Blood and Clay (15 page)

I
gasped. Though I didn
’
t not know the workings of men and women and the things
they did when alone I did know that this sounded wrong; very wrong in many
different ways but none of them that I could find the words for. Gran glared at
me with her milky eyes before she started speaking again.

“
Don
’
t gasp girl. Don
’
t you look at me like I'm a common
whore. He was right. My breasts were hard an sore and the milk had leaked as I
walked. It seemed a bit wrong but I soon put that to the back of my mind.
Glamour me with his devilish charms he did. Glamoured me into thinking it was
alright, and he weren
’
t a child either. Not even a man; young or old. He were old
as time. I'm not telling you this story no more missy. Leave you to your fate
on your own I will.
”

“
No, no, please tell the story, please Ma.
”
pleaded Mam who was dribbling from
her fetid mouth with the rapture of hearing the story once again.

Gran
sat in silence once again and all I could hear was the creaking of the chair
and the sizzle of the fire. Behind me I heard a small breathing noise and a
slight creak and I knew that Nettie must be listening through the door. At
least I
’
d have someone to talk to it about later, though quite how
much Nettie would understand I didn
’
t know. Then Gran began to speak again.

“
Once my milk ran dry the boy sank his teeth into my side.
Blood came and he licked it away.
‘
I am Tibb.
’
He said.
‘
I
’
m older than time and more powerful
than God himself. Give me your soul and I will give you whatever you bid. Not
much use for a soul, you don
’
t need it, really but imagine what you could do with a bit
of power; a bit of magic in your bones.
’

Well
I had suffered poverty for far too long and I was ready for a better life for
me and my baby.
’
Can you get me money?
’
asked I.
‘
What is money? Just pieces of metal.
I can give you better than money. I can give you power. I will do your bidding.
You can use your power as you will.
’

‘
How do I give you my soul? How do you take it?
’

‘
Just a small ritual, a slice of flesh, a trickle of blood,
then I have your promise that your soul will be mine and you have my promise
that I will be but your humble servant.
’
So I gave him my promise and when I
awoke it was daylight and I was alone.
”

“
Tell us more Ma. Tell us about Tibb
”
said Mam breathing too quickly. I
felt uncomfortable at the story and uncomfortable seeing Mam panting in
pleasure. It all felt so wrong.

“
Well for five years Tibb would appear to me as the sun was
setting.
‘
What can I do for you my mistress?
’
he would ask.
‘
There is nowt I need
’
I would say. I was young and stupid
and afraid of what might happen if I gave into his temptation.
‘
As you wish
’
he would say and he would smile and
walk away. After five years had passed I saw Tibb again but this time as a
brown dog, much in the likeness of your mam
’
s familiar Ball.
‘
Let me do your bidding
’
the dog said then he took blood from
under my arm, leaving the Devil
’
s Mark upon me.
‘
Aye
’
, I said
‘
Avenge me on the farmer
’
s boy on yonder farm. He spat at my
lass today and sent his dog after her.
’
The next day news reached us that
the farmer
’
s boy was lamed, trampled by a cow. From that day on I have
been loyal to Tibb and him to me. Never been powerful enough to get riches
though but now there are three
…”

“
So who
’
s your familiar then Lizzie? It's not Tibb or Ball; we
’
d know it. Is it a cat? A lizard?
Hahaha; a Lizzie lizard
”
Mam screeched at her own joke. As always no love shone
through for her daughter. Not even now.

I
thought of the black dog that had been with me when the peddler had fallen down
and had appeared to follow me ever since. I
’
d not seen it this morning but as
soon as that thought entered my head I heard a scratching at the front door
followed by the door swinging open. The black dog walked to me and sat by me on
the floor. I leapt up and backed away from the dog. Its presence took on a
whole new meaning now. One that scared me and I wanted the dog nowhere near me.

“
A dog; a black dog Ma
”
screeched Mam in delight.

“
Aye I see Elizabeth
”
said Gran, once again making me
wonder how blind the old woman really was.

“
Aye, a brown dog for the mother and a black dog for the
daughter. Just like Tibb
’
s coat; a black half and a brown half to make a whole.
Familiars chosen by Tibb himself. We
’
ll need to have a naming ceremony to
give the dog his voice so he can tell us his name. Gather the family Elizabeth
and we
’
ll start to prepare
”

My
breathing grew faster and the room began to spin. I didn
’
t want this. I ran through the open
door and the black dog watched me go, no doubt awaiting my inevitable return.

As
Abraham took away the untouched soup from his father
’
s lap he heaved a sigh. How long had
it been now? A week? Nine days? So much waiting and still no change.

