18 Bony Lizzie used long sniffing to foresee the danger from the Chipenden mob that eventually burned down her house.—Tom Ward
19 Mab Mouldheel used mirrors twice, to my knowledge, to predict the future. In the first instance, she foretold the breaching of Malkin Tower and the threat to our lives by retreating witches. In the second, she foretold the near death of Alice Deane in Greece at the hands of a feral lamia.—Tom Ward
20 Some witches are so strong that they can break free and be born into the world again. My master calls this reincarnation.—apprentice Bob Crosby
21 In order to save money, some spooks place a large boulder over the witch’s grave instead of iron bars. I would only use that as a temporary measure when dealing with a relatively weak witch. It’s better to be safe than sorry.—John Gregory
22 I was sent to work with Bill Arkwright for six months. He was a hard man who beat me badly on two occasions. One of the worst things I ever witnessed was the killing of a water witch that he’d had imprisoned in a pit for two years. She was still screaming when he threw her heart to his dogs.—apprentice Jack Farington
Mother Malkin, one of the strongest witches the County has ever seen, possessed the body of a pig butcher. After she was driven out by salt and iron, her heart was devoured by pigs.—Tom Ward
When the witch Wurmalde died, dropped by a vaengir lamia from a great height onto Gore Rock in Pendle, the Spook told me that her slayer had already ripped out her heart and devoured it.—Tom Ward
23 As a young man, I wrote the definitive guide to possession. It is to be found in my Chipenden library and is titled The Damned, the Dizzy, and the Desperate.—John Gregory
1 Having completed my training as a spook, I was very disappointed to be unable to send the ghosts of my mam and dad to the light. Abe died in an accident; Amelia killed herself because she could not bear to live on alone. Still they haunt the mill. I have returned to Chipenden to ask my former master, John Gregory, to see if he can do anything for them. —Bill Arkwright
I tried my best but could not send them to the light. The dead husband could leave but refuses to do so without his wife. For some reason all my skill and experience in dealing with such matters proved useless. —John Gregory
The water witch Morwena revealed that the Fiend had prevented Arkwright’s mam, Amelia, from going to the light. That explains why all the efforts to free her came to nothing. Then I bargained with the Fiend, agreeing to go out onto the marsh and face Morwena if, in exchange, he would release Amelia’s soul. Now at last she and her husband, Abe, are at peace. —Tom Ward
2 Within the Ord, the citadel of the Ordeen, I saw a large number of abhuman spirits. They had degenerated as a result of passing back and forth between this world and the realm of the dark. It would have been impossible to free them by the usual means of talking them through to the light. —John Gregory
3 As a child, I was terrified by the ghasts on that hill. I could hear them swinging on the branches and choking as they hanged. When it got really bad and I couldn’t sleep, my mam went alone up the hill and made them quiet for more than a month, something that not even a spook can do. —Tom Ward
4 On the way back from Greece on board the Celeste, I had such an experience. I believe it was Mam returning briefly to say good-bye and let me know that she was all right. —Tom Ward
1 The main exception to this rule is the demons that pass to and fro from the dark to our world through the fiery portal used by the Ordeen. It is the power of that goddess that makes such a thing possible. —John Gregory
2 Seconded to Bill Arkwright, I helped hunt down a selkie far to the north of the County. Bill’s poor dog followed it into the water and was seized and drowned. After killing the dog, the selkie escaped. —apprentice Graham Cain
Working with Bill Arkwright, I was also witness to the hunting of a selkie. The creature was living happily with a fisherman in the shape of a woman, and it seemed cruel and unjust that she should be driven into the sea, leaving him alone. The poor man was distraught. There are some jobs a spook shouldn’t have to do. —Tom Ward
1 At last I have trained an apprentice from that northern region of the County who wishes to return there and deal with things that come out of the water. His name is Bill Arkwright. —John Gregory
2 Skelts are extremely rare. One day I hope to see one! —apprentice Bill Arkwright
Bill Arkwright got his wish! He had one trapped in a water pit below the mill. When it escaped, it attacked me and started draining my blood. Bill saved me, killing it with a rock. When he was a prisoner of water witches, they used a skelt to drink his blood. Once he was dead, the creature would have been ritually slain. —Tom Ward
3 On the Greek coast, the crew of our ship, the Celeste, suddenly found themselves in thrall to sirens who waited on a headland of jagged rocks. These creatures, because of the power of their song, appeared as great beauties. However, their true form was hideous, with huge fangs and swollen lips. As spooks, Tom Ward and I had some immunity to their allure, but only by pressing wax into the ears of the helmsman could we free him from their spell so that the ship could be steered to safety. —John Gregory
4 A wight was used to guard the secret tunnel that led to Malkin Tower. It was slain by a lamia, which tore it to pieces. —Tom Ward
5 The word worme is spelled with an e to distinguish it from the common earthworm. —apprentice George Eccles
6 I faced a dangerous worme with Bill Arkwright. I helped to attract its attention while he stabbed it with his staff, then finished it off with his knife. Bill also demonstrated how a candle flame could be used to distract it .—Tom Ward
1 There is some recent evidence to support this view. The Bane was once one of the Old Gods, worshipped by the Little People. At the time of its unfortunate liberation from the catacombs under Priestown Cathedral, where it had little human contact, it had the strength of a demon. Gradually it then began to grow in power. I’m convinced that, using terror, it would eventually have forced people to worship it in great numbers. It would have become a god once more. It was destroyed by my apprentice, Tom Ward, just in time. —John Gregory
2 No doubt the reduced danger was in part due to that, but we must not discount the recent arrival of these elementals through the portal. After reaching our world, denizens of the dark always need time to achieve their full strength. —John Gregory
3 This proved to be the case when we were in Greece and encountered fire elementals. One of the asteri was cut in two by my staff’s blade, but it was not the end of the elemental. It began to re-form, and we had to leave the location quickly. —John Gregory
4 During our encounter with the Ordeen, a tremendous amount of water had fallen into the Ord, and this made some of the fire elementals less dangerous. —Tom Ward
5 In a cave in the Pindhos Mountains, fleeing from maenads, Alice and I heard tappers all around us. They brought the roof down, and we only just escaped with our lives. —Tom Ward
6 The predicted deaths do not always occur, leading me to suspect that coincidence may be involved, or that people simply die of fear, thereby fulfilling the prophecy. —John Gregory
7 They are not to be confused with the Celtic witches (also known as banshee witches). Those mimic the action of a banshee but actually bring about the death of their chosen victim. These witches worship the Old Goddess known as the Morrigan, who often appears in the shape of a crow. —John Gregory
1 I passed by the Cawley Stone just before sunset with my master, John Gregory, and we examined the crawler. It did appear to be climbing out of the rock and looked very scary indeed. I noticed that while we were there, everything was very still; there wasn’t a breath of wind and the birds had stopped singing. —apprentice Henry Burrows
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The Last Apprentice: Complete Collection Page 300