� Book Eight �

The Last Apprentice: Rage ofthe Falle_

Ill
tratio'
b.
Patrick Arr.
mit
Joseph Delanek
FOR MARIo
ContentZ

Chapter

Beware the Jibber.

Chapter I

Blood Everywher.

Chapter II

The V
ito�

Chapter Iv

The Mirro�

Chapter v

Killorgli'

Chapter V

An I'
trument of Tortur.

Chapter VI

The Siege of Ballycarbery C.

tl.

Chapter VII

Thin Shau'

Chapter I{

Small Cold Finge�

Chapter {

In the Gr.
p of the Fien.
}
f|

Chapter X

The Killorglin Goa

Chapter XI

The Old God Pa'

Chapter XII

A Pac

Chapter XIv

The Head of the Witc

Chapter Xv

Dark Ange

Chapter XV

The Dragon.
Lai�

Chapter XVI

Wor.
in a Mirro�

Chapter XVII

The Talo'
of the Morriga'

Chapter XI{
The Hound of Calan'

Chapter X{

Nobody Will Hear You Screa.

Chapter XX

Frozen in Tim.

Chapter XXI

The D.
tiny Blad.
Chapter XXII

Covered in Bloo.

Chapter XXIv

Poor To.

Chapter XXv

All Fall Dow'

Are You Strong Enough to Readv

About the Author and the Ill
trato�
Copyrigh
About the Publ
he�
CHAPTER n
BEWARE THE JIBBERu
DRIVEN by the gentl.
t of breez.
, our.
mall f
hing boa
w.
.
ailing.
lowly w.
t, bobbing gently toward the d
tan
hore. I w.
.
taring ahead to the green hil
.
of Irelandw
trying to take in .
much .
I could before the light failed. I'
another twenty minut.
it would be darkx
Suddenly there w.
a roaring, howling.
ound, and th.
f
herman looked up in alarm. From nowhere a great win.
blew up. A black cloud raced toward
from the northw
zigzag lightning flickering down into the.
ea, which w.
no.
boiling and.
urging.
o that the.
mall boat rolled alarminglyx
Our three do
.
began to whimper. The uually fearl.
wolfhoun.
�Claw,.
Blood,.
and.
Bone�didn�t.
like.
e.
voyag.
at the b.
t of tim.
x
I w.
on my kne.
, clinging to the prow, cold pinchin
my ea�
,.
ea.
pray.
tinging my ey.
x
The Spook and my friend Alice were cowering dow'
below the gunwal.
, doing their b.
t to take.
helter. Th.
wav.
had.
uddenly become much bigger�unnaturally.
ow
I thought. We.
eemed about to ca�
ize. .
we.
lid dow'
into a trough, a gigantic wave, a.
heer wall of water, cam.
out of nowhere and loomed above
, threatening to.
m.
our fragile craft to match wood and drown
allx
But.
omehow we.
urvived and rode up the wave to i
cr.
t. A torrent of hail came then�pebbl.
of ice, rainin
down.
onto.
the.
boat.
and.
,.
beating.
at.
our.
hea.
.
an.
bodi.
with.
tinging force. Again lightning fl.
hed alm.
directly overhead. I looked at the m.
of churning blac�
cloud above
and.
uddenly.
aw two or.
of lightx
I.
tared up at them in .
ton
hment. They were quit.
cl.
e together and made me think.
of two.
taring ey.
x
Then, .
I watched, they began to change. They were ey.
�very d
tinctive ey.
, too, peering down from the blac�
cloud..
The.
left.
one.
w.
.
green,.
the.
right.
blue,.
and.
the.
eemed to glitter with malicex
W.
I imagining it? I wondered. I rubbed my own ey.
w
thinking that I w.
.
eeing thin
. But no�they were.
til
there. I w.
about to.
hout to get Alice.
attention, but eve'
.
I watched, they faded away to nothingx
The wind dropped .
.
uddenly .
it had ar
en, an.
within l.
than a minute the huge wav.
were no morex
The.
ea w.
.
till livelier than it had been before the.
tormw
though, and the wind w.
once more at our bac�
, drivin
toward land at a much f.
ter ratex

�Five.
minut.
.
and.
I�ll.
put.
you.
.
hore!�.
cried.
th.
f
herman..
�There.
.
a.
good.
ide.
to.
everything,.
even.
.
torm.}

I thought about the ey.

in the cloud again. Maybe I�.
only imagined them, I thought. It might be worth mentionin
to the Spook later, but th
w.
n�t the timex

�It.
w.
.
trange.
the.
way.
that.
torm.
came.
up.
.
uddenly!� I.
houtedx

The f
herman.
hook h
head. �Not at all,� he.
aidx
�You.
ee.
trange thin
at.
ea, but that w.
j
t a.
quallx
They often blow up out of nowhere. Mind you, that.
ea w.

omething. Alm.
t like a tidal wave..
But th
.
old tub

turdier.
than.
he.
loo�
.�.
He.
looked.
quite.
ple.
ed.
wit
hi.
elf. �I need to be back well before dawn, and we�ve go
a bit o� wind to fill our.
ai
now.}

The Spook had paid him genero

ly with alm.
t th.
l.
t of h
money, but even.
o the f
herman had taken .
big r
k. We�d.
ailed away from the
le of Mona abou
eight.
hou�
.
earlier,.
making.
the.
cr.
ing.
w.
t.
towar.
Ireland. We were refuge.
from the inv.
ion of the Countyw
and the Spook, Alice, and I had.
pent many dangero
mont
on that
land. Now the inhabitan
of Mona wer.
returning any refuge.
they found to the County�into th.
han.
.
of the.
occupying forc.
. Inte'
ive.
earch.
wer.
being made. It had been time to get awayx

�I hope we get a.
better welcome here,�.
aid Alic.
d.
pondentlyx
�Well, girl, it couldn�t be much wo�
e than l.
t time,}
aid the Spookx
That w.
true enough. On Mona we�d been on the ru'
alm.
t immediatelyx

�You.
hould.
have.
little.
trouble.
here!�.
houted.
th.
f
herman, trying to make hi.
elf heard above the whine oy
the wind. �Very few of your folk will have ventured th
farw
and it.
a big
land. A few more mout
to feed won�t worr.
them much. You might find there.
work for a.
pook, toox
Some call it the Haunted
le. It certainly p.
.
.
mor.
than i
fair.
hare of gh.
.}

Spoo�
deal with the dark. It
a dangero
trade, an.
I w.
in the third year of my apprentic.
hip to my m.
terw
John Gregory, learning how to deal with witch.
, boggar
w
and all manner of.
upernatural creatur.
. Gh.
uall.
p.
ed little threat and were the le.
t of our worri.
. M.
didn�t even know they were dead and, with the right wor.
w
could be pe�
uaded to go to the lightx

�Don�t they have.

poo�
of their own?� I .
kedx

�They�re a dying breed,�.

aid the f
herman. There w.
an awkward.
ilence. �I hear tell there are none working i'
Dublin,.
and.
a.
city.
like.
that.
.
bound.
to.
be.
plagued.
b.
jibbe�
.}

�Jibbe�
?� I queried. �What.
a jibber?}

The f
herman laughed. �You a.
pook.
apprentice an.
don�t know what a jibber
? You.
hould be .
hamed oy
you�
elf! You need to pay more attention to your l.
o'
.}

I felt annoyed by h
commen
. My m.
ter w.
l.
t i'
thought and didn�t.
eem to be l
tening to the f
herman. H.
had never mentioned a jibber, and I w.
.
ure there w.
n.
account of.
uch thin
in h
B.
tiary, which w.
tucke.

afely.
away.
in.
h
.
bag..
He.
had.
written.
it.
hi.
elf,.
a'
ill
trated record of all the creatur.
he�d encountered an.
heard of, with not.
on how to deal with them. There w.
certainly no reference to a jibber in the Gh.
.
ection.
wondered if he even knew they ex
tedx

�Aye,� continued the f

herman, �I wouldn�t like your jobx
D.
pite i
.
tor.
and moo.
, the.
ea
a far.
afer plac.
to be than facing a jibber. Beware the jibber! Better to b.
drowned than driven mad!}

At that point the conve�

ation came to an end: Th.
f
herman brought
alon
ide a.
mall wooden jetty tha
ran out into the.
ea from a bank of.
hingle. The three do
w.
ted no time in leaping from the boat. We clambered ou
more.
lowly. We were.
tiff and cold after the voyagex

Momen
later, the f
herman put out to.
ea again, an.
we made our way to the end of the jetty and up the.
hinglew
our feet crunching on the.
ton.
. Anyone would be able t.
hear.
our.
approach.
from.
mil.
.
away,.
but.
at.
le.
t.
the.
wouldn�t be able to.
ee
in the gloom. And in any c.
e, iy
the f
herman w.
right, we.
hould be in no danger fro.
angry
lande�
x

There were de'

e clou.
above and it w.
now ver.
dark,.
but.
the.
hape.
of.
what.
we.
took.
to.
be.
a.
dwellin
loomed up in front.
of
. It proved to.
be a dilapidate.
boatho
e, where we.
heltered for the nightx

Dawn brought a better day. The.

ky had cleared and th.
wind had dropped. Although.
till chilly, the late Februar.
morning.
ugg.
ted the approach of.
pringx

The f
herman had called th
the Haunted
le, but i
other name, the Emerald
le, w.
hopefully more apty
though in truth the County w.
.
j
t .
green. We wer.
d.
cending a gr.
y.
lope; below
lay the city of Dublinw
i
dwellin
hugging both ban�
of a big riverx

�What.
a jibber?� I .
ked the Spook. .
ual, I w.
carrying both ba
and my.
taff. He w.
.
triding along at .
br
k pace, making it hard for Alice and me to keep upx

�I don�t rightly know, lad,� he.

aid, glancing back at m.
over.
h
.
houlder..
�It.
.
probably.
the.
local.
name.
fo�

omething.
we�re.
already.
familiar.
with�that.
.
the.
m.
likely explanation. For example, what we call a boggart
known .
a bogle or even a bogeyman in.
ome par
of th.
world.}

There.
were.
many.
typ.
.
of.
boggart,.
ranging.
fro.
bloodthi�
ty rippe�
to relatively harml.
hall knocke�
tha
j
t thumped and banged and.
cared people. It w.
odd t.
think that.
ome folk called them by different nam.
x

I decided to tell my m.
ter what I�d.
een in the.
tor.
the previo
night. �Remember when that.
quall hit
?�
aid. �I.
aw.
omething.
trange in the dark cloud overhea.

�a pair of ey.
watching
.}

The Spook came to a halt and.

tared at me intentlyx
M.
t people would have been incredulo
; othe�
woul.
have.
laughed.
openly..
I.
knew.
that.
what.
I.
w.
.
ayin

ounded crazy, but my m.

ter w.
taking me.
erio
lyx

�Are you.
ure, lad?� he .
ked. �We were in dangerx
Even the f
herman w.
.
cared�although he tried to play i
down later. In.
ituatio'
like that, the mind can play.
trang.
tric�
on
. Our imaginatio'
are alwa.
at work in tha
way. Stare at the clou.
long enough, and you can.
e.
fac.
in them.}

�I�m.
ure it w.
more than j
t my imagination. Ther.
were two ey.
, one green and one blue, and they looke.
far from friendly,� I told himx

The Spook nodded. �We need to be alert. We�re in .

land.
that.
.
trange.
to.
�there.
could.
be.
all.
or
.
oy
unknown dange�
lurking there.}

With that, he.

et off ahead again. I w.
.
urpr
ed tha
Alice hadn�t contributed anything to the conve�
ation;.
h.
had a worried expr.
ion on her facex

J
t over an hour later, we.
melled a whiff of f
h on th.
air;.
oon we were threading our way through the narroww
cong.
ted.
tree
.
of.
the.
city,.
heading.
toward.
the.
riverx
D.
pite the early hour, there w.
no
y h
tle and b
tl.
everywhere,.
people.
p
hing.
their.
way.
through,.
tree
trade�
haranguing
from every corner. There were.
tree
m
icia'
,.
too�an.
old.
man.
fiddling.
and.
everal.
youn
bo.
playing tin wh
tl.
. But d.
pite the cha.
, nobod.
challenged our right to be in the city. It w.
a far better.
tar
than we�d had in Monax

There.
were.
plenty.
of.
in'
,.
but.
m.
t.
of.
them.
ha.
notic.
in their windo.
.
aying that they were full. At l.
we found a couple with vacanci.
, but at the fi�
t the pric.
proved too high. My m.
ter had.
carcely any money lef
and hoped to get
accommodation for three or four nigh
while we managed to earn.
ome. At the.
econd inn, w.
were.
ref
ed.
roo.
.
without.
any.
real.
explanation..
M.
m.
ter didn�t argue. Some fol�
didn�t like.
poo�
; the.
were.
cared by the fact that they dealt with the dark an.
thought that evil thin
would never be far awayx

Then, in a narrow bac�

treet about a hundred yar.
from the river, we found a third inn with vacanci.
. Th.
Spook looked up at it doubtfullyx

�No wonder they got empty roo.

,�.
aid Alice, a frow'
cre.
ing her pretty face. �Who�d want to.
tay here?}

I nodded in agreement. The front of the inn needed .

good lick of paint, and two of the u�
tai�
windo.
and on.
on the ground floor were boarded up. Even the.
ign neede.
attention; it w.
hanging from a.
ingle nail, and each g
of.
wind.
threatened.
to.
end.
it.
tumbling.
down.
onto.
th.
cobbl.
. The name of the inn w.
the Dead Fiddler, an.
the battered.
ign depicted a.
keleton playing a violinx

�Well, we need a roof over our hea.

, and we can�
afford to be too f
y,�.
aid the Spook. �Let.
.
eek out th.
landlord.}

I'
ide it w.
.
o dark and gloomy that it might hav.
been.
midnight..
Th
.
w.
.
partly.
ca
ed.
by.
the.
boarde.
window.
but.
a
o.
by.
the.
large.
building.
opp.
ite,.
whic
leaned toward th
one acr.
the narrow.
treet. There w.
a candle flickering on the counter opp.
ite the door, an.
b.
ide it a.
mall bell. The Spook picked up the bell an.
rang it loudly. At fi�
t only.
ilence a'
wered h
.
ummo'
w
but then foo
te�
could be heard d.
cending the.
tai�
w
and the innkeeper opened one of the two inner doo�
an.
entered the roomx

He w.
a thic�
et, dour-looking man with lank gre.
.
hair that fell over h
frayed collar. He looked down in th.
mouth, defeated by the world, but when he.
aw my m.
terw
he took in the cloak, the hood, and the.
taff, and i'
tantl.
h
whole demeanor changedx

�A.
pook!� he exclaimed eagerly, h
face lighting upx
�To be.
ure, my praye�
have been heard at l.
t!}

�We came to inquire about roo.

,� my m.
ter.
aidx
�But am I to unde�
tand that you�ve a problem I could hel�
you with?}

�You are a.
pook, aren�t you?� The landlord.
uddenl.
glanced down at Alice.
pointy.
ho.
and looked a littl.
doubtfulx

Women and gir

who wore pointy.
ho.
were ofte'

pected.
of.
being.
witch.
..
That.
w.
.
certainly.
true.
oy
Alice;.
he�d received two yea�
� training from her motherw
Lizzie the bone witch. She w.
my cl.
e friend, and we�.
been through a lot together�Alice.
magic had.
aved m.
life more than once�but my m.
ter w.
alwa.
concerne.
that.
one.
day.
he.
might.
drift.
back.
toward.
the.
dark..
H.
frowned at her briefly, then turned back to the innkeeperx

�Aye, I�m a.
pook, and th
my apprentice, To.
Ward. The girl.
called Alicey
he wor�
for me, copyin
boo�
and doing other chor.
. Why don�t you tell me wh.
you need my.
ervic.
?}

�You.
it you�
elv.
down over there and leave you�
do
in the yard,�.
aid the landlord, pointing to a table i'
the corner. �I�ll get you.
ome breakf.
t and then tell yo
what nee.
to be done.}

No.
ooner were we.
eated than he brought acr.
another candle and.
et it down in the center of the tablex
Then he d
appeared into one of the back roo.
, and i
w.
n�t long before we heard the.
izzle of a frying pan and .
delicio
aroma of cooking bacon wafted through the doorx

Soon we were tucking into large,.

teaming platefu
oy
bacon, eg
, and.
a
ag.
. The landlord waited patientl.
for
to fin
h before joining
at the table and beginnin
h
talex

�I haven�t one paying c

tomer.
taying here, and it.
been the.
ame for nearly.
ix mont
. They�re too.
caredx
Nobody will come near the place.
ince it arrivedy
o I�.
afraid I can�t pay you in coin. But if you get rid of it, I�ll let yo
have three roo.
free of charge for a week. How do.
tha

ound?}

�Get rid of what?� demanded the Spookx

�Anyone who mee

it go.
.
tark.
taring mad withi'
minut.
,� the innkeeper told him. �It.
a jibber, and a ver.
n.
ty one at that!}
CHAPTER In
BLOOD EVERYWHERo
�WHAT exactly
a jibber?� my m.
ter inquiredx
�Don�t you know?� .
ked the landlord, h
face onc.
more.
howing doubtx
�We don�t have anything called a jibber back in th.
County, where I come from,� explained the Spook. �So tak.
your time and tell me all about it�then I�ll know better wha
I�m dealing with.}
�A jibber often appea�
within a week of.
omebod.
killing the.
elv.
, and that.
what.
happened here,� th.
landlord.
told.
..
�The.
chambermaid.
had.
been.
in.
m.
employment for over two yea�
�a good hardworking girlw
he w.
, and pretty .
a picture. That w.
her downfallx
She attracted.
omeone above her.
tation. I warned her, bu
he wouldn�t l
tenx
�Well, to cut a long.
tory.
hort, he made her prom
.
�on.
that he had no intention of keeping. And even iy
he�d meant what he.
aid, there.
no way h
family woul.
have approved of their lia
on. He w.
a young man with a'
inheritance to come and a good family name to uphold.
.
k you�w.
he likely to marry a poor.
ervant girl with no
a.
penny.
to.
her.
name?.
He.
told.
her.
he.
loved.
her..
Sh.
certainly loved him. But, predictably, it turned out badly. H.
married a titled lady�it.
eemed the marriage had bee'
arranged for mont
. He�d been lying all the time, and whe'
the girl found out, her heart w.
broken. The.
illy creatur.
cut her own throat. Not an e.
y way to go. I heard he�
choking and coughing, and ran u�
tai�
to.
ee what th.
matter w.
. There w.
blood everywhere.}
�Poor girl,� murmured Alice,.
hudderingx
I nodded, trying to get the image of her terrible deat
out of my head. It w.
a big m
take to kill you�
elf, n.
matter how.
bad the.
ituation.
eemed. But the poor gir
m
t have been d.
perate, not really knowing what.
h.
w.
doingx
�There are.
till.
tai'
on the floorboar.
,� continue.
the landlord, �and no amount of.
crubbing will get �em outx
She.
took.
a long.
time.
to die..
Got her.
a.
doctor,.
but.
h.
couldn�t.
help..
Docto�
.
are.
el.
,.
and.
that.
.
a.
fact..
wouldn�t give one the time of day. Anyway,.
he�d have gon.
to a pauper.
grave, but.
he�d been a good worker, .
aid,.
o I paid for her funeral m.
elf. She�d been dead l.
than a week when the jibber arrived. The poor girl w.
hardly cold in her grave and�}

�What were the fi�

t.
ig'
of i
arrival?� interrupted th.
Spook. �Think carefully. It.
important.}

�There.
were.
trange.
rappin
.
on.
the.
floorboar.
y
there w.
a rhythm to them: two quick knoc�
, then thre.

low on.
, over and over again. Then, after a few da.
, a'
icy chill could be felt at the.
pot where the poor girl ha.
died�right above the bloo.
tai'
. A day later, one of m.
gu.
.
went.
mad..
He.
jumped.
through.
the.
window.
an.
broke both h
le
on the cobbl.
below. H
le
will healw
but h
mind
beyond repair.}
�Surely you weren�t.
till
ing that room? No doubt yo
warned him about the rappin
and the cold.
pot?}

�He w.
n�t.
taying in the room where the girl diedy
that w.
a.
ervant.
room in the attic, right at the top of th.
building. A.
jibber haunt the very.
pot where a.
uicid.
occu�
, and I .
umed that it would.
tay there. Now they tel
me that it can wander anywhere i'
ide the building.}

�Why do they call the thing a jibber?� I .

kedx

�Beca
e.
of.
the.
no
e.
it.
mak.
,.
boy,�.
the.
landlor.
replied. �It mak.
jibbering and jabbering no
.
. It natte�
and prattl.
away to i
elfy
oun.
that don�t make an.

e'
e but are terrifying to hear.� He turned back to th.
Spook. �So can you.
ort it out? Pri.
can do nothing. Th
a city full of pri.
, but they�re no better than docto�
.}

The Spook frowned. �Now, .

I.
aid, I come from .
different place�the County, which
a land acr.
the.
e.
to the e.
t,� he explained. �I have to admit that I�ve neve�
heard of what you�re d.
cribing. You�d have thought tha
ne.
of.
omething.
o odd would have reached
by now.}

�Well, you.
ee,�.
aid the landlord, �jibbe�
are new t.
the.
city. They fi�
t.
tarted to appear about a.
year agox
They�re.
like.
a.
plague..
They.
were.
fi�
t.
ighted.
in.
th.

outhw.
t and have.
lowly.
pread e.
t. The fi�
t c.
.
reached the city j
t before Chr
tm.
. Some think they�r.
the.
work.
of.
the.
goat.
mag.
.
of.
Kerry,.
who.
are.
alwa.
dabbling in dark magic. But who can.
ay?}

We knew little about the Ir

h mag.
�only that the.
were.
in.
a.
tate.
of.
co'
tant.
war.
with.
ome.
of.
th.
landowne�
. There w.
j
t a.
hort reference to them in th.
y

Spook.
.
B.
tiary..
They.
upp.
edly.
wo�
hipped.
the.
Ol.
God Pan, in return for power. It w.
rumored that huma'
acrifice w.
involved. It w.
a n.
ty b
in.
x
�Am I right in.
aying that th
jibber of you�
onl.

active after dark?� inquired the Spookx

The landlord noddedx

�Well, in that c.
e we�ll try to.
ort it out tonight. Woul.
you mind if we took our roo.
in advance of the job? We�.
like to catch up on our.
leep.
o that we�re fit to face th
jibber of you�
.}

�By all mea'

, but if you fail to.
ort it out, I�ll expect t.
be paid for every day you.
tay here. I don�t.
pend on.
minute in th
place after dark�I.
leep at my brother.
. Sow
if it prov.
nec.
ary, pay me in the morning.}

�That.
fair enough,�.
aid the Spook,.
haking han.
with the landlord to clinch the deal. M.
t folk didn�t like t.
get.
too.
near.
to.
a.
pook,.
but.
th
.
man.
w.
.
in.
erio
financial trouble and grateful for my m.
ter.
helpx

We.
each.
ch.
e.
a.
room.
and.
pent.
the.
r.
t.
of.
th.
morning.
and.
early.
afternoon.
catching.
up.
on.
our.
leepw
having.
arranged.
to.
meet.
in.
the.
kitchen.
about.
an.
hou�
before dark. Mine w.
a troubled.
leep: I had a terrifyin
dreamx

I w.
in a for.
t. There w.
no moon, but the tre.
were.
glowing.
with.
an.
unearthly.
ilver.
light..
Alone.
an.
unarmed,.
I.
w.
.
crawling.
on.
all.
fou�
,.
earching.
fo�

omething that I needed very badly�my.

taff. Without it,
realized, I wouldn�t.
urvivex
It w.
j
t a few minut.
to midnight, and I knew tha

omething w.
coming after me theny
omething terriblex
My mind w.
befuddled and I couldn�t remember what th
creature w.
, but I knew that it had been.
ent by a witchx
She wanted revenge for.
omething I�d done to herx

But.
what.
w.
.
wrong.
with.
me?.
Why.
couldn�t.
remember thin
properly? W.
I already under.
ome.
or
of.
pell? Somewhere in the d
tance, a church bell bega'
to.
trike.
omino
ly..
Petrified.
with.
fear,.
I.
counted.
eac
chimex

At the third one I leaped to my feet in panic and bega'

to run. Branch.
whipped at my face, brambl.
.
natche.
and.
cratched at my le
.
I.
printed d.
perately throug
the tre.
toward the u'
een church. There w.
.
omethin
after.
me.
now,.
but.
it.
w.
n�t.
running.
through.
the.
under�
growth; it w.
n�t.
omething on either two le
or four.
could hear the furio
beating of gigantic win
x

I glanced back over my.

houlder, and my blood turne.
to water. I w.
being ch.
ed by an imme'
e black croww
and the.
ight of it incre.
ed my terror. It w.
the Morriganw
the Old God of the Celtic witch.
, the bloodthi�
ty deity wh.
pecked out the ey.
of the dying. But I knew that if only
could reach the church, I�d be.
afex

Why that.
hould be I didn�t know�church.
weren�
ually plac.
of refuge from the dark. Spoo�
and thei�
apprentic.
preferred to rely on the too
of their trade an.
a.
ound knowledge of the practical defe'
ive.
te�
tha
could be taken. Neverthel.
, I knew that I had to reach th.
church�or die and l.
e my.
oul to the darkx

I.
tripped.
over.
a.
root.
and.
prawled.
headlong..

truggled to my kne.
and looked up at the black croww
which had alighted on a branch, making it creak and ben.
under i
weight. The air.
himmered in front of me, and
blinked furio
ly to clear my v
ion. When I could finally.
eew
I w.
confronted by a terrible.
ightx

In front of me.
tood a tall figure wearing a black dr.
that came down alm.
t to the ground. It w.
.
plattered wit
blood. The figure w.
female from the neck downward, bu

he had the huge head of a crow, with cruel beady ey.

and an imme'
e beak. Even .
I watched, the crow.
hea.
began.
to.
change..
The.
beak.
hrank;.
the.
beady.
ey.

oftened and widened until the head w.

fully human.

uddenly realized that I knew that face! It w.

that of a witc
who w.
now dead�the Celtic witch who the.
pook Bil
Arkwright had once killed in the County. I�d been trainin
with Arkwright and had.
een him throw a dagger into he�
back; then he�d fed her heart to h
do
to make.
ure.
h.
couldn�t come back from the dead. Bill had been ruthl.
i'
h
treatment.
of witch.
�much harder than my m.
terw
John Gregoryx

And in that moment I knew that none of th

w.
real.
w.
having a bad dream�and it w.
one of the very wo�
kind: a lucid nightmare where you�re trapped and canno
.
cape, cannot wake up. It w.
a
o the.
ame one that I�.
been having for mont
�and each time it happened, it w.
fy
more terrifyingx
The Morrigan w.
walking toward me now, her han.
ou
tretched, talo'
ready to rend the fl.
h from my bon.
x

I fought to wake m.
elf up. It w.
a real.
truggle t.
break free. I opened my ey.
and felt my fear gradually fal
away. But it w.
a long time before I calmed down. I w.
wide awake now and couldn�t get to.
leep again. It didn�
leave.
me.
in.
the.
b.
t.
tate.
of.
mind.
to.
face.
a.
jibbery
whatever that might bex

We met down in the kitchen, but we weren�t planning to ea

anything.
u.
tantial. We were about to face the dark,.
.
the Spook i'
ted that we f.
t, managing with j
t a littl.
che.
e.
to.
tain.
..
My.
m.
ter.
m
ed.
h
.
favorit.
crumbly County che.
e, and wherever we happened to bew
he w.
alwa.
.
complaining that the local fare w.
n�t .
patch.
on.
it..
But.
on.
th
.
occ.
ion.
he.
nibbled.
in.
ilenc.
before turning to me with a qu.
tionx

�Well, lad, what are your though

on all th
?}

I.
gazed.
into.
h
.
face..
It.
looked.
.
.
if.
it.
had.
bee'
ch
eled from granite, but there were new, deeper lin.
o'
h
brow, and h
ey.
were tired. H
beard had been gra.
from the moment I fi�
t.
aw him, alm.
t three yea�
beforew
when.
he.
v
ited.
my.
dad.
.
farm.
to.
talk.
about.
m.
apprentic.
hip. However, there had been a mixture of othe�
colo�
in there, too�m.
tly re.
, brow'
, and blac�
. No.
it w.
entirely gray. He w.
looking older�the even
of th.
p.
t three yea�
had taken their tollx

�It worri.
me,� I.
aid. �It.
.
omething we�ve never deal
with before, and that.
alwa.
dangero
.}

�Aye, it
that, lad. There are too many unknow'
x
What exactly
a jibber, and will it be vulnerable to.
alt an.
iron?}

�There may be no.

uch thing .
a jibber,�.
aid Alicex

�And what do you mean by that, girl?� demanded m.

m.
ter, looking annoyed. He no doubt thought that.
he w.
putting her n.
e where it didn�t belong; meddling in.
poo�
.
buin.
x

�What.
if.
it.
.
the.
pirit.
of.
each.
dead.
pe�
on.
that.

omehow trapped and ca

ing the problem?�.
he.
aidx
�Dark magic could do that.}

The.
frown.
left.
the.
Spook.
.
face,.
and.
he.
nodde.
thoughtfully. �Do the Pendle witch.
have.
uch a.
pell?� h.
.
kedx

�Bone witch.
have a.
pell that can bind a.
pirit to i
own grav.
ide.}

�Some.
piri
are bound like that anyway, girl. We cal
them grav.
ide lingere�
.}

�But th.
e don�t j
t linger, they.
care people,� Alic.
pointed out. �The.
pell
often
ed to keep people awa.
from a.
ection of a churchyard.
o that witch.
are able t.
rob the grav.
and harv.
t the bon.
und
turbed.}

Bone witch.
collected human bon.
to
e in thei�
type of magic. Thumb bon.
were particularly prized. The.
boiled them up in a cauldron to obtain magical powerx

�So, taken a.
tep further, if th.
e are trapped.
piri
w
they�re.
omehow being forced to drive people to the edg.
of madn.
. That all mak.
.
e'
e, but how and why
i

preading?� my m.
ter .
kedx

�If it
a.
pell,� Alice.
aid, �then it.
out of controly
alm.
t .
if it.
developed an energy of i
own,.
preadin
i
.
evil,.
working.
i
.
way.
e.
t..
Bony.
Lizzie.
once.
c.
t.
.
powerful.
pell that got out of control. It w.
the fi�
t time I�.
ever.
een her.
cared.}

The Spook.
cratched at h
.
beard .
if.
omethin
wick.
were.
crawling.
there..
�Aye,.
that.
mak.
.
e'
e,�.
h.
agreed. �Well, I reckon we.
hould v
it the place where th.
poor girl killed he�
elf fi�
t. I�ll need the lad with me,.
o n.
doubt you�ll be joining
too, girl.}

That.
l.
t.
entence.
w.
.
poken.
with.
an.
edge.
oy
arc.
m. Alice and I were in a very bad predicament, an.
he could do nothing about it. The previo
year, in order t.

ave the liv.

of many people, including the Spook an.
Alice, I�d.
old my.
oul to the Fiend�the Devil hi.
elf, th.
dark made fl.
h. He had been.
ummoned to earth by .
gathering of the Pendle witch cla'
and w.
now growin
ever more powerful; a new age of darkn.
had come t.
our worldx

Only Alice.
dark magic now prevented the Devil fro.
coming to collect my.
oul. She�d put three dro�
of he�
blood and three dro�
of mine together in what w.
calle.
a blood jar. I carried it in my pocket, and now the Fien.
|
couldn�t come near me�but Alice had to.
tay cl.
e by i'
order to.
hare i
protectionx

There w.
alwa.
a r
k that.
omehow I might ge

eparated from the jar and be beyond i

protective.
pellx
Not only that: When I died�whether that w.
.
ix or.
ixt.
yea�
hence�the Fiend would be waiting to claim wha
belonged to him and would.
ubject me to an eternity oy
torment. The only way out w.
to.
omehow d.
troy or bin.
him fi�
t. The pr.
pect of the t.
k weighed heavy on m.

houlde�
x

Grimalkin, the witch .

.
in of the Malkin clan, w.
an.
enemy.
of.
the.
Fiend;.
he.
believed.
that.
he.
could.
b.
bound in a pit if he w.
pierced with.
ilver-alloy.
pik.
x
Alice had made contact, and Grimalkin had agreed to joi'
in order to attempt th
. But long wee�
had p.
ed, an.
there had been no further communication from Grimalkin.
Alice feared that, invincible though.
he w.
,.
omething ha.
happened.
to.
her..
The.
County.
w.
.
occupied.
by.
foreig'
troo�
�maybe.
they.
had.
moved.
agai'
t.
the.
Pendl.
witch.
,.
laying or impr
oning them. Whatever the truthw
that blood jar w.
.
important .
everx

Soon after dark, carrying a candle, the Spook led

up t.
the attic�the.
mall, cramped room right at the top of th.
inn where the poor.
ervant girl had lived and diedx

The bed had been.

tripped of i
mattr.
,.
hee
, an.
pillo.
. At the.
ide of the bed near.
t the window, I.
a.
dark bloo.
tai'
on the floorboar.
. The Spook.
et h
candle down on the little be.
ide table, and the three of
made ou�
elv.
.
comfortable .
p.
ible on the floor j
in.
front.
of.
the.
cl.
ed.
door..
Then.
we.
waited..
It.
w.
re.
onable.
to.
expect.
that.
if.
the.
jibber.
w.
.
in.
need.
oy
victi.
tonight, it would come for
. After all, there w.
nobody e
e.
taying at the innx

I�d filled my pocke

with.
alt and irony
u.
tanc.
that.
ually.
worked.
agai'
t.
boggar
.
and,.
to.
a.
l.
e�
extent, witch.
. But if Alice.
theory w.
correct and w.
were dealing with a trapped, dangero
.
pirit,.
alt and iro'
would be ineffectivex

We didn�t have long to wait before the jibber arrivedx

Something inv
ible began to rap on the floorboar.
. Ther.
were two quick knoc�
, then three.
low on.
. It happene.
over and over again, and my nerv.
were on edge. Next th.
candle flickered and there w.
a.
udden chill in the air;
had.
an.
even.
colder.
feeling.
i'
ide�the.
warning.
that.
.
eventh.
on.
of.
a.
eventh.
on.
often.
receiv.
.
whe'

omething from the dark approach.

x

Directly above the bloo.

tai'
, a column of purple ligh
appeared; the.
ound that emanated from it confirmed tha
the jibber had been well named. The voice w.
high an.
girl
h and.
ibilant. It jabbered no'
e'
e, jarring my ea�
w
making me feel uncomfortable and.
lightly dizzy. It w.
.
iy
the world had tilted and I w.
unable to keep my balancex
I.
e'
ed the malevolence of the jibber: It wanted to hur
me very badly. It wanted my death. No doubt the Spook an.
Alice could hear the.
ame d
turbing.
oun.
, but I glance.
right.
and.
left,.
and.
neither.
w.
.
moving;.
they.
were.
j

taring, wide-eyed, at the column of light .

if tra'
fixedx

But d.
pite my dizzin.
I could move, and I decide.
to act before the jabbering got right i'
ide my head an.
made me do exactly what it wanted. I r.
e to my feet an.

trode.
forward,.
plunging.
my.
han.
.
into.
my.
breech.
pocke
: My right hand.
eized.
alt; my left, iron filin
.
flung both handfu
at the column of lightx

The.
u.
tanc.
.
came.
together.
perfectly,.
right.
o'
target. It w.
a good.
hot. The bad ne.
w.
that nothin
happened. The column continued to.
himmer, and particl.
of.
alt and iron fell harml.
ly and ended up.
cattere.
acr.
the floorboar.
b.
ide the bedx

Now the jibbering.

tarted to hurt. It felt .
if.
harp pi'
were being driven into my ey.
and a band of.
teel w.
tightening acr.
my forehead,.
lowly cr
hing my.
kull.
felt panic r
ing within me. At.
ome point I would no longe�
be able to tolerate the pain. Would I be driven to madn.
7
I wondered. P
hed to do.
omething.
uicidal to end m.
torment7

With.
a.
hock,.
I.
realized.
omething.
e
e.
then..
Th.
jabbering w.
n�t j
t meaningl.
prattling. The.
peed an.
ibilance had fooled me at fi�
t. Th
w.
the Old Tongue; .
pattern of wor.
. It w.
a.
pell.

The.
candle.
uddenly.
guttered.
out,.
plunging.
.
i'
darkn.
�though the purple light w.
.
till v
ible. All a
once I found that I w.
unable to move. I wanted to leav.
th
.
cla
trophobic.
attic.
where.
that.
poor.
girl.
had.
kille.
he�
elf, but I couldn�t�I w.
rooted to the.
pot. I felt dizzyw
too, and l.
t my balance. I tottered and fell hard onto my lef
ide. I w.
aware of a.
harp pain, .
if I�d fallen on a.
tonex

.
I.
truggled to r
e, I heard another voice�a femal.
voice, a
o chanting in the Old Tongue. Th
.
econd voic.
grew louder while the fi�
t quickly died down until it ha.
faded.
away.
altogether..
To.
my.
relief,.
the.
jibbering.
ha.

toppedx

Then I heard a.
udden angu
hed cry. I realized tha
the.
econd voice w.
Alice.
y
he�d
ed a.
pell of he�
own to end the jibber. The.
pirit of the girl w.
now free, bu
in torment. It knew that it w.
dead and trapped in limbox

Now there w.
a third voice, deeper, male�one that
knew well. It w.
the Spookx

�L
ten, girl,� he.
aid. �You don�t have to.
tay here�.}

Befuddled .
I w.
, for a moment I thought he w.
talking to Alice; then I unde�
tood that he w.
addr.
in
the.
pirit of the dead girlx

�Go to the light,� he commanded. �Go to the light now!}

There w.
a wail of angu
h. �I can�t!� cried the.
piritx
�I�m l.
t in the m
t. I can�t find my way.}

�The way
in front of you. Look carefully and you�ll.
e.
the path to the light.}

�I ch.
e to end my life. That w.
wrong, and now I�.
being pun
hed!}

It w.
alwa.
much harder for.
uicid.
and th.
e wh.
had died.
udden, violent deat
to find their way to the lightx
They.
ometim.
wandered within the m
of limbo fo�
yea�
. But it could be done. A.
pook could helpx

�You are pun

hing you�
elf unnec.
arily,� my m.
te�
told the girl.
.
pirit. �There.
no need. You were unhappyx
You didn�t know what you were doing. I want you to thin�
very.
carefully.
now..
Have.
you.
a.
happy.
memory.
of.
you�
earlier life?}

�Y.
. Y.
. I have lo
of happy memori.
�.}

�Then what.
the happi.
t one�the happi.
t one oy
all?� he demandedx

�I w.
very young, no more than five or.
ix yea�
old.
w.
walking acr.
a meadow, picking da
i.
with m.
mother on a warm,.
unny morning, l
tening to the dronin
of the be.
and the.
inging of the bir.
. Everything w.
fr.
h and bright and filled with hope. She made a chain ou
of the da
i.
and put it on my head. She.
aid I w.
.
princ.
and would one day meet a prince. But that.
j
fool
hn.
. Real life
very different. It can be cruel beyon.
me.
ure. I met a man who I thought w.
like a prince, bu
he betrayed me.}

�Go back to that moment. Go back to the time whe'

the future.
till lay ahead, full of warm prom
e and hopex
Concentrate,� the Spook i'
tructed. �You are there agai'
now. Can you.
ee it? Can you hear the bir.
? Your mothe�
b.
ide you, holding your hand. Can you feel her hand?}

�Y.
! Y.
!� cried the.
pirit. �She.
.
queezing my handx
She.
taking me.
omewhere�.}

�She.
.
taking.
you.
toward.
the.
light!�.
exclaimed.
th.
Spook. �Can�t you.
ee i
brightn.
ahead?}

�I can.
ee it! I can.
ee the light! The m
t h.
gone!}

�Then go! Enter the light. You�re going home!}

The.
pirit gave a.
igh full of longing, then.
uddenl.
laughed. It w.
a joyful laugh, followed by utter.
ilence. M.
m.
ter had done it. He had.
ent her to the lightx

�Well,�.
he.
aid.
omino
ly,.
�we.
need.
to.
talk.
abou
what.
happened here.}

D.
pite our.
ucc.
, he w.
n�t happy. Alice had
e.
dark magic to free the girl.
.
pirit from the.
pellx
CHAPTER IIn
THE VISITOc
DOWN in the kitchen, we ate a light.
upper of.
oda brea.
and ham. When we�d fin
hed, the Spook p
hed h
plat.
.
ide and cleared h
throatx

�Well, girl, tell me what you did.}

�The.
girl.
.
pirit.
w.
.
bound.
by.
a.
dark.
pell.
oy
compu
ion,�.
aid Alice. �It w.
trapped within the inn an.
forced to utter a.
pell, �Addle,� that driv.
anyone wh.
hea�
it to the edge of madn.
. Scar.
them.
o much, i
do.
, they�ll do anything to get away.}

�So what exactly did you do?� demanded the Spoo�

impatiently. �Leave nothing out!}

�I.
ed.
what.
Bony.
Lizzie.
once.
taught.
me,�.
Alic.
replied. �She w.
good at controlling the dead. Once.
he�.
got what.
he wanted from themy
o long .
they hadn�
tried.
too.
hard.
to.
r.
t,.
he.
let.
them.
go..
She.
neede.
another.
pell to rele.
e them. It.
called avaunt�an ol.
word for �be gone.�}

�So d.
pite all my warnin
agai'
t it, you
ed dar�
magic again!}

�What e
e w.
I.
upp.
ed to do?� Alice.
aid, ra
in
her voice in anger. �Salt and iron ain�t going to work! Ho.
could it when you were dealing with a young girl.
torture.

pirit rather than.

omething from the dark? And.
oon we�.
all have been in real trouble. So I did what I had to do.}

�Good came out of it, too,� I.

aid in.
upport of Alicex
�The girl.
.
pirit h.
gone to the light and the inn
onc.
again.
afe.}

The Spook w.
clearly deeply worried but had littl.
more to.
ay. After all, he had already comprom
ed h
principl.
by allowing
to keep the blood jar. Se'
ing tha
h
.
ilence w.
m.
tly directed at her, Alice got to her fee
and.
tamped off up the.
tai�
to her roomx

I looked at my m.
ter; I felt.
ad when I.
aw the hurt an.
d
may in h
ey.
. Over the p.
t two yea�
, a rift ha.
gradually come between the three of
beca
e of th
.
of dark magic. I had to try to make amen.
, but it w.
har.
to know what to.
ayx

�At le.
t we dealt with the jibber,� I.
aid. �I think I�ll writ.
it up in my notebook.}

�Good idea, lad,� the Spook.

aid, h
face brightenin
a little. �I�ll make a fr.
h entry in my B.
tiary, too. Whateve�
happe'
, we need to record the p.
t and learn from it.}

So while I jotted a brief account of what had happene.

in my own notebook, the Spook pulled the B.
tiary from h
bag, the.
only.
book that had.
urvived the burning.
of h
ho
e and library in Chipenden. For a while we both wrot.
in.
ilence,.
and.
by.
coincidence.
fin
hed.
our.
recor.
.
a
alm.
t the.
ame momentx

�I�ll be glad when the war.

over and it.
.
afe to retur'
to Chipenden,� I.
aid. �Wouldn�t it be nice to get back to ou�
normal routine�.}

�Aye, lad, it would. I certainly m

the County, and I�.
looking forward to rebuilding that ho
e of mine.}

�It won�t be the.

ame without the boggart, will it?�
commentedx

The.
boggart.
had.
been.
a.
m.
tly.
inv
ible.
r.
identw
occ.
ionally appearing .
a large ginger tomcat. It ha.

erved the Spook well in many wa.