Abraham
had been fixing the house door latch when he had heard a cart trundling up the
street. He had turned to see who was coming, it wasn
’
t often that any cart came up to the
house as the street was quite narrow. As the cart stopped Abraham had been
surprised to see that it was being driven by Constable Hargreaves and even more
surprised when Constable Hargreaves went to the back of the cart and pulled out
the unconscious body of Abraham
’
s own father, John Law. Abraham ran to help the Constable
take the body of his father into the house.

“
What happened Constable Hargreaves? My father is not a
drinking man, not before evening anyway. How did he come to be like this?
”

“
I don
’
t know Abe. I didn
’
t see. When I came upon him he was
jittering and a shaking on the floor and no-one was near him but I could a
sworn I saw that Device whelp Alizon running away like the hounds of hell were
at her heels. It
’
s witchcraft mark my words. I
’
ve already sent notice to Master
Nowell. He
’
s down Clitheroe way seeing to some official business but I
’
ll be betting he
’
ll visit when he returns. He can
’
t ignore those witches anymore. Not
after this.
”

That
was over a week ago and still no visit from Roger Nowell. Abraham had spent
every waking hour by his father
’
s bed and John Law had not moved from it. He was awake now
but one half of his face drooped and his mouth worked constantly like a fish
gasping for air yet no noise came out. Abraham tried to feed him and give him
water but food and drink just slipped out of his mouth every time his lips
moved and his father was getting thinner by the day. Just sixty years old he
looked more like he was in his hundredth year and Abraham did not know how much
longer he would last.

As
he cleaned out the bowl of uneaten soup he inwardly cursed the Device witches.
For too long they had held the county in fear with just two of the herb
dabbling crones and now the young one seemed to be just as bad. If Master
Nowell did not arrive by the end of the week he would take matters into his own
hands. There was more than one man of the county who
’
d be willing to join him in burning
that God forsaken Malkin Tower to the ground as the Device family slept inside.
There was a knock at the door which broke Abraham
’
s train of thoughts. There had been
many visitors over the last few days. Though he had a quick temper John Law also
had many friends in the village and the visits to drop off butter beer, bread
and soups had been plentiful. As the week had passed there had been fewer and
fewer visitors however. Though quick to pay their respects many remembered
being on the wrong side of John Law
’
s temper and their charity and mild
friendships did not extend past one or two uncomfortable bedside visits.

As
Abraham went to the door he wiped his hands on his woollen breeches which
soaked up very little but did dry his hands enough to make a handshake
possible. As he opened the door he was surprised to see that the visitor was
the long awaited Roger Nowell.

“
Mr Nowell sir, at last. Come in, come in. Can I get you a
drink? A spot to eat? You need to see my father. What are you going to do about
those witches?
”

“
Settle down Abraham. Let me talk to your father before we
go any further.
”

“
Won
’
t get anything from him Mr Nowell. He just gapes like he is
moonstruck. It was that Alizon Device what did it. Did your Constable not say?
Arrest her. Send her to the gallows.
”

“
Now Abraham you know I can
’
t do that. Not without witnesses or a
confession. Let me see your father. Let
’
s take it from there.
”

Grumbling
to himself Abraham showed the way to the bedroom and let Roger in. Roger went
to the chair beside the bed and sat down.

“
Afternoon John. I have not seen you since last harvest. How
are you?
”

John
continued to stare blankly out of the window. His mouth worked in intricate
patterns, never closing, always moving, and a string of dribble making its way
from his bottom lip to his bed shirt.

“
Now John, your son and Constable Hargreaves say that this
did not happen on its own, that it may be the forces of evil at play. Is that
so?
”

John
continued to stare out of the window, his mouth worked faster but still no
sound came out.

“
John did the child they call Alizon Device do this to you?
”

John
Law suddenly grunted and turned his head, with great effort, to face Roger
Nowell and his son. His eyes suddenly changed from the glassy stare to a look of
terror.

“
Is that enough for you?
”
shouted Abraham.
“
That is the most I have seen in all
these days. The first noise he has made, the first time he has stopped staring
out of that infernal window. What are you going to do?
”

“
Yes Abraham it is enough to know that she was involved but
not enough to arrest her. There are no more witnesses, none as can testify in
the assizes at any rate
”
Roger
’
s eyes moved to look at John in his distant state as he
said this.
“
We need a confession. I will visit Malkin Tower to talk to
the girl.
”

“
She won
’
t confess. She won
’
t tell the truth not even if God
himself held her to account. She
…”