other.
As they gave chase and disappeared into the darkness, Demelza dropped to the floor. She gulped in deep lungfuls of air, trying to calm herself. This had all been her fault. She’d led Ms Cardinal to the biggest gathering of Spectre Detectors, and a young girl had almost been taken as a result. She was in so much trouble.
Hazel pulled her knees into her chest, shivering.
‘Are you OK?’ asked Demelza, taking off her coat and wrapping it around the girl’s shoulders.
Hazel nodded. ‘Y-y-yes, I think so. Thank you for helping me.’
Demelza smiled. ‘Well, us redheads have to stick together!’ she said, nodding to Hazel’s curly auburn hair, which was nearly the same shade as her own.
‘There they are!’ came a sudden shout from behind them. ‘I see them!’
The girls turned to find a group of Spectre Detectors hurrying towards them, led by the Spectral Sage Demelza had seen earlier and a woman wearing a carved bone mask.
‘Mummy!’ squealed Hazel, leaping to her feet and tossing Demelza her coat.
The woman ran forward with arms outstretched, scooping her daughter into her bosom.
Hazel began to cry again, clutching tightly to her mother’s neck like a bear cub.
‘Oh, my precious girl,’ said her mother, stroking her daughter’s face and wiping away her tears. ‘Shhh, shhh, don’t worry. Mummy’s here now. Daddy too.’ After a few moments Hazel’s mother passed her daughter to her husband and turned to Demelza. ‘My dear girl, thank you so much! You saved our daughter’s life! How can we ever repay you?’
‘It’s . . . it’s OK,’ replied Demelza, suddenly lost for words. She shrugged on her coat and fiddled with the cuff. ‘Anyone would have done the same. It was nothing.’
‘Nothing? NOTHING?’
Grandma Maeve came striding forward, her voice harsh and her body visibly shaking. ‘Demelza, what on earth was you thinkin’, runnin’ off like that? You could have been killed!’
‘I-I-’ stuttered Demelza, a tightness spreading across her chest. ‘I thought that it was the right thing to do. I thought that—’
‘You didn’t think! That’s the problem! YOU DIDN’T THINK AT ALL!’ Grandma Maeve burst into tears, her masked face falling into her hands. ‘Don’t you ever, ever do anything like that again, you hear me? I was so frightened. I thought I was gonna lose you.’
Demelza looked to the ground. ‘I’m sorry, Grandma. I just wanted to help. That girl was terrified. I couldn’t leave her.’
Grandma Maeve sighed deeply as she drew Demelza apart from the rest of the group. ‘I know, my darlin’. And you was ever so brave. But that person was the Snatcher – did you think you could fight them on your own?’
Demelza ran her hands through her hair. Even though she knew it would mean getting into lots more trouble, she couldn’t keep her suspicions quiet any longer. She had to tell Grandma Maeve about Ms Cardinal. She’d waited too long already.
‘Grandma, I think I know who it was,’ she began.
‘Oh?’ said Grandma Maeve. ‘You managed to get a glimpse of them?’
‘No, but I think . . .’ Demelza faltered, not knowing how to come out with it. ‘I think it’s Ms Cardinal.’
Grandma Maeve scoffed. ‘Oh, Demelza, don’t be ridiculous! This ain’t no time for larkin’ around.’
‘I’m serious!’ protested Demelza. ‘Ms Cardinal got hold of my notebook in assembly yesterday and saw some doodles that I’d done of the summoning chamber. Then later on I heard her talking about me on the phone, saying something about finally getting what she wanted. She must have followed us here. I’m sorry, I should have told you earlier, I know.’
Grandma Maeve’s eyes widened and Demelza braced herself, expecting the worst. She’d have her soldering iron confiscated, there’d be no more pancakes for breakfast, and worst of all, she’d let her grandma down.
But the old woman put a hand on Demelza’s shoulder and smiled. ‘My darlin’, I appreciate you tellin’ me all this, but that definitely wasn’t Ms Cardinal out there. I know she’s a bit of an old battleaxe but she ain’t a kidnapper. And you ain’t exactly a model student – she was probably talking about you to another teacher or somethin’.’
Demelza frowned, confused. ‘But, Grandma, the things she was saying, she—’
‘She ain’t our culprit,’ Grandma Maeve cut in. ‘That vivid imagination of yours has been workin’ in overdrive again. Now come on, let’s get you home. It’s been a long night.’
Demelza sighed, and as they trekked back through the forest with some of the other Spectre Detectors, she couldn’t help thinking about Grandma Maeve’s reaction to her revelation. Why hadn’t she taken it seriously? She ran through the conversation she’d overheard again and again. Ms Cardinal had definitely been talking about spectre detecting. She had definitely said, ‘I’ve waited years for this and now I might finally get what I want.’