, and had guarded th.
ho
e and garden. When the ho
e w.
burned down an.
the roof colla�
ed, the pact between my m.
ter and th.
boggart had ended. It had been free to leavex

�It certainly won�t. We�ll have to do our own cookin

and cleaning, and you�ll be making the breakf.
. My poo�
�y

old.
tomach will find that hard to cope with,�.
aid the Spoo�
with the faint.
t of.
mil.
. He alwa.
ed to joke about m.
poor cooking, and it w.
good to.
ee him attempting i
againx

He looked a little more cheerful, and.

oon after that w.
went to bed. I felt n.
talgic for our old life and wondere.
whether it had now gone foreverx

However, the night.

terro�
weren�t over yet. Back i'
my room, I made a horrific d
coveryx

I put my left hand into the pocket of my breech.

an.
immediately realized what had ca
ed the pain when I�.
fallen on my.
ide. It had been the blood jart

W.
it damaged? My heart.
ank into my boo
. With .
trembling hand I carefully withdrew the.
mall jar from m.
pocket, carried it over to the candle, and examined it.

huddered.
with.
fear..
There.
w.
.
a.
crack.
running.
alon
alm.
t half i
length. W.
the jar in danger of breaking?
wonderedx

Cl.
e to panic, I went next door to Alice.
room an.
knocked.
oftly. When.
he opened it, I.
howed her the jar. A
fi�
t.
he looked .
alarmed .
I w.
, but after examining i
thoroughly.
he.
miled re.
uringlyx

�It.
ee.
all right, Tom. J
t a fine crack, it
. Ou�
blood.
.
till i'
ide, which mea'
we�re.
afe from the Fiendx
They�re tough ja�
, th.
e, and don�t break e.
ily. We�re.
til
all right,.
o don�t you worry.}

I went back to my room, relieved to find that we�d ha.

uch a lucky .
capex

The word.
oon.
pread around the city that there w.
.
pook who could deal with a jibber. So while we enjoye.
the payment for our.
ucc.
�a week.
.
tay at the inn�w.
were v
ited by othe�
.
eeking our helpx

The.
Spook.
ref
ed.
to.
work.
with.
Alice.
again,.
bu
grudgingly allowed me to do.
o. So the night after our fi�
v
itation, Alice and I.
et out to deal with another jibber, th
one.
plaguing.
the.
back.
workroom.
of.
a.
watchmaker.
prem
.
..
The.
man.
had.
fallen.
into.
debt.
and.
had.
kille.
hi.
elf late one night after drinking too much wine. H
relativ.
needed to.
ell the.
hop but couldn�t do.
o with .
jibber in r.
idencex

The encounter mirrored the fi�

t one at the inn alm.
exactly. After the rhythmic ra�
, a column of light appearedw
and the.
pirit began i
deadly work. However, it had hardl.
begun to jibber and jabber at
before Alice countered i
with a.
pell. She did better than me,.
hutting it up quickly�
for my part, I needed three attemp
afterward to.
end th.

pirit of the watchmaker to the light. It w.

no e.
y t.
k.
He�d had a difficult life, alwa.
counting h
money an.
worrying.
about.
l.
ing.
it..
He.
didn�t.
have.
many.
happ.
memori.
that I could draw upon. But at l.
t I managed itw
and the.
pirit w.
freex

But.
then.
omething.
happened.
that.
filled.
me.
wit
d
may. B.
ide the workbench I.
aw a.
himmer, and .
column of gray light appeared. It.
eemed that another.
piri
had joined
. And there, cl.
e to the top of the columnw
w.
a pair of ey.
glaring at me with extreme malice. On.
w.
green and the other blue; they looked very like th.
on.
that I had.
een in the.
torm cloud, and I.
tepped bac�
in alarmx

Then the.
column of light.
himmered, and a woma'

tood before
. She w.
n�t pr.
ent in the fl.
hy
he w.
tra'
lucent,.
the.
candle.
on.
the.
workbench.
behind.
v
ibl.
through her dark gown. It w.
her image, projected fro.

omewhere e
e. Suddenly I recognized her face. It w.
th.
witch that Bill Arkwright had killedx
Or w.
it? I had.
een that witch cl.
e up, and I w.

ure that both her ey.

had been the.
ame color. I looke.
again, and with a.
tab of fright realized that th
w.
th.
witch from my recurring dreamx

�I hope you enjoyed my.

torm!�.
he cried, a gloatin
expr.
ion in her.
trange ey.
. �I could have drowned yo
then, but I�m.
aving you for later. I have.
omething e
e i'
mind! I�ve been waiting for you, boy! With jibbe�
to b.
dealt with, I knew you�d.
how up. How do you like them? It.
the b.
t.
pell I�ve c.
t for many a long year.}

I didn�t reply, and the witch.

ey.
.
wiveled towar.
Alice. �And th
Alice. I�ve been watching the pair of youx
I�ve.
een what good frien.
you are. Soon you�ll both be i'
my clutch.
.}

Angrily I.
tepped forward, placing m.
elf between th.
witch and Alicex

She gave an ugly leer. �Ah! I.

ee that you care for herx
Than�
for that, boy. You�ve confirmed what I.
pectedx
Now I know another way to hurt you. And hurt you I will. I�l
certainly pay you back many tim.
over for what you�v.
done!}

The image rapidly faded, and Alice came to my.

idex
�Who w.
.
he, Tom?�.
he .
ked. �She.
eemed to kno.
you.}

�Remember th.
e ey.
I.
aw in the cloud? It w.
herx
Her face w.
that of the Celtic witch.
lain by Bill Arkwright.}

�I think we�re both in danger. She h.

powerful magi.
�I can.
e'
e it,� Alice.
aid, her ey.
wide. �R.
po'
ibl.
for the jibbe�
,.
he
. She m
t be really powerful to d.
that.}

Back at the inn, we told the Spook of our encounter with th.
image of the witchx

�It.
dangero
, being a.
pook,� he.
aid. �You coul.
top dealing with jibbe�
, but that would mean that man.
people would be harmed�innocent people who could b.

aved if you did your job bravely. It.

up to you. The witch
an unknown quantityy
omeone to be treated with grea
caution. I wouldn�t blame you for walking away. So what wil
you do?}

�We�ll carry on�both of

,� I.
aid, nodding towar.
Alicex

�Good lad. I thought that would be your a'

wer�. It.
til

adde'
me to think that the only way we can get rid oy
jibbe�
by
ing dark magic,� my m.
ter added. �Mayb.
thin
are changing, though. Maybe in the future that will b.
a new way for a.
pook to fight the dark,
ing the dar�
agai'
t i
elf. I don�t hold with it m.
elf,.
but I�m from .
different generation. I.
belong to the p.
t, but.
you�re th.
future, lad. You�ll face new and different threa
, and dea
with them in a different way.}

So Alice and I continued with our work, and in th.

pace.
of.
ix day, together we freed two inn, anothe�
hop, and five private ho
.
from jibbe�
. Each time, Alic.
countered the.
pell, and I then talked the freed.
pirit out oy
limbo and into the light. Each time we felt apprehe'
ive, bu
the witch didn�t appear again. W.
.
he bluffing and j
trying to.
care me away? But I had my job to dox

In contr.
t to the County, it.
eemed that the c
tom i'
Ireland w.
to pay.
omeone immediately after a job w.
completed,.
o we had plenty of money in our pocke
. The'
we had a v
itory
omeone who arrived on the.
event
day,.
ending
off on a different cou�
ex

We were.
itting at our
ual table having breakf.
t. The in'
till had no other c
tome�
, but the landlord w.
confiden
that the.
ituation would.
oon change and had hinted tha
our departure would h.
ten the arrival of h
fi�
t payin
gu.
t..
Our.
pr.
ence.
here.
w.
.
now.
widely.
known,.
an.
although the inn w.
no longer haunted, few people woul.
really w
h to take a room where a.
pook w.
.
taying. Th.

upe�
titio
believed that malevolent creatur.
from th.
dark.
followed.
in.
the.
wake.
of.
a.
pook..
My.
m.
te�
unde�
tood that, and we�d already decided to move ou�
quarte�
later that day, probably heading.
outh of the Rive�
Liffey, which divided the cityx

I.
w.
.
j
t.
wallowing.
my.
l.
t.
piece.
of.
bacon.
an.
mopping up my egg yolk with a wedge of buttered brea.
when a.
tranger entered the room from the.
treet. He w.
.
tall, upright man with white hair and a contr.
ting blac�
beard and m
tache. That alone w.
enough to earn him .

econd glance on any of the teeming Dublin thoroughfar.

w
but.
add.
to.
that.
h
.
cloth.
�a.
formal.
knee-length.
coatw
neatly pr.
ed black tro
e�
, and expe'
ive boo
, whic
marked him out .
a gentleman of the fi�
t rank�and al
ey.
would have noted h
p.
ing. He a
o carried a'
ebony walking.
tick with an ivory handle in the.
hape of a'
eagle.
headx

The landlord r
hed acr.
to greet him, bowing lo.
before welcoming him into the inn and offering him the b.
room. But the.
tranger w.
barely l
tening to h
h.
t; h.
w.
.
taring at our table. W.
ting no time, he came acr.
and addr.
ed the Spookx

�Have I the ple.

ure of.
peaking to John Gregory?� h.
.
ked. �And you m
t be Tom Ward,� he added, looking a
me. He gave a curt nod in Alice.
directionx

The Spook nodded and got to h

feet. �Aye, that.
me,� he.
aid. �And that.
my apprentice. Are you here t.
.
k for our help?}

The man.
hook h
head. �On the contrary, I am here t.
offer you .
tance. Your.
ucc.
in ridding the city oy
many of i
troubl.
ome apparitio'
h.
brought you to th.
attention of a powerful and dangero
group. I.
peak of th.
goat mag.
of Staigue. We have our own.
pi.
, and the.
tell me that the mag.
have already d
patched .
.
i'
to th
city. Being.
ervan
of the dark, they cannot tolerat.
your pr.
ence in our land. That
why the few remainin
Ir
h.
poo�
avoid the main tow'
and never.
ettle in on.
place for more than a couple of da.
.}

The Spook nodded thoughtfully. �We�d heard that the.

were a dying breed. What you.
ay mak.
.
e'
e, but wh.
hould you w
h to help
? By doing.
o, won�t you b.
putting you�
elf at r
k?}

�My life
permanently at r
k,�.
aid the man. �Allo.
me to introduce m.
elf. I am Farrell Shey, the leader of th.
Land Alliance, a league of landowne�
who have been a
war with the mag.
for many yea�
.}

In.
addition.
to.
what.
I�d.
once.
read.
in.
the.
Spook.
B.
tiary,.
while.
working.
with.
Bill.
Arkwright.
I�d.
met.
.
landowner who�d fled Ireland to .
cape the mag.
. It ha.
done him no good. They�d.
ent one of the Celtic witch.
t.

lay him in h
County refuge, and.
he�d been.
ucc.
fulw
d.
pite our b.
t effor
to.
ave himx
�Well, in that c.
e, we would certainly welcome you�
.
tance,�.
aid the Spookx

�And in return,� Shey.

aid, �you may be able to
.
your expert
e to help u. A dangerou few month li.
ahead�on.
which.
ome of
will be hard pr.
ed t.

urvive. The goat mag.

are preparing for their ritual i'
Killorgliny
o we m
t delay no further. Gather your thin
together, and I�ll get you out of the city immediately.}

We did .
he i'
tructed, and within a few minut.
we�.
taken our leave of the grateful landlord and were followin
Shey through a number of narrow alleywa.
, emerging ont.
a.
ide.
treet where a large carriage w.
waiting. Drawn b.
a team of.
ix ho�
.
, it.
eemed to be made for.
peed, an.
i
appearance w.
not deceptive. The coach driver w.

martly dr.
ed in green livery, and in attendance w.
.
large.
black-bearded man with a.
word at h
.
belt, wh.
bowed.
to.
Shey.
and.
opened.
the.
carriage.
doo�
.
for.
before taking h
place b.
ide the driverx

Seated in comfort and hidden from the gaze of th.

curio
by lace curtai'
, we had.
oon cr.
ed the river an.
were.
heading.
w.
t.
out.
of.
the.
city;.
the clip-clop.
no.
became a rhythmical thunder of pounding ho�
.
� hoov.
x

Alice.
turned.
toward.
me,.
and.
.
.
our.
ey.
.
met,.
gu.
ed that.
he w.
thinking the.
ame thing .
I w.
: I
had all happened too f.
t. Th
Farrell Shey w.
ed t.
being in command, and it had taken little pe�
u.
ion t.
make
follow him. J
t what were we getting ou�
elv.
into7

�Where are we bound?� .

ked the Spookx

�We�re.
making.
for.
Kerry,.
in.
the.
outhw.
t,�.
She.
repliedx

�But
n�t that where the goat mag.
are b.
ed?�
.
ked,.
tarting to feel more than a little une.
yx

�It
indeed,� he a'
wered. �But we live there, too. It
a.
beautiful.
but.
dangero
.
part.
of.
th
.
fair.
land..
An.
ometim.
, in order to counter a threat, you have to go ou
boldly and face it. Would you rather have died in the cityw
waiting for the .
.
i'
to come for you? Or would yo
come and place your.
trength alon
ide ou�
in an attemp
to end the power of the mag.
forever?}

�We.
will.
add.
our.
trength.
to.
you�
,�.
a'
wered.
th.
Spook. �Don�t doubt that.}

Alice and I exchanged another look. The Spook ha.

clearly made h
dec
ionx

�I�ve fought the dark all my life,� he told Shey, �and wil
do.
o until my dying day.}

All that day the carriage took

w.
t,.
topping only twice t.
change hor.
. The do
traveled with u,.
occ.
ionall.
running.
alon
ide.
to.
tretch.
their.
le
..
Then.
the.
roa.
became narrower and the pace.
lowed co'
iderably. B.
now we could j
t make out.
now-capped mountai'
in th.
far d
tancex

�Th.
e are the mountai'
of Kerry; my home li.
o'
the peni'
ula of Uibh Rathach,�.
aid Shey. �But we won�
be able to reach it tonight. There.
an inn ahead that w.
can make.
ecure.}

�So we are in danger already?� .

ked the Spookx

�There.
.
alwa.
.
danger..
We�ll.
have.
been.
followe.
from the city, and our enemi.
will be lying both ahead an.
behind
. But don�t worry�we are well prepared.}

The place where we were to.

ay w.
.
ituated on th.
edge of a wood and reached by a.
ingle narrow track. I'
fact, it had no.
ign hanging ou
ide, and although Shey ha.
called.
it.
an.
inn,.
it.
looked.
more.
like.
a.
private.
ho
.
commandeered.
to.
provide.
a.
refuge.
in.
a.
dangero
locationx

That night, after walking the do

, we dined well o'
genero
portio'
of a potato and onion.
tew, rich wit
piec.
of.
ucculent mutton. .
we ate, my m.
ter.
tarted t.
qu.
tion Shey about the goat mag.
. He already knew th.
general a'
we�
to.
ome of h
qu.
tio'
, but that w.
th.
Spook.
.
way;.
what.
Shey.
told.
him.
could.
a
o.
contai'
important new information that might make the differenc.
between victory and defeat. Our.
urvival might depend o'
what we were able to learn herex

�You mentioned that the goat mag.

are preparing fo�
their ritual in Killorglin?� he .
kedx

�That.
.
correct,�.
Shey.
replied,.
troking.
h
.
blac�
m
tache. �That alwa.
brin
a cr
.}
�But it.
.
till winter, and I�d heard that the ceremon.
tak.
place in Aug
t�.}

�They now .
emble twice a year,� Shey a'
wered. �I
w.
once an annual late.
ummer event, held at what
known .
the Puck Fair. They tether a mountain goat on .
high platform and leave it there; their dark ritua
end i'
human.
acrific.
. The object
to pe�
uade the god Pan t.
enter the body of the living goat. If he do.
.
o, their magi.
made more powerful and they can hunt down and kill thei�
enemi.
; but if the magic fai
, it
our turn to pu�
ue themx

�In their effor

to defeat
, they now try to invoke th.
god twice a year�in both March and Aug
t. L.
t yea�
they failed on both occ.
io'
, but in all their long h
tory oy
dealing with the dark they have never done.
o three tim.
in a rowx

�Additionally, they have a new leader�a dangero

fanatic called Mag
ter Doolan, who�ll.
top at nothing t.
achieve h
ai.
. He.
a bloodthi�
ty wretch who deligh
i'
the name of the Butcher of Bantry. He w.
born on th.

hor.
of Bantry Bay, to the.
outh, and w.
actually a'
apprentice butcher before he d
covered h
talent for th.
dark ar
. But he h.
n�t l.
t h
.
kill with kniv.
. He kil
people for the love of it, cutting off their finge�
and to.
one by one, killing them with a hundred cu
, to prolong thei�
deat
before he finally cho�
off their hea.
x

�So th
a time of great danger for
. We m
.
ume that next month, unl.
we can.
top them, they wil
ummon Pan and acquire even more deadly power.}
�I�ve pledged my help�but how would you normally tr.
and.
top them?� .
ked the Spookx

�We�ve.
waged.
th
.
war.
agai'
t.
the.
mag.
.
fo�
centuri.
..
Our.
ual.
method.
.
to.
e.
force.
of.
ar.
y
though.
we�ve.
had.
limited.
ucc.
..
They.
have.
a'
invulnerable.
refuge.
in.
the.
ring.
fort.
at.
Staigue,.
but.
th.
majority m
t venture out for the ceremony in Killorglin. S.
we often harry them on the way or attack them in the tow'
i
elf..
In.
the.
p.
t,.
uch.
attemp
.
have.
only.
delayed.
th.
mag.
, but when their magic fai
, we�ve managed to kill .
good many of them before they can return to the fort.}

�Do you know why they go to Killorglin?� my m.

te�
wondered. �Why there? Why don�t they.
j
t perform th.
ceremony in the.
afety of their fort?}

Shey.
hrugged. �We think that the.
ite of the market i'
Killorglin
important: It.
a place where natural dark powe�
emerg.
from the earth. .
far .
we.
know, they hav.
never attempted the ritual e
ewhere�.}

That made.
e'
e. There were indeed.
pecial plac.
on.
earth.
where.
the.
practice.
of.
dark.
magic.
w.
.
mad.
e.
ier; the whole County w.
a haven for boggar
. Withi'
i
boundari.
there were.
it.
of great potency, .
peciall.
around Pendle Hill. D.
pite the flowing.
trea.
, which the.
could not e.
ily cr.
, Pendle had attracted.
everal larg.
cla'
of witch.
x

�Can�t the mag.

be driven from their refuge once an.
for all?� .
ked my m.
terx

�That.
imp.
ible,� Shey replied. �The Staigue fort
a.
formidable.
place,.
built.
by.
an.
ancient.
people.
wh.
inhabited th
land two tho
and yea�
ago or more. T.
attempt to.
torm it would c.
t
too dearly. In practica
ter.
, it.
invulnerable.}

�What about the Celtic witch.

?� I .
ked. �Do you hav.
any proble.
with them, Mr. Shey?}

I w.
thinking of the ey.
in the cloud and the witc
who had threatened
after we�d dealt with the.
jibberx
Celtic witch.
were.
upp.
ed to be alli.
of the mag.
x

�They.
ometim.
act .
.
pi.
for the mag.
but d.
not form cla'
. We�re dealing only with the odd
olate.
witch�they�re.
an.
occ.
ional.
nu
ance.
rather.
than.
th.

erio
threat p.
ed by the mag.
,� explained Sheyx

�Tom might j
t be in.
pecial danger from the witch.
,}
Alice told him. �Helped to kill a Celtic witch back home, h.
did. Before.
he died, the witch threatened that the Morriga'
would kill him if he ever dared to.
et foot on th
land.}

�Probably j
t an empty threat,�.
aid Shey. �M.
t of th.
time the Morrigan.
lee�
y
he only awake'
and ente�
our world when.
ummoned by a witch. Th
happe'
rarelyw
for.
he
a difficult godd.
to deal with and often ven
her wrath on her own.
ervan
. So don�t concern you�
ely
unduly about it, boy. It.
the mag.
who p.
e the great.
threat to
. And tomorrow, .
we pr.
on into Kerry, tha
threat will incre.
e.}

Shey brought a map acr.

to the table, unfolded itw
and.
pread it out. �That.
where we�re bound for,� he.
aidw
jabbing h
finger at the heart of the map. �That.
my homex
I call it God.
country!}

It w.
a good name for a place you liked�but it w.
full of evil mag.
who practiced dark magic and, no doubtw
more.
than.
one.
Celtic.
witch..
I.
tudied.
the.
map.
an.
committed .
much of it to memory .
I could. In the work oy
a.
pook, you never know when knowledge of the terrai'
might come in
efulx
CHAPTER Iv
THE MIRROc
THAT.
night.
I.
had.
another.
lucid.
dream,.
reliving.
a.
car.
incident from my p.
t�the final encounter with the Celti.
witch that Bill Arkwright and I had faced back home in th.
Countyx
I could.
ee the witch j
t ahead of me now, runnin
through the tre.
in the dappled moonlight. I w.
ch.
in
her, cl.
ing f.
t, readying my.
ilver chain, feeling confiden
that I could bind her. But I w.
about to c.
t it when.
h.
werved away.
o that a tree.
tood between me and m.
target. Suddenly the burly figure of Bill Arkwright r.
e up t.
confront.
her,.
and.
they.
collided..
He.
fell,.
but.
he.
onl.
taggered for a.
econd, then continued f.
ter than everx
We were now in the open, beyond the tre.
,.
printin
toward a gr.
y burial mound. But j
t .
I w.
about t.
throw my.
ilver chain, a brilliant light blazed.
traight into m.
face, temporarily blinding me. Briefly, the witch.
.
ilhouett.
tood out agai'
t a round yellow doorway. Then,.
uddenlyw
there w.
darkn.
and.
ilencex
I came to a.
udden halt, g.
ping for breath, takin
tock of my.
urroundin
. The air w.
warmer now, an.
a.
olutely.
till. I'
ide, beyond the doorway, ligh
flared o'
the rocky wal
�black witch candl.
. I could a
o.
ee .
mall table and two wooden chai�
x
To my d
may, I realized that I w.
now i'
ide th.
burial mound! I�d followed the witch through the magica
door.
he�d opened�and there.
he w.
,.
tanding befor.
me, an expr.
ion of wrath on her face. I took a few dee�
breat
to calm m.
elf and.
low my pounding heartx
�What a fool you be to follow me!�.
he criedx
�Do you alwa.
talk in rhyme?� I .
ked, trying to thro.
her off her guardx
It worked, and the witch didn�t get a chance to replyw
beca
e .
I.
poke I c.
t my.
ilver chain. It brought her t.
her kne.
, the lin�
.
tretched tight acr.
her mouth t.
ilence her. It w.
a perfect.
hot. I�d bound the witch, bu
now I had a real problem. I could no longer.
ee a door. Ho.
w.
I going to get out of the mound7
Perha�
.
I�d.
be.
trapped.
i'
ide.
the.
mound.
foreverx
Never being able to wake up�it w.
a terrifying thoughtx
I.
earched the i'
ide of the chamber carefully, runnin
my finge�
over the place where I.
eemed to have enteredx
But.
the.
rock.
w.
.
eaml.
..
I.
w.
.
in.
a.
cave.
with.
n.
entrance. Arkwright w.
.
till on the ou
ide; I really w.
trapped i'
ide. Had I bound the witch, or had she boun.
me7

I.
knelt.
cl.
e.
to.
her,.
taring.
into.
her.
ey.
,.
whic

eemed to crinkle with am

ement. Beneath the chain, he�
mouth w.
pulled away from her teeth; half a.
mile, half .
grimacex

I urgently needed to find out how to leave the place.

needed to remove the chain from the witch.
mouth.
o tha
he could.
peakx

Butp
Ip
didn�tp
wantp
top
dop
it,p
becausep
Ip
suddenln
remembered what happened nextt

The.
co'
cio
part of me�the bit that knew I w.
having.
a.
dream�d.
perately.
fought.
for.
controlx
Somewhere, I knew I.
houldn�t be doing th
. But I couldn�
help m.
elf. I w.
a pr
oner of the dream, forced to follo.
that.
ame r
ky cou�
e of action. So I e.
ed the chain fro.
her mouth. Now I had to face the co'
equenc.
x

Her li�
free of the chain, the witch w.
able to c.
dark magic.
pel
, and.
he.
tarted immediately. Speakin
in the Old Tongue,.
he uttered three rapid phr.
.
, eac
ending in a rhyme. Then.
he opened her mouth very widew
and a thick black cloud of.
moke erupted from itx

I.
prang to my feet and.
taggered backward .
th.
threatening cloud continued to grow. The witch.
face w.
lowly.
being.
ecli�
ed,.
the.
cloud.
becoming.
de'
er.
an.
taking on an evil dark.
hapex

I could now.
ee black-feathered win
, ou
tretche.
cla.
, and a.
harp beak. The cloud had turned into a blac�
crow. The witch.
open mouth w.
a portal to the dark! Sh.
had.
ummoned her godd.
, the Morrigan.

But th
w.
not a bird of normal.
ize and proportio'
�
it.
w.
.
imme'
e,.
d
torted,.
and.
tw
ted.
into.
omethin
grot.
que.
and.
evil..
The.
beak,.
le
,.
and.
cla.
.
wer.
elongated,.
tretched.
out, reaching toward me, while th.
head and body remained at a d
tance, looking relativel.

mallx
But then the win
grew, too, until they reached out o'
either.
ide.
of.
that.
mo'
tro
.
bird.
to.
fill.
all.
the.
pac.
available. They fluttered, battering wildly agai'
t the wal
oy
the chamber,.
m.
hing the table.
o that it broke in half. Th.
cla.
.
truck out at me. I ducked, and they raked agai'
t th.
wall above my head, gouging into the.
olid rockx

I w.
going to die here! But.
uddenly I w.
filled wit
inner.
trength. Confidence replaced fear; there w.
angerw
toox

I acted without co'

cio
dec
ion, and with a.
pee.
that .
ton
hed even me. I.
tepped forward, cl.
er to th.
Morrigan, rele.
ed my.
taff.
retractable blade, and.
wep
it acr.
from left to right. The blade cut deep into the bird.
bre.
t,.
licing a bloody red line through the black feathe�
x

There.
w.
.
a.
bloodcurdling.
cream..
The.
godd.
convu
ed and contracted,.
hrinking rapidly until.
he w.
no larger than my f
t. Then.
he van
hed�though blac�
feathe�
.
meared with blood fluttered.
lowly to the groundx

Now I could once more.

ee the witch. She.
hook he�
head, her expr.
ion one of acute .
ton
hment. �That.
not p.
ible!�.
he cried. �Who are you that you can do.
uc
a thing?}

�My.
name.
.
Tom.
Ward,�.
I.
told.
her..
�I�m.
a.
pook.
apprentice, and my job
to fight the dark.}

She.
miled grimly. �Well, you�ve fought your l.
t battlew
boy. There
no way you can .
cape th
place, and.
oo'
the godd.
will return. You will.
not find it.
o e.
y th.

econd time.}
I.
miled.
and.
glanced.
down.
at.
the.
blood�
plattere.
feathe�
that littered the floor. Then I looked her.
traight i'
the eye, doing my b.
t not to blink. �We�ll.
ee. Next time
might cut off her head�.}

I w.
bluffing, of cou�
e. I w.
j
t trying to appea�
more confident than I felt. I had to pe�
uade th
witch t.
open the door of the moundx

�Don�t ever v
it my land, boy!�.
he warned me. �Th.
Morrigan
much more powerful there. And.
he
vengefulx
She would torment you beyond anything you can imaginex
Whatever you do,.
tay away from Ireland!}

I awoke in a cold.
weat, my heart pounding, relieved to.
e.
that it w.
alm.
t dawnx

I remembered the dark da.

we�d.
pent on the
le oy
Mona,.
truggling to.
urvive. Then, it had been the Spoo�
who w.
plagued by nightmar.
. Mercifully, h
had gonew
but now I�d inherited them. Now I rarely enjoyed a r.
tfu
dreaml.
.
leepx

I went over in my mind what had actually happene.

next back in the County. I�d made a bargain with the witchx
In return for her opening the magical door, I�d prom
ed.
h.
could go free .
long .
.
he left the County and returned t.
Ireland. But once ou
ide, I�d no.
ooner rele.
ed her fro.
my.
ilver chain than Bill Arkwright threw h
knife into he�
back, killing her on the.
pot. Later he�d cut out her heartw
and it had been eaten by h
do
�th
e'
uring that.
h.
could not return from the deadx

So there w.
no way the.
ame witch could be here i'
Ireland,.
eeking revenge. I tried to convince m.
elf of thatw
but I.
till felt une.
y and had a.
trong.
e'
e of forebodin
�.
.
if.
omething.
had.
followed.
me.
back.
from.
th.
nightmare and w.
in the room with mex

Suddenly, from the far corner of the room, j

t by th.
door, I heard a faint no
e. Could it be a mo
e or a rat7

I l
tened carefully, but there w.
nothing. Maybe I�.
been m
taken�. Then it came again. Th
time it w.
lik.
a foo
tep, and it w.
accompanied by another.
oundy
one that filled me with new terrorx

It w.
the.
izzle and h
of burning woodx

That.
ound brought back the memory of one of m.
wo�
t.
experienc.
.
ince.
becoming.
the.
Spook.
apprentice. It
ually heralded the approach of the Fiendw
h
cloven hoov.
burning into the floorboar.
x

My.
heart.
lurched.
up.
into.
my.
mouth.
.
.
I.
heard.
th.
terrifying.
oun.
twice more in quick.
ucc.
ion. I coul.
now actually.
mell the burning wood.

But j
t when I thought the Fiend would appear by m.
ide at any.
econd, the.
izzling ce.
ed and the burnin
mell faded away. Then there w.
.
ilence. I waited a lon
time before I dared to get out of bed. At l.
t,.
ummonin
my courage, I got up, carrying my candle acr.
to examin.
the floorboar.
. The l.
t time I�d.
een the Fiend manif.
hi.
elf in th
way, deep groov.
had been burned into th.
floor. Here, the prin
had left only faint mar�
on the woodx
But they were unm
takable: four cloven hoofprin
leadin
from the door toward the bedx
Trying not to wake the ho
ehold, I went to fetch m.
m.
ter and Alice and brought them to the room. My m.
te�
hook h
head; Alice looked really.
caredx

�There.
.
little.
doubt,.
lad,�.
the.
Spook.
aid..
�It.
.
th.
Fiend for.
ure. I thought that jar w.
.
upp.
ed to keep hi.
at bay.}

�Let me.
ee it again, Tom,� Alice .
ked, holding ou
her handx

�I fell on the jar when we faced that fi�

t jibber,� I told m.
m.
ter,.
handing.
it.
over..
�But.
I.
howed.
Alice,.
and.
h.
thought it w.
all right.}

�Ain�t.
ure that it.
all right now,�.
he.
aid,.
haking he�
head and looking worried. She carefully traced her finge�
along the line of the crack. When.
he held it up, there w.
.
very faint red.
mear on it. �It.
hardly leaking at all�bu
there were only.
ix dro�
of blood in the jar to.
tart with. I
power to keep the Fiend at bay
.
lowly l.
ening. Time
running out for
�.}

She didn�t need to fin

h her.
entence. .
the jar.
power weakened, the Fiend would be able to get cl.
e�
and cl.
er. Eventually he�d.
natch me away into the darky
and d.
troy Alice, too, in revenge for the help.
he�d give'
mex

�We thought we had plenty of time to deal with th.

Fiend,� I.
aid to my m.
ter. �Now it.
becoming urgent. Th.
jar could fail at any moment.� I turned to Alice. �Why don�
you try and contact Grimalkin again?}

�I�ll do my b.
t, Tom. J
t hope nothing.
happened t.
her.}

The Spook.
aid nothing, but h
expr.
ion w.
grimx
From h
point of view, it w.
all bad. By depending on th.
blood jar, we were already in coll
ion with the dark. If w.
didn�t.
ummon Grimalkin, the jar would eventually fail an.
the Fiend would come for me and Alice�the Spook, too, iy
he tried to get in the way. But in .
king for Grimalkin.
helpw
we were
ing the dark once again. I knew he felt trappe.
and.
comprom
ed.
by.
the.
ituation�and.
it.
w.
.
of.
m.
makingx

The.
night.
had.
been.
cold.
and.
windl.
,.
and.
a.
heav.
hoarfr.
t whitened the ground .
we.
et off w.
t for Kerryx
The early morning.
un glittered off the.
till-d
tant.
now-cla.
pea�
.
ahead..
Yet.
again.
Alice.
had.
failed.
to.
contac
Grimalkin. She had been
ing a mirror, but in.
pite of he�
b.
t effor
, the witch .
.
in hadn�t r.
pondedx

�I�ll keep trying, Tom,�.

he told me. �That.
all I can dox
But.
I�m.
cared..
There.
.
no.
knowing.
how.
long.
we.
hav.
before the jar fai
.}

The Spook.
j
t.
hook h
head and.
tared out th.
window,.
watching.
the.
do
.
.
.
they.
ran.
alon
ide.
th.
carriage. There w.
nothing to be.
aid. Nothing we coul.
do. If Grimalkin didn�t a'
wer.
oon, it would all be overx
Death and an eternity of torment awaited
x

Within the hour, a group of armed ride�

in emerald�
green tuni.
joined
to provide an .
cort�two ahead oy
our carriage, four behind. All day we continued.
outhw.
tw
our elevation incre.
ing .
the brooding mountai'
ahea.
reared up into the cloudl.
pale-blue.
ky. Then, .
the.
u'
began to.
ink toward the w.
t, we.
aw the.
ea below
w
and a.
mall town huddled on the edge of a river .
tuaryx

�That.
.
Kenmare,.
my.
hometown,�.
aid.
Shey..
�It.
.
.
haven from the mag.
. They have never attacked
herey
at le.
t not yet. My ho
e li.
on the edge of a wood to th.
w.
t.}

The ho
e proved to be an elegant ma'
ion built in th.

hape of a letter E; the three win

were each three.
tori.
high. The doo�
were.
tout, and the windo.
on the groun.
floor were.
huttered. Additionally, there w.
a high wal
completely encircling it. Entry to the groun.
w.
through .

ingle wrought-iron gate, which w.

j
t wide enough t.
allow our carriage to p.
. It certainly provided a good dea
of protection from attack. There were a
o armed guar.
patrolling both the i'
ide and ou
ide of the wallx

The h.
pitality of our h.
t w.
excellent, and we dine.
well that nightx

�What do you think of th

green country of ou�
?� h.
.
kedx

�It.
like home,� I told him. �It remin.
me of the Count.
where we live.}

H
face broke into a grin. I had.
aid the right thing, bu
in truth mine w.
an hon.
t reply. I had meant every wordx
�It.
a troubled land with a proud.
but good-hearte.
people,�.
he.
aid..
�But.
the.
Otherworld.
.
never.
very.
fa�
away.}

�The.
Otherworld?� .
ked the Spook. �What do.
yo
mean by that?}

�It.
the place where the dead hero.
of Ireland dwellw
awaiting their chance to be reborn.}

The Spook nodded but w.

too polite to air h
tru.
though
..
After.
all,.
we.
were.
gu.
,.
and.
our.
h.
t.
w.
genero
indeed. By the Otherworld, Farrell Shey probabl.
meant the dark. I knew nothing about Ir
h hero.
, but it w.
certainly true that.
ome malevolent witch.
had returne.
from the dark to be born again into th
worldx

�We don�t have many hero.

in the County, alive o�
dead,� Alice.
aid, grinning m
chievo
ly. �All we have ar.
poo�
and their daft apprentic.
!}
The Spook frowned at Alice, but I j
t.
miled. I kne.
he didn�t mean itx

My m.
ter turned to Farrell Shey and .
ked, �Woul.
you tell
.
omething of your Ir
h hero.
? We�re.
trange�
to your land and would like to know more about it.}

Shey.
miled..
�Were.
I.
to.
give.
you.
a.
full.
account.
oy
Ireland.
hero.
, we�d be here for da.
,.
o I�ll j
t tell yo
briefly.
about.
the.
great.
t.
of.
them.
all..
H
.
name.
Cuchulain, a
o known .
the Hound of Calann. He w.
given that.
econd.
name.
beca
e, .
a.
young man, h.
fought a huge, fierce hound with h
bare han.
. He killed i
by d.
hing i
brai'
out agai'
t a gatep.
tx

�He w.
imme'
ely.
trong and.
killed with.
word an.
pear, but he
m.
t famed for h
battle frenzy�a kind oy
be�
erker.
fury..
H
.
m
cl.
.
and.
h
.
whole.
body.
woul.

well; one eye would recede back into h

.
kull, while th.
other bulged from h
m.
ive forehead. Some.
ay that, i'
battle, blood erupted from every pore of h
body; othe�
that it w.
merely the blood of the enemi.
he.
lew. H.
defended h
homeland many tim.
, winning great victori.
agai'
t terrible od.
. But he died young.}

�How did he meet h

end?� .
ked the Spookx

�He.
w.
.
cu�
ed.
by.
witch.
,�.
Shey.
replied..
�The.
withered h
left.
houlder and arm.
o that h
.
trength w.
dimin
hed by half. Even.
o, he continued to fight and too�
the liv.
of many of h
enemi.
. H
end came when th.
fy

Morrigan, the godd.

of.
laughter, turned agai'
t himx
She had loved him, but he had rejected her advanc.
. I'
revenge,.
he
ed her powe�
agai'
t him. Weakened, h.

uffered a mortal wound to the.

tomach, and h
enemi.
cut off h
head. Now he wai
in the Otherworld until it
time for him to return and.
ave Ireland again.}

We.
ate.
in.
ilence.
for.
a.
while:.
Shey.
w.
.
clearl.

addened by the memory of Cuchulain.

death, while th.
Spook.
eemed deep in thought. For my part, I had bee'
u'
ettled by that mention of the Morrigan. I met Alice.
ey.
and.
aw that her m
chievo
te.
ing had been replace.
by fear. She w.
thinking of the threat to mex

�I�m intrigued by your talk of th

Otherworld,�.
aid th.
Spook, breaking the.
ilence. �I know that your witch.
ca'
e magical doo�
to enter ancient burial moun.
. Can the.
a
o enter the Otherworld?}

�They.
can�and.
often.
do.
o,�.
aid.
Shey..
�In.
factw
another name for the Otherworld
the Hollow Hil
. Th.
.
moun.
are actually gatewa.
to that domain. But eve'
witch.
don�t.
tay there long. It
a dangero
place, bu
within it there are plac.
of refuge. They are called.
idh.
w
and.
although.
to.
ordinary.
human.
ey.
.
they.
look.
lik.
church.
, they are actually for
that can wit
tand even a'
.
ault by a god. But a.
idhe
a dwelling for a hero: Onl.
the worthy can enter. A l.
er being would be d.
troyed i'
an i'
tant�both body and.
oul extingu
hed.}

H
wor.
brought back an image from my recurren
nightmare. Running from the Morrigan, I�d.
ought refuge i'
what appeared to be a church. W.
it really a.
idhe? M.
drea.
were.
tarting to make.
ome kind of.
e'
e to mex
W.
I learning from them, gaining knowledge that migh
help me in the future? I wonderedx

�You.
ee,.
that.
.
what.
the.
mag.
.
ultimately.
eek,}
continued Shey. �By drawing enough.
trength from Panw
they hope one day to gain control of the Otherworld�whic
contai'
ite.
that could endow them with imme'
e powe�
back here.}

�What.
thin
?�.
.
ked.
the.
Spook..
�Spel
?.
Dar�
magical power?}

�Could.
be,�.
aid Shey. �But a
o weapo'
.
of grea
potency,.
manufactured.
by.
the.
go.
.
the.
elv.
..
Som.
believe that a war hammer forged by the blac�
mith go.
Hepha.
t
hidden there. Once thrown, it never m
.
i
target and alwa.
retur'
to i
owner.
hand. Doolan th.
Butcher would love to get h
han.
on.
omething like that!}

The Spook thanked our h.

t for the information, an.
the topic of conve�
ation changed to farming and hop.
fo�
the next potato crop. There had been two bad yea�
oy
blight; another poor harv.
t would bring many people cl.
.
to.
tarvation..
I.
began.
to.
feel.
guilty..
We.
had.
dined.
wel
during.
our.
tay in Ireland, while, out there, people wer.
going hungryx

We were all tired after the journey and went to bed earlyx
Alice w.
in the next room, cl.
e enough to be protecte.
by the blood jar, the Spook farther down the corridor. I w.
j
t about to undr.
and climb into bed when I heard .
muffled voicex

I opened the door and peered out. There w.

nobod.
there..
I.
tepped.
through.
the.
doorway,.
heard.
the.
voic.
again, and realized that it w.
coming from Alice.
roomx
Who w.
.
he talking to? I leaned agai'
t her door an.
l
tened. It w.
definitely Alice.
voice, but he�
alone. Sh.

eemed.
to.
be.
chanting.
rather.
than.
engaged.
i'
conve�
ation with.
omeone e
ex

I e.
ed her door open and crept in, cl.
ing it carefull.
behind me.
o .
not to make a no
e. Alice w.
.
eated i'
front of the dr.
ing-table mirror, gazing into it intently. B.
her.
ide.
tood a candlex

Suddenly.
he.
topped chanting, and I.
aw that.
h.
w.
.
mouthing.
omething.
ilently.
into.
the.
mirror..
Som.
witch.
wrote on mirro�
, but the more.
killed
ed lip�
reading. She m
t be trying to reach Grimalkinx

My heart leaped, for i'

tead of Alice.
reflection I coul.

ee the outline of a woman.

head in the mirror. From m.
p.
ition by the door I couldn�t make out her featur.
, but fo�
a moment my blood ran cold. However, .
I moved cl.
e�
to th
mirror, the chill quickly p.
ed, for now I recognize.
Grimalkin.
facex

Alice had .
tabl
hed.
contact at l.
t. I w.
elatedw
filled with hope. Perha�
the witch .
.
in would.
oo'
come to Ireland and help
to bind the Fiend.
o that w.
could finally.
top relying on the failing blood jarx

I knew that if.

he emerged from her trance and foun.
me.
itting there,.
he might get a terrible.
hock,.
o I leftw
hutting the door quietly behind me. Once back in my roomw
I.
at down on the chair and waited for her. I felt certain tha
he�d.
oon come and tell me about her conve�
ation wit

Grimalkinx

The next thing I knew, I w.

.
itting up with a jolt. I�.
fallen .
leep. It w.
the middle of the night, and my candl.
had burned low. I w.
.
urpr
ed to find that Alice hadn�
paid me a v
it, but maybe.
he�d fallen .
leep, too. We�.
been traveling for two da.
and were both tired. So I go
undr.
ed and climbed into bedx

A gentle rap on my door woke me. I.

at up. The mornin

un w.
.
treaming through the curtai'
. The door opene.

lightly, and I.
aw that Alice w.
.
tanding there,.
miling a
mex
�Still in bed,.
leepyhead?�.
he.
aid. �We�re alread.
late for breakf.
t. I can hear them talking dow'
tai�
. Can�
you.
mell the bacon?}

I.
miled back. �See you dow'
tai�
!� I.
aidx

It w.
only when Alice had left and I.
tarted to ge
dr.
ed.
that.
I.
realized.
he.
hadn�t.
mentioned.
talking.
t.
Grimalkin.
in.
the.
mirror..
I.
frowned..
Surely.
it.
w.
.
to.
important to leave until later, I thoughtx

For a moment I co'

idered the p.
ibility that I�d j
dreamed.
it,.
but.
my.
m.
ter.
had.
alwa.
.
tr.
ed.
th.
importance of knowing the difference between waking an.
dreaming. The.
tate in.
between.
could.
ometim.
.
be .
problem.
for.
poo�
;.
that.
w.
.
when.
witch.
.
and.
othe�

ervan
of the dark.
ometim.
tried to influence you fo�
their own en.
. It w.
vital to know which w.
which. No�
knew it hadn�t been a dreamx

I went down to breakf.

t and w.
.
oon tucking int.
pork.
a
ag.
and bacon while my m.
ter qu.
tioned ou�
h.
t further about our enemi.
, the goat mag.
x

I.
w.
.
only.
half.
l
tening.
to.
what.
w.
.
being.
aid..
wanted to get Alice alone .
.
oon .
p.
ible.
o that
could .
k her about l.
t night. W.
Grimalkin on her way t.
join
at l.
t? Would.
he reach
before the protection oy
the.
blood.
jar.
failed?.
Why.
hadn�t.
Alice.
mentioned.
he�
conve�
ation to the Spook .
well? There w.
.
omethin

trange and worrying going on herex

�I need a bit of air. I�m going for a walk,� I.

aid, gettin
to.
my.
feet..
�The.
do
.
could.
do.
with.
ome.
exerc
.
anyway.}

�I�ll come with you,� Alice.

aid with a.
mile. Of cou�
.
that.
what I�d planned;.
he couldn�t afford to be.
eparate.
from the blood jarx

�It would be b.
t not to wander too far from the ho
e,}

aid Shey. �Kenmare

a refuge, but even though I hav.
guar.
watching the approach.
to the town, the area
not.
entirely.
afe..
Our.
enemi.
.
will.
alm.
t.
certainly.
b.
watching
.}

�Aye, lad. Take heed,� added the Spook. �We�re in .

land.
that.
.
trange.
to.
,.
and.
we�re.
dealing.
with.
th.
unknown.}

With a nod of agreement, I left the dining room wit

Alice. We went to the kenne
to collect Claw, Blood, an.
Bone, and were.
oon p.
ing through the front gate an.

triding br
kly down the.
lope away from the ho
e. It w.
a fine,.
unny morning again, the very b.
t that could b.
hoped.
for.
in.
late.
winter,.
and.
the.
do
.
raced.
ahea.
excitedly, following.
cen
and barking loudlyx
Keeping an eye out for anything untoward, we entere.
a.
mall wood where the ground w.
.
till white with fr.
tw
and.
there.
I.
pa
ed.
beneath.
the.
bare.
branch.
.
of.
.

ycamore and came directly to the pointx

�I heard you chanting at the mirror l.

t night, Alice.
went into your room and.
aw you talking to Grimalkin. Wha
did.
he.
ay?
.
he on her way? I�m.
urpr
ed you haven�
told me about it already�.� I tried to keep the annoyanc.
out of my voicex

Alice looked fl
tered for a moment and bit her lipx
�Sorry, Tom,�.
he.
aid. �W.
going to tell you but thought i
b.
t to wait awhile. It ain�t good ne.
.}

�What? You mean.

he
n�t able to join
?}

�She.
.
coming, all right,.
but it.
could.
be.
ome tim.
before.
he.
manag.
.
it..
Enemy.
oldie�
.
wept.
throug
Pendle and tried to clear out the witch cla'
. At fi�
t it wen
their way, and they burned.
ome ho
.
and killed a fe.
witch.
. But once it w.
dark, the cla'
conjured up a thic�
fog and, after.
caring the men, drove them into Witch Dellw
where many met their deat
. The witch.
fe.
ted well tha
night. Though that didn�t.
at
fy the Malki'
, beca
e the.

ent Grimalkin after the commander, who had taken refug.

in C.
ter C.
tlex

�Grimalkin.
caled the wal
at midnight and killed hi.
in h
bed. She took h
thumb bon.
and wrote a cu�
e o'
h
bedroom wall in h
blood.}

I.
hivered at that. The witch .
.
in w.
ruthl.
an.
could.
be cruel when the.
ituation demanded it. Nobod.
would want to be on the wrong.
ide of herx

�After that, there w.

a price on her head, and ever.
enemy.
oldier.
north.
of.
Pri.
town.
.
hunting.
her.
down,}
Alice continued. �She.
hoping to reach Scotland and get .
boat from there to bring her to Ireland.}

�I.
till don�t know why you didn�t tell me th
earlier.}

�Sorry, Tom, but I really did think it w.

b.
t to kee�
the bad ne.
from you for a while.}

�But it.
not that bad, Alice. Grimalkin .
caped andw
although delayed,
.
till on her way.}

Alice lowered her ey.

and looked down at her point.

ho.
. �There.
more, Tom�. I can�t hide anything from yo
for long, can I? You.
ee, Grimalkin.
worried about youx
She wan
to d.
troy the Fiend,.
he do.
, but believ.
tha
he can only do it with your help. She believ.
what you�
mam.
aid�that you will find a way to fin
h him. But no.

he.
been warned by a.
cryer that you�re in danger, tha
you r
k death at the han.
of a dead witch�.}
�What�you mean�?}

�Y.
�the.
Celtic.
witch.
you.
mentioned,.
the.
one.
Ol.
Arkwright killed. Grimalkin.
aid.
he.
back from the dea.
and.
he.
hunting you down.}

Imag.
from my nightmare came vividly into my mindx
Were they a warning? Perha�
that.
why I kept having th.
ame dream over and over again. But how could that witc

be after me? I wonderedx

�It.
.
not p.
ible, Alice. She.
can�t.
come.
back..
Bil
Arkwright fed her heart to h
do
!}

�Are you.
ure? Grimalkin.
eemed certain that.
he w.
right,� Alice.
aidx
�I w.
there when he did it, Alice. I.
aw him throw it t.
Claw and her pu�
.}

If you hanged a witch,.

he could come back from th.
dead,.
but.
there.
were.
two.
wa.
.
to.
make.
ure.
that.
h.
couldn�t return. One w.
to burn her; the other w.
to cut ou
her heart and eat it. Th
w.
why Bill Arkwright alwa.
fe.
the hear
of water witch.
to h
do
. He�d done th.

ame.
with.
the.
Celtic.
witch:.
It.
w.
.
a.
tried.
and.
t.
te.
pook.
.
method�it always worked. That witch w.
dea.
beyond any hope of returnx
�Do you remember me telling you about my dreamw

Alice�the one about the Morrigan?� I .

ked herx
She noddedx

�Well,.
I�ve.
been.
having.
that.
ame.
nightmare.
ever.
night. A large black crow
flying after me. I�m in a for.
tw
running toward a chapel. It.
my only chance of refuge, and
have to get i'
ide before midnight�otherw
e it�ll be th.
end of me. But then the crow.
hif
i
.
hape. It.
.
tandin
nearby,.
with.
the.
body.
of.
a.
woman.
but.
the.
head.
of.
.
crow�.}

�Ain�t no doubt about it�that.

the Morrigan for.
ure,}

aid Alicex

�But then the crow.

head.
lowly chang.
into a huma'
one. And I�ve.
een that face before. It.
the witch that Bil
Arkwright killed. But why.
hould the Morrigan take on th.
dead witch.
face?}

�Maybe.
he wan
vengeance for what you and Bil
Arkwright did,�.
ugg.
ted Alice. �.
ing her dead.
ervant.
face
a way of warning you what.
going to happen. Don�
like to.
ay th
, Tom, but it could be more than j
t a'
ordinary nightmare.}

I nodded. Scary .
it w.
, that.
eemed likely. It coul.
be a direct warning from the Morrigan, one of the m.
vengeful and bloodthi�
ty of the Old Go.
x

My.
e'
e of foreboding w.
growing. Not only did w.
face the approaching goat mage ritua
, but now the threa
from the Morrigan.
eemed imminent, too. It w.
a relief t.
know that Grimalkin would.
oon be joining
�though tha
would.
bring.
another.
challenge:.
the.
attempt.
to.
bind.
th.
Fiend. We might.
oon have three powerful entiti.
from th.
dark to contend with all at oncex
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the blood jarw
holding it up to the light and examining it carefully. W.
th.
crack a little bigger? It certainly.
eemed to be. I handed it t.
Alicex

�
the damage wo�
e?� I .
ked her nervo
lyx

Alice.
tudied the jar for a long time, turning it over an.
over in her han.
. Then.
he handed it back to me. �Th.
crack could be lengthening a bit,�.
he admitted, �but it.
no
leaking any more blood. Don�t worry, Tom. When Grimalki'
arriv.
, we can bind the Fiend, and we won�t need that ja�
anymore.}

We.
walked.
lowly.
back.
to.
the.
ho
e,.
the.
do
following at our hee
. By now clou.
had blown in from th.
w.
t to o.
cure the.
un. It looked like the period of goodw

ettled weather w.
over. I could.
mell rainx
CHAPTER v
KILLORGLIw
WHEN we reached Farrell Shey.
ho
e, the Spook w.
pacing back and forth ou
ide the gate. He had a worrie.
look on h
facex
�Where have you been?� he demanded. �I expecte.
you back an hour ago. Weren�t you warned not to go too fa�
from the ho
e? I thought.
omething had happened to you.}
�But.
we.
haven�t.
been.
very.
far.
away,�.
I.
prot.
tedx
�We�ve j
t been talking, that.
all. Alice h.
made contac
with Grimalkin. She
on her way here at l.
t. It could tak.
her a while, but.
he.
coming. So that.
good ne.
,
n�
it?}
Of cou�
e I didn�t tell the Spook everything. He�d find i
hard.
enough.
to.
work.
with.
the.
witch.
.
.
in.
withou
knowing.
the.
detai
.
of.
what.
he�d.
done.
to.
the.
enem.
commanderx
�Aye,.
lad,.
it.
certainly.
.�.
He.
looked.
a.
little.
mor.
cheerful.
now. �But while.
you�ve.
been away, thin
hav.
been decided. .
a matter of fact, they were being decide.
at.
the.
breakf.
t.
table,.
but.
you.
eemed.
to.
have.
othe�
matte�
.
on.
your.
mind..
In.
a.
couple.
of.
yea�
.
you�ll.
hav.
fin
hed your training and you�ll be a.
pook you�
elf. It.
time to think and behave like a.
pook. You.
hould hav.
been concentrating, not away with the fairi.
.}
�I�m.
orry,� I.
aid, hanging my head. I could tell he w.
d
appointed in me. �So what.
happening, then?}
�Up until now the landowne�
have attacked the mag.
j
t before the goat ritual,� my m.
ter explained, �
ually .
they left the fort and traveled to Killorglin. But th
time it wil
be different. Farrell Shey thin�
it�ll be about a week befor.
m.
t of the mag.
travel to the town, but they alwa.
.
en.
a few men on in advance to.
ecure their accommodatio'
and build the tower for the platform. He.
going to hid.
ome of h
men in Killorglin to take the advance party b.
urpr
e, and we�re going with them. You.
ee, we need t.
try and capture one of the goat mag.
and qu.
tion him. I
might.
be.
p.
ible.
to.
learn.
ome.
of.
the.
ecre
.
of.
th.
ceremony�maybe even how to halt or counter itx
�Of.
cou�
e, the hard part will.
be reaching Killorgli'
without the mag.
�.
pi.
warning them of our pr.
ence. S.
Shey.
.
ummoning.
cor.
of armed men. They�ll.
pend th.
day.
couring the.
urrounding countr.
ide and clearing it oy
danger.}

�But with all that activity, won�t the mag.

gu.
tha

omething
up?� I .
kedx

�Aye,.
lad,.
they.
might�but.
they.
won�t.
know.
exactl.
what. It.
far better than allowing their.
pi.
to report bac�
to the Staigue on our departure from the ho
e and th.
direction we take.}

The Land Alliance men returned at d

k, declaring th.
whole area to be.
afe. So, leaving the do
and our ba
behind, the Spook, Alice, and I.
et off for Killorglin unde�
cover of darkn.
, in the company of about a dozen burl.
men under Shey.
commandx

We traveled on foot, through the mountai'

, following .

low arc .
we climbed northe.
t, a heavy, cold drizzl.

lowly turning the trail to mud. .

dawn approached, w.
kirted the.
hore of a large lake before reaching the.
mal
town of Killarney. We took refuge in a barn on the ou
kir
and.
lept.
through.
the.
daylight.
hou�
.
before.
etting.
ofy
againx

By.
now.
the.
rain.
had.
topped.
and.
the.
going.
w.
e.
ier..
Soon.
we.
were.
following.
the.
ban�
.
of.
the.
m
t�

hrouded River Laune, and we arrived on the ou

kir
oy
Killorglin long before dawn. Making camp in a large mudd.
field on the edge of the town, we joined.
cor.
of othe�
who had arrived in anticipation of the Puck Fair. Warmin
our han.
by the fire, we .
ked Farrell Shey about the larg.
numbe�
of people already gatheringx
�I�m.
urpr
ed to.
ee.
o many here already,�.
aid th.
Spook. �The fair i
elf
.
till.
everal da.
away.}

In the gray dawn light the field w.

b
tling with activityx
Some had.
et up.
tal
and were.
elling food:.
trin
oy

a
ag.
, onio'
, and carro
. There were a large numbe�
of anima
, too�ho�
.
were being galloped up and dow'
the field, pr.
enting a great r
k to th.
e on footx

�Th.
e.
people.
don�t.
eem.
to.
be.
tarving,�.
commentedx

�There are alwa.

