The Last Apprentice: Complete Collection

by Joseph Delaney

  There was something else that was even more worrying. Mistress Fresque had said that she had been ordered to lure us to this place—commanded by others who could summon a being so powerful that it could “obliterate her in an instant.” What could that be? Had there been anything about such an entity in the Spook’s Bestiary? I could not recall it. Romania had seemed so far away, and I could not believe that its denizens of the dark posed much of a threat. Consequently I had read the entries fast, skimming the information rather than absorbing it properly for future use. I shook my head, annoyed with myself. From now on I must become more thorough and think and act like a spook rather than an apprentice.

  Now I was approaching the dark tunnel of trees once more. I hadn’t taken a dozen paces along the path when I heard those disturbing noises to my right.

  I stopped, and whatever it was stopped too, but I could still hear slow, heavy breathing. I had a choice: either I could continue along the path until I reached the front door of the strigoica’s residence, or I could stop and deal with this creature once and for all.

  Without delay, I drew my sword. Instantly the ruby eyes of the Destiny Blade began to glow red, illuminating what I faced. A huge bear was lumbering toward me on all fours. All at once it stood up on its hind legs, towering over me, and for the first time I saw its claws clearly. They resembled long, curved daggers and looked razor-sharp, capable of tearing human flesh to shreds. The bear was immensely powerful and could no doubt crush the life out of me in seconds. It opened its mouth wide and roared, saliva dripping from its teeth, the stench of its hot breath washing over me. I raised the sword, ready to meet its advance.

  Then, suddenly, I had another idea.

  I retreated three steps, until I was standing on the path once more. Instantly the bear dropped back onto all fours. It regarded me intently but did not attack. I remembered the warning I’d been given—not to stray from the path because of bears. So was I safe if I remained on the path? I wondered.

  I sheathed the sword and began to walk toward the house again. The bear followed but made no move to attack me. It must be some sort of guardian, patrolling the grounds of the house for Mistress Fresque, just as the Spook’s boggart had once guarded his garden at Chipenden. And then a word dropped into my head: moroi!

  Mistress Fresque had told me that they’d fed the Spook’s body to a moroi. I vaguely remembered reading about them in my master’s Bestiary. They were vampiric elemental spirits that sometimes lived inside hollow trees. But they could possess animals, bears being their favorite host. They hunted humans and crushed them to death before dragging them back to their lair. Direct sunlight could destroy them, so they weren’t seen abroad during daylight hours. Then I remembered something else: a moroi was often controlled by a strigoi and a strigoica. So my guess had been correct. Mistress Fresque was using the elemental as a guard.

  But why didn’t it attack those who used the path? The answer came to me in a flash of insight. It was because the path itself didn’t need guarding. Anyone using the path would be instantly known to those within the house. And it provided a safe route for anyone who was welcome there.

  I realized that there was no need to fight the moroi. I had numerous other enemies waiting for me inside the house. I’d be safe as long as I stuck to the path, so I might as well save my strength. I hurried on, and as I neared the house I heard the bear move off into the trees.

  The door was open, so I drew my sword and stepped inside. I didn’t bother with my tinderbox and candle this time—I was ready to face my enemies. My courage was high, and that was enough to cause the ruby eyes of the Destiny Blade to flicker into life, then cast a red beam to illuminate the passage.

  I passed through the second doorway, expecting to see the dilapidated library empty of books and curtained with cobwebs. Instead, dozens of red orbs gleamed in the darkness.

  For a second I thought they were pairs of eyes—creatures of the dark preparing to attack. But then I realized that I was staring at reflections of myself—or, rather, of the ruby eyes of the sword hilt. Gone was the library; I was in a hall of mirrors, each set within an ornate iron frame and at least three times my size.

  I took a careful step into the chamber, and then another. The mirrors all faced me, set one behind the other like a pack of cards spread out against the walls on either side. At first they all reflected my image in the same way. I was looking at a young man wearing the hooded gown of a spook’s apprentice, but instead of holding the customary staff, he was crouching down with a sword held in both hands, ready to attack.