It wasn’t just her imagination. She knew it wasn’t.
CHAPTER 19
Boris and Gregor
Demelza awoke with Grandma Maeve’s hands on her shoulders, shaking her from her sleep. ‘Demelza, you have to get up!’ she hissed. ‘Quickly, out of bed!’
Demelza rubbed her eyes. The blurry shape of her grandmother was standing over her. She was in her nightdress, a candle illuminating a face full of panic.
‘Grandma . . .’ Demelza groaned, putting on her spectacles before looking at her bedside clock. It was 4.15 a.m. ‘What’s wrong?.’
Grandma shot a glance towards the attic window and brought her voice down to an urgent whisper. ‘Someone’s tryin’ to get in. We have to hide!’
‘What? Who is it?’
‘Demelza, there’s no time for questions,’ Grandma insisted, backing towards the attic door. ‘We could be in danger! Now come on!’
With adrenalin suddenly shooting through her veins, Demelza jumped out of bed. Was it the Snatcher? Had Ms Cardinal followed them home from the Dance with Death?
She quickly pulled Archimedes from his cage, the little mouse wriggling as he was put into her pyjama pocket.
Demelza scampered downstairs behind Grandma Maeve, and on the landing the pair knelt down and peered through the wooden spindles of the bannister. Demelza’s body stiffened in an instant. Through the smoked glass of the front door she could see two shadowy figures walking up the garden path. Had Ms Cardinal brought someone with her?
‘Grandma, what shall we do?’ she whispered.
‘You need to hide, quickly!’ hissed Grandma Maeve. She handed Demelza her candle and pointed downstairs. ‘Hide somewhere in the summoning chamber and don’t come out until I say so.’
‘But, Grandma, what about you? I can’t leave you here—’
‘Don’t worry about me,’ interrupted Grandma. She put a trembling hand on Demelza’s shoulder and looked deep into her eyes. ‘I’ll come and join you, don’t worry. But if this is the Snatcher, then I need to try and get a glimpse of them.’
The latch of the front door began to rattle. There was the pounding of fists on the glass. A heavily booted foot kicked against the front door . . .
‘Go!’ hissed Grandma Maeve. ‘Go now!’
Demelza jumped to her feet. She had no choice but to follow Grandma’s order.
With rasping breath, she ripped down the staircase, through the kitchen and out into the garden. The night was bitter and she could feel the dampness of dew seeping through her bed socks as she ran. Archimedes had curled himself up into a ball in her breast pocket and his tiny heart was pounding next to hers.
Demelza fled through the trapdoor, pulling it closed behind her. Inside the summoning chamber she looked around frantically for somewhere to hide. She moved her candle around, using its pale glow as a spotlight.
Under the table?
Behind a cabinet?
&
nbsp; No, too obvious!
Her only hope was to tuck herself away inside the pantry at the back of the room and pray that in the darkness its door wouldn’t be visible. She took a quick look over her shoulder before scampering inside, leaving the door ajar just enough to hear if anyone was coming.
It was stifling inside, the heady scent of Grandma’s spices, herbs and balsams oppressively potent. Demelza sank into a corner and held her knees close to her chest. She could feel her pulse racing. She hated not having her satchel full of inventions with her – she felt unprotected, unprepared. Why hadn’t she picked it up?
Trying to calm herself, she started to count the number of cinnamon sticks in a large jar in front of her. One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . .
Would she be found down here?
Five . . . six . . . seven . . .
Would she be kidnapped?
Eight . . . nine . . . ten—
A crashing sound erupted from the greenhouse above. Feet hammered across the floor and Demelza could hear the muffled din of deep male voices. Who were they? She couldn’t make out what they were saying but they sounded angry, and she snuffed out her candle in anticipation of them venturing downstairs.
‘Oi! Gregor, over here!’ came a grunt from above. ‘Look what I’ve found! It’s a trapdoor!’
Demelza gasped in horror. They’d discovered the summoning chamber!
All of a sudden there was the clang of boots on metal, and as softly as she could, Demelza shuffled towards the crack in the cupboard door. Grandma Maeve might have told her to hide, but she wanted to see who these men were. She needed to. Were they working for Ms Cardinal?
With terror rippling through her, she watched as an ape-like figure lowered himself through the hatch, followed by another man, slightly smaller in stature. When they reached the bottom of the ladder they flicked on their torches, and Demelza winced as their faces were uplit, like something out of a nightmare.
The taller man was bald with a neck as thick as a tree trunk, and his arms bulged from his shirt like slabs of sinewy roast meat. His face was pock-marked and two sharp snaggle teeth protruded over his upper lip, like those of a rottweiler. The other man was shorter but no less frightening, with greasy hair and eyes so bloodshot that the whites were almost completely red. There was mushed-up food stuck in his teeth.