.
ome who pr.
per, however ba.
thin
get,� Shey replied. �Believe me, there are a lot oy
hungry mout
out there. Many folk will be too weak to wal�
to Killorglin. D.
pite that, the fair ge
bigger every yearx
Winter.
or.
ummer.
mak.
.
no.
difference;.
even.
in.
ba.
weather, hundre.
are drawn here. They come from mil.
around..
Many.
are.
trade�
.
who.
bring.
anima
.
to.
ell.
o�
barter, but there are a
o tinke�
and fortune-telle�
, .
wel
.
.
thiev.
�particularly.
cutpu�
.
..
The.
town.
quickl.
becom.
too full to accommodate them all. Th
field
j
one of many that will eventually be filled to bu�
ting.}

�What about the mag.

?� .
ked the Spookx

�They.
will.
have.
commandeered.
m.
t.
of.
th.
accommodatio'
in the town�particularly overlooking th.
triangular.
market.
at.
i
.
center,.
where.
the.
platform.
erected..
For.
the.
duration.
of.
the.
main.
f.
tival,.
Killorgli'
effectively belon
to them. But th
time we�ll give them .

urpr
e!}

We entered the town late in the morning, j.

tling through th.
narrow.
tree
toward i
center, where a market w.
bein
held. The.
tal
were packed tightly into the cobbled hear
of Killorglin. M.
t.
mall tow'
had a.
quare or rectangula�
market area, but th
w.
indeed triangular; it.
loped awa.
toward a lane that led down a.
teep hill to a d
tant rive�
and bridgex
Shey had donned a rough woolen cloak to hide h
fin.
cloth.
, and nobody gave
a.
econd glance. We mingle.
with the throng of people while he hired a room in wha

eemed to be the.
mall.
t and.
habbi.
t of the many in'
overlooking the b
y market. We quickly appreciated that i
w.
an excellent choice, for unlike the majority of the othe�
in'
, it w.
acc.
ed from a.
treet parallel to the w.
ter'
edge of the cobbled triangle, and we could enter and leav.
without being noticed by anyone in the marketplacex

�Th
the l.
t inn the mag.
are likely to cho.
e,}
Shey.
aid,.
moothing back h
white hair. �They like thei�
comfort and are a
o protective of their.
tat
�only th.
very b.
t for them. If it.
been booked at all, th
place wil
only be
ed by their.
ervan
.}

We.
returned.
to.
the.
field,.
where.
Shey.
.
men.
wer.
cooking over a fire. However, before the.
un went downw
word reached
that a.
mall group of mag.
had travele.
through the mountain p.
.
north of the Staigue ring for
and,.
walking.
through.
the.
night,.
were.
heading.
directl.
toward Killorglin. They would be here before dawn. We�.
arrived j
t in timex

Taking.
ome prov
io'
for our vigil, we went back t.
the.
room.
overlooking.
the.
marketplace,.
where.
we.
coul.
watch for the arrival of our enemi.
. We drew the curtai'
acr.
the window, leaving a.
mall gap in the center. Th.

ky w.
cloudl.
, and a moon that had waned three da.
beyond the full c.
t down a.
ilver light on the empty.
tree
x

About two hou�

before dawn we heard the clip-clop oy
hoov.
. Two ride�
came into view, followed by four me'
carrying large bundl.
over their.
houlde�
x

�The.
mag.
.
are.
the.
on.
.
on.
ho�
eback,�.
She.
explained. �The.
othe�
are workmen who�ll co'
truct th.
platform.}

Both.
ho�
.
.
were.
thoroughbre.
,.
black.
tallio'
d.
igned for.
peed, and their ride�
were armed with larg.
curved.
wor.
that broadened .
they reached the pointy
the on.
known .
.
cimita�
. The mag.
d
mounted an.
made for the high.
t point of the cobbled triangle. The.
were tall, powerfully built men with dark b
hy eyebro.
and.
hort.
pointy.
bear.
.
known.
.
.
goate.
,.
o.
calle.
beca
e they mimic the tuft of hair on the chin of a goatx

They pointed down at the cobbl.

, and without furthe�
delay,.
the.
four.
carpente�
.
et.
about.
erecting.
the.
tal
wooden.
tructure.
that.
would.
ho
e.
the.
platform..
Thei�
bundl.
co'
ted of too
and what looked like.
peciall.
crafted piec.
of wood. Two of the men.
oon went off an.
returned after a few minut.
with two large wooden bea.
x
Th.
e m
t have.
been produced locally, ready to mee
their nee.
. No.
ooner had they laid them down b.
id.
their too
than they.
et off again, returning with more woodx
Soon the.
oun.
of hammering and banging d
turbed th.
peace of the night, and the tower.
lowly.
began to tak.

hapex

All through that day the carpente�

worked, while the mag.
quatted.
on.
the.
ground.
or.
prowled.
around.
the.
growin
tower,
uing i'
tructio'
x
The.
people.
of.
Killorglin.
tayed.
away.
from.
th.
marketplace, and that day no.
tal
were.
et upx

�Are they.
cared of the mag.
?� I .
ked. �
that wh.
there.
no market today?}

�They�re.
cared, all right,� Shey a'
wered. �During th.
co'
truction of the platform, they
ually give the area .
wide berth. But once the goat
in p.
ition, they com.
back, and the market
b
ier than ever�though m.
tl.
with th.
e buying po
of ale and bottl.
of wine. M.
people.
get.
drunk,.
perha�
.
to.
.
cape.
the.
horro�
.
th.
mag.
bring to their town. For othe�
it.
one of the tw.
highligh
of the year, and everything
taken to exc.
.}

�When.
do.
you.
plan.
to.
try.
and.
natch.
one.
of.
th.
mag.
?� .
ked the Spookx

�At.
d
k,�.
Shey.
a'
wered..
�We�ll.
burn.
the.
woode'
tower,.
too..
No.
doubt.
they�ll.
rebuild.
it,.
but.
that�ll.
mea'
bringing.
fr.
h.
materia
.
from.
Staigue..
It�ll.
et.
thei�
preparatio'
back a little, at le.
t.}

�Will they
e dark magic to defend the.
elv.
?� m.
m.
ter wonderedx
�They.
may.
try,�.
aid.
Shey..
�But��he.
gazed.
at.
teadf.
tly��I.
have.
faith.
in.
our.
combined.
trength..
I�.
confident of.
ucc.
.}
�Well, I have my.
ilver chain,�.
aid the Spook. �Th.
boy, too. That�ll bind him more.
ecurely than any rope.}

A.
ilver.
chain.
worked.
agai'
t.
witch.
.
and.
m.
mag.
. It.
eemed.
traightforward: We.
outnumbered th.
two mag.
and their workmen, and would have the elemen
of.
urpr
e. But then, out of the corner of my eye, I notice.
Alice.
expr.
ion. She looked worriedx

�What.
wrong, Alice?� I .
kedx

�Ain�t binding the mage that bothe�

me,�.
he.
aid. �It.
afterward,.
when.
the.
othe�
.
find.
out.
what.
.
been.
donex
They�ll come after
�and there are lo
of them.}

�That.
all been thought through and carefully plannedw
girl,� the Spook told her. �The captured ho�
.
and an.
other pr
one�
will be taken.
outhe.
t, back the way w.
came. But the four of
, with our.
pecial pr
oner, ar.
going.
in.
another.
direction�down.
the.
co.
t..
There.
.
.
c.
tle.
there�Ballycarbery,.
the.
home.
of.
another.
of.
th.
landowne�
. It.
a.
trong fortr.
, where we can qu.
tio'
the captive mage in.
afety.}
The.
un went down and, .
the light began to fail, it w.
time for
to actx

Below
, the.
tructure w.
alm.
t completed: a tallw

quare wooden.
haft balanced on the cobbl.
. At mor.
than thirty feet high, it now dominated the market area. I
w.
a remarkable achievement for j
t one day.
work. Th.
exha
ted workmen were packing up their too
while th.
two mag.
waited patiently with folded ar.
, their ho�
.
tethered to a p.
t at the far corner. Our men had reporte.
that they had taken roo.
in the larg.
t of the in'
facin
and would.
oon retire there for the nightx

We left.
our vantage point, went dow'
tai�
into th.

treet, and headed for the edge of the market area, takin
care to keep to the.
hado.
. With the Spook and Shey i'
the lead, we began a.
low,.
tealthy approach, knowing tha
our armed forc.
were moving in from behind, cutting ofy
any chance of .
capex
Suddenly, the tethered ho�
.
reared up and whinnie.
nervo
ly. They m
t have caught our.
cent, and i'
tantl.
alerted, the two mag.
drew their.
cimita�
and took up .
defe'
ive p.
ition, back-to-back. Shey and my m.
ter lef
the.
hado.
and began to charge toward our enemi.
w
with Alice and me cl.
e behind them. I could hear.
hou
oy
command and other foo
te�
running through the darkn.
.
our force converged on i
targetx

The near.
t mage ra
ed h
weapon, but the Spoo�
c.
t h
.
ilver.
chain .
he ran. With a mighty.
crack, i
oared.
aloft.
to.
form.
a.
perfect.
piral..
It.
w.
.
a.
goodw
accurate.
throw,.
and.
it.
dropped.
over.
the.
head.
an.
houlde�
of the mage, pinning h
ar.
to h
.
id.
.
o tha
h
.
word fell to the cobbl.
with a clatter. So excellent .

hot w.
it that part of the chain tightened about h
ey.
and mouth.
o that he could neither.
ee nor.
peak. Bindin
the mouth w.
very important when dealing with a witc
capable of uttering dark magical.
pel
. Mag.
ed.
pel
w
too,.
o my m.
ter had taken no chanc.
x

The.
other mage whirled around to meet Shey, an.
there.
w.
.
a.
metallic.
r.
p.
.
.
their.
two.
blad.
.
cam.
together.
hard..
Then.
the.
mage.
cried.
out,.
dropped.
h

cimitar, and fell hard onto h

face; he lay there twitchin
.
the blood.
tarted to pool beneath him. The four workme'
dropped to their kne.
with their han.
ra
ed above thei�
hea.
, begging for their liv.
. Shey.
men were encirclin
now, and it w.
the work of but minut.
to bind th.
carpente�
with rop.
and lead them and the two ho�
.
awayx

So while our men prepared to travel.

outhe.
t towar.
Killarney, the Spook, Shey, Alice, and I took our pr
one�
toward.
Ballycarbery.
C.
tle.
near.
the.
mall.
town.
oy
Cahe�
iveenx

Once on the road and clear of Killorglin, I glanced bac�

and.
aw dark.
moke and a red glow over the roofto�
x
They were burning the wooden platform; the effor
of th.
workmen had been in vain. It had gone well, but I couldn�
help but worry that the fire would act like a beacon, drawin
our enemi.
toward the town in forcex
CHAPTER Vn
AN INSTRUMENT OF TORTURo
BALLYCARBERY appeared to be a.
trong fortr.
, with thic�
tone wal
and only one gate, which faced w.
t. Howeverw
the c.
tle didn�t have a moat with a drawbridge, and fro.
my own experience of.
uch fortificatio'
, it.
eemed to m.
that th
w.
a major weakn.
. It meant that an enem.
could approach right up to the rampar
. .
a fortr.
, i
had.
een better da.
. I
wal
were a
o overgrown wit
ivy. Determined attacke�
could
e that to.
cale the wal
x
Still bound with the Spook.
.
ilver chain, the mage w.
taken down to the dungeo'
to await interrogation in th.
morning. We were given comfortable be.
in the c.
tle an.
w.
ted no time in.
ettling down to catch up on our.
leepx
Checking the blood jar before I dozed off, I couldn�t hel�
reflecting that in the p.
t our.
ituation had often been ver.
different. In.
uch fortificatio'
.
th
we had langu
hed i'
dark, damp dungeo'
, awaiting death while our enemi.
had been in a p.
ition of powerx
I dreamed again�the.
ame nightmare in which I w.
being pu�
ued by the Morrigan in the.
hape of a crow. But i
eemed to me that th
dream w.
.
lightly l.
.
cary tha'
the previo
one. The godd.
w.
.
till gradually drawin
nearer, but I w.
running f.
ter, getting cl.
er and cl.
er t.
the u'
een refugex
I.
uddenly.
awoke.
in.
a.
cold.
weat,.
my.
hear
hammering,.
but.
I.
felt.
omewhat.
encouraged..
W.
.
learning, getting.
lightly.
tronger each time I experience.
the nightmare7
At that moment,.
omething happened that w.
mor.
frightening than any night terrorx
I.
uddenly heard the dull thud, thud, thud of foo
te�
approaching my bed, accompanied by the.
izzle of burnin
wood. I tried to open my ey.
, but my eyeli.
were to.
heavy; my breath came in ragged g.
�
, my heart beatin
painfully in my ch.
t. I.
e'
ed.
omething huge cl.
e to th.
bed;.
omething reaching toward me. Then I felt hot breat
on my face,.
melled the fetid.
tink. And a voice I knew onl.
too well.
poke right b.
ide my left ear. It w.
the Fiendx
�You�re alm.
t mine now, Tom. I can nearly reach youx
J
t a little while longer and the jar will fail! Then you�ll b.
mine!}
I opened my ey.
, expecting to.
ee h
huge head wit
i
curved hor'
and mouth full of.
harp teeth. But to m.
relief there w.
nothing. I.
crambled out of bed and.
oo'
realized that it had been more than a dream: Here, too, .

et.
of.
hoofprin
.
had.
been.
burned.
into.
the.
floorboar.
x
They were.
corched deeper than on the l.
t occ.
ion, i'
my room at the inn. Time w.
running out. The power of th.
blood jar w.
alm.
t at an endx

I didn�t tell either Alice or the Spook what had happenedx

Why add to their fea�
? It w.
.
omething that we could d.
nothing about. I j
t had to hope that Grimalkin would arriv.

oonx

After breakf.
t, we walked down to the dungeo'
wit
Shey and three armed guar.
to.
begin qu.
tioning th.
pr
onerx
�He.
had neither food nor water,� Shey remarked .
we.
approached.
the.
cell.
door..
�That.
hould.
lo.
en.
h
tongue a little.}

Two of the guar.

joined
i'
ide the cold, damp cellw
while the other locked
in with the mage and.
tood guar.
ou
ide. No chanc.
were being taken, and the powe�
oy
our enemy were certainly not being under.
timatedx

The cell w.
.
pacio
and clearly d.
igned for th.
interrogation of pr
one�
. Although there w.
no place t.

leep, other than a pallet of.

traw in a corner, it contained .
table and three chai�
, one with leather.
tra�
to confine .
captive. Deftly the Spook uncoiled h
.
ilver chain from th.
mage, who w.
quickly gagged and then had h
ar.
tie.
behind h
back. Finally he w.
.
trapped into the chair, an.
the Spook and Shey.
eated the.
elv.
, facing him acr.
the tablex

There w.
a candle on the table and a torch in a wal
bracket b.
ide the door, providing ample light for what w.
needed. There w.
a
o a large jug of water and two.
mal
cu�
. Alice and I.
tood behind the Spook and Shey, whil.
the.
two.
guar.
.
p.
itioned.
the.
elv.
.
cl.
e.
to.
th.
pr
oner.
chairx

�We are going to .

k you a few qu.
tio'
,� Shey.
aidw
h
breath.
teaming in the candlelight. �You would be w
.
to.
a'
wer.
truthfully..
Failure.
to.
do.
o.
will.
lead.
to.
dir.
co'
equenc.
. Do you unde�
tand?}

The mage nodded. At a.

ign from Shey, a guard pulle.
the gag from h
mouth. Immediately the pr
oner began t.
choke and cough; he.
eemed to be.
truggling for wor.
x

�Water�give me water, ple.

e!� he begged at l.
tw
h
voice hoa�
ex

�You�ll get water in a while,� Shey told him. �But fi�

t yo
m
t a'
wer our qu.
tio'
!� Then he turned to the Spoo�
and noddedx

�Why do.
the goat ceremony.
ometim.
fail?� m.
m.
ter .
ked without delayx

�I will tell you nothing!� the mage replied with a.

cowlx
�Nothing at all!}

�We�ll get it out of you one way or the other,�.

aid Sheyx
�There.
a hard way or an e.
y way. You cho.
e�.}

�Whether I live or die here

of no concern to me.}

�Then you�re either a brave man or a fool!�.

nappe.
Shey. �No doubt the latter,� he added, reaching into h
pocket, pulling out a.
mall metal implement, and placing i
on the table before the mage. It looked like a pair of ton
x
�There will be pain before you die. Terrible pain!
tha
what you want?}

The Spook.
cowled and h
ey.
fl.
hed. �J
t wha
do you mean.
by that?� he demanded.
of Shey, pointin
down at the implementx

Farrell Shey picked up the tool, which I now.

aw w.
more.
like.
blac�
mith.
.
plie�
..
�Th
.
.
a.
ve�
atil.
i'
trument,� he.
aid quietly, �that can be
ed in vario
wa.
to pe�
uade a reluctant pr
oner to talk. It can cr
finge�
or extract teeth.}

�I.
don�t.
hold.
with.
torture!�.
The.
Spook.
.
voice.
w.
angry. �And only a fool
.
it. Subject.
omeone to painw
and they will.
ay anything j
t to bring it to an end. Man.
who are fa
ely acc
ed of witchcraft conf.
under torturex
The temporary relief from the pain
.
oon followed by th.
greater.
pain.
of.
execution.
and.
death..
So.
put.
away.
tha
implement, or I�ll continue with th
no longer!}

I felt proud to be a.
pook. We were honorable in th.
way we went about our workx

Shey.
cowled.
and.
pu�
ed.
h
.
li�
.
in.
anger,.
bu
neverthel.
he returned the i'
trument of torture to h
pocket..
No.
doubt.
the.
long.
yea�
.
of.
trife.
between.
th.
mag.
and the landowne�
had ca
ed great bittern.
w
with.
atrociti.
.
committed.
by.
both.
id.
..
The.
dark.
w.
growing.
in.
power,.
and.
it.
corrupted.
even.
th.
e.
wh.
opp.
ed it. I had comprom
ed m.
elf,
ing the dark i'
order to.
urvive,.
o I w.
in no p.
ition to judge anyonex

My m.
ter repeated h
qu.
tion: �The goat ceremon.
�why do.
it.
ometim.
fail?}
The mage h.
itated, but then fixed h
ey.
on th.
Spook and muttered, �It
.
becaue what we do
.
no
ple.
ing to our god.}

�But.
don�t.
you know what ple.
.
him?� .
ked th.
Spook..
�You�ve.
been.
carrying.
out.
your.
dark.
ritua
.
fo�
centuri.
. Surely you m
t know by now?}

�It depen.
on many thin
. Th.
e are variabl.
tha
cannot be predicted.}

�What variabl.
?}

�I thi�
t. My throat
dry. Give me a little water, and I wil
tell you�.}

On impu
e, and.
not waiting for Shey.
r.
po'
e,
tepped forward, picked.
up.
the.
jug, and poured.
a littl.
water into the nearer of the two cu�
, then held it to th.
mage.
li�
and tilted it.
lightly. The man.
Adam.
appl.
wobbled.
.
.
he.
gulped.
the.
water.
eagerly..
Once.
he�.
fin
hed, I.
poke for the fi�
t time.
ince entering the roomx

�What.
your name?� I .
kedx

�Cormac,� the mage repliedx

Shey.
cowled.
at.
me,.
but.
the.
Spook.
miled.
an.
nodded .
if he approved of my initiativex

�Now, Cormac,� he.

aid. �What are the variabl.
?}

�The.
choice.
of.
goat.
.
important..
It.
becom.
.
th.

acred.
h.
t.
that.
our.
god,.
Pan,.
m
t.
enter..
He.
will.
no
.
ume the body of one that
not ple.
ing to him. Seve'
goa
are.
elected initially. Together we m
t cho.
e th.
b.
t. The proc.
not e.
y. Our.
ee�
debate our choic.
for da.
.}

My m.
ter nodded. �What are the other variabl.
?� h.
demandedx

�We m
t make human.
acrific.
�three in all. Th.
.
a
o have to be perfect. One m
t be female, and.
he m
cho.
e to die, giving her life gladly. The other two m
t b.
mag.
who a
o freely offer their liv.
to the god. I am to b.
one of the.
acrific.
. The other died at your han.
b.
id.
the wooden tower!� he.
aid, glaring angrily at Sheyx

The Spook nodded thoughtfully. �So the two mag.

who volunteer to die are r.
po'
ible for ove�
eeing th.
co'
truction of the platform?}

�Y.
, it.
an ancient c
tom.}

�So what will happen now that one of the voluntee�

dead?}

�H
name w.
Mendace. He w.
a brave man wh.
.
death at the han.
of our enemi.
.
acceptable to Pa'
.
if it had been part of the ceremony. That did not har.
our ca
e.}

�And what of you, Cormac?� .

ked my m.
ter. �If yo
were.
to.
die.
here,.
then.
your.
death.
would.
be.
equall.
acceptable?}

�Y.
�if you kill me, you will contribute directly to th.
ritual,� the mage.
aid,.
miling for the fi�
t time. �That
why
am not afraid. I welcome death!}

�And if we cho.
e not to kill you?}

Cormac didn�t a'

wer, and it w.
the Spook.
turn t.

mile. �Then once the proc.

h.
begun, a.
u.
titute
not allowed? To e'
ure.
ucc.
, it m
t be you and n.
other! So if we keep you.
afe on th
occ.
ion, the ra
in
of Pan will probably fail�.}

The mage lowered h

gaze and.
tared at the table fo�
a long time without.
peakingx

�I think Cormac.
.
ilence tel
it all,� the Spook.
aid a
l.
t,.
turning.
toward.
Shey..
�We�ve.
already.
achieved.
ou�
purp.
e. All we have to do now
keep him impr
one.
here. Can th
c.
tle be defended agai'
t an attack by th.
mag.
?}

�No.
c.
tle.
.
completely.
impregnable,�.
a'
were.
Shey. �And our enemi.
will be d.
perate�they might wel
move agai'
t
here.}

�Then you need to bring in .

many men .
p.
ible t.
defend.
it,.
and.
a
o.
to.
tock.
it.
well.
agai'
t.
iege,�.
m.
m.
ter adv
ed. �Thin
couldn�t be better. Hold out herew
and then, in mi.
ummer, before they.
can try again an.
while they are weaker than ever, move agai'
t Staigu.
directly and fin
h them once and for all�that.
my advice.}
Shey.
miled. �It.
good advice, John Gregory. We�ll d.
j
t that. Centuri.
of.
trife could be over at l.
t, endin
with their defeat. I thank you.}

Alice had been a.

ilent witn.
to the interrogation, bu
now.
he.
gave.
the.
pr
oner.
a.
teely.
tare..
�Who.
.
th.
woman�the.
one who volunteered he�
elf for.
acrifice?}

he .
kedx

For a moment I thought he w.

n�t going to a'
wer, bu
then he.
tared.
traight at her. �It.
a witch�one of th.
.
who ally the.
elv.
with
.}

Alice nodded and then exchanged a quick, nervo

glance with me. So one of the Celtic witch.
w.
in th.
area and would have gone to Killorglin to.
acrifice he�
elfx
Now.
he would no doubt come here, joining the.
iege oy
Ballycarbery C.
tlex
CHAPTER VIn
THEW
SIEGEW
OFW
BALLYCARBERx
CASTLo
SHEY.
ent.
m.
enge�
.
with.
word.
of.
the.
ituation,.
an.
immediately preparatio'
to defend the c.
tle got unde�
way. I w.
relieved to.
ee a.
core of men begin to hack th.
ivy from the wal
to prevent the enemy from climbing itx
The.
following.
day.
the.
landowne�
�.
men.
tarted.
t.
arrive. There were far fewer than I�d expected�no mor.
than fifty in all�but each.
mall group brought with the.
weapo'
, and food and.
uppli.
in exc.
of their ow'
nee.
.
o that the c.
tle w.
now adequately.
tocked fo�
the.
anticipated.
iege�although.
we.
probably.
had.
fewe�
than eighty men to call uponx
�I�d have thought you�d have been able to find more t.
rally to your ca
e,�.
aid the Spook .
we gazed dow'
from the w.
tern.
battlement.
on what the leader.
of th.
Land Alliance had told
would be the final contingent t.
arrive..
It.
co'
ted.
of.
five.
armed.
men.
and.
two.
mal
wago'
,.
each.
pulled.
by.
a.
donkey.
that.
eeme.
overburdened by the load and near to colla�
ex
�It.
.
neither.
better.
nor.
wo�
e.
than.
I�d.
hoped,�.
ai.
Shey. �Each landowner m
t a
o look to h
own defe'
.
and e'
ure he h.
enough.
ervan
with him.}
The Spook nodded, pondering the a'
wer while h.
gazed at the.
un, which w.
.
inking low toward the.
eax
�When will they attack?� he .
kedx
�Tonight or tomorrow,� Shey replied. �They will com.
e.
t through the mountai'
.}
�How many?}
�Probably about a hundred and fifty, by our m.
t recen
.
timate.}
�.
many .
that?� The Spook ra
ed h
eyebro.
i'
urpr
e. �How many of th.
e will be mag.
?}
�In total, there are probably about fifteen or.
o, alon
with half a dozen who are being trained. Probably abou
two thir.
of that number will come here. The r.
t will.
ta.
behind in their fort at Staigue.}
�And.
the.
othe�
?.
Who.
are.
their.
ervan
.
an.
upporte�
?}
�They.
keep.
about.
thirty.
armed.
men,.
and.
perha�
another ten who work .
coo�
and craf
men,.
uch .
butche�
, tanne�
, and m.
o'
. But they can draw on man.
more to.
well their ran�
when it com.
to a battle. Th.
.
co'
crip
are taken from among the poor�th.
e with onl.
a tiny cottage and very little land, who live on the edge oy

tarvation. They fight alon

ide the mag.
in return for foo.
for their famili.
, but a
o out of fear. Who can ref
e th.
call to ar.
when an em
ary of the mag.
v
i
you�
lonely cottage and.
ummo'
you? The people they recrui
now will be poorly armed and often weakened by hunger.}

�And no doubt you and your.

ervan
will have eate'
well through the winter; you�ll be.
trong and better able t.
fight�.�.
aid the Spookx

I could hear the d

approval in my m.
ter.
voice, bu
Shey didn�t.
eem to notice. I agreed with the Spook. W.
had to make a.
tand agai'
t the dark and the threat p.
e.
by the mag.
, but .
w.
often the c.
e in th
world, th.
powerful fought for land or pride while poor folk.
ufferedx
�That
certainly true,� Shey replied. �We will have foo.
and.
uppli.
i'
ide the c.
tle, while the recrui
ou
ide wil
receive only meager ratio'
. I .
timate that in l.
than .
week, if they have not breached our wal
, the mag.
wil
be forced to retire, defeated. We will harry them all the wa.
back to their fort. And perha�
Staigue will finally fall, givin
victory at l.
t.}

I.
lept well that night but w.
brought out of a deep.
leep b.
Alice.
haking my arm. It w.
.
till dark ou
ide, and.
he w.
holding a candlex

�They�re.
here,.
Tom!�.
he.
cried,.
her.
voice.
full.
oy
concern. �The mag.
! And there are.
o many of them!}

I followed her to the window, which faced e.

t, an.
gazed out. There were ligh
.
naking toward
.
far .
the eye could.
ee. Our enemi.
had certainly arrived i'
force. It w.
imp.
ible to count them, but judging by th.
ligh
, more were here than Shey had predictedx

�Don�t worry, Alice,� I.

aid, trying to re.
ure her. �W.
have enough food here to l.
t for wee�
, and anyway, onc.
the time for the ceremony h.
p.
ed, the.
iege will be i'
vain�they�ll go away.}

We.
at together by the window, holding han.
but no
peaking..
Enemy.
campfir.
.
began.
to.
park.
into.
lifew
encircling.
the.
c.
tle.
completely..
No.
doubt.
Alice.
w.
thinking the.
ame thing .
me: The Celtic witch would b.
down there,.
itting by one of th.
e fir.
. W.
it the on.

eeking.
revenge?.
Would.
he.
know.
that.
I.
w.
.
here?.
re.
ured m.
elf with the thought that.
he couldn�t reac
me�the thick c.
tle wal
would keep her away. But th.
dawn brought ne.
to.
hatter.
ome of my hop.
. A team oy
oxen w.
.
lowly dragging.
omething toward the c.
tle, .
big metal cylinder on whee
. They had a.
iege gun�a'
eighteen-pounder.

Alice.
and.
I.
had.
both.
een.
uch.
a.
powerful.
gun.
i'
action. One had been
ed by.
oldie�
to breach the wal
of Malkin Tower. It had been fired with great accuracy, th.
huge cannonbal
.
triking alm.
t exactly the.
ame.
pot i'
the wall, until at l.
t it had given way and w.
open to th.
attacke�
. But a lot would depend on the.
kill of the gunne�
here. Would they.
be experienced enough to breach th.
defe'
.
of Ballycarbery C.
tle7

Neither Shey nor h

men.
eemed much perturbed b.
what.
w.
.
happening.
ou
ide.
our.
wal
..
After.
a.
heart.
breakf.
t of oa
and honey, Alice and I joined him and th.
Spook on the battlemen
x

�Did you know they�d have a.

iege gun?� .
ked m.
m.
terx

�I knew they had one in their p.

.
ion. It w.
c.
t i'
Dublin more than fifty yea�
ago and h.
.
een action twicew
proving.
i
elf.
to.
be.
a.
formidable.
weapon..
The.
mag.
bought it and tra'
ported it here l.
t year. But our.
pi.
report that they lack experienced gunne�
.}

The gun w.
dragged into p.
ition to the w.
t of th.
c.
tle. I.
tudied the men cl
tered around it. At the.
iege oy
Malkin.
Tower,.
I.
remembered.
that.
the.
no
e.
had.
bee'
deafening, but I�d noted the.
kill of the gunne�
�how the.
had worked .
an efficient team, each man performing h
t.
k with an economy of movementx

Among our armed defende�

were about.
ix or.
eve'
arche�
, and
ing their longbo.
, they now.
tarted to ai.
for the gunne�
. However, the d
tance w.
too great, th.
wind w.
agai'
t them, and their arro.
fell.
hortx

I.
watched.
the.
heavy.
iron.
ball.
being.
rolled.
into.
th.
mouth of the cannon and the f
e being lit. By now th.
gunne�
were covering their ea�
x
There w.
a dull thud and a puff of.
moke from th.
mouth of the cannon .
the iron ball began i
trajectory. I
fell far.
hort of the c.
tle wal
and.
kidded acr.
th.
rough turf to end up in a clump of th
tl.
. Th
brought .
chor
of jee�
from the defende�
on the battlemen
x

It took them about five minut.

to fire the next.
hotx
Th
one hit the wall of the c.
tle, very low down. There w.
a loud crack on impact, and a few fragmen
of.
tone fel
onto the gr.
. It w.
n�t a good.
hot, but th
time ther.
were no jee�
. The next one again fell.
hort, but after tha
every firing of the cannon r.
ulted in a.
trike.
omewher.
agai'
t.
the.
tone.
wal
.
of.
the.
c.
tle..
The.
no
e.
w.
unnerving, but no.
erio
damage w.
being done to th.

tonex

Shey went off to talk to h

men, patting each one o'
the back in turn. He w.
a good commander, attempting t.
keep up their moralex

�You have to be extremely accurate and hit the.

am.
point on the wall each time,� I pointed out to the Spookx
�Th.
e men lack the.
kill to make a breach.}

�Then.
let.
.
hope.
they�re.
not.
f.
t.
learne�
,.
lad,�.
h.
remarked,.
�beca
e.
they�ve.
plenty.
of.
round.
hot.
dow'
there, and a week or.
o to improve their aim!}

It w.
true. In addition to barre
of water for coolin
the barrel and many ba
of gunpowder, there were doze'
of pyrami.
of cannonbal
.
tacked cl.
e to the big gunw
and wago'
of more ammunition waiting in the d
tance. Al
they.
lacked.
at.
pr.
ent.
w.
.
the.
expert
e.
to.
e.
tha
potentially dangero
weapon effectivelyx

After.
about.
an.
hour.
the.
gun.
fell.
ilent,.
and.
a.
ma'
approached the c.
tle gate. He w.
unarmed and carrie.
a white flag that fluttered in the w.
terly wind. He.
toppe.
cl.
e to the gate and.
houted h
m.
age up at
. H.
looked.
caredx

�My.
m.
te�
.
demand.
that.
you.
rele.
e.
the.
mag.
Cormac into our han.
immediately. Do.
o, and we wil
leave.
in.
peace..
Failure.
to.
comply.
will.
r.
ult.
in.
dir.
co'
equenc.
..
We.
will.
batter.
down.
your.
wal
,.
an.
everyone within will be put to the.
word!}

Shey.
face twitched with anger, and I watched th.
arche�
draw their bo.
and target the m.
enger, wh.
w.
j
t.
econ.
from death. But Shey g.
tured to the.
y
and they lowered their weapo'
x

�Go back and tell your m.

te�
that we ref
e!� h.

houted. �Their time

alm.
t over. Th
c.
tle cannot b.
breached by the foo
they have hired .
gunne�
. Soon i
will be your turn to be under.
iege. We will tear down you�
fort until not a.
tone remai'
.
tanding.}

The m.
enger turned and walked back toward th.
ran�
of our enemi.
. Within five minut.
the gun bega'
firing againx

The Spook decided that th

w.
an opportunity for me t.
catch up on my.
tudi.
. Late in the afternoon he w.
givin
me a l.
on�I w.
.
tudying the h
tory of the dark. Th.
Spook had been telling me about a group of mag.
calle.
the Kobal.
, who.
upp.
edly lived far to the north. Thoug
they.
tood.
upright,.
they.
were.
not.
human.
and.
had.
th.
appearance.
of.
fox.
.
or.
wolv.
..
But.
there.
w.
.
littl.
evidence that they really ex
ted�only the jottin
of one oy
the very fi�
t.
poo�
, a man called Nichol.
Browne. I ha.
read about them already, and none of it w.
new to me,.
o
tried to get the Spook onto a.
ubject that I found much mor.
inter.
ting..
After.
all,.
we.
were.
dealing.
with.
h.
tilew
malevolent mag.
who wo�
hipped Panx

�What about Pan?� I .

ked. �What do we know abou
him?}

The Spook pulled the B.

tiary from h
bag and leafe.
through until he came to the.
ection on the Old Go.
. H.
handed the book to me. �Read that fi�
t, and then .
k you�
qu.
tio'
,� he commandedx

The entry on Pan w.

quite.
hort, and I read it quickly.

