Wardstone 7 - The Spook's Nightmare (24 page)

The Spook pulled at his beard. ‘What about the sightings? Were the witnesses reliable?’ he asked.

Adriana shrugged. ‘Some are more reliable than others, but one was a forester, a dour, plain-speaking man not given to flights of fancy. He also saw strange dancing lights – he counted seven. When they approached him, he fled. Could they be the same lights we saw in the cavern?’

‘He did well to run,’ said the Spook. ‘That coven of witch spirits could have drained his life force in minutes. This is all very bad news. It means that denizens of the dark visiting the cache of animas can now use its power to wander far beyond it. They’re
a threat to your whole island and possibly beyond.’

‘Can anything be done?’ asked Adriana.

‘Aye – killing the buggane would stop it. The cache is only attractive while it continues to grow. Without an active buggane, such power soon starts to diminish. What else?’ asked the Spook. ‘Is there any more news of the bone witch?’

‘She took her force of yeomen back to Greeba, but then paid them off and dismissed the majority within a few days, retaining only about fifty for guard duty.’

‘Well, Lizzie’s made a big mistake there,’ the Spook said. ‘Those men had permanent jobs under the Ruling Council. They’ll be disgruntled now and could become a force that can be used against her.’

‘It’s no mistake,’ said Alice, shaking her head. ‘I know Lizzie better than anyone, and that’s the scariest thing I’ve heard so far. She had lots of money; and even if she’d emptied that chest, she could have raised taxes if she needed some more. Ain’t bothered then, is she? Don’t need ’em. That’s how powerful she is now.’

The Spook didn’t reply but his expression showed that Alice’s words had disturbed him.

‘Since then some of those guards have deserted, terrified by the things that were happening in the keep,’ Adriana continued. ‘They heard voices when there was nobody there, and footsteps following them that stopped when they stopped, and strange shadows that could only be seen out of the corners of their eyes. Nowhere inside the keep was free of them. It was worse after dark, but these things could be heard and felt even in daylight. There were spots of intense cold too …’

I knew that was bad. The Spook and I, being seventh sons of seventh sons, feel a strange coldness when something from the dark is near; other people are not usually aware of it. If those men were aware of intense cold, then very powerful dark magic was involved.

‘By now the witch has probably no more than a dozen men with her – ones more scared of leaving than staying,’ Adriana went on. ‘She made threats – said that anyone else who left without her permission
would die in their sleep, and sure enough, two were found dead … So what are we going to do now?’ she asked. ‘Lizzie’s got to be stopped.’

‘I’ve been racking my brains to come up with a plan,’ said the Spook. ‘With the reduced guard it’ll be easier to get near her, but what can we do in the face of such power? The first time I couldn’t even cast my chain true, and at St John’s she brought me to my knees. I was helpless.’ I’d never heard my master sound so hopeless, so defeated.

‘But it’s my duty to put an end to her’ – the Spook sighed – ‘and I’ll do that even at the cost of my own life.’

‘We need to distract her,’ said Alice. ‘Get the shaman’s thumb-bones away from her and she’ll be a lot easier to deal with.’

‘Horn said they were a conduit for her to tap that stored power. But that was then. By now, she may have direct access to it,’ the Spook pointed out. ‘She may not need them any longer.’

‘We have to do something,’ I said. ‘Distraction is a
good idea. We should split up and come at her from different directions. It’s worth a try.’

‘Different directions?’ asked the Spook, draining his cup of mead. ‘We’ve only two. There’s the main gate or the buggane’s tunnels. The first will still be guarded. As for the second, the buggane will surely be Lizzie’s creature by now. I for one don’t relish the idea of confronting it down there. It doesn’t even need to attack directly. It could just collapse a tunnel and suffocate us.’

We were all tired and went to bed very early without having come up with a proper plan. I’d only just dropped off to sleep when I jerked awake, aware that someone was standing beside me. I sat up and someone whispered, ‘Shhhh! It’s all right, Tom. It’s just me, Alice …’

‘Something wrong?’ I asked.