  Then, as I watched, the surfaces of the mirrors flickered and the images began to change. Now cruel, hostile faces peered out at me as if about to leap out and devour me on the spot. Some seemed to be chanting; others opened their mouths as if uttering bestial growls. But they were merely images, and the atrium was absolutely silent. Then I did hear a noise, and I whirled around, expecting to see some dangerous creature. But it was just a mouse that twitched its tail and scurried off into the darkness.

  I turned back to face the mirrors, took a deep breath, and studied the images. There were fierce women, their hair tangled with thorns; grim, cadaverous faces; things that had surely crawled straight out of the tomb. Were they strigoica? If so, why had they not chosen younger hosts like Mistress Fresque? All had one thing in common: their lips were red with blood. I wondered if they were some other type of dark creature. They reminded me of witches.

  One thing I was sure of: I was no longer afraid. I was angry! Fearsome eyes had peered at me from mirrors before. I only wished that the ones here had substance so that I could strike them down with my blade. I did the next best thing—it achieved little but gave vent to my fury and made me feel better.

  I laid about me with the hilt of my sword, stepping forward and twisting left, right, and left again, to smash each mirror as I passed. There was the crash and then a tinkle of breaking glass, shards of it exploding upward to fall like silver at my feet; each glittering image was replaced by darkness. Soon the last mirror was shattered, and still the ruby eyes of the Destiny Blade glowed red. But when I stepped beyond the dark, empty frame of that final mirror, I was filled with dismay.

  Instead of the door that opened onto the cellar steps, there was just a blank wall. I had been prepared to fight my way down there to release my master from his torment. If necessary, I would have given my life to do so.

  But I had been wrong about the house. I had assumed that its true condition was revealed during the hours of darkness. I knew now that the magic employed was more complicated than that. The house could change and change again. My master’s remains were now hidden; I had no way of freeing him.

  Baffled and angry, I turned and retraced my steps. I left the shape-shifting house and followed the path down through the trees. This time the bear possessed by the moroi did not approach me. I wandered through the streets but did not cross the river, instead sitting among the trees by the bridge.

  A sword or staff could be used to fight enemies once they were before you, but such weapons were useless to me at the moment. I needed to use my brain. I needed to think.

  However, this had become impossible. Emotions were churning within me at the thought of the terrible state my master had been reduced to. I couldn’t dispel the image of his severed head. Every time I closed my eyes, it returned to haunt me. My chest felt tight, and I struggled to hold back the tears. John Gregory didn’t deserve to end his life in this way. I had to help. I had to do something to save him from that.

  Restless, I came to my feet. I’d been up on the moors to the west of Todmorden, but not on this side. It might help to find a vantage point above this part of the town. Was there another approach to the house—perhaps another entrance? I wondered. Or maybe another building I hadn’t seen where my master was being kept now?

  I walked back through the narrow streets and then found a track that led straight up the hill. Soon I was walking beneath trees; at last I came to a fi
ve-barred gate. I climbed over and continued up through pastureland, heading north until I found myself at a point high on the moor’s edge.

  I had chosen an excellent spot. The sky was clear and the stars were out, so there was just enough light to see by. Far below, I could see the lane that led up to Mistress Fresque’s house, which was hidden beneath the trees—I could learn nothing more of that from here. There was no other path to the house, just dense foliage crowding in on it from every side.

  I searched lower. Nothing moved; the streets were empty, the dwellings huddled together as if for protection—but then I noticed other large houses on the hillside, each surrounded by trees.

  Were these the dwellings of other strigoi and strigoica? I counted them carefully. There were at least thirty, with others perhaps hidden beneath the trees. I waited and watched. At one point an owl hooted, to be answered by the roar of a bear somewhere in the forest. The wind was getting up, a ridge of cloud blowing in from the west, obscuring the stars one by one. It was growing darker; now the houses were barely visible. But suddenly I noticed a thin column of yellow light extending up from the ground, high into the sky. As I watched, the light grew brighter and changed color, becoming first purple, then a dark red.