Pan (The Horned GodZ

Pan is the Old God, originally worshipped by thc

Greeks,p
whop
rulesp
overp
naturep
andp
takesp
onp
twe

distinct physical forms. In one manifestation he is a

boy and plays a set of reed pipes, his melodies se

powerfulp
thatp
nop
birdsongp
canp
equalp
themp
andp
thc

very rocks move under their influencet

Inp
hisp
otherp
form,p
hep
isp
thep
terrifyingp
deityp
o_
nature whose approach fills humans with terror�thc
wordp
�panic�p
isp
derivedp
fromp
hisp
name.p
Nowp
hix
spherep
ofp
influencep
hasp
widenedp
andp
hep
ix
worshipped by the goat mages of Ireland. After eighk
days of human sacrifice, Pan passes through a portag
from the dark and briefly enters the body of a goatt
He distorts the shape of that animal into a thing awfug
to behold and drives the mages to perform more anh
more terrible acts of bloodshedt

�It.
a really.
hort entry,� I commented. �We don�t kno.
very much about Pan, do we?}
�You�re right there, lad,� my m.
ter replied, 8
o we�l
learn what we can while we�re here. Thin
have change.

ince I wrote that. Now we know that the ceremony tak.

place twice a year rather than once. But what I�ve alwa.
found inter.
ting
the duality of Pan. In one form he.
.
m
ician who.
ee.
alm.
t benign. H
other.
hape
terrifying and clearly belon
to the dark.}

�Why.
hould there.
be.
uch a thing .
the dark?�
.
ked. �How did it begin?}

�Nobody kno.
that for.
ure�we can only gu.
.
have little to add to the.
peculatio'
I made in my B.
tiar.
many yea�
ago. But I.
till believe that the dark
fed b.
human wickedn.
. Human greed and l
t for power mak.
it.
ever.
tronger.
and.
more.
dangero
..
If.
we.
could.
onl.
change the hear
of men and women, the dark would b.
weakened�I�m.
ure.
of it..
But I�ve lived long enough t.
know that it would be e.
ier to hold back the tid.
tha'
achieve that. We can only hope.}

�If we manage to bind the Fiend, it would be a.

tart,�
ugg.
tedx

�It certainly would, lad.� The Spook frowned. �Thin

couldn�t be much wo�
e than they are at pr.
ent. Why, eve'
Farrell Shey, an enemy of the dark,
prepared to
.
torture in order to prevail. It.
ho.
j
t how bad thin
hav.
become.}

I.
uddenly realized that the cannon had fallen.
ilentx
�The gun.
.
topped firing,� I.
aid. �Maybe it.
overheate.
and the barrel.
cracked.}
You.
needed.
lo
.
of.
water.
to.
keep.
a.
barrel.
cool..
Iy
gunne�
.
became.
carel.
about that, a gun.
could eve'
explode, killing all around it. Th.
e men weren�t exper
x
There w.
a real danger of that happeningx

Before the Spook could reply, a m.

enger rapped o'
the door and came into the room without being invited. W.
were urgently.
ummoned to the battlemen
x

.
we climbed the.
tai�
, we were j.
tled by arme.
men who were a
o on their way up. Something m
t b.
afoot�w.
it.
ome new threat7

Alice w.
already there;.
he came toward
.
w.
blinked into the.
un, which w.
.
inking toward the.
ea. Sh.
hielded her ey.
and pointed. �The mag.
are gathere.
around the gun,�.
he.
aid. �They�re up to.
omething. She.
really worried.}

No.
ooner.
had.
he.
mentioned.
h
.
name.
than.
h.

trode.
acr.
.
to.
,.
the.
oldie�
.
on.
the.
battlemen

tepping .
ide to allow him through. �I think they�re going t.
attempt.
ome type of magic,� he told
x

�There w.
little danger of them harn.
ing the dark i'
Killorglin beca
e we only faced two of them. There ar.
nine now, and they are combining their.
trength�.}

I looked down toward the.

cannon. The mag.
ha.
formed a circle around it. Then I realized that the foc
oy
their attention w.
n�t the big gun i
elf: The gunne�
wer.
kneeling, and the mag.
were laying their han.
on thei�
hea.
and.
houlde�
. They were tra'
ferring power to the.
in.
ome.
way..
What.
kind.
of.
power?.
I.
wondered..
Th.
knowledge and.
kil
of expert gunne�
? It.
eemed likelyx

On the battlemen
, the defende�
had fallen.
ilent. Bu
we.
could.
hear.
the.
wind.
from.
the.
ea.
ighing.
in.
th.
d
tance, and the faint chanting of the mag.
. Wav.
oy
cold ran up and down my.
pine. Even at that d
tance, I w.
able to detect the
e of dark magic. It w.
.
trong an.
dangero
x

J
t how dangero
we found out ten minut.
laterw
when the cannon.
tarted up again. The gunne�
� fi�
t.
ho
made a direct hit on the wall, low and j
t to the left of th.
main gate. So did the.
econd and the third. They wer.

triking alm.
t exactly the.
ame.
pot with each cannonballx
Even in the hour before dark, we could.
ee clear damagex
The wall w.
thick, but the outer layer of.
ton.
w.
alread.
beginning to.
break away. There w.
a.
mall mound.
oy
debr
on the gr.
belowx

Darkn.
brought r.
pite from the .
ault, but it woul.
no doubt r.
ume at dawn, and it.
eemed to me that the.
might well breach the wall by the next.
u'
etx
CHAPTER VIIn
THIN SHAUw
DAWN.
brought.
cloud.
and.
the.
approach.
of.
rain,.
but.
th.
mag.
�.
gunne�
.
recommenced.
their.
attack.
with.
thei�
newfound accuracy. Though now the wind w.
blowing fro.
the.
outh.
rather.
than.
from.
directly.
behind.
the.
gun,.
ou�
arche�
were able to rain arro.
down in the vicinity of th.
weapon, ca
ing a delay of about an hour while it w.
rep.
itioned out of rangex
That greater d
tance made no difference to the aim oy
the gunne�
, however, and the.
ame point on the wall w.
ubjected to a heavy pounding,.
cannonball.
triking th.
ame.
pot about every five minut.
, with longer pa
.
while they
ed water to cool the weaponx
By late afternoon the.
ituation had become critical: .
mall hole had been punched right through the c.
tle wallx
According to Shey, it would not take much further damag.
to undermine the battlemen
above, creating a heap oy
ton.
.
b.
ide.
the.
gate.
over.
which.
our.
attacke�
.
coul.
warm to capture the c.
tlex
In d.
peration, he led a force of about twenty mounte.
men through the main gate; they charged directly towar.
the gun, intending to kill the gunne�
. They were intercepte.
fi�
t by enemy ride�
and then by foot.
oldie�
. D.
pite th.
enemy.
defe'
.
, thin
.
eemed to be going their way.
They were gaining ground, fighting their way toward th.
gun. Within a couple of minut.
they would have achieve.
their aim, but then.
omeone intervenedx
A large, m
cular man with a.
haved head and goate.
beard joined the fray. He carried a huge double-blade.
battle-ax and
ed it with deadly effect. He cut two of ou�
oldie�
down from their ho�
.
, each with a.
ingle bloww
and immediately the tide turned. Our enemi.
fought wit
renewed vigor, and Shey w.
forced to improv
e a retrea
back.
toward.
the.
gate..
It.
w.
.
barely.
cl.
ed.
before.
th.
enemy w.
at the wal
x
They didn�t.
tay long. The Alliance arche�
killed an.
wounded a few; the r.
t withdrew behind their gunne�
. I�.
expected them to commence firing again right away, bu
i'
tead.
the.
large.
man.
approached.
the.
gate.
alone..
H.
carried no white flag but had that huge ax r.
ting on h
houlder. Unlike the m.
enger, he looked confident an.
walked with a.
waggerx

Shey climbed back up to the battlemen

and.
too.
b.
ide the Spook. �That.
Mag
ter Doolan, the Butcherw
the leader of the mag.
,� he told himx

Doolan halted right below

and glared up at
. �Wh.
will come down and fight me?� he taunted, h
powerfu
voice booming upwardx

He received no reply and gave a long der

ory laughx
�You�re.
cowar.
,.
all.
of.
you..
There.
.
not.
one.
real.
ma'
among you!� he cried, and began to.
trut up and dow'
before the wal
, waving h
ax at
in challengex

�Kill him!� Shey commanded h

arche�
x

They began to lo.

e arro.
at him. He w.
withou
armor and looked certain to die. But for.
ome re.
on th.
arro.
all m
ed or fell.
hort. W.
he
ing.
ome.
ort oy
magic agai'
t them? If the mag.
could, with a.
pell, mak.
novice gunne�
into exper
, no doubt they could do th.
opp.
ite. Then one arrow.
ped directly toward i
targe
and.
eemed certain to bury i
elf in the big man.
heart, bu
he twirled h
big battle-ax .
if it were lighter than a feathe�
and deflected the arrow harml.
ly to the groundx

With another laugh, he turned h

back and c.
uall.
made h
way to h
own lin.
; each arrow lo.
ed after hi.
fell well.
hort. Immediately the enemy gunne�
began to fir.
againx

Eventually the light began to fail and the gunne�

.
toppe.
pounding the weak point on the w.
tern wall, but we kne.
that the next day would be critical. A full attack on the c.
tl.
w.
expected .
.
oon .
that wall colla�
edx

Soon after dark, we had a meeting with Sheyx

�The c.
tle will fall tomorrow�probably.
hortly afte�
dawn,� he admitted. �I.
ugg.
t that .
.
oon .
the wall
breached, you make your .
cape, taking our pr
oner wit
you. I can.
pare four.
oldie�
to accompany you. I�ll.
ta.
here with the remainder of my men. We�ll make a fight of i
and.
ell our liv.
dearly.}

The Spook nodded gravely. �Aye, that.

ee.
the b.
option,� he.
aid. �But won�t we be.
een?}

�There.
a.
mall.
ecret gate to the.
outh, hidden b.
b
h.
and a mound of earth. The enemy.
attention will b.
on the breach. You�ve a good chance of getting away.}

�We need to.

keep the mage alive and.
out.
of thei�
han.
,�.
aid the Spook. �Where.
hould we make for?
there another refuge?}

�No�you need to get back to my home in Kenmarex

That.
the.
af.
t place.� Shey.
hook h
head and.
ighedx
�But it won�t be e.
y. You face a hazardo
journey. To th.

outh and e.
t, there are exte'
ive bog lan.
. I.
ugg.
you make for the River Inny. Then follow it u�
tream into th.
mountai'
..
My.
men.
know.
the.
way..
They�ll.
guide.
yo
through, p.
ing well north of Staigue and avoiding the fortx
Then back.
outhe.
t to Kenmare again.}

�Wouldn�t it be better to do it now, long before dawn?�

ugg.
ted. �You.
ay that the gate
well hidden, but th.
mag.
�.
pi.
may well know of it. We�d have a far bette�
chance under cover of darkn.
.}

Alice.
miled in approval, but for a moment I thought th.
Spook w.
about to d
m
my idea. Then he.
cratche.
h
beard and nodded. �The lad could well be right,� h.

aid, turning to Shey. �Would that pr.

ent a problem?}

�Not at all. We could have you away within the hour.}

So we made our preparatio'

. The mage w.
brough
up from h
cell and.
ecured with rope, h
ar.
bound t.
h
.
id.
. He w.
a
o blindfolded and gagged.
o that h.
w.
unable to call for help, but h
le
were left free. Tha
done, we took our leave of Shey and w
hed him goo.
fortune in the coming battlex

We were led to the.

outhern gate by the four.
oldie�
.
igned .
our .
cort; after climbing the.
tone.
te�
up t.
it, they l
tened carefully for any.
oun.
of activity ou
idex
Sat
fied that all w.
clear, they.
ignaled to the leader of .

mall.
quad of armed troo�
who were.
tanding by. Th
force w.
.
tationed here to prevent an attack on the gat.
from the ou
idex

Their leader unlocked the metal door with a large keyx

It opened inward, and he e.
ed it back to reveal a coverin
of.
oil and roc�
. Two of h
men.
tepped forward wit

hove
.
and.
quickly.
cut.
their.
way.
through.
it;.
cool.
ai�
uddenly wafted into our fac.
x
.
they worked, the Spook looked at each of
in tur'
and.
poke, h
voice hardly more than a wh
per. �If thin
go wrong and we get.
eparated, meet up at the river.}

It w.
pitch-dark now. .
we could
e neither torch.
nor lanter'
, it w.
vital to.
tick cl.
e together. There w.
.
mound of earth about five pac.
from the gate�to hide i
from d
tant o.
erve�
�but there w.
.
till a chance tha
enemy.
oldie�
were waiting.
j
t.
beyond it. What if th.
mag.
had d
covered the ex
tence of the.
ecret gate? .
powerful Pendle witch might certainly have.
niffed it outx

Th
w.
a moment of danger, and the four.
oldie�
went out fi�
t, climbing the.
teep.
lope to.
eek cover in th.

creen of b
h.
at the top. We l
tened, but all w.
.
ilentx
Our avenue of .
cape w.
clear. The Spook p
hed th.
tumbling pr
oner ahead of him, and Alice and I followedx
We knelt down on the gr.
, l
tening to the.
ound of th.
door being locked behind
x

We were on our own now; if attacked, we could expec

no help from th.
e within the c.
tle. We climbed the.
lop.
and crouched alon
ide our .
cort. There were fir.
v
ibl.
in the d
tance to the.
outh, w.
t, and e.
t. The enem.
completely.
encircled.
,.
but.
there.
were.
ga�
.
betwee'
th.
e.
campfir.
,.
ome larger than othe�
. A few.
of th.
enemy.
would.
be.
on.
guard.
duty,.
alert.
for.
danger,.
bu
hopefully m.
t would be .
leepx

We began to crawl down the hill, one after the other. A

the bottom we crept forward, three of our .
cort to the forew
the Spook next with the fourth.
oldier, carrying the pr
one�
between.
them..
Alice.
w.
.
j
t.
behind.
them,.
with.
m.
bringing up the rearx

Every few minut.

we came to a halt and lay perfectl.

till, face down on the damp ground. After about fiftee'

minut.
of th
, we were alm.
t level with the ring of fir.
that encircled the c.
tle. We were midway between twow
each about fifty pac.
away. I could.
ee a.
entry.
tandin
in front of a.
helter made from animal.
ki'
.
tretched ove�
a wooden frame. There were a
o men in the open�th.
.
who couldn�t be accommodated in the tenty
leeping cl.
.
to the warmth of the firex

Th
.
w.
.
the.
part.
of.
our.
.
cape.
that.
carried.
th.
great.
t r
k. If we were.
een now, doze'
of armed me'
would reach
in.
econ.
. Once again we.
et off, leavin
the.
fir.
.
behind.
now,.
the.
welcome.
darkn.
.
waiting.
t.

wallow
and hide
from our enemi.
x
y

Again we r.
ted and lay face down in the dark. Bu
then,.
.
.
we.
began.
to.
crawl.
forward.
again,.
one.
of.
ou�

oldie�
.
tifled a cough. I'
tantly we froze. I glanced back t.
my left and.
aw that.
entry ou
ide the near.
t tent w.
coming toward
. I held my breath. He halted but continue.
to.
tare in our direction. I could hear the.
oldier ahead oy
me.
pluttering and.
choking. He w.
fighting the alm.
irr.
tible urge to cough. If he failed, he would put all ou�
liv.
in jeopardyx

He l.
t the battle and let out a loud, expl.
ive.
oundx
The.
entry.
houted.
omething.
and,.
drawing.
h
.
wordw
began to run toward
. There were other.
hou
, and mor.
enemy.
oldie�
joined him. We got to our feet and began t.

print away. Our only hope w.

to l.
e our pu�
ue�
in th.
darkn.
x

Our .
cort had fled for their liv.
,.
o we ran, too. For .
few momen
Alice w.
running j
t ahead of me, but then
p.
ed the Spook, who w.
.
truggling with Cormac, th.
captive mage. I grabbed the man.
.
other.
houlder, an.
together my m.
ter and I dragged him forward. But it w.
hopel.
..
When.
I.
glanced.
back,.
I.
could.
ee.
flickerin
torch.
and hear the pounding of feet. They were catchin
f.
t. The going underfoot w.
getting wo�
e. The groun.
w.
uneven, and I kept.
pl.
hing through water. We wer.
entering the bogx

No doubt there were.

afe pat
through it, but we wer.

cattered now, our guid.

.
omewhere ahead, and I feare.
we could blunder into dangero
ground that might.
uck
in. But the great.
t threat w.
.
cl.
e.
on.
our hee
, an.
acting.
imultaneo
ly.
and.
i'
tinctively,.
the.
Spook.
and.
rele.
ed the pr
oner, p
hing him to h
kne.
, and.
punw

tafy
at the ready, to face our attacke�
x

I remember wondering where.

Alice w.
: She w.
unarmed and couldn�t.
tand and fight, but neither could.
h.
afford to wander too far from the protection of the blood jarx
Then I had to foc
on the immediate threat. A bearde.
mage brand
hing a.
word in h
right hand and a torch i'
h
left ran.
traight at me, aiming a blow at my head, h
mouth.
tretched wide to.
how h
teeth; he looked like .
wild animalx

Ignoring.
the.
word,.
I.
jabbed.
the.
b.
e.
of.
my.
tafy
toward h
forehead. The blow.
truck home, i
force aide.
by.
h
.
forward.
momentum..
He.
went.
down,.
the.
wor.
pinning out of h
hand. But there were more armed menw
and then they were all around
. For a few momen

tood back-to-back with my m.

ter. Alm.
t.
imultaneo
l.
we.
pr.
ed.
the.
butto'
.
on.
our.
tafy
.
and.
ed.
ou�
retractable blad.
. Now it w.
kill or be killed. We fough
d.
perately, whirling and jabbing, but then, under pr.
ur.
from the attack, we became.
eparatedx

Threatened from every.

ide and with nobody to guar.
my.
back,.
I.
w.
.
already.
tarting.
to.
tire;.
the.
attack.
w.
relentl.
. I thought it w.
all over for me, but then I.
aw m.
chance. Three.
oldie�
were pr.
ing me hard, but onl.
one carried a torch. I knocked it out of h
hand, and it fellw
extingu
hing i
elf on impact with the waterlogged groundw
plunging
into darkn.
x

In.
the.
conf
ion,.
I.
made.
for.
what.
I.
thought.
w.

outhe.
t, toward the River Inny. The Spook had told
t.
meet.
up.
there.
if.
thin
.
went.
wrong..
Well,.
they�d.
gon.
wrong, all right, and I w.
incre.
ingly worried about Alicex
If.
he w.
too far from the blood jar, the Fiend might com.
for herx

Our attempt to .
cape with our h.
tage had been .
d
.
ter. We were.
cattered and on the run, and the mag.
had.
urely r.
cued him. Now they would go ahead with th.
ceremony. Dark tim.
lay ahead for the Alliancex

At.
one.
point.
I.
pa
ed.
and.
glanced.
back,.
l
tenin
intently. There were no.
ig'
of pu�
uit, but my ey.
ha.
adj
ted.
to.
the.
dark.
now.
and.
I.
could.
ee.
the.
d
tan
campfir.
,.
no.
more.
than.
tiny.
pinpoin
.
of.
light.
in.
th.
darkn.
. So I continued more cautio
ly,
ing my.
taff t.
t.
t.
the.
depth.
of.
the.
water.
ahead..
On.
more.
than.
on.
occ.
ion it.
aved me from drowning or being.
ucked dow'
into the bog. Even.
o, I w.
co'
tantly tripping over bi
t
oc�
of ma�
h gr.
or plunging up to my kne.
in ice�
cold.
tinking waterx

My memory of Shey.
map gave me few clu.
.
t.
how.
long.
the.
journey.
hould.
take,.
and.
the.
going.
w.
difficult. I remembered that I needed to keep well north oy
the mountai'
in order to reach the river. Apart from thatw
my knowledge of the terrain w.
vague, but I knew tha

omewhere.
on.
the.
outhern.
edge.
of.
the.
hil
.
w.
.
th.
y

Staigue ring fort. Some of the mag.

and their.
ervan
would.
till be there�it w.
a place to be avoided at al
c.
tx

It w.
hard to judge the p.
age of time, but eventually th.

ky ahead.
tarted to grow lighter and I knew it wouldn�t b.
long before dawn. I�d hoped that would enable me to tak.
my bearin
from the mountai'
and find the river, but i
w.
n�t to be. Soon tendri
of m
t were.
naking towar.
me, and I quickly became enveloped in a de'
e fog. Th.
air w.
.
till, and apart from the.
ound of my own breathin
and my boo
.
quelching through the bog, all w.
.
ilentx

Later, in the early dawn light, I.

aw a cottage loomin
up before me through the m
t. A tall, thin man carrying .

hovel over h
.
houlder came out of the door. He w.
wearing a jacket with a hood, not unlike my own, but no hai�
w.
v
ible on h
forehead. From a d
tance, he looke.
like a turf cutter.
etting off for a hard day.
work, eager t.
make the b.
t of the winter.
.
hort daylight hou�
. He cam.
acr.
to intercept me and gave me a broad.
mile. It w.
then that I noticed how pale h
narrow face w.
. It w.
no
the face of.
omeone who worked outdoo�
x

�You.
look.
l.
t,.
boy..
Where.
are.
you.
heading?�.
h.
demanded,.
h
.
voice.
.
.
ha�
h.
.
.
the.
croak.
of.
an.
ol.
bullfrog..
The.
kin.
w.
.
tretched.
tight.
acr.
.
h
cheekbon.
; from.
cl.
e up, it looked a little.
yellow, .
though he�d recently been ill. H
ey.
were deep.
et, .
iy
they were.
inking into h
.
kull, droopy eyeli.
and fol.
oy

kin cl.
ing over themx
�I�m making for the river,� I told him. �I�m.
upp.
ed t.
meet.
ome frien.
there.}

�You�re.
lightly off track�you.
hould be heading tha
way,�.
he.
aid,.
pointing.
in.
what.
eemed.
to.
be.
a.
mor.
e.
terly direction. �Have you been walking all night?}

I noddedx

�Well, in that c.
e you�ll be cold and hungry. M
tr.
Scarabek will make you.
omething to eat and let you war.
you�
elf by the fire for a while,� he.
aid, indicating the fron
door of the cottage. �Knock quietly at the door.
o .
not t.
wake the young �un, and .
k her for.
ome breakf.
t. Tel
her that Thin Shaun.
ent you.}

The man.
appearance w.
odd, but I w.
in urgen
need of food and.
helter. I nodded my than�
, approache.
the cottage, and rapped lightly on the door, trying to mak.
.
little no
e .
p.
iblex

I heard the slip-slap of bare feet, and the door opene.

a crack. It w.
dark i'
ide, but I thought I could make out .
ingle unblinking eyex

�Thin Shaun.
ent me,� I.
aid, keeping my voice low.
.
.
not to wake the child. �He.
aid you�d give me a littl.
breakf.
t, ple.
e. If that.
not too much trouble�}

For what.
eemed like an age, there w.
no r.
po'
ew
but.
then.
the.
door.
opened.
ilently.
and.
I.
aw.
a.
woma'
wearing.
a.
green.
woolen.
hawl. Thisp
mustp
bep
Mistresx
Scarabek, I thought. She looked.
ad and, like Shaun, ha.
very pale.
kin, with red-rimmed ey.
that.
ugg.
ted.
he�.
either been crying recently or had been up all night. Th.
baby had probably kept her awakex

�Come.
in,�.
he.
aid,.
her.
voice.
gentle..
I.
remembe�
thinking what a contr.
t it w.
to Thin Shaun.
croaky r.
px
�But leave your.
taff ou
ide. We�ll have no need of.
pook.
work in here.}

Thinking.
nothing.
of.
it,.
I.
obeyed.
without.
qu.
tionw
leaning my.
taff agai'
t the wall next to the window an.

tepping into the cottage. It w.

.
mall and cozy, with a tury
fire glowing in the grate. Two.
too
faced the hearth, an.
agai'
t the wall.
tood a.
mall cradle on rocke�
; befor.
going through to the.
kitchen, Scarabek.
et the thing i'
motion to keep the baby happyx

A few momen
later.
he returned carrying a.
mal
bowl, which.
he handed to me. �Here�that.
all I have, .
little gruel. We�re poor people. Tim.
are hard, and I m
think of my family.
nee.
.}

I thanked her and.

tarted to eat the thin porridge wit
my finge�
. It w.
cold and a little.
limy, but after what.
he�.
j
t.
aid I tried not to betray my d
like of it. It didn�t reall.
t.
te unple.
ant�j
t a little odd, with a.
picy tang. Butw

trangely, it made my mouth very dryx

�Thank you,� I.
aid when I�d fin
hed the gruel, takin
care to eat up every l.
t bit. �I don�t.
upp.
e I could troubl.
you for a cup of water?}
�You don�t need water,� Scarabek.
aid m.
terio
lyx
�Why don�t you lie down in front of the fire and r.
t you�
young bon.
until it ge
dark?}

The.
tone.
fla
.
were.
hard.
and.
cold,.
d.
pite.
th.
proximity of the fire, but I.
uddenly felt very tired and wha
he.
ugg.
ted.
eemed a good idea. So I.
tretched befor.

the hearthx

�Cl.
e your ey.
,� Scarabek commanded. �That woul.
be w
e. It�ll be better for
all once it.
gone dark.}

I remember thinking her wor.

were really odd, and
felt conf
ed. What did.
he mean? How could the dark b.
�better for
all�? Moreover, the.
un couldn�t have been u�
for more than half an hour or.
o. It would be another nin.
hou�
before it got dark. Did.
he expect me to lie here al
that time? And w.
n�t there.
omething I had to do? I had t.
meet.
omebody. But I couldn�t remember who or wherex
CHAPTER I~
SMALL COLD FINGERz
I opened my ey.
; it w.
dark in the cottage, and I felt.
tify
and cold. The fire w.
out but there w.
a candle burnin
on the mantelpiecex
I felt utterly weary and wanted to cl.
e my ey.
an.
drift back into a deep.
leep. I w.
about to do j
t tha
when I.
aw.
omething that made me g.
p with concernx
The baby.
cradle had fallen over and w.
lying on i
.
ide.
There w.
the infant, half in, half out of it,.
till wrappe.
in a woolen blanket. I tried to call out for i
mother, bu
when I opened my mouth, all that came out w.
a fain
croak. I realized then that I w.
breathing rapidly; my hear
w.
fluttering in my ch.
t with a.
cary irregular beat tha
made me fear it w.
about to.
top at any minute. I w.
unable to move my lim.
x
W.
I.
erio
ly ill? I wondered. Had I caught.
om.
type of fever in the bog lan.
7
Then I thought I.
aw the baby.
blanket move. It gave .
ort.
of.
twitch,.
then.
began.
to.
r
e.
and.
fall.
rhythmicallyw
ugg.
ting.
that.
the.
child.
w.
.
till.
breathing.
and.
ha.
urvived the fall. I tried to call for the mother again but coul.
till only manage a weak cry; the effort.
ent my heart int.
uch a.
peedy fluttering rhythm that I began to tremble al
over, fearing that I w.
dyingx
I.
uddenly realized that the woolen blanket w.
no.
moving in a different way. It.
eemed to be coming.
lowl.
toward me. How old w.
the baby? W.
it old enough t.
crawl like that? Even though it w.
completely covered b.
the blanket and couldn�t p.
ibly.
ee where it w.
going, i
w.
heading directly for me. Could it hear my breathing7
W.
it.
eeking.
comfort? Why didn�t Scarabek come t.
check on it7
Then I heard a.
trange.
ound. It w.
coming from th.
baby. D.
pite the utter.
ilence of the room, I could hear n.
breathing�only a.
ort of rhythmical clicking. It.
ounded lik.
gn.
hing teeth. Suddenly I w.
.
cared. Babi.
that.
mal
didn�t have teeth.
No, it had to.
be.
omething ele. The moment tha
thought entered my head, a cold tremor ran the length of m.
pine, a warning that.
omething from the dark w.
ver.
cl.
e. I d.
perately tried to move my lim.
, but they wer.
till paralyzed. I lay there, watching it helpl.
lyx

.
.
the.
baby.
approached.
me,.
the.
woolen.
blanke

eemed to convu
e, and I heard a big g.
p, .
if whateve�
it w.
beneath the blanket had been holding i
breath for .
very.
long.
time.
and.
now.
d.
perately.
needed.
energy.
fo�

ome imme'
e effortx

It.
reached.
my.
foot.
and.
came.
to.
a.
halt.
for.
a.
fe.
momen
. Once again I heard what.
ounded like anothe�
huge in-breath, but th
time I identified the.
ound; my fi�
gu.
had been wrong. It w.
.
niffingy
niffing like a witchw
gathering information about me. It left my boot and began t.
move up along my body, pa
ing b.
ide my ch.
t. Onc.
again it.
niffed very loudlyx

I.
huddered .
it then climbed.
lowly up onto my ch.
tx
I w.
aware of four.
mall lim.
moving acr.
me. Eve'
through my cloth.
they felt very cold, like four bloc�
of icex
Whatever it w.
had finally reached my face now, and
began to panic; my heart pounded even more wildly. Wha
w.
it? What horrible thing w.
hidden beneath that movin
blanket7

I tried to roll away onto my.

ide but couldn�t find th.

trength. All I could do w.

ra
e my head a little. Nor coul.
I.
manage.
to.
fend.
it.
off.
with.
my.
han.
�they.
tremble.
el.
ly at my.
id.
while rivule
of.
weat ran down m.
forehead into my ey.
. I w.
unable to defend m.
elfx

It had reached my throat now, and ra

ed i
elf up .
little on i
tiny han.
.
if to peer into my face, ca
ing th.
blanket to fall back.
o that,.
imultaneo
ly, I.
aw i
facew
toox

I expected to.
ee a mo'
ter, and my fea�
were full.
realized�but not in the way I expectedx

The head w.
no larger than that of a baby of two o�
three mont
, but it had the face of a little old man; it w.
malevolent, filled with.
ome d.
perate need. And it looke.
very like Thin Shaun, the turf cutter who had.
ent me her.
for food. And I.
uddenly unde�
tood that although I�d bee'
fed, given a little gruel, I w.
a
o food�nour
hment fo�
th
grot.
que being. What I�d eaten m
t have containe.

ome.
leeping draft to render me weak and helpl.
. No.
the creature.
mouth opened wide, revealing long needle�
like teeth, and they were aiming for my throatx
I felt i
.
mall cold finge�
on my neck, then a.
udde'
fy

harp.
tab of pain .
the teeth punctured my fl.
h. It bega'
to.
uck no
ily, and I felt the blood being drawn out of m.
body�and with it my lifex

I had no.
trength to r.
t. There w.
little pain, j
t .

e'
e of floating away toward death. How long it went on
have no idea, but the.
next thing I.
knew, Scarabek w.
walking purp.
efully into the room, her.
hadow flickering o'
the ceiling in the candlelight. She came acr.
and gentl.
plucked the creature from me; .
it came away, I felt .
tugging.
at.
my.
throat.
.
.
i
.
teeth.
were.
withdrawn..
Sh.
carried it over to the cradle, which.
till lay on i
.
ide, an.

waddled it in the woolen blanket againx

She.
tarted.
inging to it in a low voice�a lullaby tha
might have been
ed to.
oothe a human child. Then.
h.
righted the cradle and placed the creature i'
ide, carefull.
adj
ting the blanket to keep it warmx

Scarabek came back and.

tared down at me, and

aw that her face had changed. Previo

ly,.
he m
t hav.
ed.
ome enchantment to d
gu
e he�
elf. The truth w.
now revealed, and I recognized her i'
tantly. There w.
n.
doubt: She w.
the Celtic witch from my drea.
. Th.
.
were the ey.
�one green, the other blue�that I had.
ee'
in the cloud .
we�d approached Ireland, and I.
huddere.
at the malevolence glaring from themx

But how w.
it p.
ible? How could.
he have returne.
from the dead when the do
had eaten her heart7

�Tom Ward! How e.

ily you fell into my han.
! Eve�

ince you approached our.

hore, I have been watching an.
waiting!�.
he cried. �It took the simplest of.
pel
to lure yo
into my cottage. And how well you obeyed me, leaving you�
precio
.
taff at the thr.
hold. Now you are totally in m.
power. My life will end.
oon, my.
pirit given up in.
acrific.
to Pan. You will die too, but only after.
uffering terribly fo�
what you did to my.
ter.}

S
te�
�were.
they.
twi'
?.
They.
looked.
o.
alike..
wanted to .
k her,.
but I w.
alm.
t too weak to dra.
breath. How much blood had the little creature taken?
wondered..
I.
fought.
to.
remain.
co'
cio
,.
but.
my.
hea.
began.
to.
pin,.
and.
I.
fell.
into.
darkn.
..
The.
witch.
ha.
prom
ed to make me.
uffer, but I already felt.
cl.
e t.
death�although.
there.
w.
.
no.
fear,.
j
t.
a.
terribl.
wearin.
x

How long I w.
unco'
cio
I don�t know, but when I cam.
to, I heard voic.
: a man and a woman talking togethe�
quietly. I tried to make.
e'
e of what they were.
ayingy

omething.
about.
barro.
.
and.
traveling.
north..
At.
l.
t.
managed to find the.
trength to open my ey.
. The two oy
them were.
tanding over me�Scarabek, the witch, and th.
man called Thin Shaunx

But w.
he really a man, or.
omething e
e? H
hoo.
w.
pulled back, revealing an emaciated head that coul.
alm.
t have been that of a cor�
e. The.
kull w.
clearl.
v
ible, the.
kin thin and parchment dry, h
hairl.
hea.
covered in patch.
of flaking.
kinx

�He concea
a deadly weapon in the left pocket of h
cloak,�.
aid Scarabek. �Take it from him, Shaun. I canno
bear to touch it.}

Thin Shaun reached into my pocket. I had no.

trengt
to r.
t, and he drew out my.
ilver chain. .
he did.
o,
aw the pain upon h
face; with a.
hudder, he dropped i

on the ground, out of my reachx

�He
ed that to bind my.
ter before.
he w.
.
lainx
But he won�t ever.
need to ue it again. H
life .
a'
apprentice.
pook
over. We�ll take him north now, Shaun,}

aid the witch. �I�m going to hurt him badly and let him fee
omething of the.
uffering I experienced.}
I w.
d
mayed at the l.
of my.
ilver chain, but a
le.
t he hadn�t d
covered the blood jar in my pocketx
Thin.
Shaun.
picked.
me.
up.
and.
threw.
me.
over.
h

houlder,.
j
t.
.
.
my.
m.
ter.
would.
carry.
a.
bound.
witc
before putting her into a pit. He held me by the le
.
o tha
my head w.
hanging down toward h
hee
. I lacked th.

trength to r.
t, and I w.
aware of a.
trange m
ty.
mel
emanating from him, an odor of dank underground plac.
x
But what really unnerved me w.
the extreme coldn.
oy
h
body; even though I could feel and hear him breathing, i
w.
.
if I w.
being carried by a dead manx

Curio
ly,.
though.
my.
body.
w.
.
weak,.
my.
min.
became.
trangely alert. I tried to practice what the Spoo�
had taught me and take careful note of my.
ituationx

We left the cottage and headed north, Scarabek takin

the lead and carrying the creature in the woolen.
hawl cl.
.
to her b.
om, .
if it were a human baby. Perha�
it w.
her familiar. A witch
ually gave a familiar her own bloodw
but th
w.
often augmented by blood from her victi.
x
The m.
t.
common familiar were.
cat, rat,.
bir.
, an.
toa.
, but.
ometim.
witch.
ed.
omething more exoticx
I had no name for the thing.
he w.
carrying; it certainl.
w.
n�t.
mentioned.
in.
the.
Spook.
.
B.
tiary..
But.
I.
w.
dealing with a witch from a foreign land, and her powe�
and habi
were largely unknown to mex

To the e.
t, the.
ky w.
already becoming lighter.
m
t have.
lept for at le.
t a day and a night. The fog w.
lifting, and I could.
ee the bulk of two mountai'
r
ing u�
ahead and to the right. And then I caught.
ight of.
omethin
e
e�the unm
takable.
hape of a burial mound�and w.
were moving directly toward it. It w.
.
mall, hardly mor.
than twice the height of a man, and covered in gr.
. Whe'
we were l.
than five yar.
away, there w.
an inte'
.
fl.
h of yellow light. .
it dimmed, I.
aw the.
ilhouette of th.
witch agai'
t a round doorwayx

Momen
.
later,.
the.
breeze.
died.
down.
and.
the.
ai�
immediately.
became.
ignificantly.
warmer;.
we.
wer.

urrounded by darkn.
, right i'
ide the barrow. There w.
a.
udden flare of light, and I.
aw that the witch w.
holdin
a black candle, which.
he�d j
t ignited by magic. Withi'
the mound.
tood a table, four chai�
, and a bed, to whic

he pointedx
�Put him there for now,�.
he i'
tructed, and Thin Shau'
dumped me on it without ceremony. �It.
time to feed hi.
again�.}

I lay there for.

everal minut.
,.
truggling to move. I w.
till.
uffering from that.
trange paralyi. The witch ha.
gone into another room within the barrow, but Thin Shau'

tood there.
ilently, h
unblinking ey.
.
taring down at mex
I w.
.
tarting to feel a little.
tronger, and my heart an.
breathing were gradually returning to normal. But I gu.
e.
that Scarabek w.
now going to feed me more of the grue
laced with po
on. If only I could manage to regain the ful
e of my lim.
x

She returned within minut.

, carrying a.
mall bowl. �Lif
h
head, Shaun,�.
he commandedx
With h
right hand, Thin Shaun gripped my.
houlderw
lifting the upper part of my body alm.
t upright. Th
tim.
the witch had a.
mall wooden.
poon, and .
.
he brought i
toward me,.
he held my forehead firmly while, with h
lef
hand, Thin Shaun tugged my.
jaw downward, forcing m.
mouth wide openx

The witch kept.

tuffing the.
picy gruel into my mout
until.
I.
w.
.
forced.
to.
either.
wallow.
or.
choke..
.
.
th.
concoction went down my gullet,.
he.
miledx

�That.
enough for now�let him go,�.
he.
aid. �To.
much will kill him, and I have other pla'
for him fi�
t.}

Thin Shaun lowered me back onto the bed and.

too.
b.
ide Scarabek. They.
tared down at me while my mout
grew dry and the room.
tarted to.
pinx
�Let.
go out and get the girl,� I heard the witch.
ayx
�He�ll be.
afe enough here.}

The.
girl�whichp
girl?.
I.
wondered..
Did.
they.
mea'
Alice? But then, once again, I felt my heart flutter and I fel
into darkn.
. I knew no more for a while but kept havin
drea.
of flying and falling. For.
ome.
trange re.
on I w.
compelled to jump from a cliff,.
preading my ar.
wide lik.
a bird.
win
. But then I would plunge downward out of .
dark.
ky, the u'
een ground r
hing up to meet mex

I felt.
omeone.
haking me roughly by the.
houlder; the'
cold water w.
d.
hed into my face. I opened my ey.
t.

ee Thin Shaun.
taring down; I could.
mell h
foul breathx
He.
tepped back to reveal that there were two other peopl.
in the room. One w.
the witch; the other w.
Alicex

My heart lurched. Alice looked d

heveled, and he�
han.
were bound behind her backx
�Oh, Tom!�.
he cried. �What have they done to you7
You look.
o ill�}
But the witch interrupted. �Worry about you�
elf, child!}
he cried. �Your time on th
earth
alm.
t over. Within th.
hour I will give you to your father, the Fiend.}
CHAPTER ~
IN THE GRASP OF THE FIENj
AS Thin Shaun picked me up again, I heard Scarabek cr.
out.
ome wor.
of dark magic. Secon.
later we wer.
tanding ou
ide the burial mound. It w.
dark once morew
and there w.
a waxing cr.
cent moon; the air w.
ver.
cold,.
a.
hoarfr.
t.
already.
forming.
over.
the.
oft,.
bogg.
groundx
We headed north, the witch.
f
t bunched in Alice.
hair .
.
he dragged her along. The familiar had been lef
behind in the barrowx
Alice had been beyond the protection of the blood jarw
o why, I wondered, hadn�t the Fiend come for her already7
We�d both expected that, at the fi�
t opportunity, he�d tak.
h
revengex
So w.
the witch going to.
ummon him now? If.
o, th.
blood jar would prevent him from coming near. Did.
h.
know about it? Would.
he break it and give
both to th.
Fiend7
The lan.
cape w.
bleak and treel.
but covere.
with.
crub and brambl.
, and it w.
to a tangled thicke
that the witch finally led
. She dragged Alice over to .
large thorny b
h and tied her by the hair to i
intertwine.
branch.
..
While.
I.
watched.
from.
Thin.
Shaun.
.
houlderw
horrified at what w.
taking place, Scarabek circled th.
bramble patch three tim.
agai'
t the clock, chanting dar�
pel
. Alice began to weep. Her knowledge of the craf
would tell her exactly what the witch w.
doingx
�Oh, Tom!� Alice cried. �She.
done a deal with th.
Fiend. She wan
to hurt you, too. He�ll be here.
oon.}
�He will indeed!� agreed Scarabek. �So it.
time to ge
you yonder.
o that the Fiend can come and collect the girlx
Let.
away!�.
he commanded Thin Shaunx
I�d.
expected�and.
hoped�to.
be.
tied.
up.
alon
id.
Alice. Unknown to the witch, I.
till had the blood jar in m.
pocket,.
o he.
urely couldn�t hurt mex
But I w.
led away from Alice, up the.
lope. We gaze.
back down from on high. Alice looked very tiny, but I coul.
j
t make out her d.
perate.
truggl.
to get free of th.
brambl.
x
I.
oon found out how wrong I�d been about Scarabek.
She knew everything.
�We�re far enough away now,�.
he.
aid, �and the girl.
beyond the protection of that jar.
he made. So that.
th.
fi�
t pain you�ll endure�watching the Fiend take your prett.
friend.
life and.
oul! He.
delighted to have the opportunit.
to make you.
uffer. But don�t worry, I won�t let him get h
han.
on you! I intend to give you to the Morrigan.}

Lightning.
uddenly.
plit the.
ky to the w.
t .
dar�
clou.
raced inland, o.
curing the.
ta�
. It w.
followe.
within.
econ.
by a rumble of thunder, and then, in th.
e'
uing.
ilence, I heard a new.
ound�that of d
tant bu
very heavy footfal
, each followed by an expl.
ive h
x

Although.
till.
m.
tly.
inv
ible,.
the.
Fiend.
w.
.
j

tarting to materialize. He would take on the huge form oy

what.
witch.
.
called.
�h
.
fea�
ome.
maj.
ty,�.
a.
hap.
d.
igned to intill fear and awe in all who.
beheld himx
Some.
aid that the.
ight could make you die of fear on th.

pot..
No.
doubt.
th
.
w.
.
true.
for.
th.
e.
of.
a.
nervo
d
p.
ition, but I had been cl.
e to him in that form, and.
.
had Alice, and we�d both.
urvived the encounterx

We.
were.
too.
far.
away.
to.
ee.
h
.
approachin
footprin
. They were fiery hot, and while h
cloven hoov.
could.
burn their impr.
ion into wooden floorboar.
, i'
cold, boggy terrain like th
they would merely ca
e th.
ground to.
pit and h
, erupting in.
pur
of.
team at eac
contactx

Although the clou.

were alm.
t halfway acr.
th.

ky now, the moon w.

.
till ahead of that dark advancin
curtain, and by i
light I.
aw the Fiend materialize fullyx
Even at th
d
tance, he looked huge: thick and m
cularw
h
to�
o.
haped like a barrel, h
whole body covered i'
hair .
thick .
the hide of an ox. Huge hor'
curved fro.
h
head, and h
tail.
naked upward in an arc behind himx

My heart w.
in my mouth .
he.
trode directly towar.
Alice, who w.
.
truggling in vain to tear he�
elf free of th.
brambl.
..
I.
could.
hear.
her.
crea.
.
of.
terror..
I.
tried.
t.

truggle out of Thin Shaun.

grip, but he w.
very.
tron
and, in my weakened condition, my effor
were feeblex

Towering above Alice, the Fiend reached down wit

h
huge left hand and knotted h
f
t in her hair, .
th.
witch had done, tearing her free of the brambl.
and liftin
her.
up.
o.
that.
her.
face.
w.
.
level.
with.
h
.
own..
Sh.
creamed again .
her hair w.
ripped from the thicketw
and.
began.
to.
weep..
The.
Fiend.
loomed.
cl.
er,.
.
.
iy
intending to bite off her headx

�Tom! Tom!�.
he cried. �Good-bye, Tom. Good-bye!}

At th.
e wor.
my heart.
urged up into my mouth and
could hardly breathe. W.
th
it? W.
it really over at l.
t7
The Fiend had her in h
clutch.
, and there w.
nothin
more I could do to.
ave her. But how would I live withou
Alice? Tea�
began to run down my face, and I began t.

ob uncontrollably. It w.
the pain of imminent l.
, y.
, bu
a
o the pan
that came from my empathy with Alicex

We.
were.
o.
cl.
e.
I.
knew.
exactly.
what.
he.
w.
experiencing. I.
uffered what.
he.
uffered. Never again t.
be comfortable in th
world; anticipating an eternity of pai'
and terror .
her.
oul langu
hed in the dark, at the merc.
of the Fiend, who would dev
e endl.
tortur.
to repa.
her for the trouble and hurt.
he had ca
ed him beca
e oy
me. All beca
e of me. It w.
j
t too much to bearx

A moment later, it w.
over. There w.
a fl.
h of lightw
a rumble of thunder, and a bl.
t of hot wind.
earing into ou�
fac.
. I.
crewed up my ey.
, and when I w.
able to ope'
them again, the Fiend had van
hed, taking Alice with himx

Another pang of l.
knotted my.
tomach. Alice w.
now beyond th
world; never had I felt.
o alone. .
Thi'
Shaun.
carried.
me,.
Scarabek.
walked.
cl.
e.
b.
ide.
mew

pitting cruel taun

x

Although.
he grinned with delight at my tea�
, whic
flowed .
copio
ly .
the rain that.
wept over
, I care.
nothing for her heartl.
wor.
. My tea�
were for Alice an.
for m.
elf. Now the world had changed terribly. I had l.
t m.
mam and dad, and both l.
.
had been dev.
tating, bu
th
w.
different. Th
w.
a pain beyond even that. I ha.
called Alice my friend, held han.
with her,.
at b.
ide herx
But only now that.
he w.
.
natched away forever did I full.
realize the truthx

I loved Alice, and now.

he w.
gonex

After collecting the creature from the barrow, we returned t.

the cottage and Thin Shaun threw me onto the bed like .
ack of rotten potato.
x
Scarabek looked at me with.
corn. �Even if you wee�
an ocean,�.
he h
ed, �your.
orrow will not even be able t.
approach mine. I loved my.
ter .
m.
elf, for indeed.
h.
w.
me and I her!}

�What.
do.
you.
mean?�.
I.
demanded..
D.
pite.
m.
angu
h,.
the.
pook.
in.
me.
w.
.
waiting.
j
t.
below.
th.

urface. My m.
ter had taught me to
e every opportunit.
to learn about our enemi.
.
o .
to be in a better p.
itio'
to eventually defeat themx

�We were twi'

,�.
he a'
wered. �Witch twi'
, of a typ.

o rare that only once before h.

our like been.
een in ou�
land. We.
hared one mind�a mind controlling two bodi.
x
I looked out through her ey.
, and.
he through mine.}

�But your ey.

are not the.
ame .
he�
. One
blu.
and the other
green�why.
hould that be.
o?� I .
ke.
curio
lyx

�Once both my ey.

were blue, but.
ince my.
ter.
death I have wandered among the Hollow Hil
,.
eekin
power,� the witch replied. �All who.
tay too long there ar.
changed. But we were cl.
er than you can ever imaginex
The experienc.
.
he had, I had too. The pain.
he felt, I fel
too. I w.
there when you betrayed and killed her. Half oy
me w.
ripped away at her death.}

�If you were there, then you will know I didn�t kill her,�
prot.
ted. �It w.
my m.
ter, Bill Arkwright.}
�Don�t lie! You were working together. You planned he�
death. It w.
a trick�your device.}
I.
hook my head weakly. �That.
not true. I would hav.
kept my.
ide of the bargain.}
�Why.
hould I believe a.
pook.
apprentice? What yo
ay matte�
little and will make no difference to what I plan.}

�What are you going to do with me now?� I .

ked. I
w.
better to know the wo�
t. D.
pite my grief, I w.
.
til
calculating the od.
agai'
t mey
earching for any chanc.
of .
cape, however.
lim. My.
ilver chain w.
.
till on th.
floor where Thin Shaun had c.
t it. But when I looked at i
out of the corner of my eye, Scarabek gave me an evi

milex

�Forget that. Your da.

of wielding.
uch a weapon ar.
over. You will be too weak to
e it, being food for Konalx
He�ll be hungry again within the hour.}

�Konal
your familiar?}
The witch.
hook her head. �No, Konal
my belove.

on,.
and.
h
.
father.
.
Thin.
Shaun,.
the.
barrow.
keeperw
wh.
e time on th
earth
now.
hort. A keeper h.
onl.
one.
on, born of a witch�the child who will replace him an.
continue h
role.}

�The keeper? Why

he called that?}

�The name
apt. Keepe�
maintain the many barro.
that are.
cattered acr.
our land. Once they contained th.
bon.
of the ancient dead, but now they are refug.
for th.
Celtic.
witch.
..
Shaun.
kee�
.
the.
magic.
trong.
an.
appe.
.
th.
e who made them, for their.
piri
are neve�
far away. He offe�
them blood.}

A horrible thought.
truck me. Did Thin Shaun nee.
blood, like h
.
on? I glanced up at the keeper, who gav.
me an evil.
milex

�I can.
ee the fear in your face,� he told me. �You think

eek to drain you too? Am I right?}

I.
hrank away from him. Could he read my mind7

�Well, you needn�t fear on that account,� Thin Shau'

aid. �I offer up the blood of anima

. Only rarely do.
.
keeper take human blood. But then, if h
thi�
t
great, h.
drai'
h
victi.
until they are dead.}

�But none of th
concer'
you, who have perha�
l.
than a week to live,� the witch interrupted. �Soon we�ll be i'
Killorglin,.
and.
your.
uffering.
will.
inte'
ify..
We�ve.
talke.
enough. Shaun, bring more gruel!}

They force-fed me again, th

time a.
maller amount�
then,.
while.
I.
lay.
there,.
helpl.
,.
my.
mouth.
dry,.
a.
gritt.
feeling in my throat, the world beginning to.
pin, the witc
brought.
her.
child.
over.
to.
where.
I.
lay..
She.
partiall.
unwrapped it from the blanket and laid Konal cl.
e to m.
neck. Within momen
I felt the.
tab of i
.
harp teeth, an.
while Scarabek watched over me,.
miling, my blood w.

lowly drainedx

My though
were.
till all of Alice.
fate, and the griey
w.
in my throat and ch.
t, alm.
t choking me. It w.
.
relief to grow weaker, the po
oned gruel and.
low l.
oy
blood plunging me into a merciful unco'
cio
n.
x
CHAPTER Xn
THE KILLORGLIN GOAT
I remember very little. We m
t have
ed ho�
.
�.
iy
from a great d
tance, I heard the.
ound of hoov.
, and m.
body w.
repeatedly jolted and.
haken. Whether I w.
in .
cart or tied over the back of a pony, I�m not.
ure�maybew
over the duration of the journey, bothx
My next clear recollection w.
of.
itting on a heap oy
dirty.
traw.
in.
a.
d
ty.
attic..
It.
w.
.
full.
of.
rubb
h.
an.
curtained with enormo
cobwe.
.
trewn with d.
iccate.
fly carc.
.
;.
pide�
were coiled in dark corne�
, ready t.
pring upon their next victim. There w.
daylight comin
through the only window, a.
kylight.
et in the.
loping ceilin
directly above me. I could hear the.
quawking and patterin
of.
eagul
walking on the roof. I w.
alone in the room, m.
han.
tied behind my back�though my le
were freex
I felt.
haky,.
but at the.
econd attempt managed t.
truggle.
to.
my.
feet..
I.
could.
hear.
other.
no
.
:.
th.
occ.
ional clip-clop of hoov.
, and people.
houting in th.
in
ong manner of market trade�
. I.
pected that I w.
now back in Killorglin. I leaned agai'
t the door handle, bu
it.
w.
.
locked,.
o.
I.
moved.
around.
the.
attic,.
looking.
fo�
omething I could
e to help me .
cape. Perha�
ther.
w.
.
omething.
harp to cut through my bon.
v
I�d no.
ooner.
tarted my.
earch than the room wen
dark. W.
there a heavy cloud overhead, blotting out th.
un? W.
a.
torm approaching? I wondered. The.
tree
oun.
had a
o gradually faded away until I could hea�
nothing beyond the wal
of my pr
on. I w.
trapped in .
cocoon of.
ilencex
Next the temperature began to drop; it warned me tha
omething from the dark w.
approaching. I.
at down in .
corner with my back agai'
t the wall.
o that nothing coul.
come at me from behind. I�d no weapo'
I could
e t.
defend m.
elf. If only my han.
were free, I thought. Havin
them bound made me feel vulnerablex
Something.
tarted.
to.
wh
per.
in.
my.
ear..
At.
fi�
t.
thought it might be a jibber, and my whole body.
tarted t.
hake with fear, but then I realized it w.
.
ome other type oy
pirit. I
wor.
were half formed and unintelligible, but the.
had a malevolent force. Momen
later it w.
joined b.
othe�
�how many, I couldn�t be.
ure, but the entiti.
wer.
cl.
e,.
and.
I.
aw.
fl.
h.
.
of.
baleful.
purple.
light.
.
.
the.
circled the gloomy attic, approaching nearer and nearerx
Thin finge�
began to tug at my ea�
, and then powerfu
han.
clamped the.
elv.
about my throat and began t.

queeze. It w.
a.
trangler gh.
t, a powerful one, and I w.
helpl.
agai'
t itx
A.
eventh.
on of a.
eventh.
on h.
.
ome immunit.
agai'
t.
uch dangero
.
piri
, but I�d never encountere.

uch a.
trong one; I began to choke .
my windpipe w.
co'
tricted by inv
ible finge�
. I.
truggled to breathe, tryin
to think of.
omething from my training that might help me.
g.
ped, feeling my co'
cio
n.
ebbing awayx

But then, all of a.

udden, the pr.
ure on my throa
e.
ed.
and.
the.
wh
pering.
voic.
.
fell.
mercifully.
ilentx
However,.
my.
r.
pite.
l.
ted.
j
t.
econ.
.
beca
e.
on.
deep terrifying voice replaced them�that of the Fiendx

�I have your little friend Alice here with me now,� h.

taunted me. �Would you like to hear her?}

Before I could a'

wer, I heard.
omeone.
obbing. Th.

oun.
.
eemed to reach me from a great d
tance, but
w.
l
tening to a girl crying. But w.
it indeed Alice, o�
w.
it.
ome trick of the Fiend? It w.
not for nothing tha
one of h
titl.
w.
the Father of Li.
x

�She.
.
cared.
and.
he.
.
uffering,.
Tom..
Do.
yo
doubt it? Soon you will join her. I can alm.
t reach you nowx
You are cl.
ey
o very, very cl.
e.}

That w.
true enough. I couldn�t actually.
ee him, but
could feel h
hot, fetid breath in my face and.
e'
e th.
proximity of.
omething huge and terrifying. The Fiend w.
crouching over me,.
training to grab hold of mex

�Would you like to talk to your friend, Tom? Perha�

hearing.
your voice will e.
e her.
uffering a little�.� h.
r.
pedx

Agai'
t my better judgment, I called out to her. I j
couldn�t bear to hear her crying in the dark like thatx
�Alice! Alice! It.
me, Tom,� I.
houted. �Hold on, b.
trong..
Somehow.
I�ll.
get.
you.
out.
of.
there!.
I�ll.
bring.
yo
home!}
�Liar!� Alice.
houted. �Don�t lie to me. You�re not Tomx

I�ve been deceived enough!}

�It
me, Alice, I.
wear it.}

�Devil! Demon! J
t leave me alone.}
}

How could I convince her that it really w.

me? Wha
could I.
ay that would prove it beyond doubt? Before I coul.
think of anything, Alice began to.
cream .
if.
he w.
i'
terrible painx

�Ple.
e,.
top hurting me. Stop it! Stop it! I can�t.
tan.
any more. Oh, ple.
e, don�t do that!}

She.
topped.
begging.
then,.
but.
tarted.
crying.
an.
moaning .
if in great painx

�Have you heard enough, Tom?� the Fiend .

ked mex
�It won�t be long before you.
hare her torment. And wha

he
.
uffering
far wo�
e than that.
of a witch.
bein
t.
ted..
Think.
of.
the.
jabbing.
of.
harp.
pi'
;.
imagine.
th.
weight of heavy roc�
co'
tricting the ch.
t; feel the flam.
of the fire flickering nearer and nearer to the.
take. Th.
fl.
h bubbl.
and the blood boi
. It hur
.
o much, bu
eventually death brin
rele.
e. For Alice, though, there
no.
uch r.
pite. She
trapped in the dark for eterna
torment. Eternal! That mea'
it will go on forever! And.
oo'
I�ll be back to collect you. The power of the jar h.
alm.
failed.}

I.
e'
ed the Fiend move away from me, and Alice.
cri.
gradually faded away until I w.
left in.
ilence onc.
again. I w.
.
haking with emotion. I could do nothing t.
help Alice in any way; it w.
more than I could bearx

Gradually thin
returned to normal; the cri.
of th.

treet trade�
could be heard ou
ide, and the attic gre.

teadily lighter. I.
truggled to my feet and, driven alm.
mad by what I�d heard,.
taggered from wall to wall until
colla�
ed and l.
t co'
cio
n.
againx

The next thing I knew, Thin Shaun w.