Her hand found mine in the darkness. ‘Just wanted to talk, that’s all. Old Gregory ain’t going to do anything. Losing his house and books, and now failing
twice to deal with Lizzie – it’s just about finished him off. He’s past it, Tom. He’s scared. I think you and me should sort her out. We’d be better off without him.’

I suddenly felt as cold as ice. ‘Don’t talk like that, Alice. He’s been through a bad patch, that’s all. He’ll recover and be back stronger than ever – just you wait and see!’

‘No, Tom. You got to face it: he’s finished. Still be able to teach you, he will, but it’ll be you doing the real work, the dangerous work, from now on.’

‘What are we supposed to do? None of us can think of a way to deal with Lizzie – it’s not just Mr Gregory.’

‘I can, Tom. I know a way. But Old Gregory wouldn’t approve. He’d never go along with it.’

‘Does it involve using dark magic?’ I asked.

Alice squeezed my hand again. ‘Not actually using it, Tom – just knowing how to counter it. Old Gregory wouldn’t understand. That’s why Adriana put something in his drink. He’ll sleep until long after dawn. We could be back by then – with it all done and dusted.’

‘You’ve put something in his drink? That’s crazy!
What will he say when he finds out? I can’t do it, Alice. He would never forgive me.’

‘You’ve got to come and help – otherwise Adriana will try to deal with Lizzie by herself. She told me so. Without us she’ll be dead or fed to the buggane in no time. She’s already set off for the keep with Simon – she’ll attack Lizzie whether we join her or not. Ain’t going to risk the buggane’s tunnels. Going in through the front gate, we are. Adriana can get us in!’

‘How can we get past the guards? There’ll still be several men inside that keep and the portcullis will be down.’

‘There’ll only be about half a dozen, that’s all: they change over at eleven. None of ’em want to stay in there at night, so they take turns. Lizzie’s agreed to that. We’ll strike as the guard changes.’

‘How will Adriana help?’ I asked.

‘Remember she said she was a bird witch? Thought it was nonsense then. Well, I still don’t think she’s a witch. Nobody would think so in Pendle. But you wouldn’t believe what she can do with birds. She’s
going to use them to distract the guards. Just you wait and see.’

‘There’s one big problem though. We know that Lizzie won’t be able to long-sniff me or you. She won’t know we’re on our way. But she’ll sniff out Adriana and Simon for sure. She’ll sense the danger before they get anywhere near the portcullis.’

‘Talked to her about that too. If we go in and tackle Lizzie, she and Simon will stay outside. If we don’t, they’re both going in together – Adriana is set on taking revenge on Lizzie.’ Alice shook her head and sighed. ‘But she’s no good against her, Tom, so we have to go. It’s our one chance.’

‘But when we get inside, what exactly will we do?’ I asked.

‘I’ve been thinking about that. We’ll need to make for that room where the shaman kept his books. I’ve spent a long time trying to make head or tail of his notebook – can’t understand a lot of what’s in it, but it refers to pages in the grimoires. If you know where to look, there’ll be stuff on controlling the buggane. Even
mentions that cache of animas. Tells you how to use its power.’

‘Will you be able to read those grimoires? They’ll probably be in the Old Tongue. You know I’ve been studying it for months now and I’m making slow progress.’

‘I practised it for nearly two years. Lizzie had a small library – most of her stuff was in English, some in Latin, but the most powerful spells of all were in the Old Tongue. I’m still slow, but I can work it out given time. It’s worth a try, Tom. What do you say?’

So, very reluctantly, I agreed to accompany Alice. I said goodbye to the dogs and managed to keep them quiet. The Spook was still snoring loudly. I dreaded to think what he’d say when he found out. But under the circumstances, what choice did I have?

I
t was a cloudless night; the moon wasn’t up yet but the stars were very bright. We were walking through the trees, approaching the keep, when I heard an owl hoot three times somewhere ahead.