  What was its source? It was emanating from a dense clump of trees some way from the nearest of the buildings. It was then that I saw the first yellow orb of light soar upward from the house east of there. It was immediately followed by a second, then a third glowing sphere. Each made its first appearance directly above one of the large houses. I counted quickly. There were nine in total, gathering together to form a group of dancing orbs that circled the column of dark red light. They moved like summer midges, hovering, then darting around to exchange places.

  Suddenly it felt as if something had reached into my mind and tugged hard. It happened again, and with that strange tug I felt an overwhelming compulsion to walk toward the glowing orbs. I gave a gasp of fear and lurched to my feet in terror. I had seen such entities before—I knew what they were and the terrible danger that they represented.

  They were Romanian witches, who lived isolated lives, and in human shape did not usually form covens like other types of witches. These were their souls, projected from their bodies using animism magic; it was only in this way that they ever gathered together. According to my master’s Bestiary, unlike the other dark Romanian entities, they didn’t drink human blood. But, when in the form of orbs, if they encountered a human they could drain his animus, his life force, in seconds. It was a quick and certain death. I could feel their power. They knew that I had traveled to Todmorden with my master and was still somewhere in the vicinity. However, they didn’t know my precise whereabouts and were trying to summon me, using dark magic.

  At first it was like strange powerful music inside my head. It reminded me of the sirens off the coast of Greece, who had used their melodious cries to lure our ship onto the rocks. I had managed to resist them—a seventh son of a seventh son possesses some immunity against witches and other entities of the dark. Now I did the same until the music inside my head eventually faded and ceased altogether.

  Maybe they sensed my increasing strength, because next the lure became visual. The spheres of light moved more rapidly, pulsing and changing color in an ever more complex dance, and I felt my will slipping away, my mind like a moth drawn toward the candle flame that would consume it.

  I crouched down on all fours and fought hard against the compulsion; rivulets of sweat ran down my forehead. Gradually the urge to go toward them lessened, then faded away. But still I was in danger—if they noticed me, I was doomed.

  After about ten minutes of dancing together high above, darting in and out of the red light, the nine orbs combined to form one large, glowing sphere, which then sped northward and vanished.

  Where had they gone? Were they hunting some chosen victim? It struck me that they would try to avoid killing too close to their homes, which would attract attention. Todmorden would rapidly become depopulated, and terror would spread westward through the County.

  The wind, which had been blowing fiercely, first lessened to a breeze, then died away altogether. A deep silence settled upon the river valley. The few sounds were greatly magnified. I heard the eerie screech of a corpse fowl, and soon afterward the call of an owl. In the distance beyond the river, a baby cried; then someone coughed and swore. After a few moments, the child was quiet—no doubt its mother was feeding it. These were all natural sounds of the night—but then I heard something else.

  First there was a deep groan, followed by a shrill scream that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The sounds came from two different directions. Next, from somewhere directly below me, a voice began to beg.

  “Leave me tonight, please! Not again, not so soon. I won’t see the dawn if you do that again! Please, please, leave me be!”

  Drawn by this cry for help, I was on my feet in an instant and began to scramble down the slope. Soon I had climbed over a wooden fence and was under the trees. The sounds were closer and much louder now.

  “Oh, no, please don’t. That’s enough. Don’t take too much. Please don’t carry on or my heart will fail! Don’t stop my heart, please! I don’t want to die. . . .”

  I was running now, and I drew the sword. Instantly the ruby eyes cast their red light in my path, and I saw the horror before me. It was a strigoi that could have been the twin of the one I’d fought at the Fresque house; it glowed with a lurid orange light, and its head was bald, with the same large pointed ears.

