The Spook's Blood (Wardstone Chronicles) (23 page)

I paused, and then cautiously led the way into the garden. There was no warning growl. The boggart was keeping to the terms of our pact. There was no need to speak on behalf of Alice – the Spook had already done so some time ago. And Judd was safe too – ex-apprentices who completed their training to the Spook’s satisfaction could usually enter the garden with impunity.

‘Did you see any sign of our enemies?’ I asked Grimalkin as we approached the house.

She shook her head. ‘Neither hide nor hair. I ventured
southeast
, almost to the edge of Accrington, but there was nothing. Unless the witches come in the form of orbs, there is little chance of an attack much before dawn.’

In the kitchen I found that the Spook had taken delivery of a new table and six chairs, which stood opposite the fire. He was on his feet now, one hand resting on the back of a chair, a little smile on his face.

‘Are you starting to feel better?’ I asked him.

‘That I am, lad,’ he replied. ‘You did well to get the boggart back. And you’ve brought our provisions too,’ he said, nodding at the sack I’d set down on the flags. ‘Hopefully it’ll cook us breakfast tomorrow morning. It’ll be just like old times!’

Judd Brinscall returned about an hour before dark. His mission to the barracks at Burnley had been successful. It seemed that reports of strange deaths over the past few months had already reached the ears of the commander, and with a spook’s report to add to that, he quickly made up his mind. A sizeable force was to be despatched to Todmorden – though there would be a delay of a day or so. It seemed that all their available troops were busy clearing out gangs of robbers, who in the aftermath of the war were now occupying Clitheroe. They would no doubt soon restore law and order there, but they had no experience of dealing with dark entities. I had some misgivings about how they would cope with what awaited them in Todmorden, but I kept them to myself. It would help if one of us contacted the soldiers with advice – but first we had to survive the night.

We spent it out in the garden. It was certainly no hardship –
the
weather was just about as warm as it gets in the County after dark. Although still weak, the Spook was able to walk around now, and he congratulated me again on getting the boggart back. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it had insisted on making the pact with me. It wouldn’t make much difference to what happened and there was no need for him to know.

We took turns to keep watch, but the Spook, Judd and I slept with our staffs by our sides. I got the first watch and spent my time patrolling the inner boundary of the garden where the rough grass met the trees. To pass the time I checked the eastern garden to see if the dead witches were still safely bound in their graves; I also checked the bound boggarts. All was well.

I felt calm, confident that the boggart would take care of any encroaching strigoii. My greatest fear was that Siscoi might have already been brought into our world by the witches and come for the Fiend’s head. I hoped that pouring salt and iron into the offal pit had delayed him.

Grimalkin took the second watch and I tried to sleep. I kept drifting off but waking up again with a sudden jerk. I was vaguely aware that the watch had changed once more when a terrible howl brought me up onto my knees.

Something had invaded the garden and was being challenged by the boggart.

AN INSTANT LATER
I was on my feet, staff in hand; beside me, my master was struggling to rise. I grabbed him under his arm and supported his weight until he was standing. Someone was running off into the trees. I recognized the gait – it was Grimalkin, sprinting towards the source of the danger as the boggart’s warning growl erupted for a second time.

Alice was standing beside me, but there was no sign of Judd Brinscall. He had been on watch and could be anywhere in the garden.

‘I’ll go and see if Judd is all right,’ I said.

‘Nay, lad, stay here. If he’s in trouble, the boggart’s on the spot and the witch will be there in a few moments to help.’

‘That’s right, Tom,’ Alice said, agreeing with the Spook for once. ‘Best wait here.’

Suddenly there was a third roar from the boggart – followed almost immediately by a high thin scream, which was suddenly cut off. Moments later someone came running towards us. I readied my staff and so did the Spook. We relaxed when it proved to be Judd.

‘I was in the western garden,’ he said. ‘It’s all clear there. I thought it best to leave things to the boggart.’

‘Aye, that’s the most sensible course of action,’ said the Spook. ‘I trained you well – though the witch couldn’t wait to get involved. This attack’s come from the south. We’ll know what’s what in a few moments.’

Everything was silent, and even the breeze died down. We stood there, alert and ready for danger. After about five minutes Grimalkin emerged from the trees.

‘It was a strigoi,’ she confirmed. ‘The boggart dealt with it before I got anywhere near. It didn’t seem happy with what it had caught and was busy tearing it to pieces.’

We settled down before the embers of the fire but none of us felt like sleeping now. I suppose we sensed that another attack was likely.

It happened within the hour. Alice suddenly sniffed twice very loudly. ‘The witches – they’re almost here!’ she cried, leaping to her feet and pointing to the east.

We all stood and searched the sky in the direction she had indicated. It was a clear night, the heavens liberally sprinkled with stars. Now some of the points of light were moving. I
counted
eight speeding towards us. Soon they had become distinct orbs, which paused above the trees of the eastern garden and began their dance, circling and weaving and exchanging places.

Both the Spook and Judd looked grim. They held their staffs in the diagonal position – though such weapons would offer no defence against the animism magic of Romanian witches, who would soon move in close and try to suck the life force from our bodies.

Grimalkin was whispering into Alice’s ear; she nodded as if in agreement. I suspected that they were going to use magic against our enemies. Back in Ireland I had witnessed the terrible power that Alice had at her disposal. She was reluctant to use it, for it signalled yet another stage in her journey to becoming a malevolent witch. And it would hardly be welcomed by the Spook.