‘That’s Adriana,’ Alice whispered, leading us towards the sound.

As we got nearer, I had a sudden strong feeling of being watched. Everything seemed very still and there wasn’t a breath of wind. And then I glanced up and saw hundreds of eyes staring down at me intently. The branches above were covered with birds. There wasn’t enough light to identify the different species, but they ranged in size from sparrows to large crows. They
should have been roosting at this time of night; yet here they were, wide awake – it was unnerving to see them watching us like that.

Adriana was waiting with Simon under a tree. She put her finger to her lips to indicate the need for silence. Through the trees beyond her I could see the entrance to Greeba Keep. The portcullis was down, and five men were striding towards the gate.

Adriana stepped forward and placed her left hand on Alice’s shoulder, her right on mine. Then she looked up to where the birds waited silently, opened her mouth and gave a strange cry; it was something like a bird’s call – though none that I recognized. In response the flock seemed to move as one. There was a rustling of feathers, a settling, then silence again.

‘You’ll be safe now,’ Adriana whispered. ‘They won’t touch you. I only wish we could come with you …’

‘Ain’t worth the risk,’ Alice whispered back. ‘Lizzie would sniff you out for sure. Once we’ve dealt with her, we’ll meet you back here. No knowing how long. Could be hours – or even a day or more.’

The men had almost reached the gate now. We heard the grind of metal on metal and the clank of chains as the portcullis was slowly raised.

‘Simon and I will wait here, no matter how long it takes. And we’ll watch the keep. Now go down towards the wall directly ahead,’ Adriana told us, her voice still low. ‘When the birds attack, slip in through the gate.’

We did as she instructed and started heading down the slope. The portcullis was fully raised now and the guard was about to change. There were about dozen men there. In a few moments the old guard would set off home. If they glanced our way, there was a danger that we might be spotted.

Somehow we reached the wall without attracting their attention. Half the yeomen were heading towards the trees, and there was a clank of chains again as the others began to lower the gate. In a few moments it would be too late. But then there was another noise – the beating of wings. I looked up and saw that the stars were eclipsed. Like a black cloud, a huge flock of birds
descended upon the two groups of men. I heard curses, shouts, and then a loud cry of pain.

Alice and I began to run along the wall. Adriana had talked about distracting the guards, but as we reached the gate, I realized that this was no minor diversion to allow us into the keep. Those men were fighting for their very lives. Some were running around, arms flapping desperately to ward off their attackers. One was on the ground, rolling over and over, covered in birds; the air was thick with feathers.

They were all too preoccupied with their own survival to see us go through the gate which had now ceased its descent. And it was clear that the birds were driving them away from the keep. Of course, the guards’ fear of Lizzie might well make them return later – that’s if they were in any condition to do so.

Just as I’d hoped, the inner portcullis – the one that gave access to the tower – was also raised, and moments later Alice and I were safely inside.

We were now faced with two threats. The most dangerous, of course, was Lizzie herself: she might
well kill us outright; at the very least she could take the blood jar or even make me smash it. We might also encounter the threatening creatures we’d heard about, drawn to the area because the witch had meddled with the cache of animas, making it unstable. It would now act like a baleful beacon – a fire lit by witches, summoning powerful entities from the dark.

We began to climb the tower steps, trying to make as little noise as possible. I knew that the odds against us reaching the shaman’s study without being detected were high. I was carrying my rowan staff with the blade at the ready; the silver chain was in the left pocket of my cloak, and I’d filled my breeches pockets with salt and iron. Who knew what we might encounter?

After passing the doors that led to the kitchens and bedrooms, we came at last to the throne room. It was quiet, deserted and dimly lit; just two torches flickered on the wall. We walked along the crimson carpet past the throne to the door and up the flight of steps. In the circular antechamber we paused to listen out once
more. Again there was no indication that anyone was around, so we opened the door to the shaman’s study and stepped inside. The room was in darkness but there was a candle on the table. Alice strode forward and picked it up. It ignited immediately, filling the room with a flickering yellow light.