.
haking me by th.

houlderx

I w.
.
itting up, my back agai'
t the wall by the doorx
On the floor b.
ide me w.
a bowl of a dark,.
teamin
liquid and a.
poon. Thin Shaun dipped the.
poon into it an.
brought it.
lowly toward my mouth. I tried to tw
t away, bu
he held my head with h
free hand and p
hed the.
poo'
hard agai'
t my li�
. Much of the hot liquid w.
.
pilled, but
realized.
that.
there.
w.
.
no.
picy.
tang�it.
w.
n�t.
th.
po
oned gruel. It t.
ted like oxtail.
oupx
�There.
nothing in th
to harm you,� Thin Shaun tol.
me. �It.
nour
hment��he.
miled evilly��to keep you aliv.
for a little while longer.}

I w.
n�t.
ure whether to believe him or not, but I w.
too weak and weary to r.
t, and I allowed him to feed m.
the bowl of.
oup until it w.
all gonex

Shaun unlocked the door and carried me out of th.

attic, once more.
lung.
over h
.
houlder like a.
ack.
oy
potato.
..
By.
now.
it.
w.
.
d
k,.
and.
the.
quare.
w.
d.
erted except for a group of cloaked figur.
gathere.
around a tall wooden.
tructure.
et at the high.
t point of th.

loping triangular marketplace. I realized that they�d rebuil

the wooden towerx
Next to the.
tructure.
tood a large block of.
tone with .
trange curved depr.
ion in i
top. I had.
een one befor.
in the village of Topley, cl.
e to the farm where I w.
bornx
They hadn�t
ed that.
tone for more than a hundred yea�
w
but nobody had forgotten i
purp.
e. It w.
an executio'
block. The victim r.
ted h
head on the.
tone before th.
executioner chopped it offx

Thin Shaun dumped me on my feet, and I.

tood therew

waying. A hand gripped my arm to.

teady me, and
looked into the ey.
of the witch. �Say hello to your ne.
friend!�.
he mocked. �You are both in for a n.
ty.
urpr
e.}

In her other hand.

he held the collar of a huge goat. I'
front of i
hor'
, a bronze crown had been l.
hed to i
head.
with.
barbed.
wire,.
which.
w.
.
pattered.
with.
th.
creature.
bloodx

�Meet King Puck!� Scarabek continued. �You two ar.

going to.
hare the platform, and the madn.
and pain tha
accompany that honor. Before th
night
done, we wil

ummon Pan.}

The.
goat.
w.
.
led.
onto.
the.
wooden.
boar.
.
an.
tethered by.
ilver chai'
bound tightly about i
hind le
and.
f.
tened.
to.
iron.
rin
..
That.
way.
the.
animal.
w.
confined and could be ra
ed aloft. I w.
p
hed down ont.
the.
platform,.
forced.
to.
kneel.
b.
ide.
the.
goat,.
an.
blindfolded,.
my.
han.
.
till.
tied.
behind.
my.
back..
Th.
wooden.
plan�
.
began.
to.
creak.
and.
groan.
.
,.
ing.
.

.
tem of rop.
and pulle.
, four men began to haul
lowly upward. Once the platform had reached the top of i
wooden.
haft, they l.
hed the rop.
into p.
ition.
o .
t.
y
keep
therex
The goat began to bleat and.
truggle, but it couldn�

free i
elf. I.
at up and.
omehow wriggled my head an.
houlde�
.
to.
d
lodge.
the.
blindfold..
I.
took.
tock.
of.
m.
urroundin
. .
far .
I could.
ee, no guar.
had been lef
to.
keep.
an.
eye.
on.
me..
I.
gazed.
down.
on.
the.
cobble.
marketplace and the.
urrounding roofto�
. In the d
tance,
could j
t about make out the bridge acr.
the river. Th.

pook in me began to .
.
my chanc.
of .
capingx

And darkn.
w.
falling rapidly now. Apart from th.
mag.
and their.
upporte�
, the town.
eemed d.
ertedx
No doubt the people were all hiding behind locked an.
barred doo�
. Below, I heard the chanting begin, and a chil

uddenly ran up and down my.

pinex

The mag.
had begun the.
ummoningx

The.
initial.
chan
.
eemed.
to.
have.
no.
effect,.
but.
noticed that the breeze fi�
t died down, then faded awa.
altogether,.
and.
the.
air.
became.
very.
till..
It.
eeme.
unnaturally warm, too, alm.
t like a balmy mi.
ummer.
nightx

By now the mag.

had.
et out a ring of candl.
on th.
cobbl.
around the b.
e of the hollow wooden tower�
counted thirteen. Then they formed a line and circled the.
lowly.
in.
a.
widde�
hi'
.
direction,.
their.
chan
.
graduall.
becoming.
louder..
The.
goat,.
which.
had.
been.
tuggin
agai'
t i
chai'
, bleating d.
perately, now became quie
and.
tilly
o much.
o that it could have been a.
tatue. Bu
then, after about ten minut.
, I noticed that i
whole bod.
w.
quivering. Louder and louder the voic.
.
urged, t.
climax in a.
hrill.
cream from the thirteen throa
belowx

At.
that.
point.
the.
goat.
huddered.
and.
emptied.
i
bowe
; the.
limy m.
.
pread acr.
the wooden boar.
w
ome of it dripping down onto the cobbl.
below. The.
tin�
alm.
t made me vomit, and I e.
ed m.
elf right to th.
edge, grateful that the brown tide had halted j
t.
hort oy
mex

When I looked down again, the mag.

were headin
off. I realized that it w.
imp.
ible to climb down the hig
wooden tower with my han.
bound,.
o it.
eemed.
e'
ibl.
to.
co'
erve my energy. I leaned.
back agai'
t a.
broa.
wooden p.
t, drew up my kne.
, and tried to drift off t.
leep..
But in vain..
Under the influence.
of the po
one.
gruel, I�d.
pent m.
t of the previo
two da.
unco'
cio
w
and now I felt wide awakex

So it w.
that I endured a long, m
erable night wit
the goat on that high platform, trying d.
perately to think oy

ome way to .
cape. But I found it hard to foc
�my min.
kept returning to the.
ame qu.
tio'
. What had happene.
to my m.
ter after we�d .
caped from the c.
tle? Had h.
managed to avoid capture? But upperm.
t in my mind w.
my angu
h at the l.
of Alice. Th.
e though
circled i'
my head endl.
ly, but the one emotion a.
ent w.
fearx
My own death waited no more than a couple of da.
in th.
future, and yet for.
ome re.
on I w.
n�t the.
light.
t bi
afraidx

Fear came j
t before dawn, in the faint light of th.
fading moonx
I.
uddenly.
noticed that the goat w.
.
taring at m.
intently. Our ey.
met, and for a moment the world began t.
pin. The goat.
face w.
changing .
I watched,.
tretchin

and tw
ting imp.
iblyx

Now I w.
afraid. W.
th
tra'
formation taking plac.
beca
e Pan w.
entering i
body? I�d half hoped that th.
ritua
hadn�t worked, but now, with a.
hudder, I realize.
that the mag.
might well have been.
ucc.
ful. I could en.
up.
haring.
a.
platform.
with.
an.
Old.
God.
renowned.
fo�
bringing fear and madn.
to th.
e he came cl.
e tox

Suddenly the goat gave a loud bleat, and my momen

of terror p.
ed. A cold wind w.
r
ing now, blowing i'
from the northe.
t, and I began to.
hiverx

At dawn the mag.

returned to the.
quare and lowered th.
platform to the ground. I w.
dragged off onto the cobbl.
w
while, thankfully,.
omeone.
crubbed the goat.
filth off th.
wooden boar.
. My han.
were untied, and a bowl of ho

oup and two.

lic.
of thick bread were thr
t at mex
�Don�t want.
you dying.
on
too.
oon!�.
one.
of th.
mag.
.
aid malicio
lyx

I.
ate.
raveno
ly.
while.
the.
goat.
w.
.
a
o.
fed.
an.
watered. Surrounded by doze'
of watchful ey.
, I had n.
chance of .
cape. When the empty bowl w.
taken fro.
me,.
the.
mag.
.
moved.
back.
to.
allow.
a.
huge,.
haven�
headed man to.
tep forward and confront me. I recognize.
him immediatelyx

�Bow your head, boy!� a voice h

ed in my ear. �Th
Mag
ter Doolan.}

When I h.
itated, my head w.
.
eized roughly fro.
behind.
and.
forced.
down..
.
.
oon.
.
.
I.
w.
.
able.
t.

traighten my neck again, I looked up into the face of th.

m.
t powerful of the goat mag.
, the one they called th.
Bantry Butcher. When h
ey.
met mine, I.
aw that the.
were.
indeed.
the.
ey.
.
of.
a.
fanatic:.
They.
gleamed.
wit
certainty..
Here.
w.
.
a.
man.
with.
an.
inflexible.
mind.
wh.
would do anything to further h
ca
ex

�You are here to.

uffer, boy,� he.
aid, ra
ing h
voic.

o that the .
embled mag.
could hear h
every wordx
�Your.
uffering
our gift to Scarabek, in than�
for he�
gener.
ity in giving her life for our ca
e. The life of .

pook.
apprentice.
hould be a m.
t welcome addition t.
our.
acrific.
. It will a
o.
erve .
a l.
on to any wh.
might think to opp.
e
.}

He.
pointed.
to.
the.
executioner.
.
block.
and.
mile.
coldly;.
then.
my.
han.
.
were.
tied.
once.
more.
and.
I.
w.
ho
ted aloftx

Within the hour the triangular patch of cobbl.

w.
ful
of.
tal
. Cattle were driven through the.
tree
to holdin
pe'
. .
the day progr.
ed, people gradually becam.
more bo
tero
,.
itting in doorwa.
or lounging agai'
wal
, tankar.
of ale in their han.
. Th
w.
the fi�
t da.
of the three-day fair, and the inhabitan
of Killorglin�alon
with th.
e who had traveled many mil.
to be here�wer.

tarting to enjoy the f.

tiviti.
x

By.
the.
time.
the.
un.
et.
behind.
the.
ho
.
,.
th.
marketplace w.
empty again. The platform w.
loweredw
and I w.
dragged off onto the cobbled area. Mag
te�
Doolan w.
waiting with h
huge double-bladed ax. No.
he w.
dr.
ed in black like an executioner, with leathe�
glov.
and a long leather butcher.
apron. But there wer.
leather.
tra�
cr
cr.
ing h
body: Th.
e held kniv.
and.
other.
metal.
implemen
,.
and.
I.
w.
.
reminded.
oy
Grimalkin, the witch .
.
in, who carried her weapo'
i'
a.
imilar manner. He turned and looked me up and dow'
.
if .
timating the.
ize of coffin I�d need, and then gav.
me an evil grinx

For a terrifying moment I thought I w.

going to b.
executed there and then. But I w.
m
taken. There w.
n.

ign of the witch, but.

tanding next to the executioner w.
Cormac, the mage whom we had interrogated. It.
eeme.
that the moment of h
death had now arrived. The candl.
were lit, but the mag.
were gathered around the executio'

tonex

Cormac knelt and placed h

neck in the hollow of th.
tone. Below h
head a metal bucket waited. Someon.
brought.
the.
goat.
to.
tand.
b.
ide.
the.
bucket..
To.
m.

urpr
e, it thr
t out i
tongue and licked the mage.
lef
cheek three tim.
, then bleated.
oftly. At that, the othe�
mag.
.
nodded.
and.
miled..
They.
eemed.
to.
b.
congratulating the.
elv.
. Apparently the ritual w.
goin
wellx

Doolan opened the collar of Cormac.

.
hirt.
o .
t.
exp.
e h
neck. Then he ra
ed the double-bladed axx
One of the watching mag.
.
tarted to blow into a.
mal
m
ical i'
trument. It co'
ted of five thin metal cylinde�
bound into a row. The.
ound w.
thin and reedlike, and i
reminded me of the wind.
ighing through the r
h.
at .
lake edge. The.
ound w.
melancholic�it w.
filled wit
the.
adn.
of l.
and the inevitability of deathx

The.
mag.
.
began.
to.
chant.
in.
un
on,.
a.
in
on
lament. All at once both the voic.
and the pip.
becam.
ilent, and I.
aw the ax come down in a f.
t arc. I cl.
ed m.
ey.
.
and.
heard.
the.
metal.
blade.
trike.
tone;.
the'

omething fell heavily into the bucket. When I looked againw

Doolan w.
holding Cormac.
head by i
hair and.
hakin
it over the goat.
o that the.
evered neck.
prayed it wit
dro�
of blood. Soon the goat�pr.
umably under.
om.
dark magic.
pell�w.
greedily lapping the blood of th.
dead man from the bucketx

Five minut.
later, they were ready to haul the platfor.
up again. They didn�t bother to feed me th
time. I w.
n�
hungry.
anyway;.
I.
felt.
ickened.
by.
what.
I�d.
witn.
edx
However, they did hold a cup of water to my li�
, and
managed four or five gul�
x

Aloft once more, I watched the mag.

. The procedur.
w.
exactly the.
ame .
on the previo
night. Round an.
round the candl.
they went, agai'
t the clock. Th
timew
when the chan
reached a.
hrill climax, the goat merel.
turned i
head and looked.
traight at mex

Can a goat.
mirk? All I can.
ay
that it.
eemed to b.
mocking me, and a chill went right down my.
pine. I w.
now certain that the ritual w.
working. At any moment Pa'
would enter the body of the goat, and I would be.
itting o'
th
.
mall platform next to him, facing madn.
and terrorx

The night.
eemed endl.
. The mag.
had gone, an.
a.
wind.
w.
.
now.
hrieking.
acr.
.
the.
roofto�
,.
drivin

qual
of cold rain in my face. I turned my back on the windw
then bowed my head and t.
ed it forward repeatedly unti
my hood dropped down over my hair. I hunkered downw
attempting to.
helter from the elemen
.
b.
t I could. Bu
it w.
el.
, and.
oon I w.
.
oaked to the.
kin. The goa
began to bleat, louder and louder; after a while it.
eemed t.
me.
that.
it.
w.
.
even.
calling.
my.
name,.
then.
laughin
i'
anely. With my han.
tied, I couldn�t p
h my finge�
int.
my ea�
to blot out the no
ex

Finally the.
ky grew lighter, and within hou�
the marke
w.
full of people once morex

It w.
growing dark again and the rain had e.
ed b.
the time the platform w.
lowered and I.
tepped onto th.
cobbl.
. I w.
.
haking with cold. I w.
really hungry by no.
and glad of the plate of mutton and dry bread my capto�
gave me, once my han.
had been untied. I wolfed th.
whole lot downx

My.
i'
tinc
.
told.
me.
that.
omething.
w.
.
about.
t.
happen..
W.
.
it.
the.
witch.
.
turn.
to.
be.
acrificed?.
M.

tomach knotted with nerv.

at that thought. Before.
h.
died,.
he�d no doubt want to have her revenge in full. But if
w.
indeed to be executed now, why had they bothered t.
feed.
me?.
Time.
ticked.
by..
The.
mag.
.
were.
growin
agitated. And then Doolan arrived, ax over h
.
houlderx

�Scarabek h.
van
hed,� he growled. �I find it hard t.
believe that.
he.
hould let
down like th
.}

�What.
about.
the.
barrow.
keeper,.
ir?�.
one.
of.
th.
mag.
.
kedx

�There.
no.
ign of him either, but we can�t fail now!}
the Butcher cried. �Not when thin
have gone.
o well. Tw.
acrific.
have already been made.� He turned toward m.
and.
tared at me with hard, cruel ey.
. �We�ll execute th.
boy fi�
t to make it three. It could buy
.
ome time b.
appe.
ing Pan until Scarabek retur'
.}

There w.
a murmur of approval, and Doolan began t.
pull.
on h
glov.
. Rough han.
.
eized me, and I w.
dragged toward the execution blockx
CHAPTER XIn
THE OLD GOD PAw
THERE were.
imply too many of them�I had no hope oy
r.
ting their combined.
trength. The mag.
p
hed m.
down.
onto my.
kne.
, and.
econ.
later my throat w.
p.
itioned agai'
t the cold, damp.
tonex

I began to.
hake. Even.
tronger than my fear of the a
w.
the knowledge that at the moment of my death I woul.
immediately be.
natched away by the Fiend. I.
truggle.
again, but.
omeone w.
holding my hair, keeping my hea.
down, my neck exp.
ed, ready for the ax; my ou
tretche.
ar.
were pulled.
o tight that they were in danger of bein
torn from their.
ocke
. I w.
helpl.
x

I.
e'
ed the ax being ra
ed and te'
ed m.
elf for th.
inevitable blow,.
queezing my eyeli.
.
hut. Everything w.
over. I thought of the Spook. I had failed him. Then, at th.
very l.
t moment, I heard foo
te�
coming toward
x

�Wait!�.
houted a voice that I immediately recognizedx
It w.
Thin Shaun, the barrow keeperx

�Where
Scarabek?� the Butcher demandedx

�She�ll bring her head to the block willingly, don�t yo

worry,� Thin Shaun told him. �I�ll lay my life on it. Why kill th.
boy now? She h.
n�t fin
hed with him yet. There
.
til
tomorrow. I guarantee.
he will be here by then.}

�Then, once again, I .

k you: Where
.
he now?}

�She
a pr
oner, but I will follow and rele.
e her. Sh.
h.
n�t been taken far�}

�Our enemi.
have her�the Alliance?}

�Enemi.
have her, y.
, but not on.
who are know'
to.
,�.
Thin.
Shaun.
a'
wered..
�They.
m
t.
certainly.
b.
powerful to have taken her unawar.
. But they�ll regret th
.
am the keeper of the barro.
. They have yet to face m.
wrath. Then they�ll w
h they�d never been born!}

Although he.
poke of wrath, Thin Shaun.
eemed ver.
calm, d
playing little emotion. I wondered if he w.
reall.
human at allx

I w.
hauled to my feet, and I.
tood there, tremblingw
while.
the.
mag.
.
walked.
away.
to.
d
c
.
Thin.
Shaun.
ne.
. Two of their.
ervan
.
till gripped my ar.
. In an.
c.
e, I w.
too weak to run awayx

Doolan.
returned.
and.
addr.
ed.
Thin.
Shaun..
�Yo
have until the.
ame time tomorrow night, when we�ll perfor.
the fourth and final rite�otherw
e we�ll kill the boy in he�
place..
For.
our.
effor
.
to.
be.
ucc.
ful,.
it.
.
vital.
tha
Scarabek
here to offer he�
elf voluntarily.}

Thin Shaun nodded and left immediately. My han.

were tied again, and I w.
dragged onto the platform nex
to the goat. It w.
rapidly ho
ted into the air, and I knel
there in.
hock. I had come within.
econ.
of death; I ha.

e'
ed the ax beginning to fallx

Once I�d collected my.

e'
.
, I.
tarted thinking abou
what.
Thin.
Shaun.
had.
aid. Who.
could.
have.
natche.
Scarabek?.
She.
w.
.
powerful�not.
e.
y.
to.
overcomex
Maybe it w.
the Spook? After all, Thin Shaun had claime.
that.
omeone.
�unknown�.
had.
done.
it..
If.
o,.
my.
m.
te�
would now be in grave dangerx

The night p.
ed very.
lowly, and long before dawn th.
goat.
began.
to.
bleat.
pitifully,.
.
.
if.
in.
pain..
In.
the.
pal.
moonlight, I.
aw dro�
of blood ooze from the woun.
o'
i
head, where the barbed wire had cut it. The blood ran i'
rivule
down i
face, circling i
ey.
to reach i
mouthw
whereupon i
tongue emerged and began to lick the bloo.
awayx

Now.
the.
goat.
.
cri.
.
changed.
dramatically;.
the.
became powerful, .
if.
ending out a challenge. I wanted t.
avert my gaze but w.
unable to do.
o; I w.
forced t.
watch .
the goat.
face began to d
tort and change int.

omething half human, half animalx

Dread.
came then�a feeling.
of terror.
of.
omethin
loat
ome and terrible�but it w.
different from that c.
by any witch. I had faced th.
e.
pel
before, and
uall.
knew how to overcome their effec
. But th
had.
omethin
e
e, an added ingredient: a touch of compu
ion, too. I fel
a.
udden urge to move cl.
e to the goat, a need to touch itx
Unable to help m.
elf, I.
huffled forward on my kne.
until
w.
.
o cl.
e that the fetid breath of the creature w.
he.
over mex

The.
goat.
w.
.
now.
fully.
tra'
formed..
I.
w.
.
in.
th.
pr.
ence of Pan. He had a human face with a hint of th.
b.
tial; wild and rugged, ravaged.
by the elemen
. Th.
hor'
had gone, but the hoov.
remained. The only othe�
remaining animal feature w.
the ey.
: The pupi
wer.
black.
li
that glittered i'
anelyx

Pan lurched up from all fou�

to.
tand upright, towerin
over me, h
hind hoov.
.
till bound by the.
ilver chai'
x
And then he laughed long and loud�with the uncontrollablew
delirio
hilarity of the i'
ane. W.
n�t he reputed to driv.
h
.
victi.
.
mad?.
I.
felt.
completely.
lucid;.
my.
though

eemed ordered and logical. I w.

afraid, y.
, and too�
deep breat
to calm m.
elf, but for now it appeared tha
he w.
the crazy one, not mex

Did being a.
pook.
apprentice help me to remai'
relatively rational? No.
ooner had that thought entered m.
head than everything began to.
pin, and I w.
plunged int.
utter darkn.
. I felt m.
elf falling anyway. It w.
.
if th.
wooden.
tructure had.
colla�
ed.
beneath me and I w.
hurtling down toward the cold cobbl.
belowx

I heard the wind wh

tling through ree.
and water tricklin
m
ically acr.
roc�
nearby. I w.
lying on my back;
immediately opened my ey.
and.
at up. The fi�
t thing
noticed w.
that my han.
were no longer boundx

I w.
.
itting on a gr.
y bank cl.
e to a river, whic
w.
gleaming like.
ilver. I looked up, expecting to.
ee th.
moon, but the.
ky w.
dark. Then I noticed that everythin]
around me w.
glowing with a faint.
ilvery light. At the rive�
margin, tall ree.
.
wayed rhythmically in the light wind tha
w.
blowing dow'
tream toward me. They too gave off tha

ilver.
heenx

Where.
w.
.
I?.
How.
w.
.
th
.
p.
ible?.
W.
.
it.
.
dream? If.
o, it had an un
ual clarity to it: I could.
mel
bl.
om.
on the.
breeze, and the ground felt very.
oli.
beneath me. To my left w.
the edge of a for.
t, whic
continued on the other bank. There were deciduo
tre.
.
.
far.
.
.
the.
eye.
could.
ee,.
the.
branch.
.
heavy.
wit
bloo.
,.
and.
the.
air.
w.
.
balmy..
It.
eemed.
to.
be.
hig

ummer, not the chill pr.

pring weather of Killorglinx

I got to my feet and heard a.

new.
ound. At firt
thought it w.
the wh
tle of the wind ruffling the ree.
, bu
there.
were.
definite.
not.
,.
and.
I.
found.
it.
compelling..
wanted to hear morex

So I.
et off u�
tream toward the.
ound. I came to .
wide, gr.
y clearing that edged the river, where I.
aw a'
.
ton
hing.
ight. It w.
full of hundre.
of anima
�m.
tl.
rabbi
and har.
, but there were a few fox.
and a coupl.
of badge�
, all.
taring toward the.
ource of the m
ic, thei�
ey.
wide and unblinking, .
if they�d been hypnotizedx
Additionally, the tre.
were full of bir.
of all typ.
x

A young boy w.
.
itting on a rock playing a pipe. I
appeared to be made from a.
imple reed, but the m
ic h.
made w.
exqu
ite. H
hair w.
long, h
face very palew
and.
he.
w.
.
clothed.
in.
a.
garment.
that.
eemed.
to.
b.
f.
hioned.
out.
of.
leav.
.
and.
gr.
..
The.
face.
w.
.
full.
human, but for h
ea�
, which were elongated and a littl.
pointy. H
feet were bare, and h
toenai
were.
o lon
that each curled up into a.
piralx

From my reading of the Spook.

B.
tiary, I knew tha
th
m
t be Pan. He.
ometim.
took the form of a boy�
th
w.
h
le.
t threatening.
hape. In th
form the go.
w.
.
ometim.
co'
idered benign, the life force of natur.
i
elfx

The.
boy.
looked.
up.
at.
me.
and.
topped.
playingx
Immediately the creatur.
of the for.
t fled, the.
pell of th.
m
ic broken. In a few.
econ.
there were only the two oy
leftx

�Where am I?� I .
ked. I felt very calm and not in th.
le.
t afraidx

�Do.
.
it.
matter.
where.
you.
are?�.
the.
boy.
aid..
H.

miled ple.
antly, but h
next wor.
filled me with.
udde'
terror. �I�ve brought you to the region where I dwell. Th
what you call the dark, the place you fear the m.
t!}
CHAPTER XIIn
A PACT
I looked up at the tre.
, which.
till.
himmered with.
ilve�
light. Could th
really be the dark? I wondered. It certainl.
w.
n�t what I�d anticipatedx
But Pan w.
right. Th
had been my bigg.
t fear of al
�to be dragged off to the dark after my death. But I ha.
expected the Fiend to do thatx
�I didn�t expect the dark to be like th
,� I.
aid, my voic.
hardly more than a wh
perx
�That.
beca
e it
n�t the dark,� Pan replied.
weetlyx
�But you j
t.
aid it w.
�}
�L
ten to me carefully, boy. I.
aid it.
a place that yo
call.
the.
dark..
In.
truth,.
th
.
.
a.
hadow.
world.
that.
li.
between limbo and the dark i
elf. It
a r.
ting place. T.
me it
the Hollow Hil
, but
called Tech Duinn by th.
people.
of.
Ireland�or.
ometim.
.
the.
Otherworld..
Thei�
go.
like th
place, .
do their dead hero.
. But m.
huma'
.
can�t.
tay.
here.
for.
long�their.
memori.
.
blee.
away into the.
ilver light, and they are l.
t forever. Onl.
hero.
can endure. But you needn�t fear that now, beca
.
only your.
oul
here. Your body
back on the platfor.
with that reeking animal.}
�The Morrigan?
.
he here too?� I .
ked, glancin
nervo
ly up into the tre.
x
�She com.
here on occ.
ion, but not j
t now.}
�Am I dead?� I wanted to knowx
�Not yet,� Pan replied, �but if you.
tay too long, yo
certainly will be. Your body
barely breathing. You need t.
get back .
quickly .
p.
ible,.
o let.
not w.
te an.
time. I brought you here.
o that we could talk. It took all m.
trength; I keep being drawn back into the body of the goatw
and it.
getting harder to r.
t the mag.
� dark magicx
Being in your world driv.
me i'
ane�then I infect othe�
with that.
ame madn.
.}
�What do you want to talk about?� I .
ked. W.
h.
actually going to return me to the world again7
�I need you to do.
omething for me. In return, you get t.
keep your.
anity.}
I nodded cautio
ly. What could one of the Old Go.
want.
of.
me?.
What.
could.
I.
do.
that.
he.
couldn�t.
manag.
hi.
elf7
�All you have to do
rele.
e the hoov.
of the goa
from the.
ilver chai'
that bind them.}

�How can I do that? My han.

are tied,� I reminde.
himx

�You�ll think of.

omething, I�m certain of that,� Pan.
ai.
with a.
mile. �Then, once you have freed me, I will do th.
r.
t.}

�The r.
t? What will you do then?}

�I will leave the goat.

body and .
cape the control oy
the mag.
. To be.
ummoned in that way
abhorrent t.
me.}

�I thought the Old Go.

wanted to be wo�
hipped�.�

aidx

�The mag.
don�t truly wo�
hip me, not r.
pectfully�
they j
t
e me to their own advantage. Employing th.
.
arcane ritua
, they force me into the body of the goat an.
draw.
forth.
my.
power.
bit.
by.
bit..
It.
weake'
.
me.
an.

trengthe'
them.}

�Have they gained power already?� I .

kedx

�Some�their dark magic will be.

trong for a while,� h.
told mex

�I�ll do my b.
t,� I agreed. �But there.
.
omething e
.
that I�d like from you�.}

Pan ra
ed h
eyebro.
x

�I have a friend called Alice, who w.

brought alive int.
the dark. Could you find her for me and rele.
e her, too?}

�Who brought her here?}

�The Fiend,� I repliedx

�Then it.
hopel.
,�.
aid the god. �In the dark ther.
are many different domai'
. I have one there, too. Eac
being.
h.
.
h
.
own.
domain,.
which.
.
generated.
by.
h
power..
The.
Fiend.
.
a.
law.
unto.
hi.
elf.
and.
ow'
.
th.
larg.
t domain of all. It
a terrible place for a mortal to bew
living or dead. If I could, I would help. But I am powerl.
We m
t go back now. I�m not.
trong enough to keep
both here for much longer.}

I nodded, and Pan began to play h

pipe again. Al
around
there w.
a r
tling and a beating of win
.
the.
creatur.
.
entered.
the.
clearing,.
ummoned.
by.
h
compelling m
icx

Suddenly.
the.
ound.
of.
pip.
.
ce.
ed;.
everythin
began to fade, and my.
ight darkened once morex
y

I found m.
elf lying on the platform. I.
truggled up into .

itting p.
ition and looked down onto the marketplace t.
be.
ure that no one w.
watching. I.
tared at the goat. I
gave a bleat,.
o I turned my back on it and thr
t my han.
toward i
mouth. I had thought of a way to rele.
e m.
bon.
x

The goat.
niffed at the rope and then began to che.
with rel
h. Once or twice it nipped my.
kin and I flinche.
away, but it took the animal only a few minut.
to rele.
.
mex

I rubbed my han.
to r.
tore the circulation. Then
turned my attention to the problem of freeing the goat. Th.

ilver chai'
that tethered it were d.
igned to hold captiv.
a being from the dark .
well .
an earthly animal. Ther.
w.
no way that I could force the lin�
apart with my bar.
han.
. In my p.
.
ion w.
the.
pecial key that coul.
open.
m.
t.
loc�
..
Never.
knowing.
when.
I.
might.
need.
i
again, I decided that, although it might j
t be p.
ible t.
e it to break a link, it w.
n�t worth damaging the ke.
unl.
I had tox

I turned my attention to the f.

tenin
that.
ecured th.
chai'
to the wooden boar.
. The moon w.
bright, and
w.
able to.
ee the.
ituation clearly. The wood i
elf w.
new and.
trong, and there w.
.
no way I.
could pull th.
chai'
free. But then I.
aw that they were attached to tw.

mall.
iron.
rin
,.
which.
were.
f.
tened.
to.
the.
wood.
b.

cre.
. Could I undo them? The mag.
had evidently neve�
imagined.
that.
anyone.
would.
try..
Maybe.
they.
hadn�
tightened them very hard7

I thought for a moment before.

earching in my pocke
again and finding a coin. I i'
erted the edge into the hea.
of the.
crew and turned. It wouldn�t budge. I pr.
ed dow'
.
hard .
I could; finally it began to move. Soon I w.
removing the.
crew with j
t my finge�
x

The.
econd.
crew proved much more difficult. I alm.
d.
paired of moving it, and the groove in the head.
tarte.
to.
hear away, but at l.
t the.
crew turned. Eventually th.
iron ring came away from the boar.
, and the goat w.
freex
The.
creature.
looked.
at.
me.
and.
bleated.
once..
I
eemed to tene it.
body; then, to my .
ton
hment, i
leaped off the platformx

I watched, horrified, .
the goat plunged toward th.
ground and hit the cobbl.
with a dull thump. It didn�t cry ou
on impact, but i
le
twitched a few tim.
and a puddle oy
blood began to form beneath it. The crown fell off i
hea.
and rolled away acr.
the marketplace. Now I realized tha
it w.
through the goat.
death that Pan had intended t.
free hi.
elfx

The god didn�t leave our world quietly. A howling gal.

prang up from nowhere, which blew out all the windo.

facing the marketplace and hurled down til.
from the rooy
to.
m.
h on the cobbl.
. Doo�
blew off their hing.
, an.

hou
rent the night airx

Fearing.
that.
it.
might.
topple.
over.
at.
any.
moment,.
began to climb down from the platform, my feet.
eeking ou
the.
tru
of the wooden.
haft. I needn�t have worried�th.
wind w.
directed at the mag.
, who�d taken roo.
facin
the market; the tower, right in the calm eye of the.
tormw
barely movedx

Moonlight lit up the whole area, giving me no place t.

hide, and by the time I reached the ground I could.
e.
mag.
heading toward the wooden.
tructure. One gave .
cry of angu
h .
he reached the body of the goat. I.
tarte.

printing down the triangle toward the.

treet at the bottomw
but.
omeone holding a long-bladed, curved knife blocke.
my path. I.
werved around him and headed for the riverw
which lay like a.
ilver ribbon in the d
tance. There wer.
tre.
.
beyond it; dark,.
hadowy are.
. Once acr.
th.
bridge, I�d have a good chance of .
capingx

I glanced back and.

aw that I w.
being followed.
tried to hurry, but my body didn�t r.
pond,.
till weak afte�

pending long da.

and nigh
on the platform, exp.
ed t.
the elemen
and eating little. When I looked back againw
my pu�
ue�
were catching up f.
t. But I w.
approachin
the bridge now. There w.
.
till j
t a.
lim chance that
could cr.
it and .
cape into the tre.
x

That.
hope.
w.
.
hort-lived..
I.
heard.
the.
ound.
oy
galloping hoov.
and knew that I w.
j
t momen
fro.
recapture or death. The fi�
t rider came at me from th.
right. I.
aw the glint of a.
word in the moonlight, and ducke.
y

to my left .
it.
wept down toward my head. Whether th.
blow w.
intended to kill me or the rider had j
t bee'
ing the flat of h
.
word, I couldn�t tell, but other ho�
eme'
quickly.
urrounded.
me,.
pointing.
their.
weapo'
.
at.
mew
waiting until the runne�
caught upx

Momen
.
later,.
rough.
han.
.
eized.
me,.
and.
I.
w.
dragged.
back.
up.
the.
lope.
toward.
the.
marketplacex
Mag
ter Doolan w.
waiting b.
ide the tower, grim facedx

�You have a lot to a'

wer for, boy!� he.
aid, cuffing m.
twice about the head, making my ea�
.
ing. �I�d love to.
lic.
you up.
lowly m.
elf, but I�ll give you to the witch. She�l
know b.
t how to make you.
uffer.}

With.
that,.
my.
han.
.
and.
feet.
were.
tied.
and.
I.
w.
thrown over the back of a ho�
e. All around me I heard .
b
tle .
the mag.
and their followe�
prepared to leav.
Killorglin..
Soon.
we.
were.
off,.
heading.
outh.
in.
a.
lon
convoy. No doubt the mag.
feared that the Alliance woul.
take th
opportunity to attack, and we hurried along.
.
quickly that th.
e on foot had to jog to keep up with th.
hor.
x

I�d had a brief t.

te of freedom. Now it.
eemed that w.
were bound for the refuge of the mag.
, the Staigue rin
fort. According to Shey, i
defe'
.
were impregnablex
Once i'
ide, I�d be .
good .
dead. They�d hand me ove�
to the witchx

D.
pite.
everything,.
I.
allowed.
m.
elf.
the.
mal

at
faction of reflecting that the mag.
had been forced t.
abandon their ceremony. It had failed, and I had been th.
one to.
top itx
CHAPTER XIv
THE HEAD OF THE WITCq
BY dawn we were deep in the.
outhern hil
. It w.
no.
raining hard, and I w.
.
oaked to the.
kin. I hung facedow'
agai'
t.
the.
ho�
e.
.
flank,.
bouncing.
up.
and.
dow'
uncomfortably,.
o my main view w.
of the boggy groundx
My fi�
t glim�
e of the Staigue fort came when I w.
dragged off the ho�
e and my feet were freed. I looked u�
at what appeared to be a gigantic dr.
tone wall towerin
over
, the.
ton.
.
killfully p.
itioned one upon the othe�
without the
e of mud or mortar to bind them togetherx
Ring fort w.
a good name for it, beca
e that.
exactl.
what it w.
�a huge defe'
ive circle of.
ton.
. Everyon.
w.
d
mounting, and I.
oon found out why. The fort coul.
only be entered by a very narrow gate, which w.
far to.
mall for a ho�
ex
Once through that gap in the wall, I got my fi�
t.
ight oy
the i'
ide of the mag.
� fortification. It had no roof, but th.
wal
were very high, with nine.
eparate fligh
of.
ton.
te�
leading up to rampar
from which attacke�
could b.
repelled. The ground within it w.
churned to.
oft mud, bu
dotted about were a number of timber buildin
. The.
ton.
fort w.
clearly very old, but th.
e wooden co'
tructio'
looked relatively recent. Some appeared to be dwellin
w
but the central one, which w.
round in.
hape, probabl.
had a different purp.
e; it w.
toward th
building that
w.
draggedx
We didn�t enter right away. I w.
forced to.
it down i'
the mud and.
urrounded by four guar.
armed with.
wor.
x
While.
we.
waited,.
the.
narrow.
gap.
through.
which.
we�.
entered the fort w.
.
ealed with.
ton.
. The job w.
don.
o.
expertly.
that.
there.
w.
.
no.
ign.
at.
all.
of.
where.
th.
entrance had been. I .
umed that.
omeone had remaine.
ou
ide to take the ho�
.
away to.
helterx
At l.
t I w.
hauled to my feet, and the Butcher led th.
way into the large building. I'
ide.
tood a circular, elevate.
da
. It w.
.
tained and pol
hed, and marked upon i
urface w.
a large pentacle of the type mag.
ed t.
ummon a demon or other.
upernatural entity. A number oy
chai�
and a table were.
et out at the center. Around th.
da
, the floor w.
mud, and there m
t have been at le.
nine armed guar.
.
tanding up to their ankl.
in it. Upo'
the da
.
tood.
even barefoot mag.
, and near i
edg.
w.
Thin Shaun. He w.
cradling h
.
on, Konal, who w.
till wrapped in a blanket. Thin Shaun.
hood w.
pulle.
forward, h
head bowed and in.
hadowx
Doolan approached the edge of the wooden.
tructur.
to addr.
him. �Where
Scarabek?� he.
nappedx

�I failed�d.
pite my b.
t effor
.
he
.
till a pr
onerx
But her enemy
prepared to exchange her for the boy.
adv
e you to let him go.� Thin Shaun nodded at me. �The'
you�ll have Scarabek to.
acrifice next time we attempt th.
ritual.}

�Who.
.
th
.
enemy?�.
demanded.
the.
chief.
mag.
angrilyx

Thin Shaun lifted h

head, and with h
left hand pulle.
back h
hood.
o that h
face w.
v
ible. Even before h.

poke, I knew the identity of the enemy who had b.

te.
him. Her.
ign w.
carved into h
forehead, and it w.
.
til
weeping bloodx

�Her name
Grimalkiny
he.
an .
.
in and h.
come from a powerful witch clan over the water. Never hav.
I encountered.
omeone with.
uch.
kill. All my.
trength an.
magic proved
el.
agai'
t her. I w.
completely at he�
mercy,� Thin Shaun admittedx

Suddenly I w.
filled with new hope. Grimalkin w.
herex

�
.
he alone,� demanded Doolan, �or.
upported b.
other clan membe�
?}

�She
alone.}

�Then.
he can be dealt with.}
Thin Shaun looked awayx

�Although we failed to ra
e the god, the attempt di.
bear.
ome.
fruit.�.
The.
Butcher.
.
voice.
w.
.
full.
wit
confidence. �It h.
made our magic.
tronger. She
onl.
one; if we fill a mage with our combined.
trength, j
t one oy
our.
number.
will.
be.
enough.
to.
kill.
her..
I.
will.
be.
he�
executioner!}

Doolan.
bowed.
h
.
head.
and.
tarted.
to.
mutter.
t.
hi.
elf. The wor.
he.
poke were in the Old Tongue�h.
wa uing dark magic. A he did.
o, the.
even.
othe�
mag.
.
knelt.
in.
a.
huddle.
at.
the.
edge.
of.
the.
da
.
an.
chanted for a minute or.
o before.
uddenly falling.
ilentx

Then they moved cl.

e to Doolan and.
tretched ou
their ar.
, laying their han.
on h
head,.
houlde�
, uppe�
back,.
and.
ch.
t..
They.
began.
to.
chant.
again,.
and.
i'
r.
po'
e, the man they called the Butcher cl.
ed h
ey.
and began to.
hudderx

I remembered how they had performed a.

imilar ritua
with the gunne�
at the.
iege of Ballycarbery C.
tle. Befor.
the mag.
had inv.
ted them with power, they had bee'
ineffectual;.
afterward,.
they.
had.
become.
dev.
tatingl.
accurate and had breached the c.
tle wall. Doolan w.
formidable already. How much more dangero
would h.
become? Could he p.
e a real threat to Grimalkin7

At l.
t the mag.
fell.
ilent and withdrew their han.
. �
go now!� the Butcher told them,.
howing h
teeth. �I�ll brin
back the head of our enemy!}

He left the hall, and I w.

dragged out after him.
wondered how he w.
going to get out of the fort. Surel.
they wouldn�t have to remove the.
ton.
that now blocke.
the entrance? The mage headed for the.
near.
t.
et.
oy
te�
that led up to the rampar
at the top of the wallx
B.
ide them.
tood an iron pillar. F.
tened to it and coile.
beneath it w.
a long length of.
trong rope. The Butche�
eized.
the.
end.
and.
dragged.
the.
rope.
after.
him.
.
.
h.
.
cended. I watched him throw it down ou
ide the wallx
Then he clambered acr.
the top and d
appeared fro.
view. He w.
climbing down the rope to reach the groundx

After a few momen

he gave a.
hout, and one of th.
guar.
ran to the pillar and began to haul on the rope. Th.
end appeared over the wall and.
lithered down the.
te�
like a.
nake. At that point, I w.
forced to.
quat in the we
mud again. Then we waitedx

We waited all day; nothing happened. They changed m.

guard twice. I w.
wet through again,.
hivering from th.
cold and damp, and cl.
e to.
tarvationx
Then, at d
k, I heard a d
tant cry. It.
ounded lik.
omething in great painx

One of the guar.

.
pat in the mud. �J
t an animal,� h.
aid. However, my experience .
an apprentice.
pook tol.
me that it w.
more likely to be humanx

From time to time a mage climbed the rampar

an.
peered out into the night. By now, even allowing for th.
elevation of the land, the moon.
hould have been v
ible t.
the e.
t. But the thick clou.
prom
ed more rain, and th.
night grew darker. Lanter'
were hung from hoo�
on th.
wall, but for.
ome re.
on the light they c.
t w.
weak, .
iy
the darkn.
i
elf w.
v
co
and thick. I could hear th.
voic.
of the mag.
, but they were muffled and ind
tinctx

Then a voice called loudly and clearly from beyond th.

wall. �Lower the rope!}

I recognized that deep, gruff voice. It w.

the Butcherx
Had he been.
ucc.
ful? I wonderedx
A guard threw down the end of the rope, and momen
later Doolan w.
.
tanding on the rampar
; the.
oldier hel.
a lantern cl.
e to h
face. Doolan led the way down th.

te�
again. When he reached the mud at the bottom an.
approached the fi�
t wall lantern, I realized that he w.
carrying.
omething in h
left hand. By now Thin Shaun ha.
emerged from the round hut, half a dozen mag.
followin
cl.
e behindx

They waited behind me .