The orbs ceased their dance and swooped towards us, but there was a sudden roar of anger from the boggart – a terrible howl to challenge the witches. Something red streaked up towards them, and they scattered before re-forming and attacking again. Once more the challenge was roared out, and the boggart soared upwards for a second time. This time there were several shrill screams, followed by flashes of light. The orbs gathered over the trees again, but now there were only five – which now dispersed again, each in a different direction.

‘That seemed almost too easy,’ observed the Spook. ‘No doubt they were taken by surprise. The boggart dealt with several of them, but we need to remain on our guard. The rest
could
try again at any time. No doubt they’ll eventually conjure up some means of fighting it off.’

Once again we settled down uneasily by the fire, but the attack never came, and soon the pre-dawn light began to colour the eastern sky. The five of us headed into the southern garden to investigate the aftermath of the intrusion. The remains of the strigoi host were scattered over a wide area: we found the skull up in a tree, impaled on a thin branch, twigs sprouting from the empty eye-sockets. Of course, the daemon itself would eventually find another host.

‘We need to gather as many of the bones as possible and bury them,’ my master said. ‘These are the remains of an innocent person, after all.’

We did as he asked, and I went back to the house and managed to find a spade that had survived the fire. It was badly singed but still intact, and I used it to dig a shallow grave beneath the trees. In it we laid the bones we had managed to find, then I covered it with earth. When I’d finished, we all stared down at the freshly turned soil and, very softly, the Spook said, ‘Rest in peace.’ That was just about the nearest he’d ever come to offering up a prayer.

‘No doubt the boggart dismembered it because it felt cheated,’ he observed. ‘Any blood inside the strigoi would have been second-hand, taken from a victim. My boggart likes its blood fresh! Let’s hope it’s in a good enough mood to serve us breakfast!’

When we entered the kitchen, five steaming plates of ham and eggs were waiting on the table, and a central dish was
piled
high with thick slices of buttered bread. We settled ourselves down without delay. The bacon was slightly overcooked, but we were all very hungry and we tucked in.

At last the Spook pushed his plate away and looked at each of us in turn, his eyes finally settling on me again. ‘It’s time to talk,’ he said. ‘We need to discuss what needs to be done.’ Then he turned to Alice. ‘I asked you once before, girl, and now I must repeat my question. Are you prepared to go into the dark and bring back what we need?’

‘There’s got to be another way!’ I cried out, before Alice could reply. ‘I won’t allow it.’

‘I don’t blame you, lad, for trying to protect her. But we know what needs to be done. Just how far are we prepared to go to achieve our aims?’

‘We must do what is necessary. How long must I continue to carry this?’ Grimalkin asked, rising to her feet and patting the leather sack. ‘Come with me, Alice. I need to speak to you alone.’

Alice followed the witch assassin out into the garden, leaving the Spook, Judd and me to stare at our empty plates.

‘We have our present problem to deal with before we consider the Fiend,’ said the Spook. ‘And it’s urgent. We may be relatively safe within the boundaries of this garden, but what about the poor folk outside it? Those to the east near Todmorden may already be losing their lives. We have to help them. It’s our duty.’

‘You mean return to Todmorden?’ Judd asked. ‘I knew we’d have to go back – but surely not right away!’

‘It’ll be weeks before I’m strong enough to make the journey, let alone be effective once I get there,’ said the Spook, shaking his head. ‘It hurts me to have to ask others to do the work but I have no other option. By now those soldiers from Burnley will be setting off to investigate Todmorden, but they fight wars against human foes and have no knowledge of dealing with the dark. We need to send expert help. Would you go, Judd, and take the lad with you? I don’t expect you to cross the river, but you could certainly help those on the County side. Our enemies will likely prey on isolated dwellings beyond the town to begin with. Those are the ones who will need you.’

‘Of course,’ Judd said. ‘The townsfolk won’t welcome us, though. They’ll be concerned about their own survival. Still, it must be done. We’ll set off immediately.’

I nodded in agreement. It was better to be out there doing something than just waiting for whatever our enemies decided to dish out.

After that we fell silent again. I was just wondering where Alice and Grimalkin had gone and what they were saying to each other, when suddenly I heard a distant bell.

Someone was at the withy trees crossroads, ringing the bell to summon the spook. Usually I went to find out what the problem was. It could be anything, from a rogue boggart to a graveside-lingerer. Sometimes people were just scared and under no real threat; at other times a whole family was in danger, and my master would set off to sort things out immediately.

‘Sounds like someone’s in trouble,’ the Spook said. ‘You’d best go and see what’s up, lad.’

‘Then I’ll keep him company,’ said Judd. ‘It could be a ruse to lure one of us out of the garden.’

‘Aye, you’re right. It’ll be safer with two of you,’ my master agreed.

Soon we’d crossed the garden and were heading for the crossroads. ‘It’s just like old times!’ Judd joked. ‘When I came down here as young apprentice, I was usually shaking with nerves: I knew it meant setting off on spook’s business within the hour.’

‘Me too,’ I said. We’d crossed the meadow and had entered the trees again. Now we were nearly at the crossroads, and heavy rain clouds were blustering in from the west. It seemed to be growing darker with every step we took. Suddenly the bell rang out again.

‘At least they’re still there,’ said Judd. ‘Sometimes they used to lose their nerve and head off back the way they came.’

‘Some of them are more scared of the Spook than a boggart!’ I agreed.