  The strigoi was crouching over a man dressed in a ragged gown; it had half pulled him out of a dark hole in the ground, beside which lay a large stone. Its teeth were fastened onto its victim’s neck, and it was sucking his blood.

  CHAPTER XIV

  THEY’LL EXPAND WESTWARD

  THE strigoi turned, saw me coming, and cast its victim aside on the grass. It spun around to face me, then attacked, mouth wide, fangs ready to bite, talons extended to rend my flesh. I hardly broke my stride. I was in a rage, all the pent-up emotion of the past twenty-four hours released in a violent fury.

  I lunged at the demon, but it quickly retreated, and the tip of my blade missed it by less than an inch. I swung at it again, but it evaded that blow too. It snarled at me and took a step forward, preparing to strike. I remembered the speed of the strigoi that had attacked me in the library, and immediately started to focus on slowing time.

  Suddenly I felt the sword move in my hand, and blood began to drip from the ruby eyes in the hilt. I became one with the blade. Gripping it with both hands, I took a step to the left, two to the right, and then, with all my strength, brought the blade down vertically upon the head of the strigoi. It sliced clean through the skull, cleaving it to the jaw, and the creature fell at my feet. I tugged the blade free, feeling a tremendous sense of satisfaction.

  As I had expected, an orange helical light spiraled up from the demon, spun there for a couple of seconds, and then shot up into the sky, disappearing over the treetops. I had killed the body, but its soul was still free. Would it now, like the partner of Mistress Fresque, go in search of another host?

  Still shaking with anger, I returned the Destiny Blade to its sheath and turned to look at the man, who had crawled onto his knees. He stared up at me, his eyes wide with astonishment. But he couldn’t have been more surprised than me—it was Judd Brinscall.

  “You betrayed us!” I shouted. “You led us into the clutches of those demons!”

  He tried to speak, opening his mouth, but no words came out. I leaned down, put my hand on his shoulder, and dragged him to his feet. He felt like a dead weight leaning against me, and his whole body was trembling. He stank of blood and the earth he’d been entombed in. I thought of what had been done to my master, and I had half a mind to put him back in the pit and cover it with the stone. No doubt another strigoi would find him and finish him off. It was no more than he deserved!

  I started to push him toward
the pit but suddenly thought of Dad and how he’d taught me right from wrong. No matter what Judd Brinscall had done, it was wrong to give him back to the strigoi. And I wondered about his situation: was his reward for betraying us to be drained of blood? It didn’t make sense. Not only that . . . I’d run like a coward myself. Who was I to judge him?

  But it was something to worry about later. We had to make our escape before something else found us.

  “We must get away from here,” I told him. “We need to cross the river.”

  Very slowly we began our descent. I was nervous, expecting to be attacked at any time—maybe by a strigoica, the partner of the creature I’d just encountered. Or maybe the witches would return, nine orbs that would fall upon us and suck away our lives without spilling a drop of blood. I had no defenses against such an attack.

  Judd groaned from time to time, as if in pain, and I had to keep stopping to rest because it was hard work; I was almost carrying him. At last we reached the river, but something told me we had to cross. It was safer on the other bank. Maybe the creatures couldn’t cross running water—though it would be no barrier to witches in the form of orbs; they could soar over without being affected.

  By now I was exhausted, but at last I dragged Judd across the bridge and we collapsed together on the far bank. Instantly he fell into a deep sleep.

  I started to think things through and tried to decide on my next move. I needed to contact Alice and let her know what had happened. It was also vital to warn Grimalkin of the threat. She had to keep the Fiend’s head away from this cursed place at all costs. But I needed a mirror to do that. It would have to wait until daylight, when I could return to my room.

  I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes, the sun was just above the eastern moors. I rose to my feet and yawned, stretching to relieve the stiffness in my limbs.

  I stared down angrily at Judd, who lay at my feet. His gown was torn and stained with blood where the strigoi had bitten him. There were livid purple puncture marks on his neck.