Doolan.
trode through th.
mud. With h
right hand he drew a long bloo.
tained knif.
from h
belt; in h
left, c.
ually held by the hair, w.
.

evered head. I felt.

ick to the pit.
of my.
tomach. Th.
Butcher ra
ed it up.
o that the mag.
could get a goo.
look at itx

I recognized that face�both beautiful and cruel, wit

high cheekbon.
and li�
that were painted blackx

�Behold! The head of the witch!� he criedx

I w.
looking at the face of the witch .
.
inx

Grimalkin w.
deadx
CHAPTER Xv
DARK ANGEX
MY heart.
ank into my boo
. Everything w.
l.
t. My hop.
of .
cape had been.
natched away. Grimalkin had a
.
offered our only real hope of binding the Fiend. I felt.
adw
too. She had been a malevolent witch, the .
.
in of th.
Malkin.
clan,.
but.
we.
had.
fought.
alon
ide.
each.
otherx
Without Grimalkin.
help, I would be dead alreadyx
�Where
Scarabek?� .
ked Thin Shaunx
�She.
.
afe enough,� Doolan told him, �but w.
hurt i'
the.
truggle. I came on ahead to bring you the ne.
. She
happy for me to deal with the boy and give him the.
lo.
death he j
tly d.
erv.
. I will.
tart now,� he.
aid, lifting th.
knife and licking the blood from i
long bladex
I w.
pulled to my feet, and my bon.
were cut. The'
Thin Shaun.
eized me by the hair and dragged me towar.
the chief magex
�Death h.
come for you, boy!� he cried. �Look upo'
h
fea�
ome face!}
The.
Butcher,.
Doolan,.
miled.
grimly..
Then.
he.
ai.
omething really.
trange.
�Death h.
.
ent h
dark angel i'
tead!}
Dark angel? What did he mean7
I looked at Doolan and.
aw that there w.
.
omethin
weird about him..
A purple light.
himmered around h
head, and h
face.
eemed to be melting. He w.
.
hiftin
h
.
hape. H
li�
were now black. The forehead.
eeme.
narrower, too; the cheekbon.
higher. It w.
no longer th.
face of the chief magex

It was Grimalkint

.
ual, the witch .
.
in w.
dr.
ed to deal ou
death. Her body w.
cr
cr.
ed with leather.
tra�
, eac
holding more than one.
heath; they ho
ed her blad.
an.
the.
c
o�
.
he
ed to.
nip away the thumb bon.
of he�
defeated enemi.
. From her left.
houlder w.
.
pende.
a.
mall burlap.
ack. What new weapon did that contain?
wondered..
Her.
li�
.
were.
painted.
black,.
and.
when.
h.
opened her mouth I could.
ee th.
e terrifying teeth, eac
one filed to a.
harp point. She looked dangero
, ever.
inch a killerx

The witch .
.
in had
ed a cloak of dark magic t.
deceive her enemi.
. I felt a.
urge of joy; I w.
n�t dead yetx
In her left hand Grimalkin held the.
evered head of Doolanw
which.
he now t.
ed d
dainfully into the mud at her feetx
In one fluid motion.
he hurled the long knife toward me wit
terrible force. But I w.
not the target, and Grimalkin rarel.
m
edx

Thin Shaun.
creamed, and h
hand convu
ed befor.
rele.
ing my hair. I turned and watched him fall to h
kne.
in the mud, the knife up to i
hilt in h
ch.
t. The mag.
around me panicked and.
tarted to move backward, awa.
from the witchx

Grimalkin.
ran.
forward,.
grabbed.
me.
by.
the.
lef

houlder, and.
pun me behind her. I.
lipped and went dow'
on my han.
and kne.
in the mud. Now.
he w.
betwee'
me and our enemi.
, crouching, ready to attack. A guar.
launched a.
pear toward her ch.
t. The aim w.
good an.
it w.
f.
t, but at the l.
t moment.
he knocked it .
ide wit
the edge of her hand,.
imultaneo
ly hurling another knifex
The guard died even before h
.
pear had been deflecte.
to the ground. I.
crambled to my feetx

�Run for the.

tep!.
Ue the rope!� the witch.
criedw
pointing toward the wallx

I did .
.
he commanded, but I w.
unfit after long da.
and nigh
of impr
onment and ill treatment. My le
fel

lugg
h, the mud.
ucking at my boo
and delaying m.
progr.
. I glanced back and.
aw that, .
yet, Grimalki'
w.
making no attempt to follow me. She w.
fighting .
dozen.
mag.
.
and.
guar.
,.
whirling.
and.
cutting..
I.
hear.
crea.
and groa'
of agony .
her blad.
.
l.
hed an.
tabbed, driving back her fo.
x

I�d reached the.

te�
; I began to climb .
f.
t .
I w.
able, my le
.
heavy .
lead. I w.
now at the rampar
and glanced back down again. Grimalkin had retreated an.
w.
fighting next to the iron pillar to which the end of th.
rope w.
tiedx

I.
uddenly.
aw.
a.
great.
danger..
Once.
he.
left.
tha
p.
ition and tried to make her own .
cape, they would cu
through the rope. Surely.
he m
t be aware of the danger,
thought. I clambered over the edge of the wall and began t.
climb down. I felt dizzy and.
pun around and around on th.
rope, finding it hard to hold onx

At l.
t, breathl.
and weak with exertion, I reache.
the ground and looked up. There were cri.
from beyon.
y
the rampar
; then Grimalkin appeared at the top of the wal
and began her rapid d.
cent. My heart w.
in my mouthw
but.
he w.
.
uddenly there at my.
ide, pointing to the e.
tx

�Our b.
t hope
to follow the co.
t that way!�.
he tol.
mex

Without waiting for a reply,.

he ran off. I kept up .
b.
t I could, but.
he began to get farther and farther aheadx
She halted and came back toward me. Turning, I could.
e.
the ligh
of torch.
on the d
tancex

�There are too many of them to fight,�.

he.
aid. �Soo'
they�ll.
end for ho�
.
.
well. You�ve got to move f.
terx
Our liv.
depend on it.}

My.
mind.
w.
.
willing,.
but.
my.
body.
imply.
couldn�
match i
deman.
. �I can�t,� I.
aid. �I�ve been tied up fo�
da.
and I�ve eaten little. I�m.
orry, but I j
t haven�t th.

trength.}

Without another word, the witch.

eized me by my le
and heaved me up onto her.
houlde�
.
if I were no mor.
than a.
ack of feathe�
. Then.
he headed e.
tx

Grimalkin ran for at le.

t an hour. Once.
he leaped acr.
a.
tream; on another occ.
ion.
he.
lipped to her kne.
o'
a.
lope. The next thing I knew, I w.
being taken into.
om.

ort of.
helter and lowered to the ground. Then I fell into .
really deep.
leep. When I awoke, Grimalkin w.
cookin
omething over a fire, the.
moke drifting up a chimneyx
I.
at up.
lowly and looked about me. It w.
daylightw
and we were.
heltering in an abandoned cottage. I coul.

ee no furniture, and anima

had obvio
ly been
ing th.
place before
. There w.
.
heep dung on the.
tone fla
near the doorway. The cottage had no door, and the.
ingl.
window w.
broken. It w.
drafty, but the roof w.
.
til
intact, and it w.
dryx

The witch .
.
in w.
crouching in the hearth,.
lowl.
rotating two rabbi
impaled on.
pi
. She turned and gav.
me a.
mile,.
howing her.
harp teeth. Then, to my.
urpr
e,

aw my.
taff leaning agai'
t the wall in the far corner of th.
roomx
�I retrieved your.
taff from Scarabek.
cottage and lef
it here on my way to Staigue. Are you feeling better now?}
he .
kedx

I.
nodded..
�Y.
,.
and.
thank.
you.
for.
aving.
my.
lifex
Again.�.
I.
g.
tured.
toward.
the.
fire..
�Aren�t.
you.
bothere.
about the.
moke from the chimney? Are they.
till.
earchin
for
?}

�Y.
,.
but they won�t find u here�I�ve.
cloaked th
place.
with.
magic..
Once.
night.
fal
.
we�ll.
continue.
ou�
journey.}

�Where are we going?� I wonderedx

�To Kenmare, to meet your m.

ter.}

�Have you.
poken to him already?}

�Y.
..
He.
made.
h
.
way.
back.
there�though.
Alic.
w.
n�t with him and I�ve had no further contact with herx
She.
well beyond the protection of the blood jar.}
I bowed my head. �The blood jar can�t help her now,�
aid.
adly. �The Celtic witch, Scarabek, gave Alice to th.
Fiend, and he took her away into h
domain.}

�The poor girl,� Grimalkin replied. �Then.

he
l.
tx
There
nothing we can do for her. I w
h I�d known that. I le
Scarabek go. She�d.
erved her purp.
ey
he w.
j
t .
way to free you. I.
hould have killed her!}

When I heard th.

e wor.
, I felt a.
tab of pain in m.
heart. They confirmed what I already believed, but comin
from the witch .
.
in.
li�
, they held a terrible finalityx

�Now that.
he.
free, Scarabek will come looking fo�
me again,� I told her. �I w.
with Bill Arkwright when h.
killed her twin.
ter. She.
ee�
revenge before giving m.
to the Fiend.}

�You.
needn�t.
worry..
You�ll.
be.
afe.
with.
me.
at.
you�
ide,� Grimalkin.
aid. �B.
id.
, I took.
omething e
e fro.
the witch.
cottage.}

She handed me the burlap.

ack I�d noticed earlier.
opened it and, to my delight,.
aw that it contained my.
ilve�
chainx

�Put it away,� Grimalkin.

aid. �Even with it in the.
ackw
it burned my finge�
. I can�t bear to be near it!}

Then.
he lifted one of the.
pi
and held it out towar.
me. �Eat up. You�ll need your.
trength.}

For a while we ate in.

ilence. The rabbit w.
delicio
x
I w.
.
tarving, and kept burning my mouth in my eagern.
to wolf it downx
�How did your m.
ter take the ne.
about the bloo.
jar?� Grimalkin .
ked. �He.
aid little to me; he.
eeme.

ubdued and deep in thought. He can hardly find it e.

y t.
accept that h
apprentice
protected by dark magic.}

�He.
took.
it.
very.
badly,�.
I.
a'
wered,.
automaticall.
checking that it.
till lay in my pocket. �For a moment
thought he w.
going to.
m.
h it immediatelyy
endin
the three of
to the dark forever. But then he relented; i
w.
.
if your plan had given him new hope. Life.
deal
him a bad hand in recent mont
. H
ho
e and librar.
were burned to the ground�the heritage it w.
h
duty t.
keep.
afe. He.
never been the.
ame.
ince.}

�Well, he won�t have expected

to be alli.
agai'
after.
Greece..
That.
won�t.
be.
e.
y.
for.
him.
either,�.
h.
remarkedx

�Did Alice tell you that the jar

cracked and.
tarting t.
fail?}

Grimalkin nodded. �She did, and it.

.
ential that w.
deal with the Fiend .
.
oon .
p.
ible.}

�How did you .

cape from Scotland?� I .
kedx

�By terrifying a poor f

herman into bringing me here,}

he replied with a fierce.

mile. �I paid him by.
paring h
life.}

�And how are thin

.
back in the County?� I .
kedw
licking.
the.
l.
t.
fragmen
.
of.
ucculent.
rabbit.
from.
m.
finge�
x

�At the moment it.

very bad. People have nothingy
the enemy.
oldie�
have taken everything. But they will no
hold.
way forever.}

�But we.
till might have to wait a long time.
befor.
venturing home,� I gu.
edx

I thought of my family, living in the County. How wer.

they.
urviving the enemy occupation? The farm might wel
have.
been.
raided.
and.
the.
anima
.
driven.
off.
to.
b.

laughtered .
food for the troo�
. Would my brothe�
Jac�
and Jam.
have tried to r.
t? If.
o, they could be deadx

�The enemy h.
advanced too far. Their forc.
an.
their lin.
of.
upply are.
tretched thin,� Grimalkin .
ertedx
�And.
they.
have.
not.
yet.
overcome.
the.
m.
t.
northerl.
counti.
. Beyond them, the Lowland Sco
are gathering; i'
the.
pring they�ll be joined by the Highlande�
. Then the.
will launch an attack together, and the men of the Count.
will r
e up again�we witch.
will play our part, too. Ther.
will be many deat
. We will drive the enemy.
outh, the'
into the.
ea. Our.
crye�
have.
een it come to p.
.}

Witch.
crye�
really did.
ee the future, but I knew tha
they could a
o be wrong,.
o I didn�t comment. I'
tead,
directed.
Grimalkin.
.
though
.
toward.
our.
m.
t.
powerfu
enemy. �Do you really believe that we can bind the Fiend?�
.
kedx

�Would I have come all th

way otherw
e?� She gav.
me a brief.
mile. �Though we need to d
c
everythin
with.
John.
Gregory..
The.
attempt.
will.
be.
dangero
.
an.
could be the end of
. It.
a big r
k�but y.
, I do believ.
that it can be done. Where the Fiend
bound
importantx
It m
t be p.
ible to hide the.
ite from th.
e who migh
w
h to rele.
e him.}

�By dark magic?}

The witch .
.
in nodded. �Y.
, I will wrap a cloak oy
dark magic about the place. But it m
t be remote�w.
m
tn�t have anyone.
tumbling upon it by chance.}

After dark we continued toward Kenmare. I w.

feelin
much.
tronger now, and w.
ple.
ed to feel my.
taff in m.
hand and to hear the familiar chink of my.
ilver chain in m.
pocket..
M.
tly.
we.
trode.
along.
in.
ilence,.
but.
I.
w.
preoccupied by though
of Alice.
plight, and eventually
brought the.
ubject up againx

�
there really no hope for Alice?� I .
ked. �No way oy
getting her back?}
�I fear we can do nothing. I w
h it were otherw
e.}

�But what if we do manage to bind the Fiend? Won�

that make a difference?}

�When.
we.
d.
troy.
the.
blood.
jar,.
he.
will.
comew
d.
perate to.
eize you. He will leave Alice behind, an.
there.
he will remain. I know it
a terrible thing to accepty
but co'
ole you�
elf with the thought that, once he.
bee'
bound and cut off from h
domain, Alice.
pain will.
urel.
l.
en. He will not be there to mete it out.}

Grimalkin.
attempt to co'
ole me failed. I thought oy
Alice,.
trapped.
in.
the.
dark,.
lonely,.
afraid,.
and.
i'
unimaginable torment. I remembered the wor.
of Pan.
The Fiend is a law unto himself and owns the largesk
domain of all. It is a terrible place for a mortal to be, livin]
or deadt
CHAPTER XVn
THE DRAGON�S LAIc
WE reached Kenmare about two hou�
before dawn an.
approached.
the.
high.
wall.
that.
encl.
ed.
Shey.
.
fortifie.
ma'
ion. Intercepted by.
everal aggr.
ive guar.
at th.
gate, Grimalkin drew a blade and.
howed them her pointe.
teeth. In the lantern light.
he looked every inch the fea�
om.
witch, but the men, although they recognized me, were war.
of a witch and prepared to attackx
There were five of them, but I wouldn�t have given muc
for.
their.
chanc.
.
agai'
t.
Grimalkin..
However,.
e'
.
prevailed,.
and.
I.
pe�
uaded.
them.
to.
end.
one.
of.
thei�
number back to the ho
e to wake Shey and the Spookx
The guard returned quickly, muttered an apology, and w.
were .
corted inx
I had a brief meeting alone with my m.
ter and tol.
him what had happened. When I came to the part where th.
Fiend had d
appeared, taking the terrified Alice back int.
the dark with him, a lump came into my throat and I gave .
ob, my ey.
filling with tea�
x
The Spook put h
hand on my.
houlder and patted i
gently. �There.
little I can.
ay to make you feel better, ladx
J
t try to be.
trong.}
Grimalkin and I joined the Spook and Shey in the.
tud.
in.
the.
e.
t.
wing,.
where.
a.
peat.
fire.
w.
.
burning.
in.
th.
hearthx
I.
upp.
e I�d never expected to.
ee the leader of th.
Land Alliance again, thinking he w.
bound to be kille.
when the wal
of Ballycarbery C.
tle were breached. Bu
he told
that the enemy forc.
had merely come to tak.
the mage we�d held pr
oner.
o that he could be.
acrificedx
So once that aim w.
achieved, they�d immediately calle.
off the.
iegex
�You did well, boy!� Shey congratulated me. �One oy
our.
pi.
.
brought.
.
word..
Mag
ter.
Doolan.
.
deadx
Single-handed,.
you.
topped.
the.
ritual..
It.
took.
om.
courage to free the goat and p
h it off the platform.}
�I w.
n�t really alone,� I told him. Then I explained abou
my v
it to the Hollow Hil
and how Pan had played h
partx
They all l
tened in.
ilence, but when I�d fin
hed, She.
reached acr.
and clapped me on the backx
�It w.
incredibly brave,� he.
aid. �M.
t people woul.
have been driven i'
ane by him.}
�Indeed,.
but.
we�re.
eventh.
o'
.
of.
eventh.
o'
,}
explained the Spook. �In.
uch.
ituatio'
, that giv.
th.
trength that othe�
lack.}

�Maybe,�.
aid Grimalkin, �but Tom
more than thatx
Remember, he a
o h.
the blood of h
mother runnin
through h
vei'
. Do you really believe that Pan would hav.
deigned to cooperate with you, John Gregory, in that way?
think not.}

The Spook didn�t reply, but neither did he d

agreex
I'
tead, he reached acr.
and picked up Shey.
map oy
Kerry. Then he unfolded it and.
pread it out on the tablex

�Am I right in.

aying that you�ve once again reached .
talemate with the mag.
?� he .
ked, looking directly a
the leader of the Land Alliancex

Shey nodded. �I�m afraid.

o. The rit.
may have bee'
brought to a premature end, but they gained.
ome powery
any further attack made on them now may be r
ky.}

�Well,.
we.
are.
going.
to.
attempt.
omething.
ver.
dangero
, but if it.
uccee.
, it could help your ca
e too,}
the Spook went on. �We are going to try and bind the Fien.
�the Devil hi.
elf. If that can be achieved, the power oy
the dark and all i
other.
ervan
will be reduced. Aye, an.
that would include the mag.
x

�What we need
a remote location, a.
uitable plac.
to bind him. Th
your land. Where do you.
ugg.
t?� h.
.
ked, pointing at the mapx

Shey got to h
feet, r.
ted h
han.
on the table, an.

tudied the map, tracing the line of the co.

t.
outhw.
toward Cahe�
iveen with h
index finger before movin
inland. �There.
a ruined church there,� he.
aid, jabbing at .
point.
with.
h
.
finger..
�Kealnagor..
The.
loca
.
think.
it.
haunted,.
o they.
tay away. You couldn�t cho.
e better tha'
that.}

�It.
a little too cl.
e to the ring fort at Staigue,�.
aid th.
Spook. �The l.
t thing we want
one of the mag.
comin
acr.
it�.
pecially while we�re doing the binding.}

Shey moved h
finger e.
tward and tapped Kenmarex
�Why not do it near here, then? Th
probably the are.
that.
.
af.
t from the interference of the mag.
. And ther.
one place that m.
t local folk avoid: a.
tone circle tha
y

li.
j
t ou
ide the village.}

�
that haunted too?� the Spook .
ked himx

He.
hook h
head. �There.
.
omething there for.
urew
but perha�
not a gh.
t. I v
ited it once for a wager and fel
it m.
elf, though I could.
ee nothing. It.
a creepy placew
.
pecially after dark. I kept.
hivering�I j
t knew that ther.
w.
.
omething.
nearby,.
omething.
huge.
and.
terrifyingx
Even in daylight, people keep well away.}

�Well, I.
ugg.
t that we go and.
ee th
haunted.
ton.
circle.�.
The.
Spook.
miled..
�It.
could.
be.
j
t.
what.
we�r.
looking for!}

It w.
a bright, clear morning, and the ground w.
d
te.
with fr.
t. .
yet there w.
little warmth in the.
un, and ou�
breath.
teamed up into the cr
p air. .
the.
tone circl.
w.
n�t far from Shey.
ho
e, we.
et off before breakf.
tw
.
.
oon .
it w.
light. It w.
perfect weather for walkingw
and we took the do
. They ran ahead, barking excitedlyw
glad to be out and reunited with
all againx

Soon we could.
ee the.
tone circle in the d
tance. I

tood on a.
mall hill,.
urrounded on three.
id.
by tre.
x
On.
my.
trave
.
with.
the.
Spook.
I.
had.
een.
uch.
circl.
formed with much larger.
tanding.
ton.
. Some of the on.
here were no more than boulde�
. I counted twelve of themx

When we reached the circle, the wolfhoun.

.
uddenl.
tarted.
to.
whine;.
they.
lay.
down.
at.
i
.
edge.
and.
woul.
proceed no fartherx

I.
e'
ed.
omething right away. A cold.
hiver ran th.
length of my.
pine. Something from the dark w.
nearbyx
But, to my.
urpr
e, my m.
ter gave me one of h
rar.

mil.
x

�Couldn�t be better, lad!� he told me. �What we hav.

here
a dragon, and a.
pecial one to boot! Th
.
dragon.
lair!}

We followed him into the.

tone circle, Shey lookin
nervo
. Even Grimalkin looked te'
e, and r.
ted her han.
on.
the.
hilt.
of.
her.
larg.
t.
blade..
I.
vaguely.
remembere.
reading about.
uch creatur.
in my m.
ter.
B.
tiaryx

�M.
t.
people.
think.
that.
a.
dragon.
.
a.
huge.
lizar.
breathing.
fire.
and.
moke,.
but.
a.
true.
dragon.
.
a'
elemental,�.
the.
Spook.
explained..
�They.
are.
air.
piri
w
inv
ible but imme'
e. Th
one
probably coiled abou
within th
hill. They live their liv.
at a different.
peed tha'
we huma'
. To them, our lifetim.
p.
in the blinking of a'
eye..
M.
t.
people.
can.
barely.
e'
e.
the.
pr.
ence.
of.
.
dragon, but th
one
particularly.
trong. Can�t you feel i
malevolence? It.
enough to keep people away�and that.
exactly what we wantx

�However, it wouldn�t worry a true.

ervant of the dark,}
he continued with a frown, turning to face Shey. �We can�
guarantee that th
area will alwa.
remain.
afe and in you�
han.
.}

�I can cloak it,�.

aid Grimalkin. �Even if the mag.
camped cl.
e to the.
ton.
, they would not.
pect wha
w.
here. Of cou�
e, there are other powerful.
ervan
oy
the dark who might.
ee beyond my magic. But fi�
t thin
fi�
t�}

�Y.
, there.
no point in delaying. Let.
get on with ou�
preparatio'
,�.
aid the Spook. �We�ll try to bind him herew
right.
at.
the.
center.
of.
the.
circle,.
within.
the.
coi
.
of.
th.
dragon. Now I need the.
ervic.
of a.
tonem.
on, and a
.
a good rigger. They m
t be craf
men we can tr
t to kee�
quiet afterward. Could you find them for me?� he .
kedw
turning to Sheyx

�I.
know.
an.
excellent.
local.
tonem.
on,�.
he.
repliedx
�The rigger might be more difficult, but I�ll make inquiri.
.}

�And I need.
omething e
e from you,�.
aid Grimalkinx
�I m
t f.
hion.
pea�
and.
nai
with which to.
bind th.
Fiend. I noticed that you have exte'
ive.
tabl.
behind you�
ho
e�do you have a forge?}

�Y.
,.
and.
an.
excellent.
mith.
who.
I�ll.
put.
at.
you�
ervice.}
�The forge i
elf will.
uffice. I work alone,� Grimalki'
aid with a frown. �I would like to begin the t.
k .
.
oon .
p.
ible.}
�Of cou�
e�I�ll take you there right away,�.
aid She.
nervo
ly, clearly intimidated by the witchx
�Aye,�.
aid the Spook, �and while you�re doing that, th.
lad and I will get.
tarted on the pit.}

Back at the ho
e, after a light breakf.
t, we collected ou�
ba
and a couple of.
turdy.
hove
to do the digging. Th.
weather.
eemed likely to remain fine for the r.
t of the dayx
It.
made.
e'
e.
to.
get.
tarted..
It.
would.
be.
no.
fun.
at.
al
digging in the rainx

�Well,�.
aid the Spook .
I put down our ba
and th.
pad.
near the center of the circle of.
ton.
, �th
.
good.
pot. Give me a.
pade, lad!}
He.
jabbed.
it.
deep.
into.
the.
oft.
earth.
and.
gave.
.

at
fied grunt. �The digging.
hould be relatively e.
y. Bu
fi�
t I�ll mark out the boundari.
of the pit,� he.
aid, taking .
folded me.
uring rod from h
bag. �We�d better make i
large�no doubt the Fiend will appear in the.
ame form .
he did l.
t time,.
o it nee.
to be at le.
t three tim.
.
big .
a boggart pit. I hope you�ve recovered your.
trengt
after your ordeal, lad.}

That meant there would be a lot of earth to remove. I�.

be doing m.
t of the digging, no doubt, even though I.
til
felt weak, and I would be left with.
ore m
cl.
and a'
aching backx

I watched .
the Spook marked the dime'
io'
of th.
pit on the bare earth very prec
ely,
ing.
mall woode'
pe
and twine. When he�d fin
hed, I picked up the larg.

hovel and.
et to work. I had a long day ahead of mex
M.
tly my m.
ter j
t watched, but every hour or.
o h.
gave me a break and.
et to hi.
elfx

At fi�
t, .
I worked, I kept thinking of poor Alice, bu
after.
a.
while.
my.
mind.
went.
blank.
and.
the.
numbin
monotony of hard digging took over. At one point I pa
e.
to catch my breath and leaned heavily on the.
hovel handlex

�What about the.

tone lid for the pit?� I .
ked. �It�ll b.
much heavier than
ual, and here we have no branch t.
lower it from.}

When binding boggar

, the rigger
ually l.
hed h
block and tackle to a branch and
ed it to lower the.
tonex
That.
why we alwa.
dug our pi
beneath a large treex

�The.
rigger.
will.
have.
to.
co'
truct.
a.
trong.
woode'
gantry, lad, with a beam from which to hang the block. I
mak.
the job more difficult and will take extra time. No
only do.
the rigger have to be good at h
job and able t.
keep h
mouth.
hut afterward; he and h
mate both nee.
to be brave. Do you remember what happened to poor Bill.
Bradley?}

Billy had been John Gregory.

apprentice before mex
The Spook had been ill and w.
forced to.
end Billy ou
alone to bind a dangero
ripper boggart. Thin
had gon.
wrong. The.
tone lid had trapped Billy.
finge�
, and afte�
fin
hing the blood in the bait d
h, the ripper had bitten ofy
h
finge�
. He�d died of.
hock and l.
of bloodx

I nodded.
adly. �The rigge�
panicked,� I recalledx

�That.
right, lad. If they�d kept their nerve, that rigge�
and h
mate could have lifted the.
tone off Billy.
finge�
i'
econ.
,.
and.
he�d.
till.
be.
alive.
today..
We.
need.
a'
experienced rigger who do.
n�t.
care e.
ily!}

Suddenly.
a.
thought.
truck.
me�the.
carving.
on.
th.

tonev

�Where do we leave.
our mark when the.
binding
done?� I .
ked. �Do we carve a.
ymbol on the top and pu
our.
nam.
.
underneath.
to.
how.
who.
bound.
the.
Fien.
hi.
elf?}

�It would certainly be the pinnacle of my life.

work,� m.
m.
ter replied. �But we�ll leave no mark th
time. Nobod.
m
t know he.
there. We�ll put a boulder on top of th.

tone. That way, fol�

in yea�
to come will j
t .
ume it.
part.
of.
the.
pattern.
of.
tanding.
ton.
.
and.
not.
think.
t.
d
turb itx
�Anyway, lad,� he went on. �You�ve r.
ted long enough�
let.
.
top.
th
.
idle.
peculation.
and.
get.
back.
to.
work.
I'
tead of j
t cutting out the dime'
io'
of the pit, wh.
don�t you t.
t it for depth j
t about where you�re.
tandin
now?}

I�d been working methodically, following the mar�

th.
Spook had made, keeping the excavation more or l.
even. But what he.
aid made.
e'
e. It w.
a good tip to pu
into my notebook for future reference;.
omething that, n.
doubt, my m.
ter had learned from experience. We had t.
know if we could achieve the nec.
ary depth. So I.
tarte.
to dig deeperx

I.
tarted to feel a chill: W.
it the dragon.
e'
ing m.
d
turbing h
lair7
CHAPTER XVIn
WORDS IN A MIRROc
THE following day we.
oon hit.
olid rock and could go n.
deeper..
I.
hoped.
the.
pit.
would.
be.
big.
enough.
for.
ou�
purp.
.
. About midafternoon, when I�d j
t about fin
hedw
Grimalkin.
paid.
.
a.
v
it..
Over.
her.
houlder.
he.
w.
carrying.
omething.
wrapped.
in.
acking�no.
doubt.
th.
pea�
that.
he�d forgedx
�Will that be big enough?�.
he .
ked, looking down a
the pit doubtfullyx
�I hope.
o. I w.
going to make it deeper, but th
rock.
put an end to that,� I told herx
Grimalkin looked worried. �I�ve.
een the Fiend bigge�
than that. He w.
a giant, a mo'
ter.}
�If he.
that big, there may be nothing we can do,�
aidx
�Remember, I have given birth to h
child�the chil.
he.
layed,�.
Grimalkin.
aid..
�He.
cannot.
come.
near.
m.
unl.
I will it. That could be our l.
t line of defe'
e.}
She.
miled,.
curling.
her.
li�
.
over.
her.
needle�
har�
teeth..
�And.
perha�
.
that.
layer.
of.
rock.
will.
be.
to.
ou�
advantage,�.
he.
aid. �I have crafted.
pea�
and a
o.
om.
horter.
nai
..
The.
rock.
will.
provide.
a.
firm.
b.
e.
for.
th.
binding.}
�Well,�.
aid the Spook, �we�re ready now�.
ready .
we�ll ever be. We can r.
t and gather our.
trength for th.
ordeal tonight.}
Grimalkin.
hook her head. �No, there
further work t.
be done fi�
t,�.
he told him. She knelt and unrolled th.
acking on the ground to reveal the.
tak.
and nai
. I coul.
not.
ee even a hint.
of.
ilver alloy. They.
eemed to.
b.
crafted of plain.
teelx
�I need.
ilver to fold into the.
teel,�.
he.
aidx
I knew I had no choice. I would have to offer my.
ilve�
chain. It w.
a vital tool for a.
pook, and a pr.
ent from m.
mam, but.
urrendering it would make the binding of th.
Fiend p.
iblex
�You can
e th
,� I.
aid, making to hand it to herx
But the Spook frowned. �Nay, lad, you�ll need it agai'
one day. We�ll
e mine. What better
e could it.
erve7
B.
id.
, my old m.
ter, Henry Horroc�
, had a chain of h
own, and I inherited it after h
death. It.
out of harm.
wa.
with my.
brother Andrew in Adlington, at h
loc�
mith.

hop. One day, when it.

.
afe to return to the County, we�l
go and collect it.}

.
.
he.
poke,.
there.
w.
.
a.
hint.
of.
adn.
.
in.
th.
Spook.
face. That.
chain had.
erved him well.
over th.
yea�
. To.
urrender it w.
hardx

It took nearly two da.

for Grimalkin to craft the weapo'
t.
her.
at
faction. Behind the ho
e, the forge rang with th.
rhythmical pounding of her hammer. She melted down m.
m.
ter.
.
ilver chain before forming it into.
tri�
, which.
h.
worked.
killfully into the iron of the.
tak.
and the broad�
headed nai
x
In.
the.
afternoon.
of.
the.
econd.
day,.
one.
of.
Shey.
ervan
brought word that Grimalkin w
hed to.
peak t.
me alone. I entered the.
hed that ho
ed the forge wher.

he w.
working. Afraid of d
turbing her concentration,
didn�t.
peak,.
but.
i'
tead.
waited.
patiently.
in.
a.
cornerw
watching her craft a.
pear. She wore thick leather glov.
t.
protect her witch.
.
kin from the iron and.
ilver. The longw

harp.
pear in her gr.
p w.
being formed into a.
lende�
helix, a fine tw
ting alloy of.
ilver and iron. It w.
the l.
t oy
four; the nai
had already been completedx

Sat
fied at l.
t,.
he laid down the fin
hed weapon o'
a bench cl.
e to the anvil, and then.
he turned to face mew
her gaze holding minex

�L
ten,�.
he.
aid, her ey.
glittering fiery red with th.
reflected.
light.
of.
the.
forge..
�Tonight.
we�ll.
bind.
himy
whatever it tak.
. I�d give my life to achieve that, if it w.
nec.
ary.}

I nodded. �I fear that the moment the Fiend realiz.

he.
in the pit, he�ll halt time. And I won�t be.
trong enoug
to.
top him�though I vow I�ll die trying.}

She frowned. �I have often thought about the Fiend an.

h
powe�
. When he.
halted time in the p.
t, the initiativ.
h.
been h
. So, rather than being on the defe'
ive an.
trying to prevent that, why not attack by halting time you�
elfw
at the very moment he appea�
?}

�I�ve managed to achieve that a couple of tim.

in th.
p.
t, but the effect h.
n�t l.
ted. Still, I�ll do my b.
t,�
.
ured herx
�Succeed, and time will halt for all th.
e in the vicinit.
of the pit�all but you. The Fiend will quickly unde�
tand th.
ituation, but by then you will already have driven your.
pea�

deep into h
dirty hide.}

I nodded. It might j
t work. Grimalkin w.
right. Th
time I would take the initiative and.
trike fi�
tx

We tried our b.
t to grab a few hou�
�.
leep before darkx
We�d.
need.
to.
be.
trong,.
r.
ted,.
and.
alert.
for.
the.
t.
�
ahead. I didn�t bother getting undr.
ed�though I quickl.
checked the blood jar in my pocket; the crack.
till.
eeme.
to be holding the Fiend at bay. Then I lay on top of th.
bedcove�
and cl.
ed my ey.
x

I.
oon fell into a really deep, dreaml.
.
leep,.
bu
e'
ing.
omething.
trange,.
I.
jerked.
awake,.
itting.
bol
uprightx

The mirror on the be.

ide table w.
flickering. A fac.
appeared. It w.
Alice! She w.
wide-eyed with terror; i
wrenched at my heart to.
ee her in that.
tatex

The mirror clouded. She had breathed on the.

urfac.
of the one.
he w.
ing. She began to write, and he�
m.
age.
lowly appearedx

The lette�
appeared backward on the gl.
.

Could.
he really .
cape from the dark? I wondered. Al
at once I w.
filled with fr.
h hope. Quickly I breathed o'
the mirror and wrote my reply on the m
ted gl.
x

Alice began to write again, but the wor.

appeare.
only very.
lowly. W.
.
he in pain? What w.
wrong7
I read th
one with e.
e, in l.
time than it had taken he�
to write it: Pan found me a doorway back. But I can�t gek
through alone, can I? Need your help, Tomt

Could there really be a doorway back to our world7

Pan m
t be aiding Alice in repayment for my help with th.
mag.
. But he�d.
aid he couldn�t help�that the Fiend w.
too.
trong. And how w.
it p.
ible to
e a mirror t.
communicate from the dark? I wondered. W.
that why i
w.
taking her.
o long to write each m.
age! I quickl.
breathed on the mirror and wrote againx

Her reply came more quickly th

timex

The lair of the dragon? That w.

what the Spook ha.
called the circle of.
ton.
where we hoped to bind th.
Fiendx

The.
mirror.
flickered.
and.
grew.
dark..
My.
hear
plummeted into my boo
. Alice had gone before I could ge
that.
vital.
information.
from.
her..
But.
j
t.
.
.
I.
began.
t.
d.
pair, the mirror filled with light again, and Alice.
finge�
began to write, very.
lowlyx
She.
w.
.
.
king.
me.
to.
come.
alone�that.
certainl.
made.
e'
e. Grimalkin had told the Spook that Pan ha.
only dealt with me beca
e of my mam. It w.
dangero
t.
go alone, but if that w.
the only way, then I had no choicex

I.
drew.
back.
the.
curtai'
.
and.
looked.
through.
th.
window. It w.
twilight;.
oon it would be completely dark. I'
the next room, I could hear the Spook.
tirring. From th.
pouch.
in my bag I quickly filled my pocke
with.
alt an.
iron. Next I took my.
ilver chain and tied it around my wa
tw
hiding it under my.
hirtx

Carrying my boo
in one hand and my.
taff in th.
other, I tiptoed out through the door and managed to ge
dow'
tai�
without meeting anyone. One of the.
ervan

aw me.
itting on the.
tep pulling on my boo
. He noddedw
and I nodded back before.
etting off down the path an.
letting m.
elf out through the main gatex

I couldn�t.
ee any of Shey.
guar.
, but they
uall.
kept out of.
ight. They were probably hiding in the tre.
w
watching me now, but it didn�t matter. They had been told .
little of what we intended to do at the.
tone circle, but no
enough to.
care them too much. They thought it w.
.
om.

ort of rite to combat the dark power of the mag.

; whe'
they.
aw.
me.
heading.
in.
that.
direction.
now,.
they.
woul.
merely think I w.
.
etting out a little ahead of the othe�
x

Soon I w.
among the tre.
, approaching the.
ton.
�the lair of the dragon. .
I.
tepped over the.
oft groundw
my feet cracked the occ.
ional twig. A white m
t lay cl.
.
to.
the.
ground,.
but.
there.
w.
.
till.
enough.
light.
to.
avoi.
walking into a tree or.
tumbling over a log. I emerged at th.
foot of the hill, looking up at the.
tanding.
ton.
, whic
were j
t v
ible agai'
t the cloudl.
.
ky. The bright.
t oy
the.
ta�
were out now, but the moon wouldn�t be up fo�

everal hou�
yetx
My heart w.
beating f.
t. Would I really be able to ge
Alice back7
CHAPTER XVIIn
THE TALONS OF THE MORRIGAw
I.
walked.
teadily.
up.
the.
hill,.
hivering.
with.
a.
chill.
tha
uddenly traveled the length of my.
pine. It w.
the
ua
warning that.
omething from the dark w.
near, but I pai.
little heed, intent on my purp.
ex
Momen
.
later.
I.
w.
.
tanding.
within.
the.
circle.
oy
ton.
, cl.
e to the pit that we had dug for the Fiend. All
could hear w.
my own rapid heartbea
and breathingx
The m
t.
eemed to be thickening and r
ing in.
nakelik.
coi
. I.
pun.
lowly on my hee
, checking the area throug
a full three hundred and.
ixty degre.
. The m
t.
eemed t.
be r
ing up from the ground, and there w.
a lot of it. It j
didn�t.
eem normal. Could it be the breath of the dragon?
wonderedx
No, that w.
a.
urd. Drago'
weren�t fire breathe�
with hot breath; they were huge elemental.
piri
of the airx
Th
w.
j
t ordinary m
tx
Then.
I.
aw.
a.
udden.
himmer.
in.
the.
air,.
directl.
opp.
ite the pit. Suddenly I w.
face-to-face with Alice. M.
heart gave a lurch, but then I.
aw that.
he w.
n�t.
miling�
he didn�t.
eem at all ple.
ed to.
ee mey
he looke.
terrified. Her face w.
caked with dirt and the whit.
of he�
wild ey.
were.
howing, her hair matted and her mout
tw
ted in a grimace of terror. She.
eemed to be.
tandin
behind that.
himmering curtain. It looked.
o fli.
y. Surely i
would be e.
y j
t to.
tep through�x
All at once Alice thr
t her left hand toward me. It cam.
right through into the world where I.
tood. �Help me, Tom!}
he cried. She.
eemed to be.
houting, but her voice w.
muffled and faint. �You�ve got to pull me through. I can�t do i
alone!}
Without h.
itation, I gripped her hand firmly, my lef
hand.
queezing her left hand�which felt.
o cold. It w.
.
if I w.
holding the hand of a dead pe�
onx
I pulled hard,.
but Alice.
eemed to r.
t. W.
.
h.
tuck? W.
.
omething holding her back? I tugged eve'
harder, but then the grip on my hand tightened and it reall.
hurt. It w.
.
if Alice w.
trying to cr
h my finger bon.
x
Then, .
I w.
dragged forward agai'
t my will, Alice.
face.
began to.
change. It w.
n�t her. It w.
the face.
oy
Scarabek.
I tried to r.
t, but the gr.
w.
.
lippery, my feet l.
their purch.
e, my.
taff went flying from my hand�and
w.
dragged into the.
himmering curtain, the doorway t.
the darkx

There w.
a bright fl.
h of yellow light, and Scarabe�
jerked my arm and then rele.
ed her grip very.
uddenlyw

ending me.
pinning away from her. I hit the ground har.
and.
rolled.
over.
everal.
tim.
.
before.
coming.
to.
a.
hal
agai'
t a tree trunk, which knocked the breath from m.
bodyx

I r.
e up onto my kne.
, g.
ping, and quickly glance.
about me. I w.
in a wood, and all the tre.
looked hugex
That w.
.
trange enough, but everything w.
a
o bathe.
in a.
ilver light. It w.
.
if it radiated from everythingy
tre.
, ground, and.
ky�and I knew one thing for certain:
had left the world I knew far behindx

Suddenly I realized the truth. Th

w.
n�t the dark. I w.
back in the Tech Duinn, the Hollow Hil
�the place wher.
Pan had taken me in.
piritx

I looked up at Scarabek. She gave me an evil.

milew
but.
he.
eemed to be fading. I remembered what Shey ha.
told
. Witch.
could not.
tay here for very longx

�I�m leaving you here, boy! I�m handing you over to th.
Morrigan. She�ll.
come.
for.
you at the twelfth peal.
of th.
midnight bell! You won�t forget that, I�m.
ure! And try not t.
forget who you are!� Scarabek cried in a mocking voicex

And then.
he w.
gone, leaving me to my fatex

I got to my feet, her final wor.

.
pinning around i'
id.
my head. Forgetfuln.
! That w.
a real danger. What w.
it that Pan had told me7

�memories bleed away into the silver light, and then

are lost forever. Only heroes can endure�t

The hero.
were th.
e of Ireland�the ancien
, th.
great on.
.
uch .
Cuchulain. D.
pite her magic, even .
Celtic witch couldn�t.
tay here for long. So what chance ha.
I? I w.
here in the Otherworld�both in body and in.
oulx
How could I hope to.
urvive agai'
t the Morrigan? I had.
al
and iron in my pocke
, and my.
ilver chain tied about m.
wa
t..
However,.
they.
couldn�t.
hurt.
a.
godd.
..
remembered my fight with the Ordeen back in Greece, ho.

he had.
imply.
hrugged off the.
ilver chain I had c.
about herx

I�m.
not.
entirely.
ure.
what.
happened.
next�but.
uddenly.
found.
m.
elf.
crawling.
on.
all.
fou�
.
rather.
tha'
walking,.
and.
I.
felt.
befuddled.
and.
d
oriented..
I.
w.

earching for the.

taff, which had been knocked out of m.
gr.
p. Where w.
it? I d.
perately needed a weapon;
knew i'
tinctively that without one I couldn�t.
urvivex

Midnight w.
f.
t approaching, and a terrible creatur.
would come for me then. But what w.
it? Some.
ort oy
demon? All I could remember w.
that a witch had.
ent itx
She wanted revenge for.
omething I�d done to her. Bu
what had I done? What w.
it7
Why couldn�t I recall th.
e thin
properly? My min.
w.
.
whirling.
with.
fragmen
.
of.
memory�piec.
.
that.
couldn�t fit together. W.
I already under.
ome.
ort of dar�
enchantment? I wondered. I.
uddenly felt cold, very coldx
Something from the dark w.
drawing cl.
e nowx

In a panic, I leaped to my feet and d.

perately bega'
to.
print through the tre.
, hindered by branch.
and thorn.
b
h.
that.
cratched and tore, but not caring. I j
t had t.
get awayx

I could hear.
omething ch.
ing me now, but it w.
n�
on foot. There w.
a furio
flapping of gigantic win
.
glanced.
back.
over.
my.
houlder.
and.
w
hed.
I.
hadn�tw
beca
e what I.
aw incre.
ed my terror and panicx

I w.
being ch.
ed by an imme'
e black crowx

A fragment of my shattered memory fell into placet

The huge crow w.

the Morrigan, the bloodthi�
ty Ol.
God of the Celtic witch.
. She.
cratched her victi.
t.
mark them for death. She haunted battlefiel.
and pecke.
out the ey.
of the dyingx

A second fragment of memory slotted into its correck

positiont

Th
one filled me with hope. I knew that I.
till had .

lim chance of .
caping her. Ahead lay a church of.
om.
ort; once i'
ide, I would be.
afe from the godd.
. Could
reach.
it.
before.
I.
w.
.
eized.
by.
the.
Morrigan?.
I.
ha.
dreamed th
.
ituation.
o many tim.
, but now it w.
realx
Were it not for that recurrent nightmare, th
.
ilver-lit worl.
of the Hollow Hil
would have.
natched every l.
t bit of m.
memory. I wondered if th
ability to learn from my drea.
w.
another gift I�d inherited from Mamx

Church.
.
weren�t.
ually.
plac.
.
of.
refuge.
from.
th.
dark. Pri.
might think.
o, but.
poo�
certainly didn�tx
Neverthel.
,.
omehow I knew that I had to reach th
on.
�or face deathx

I�d been running hard, taking little heed of o.

tacl.
uch .
fallen lo
and roo
. Inevitably I tripped and wen
down. I got to my kne.
and looked up at my pu�
uerx

A dreadful creature w.
.
tanding before me wearing .
black, bloody gown that came down to her ankl.
�par
woman, part crow. Her feet were bare and her toenai
were talo'
, .
were her fingernai
, but.
he had a hug.
feathered head with a deadly beakx

She began to.

hift her.
hape. The beak.
hrank, th.
bird.
ey.
.
changed.
until.
the.
head.
became.
human.
i'
appearancex

A third fragment of memory clicked into placet

I knew that face. It w.

the Celtic witch Scarabek. N.
doubt the Morrigan had taken on that identity to remind m.
of my crime agai'
t the witch.
who wo�
hipped herx

All at once, in the d

tance, I heard the chime of a bellx
W.
it a church bell? If.
o, I could follow that.
ound to i
ource and take refuge.

It w.
worth a try,.
o on the.
econd.
troke I leaped t.
my feet and began to run toward the.
ound. I.
uddenl.
wondered how far away it w.
. Could I get there in time7
The third peal.
ounded very near, but I could.
e'
e th.
Morrigan behind me, gliding cl.
er and cl.
er with ever.
rapid.
tep. I glanced back and.
aw that her face had bee'
replaced by the huge crow.
head. The.
harp beak w.
open wide, the.
harp talo'
lunging toward me, ready t.
tear my fl.
h, mangle my body, and.
catter my.
plintere.
bon.
x

But.
now,.
through.
the.
tre.
,.
I.
glim�
ed.
the.
ilver.
outline of a building. It w.
little more than a chapel with .
mall bell tower. If only I could reach it.

.
I got nearer, however, i
outline began to.
himme�
and.
lowly.
hift i
.
hape. The.
harp angl.
.
oftened, th.
tower d
appeared, and it.
ettled into the form of a buria
mound. There w.
more: Beneath the dome of the gr.
�
covered roof lay a.
tructure of gleaming white.
tone. Now
could.
ee an open doorway with an intricately carved.
ton.
lintel; a.
olute darkn.
waited withinx

The Morrigan.
talo'
raked toward my left.
houlderw
but.
I.
tw
ted.
away.
and.
dived.
through.
the.
mall.
quar.
entrance to that dark refuge. When I hit the ground, it fel

oft; there w.
a covering of yellow.
traw, and I rolled ove�
a couple of tim.
before coming to a halt. I let my ey.

lowly adj
t to the dark�and.
oon I w.
able to make ou
my.
urroundin
x

I took a couple of deep breat

, then came up into .
crouch.
and.
looked.
about.
me..
In.
the.
center.
of.
the.
hig
ceiling of the m.
terio
chapel hung a.
even-branche.
golden.
candelabrum,.
the.
thin.
candl.
.
blue.
and.
alm.
tra'
parent. But the dim light didn�t reach the four corne�
of the chamber, where darkn.
gathered in impenetrabl.
poo
x

However, m.
t.
ignificantly, the m.
terio
.
ilver ligh
had.
completely d
appeared. The.
chapel w.
indeed .
refuge.
from.
the.
Otherworld,.
and.
my.
mind,.
which.
ha.
become incre.
ingly.
lugg
h and forgetful, felt.
harp an.
clear again, and I recalled everything that had happenedx

I heard a low growl and then the padding of heavy feetx

Out of the.
hado.
emerged a mo'
tro
hound. I bega'
to tremble. Claw and her fully grown pu�
, Blood and Bonew
were fea�
ome be.
, but th
hound w.
the.
ize of .

hire.
dray.
ho�
e,.
.
.
big.
and.
powerful.
.
.
all.
thre.
wolfhoun.
put togetherx

W.
it the guardian of th
place? If.
o, I had littl.
chance agai'
t.
uch a creature. But I didn�t need to defen.
m.
elf, beca
e an even bigger mo'
ter emerged from th.

hado.
and put an enormo
hand on the hound.
hea.
to r.
train itx
CHAPTER XI~
THE HOUND OF CALANw
HE w.
a giant of a man, with a wild mane of coa�
e re.
hair. He carried a.
pear in h
right hand and a.
word at h
beltx
H
.
triking red hair.
uddenly drew my attention againx
Although.
there.
w.
.
no.
breeze,.
the.
hair.
eemed.
to.
b.
moving. It w.
.
tanding on end and writhing.
lowly, lik.
underwater ree.
moving in a.
wirling currentx
�You�re.
afe here, boy,� he.
aid in a deep boomin
voice .
he.
ettled down next to the magnificent houndx
�Th
hound won�t touch you. It.
what.
out there that yo
hould fear. I fear the Morrigan too, but.
he can�t enter herex
Th
a.
idhe�a place of refuge. Do you have a name?}
My throat w.
dry, and I had to.
wallow before I coul.
peak. �Tom Ward,� I repliedx
�And what do you do, Tom? What brin
you here?}
�I�m an apprentice.
pook. My m.
ter and I fight th.
dark. I w.
tricked by a witch into entering th
Otherworl.
y
he wan
the Morrigan to hunt me down.}
�Well, .
long .
you.
tay within th
.
idhe,.
he can�
touch you. Not even a godd.
can enter. But it wouldn�t b.
w
e.
to.
tay.
too.
long..
Time.
p.
.
.
differently.
here..
I
do.
n�t flow at the.
ame rate .
it do.
back on earth. I
mov.
forward in great.
urg.
. It
nearing midnight. Ver.
oon the bel
will chime the hour. At the twelfth peal, tim.
will.
uddenly lurch forward: In one.
econd.
pent here, man.
long yea�
will have p.
ed back in your world. Everyon.
you.
know will.
be dead. Go quickly, while.
you.
till hav.
omething to return to.}
�I want to get back, but I don�t know the way. And ho.
can I get p.
t the Morrigan?}
�You could fight her. I�ve fought her before, but it alwa.
en.
in pain, and I wake up here and wait for my.
trength t.
return.}
�Who are you?� I .
kedx
�They once called me the Hound of Calann beca
e
killed.
th
.
dog.
here.
with.
my.
bare.
han.
..
Now,.
in.
th.
afterlife, we�re bound together.}
I remembered the tale Shey had told
. �So you�r.
Cuchulain�one of the great hero.
of Ireland�.}
The giant.
miled at that. �
that how they d.
cribe mew
Tom? I like that. What e
e do they.
ay about me?}

�They.
ay that you�re r.
ting here and will return whe'
Ireland nee.
you.}

Cuchulain laughed. �Me�return? I don�t think.

o! On.
life w.
enough for me,.
hort .
it w.
. I�ve done with killin
men. No, I won�t be going back, that.
for.
ure. But I�ve .
good mind to help you get back. I�m in the mood for a figh
�though.
I.
m
t.
warn.
you,.
I�m.
not.
the.
b.
t.
of.
men.
t.
accompany you. In battle, a great fury com.
upon me an.
a red m
t clou.
my v
ion. In that.
tate, I�ve killed frien.
.
well .
enemi.
. I�ve regretted it afterward,.
but tha
do.
n�t undo what.
been done. It do.
n�t bring back th.
dead. So beware! But the offer
there�take it or leave itx
Though don�t.
pend too long making up your mind, now.}
The huge hound lay down and cl.
ed i
ey.
, and .

ilence.
fell.
between.
me.
and.
Cuchulain..
After.
a.
fe.
momen
, h
head nodded onto h
ch.
t and h
ey.
cl.
ed, toox

If I accepted the hero.

offer of help, there w.
.
n.
guarantee.
that.
he.
could.
really.
protect.
me.
agai'
Scarabek. Hadn�t he j
t.
aid that when he fought her, i
ended in pain and.
uffering? He alwa.
l.
t. Then ther.
w.
the battle frenzy that came over him�while fightin
her, he could j
t .
e.
ily kill me. But if I.
tayed here,
thought, I w.
.
good .
dead. I would never.
ee anyone
cared about again. Although I knew now that Alice w.
l.
to.
me,.
there.
w.
.
till.
my.
family..
And.
the.
Spook.
an.
Grimalkin. Even my chance to bind the Fiend would b.
gone, and I�d be a.
tranger in an unknown world. I had .
duty to fight the dark. I needed to complete my training an.
become a.
pook in my own right. No, I had to leave th.

idhe�and .
.
oon .
p.
ible, whatever the r
kx
�You.
know.
a.
way.
back.
to.
my.
world?�.
I.
aid.
t.
Cuchulainx

The dog growled in i

.
leep and he patted i
headw
h
own ey.
.
till cl.
ed. �I know.
everal doo�
that lea.
back. The.
near.
t li.
.
not far from here. We.
could.
b.
halfway there before the godd.
even realiz.
we�ve lef
th
refuge.}

�I have to .
cape,� I told him. �Will you help me?}

Cuchulain opened one eye and gave me a lo�

ide.
grin. �My heart quicke'
!� he cried. �I can.
mell the blood oy
the Morrigan. It.
worth a go. Th
time I could win. Th
tim.
I could.
trike off her head!� He laughed. �You.
ee, I�m a'
eternal optim
t. Never give up! That.
the true quality tha
mar�
.
a.
hero..
Never.
give.
up,.
even.
when.
thin
.
loo�
hopel.
! And I think you have that quality, boy. You too ar.
a hero!}

�I don�t think.
o,� I.
aid,.
haking my head. �I�m j
t .
pook.
apprentice�I.
often get.
cared when facing th.
dark.}

Cuchulain.
miled. �Even hero.
are.
ometim.
afraidw
Tom. It tak.
the bravery of a hero to admit fear. B.
id.
w
you are here in the.
idhe, and.
till breathing. Were yo
made of l.
, you would have been d.
troyed the momen
you entered th
place.}

He got to h
feet and picked up h
huge.
pear. �Hav.
you no weapo'
, Tom?� he demandedx

�I
e a.
pook.
.
taff, but I l.
t it when I w.
dragge.
through the doorway from my world. I have nothing but.
al
and iron and my.
ilver chain�.}

�The Morrigan won�t be bothered much by.

alt an.
iron, and the chain would only bind her for momen
. She�.

hift her.
hape and.
lip out of it in the twinkling of an eyex
Here�take th
dagger,� he.
aid, reaching into h
leathe�
jerkin and handing me a weapon. �Strike her hard with th
x
She�ll feel it, mark my wor.
!}

To Cuchulain it might have been a dagger, but he w.

a huge man,.
over twice the.
ize of the village.
mith a
Chipenden..
The.
blade.
he.
handed.
me.
w.
.
a.
word..
I
looked a very.
pecial.
word, too, no doubt crafted for .
king. The hilt w.
ornate,.
haped like the head of.
ome.
or
of be.
t. With a.
hock, I recognized it. It w.
a.
kelt, th.
creature that hid in crevic.
near water, then.
cuttled out t.
drink the blood of i
victi.
. The.
kelt.
long.
nout forme.
the.
errated blade of the.
word; i
ey.
were two larg.
rubi.
. It made.
e'
e�Ireland had lo
of bo
and waterw
which would be home to.
kel
,.
o the.
word had bee'
f.
hioned in i
liken.
x

I.
took.
the.
handle.
in.
my.
left.
hand.
and.
t.
ted.
it.
fo�
balance. It felt right�alm.
t .
if it had been made for mex
Then I.
aw that the blade i
elf w.
crafted from .
ilver.
alloy..
Such.
a.
weapon.
could.
d.
troy.
a.
demonx
Although it w.
not effective agai'
t one of the Old Go.
w
the blade could.
till injure the Morrigan and buy precio
time while I made my .
capex

Suddenly I.
aw that blood w.
dripping from the.
wor.
and forming a.
mall red pool on the ground. For a moment
thought that I�d cut m.
elf on the.
harp blade, but then, t.
my .
ton
hment, I realized that the blood w.
weepin
from the two red ruby ey.
x

Cuchulain grinned. �It lik.

you, boy!� he exclaimed. �I
lik.
you a lot! The fi�
t time I held that blade, it dripped .
little blood. But nothing like .
much .
that! You belong t.
the blade. It owns you. You�ll belong to it until the day yo
die.}

How could a.
word own me? I wondered. Surely it w.
I who owned the sword? However, th
w.
n�t the time t.
contradict Cuchulainx

�Are you ready, Tom?� he .

kedx

I noddedx

�We have to move f.

t. .
.
oon .
we�re clear of th.

idhe, turn.
harp left. About fifty pac.
will bring
to .
ford. It.
not an e.
y cr.
ing, but on the other.
ide li.
.
cave. Run.
traight in and don�t.
low down. The far wall
the doorway back to the world of huma'
�but to p.
through, you m
t run at it at full pelt. Do you hear?}

I nodded again. �I�m ready,� I told himx

Cuchulain gripped h
.
pear and.
printed out of th.
idhe, the huge hound at h
.
ide. I ran after him, holdin
my.
word ready. Once more we were bathed in that.
ickl.
ilver light. I forced m.
elf to concentrate, fearing for m.

memoryx

Once.
ou
ide,.
there.
w.
.
no.
ign.
of.
the.
Morriganx
Cuchulain and h
hound were pulling away, and I.
truggle.
to keep up, but then I caught.
ight of the river ahead, a fa
ilver.
nake.
meandering.
through.
the.
tre.
..
Suddenly.
found.
m.
elf.
alon
ide.
Cuchulain..
Had.
I.
omeho.
managed to.
peed up, or had he.
lowed down7

I.
glanced.
to.
my.
right.
and.
aw.
that.
he.
w.
.
no.

taggering. When we�d left the.

idhe, h
left.
houlder an.
arm.
had.
been.
trong.
and.
m
cular..
Now.
they.
wer.
withered,.
o feeble that he could barely gr.
p h
.
pear. .
I watched, he tra'
ferred it to h
right hand and.
tumble.
onward,.
lowing.
with.
every.
tride.
.
.
if.
about.
to.
fall..
remembered.
Shey.
.
tory:.
During.
Cuchulain.
.
life,.
he�.
been weakened by a witch.
cu�
e. W.
the Morrigan no.
exerting her power over him, renewing the.
pell7

I heard a new.
ound then�the ha�
h chatter of cro.
x
The branch.
of the tre.
ahead of
were bowed dow'
under.
their.
weight..
W.
.
the.
Morrigan.
among.
them?.
wondered. The a'
wer came quicklyx

No! A mo'
tro
crow .
big .
Cuchulain w.
flyin
directly toward
, cla.
extended, beak agape. .
th.
Morrigan.
wooped through the tre.
, I.
werved away to th.
left, but Cuchulain hefted h
.
pear and.
tabbed at herx
Feathe�
flew and the godd.
.
creamed. He�d hurt herw
and.
he landed heavily. But then.
he flew at him againw
talo'
l.
hing outx

I turned, ready to go to h
aid, gripping the.
wor.
tightly. They were grappling in.
cl.
e combat, her talo'
tearing at h
fl.
h, but I a
o.
aw blood�
pattered feathe�
on the ground. Both of them were bleeding. The Morriga'
w.
.
hrieking like a ba'
hee witch, while Cuchulain roare.
and bellowed like a be.
tx

I moved cl.
er, waiting for my chance to.
tab her wit
the.
word. I.
aw that the hound w.
watching, too. Wh.
didn�t.
it.
go.
and.
help.
i
.
m.
ter?.
I.
looked.
cl.
ely.
a
Cuchulain and realized that he w.
.
tarting to change. Th.
battle fury w.
coming upon him. One eye.
eemed to b.
bulging out of h
forehead, and h
hair w.
.
tanding u�
and thickening like the.
harp quil
of a hedgehog. The.
ki'
of h
face w.
rippling, h
teeth.
bared in a.
narl, .
though he wanted to.
bite.
off the.
head.
of the.
crow tha
confronted himx

I ran forward, ra
ing my.
word to.
trike the godd.
Luckily I never got cl.
e enough to do.
o�it would hav.
been the end of me. Mad with rage, Cuchulain reached ou
with h
left hand and.
eized the neck of the hound. In.
pit.
of h
withered arm, i'
ane anger lent him.
trength. H.

wung the hound agai'

t the trunk of the near.
t tree. Th.
m.
ive trunk.
huddered with the impact, but the head oy
the hound broke open like an egg,.
plattering brai'
an.
red gore on wood and groundx

Cuchulain threw the lifel.

body away and then glare.
about him. For a moment h
ey.
r.
ted upon me, an.
|

terror froze me to the.

pot. Then h
gaze moved on, bu
rather than going for the Morrigan with renewed fury, h.
attacked a mighty oak tree! He.
wung h
.
pear at it agai'
and.
again,.
the.
blo.
.
r.
ounding.
through.
the.
for.
tx
Branch.
broke and fell to the.
ilver gr.
in.
plinte�
. The'
he.
began to drive the point.
of h
.
pear into the trunkx
Deeper and deeper went the blade with each blow,.
har.
of wood flying up into the air. But my ey.
were no longe�
on Cuchulain. I w.
.
taring at the giant crow, which w.
changing even .
I watchedx

Once more the Morrigan took the.

hape of Scarabekx
She.
miled and came toward me. D
tracted by h
ow'
rage, Cuchulain w.
no longer a threat to her. Now.
he w.
coming for me.

I.
turned.
and.
printed.
toward.
the.
river,.
.
.
he�.
i'
tructed. When I reached i
bank, I.
aw to my d
may tha
the water w.
high and f.
t flowing, a.
ilver torrent that
could not cr.
. Where w.
the ford? The Morrigan w.

trolling toward me now, alm.

t c.
ually, .
if.
he had al
the time in the world�x

All the time in the world? That w.

exactly what I didn�k
have. Midnight w.
approaching, and .
.
oon .
the bel
had pealed twelve tim.
, yea�
would have p.
ed bac�
home. I.
canned the riverbank and.
potted the.
tepping�

ton.
. They lay to my left�eight of them, their to�
j
v
ible above the waterx

The Morrigan.
aw where I w.
heading and began t.
run, but I reached the ford fi�
t and took a mighty lea�
toward the fi�
t.
tone. It w.
wet and.
lippery, and I alm.
l.
t.
my.
balance..
But.
I.
managed.
to.
jump.
acr.
.
to.
th.

econd, and then the third. When I reached the fifth, I looke.
back. The Morrigan w.
leaping from.
tone to.
tone, toox
I�d half hoped that.
he wouldn�t be able to cr.
runnin
water. But, although in the gu
e of a witch,.
he w.
.
godd.
, and the torrent proved no barrier to her. Ther.
w.
j
t one more.
tone, then I could jump up onto th.
riverbank. However, the Morrigan w.
.
cl.
e.
behind m.
now. I would never make it. So I turned and held up m.

word, preparing to defend m.

elfx
She came for me, her han.
ou
tretched, her talo'
glinting. I.
wung the.
word with all my.
trength. It.
truck he�
hard.
on.
the.
right.
houlder..
Blood.
purted.
up,.
and.
h.

creamed and fell into the water with a tremendo

.
pl.
hx
Th
w.
my chance. I made it to the final.
lippery.
tonew
then leaped onto the bank, my heart poundingx

I could.
ee the entrance to the cave ahead, a dar�
gaping mouth in the.
ilver cliff. I hurried toward it. At on.
point.
I.
looked.
back..
The.
Morrigan.
had.
r
en.
and.
w.
following me again. She w.
n�t even running. Did.
he thin�
that I�d be unable to .
cape7

The cave w.
gloomy, but not .
dark .
it had fi�
eemed; it w.
gleaming with that.
ame m.
terio
.
ilve�
light that illuminated all of the Otherworld but the.
idhe.
tudied.
the.
back.
wall..
It.
looked.
hard�and.
olid..
I.
ra'
toward.
it.
.
.
Cuchulain.
had.
i'
tructed,.
but.
at.
the.
l.
moment.
I.
lowed.
a.
little.
and.
flinched,.
anticipating.
th.
impactx

I collided with.
olid rock�a tremendo
blow jarre.
me.
from.
head.
to.
toe..
I.
tumbled.
backward,.
the.
wor.
pinning from my hand, and lay there,.
tunned. My hea.

and kne.
hurt. I could t.
te blood in my mouthx

What.
had.
gone.
wrong?.
Perha�
.
the.
Morrigan.
ha.
worked.
ome type of enchantment, I thought. W.
that wh.

he�d.
trolled after me, not even bothering to run? I cam.
up onto my kne.
and crawled acr.
to the.
word. I took i
in my left hand and managed to get to my feet before takin

low, painful.
te�
toward the mouth of the cave. When
reached it, the godd.
w.
only a dozen pac.
awayw
advancing.
teadilyx

I took a deep breath to calm my fea�

and readied th.

word in my hand. But the nearer.

he came, the more m.
confidence.
ebbed.
away..
I.
aw.
that.
her.
gown.
w.
unmarked�there w.
no.
ign of the wound I�d inflicted. .
godd.
of.
uch power would heal quickly. The.
ilver blad.
could certainly hurt her and.
low her down�but not d.
tro.
her. All I could do w.
buy a little time for m.
elf�x

Time! No.
ooner had the thought entered my hea.
than.
the.
fi�
t.
peal.
of.
the.
midnight.
bell.
rang.
out.
in.
th.
d
tance. I knew that when the twelfth one.
ounded, tim.
back.
on.
earth.
would.
lurch.
forward..
I.
w.
.
d.
peratel.
wondering what to do next, and thought of what Cuchulai'
had.
aid about the doorwayx

The.
econd chime rang out�x
Full pelt�you had to run hard and f.
t at that bac�
wall of the cave. J
t now, I�d.
lowed and flinched at the l.
moment. It w.
difficult to imagine an impact harder tha'
the one I�d.
uffered, but it had to be done. It w.
my onl.
chance of getting back to the world I knew. But fi�
t I had t.
deal with the Morrigan�x

She ran at me now, cla.

ou
tretched, ey.
blazin
with a ferocio
anger. .
.
he lunged toward me, the bel
tolled for the third time. I.
pun away to the left, and.
h.
m
ed me, her talo'
gouging the rock cl.
e to my headx

Then I.
truck out at her with my.
word, but the blo.
w.
delivered clu.
ily and in h.
te. The blade clange.
agai'
t.
olid rock, jarring my arm. The bell pealed again�x

The next few.

econ.
p.
ed in a blur, and I knew tha
I had to bring our.
truggle to a.
wift end. Above the.
oun.
of my labored breathing, the.
nar
of the Morrigan, and th.

cuffling of my boo
agai'
t the rocky ground, I could hea�
the.
low,.
teady pea
of the bell. By now I�d l.
t count. Ho.
long before the twelfth chime7

I thought back to the cave wall. I had to believe I coul.

p.
through it. I began to foc
my mind. Strangely, .
did.
o, I felt the.
word vibrate in my hand, and a.
ingle dro�
of blood fell from the left ruby eyex

.
the godd.
ran at me again, I feinted to the leftw
then changed to a right cut, bringing my.
word down f.
tw
alm.
t horizontally, toward her. It w.
a perfect blow. .
if i
w.
.
licing through butter, the.
word took her head clea'
from her.
houlde�
. It fell to the ground with a.
ickenin
crunch, but then went.
pinning and rolling away down the hil
toward the.
ilver river belowx

For a moment the Morrigan.

headl.
body.
too.
there.
waying, the neck.
purting blood. Then, rather tha'
falling,.
he.
taggered off down the.
lope in pu�
uit of he�
head. It.
eemed unlikely that.
he�d catch it before it rolle.
into the riverx

W.
ting no time, I hurried back into the cave. F.
te�
and f.
ter I ran,.
traight toward the waiting wall of.
oli.
rock. It took all my willpower not to.
low down, not to flinc
or.
tw
t.
away..
I.
till.
felt.
a.
tremendo
.
blow�and.
the'
everything went blackx

I heard a d
tant final peal of the bell. Then.
ilencex
CHAPTER X~
NOBODY WILL HEAR YOU SCREAm
EVEN before I opened my ey.
, I felt a cool breeze on m.
face and the gr.
beneath my prone bodyx
I.
at up and looked about me; I realized I w.
.
til
holding the bloody.
word. It w.
alm.
t dark now. I w.
a
the center of the circle of.
tanding.
ton.
at Kenmare. Bu
had I returned in time? How long had p.
ed�a century7
I got to my feet and headed toward the pit. It w.
har.
to tell in the poor light, but it looked the.
ame. Had it bee'
abandoned, I thought, even a few mont
would have fille.
it with gr.
and wee.
x
Then I.
aw my.
taff lying on the ground. That gave m.
a fl.
h of real hope. The Spook would have come in.
earc
of me. He would have found the.
taff and taken it awayy
not left it lying therex
So I picked up the.
taff and.
et off for Shey.
ho
ex
When I arrived at the gate, there were two guar.
prowlin
about, but they nodded me through .
though nothing ha.
happenedx
When.
I.
walked.
into.
the.
hallway,.
the.
Spook.
an.
Grimalkin were.
tanding there. The witch .
.
in w.
carrying the.
tak.
, wrapped in.
acking, the Spook holdin
h
.
taff. I felt.
o relieved. Clearly l.
time had p.
e.
here than in the Otherworld. They both looked at me i'
.
ton
hmentx
�Are you hurt, lad?� my m.
ter .
kedx
I.
hook my head. �A few cu
and bru
.
, but nothin
erio
.}
�What.
happened?.
Where.
have.
you.
been?�.
h.
demandedx
�That.
word!� exclaimed Grimalkin, her ey.
wide wit
.
ton
hment, before I could a'
wer. �Let me.
ee it!}
She put down her bundle of.
pea�
, and I handed it t.
her. The witch .
.
in examined it cl.
ely but avoide.
touching the.
ilver-alloy bladex
She looked at me. �Do you know what th
?�.
h.
cried, peering at the.
trange mar�
engraved on the hil
and touching the carving of the.
kelt.
headx
I.
hook my head. What did.
he mean7
�It.
a hero.
word,.
crafted by one.
of the Old Go.
called Hepha.
t
,�.
he told me. �Only three were eve�
made, and th
the b.
t of them!}

I.
miled at her. �I met the hero!� I confirmed. �We wer.
in the Otherworld, and he gave me h
.
word. Without it
wouldn�t be here. The Morrigan attacked me, and I cut ofy
her head.}

�The Morrigan will heal he�

elf,�.
aid Grimalkin. �Yo
can.
count.
on.
that..
But.
I�m.
thinking.
of.
our.
forthcomin

truggle agai'
t the Fiend. Th
weapon giv.
a fa�
better chance of.
ucc.
. It go.
by another name that
peculiar to it alone�perha�
a name that better defin.
i
purp.
e. It h.
been called the D.
tiny Blade. The one wh.
wiel.
it fulfil
what he w.
born to achieve.}

�I.
don�t.
hold.
with.
that,�.
interrupted.
the.
Spook..
�W.

hape the future with each act we perform. There

no.
uc
thing .
d.
tiny. It.
j
t an ill
iony
omething we think w.
can.
ee retr.
pectively.}

�I d
agree,�.
aid Grimalkinx

�Aye, I thought you might,.

o let.
agree to differ,� m.
m.
ter told her. �The lad.
hurt and weary. We all need t.
be.
at.
our.
b.
t.
to.
bind.
the.
Fiend..
We�ll.
leave.
it.
unti
tomorrow.}

Grimalkin nodded in agreementx

�So get you�

elf to bed, lad,�.
aid the Spook, lookin
at me.
ternly. �You can tell
the full.
tory in the morning.}

I woke up, aware that.

omeone�or.
omething�w.
in m.
room. I could.
ee the.
ilhouette of a tall form agai'
t th.
gray dawn light.
hining through the curtai'
. I.
at up quickl.
and realized that it w.
Grimalkinx

�Stand up, boy!�.

he ordered. �We have much to d.
today.}

I had fallen .
leep on top of the cove�
,.
till wearing m.

hirt and breech.

. I got to my feet .
.
he�d commandedx
The witch moved cl.
er;.
he towered over me, a full hea.
taller than I w.
x

�Take off your.

hirt.}

When.
I.
h.
itated,.
Grimalkin.
hook.
her.
head.
an.

miled, her.
black-painted li�
parting enough for me t.
glim�
e.
the.
harp.
teeth.
behind..
�I�ve.
een.
kinny.
ri.
before!�.
he mocked. Then I.
aw that.
he w.
holding .
gray garment in her left handx
I.
unbuttoned.
my.
hirt.
and.
peeled.
it.
off..
Grimalki'
began expertly draping the garment around my ch.
t. .

he did.
o,.
he pa
ed, noting the mark on my arm wher.
Alice had once dug her nai
into my fl.
h. �Th
Alice.
mark,
n�t it?�.
he .
ked me. I nodded, my heart heavy a
the thought that I w.
never going to.
ee her againx

I turned my attention to the garment that Grimalkin w.

fitting. It w.
.
ome.
ort of.
hirt but.
eemed to be padded a
the.
houlde�
. There w.
another padded.
ection that ra'
diagonally from my right.
houlder down toward my left hipx
The witch buttoned the.
hirt quickly with nimble finge�
, an.
then, from a.
cabbard on one of the leather.
tra�
tha
cr
cr.
ed.
her.
own.
body,.
he.
withdrew.
a.
pair.
oy

c
orx

I.
flinched.
and.
tepped.
backward..
Th.
e.
were.
th.

c
o�
.
he
ed to.
nip away the thumb bon.
of he�
enemi.
..
Some.
aid.
that.
he.
did.
o.
while.
they.
til
breathedx

But it w.
n�t my bon.
that.
he wanted. Quickly.
h.
cut away.
ome material, trimming the bottom of the.
hir
and then the.
leev.
,.
o that they now fin
hed above th.
elbowx

�Th
a padded unde�
hirt,�.
he explained. �You�l
wear.
it.
to.
top.
the.
tra�
.
and.
cabbard.
from.
chafin
agai'
t your.
kin.}

She now held a length of leather in her hand; attache.

to it w.
a.
cabbard.
imilar to the on.
that.
he wore. Sh.

et to work fitting it. After fi�

t trimming i
length with he�

c
o�
,
ing a needle and thread.
he tacked it to th.
unde�
hirt with j
t a couple of deft.
titch.
x

Once.
he�d fin
hed, Grimalkin picked up the.
wor.
and handed it to me. �Sheath it!�.
he commandedx

�Am I to
e it right-handed?� I .
kedx

�You�ll
e either hand, but.
ince your primary weapo'
your.
taff, which you wield with your left hand, you.
houl.
draw the.
word with the other.}

I.
heathed the.
wordx

�Now draw it .
quickly .
you can!}

I obeyedx

�Sheath and draw it again�.}

When I�d done .

.
he .
ked, Grimalkin rep.
itione.
the leather.
trap, and th
time
ed.
everal.
titch.
t.
attach it firmly to the unde�
hirtx

�Now,�.
he.
aid with a grim.
mile, �it.
time to go dow'
to the cellar.}

The cellar w.
.
ituated far below the living quarte�
of th.
ho
e. I obediently followed Grimalkin down the long.
pira
of.
tone.
te�
. I'
ide, the flagged floor w.
empty.
ave fo�
a table p
hed back agai'
t the near wall. About a doze'
torch.
in wall bracke
lit the area. It looked like it ha.
recently been.
weptx

Grimalkin cl.
ed the heavy wooden door behind
w
and then turned the key in the lock before removing it an.
t.
ing it onto the tablex

�Why have we come down here?� I .

ked, my mout
uddenly dryx
�For one thing, we have plenty of.
pace,�.
he repliedx
�But not only that�down in th
cellar, nobody will hear yo
cream.}

I took a.
tep backward. Grimalkin took one toward mex
�There.
.
nowhere.
to.
run,.
Thom.
.
Ward,�.
he.
aid,.
he�
voice quiet and filled with malice. �You impaled me onc.
with your.
taff. I owe you for that�and I alwa.
pay m.
deb
. Nothing l.
than your life will.
uffice,.
o draw th.

word and defend you�

elf�if you can!}

It w.
true that I had once driven my.
taff through he�

houlder, pinning her to a tree. Then I had been acting i'

elf-defe'
ey
he had.
been hunting me down, ready t.
take my life. But.
ince then we had fought together.
ide b.
ide; I�d thought that we were alli.
now, and that Grimalki'
had come to Kenmare in order to help
bind the Fiendx
Had it all been a lie? I wondered. W.
her need fo�
vengeance.
o great? Had.
he r.
cued me from the fort j
o that.
he could put an end to me in th
cellar he�
elf7

I.
w.
.
cared.
and.
my.
kne.
.
trembled..
I.
barel.
managed to get the.
word clear of i
.
cabbard before.
h.
attacked..
Drawing.
two.
blad.
.
at.
once,.
Grimalkin.
ra'
directly.
toward.
me..
I.
ra
ed.
the.
D.
tiny.
Blade.
an.
managed to deflect the one in her left hand, tw
ting awa.

o that the other blade m

ed my left ear by l.
than a'
inchx
Before I�d recovered my balance properly,.
he whirle.
toward me again. In a panic, I chopped down at her headw
but.
he parried and.
miled grimly before.
tabbing towar.
my left.
houlder. I w.
n�t f.
t enough, and I felt a.
harp pai'
.
the blade cut into my fl.
h. How badly w.
I hurt?
glanced at the wound and.
aw blood dribbling down towar.
my elbowx

To.
check.
the.
everity.
of.
my.
wound.
w.
.
a.
fool
m
take�one that alm.
t c.
t me my life. The moment
glanced down, Grimalkin took advantage of my la�
e an.
launched an all-out attack. I.
tumbled under her o'
laughtw
but.
omehow her blad.
m
ed mex

I rolled away and jumped to my feet. She approache.

me again, her ey.
glittering, her mouth open wide .
iy
he w.
going to take a bite out of my fl.
h. Th.
e teethw
which.
he.
had.
filed.
to.
deadly.
poin
,.
were.
one.
of.
th.

cari.
t thin
about the witch .
.
inx

I w.
beginning to d.
pair now. What chance did
have agai'
t Grimalkin? How could I hope to beat the m.
deadly.
.
.
in.
the.
Malkin.
clan.
had.
ever.
produced?.
realized that I had j
t one faint hope. Somehow, in the hea
of battle, I had to concentrate my mind and try to.
low dow'
time i
elf. That gift, inherited from Mam, had.
aved my lif.
on more than one occ.
ion. I had to attempt it nowx

Before I could carry out my plan, Grimalkin charged. .

udden anger.
urged through me. What w.
.
he doing?
didn�t d.
erve to die in th
cellar. And if.
he killed me noww
the Fiend would be waiting to torment my.
oul. With a.
urg.
of newfound confidence, I.
tepped forward and.
wung m.
word at her with all my.
trength, forcing her to lean bac�
quickly, then.
tep to the.
ide. I attacked again, and th
tim.
witched the.
word from my right to my left hand. It w.
.
trick taught to me by the Spook when we practiced with ou�

tafy
. That.
how I had wounded her l.
t timex

It alm.
t caught her out again, but.
he dodged away t.

afety and then came forward again. I took a deep breat

and.
tarted to foc
, drawing on the power that lay dee�
within mex

Concentrate! Squeeze time. Slow it. Make it haltm

Grimalkin.
w.
.
moving.
toward.
me,.
her.
approac
alm.
t taking the form of a dance. She w.
balancing o'
her to.
and flexing her kne.
,.
kipping away to the leftw
ra
ing her arm to deliver a fatal blow to my heart. But he�
movemen
.
were.
lowing,.
and.
I.
w.
.
f.
ter..
My.
blad.
intercepted he�
and d.
hed it from her handx

Gleaming in the torchlight, the .

.
in.
dagger.
pu'
over and over again,.
low .
a feather, falling gently towar.
the.
fla
..
But.
then.
it.
halted..
It.
w.
.
immobile,.
frozen.
i'

pace, hovering above the floor. I had actually halted time.

I reve�
ed the movement of my blade,.
l.
hing it bac�
toward the witch.
neck. Grimalkin w.
helpl.
; I�d wonx

I.
watched.
my.
word.
lice.
toward.
her.
unprotecte.
throat. But then I noticed.
omething e
e. Grimalkin w.
frozen in time, helpl.
, but.
he w.
a
o looking me in th.
eye�and.
miling! She w.
.
miling at me while my blad.
w.
inch.
from her throat.

At the l.
t moment I pulled the blade upward.
o that i
m
ed her. Then I.
tepped away and went into a crouchx
Why hadn�t I killed her while I had the chance? What w.
wrong with me? On the
le of Mona, I�d been unable to kil
Bony Lizzie when I�d had the opportunity. I had held bac�
then.
beca
e.
he.
w.
.
Alice.
.
mother..
But.
what.
w.
happening here? I .
ked m.
elfx

And.
uddenly I knew. I relaxed and allowed time t.
move on once more. Grimalkin quickly.
heathed her othe�
blade and moved toward me. She w.
.
till.
milingx
I realized then that it had been.
ome.
ort of trial. She�.
been t.
ting me. Then.
he.
pokex

�I once co'
ulted Martha Ri.
talk, then the forem.
cryer in Pendle,� Grimalkin.
aid, �and.
he told me that .
child had j
t been born who repr.
ented a force that migh

omehow counter that of the Fiend. Powerful though Marth.

w.
,.
omeone w.
hiding him from her.
ight. I now believ.
that th
protector w.
your mother; you are that child�an.
my ally in th
.
truggle agai'
t my.
worn enemy. Togethe�
we will.
ucceed. It
meant to be. It
our d.
tiny to d.
tro.
the Fiend.}

My han.
.
tarted to.
hake a little. Now that it w.
ove�
I felt a r
h of reliefx

�I wanted to.
trike fear into you. I needed to put yo
under pr.
ure.
o that you would fight .
if for your life.
have now had the opportunity to.
tudy your
e of the.
wor.
and know what nee.
to be done to improve it. I�ve.
poke'
.
with John Gregory and told him that I need at le.
t a wee�
to train you. He h.
agreed. Once you reach the require.

tandard, we will attempt to bind the Fiend. It.

our b.
hope.}

�I�m going to fight the Fiend with th

.
word?}

Grimalkin.
miled again. �Not exactly�but what I teac
you will be vital, beca
e denize'
of the dark, the Fiend.

ervan
, will.
eek you out. They will try to hunt you down,.
.
you will need.
kill to wield that.
word. It could mean th.
difference between life and death. .
I told you, the.
wor.
h.
another name, the D.
tiny Blade, and d.
pite wha
your m.
ter.
a.
, each of i
keepe�
fulfil
h
d.
tinyy
that which he w.
meant to achieve in th
life�while h.
bea�
it.}

�That.
oun.
too much like fate,� I.
aid, �the idea tha
the future
fixed. I�m with the Spook on that. I believe tha
each of
h.
.
ome free will,.
ome freedom of choice.}

�Child, maybe that

true, but I do believe you have .
d.
tiny�you were born to d.
troy the Fiend. And you ar.
the hunter of the dark. Now that you have that blade, it wil
truly begin to fear you! Do you remember how you.
liced ofy
the head of the Morrigan?}

Suddenly I knew what Grimalkin expected of me. �Yo

want me to do that to the Fiend?}
�We impale and then behead. I will then bury the hea.
e
ewhere. It will give you time to work out a permanen
olution.
o that he can be d.
troyed for all time.}
�I alm.
t killed you j
t then,� I told her. �The t.
t wen
too far�.}

Grimalkin.
hook.
her.
head..
�I.
know.
when.
I.
will.
diex
Martha Ri.
talk told me that, too. I am not meant to di.
here at your han.
.}

I.
nodded..
I.
knew.
the.
Spook.
would.
have.
though
Grimalkin.
faith in that prophecy fool
h indeedx
CHAPTER XXn
FROZEN IN TIMo
BILL Arkwright had once.
pent.
ix mont
training me, wit
an emph.
on the ph.
ical .
pec
of the.
pook.
tradew
particularly.
combat�fighting with.
taff. He had.
been .
hard t.
k-m.
ter, at tim.
verging on cruelty, and I ha.
ended up covered in bru
.
. It had been a painful an.
exha
ting experiencex

That, however, w.
nothing compared to what I wen
through.
in.
the.
week.
I.
pent.
under.
Grimalkin.
.
tutelagex
Much of my.
uffering w.
ca
ed by the.
heer terror I feltw
fighting.
head-to-head.
with.
the.
witch.
.
.
in..
He�
appearance w.
daunting enough, but in addition, her ey.
blazed with an intimidating ferocity, and I never knew whic
blade.
he would draw from the many.
heat
around he�
bodyx

She a
o p.
.
ed a ph.
ical.
trength that I could no
hope to match yet. I had to keep out of range. Once.
he go
a hand on me, I invariably ended up on my back, with th.
breath driven from my body and a blade at my throatx

She cut me, too, more than once. It would have bee'
good to have Alice at hand, with her healing her.
an.
poultic.
..
The.
pain.
of.
l.
ing.
my.
b.
t.
friend.
w.
.
til
undimin
hed�the.
harp edg.
of Grimalkin.
blad.
wer.
nothing compared to thatx

I.
oon became.
killed with the.
word�which now fel
like an exte'
ion of m.
elf�but the witch .
.
in w.
quick to tell me that th
w.
barely the beginning of what
would need to know. She.
aid that I would improve eac
time I fought for my life agai'
t an opponent who wanted t.
kill me�alwa.
.
uming that I.
urvived the encounterx

One of the.
kil
I w.
made to practice over and ove�
again w.
.
topping time while in combat. .
the wee�
progr.
ed, my control.
teadily improved. .
I�d alread.

hown, by
ing it I could match an opponent .
deadly .
Grimalkinx

All too.
oon, that week of inte'
e training came to .
cl.
e, and we were ready to face our great.
t challeng.
yetx

.
the.
un.
et, we left Shey.
ho
e and approached th.
pit. There were j
t the three of
: the Spook, Grimalkinw
and me. I w.
wearing my cloak, but beneath it lay th.
D.
tiny Blade in i
.
cabbard. The blood jar w.
in th.
pocket of my breech.
. During my training with the witchw
the Spook had been adding to h
B.
tiary, updating i
where.
p.
ible.
and.
writing.
a.
new.
ection.
on.
ou�
preparatio'
for binding the Fiendx

In my yea�
with the Spook, I had alwa.
expecte.
Alice to take part in th
t.
k�but it w.
not to be. She w.
gone forever now, and I had to learn to accept itx

The rigger and h

mate were waiting b.
ide the hug.
wooden frame they had erected above the pit. They bot
looked.
cared,.
but.
o.
far.
they.
had.
done.
a.
good.
job.
S
pended from the block and tackle, hanging horizontallyw
w.
the huge flat.
tone that would.
eal the pit. To one.
id.
lay the heavy rock that would finally be placed on top. It ha.
a ring embedded in it to make lifting it e.
ierx

Heaped cl.
e to the pit w.
the mound of.
oil that
had worked.
o hard to excavate. Mixed into it w.
a larg.
amount of.
alt and iron. They were not likely to have muc
power agai'
t the Fiend, but the Spook thought that if i
weakened.
him.
even.
lightly,.
it.
w.
.
worth.
a.
try..
If.
w.

ucceeded in binding him, that mixture would fill the pitx

If.
we.
failed�the.
Fiend.
would.
be.
quick.
to.
take.
h
revenge for what I had done; he�d fi�
t deal with me, then kil
the Spook and Grimalkin. After that, our.
ou
would fac.
an eternity of tormentx
I noticed that Grimalkin w.
carrying two.
ac�
: On.
contained the.
pea�
and.
nai
; the.
other w.
made.
oy
leather and appeared to be empty. It looked quite newy
had.
he.
titched it he�
elf? I wondered. She placed bot

ac�
.
on.
the.
ground.
and,.
already.
wearing.
her.
leathe�
glov.
, carefully unwrapped the four long.
pea�
. B.
id.
them.
were.
a.
number.
of.
long,.
broad-headed.
ilver-allo.
nai
, and two.
hort-handled lump hamme�
for driving the.
into the Fiend.
fl.
h..
One.
of th.
e.
he handed to th.
Spookx

It had already been agreed that the Spook and I woul.

take up p.
itio'
in the pit, ready to attack the Fiend fro.
below, while, from above, Grimalkin would attempt to driv.
her.
pear through h
heart. Then, if we.
ucceeded th
farw
we would nail him to the rockx

By.
now the.
un had gone down and the light w.
beginning to fail, but the pit w.
lit by.
even lanter'
; thre.
were.
pended from the wooden gantry, the othe�
place.
on the ground cl.
e to i
four corne�
x

The Spook climbed down into the pit, and I followedx

D.
pite.
the.
olid.
rock.
b.
e.
that.
had.
halted.
m.
excavatio'
, it w.
very deep, the Spook.
head barel.
level with i
rim. The witch .
.
in handed each of
.

pear..
They.
were.
lender.
and.
flexible,.
and.
had.
har�
poin
..
The.
Spook.
and.
I.
took.
up.
p.
itio'
.
at.
opp.
it.
corne�
of the pit. Above, Grimalkin held the third.
pea�
with both han.
�the fourth lay on the ground b.
ide hery
and gazed down intentlyx

The Spook.
cleared h
throat. �Th
the momen
we�ve all been waiting for,� he.
aid.
olemnly. �One or mor.
of
may l.
e our liv.
. It will be well worth it if the Fiend

ucc.
fully.
bound. We.
hare the.
ame purp.
e, and
thank you both for.
tanding by my.
ide!}

It w.
an .
ton
hing declaration by my m.
ter. H.
had actually thanked a witch for working with him! Grimalki'
gave.
the.
faint.
t.
of.
mil.
.
and.
nodded.
toward.
him.
i'
acknowledgmentx

�It.
time,�.
aid the Spook, turning h
gaze toward mex
�Give me the blood jar!}

My mouth w.
dry and my han.
.
hook, but I w.
determined.
to.
do.
what.
w.
.
nec.
ary..
I.
foc
ed.
o'
controlling my breathing and calming m.
elf. Nervo
ly
took the jar out of my pocket, walked acr.
the pit, an.
handed it to him. How.
trange it w.
to think that Alice I ha.

pent.
o much time worrying that the cracked jar might l.
.
i
power and enable the Fiend to.
natch
away, and no.
the Spook w.
about to d.
troy itx

I.
quickly.
returned.
to.
my.
place..
For.
a.
moment.
th.
Spook.
tared at the.
mall earthen jar with an expr.
ion oy
d
t.
te, then held it highx

�The crack in the jar h.

enabled the Fiend to com.
cl.
e to you many tim.
,� he.
aid. �I.
pect he
alwa.
nearby, waiting to come and take h
revenge. So I expec
him to appear the very moment the jar
broken. Be ready!}

With a.
udden convu
ive movement, the Spook hurle.
it up out of the pit and agai'
t one of the.
tout woode'
pro�
.
that.
upported.
the.
gantry..
With.
a.
harp.
crack,.
i

hattered, and my kne.

nearly gave wayx

It w.
done. The Fiend would arrive within.
econ.
x
Alice had alwa.
believed that if the jar broke, h
r.
po'
.
would be immediatex

However, the.
econ.
became minut.
�and nothin
happened..
I.
became.
une.
y..
Maybe.
it.
would.
be.
da.
before he arrived. If that were the c.
e, it would be difficul
to remain vigilant. Th
w.
not what we�d expectedx

And then I felt a.

trong tremor under my feet. Th.
ground.
w.
.
hifting..
Suddenly.
the.
lanter'
.
flickere.
omino
ly and their light began to wane. They died righ
down to a faint glimmer, and one of rigge�
gave a loud cr.
of fear. Directly overhead, there w.
a.
ound like a peal oy
thunder,.
and.
we.
were.
momentarily.
plunged.
into.
tota
darkn.
x

The Fiend w.
approaching�x

I began to concentrate,.
ummoning my.
trength. Sto�
time too early, and the Fiend would be unable to enter th.
pit; do it too late, and he would.
eize control�and I woul.
be h
pr
oner,.
tuck like a fly trapped in amber while h.
did h
wo�
tx

The.
lanter'
.
hone.
brightly.
once.
more,.
and.
with.
.
terrifying.
bellow.
that.
eemed.
to.
make.
the.
whole.
worl.
hake, the Fiend appeared in the pit between me and th.
Spook. He radiated a lurid red light of h
own. D.
pite m.
terror, I w.
filled with hope. He had.
come. It could b.
donex

Concentrate! Squeeze time! Make it stopm

The Fiend w.
three tim.
the.
ize of the Spook, wit
a broad ch.
t, a long tail, cloven feet, and the curved hor'
of a ram, and he w.
covered in thick black hair. H
pupi
were two vertical.
li
, and he gave off a.
trong anima

tench that made my.

tomach heave. But amid the terror
felt, I noted with relief that the pit would be big enough afte�
allx

The.
Fiend.
w.
n�t.
moving�controlling.
time.
ha.
become.
alm.
t.
econd.
nature.
to.
me.
now�but.
neithe�
were the Spook or Grimalkin. All w.
immobile and.
ilentx
My.
heart.
w.
.
till.
beating..
I.
w.
.
till.
breathing..
I.
ha.

topped time. Now I had to impale him�x

I moved to.
tab toward him, but my.
pear moved ver.

lowly. Even wo�

e, my heart.
eemed to be.
lowing, eac
labored beat taking longer to arrive than i
predec.
orx
The Fiend w.
fighting back; trying to freeze me in tim.
and rele.
e hi.
elfx

Had I left it too late? How could I hope to match h

trength with my own? I .
ked m.
elf. But I had to try.
couldn�t give up nowx

Gritting my teeth, I drove my.

ilver.
pear up toward h
belly�but I.
aw that it w.
moving ever more.
lowly. If
failed in th
, the Fiend would end our liv.
. It would be th.
end of everything we had tried to do. I thr
t the weapo'
toward.
him.
j
t.
.
.
hard.
.
.
I.
could,.
bringing.
all.
m.
concentration to bear. But it w.
.
if I w.
frozen nowx

Grimalkin�.
I.
thought..
Couldn�t.
he.
j
t wish.
hi.
away7

That hope w.
.
nuffed out i'
tantly. How could.
he7
She would be j
t like me, trapped in an i'
tant of timew
d.
perately wondering what could be done. She would no
w
h the Fiend away beca
e then he would .
cape he�

pea�
. Grimalkin had faith in me: She tr
ted me to defea
the Devil. But what if I couldn�th
And then my.
ight began to dimx
CHAPTER XXIn
THE DESTINY BLADo
EVEN .
my v
ion.
clouded, I.
continued the fight,.
onc.
again.
ummoning all my concentration. Even though I w.
facing defeat, I couldn�t give up. Not now. I remembered th.
advice given to me by Cuchulain: I m
t.
truggle on, n.
matter how hopel.
it.
eemed. And the thought of wha
the Fiend had been doing to Alice.
purred me on to mak.
one final effort. Even if I couldn�t get her back, I could hur
him, make him pay. Even if I w.
l.
ing, I would fight to th.
bitter endx
But then, j
t when it.
eemed that all hope w.
gonew
there w.
a.
udden.
change. I felt.
omething.
yield ver.
lightly. My heart began to thud i'
ide my ch.
ty
lowly a
fi�
t, then f.
ter and f.
ter! I w.
in control again, my bloo.
urging through my vei'
. The Fiend w.
.
tanding befor.
me, large and terrifying�but immobile. Now he w.
.
til
and I w.
moving.
I thr
t the.
ilver.
pear up into h
.
ide. There w.
momentary r.
tance, then a.
purt of black blood. I p
he.
it upward even harder, deep into h
hairy hide. The Fien.
creamed, a no
e that.
tabbed into my eardru.
; a cry oy
pain and anger, with the power to.
plit the earth .
unde�
and make the very.
ton.
bleed. It buffeted me.
o hard tha
I l.
t my concentration�and my grip on timex
Suddenly the Fiend bu�
t free of my control, tw
te.
toward me, and drove h
huge f
t downward. I ducked, fel
it br
h p.
t my hairx
But time w.
moving freely again, and now the othe�
were able to attack. The Fiend bellowed for a.
econd tim.
.
the Spook plunged h
own.
pear deep into h
hair.
belly, bringing him to h
kne.
x
Above, there w.
a fl.
h of forked lightning, followe.
immediately by a deep rumble of thunder. A.
torm bu�
overhead,.
torrential.
rain.
drumming.
into.
the.
ground..
I
eemed to have come from nowherex
I looked up and.
aw Grimalkin balanced on the bal
oy
her.
feet,.
taking.
careful.
aim..
The.
witch.
.
.
in.
neve�
m
edy
urely.
he wouldn�t th
time? My heart w.
in m.
mouth,.
but.
I.
needn�t.
have.
feared..
She.
thr
t.
downwar.
powerfully, and her.
pear pierced the Fiend.
back. It wen
right through h
body and, with an expl.
ion of black gorew
the bloodied point emerged from h
ch.
t. She�d.
peare.
h
heart with.
ilver. But would it be enough7

Lightning fl.
hed again, dividing the.
ky, and a fury oy
rain plummeted into the pit .
the witch .
.
in threw he�

econd.
pear to pierce the Fiend.
body within an inch oy
the fi�
t. H
heart w.
now tra'
fixed by two.
ilver.
pea�
x
He gave a great groan of pain and bowed forward, bloo.
and.
aliva dripping from h
open mouth. Grimalkin no.
leaped down into the pit to h
left. In one hand w.
th.
hammer; in the other gloved hand, a f
tful of.
ilver nai
x
Meanwhile, the Spook moved toward the Fiend.
right armx

By now the Fiend w.

on all fou�
, t.
ing h
hea.
like.
a.
wounded.
bull.
and.
roaring.
with.
pain..
The.
witc
.
.
in.
eized her chance and.
tabbed a nail into h
lef
hand,.
then.
truck.
the.
broad.
head.
three.
tim.
.
with.
th.
hammer, driving it right through h
fl.
h to pin that hug.
hairy paw tightly to the rock. He tw
ted h
head, opene.
h
mouth wide, and lunged toward her .
if to bite he�
head from her body. But, lithe .
a cat,.
he avoided tha
deadly mouth and.
wung the hammer back hard into h
face,.
m.
hing h
front teeth into fragmen
and leavin
only broken bloody.
tum�
x

I.
watched.
my.
m.
ter.
quickly.
drive.
a.
nail.
into.
th.
Fiend.
right hand, the m
cl.
bunching in h
.
houlder .
he.
wung the heavy hammer with a rhythm and power tha
belied.
h
.
age..
Secon.
.
later,.
working.
.
.
a.
team,.
th.
Spook and Grimalkin had driven a nail through each of th.
Fiend.
ankl.
. .
he roared with pain, Grimalkin pointe.
toward mex

�H
head!�.
he cried. �Now! Strike off h
head! Do i
now!}

I drew the hero.

word and.
tepped toward the Fiend�
.
I did.
o, blood.
tarted to drip from both i
ruby ey.
.
lifted it high, took a deep breath, te'
ed my m
cl.
, an.
brought it down toward h
neck. Black blood.
purted up .
the blade cut into h
fl.
h. But my arm jarred .
it.
truc�
bone and.
inew. The Fiend.
creamed, the blade jammedw
and it took a couple of.
econ.
for me to tug it freex
�Strike again!�.
houted Grimalkin. �Do it!}

Once more I brought the.

word down on the.
am.
place on the neck. Th
time the r.
tance w.
.
light, an.
the.
word.
evered.
the.
Fiend.
.
huge.
head.
from.
h
F.
y

houlde�
. It fell into the pit and rolled away, to end up a
Grimalkin.
feetx

My ey.
met the Spook.
, but there w.
no victor.
there. He.
imply noddedx

Grimalkin.
eized the head by the curved hor'
an.
held it aloft. Black blood dripped from it, and the Fiend.

wollen li�
moved over h
.
hattered teeth .
if he w.
trying to.
peak. But h
ey.
had rolled up into h
head�
only the whit.
were.
howing. Grimalkin.
prang out of th.
pit and p
hed the head into the new leather.
ack. Afte�
tying the neck.
ecurely,.
he returned to the pit, where th.
Fiend.
decapitated body.
till.
huddered and writhedx

The Spook and I got our.

hove
and quickly.
tarted t.
fill in the pit with the mound of iron-and.
alt-laced.
oil.
glanced up at the gantry. The rigger and h
mate wer.
nowhere to be.
een. They had fledx

With torrential rain.

till falling, the three of
chucke.

oil into the pit j

t .
f.
t .
we could. Drenched to th.

kin,.
we.
worked.
rapidly,.
frantic.
to.
hide.
the.
mo'
tro
be.
t, not knowing yet what he w.
capable of. I wondere.
whether, even without a head, he could tear hi.
elf freex
Gradually h
.
truggl.
l.
ened; the groa'
from the hea.
in the.
ack were quieter, toox

Some time later, the rigger and h

mate returned. B.
then.
the.
decapitated.
body.
of.
the.
Fiend.
w.
.
alm.
covered,.
though.
the.
oil.
till.
twitched.
and.
heavedx
Shamefaced, the two men mumbled their apologi.
. Th.
Spook.
imply.
patted.
them.
on.
the.
back..
With.
the.
extr.
han.
,.
our.
progr.
.
w.
.
f.
ter�though.
it.
took.
alm.
another.
hour.
before.
we.
had.
finally.
filled.
in.
the.
pit.
an.

tamped down the earth. The work completed, we.

too.
there,.
looking.
down,.
our.
ch.
.
till.
heaving.
with.
th.
exertion. At l.
t it w.
time to lower the flat.
tone lid ont.
the pitx
By.
now.
the.
rain.
had.
ce.
ed,.
but.
it.
w.
.
lipper.
underfoot,.
o we had to take care. With the rigger workin
the chain, Grimalkin and I gr.
ped one.
ide of the.
ton.
while the Spook and the rigger.
mate held the other. I
came down.
moothly, and at the l.
t moment we pulled ou�
han.
clear and the lid fell into p.
ition, a perfect fitx

Next the rigger.

mate dragged the chain acr.
an.
et the hook into the ring in the boulder. Soon it w.
bein
lifted into the air and lowered into p.
ition in the center oy
the.
tone lid. Then, i
work done, the rigger u'
crewed th.
iron ring. Finally we heaped the l.
t of the.
oil over the li.
and around the boulder. Once the gr.
grew, it would loo�
j
t like a central thirteenth.
tanding.
tone amid the twelv.
that.
urrounded it. Folk would never know that the body oy
the.
Fiend.
lay.
buried.
here.
within.
the.
tone.
circle.
a
Kenmarex

But Grimalkin w.
n�t fin
hed yet. She added to th.
dragon.
threat by c.
ting a cloaking.
pell of her own, t.
hide the Fiend.
pr.
ence from the.
ervan
of the darkx
The Spook turned h
back .
.
he completed the ritualw
walking three tim.
around the ou
ide of the.
ton.
; .

he walked,.
he chanted her powerful.
pellx
At l.
t.
he came to.
tand b.
ide
. It.
eemed tha
we�d.
ucceeded. The great be.
t w.
bound; d.
pite al
h
effor
, he had been unable to tear hi.
elf free. W.
remained.
tanding there for.
ome time,.
aying.
nothingw
hardly able to believe what we�d j
t accompl
hedx

�The Fiend
n�t bound forever, though,
he?� I dare.
.
k, my voice hardly more than a wh
per. �One way o�
another, one day he�ll be free�.}

�Nothing l.
forever, lad,�.
aid the Spook, frowningx
�But now he can�t leave that.
hape beca
e h
fl.
h
pierced.
with.
ilver.
and.
he.
.
bound.
to.
the.
rock..
An.

eparating.
him.
from.
h
.
head.
mak.
.
the.
binding.
eve'
tronger. He�ll be here until we find a way to put an end t.
him for good..
But what I fear m.
t
that.
omeone.
o�

omething.
e
e.
might.
rele.
e.
him..
That.
.
the.
bigg.
danger now.}

�That won�t happen,�.

aid Grimalkin. �.
you.
ay,.
.
long .
the head and the body are.
eparated, the Fiend wil
remain.
bound. At fi�
t I intended to.
bury the head in .
different place�maybe far acr.
the.
ea. But now I�v.
thought of a better wayx

�The head belon

to me now. I will be i
c
todian.
plan to travel back to the County and keep it near me at al
tim.
. Denize'
of the dark will hunt me down. They wil
come after me to retrieve the head and return it here, but
will kill them one by one. I will keep it .
long .
I can.}
Grimalkin looked down. �Though it.
true that I cannot ru'
G.
and fight forever. There will be too many, and they will catc
me in the end.� She looked at me directly. �While I hol.
them off,
e the time to find a way to fin
h him once an.
for all.}

I drew the.
word and held it toward her, hilt fi�
t. �Tak.
the.
word,� I.
aid. �It will help!}

Grimalkin.
hook.
her.
head..
�No,.
I.
have.
my.
ow'
weapo'
, and your need will be greater. Remember, th.

ervan
of the Fiend will follow you too. They will know wha
h.
been done�and recognize your part in it. B.
id.
, yo
are the keeper of the D.
tiny Blade now. You will kno.
when it
time to hand it on to another. .
we drove th.

ilver.
pea�
into the body of the Fiend, we drove a.
liver oy
fear into all denize'
of the dark, no matter how powerfulx
They now know what it
like to be afraid. And from th.
moment you.
liced off the Fiend.
head, your d.
tiny w.
changed..
Where.
once.
you.
were.
hunted,.
now.
you.
hav.
become the hunter of the dark!}

Then, without a backward glance, Grimalkin lifted th.

leather.
ack, threw it over her left.
houlder, and ran off int.
the nightx

The.
Spook.
glanced.
at.
me.
ternly..
�B.
t.
take.
he�
wor.
with a pinch of.
alt. The truth
that after your fool
pact, you were lucky to get another chance, lad,� he.
aidw

haking h
head. �She.
right on one count, though: Ther.
will be a final reckoning with the Fiend. Until then, we�v.
bought ou�
elv.
a bit of r.
pite. We need to put it to goo.
e.}
CHAPTER XXIIn
COVERED IN BLOOj
WE.
tayed.
on at Shey� houe while the.
bud.
on th.
hawthorn hedg.
bu�
t into leaf and the.
un coaxed the fi�
reluctant.
pring.
flowe�
.
into.
bloom..
Bl
tery.
win.
.
til
occ.
ionally drove.
qual
of rain in from the w.
t, but whe'
the.
un did.
hine, it had real warmthx
Good ne.
had arrived from the County. .
Grimalki'
had predicted, both the Lowland and Highland Sco
ha.
joined a coalition of the free northern counti.
. A big battl.
had.
been fought north of Kendal. The enemy had bee'
driven.
outh, but the conflict w.
far from over yet. They ha.
regrouped.
near.
Pri.
town,.
and.
another.
battle.
w.
imminent. Each day I waited expectantly, hoping for ne.
.
wanted to go homex
The guar.
around the ho
e had been doubled eve�
ince one of them had m.
terio
ly d
appeared without .
trace. I had noted Grimalkin.
warning, but I had not.
ee'
any.
ign of the.
ervan
of the dark. The long war betwee'
the mag.
and the landowne�
had once more.
ettled int.
the.
une.
y.
talemate.
that.
had.
endured.
for.
centuri.
x
D.
pite our b.
t effor
, nothing had really changedx

Early one morning, with the.

un.
hining in a cloudl.
.
ky,
w.
out exerc
ing the do
. I�d had an uncomfortable nigh
and hadn�t.
lept well. I�d been thinking about Alice. Her l.
w.
a pain that.
till kept me awakex

The do
.
e'
ed.
omething fi�
t. All three.
of the.

topped barking and came to a.

udden halt. They wer.

taring.
toward.
a.
wood.
about.
half.
a.
mile.
to.
the.
w.
tx
Suddenly, with Claw in the lead, they bounded away towar.
it, yelping excitedly. I called them back, but they ignore.
me,.
o I had no choice but to run after themx

I thought it w.
unlikely to be a rabbit or a hare. Claww
Blood,.
and.
Bone.
were.
ually.
obedient.
do
,.
and.
n.
matter how.
trong the.
cent they�d picked up, once given .
command, they came to heel. What w.
wrong with them7

By the time I reached the tre.

, the do
had alread.
bounded far ahead, deep in the wood. I could hear thei�
bar�
growing fainter and fainter. Annoyed, I.
lowed to .
walk. Immediately I noticed that it w.
very quiet beneat
the canopy of fr.
h green leav.
. The breeze had die.
away, and there w.
no bir.
ong. Nothing w.
movingx
And then I heard it�the.
ound of d
tant pip.
. I�d hear.
that m
ic before. It was Panm

I began to run. With every.

tride I took, the m
ic gre.
louder. Momen
later, I bu�
t into a clearing. The god ha.
once again taken the form of a boy dr.
ed in green an.
w.
.
itting on a log, a.
mile on h
face. Around him.
too.
a.
circle.
of.
bewitched.
anima
:.
toa
,.
ferre
,.
rabbi
w
har.
, along with my three do
�all.
taring at him intentlyx
Above, the branch.
were laden with bir.
. And there, a
h
feet, w.
a girl in a mud�
plattered white dr.
x

She.
w.
.
lying.
on.
her.
back.
with.
her.
head.
r.
tin
agai'
t the log. Although young, her hair w.
white. It w.
not a pretty .
h blond, but the.
tark white of old age. Sh.
w.
.
wearing.
pointy.
ho.
..
With.
a.
hock,.
I.
uddenl.
recognized her: Alicex

Pan.
topped.
playing.
and.
lowered.
h
.
pipex
Immediately all the anima
, with the exception of my do
w
fled into the tre.
. Above my head, there w.
a beating oy
win
.
.
.
the.
bir.
.
d
pe�
ed..
Claw,.
Blood,.
and.
Bon.
moved toward me and began to whine.
oftly. Now that th.
m
ic had.
topped, they were afraidx

I.
tared at Alice, a mixture of though
and emotio'
churning within me. In part I w.
filled with joy. She w.
back, when I had never ever expected to.
ee her again. Bu
there w.
clearly.
omething wrong, and I w.
alarmedx

Before.
I.
could.
ay.
anything,.
Pan.
poke..
�I.
did.
no
forget you, nor what you .
ked;.
o, in gratitude for freein
me from the body of the goat, I�ve brought your friend back,}
he.
aid in lilting ton.
. �When you bound the Fiend, th.
wal
of h
domain were weakened, and I w.
able t.
enter. What you did w.
brave but fool
h. H
.
ervan
ar.
after your head now. Sooner or later they will take it.}

Contradictory emotio'
.
wirled within me: joy at havin
Alice returned to me, d
may at what had been done to herx

�What.
wrong with her?� I murmured, kneeling b.
id.
her, my happin.
tempered by the change I.
aw. I.
troke.
her face, but.
he flinched away from me like a wild animalw
her ey.
filled with terrorx

�She.
h.
.
dwelled.
in.
the.
Fiend.
.
domain.
and.
ee'
thin
.
uch .
no living mortal.
hould ever witn.
. N.
doubt.
he h.
been.
ubjected to many tormen
, too. I fea�
for her mind.}

�Will.
he ever recover?� I .
kedx

�Who can.
ay?� a'
wered Pan with a carel.
.
mile. �
have done what I can. But dealing with the Fiend
on.
more thing I have to thank you for. Practitione�
of dar�
magic the world over have been weakened by what yo
have accompl
hed. The mag.
will now lack the.
trengt
to bind me. I will be able to keep my magic for m.
elf!}

He.
miled again, and.
lowly began to fade from.
ightx
For a few.
econ.
he lingered .
a gh.
tly tra'
paren
figure; then he w.
gone. Within momen
, the bir.
bega'
to.
ing again and a breeze.
ighed through the tre.
x

I turned to the figure lying before me. �Alice! Alice! It.

me, Tom. What.
happened to you?� I criedx

But.
he didn�t r.
pond and j
t.
tared at me, her ey.
wide with fear and bewilderment. I tried to help her to he�
feet, but.
he.
natched her hand away and.
crambled u�
behind the log. Apart from her white hair,.
he looked lik.
my friend, the Alice I remembered, but her mind.
eeme.
changed utterly. Had.
he any recollection of me? Did.
h.
even know her own name? It didn�t.
eem.
ox

I leaned forward, grabbed her by the wr

t, and tried t.
pull her to her feet. She l.
hed out at me with the nai
oy
her left hand,.
cratching my right cheek and j
t m
ing m.
eye. I looked at her warily. What could I do7

�Come on, Alice!� I.

aid, pointing through the tre.
x
�You can�t.
tay here. Let.
go back to the ho
e. It.
all righ
�you�re back from the dark. You�re.
afe now. And l
teny
we�ve done it! We�ve managed to bind the Fiend!}

Alice.
tared at me.
ullenly.
but made.
no reponex
Short of dragging her along by force, there w.
only on.
thing I could do. I turned to the do
x

�Bring Alice back! Bring Alice!� I cried, pointing at he�

and then in the direction of Shey.
ho
ex

The three wolfhoun.

.
tealthily moved behind her an.
growled. Alice looked back at them, her face twitching wit
alarm. It pained me to have to do th
to her, but I had littl.
choice. She w.
not open to re.
on, and I had to get he�
back to the ho
e.
omehowx

For a moment.
he remained rooted to the.
pot. I
|
w.
n�t until Claw gave a warning bark and bared her teet
that.
he.
tarted to move. So it w.
that they herded Alic.
along like a.
tray.
heep. It took a long time beca
e.
h.
kept trying to break free and had to be brought back an.
forced in the right direction. It w.
n�t e.
y for the do
, an.
they were in.
ome danger the.
elv.
. Every.
o often Alic.
would.
narl and lunge toward them with her razor�
har�
nai
x

It took over an hour to get her back to the ho

e�.
walk I could have accompl
hed in no more than fiftee'
minut.
. Once there, I realized that my troubl.
had j
begunx

�Her.
re.
on.
.
fled,�.
aid.
the.
Spook,.
�and.
there.
.
n.
guarantee that.
he�ll ever be he�
elf again. And
it an.
wonder?.
Some.
fol�
.
have.
been.
driven.
completely.
ma.
after j
t one glim�
e of a creature of the dark; the poo�
girl.
actually.
pent time in the domain of the Fiend. Th.
outlook.
not good, I�m afraid.}

Alice w.
cowering in a corner of the yard,.
urrounde.
by the three do
. Every.
o often, a glimmer of cunnin
fl.
hed into her ey.
and.
he.
truck out. Claw already ha.
a bloody.
cratch j
t above her right eyex

�There.
got to be.
ome way to make her better,�

aidx

The.
Spook.
hrugged..
�Shey.
h.
.
ent.
for.
the.
loca
doctor, but I.
pect he�ll be wo�
e than
el.
, lad. Wha
do docto�
know about the dark and i
power?}
�Maybe a witch could help?� I.
ugg.
ted, anticipatin
the Spook.
reaction�which w.
a flicker of anger acr.
h
brow. �I mean a benign witch, a healer,� I continue.
quickly. �There are a few back in the County. There.
he�
aunt, Agn.
Sowerbut
.}

�We�d have to get back to the County fi�

t,�.
aid th.
Spookx

I nodded. It w.
n�t p.
ible yet. I j
t hoped that th.
imminent battle would go our way and we would be able t.
return.
oonx

.
the Spook had warned, the doctor w.
n�t any helpx
He merely left.
ome medicine to make Alice.
leep. At d
�
we tried to d.
e her, but it w.
n�t e.
y. We needed th.
.
tance.
of.
three.
of.
Shey.
.
mai.
.
to.
hold.
her.
downx
D.
pite that,.
he.
pat out the fi�
t three mouthfu
. The'
they held her n.
e, forcing her to.
wallow. Once.
he w.
.
leep, they put her to bed and we locked the door of he�
roomx

I.
awoke.
uddenly,.
aware.
that.
omething.
w.
.
wrongx
Immediately I heard the no
e of pointy.
ho.
cr.
ing .
wooden floor, and I.
at bolt upright in bed. Alice.
roo.
w.
next to minex

Quickly I climbed out of bed and pulled on my.

hirtw
breech.
,.
and.
boo
..
I.
tapped.
on.
Alice.
.
door.
befor.
turning the key, which had been left in the lock. The be.
w.
empty and the.
.
h window had been opened wide.
.
that a cold draft w.
lifting the curtai'
and g
ting directl.
into the roomx
I d.
hed over to the open window and peered outx
There w.
no.
ign of Alice. The bedroom w.
only on.
floor up,.
o I climbed through the window, dropped onto th.
cinder path below, and.
printed out through the garden.
called Alice.
name.
oftly to avoid waking the ho
eholdx
Her wildn.
had d
rupted thin
enough already, and
didn�t.
want.
to.
put.
a.
further.
train.
on.
Farrell.
Shey.
h.
pitalityx

Then, in the d
tance, I.
aw the.
ilhouette of a girl�bu

he w.
not where I expected her to be. Alice hadn�t mad.
for the gate. She had climbed the garden wall and w.
alm.
t over it.

I ran toward her, but long before I got there.

he w.
over the top and.
out of.
ight. Where w.
.
he going?
wondered. Anywhere, j
t to get away? I reached the wal
and.
tarted to climb. My fi�
t attempt w.
u'
ucc.
fulx
There were few handhol.
and the rain had made the.
ton.

lippery,.
o I ended up falling back and landing awkwardlyx
Alice.
had.
made.
it.
look.
o.
e.
y..
The.
econd.
time,.
managed to.
cramble quickly up onto the top of the wall. I�.
j
t come cl.
e to tw
ting my ankle,.
o I w.
n�t taking an.
chanc.
:.
I.
turned.
around.
carefully,.
holding.
on.
tight.
an.
lowering my body before dropping down into a cobble.
yard. I rolled over once but came to my feet quickly an.
peered out into the darkn.
, trying to locate Alicex

There w.
no moon, and I had to rely on.
tarlight. Bu
even though I could.
ee in the dark better than m.
t othe�
people, I could.
ee no.
ign of Alice. So I concentratedw
cl.
ed my ey.
, and l
tenedx

Directly ahead I heard a.

hriek, and then a.
ort oy

cuffling and flapping. I ran toward the.

ound. There wer.
more.
quaw�
, and I realized that the.
oun.
were comin
from the large wooden coop where Shey kept h
chicke'
x

The nearer I got, the louder the no

.
erupting fro.
the pen. The bir.
were fluttering about in panicx

With.
a.
trong.
e'
e.
of.
une.
e,.
I.
recalled.
a.
dar�
memory from my childhood. One night, a fox had raided m.
dad.
.
henho
e..
When.
we.
arrived,.
bleary-eyed,.
force.
from our be.
by a terrible cacophony of.
oun.
, five wer.
already dead. Blood and feathe�
were everywherex

But th
time it w.
n�t a fox terrorizing the chicke'
�i
w.
Alice. I couldn�t.
ee her, but even above the.
quawkin
of the bir.
I could hear.
omething.
o grot.
que that at fi�
my mind ref
ed to accept what it w.
. I crouched dow'
cl.
e to the wooden pen, frozen to the.
pot. Then I hear.

hou
and the thud of heavy boo
running toward
. Nex
thing I knew,.
omeone w.
holding up a flaming torch t.
reveal the horror withinx

Alice w.
on her kne.
in the middle of the coop;.
h.
w.
.
urrounded by dead and dying bir.
. Some had ha.
their hea.
or win
torn off. One headl.
chicken w.
till running around. Alice held a dead bird in each handx
She�d been eating them raw, and her mouth w.
covered i'
bloodx
CHAPTER XXIv
POOR TOm
ALICE w.
a predator, no better than a wild animal fille.
with blood l
t. It.
hook me to the core to.
ee her behavin
like th
. The Spook w.
right: Her mind w.
completel.
unhinged. Did any part of the Alice I�d known.
till remain, o�
w.
.
he now a total.
tranger7
The guard holding the torch.
wore. Another lifted .
club and made to enter the pen. Alice lurched to her feetw
and for a moment I thought.
he w.
going to attack himx
But then.
he jumped. It w.
an imp.
ible leap that.
en
her.
oaring right over h
head, and over the gate behin.
him, to land in the mud ou
ide. Then, without a backwar.
glance,.
he ran off into the darkn.
x
I took one look at the.
tartled fac.
of the guar.
, the'
turned.
and.
followed.
her..
She.
w.
.
heading.
for.
th.
unguarded gat.
, and although I w.
.
printing, d.
perat.
to catch her,.
he.
eemed to be p.
.
ed of an unnatura
trength. Alice w.
pulling away from me with every.
tridew
and the.
ound of her pointy.
ho.
hitting the gr.
w.
becoming fainter and fainterx
Soon my breath w.
r.
ping in my throat and I bega'
to tire. I.
lowed down and continued in the.
ame directionx
Surely.
he couldn�t keep up that pace for much longer,
thought. Every.
o often I halted, pa
ed, and l
tened. Bu
there w.
nothing to be heard�only the.
ighing of the win.
in the tre.
and the occ.
ional eerie cry of.
ome nocturna
creature. But then, at l.
t, the cr.
cent moon came up, an.
I w.
finally able to employ.
ome of the tracking.
kil
th.
Spook had taught me. Soon I found Alice.
footprin
on th.
edge of a co�
e, confirming that I w.
.
till on her trailx
It w.
n�t long before I began to feel une.
y. Normall.
I�d never have ventured out without my.
taff, but I�d been.
.
worried about Alice that I�d followed her i'
tinctively, withou
thinking. .
for the D.
tiny Blade, I�d left it in the.
heath tha
Grimalkin had made. My.
ilver chain w.
back in my bagw
and I hadn�t even filled my pocke
with.
alt and iron. I w.
completely unarmed�and cold, too, in j
t my.
hirt an.
breech.
. I w.
completely unprepared, and each.
tep
took away from the houe.
could well.
be incre.
ing m.
danger. Hadn�t I been warned that the denize'
of the dar�
would be after me in revenge for the part I�d played i'
binding the Fiend? While I tracked Alice,.
omething coul.
well be hunting met

Alarmed by that p.
ibility, I halted and.
lowly turne.
through a full circle,.
earching my immediate.
urroundin
x
I.
could.
neither.
ee.
nor.
e'
e.
anything..
There.
w.
.
n.
feeling of cold warning me that.
omething from the dar�
w.
near. So,.
till nervo
and very vigilant, I continued o'
my way. I couldn�t leave Alice alone out here, whatever th.
r
kx

Another hour p.
ed, and I found more indicatio'
tha
I w.
.
till.
on the right track. .
well .
another.
et.
oy
footprint, I.
potted a piece torn from Alice� dr.
.

he�d walked.
traight through a patch of brambl.
. At le.
the.
hape and depth of the prin
told me that.
he w.
n.
longer running,.
o I hurried on, hopeful of catching her a
l.
t. I continued until I reached the edge of a wooded hillx

The next.
et of prin
I found made my heart plung.
right.
down.
into.
my.
boo
..
There.
were.
ome.
that.
didn�
belong to Alice. There w.
a
o evidence of a.
truggle, th.
ground churned to mud�and.
potted with blood. From th.
mar�
I .
timated that Alice had been.
eized by a group oy
peoplex

I.
felt.
o.
fool
h�an.
apprentice.
pook.
with.
n.
weapo'
!�but.
how.
could.
I.
abandon.
Alice.
now?.
So.
moved.
cautio
ly.
into.
the.
tre.
,.
came.
to.
a.
halt,.
an.
l
tened. There w.
a deep and utter.
ilence. It w.
.
iy
everything w.
holding i
breath. Slowly, trying not to mak.
the.
light.
t no
e, I took another few.
te�
, then l
tene.
again. Silence. I felt incre.
ingly une.
yx

I had to think quickly. I needed to improv

e. On th.
ground to my left lay a fallen branch. I picked it up and w.
ple.
ed to find that it w.
.
ound, and.
lightly thicker an.
longer than my.
taff; it w.
better than nothing. I hurried onw
the incline becoming.
teeper with every.
tep I tookx

.
.
I.
neared.
the.
ummit.
of.
the.
hill,.
I.
e'
ed.
om.
u'
een pe�
on watching me. However, the fi�
t ey.
I.
a.
weren�t human. I looked up. The tre.
above were full oy
cro.
. I noted their.
harp bea�
and gl.
y black feathe�
w
the razor�
harp cla.
cutting into the branch.
. My hear
began to beat f.
ter. W.
the Morrigan here? I wonderedx
The bir.
were.
till, but when I lowered my gaze, I.
a.
omething that made my mouth go dry with fearx

Directly ahead of me, a man w.

.
itting on the groun.
with h
back agai'
t a tree trunk. He.
eemed to be.
tarin
at me, but h
ey.
were dark hollo.
. I took a.
tep towar.
him, then another. With a.
hock I realized that he w.
deadx
H
damp, mildewed cloth.
were green, which marke.
him out .
one of Shey.
guar.
. It had to be the ma'
who�d d
appeared about a week earlier. He had been tie.
to the tree, and h
ey.
were gone. The cro.
had fe.
te.
alreadyx

At le.
t th
man w.
now dead and beyond furthe�
pain. And there w.
no.
e'
ation of cold to tell me that h

pirit.
till lingered nearby. No, the cold only gripped m.
when I continued beyond him toward the next tree. Alic.
w.
.
itting there in the.
ame p.
ition, back agai'
t th.
trunk, wr
tied to it with twine, forced upward at an angl.
of forty-five degre.
. The bindin
were very tight�I coul.

ee them cutting into her fl.

h. Additionally, her.
now-whit.
hair had been tw
ted into a knot and nailed to the treew
pulling her neck around at an awkward angle. She w.
moaning.
oftlyx

I r
hed toward her and.
aw the blood congealed o'
the twine. She looked up at me then. Her ey.
were.
til
there, but they.
aw no more than the empty.
ocke
of th.
dead man. She gazed right through me .
if I didn�t ex
tx
When I knelt down before her,.
he whimpered. Her whol.
body w.
trembling. I touched her brow gently. How could
untie her ar.
without hurting her7

�Alice,� I.
aid.
oftly. �I�m.
o.
orry. I�ll try to help, but th
might hurt a little�.}

Suddenly.
the.
e'
ation.
of.
cold.
down.
my.
pin.
inte'
ified. Something from the dark w.
approachingx

�Try feeling.
orry for yourself, boy!�.
omeone.
houte.
behind me. �Soon you�ll be hurting too!}

I.
whirled.
around,.
recognizing.
the.
voice,.
and.
cam.
face-to-face.
with.
the.
witch.
Scarabek;.
Konal.
w.
.
no.

trapped to her back, h

.
trangely ancient featur.
leerin
at me over her.
houlder. Behind her.
tood half a doze'
bearded mag.
armed with.
wor.
. I heard.
oun.
to m.
left and right. More armed men were walking toward me ou
of the tre.
. I w.
completely.
urroundedx
�Seize him!� the witch commandedx

Mag.
r
hed forward, and I.
truck out at the near.
with the branch, brand
hing it frantically to make him kee�
h
d
tance. But it w.
el.
agai'
t men with.
wor.
x
Two cu
, and I found m.
elf holding j
t a.
hort woode'

tump in my handx
�Drop.
it,.
or.
the.
next.
cut.
will.
ever.
your.
hand!�.
th.
near.
t mage warnedx
I obeyed and t.
ed it away, and w.
immediatel.

eized roughly, my ar.

tw
ted painfully behind my back.
w.
then dragged toward the tree.
opp.
ite.
Alice an.
p
hed down into.
itting p.
ition.
o that I w.
facing herx
Scarabek loomed over mex
�The godd.
Morrigan
angry!�.
he cried. �You hav.
dared too much! You weakened her in the Hollow Hil
, an.

he will not forget it. Since then you have bound the Fien.
�a deed that h.
hurt all th.
e who.
erve the dark. Fo�
that,.
he comman.
that you.
hall die a.
low, painful deathx
Not for you the quick death of my loyal h
band, Shaun. W.
hall tie you to th
tree and let the Morrigan.
cro.
pec�
out your ey.
. After that we will cut you away piece b.
piece,.
tarting with your finge�
. We will.
ever them knuckl.
by.
knuckle,.
a.
mo�
el.
for.
each.
hungry.
beak.
that.
wai
above! We will.
trip the fl.
h from your bon.
until only you�

keleton remai'
! Bind him to the tree!�.
he orderedx

I fought with all my.

trength, but there were.
imply to.
many of them. They ripped the.
leev.
from my.
hirt, the'
held me agai'
t the trunk and pinned my ar.
back aroun.
it. Twine w.
bound very tightly around each wr
t, and m.
ar.
were alm.
t wrenched from their.
ocke
.
the tw.
en.
were pulled together and knotted behind the tree. I
took all my willpower to.
top m.
elf from crying out. I didn�
want to give Scarabek the.
at
faction of knowing that I w.
in painx

I looked up and.
aw the witch.
tanding before me. �M.
Shaun i dead.
becaue.
of.
you,�.
he.
narled. She w.
holding out her left wr
t like a falconer. But it w.
n�t .
falcon that w.
perched there. It w.
a huge black greedy�
eyed crow, i
beak agapex

�We�ll.
tart with the left eye fi�
t,�.
he.
aidx

Then, from behind her,.

omeone e
e.
poke. It w.
Alicex
�Poor Tom!�.
he cried. �Poor Tom.
hurt!}

�Aye,.
girl,�.
aid.
Scarabek,.
turning.
to.
neer.
at.
herx
�He.
hurt, all right, but th
only the beginning.}

The.
crow.
unfurled.
i
.
win
.
and.
flew.
onto.
my.
lef

houlder. I felt the.

harp pr.
ure of i
cla.
.
the crue
ey.
.
tared into mine. I tried to turn my head away, but i
hopped nearer, and i
beak jabbed at my left eyex
CHAPTER XXv
ALL FALL DOWw
I.
queezed.
my.
ey.
.
hut.
and.
leaned.
.
.
far.
away.
.
p.
ible, tw
ting my head to make it difficult for the crow t.
reach i
target. But I knew it w.
el.
. Within momen
I�d be blindx
Suddenly Scarabek.
hrieked, and I felt the crow rela
i
.
harp grip on my.
houlder. The pr.
ure w.
gone. Ha.
the ugly bird flown away? I wondered. I opened my ey.
cautio
ly and, to my.
urpr
e,.
aw it lying on the ground a
my.
ide. It w.
n�t moving. I
ey.
were wide open bu
looked like gl.
. What w.
wrong with it? W.
it dead7
�Tom.
.
hurt!�.
cried.
Alice.
again..
�Don�t.
hurt.
hi.
anymore!}
The witch w.
.
taring down at the dead crow, a look oy
incredulity on her face. Then.
he turned to Alice. �You!�.
h.
cried. �You did that!}
�Ain�t right that you hurt Tom,� Alice retorted. �He don�
d.
erve that. Why don�t you try picking on me i'
tead?}
Scarabek pulled a knife from her belt and took a.
te�
toward Alice. �I�ll do j
t that, girl!�.
he.
aid with a.
narl. �I�l
attend to you m.
elf!}
�You can�t hurt me,� Alice told her. �You ain�t.
tron
enough.}
A couple of the mag.
laughed, but not that heartilyx
Bound to the tree and helpl.
, taunting a witch armed wit
a knife, Alice.
wor.
.
eemed i'
ane. Her pretty featur.
were tw
ted into a.
neer�the expr.
ion I�d.
een on th.
face.
of her mother,.
Bony Lizzie,.
before.
he.
c.
t.
om.
dark, malevolent.
pellx
Then I felt it. It w.
.
if.
omeone had.
tabbed a.
har.
of.
ice.
into.
my.
pine..
That.
chill.
alwa.
.
warned.
me.
tha
omething from the dark w.
cl.
e�I�d felt it .
the witc
and the mag.
had approached. But th
had a.
trengt
and inte'
ity beyond anything I�d experienced beforex
And then, to my .
ton
hment, Alice ripped her han.
free of the twine that bound her to the tree, reached up t.
pull her hair clear of the nail, and.
tood to face the witchx
There w.
blood dripping from her lacerated wr
, but.
h.
didn�t.
eem to feel any pain. She w.
.
miling, but it w.
n�
a pretty.
mile. It w.
filled with malice. Scarabek h.
itate.
and lowered her bladex
Then Alice turned, bending her head down toward th.
tree trunk. What w.
.
he doing? When.
he turned back t.
face the witch, however,.
he w.
.
cowlingx

Scarabek.
gave.
a.
udden.
hriek.
of.
anger.
and.
ra'

traight at her, knife ra

ed. I didn�t.
ee what happened nex
becaue.
he wa.
obcuring my view.
of Alice..
But h.
uddenly threw up her hand and gave a cry of pain, the'

tumbled.
to.
her.
kne.
..
Alice.
laughed.
h.
terically.
.
Scarabek tw
ted toward me and.
taggered to her fee
againx

The witch.
eemed to have forgotten all about Alicex
She w.
now approaching me very.
lowly, u'
teadily. Bu

he w.
.
till holding the blade, and her intent w.
clear.
noticed the mag.
.
taring at her with loo�
of utter horro�
on their fac.
. She w.
going to cut me�no doubt keepin
a thumb bone for he�
elf. I w.
terrifiedx

But then I glanced up at her face and immediately.

a.
why.
he had.
creamed. A nail had impaled her green lef
eye, and blood w.
running down her cheek. Alice m
have pulled the nail out of the trunk with her teeth, and.
h.
had.
pat.
it.
into.
the.
witch.
.
eye.
with.
great.
force.
an.
accuracyx

Scarabek.
taggered again,.
till lurching toward mex
.
.
he did.
o, Konal gave a bloodcurdling.
queal. Whethe�
mortally wounded or not, the witch.
till had enough life in he�
to wield the blade. It.
eemed .
though nothing could.
av.
mex

Then I heard a rumble from.

omewhere deep withi'
the ground, and all at once the whole world began to movex
Above my head the branch.
bounced and writhed .
if th.
tree trunk w.
being tw
ted and.
haken by a giant.
handx
The witch.
gaze left me, and.
he glanced upward fearfullyx
But the danger came from the other directionx

A huge crack.
uddenly opened in the earth. With .
grinding,.
plintering roar, it gaped wider, moving towar.
Scarabek f.
ter than a pe�
on could run. At the very l.
moment.
he tried to leap clear, but it w.
too late. Th.
earth.
wallowed.
her.
up.
and.
cl.
ed.
with.
a.
dee�
reverberating thud, leaving only the finge�
of her left han.
v
iblex

With ha�
h cri.
, the flock of cro.
quickly took flight�
then the earth beneath my feet began to buck and.
hakew
y

and the.
urface became .
liquid .
an ocean, with wav.
rolling acr.
the for.
t floor. They.
eemed to be radiatin
from where Alice w.
.
tanding, and even above the no
e
could hear her chanting a.
pell in the Old Tongue. Mag.
and their.
ervan
were now running in all directio'
x

The tre.
were leaning at.
crazy angl.
, their roo
d
lodged.
by.
the.
violent.
movement..
Then,.
uddenlyw
everything became.
till and quiet again, .
if the whol.
world.
w.
.
holding.
i
.
breath,.
appalled.
at.
what.
ha.
happened. Now there w.
only one thing moving; one ne.

ound to fill the.

ilencex

Alice w.
.
pinning, dancing acr.
the gr.
with he�
ar.
extended,.
blood.
till dripping from her wr
. He�
ey.
.
were.
cl.
ed,.
and.
he.
w.
.
miling.
and.
hummin

omething under her breath. She.

pun f.
ter and began t.

ing j
t loud enough for me to hear the wor.
x

�A ring a ring of roses, a fist full of thornsl

A ring a ring of roses, a head full of hornst
I�ll give a laugh and then a frowj
So they all fall down!c

She giggled and repeated the l.

t line .
if it ple.
e.
her: �So they all fall down!}

At that, Alice.
eemed to l.
e her.
balance and fel
down.
hard,.
giggling..
Then.
he.
put.
back.
her.
head.
an.
laughed loudly, and it w.
a long time before.
he.
toppedx
Finally.
he w.
quiet, and a.
olemn expr.
ion.
ettle.
upon her face. She began to crawl toward me, coming.
.
cl.
e that our fac.
were alm.
t touchingx

�I can make �em all fall down, Tom. Ain�t that true7
Even Grimalkin, the.
trong.
t of �em all�I could do it t.
her, too. Don�t you believe me?}

She w.
.
taring intently into my ey.
. I.
nodded i'
agreement,.
imply to humor her. My wr
were.
till burnin
and throbbing, and I felt .
if I w.
going to be.
ick an.
moment, the bile r
ing in my throatx

Alice now moved her head up and brought her mout

cl.
e to my left hand. She gripped the twine binding m.
wr
t with her teeth and bit through it. I g.
ped with painx
Then.
he did the.
ame to my right wr
tx

I lowered my ar.
, relieved to be free. No matter wha
dark powe�
Alice had
ed, at that moment I truly didn�
care. I had my life back when I thought I�d l.
t itx

Next Alice circled my left wr

t with her finge�
an.
thum.
. There w.
a.
udden.
harp pain, followed by .
tingling.
e'
ation.
that.
radiated.
from.
her.
thum.
.
to.
m.
finge�
and then up through my wr
t and arm. And th.
throbbing pain began to l.
en. She did the.
ame to m.
right wr
t, then leaned down and put her arm around m.
back, e.
ing me to my feetx

�Think you can walk, Tom?�.

he .
kedx

I noddedx

�Then it.
b.
t we get away from here. The on.
wh.
got away won�t.
tay.
cared forever. They�re mag.
an.
ed to dealing with the dark.}
I.
tared at Alice. Apart from the color of her hair,.
h.
eemed alm.
t back to normal. �Are you better, Alice?�
.
kedx

She.
bit her top lip and.
hook her head. Her ey.
brimmed with tea�
. �Better? I�ll never be better now, Tomx
But I want to be with you. I want that more than anything e
.
in the world. It.
what.
j
t.
aved
both.}

I.
ighed and.
hook my head. �We need to talk about al
th
. Where did you get the power to do that?}

�Not now, Tom. I need.

ome time. We�ll have no peac.
when.
we.
get.
back�not.
after.
all.
that.
.
happened�bu
come to my room tomorrow night, and I�ll tell you what I canx
it right what you.
aid y.
terday? Did you really manag.
to bind the Fiend?�.
he .
ked mex

I nodded. �Y.
, it.
true. We�re free again, Alice.}
She.
miled and took my hand. �So we have a littl.
time, Tom�a little breathing.
pace to think of a way to.
or
him out once and for all.}

I frowned. �But the fi�

t thing
to get back to Shey.
ho
e,� I.
aid. �After that b
in.
in the chicken coop,
doubt we�ll be welcome there anymore. You do remembe�
what happened there�.?}

Alice nodded.
adly. �I remember everything,�.
he.
aidx
�I�ll try and explain tomorrow.}

.
we.
et off, I looked back. Four or five cro.
wer.
pecking.
at.
omething.
on.
the.
gr.
..
One.
took.
flightw
y

wooping.
low.
over.
.
before.
oaring.
up.
to.
land.
on.
.
branch. It i
beak it w.
holding one of the dead witch.
finge�
x

I gripped Alice.
hand even more tightly. It w.
good t.
be together againx

Back at the ho
e, it took all my powe�
of pe�
u.
ion t.
deflect Shey.
anger from Alice. But, with the Spook.
helpw
he and h
men were finally pe�
uaded that.
he had bee'
under the influence of a.
pell, but w.
now r.
tored to he�
old.
elfx

With that fi�

t cr
over, we decided not to tell th.
Spook anything for now. I knew he w.
wondering what ha.
really happened but realized that th
w.
not the time t.
qu.
tion
cl.
elyx

We didn�t even have the problem of explaining awa.

the laceratio'
to our wr
. By the time we reached th.
ho
e, they were alm.
t completely healed�with no.
ca�
to.
how what had been done to
. Healing w.
a benig'
act, but the exerc
e of.
uch extreme power could only hav.
come from the dark. Exha
ted though I w.
, I.
lept little fo�
the remainder of that nightx

In the morning, there w.

ne.
of the war brought by .
d
patch rider from Dublinx

The Spook came to tell me hi.

elf.

�Good ne.
, lad, really good ne.
. The enemy h.
been defeated in a big battle north of Pri.
town, and the.
have fled in d
array to the very.
outhern border.
of th.
County. They are now in full retreat. We can go home, ladw
back to the County. I can rebuild my ho
e and.
tart t.
collect and write boo�
for a new library!� There were tea�
gl
tening in h
ey.
; tea�
of hope and joyx

But d.
pite that good ne.
, I dreaded my forthcomin
talk with Alice. What had happened to her in the dark7
What had.
he become? Why could.
he never be bette�
again? W.
.
he a malevolent witch at l.
t? The way.
h.
had.
lain our enemi.
the previo
night made it look tha
wayx

After everyone had gone to bed and the ho

e w.
quiet,
went to talk to Alice. Th
time I didn�t bother to rap on he�
bedroom door. She w.
expecting me, and I certainly didn�
want to r
k waking the Spook, wh.
e room w.
j
t a littl.
way down the corridorx

She w.
.
itting on the edge of the bed,.
taring throug
the window into the darkn.
. .
I entered the room,.
oftl.
cl.
ing the door behind me,.
he turned toward me an.

miled. I picked up the candle from the dr.

ing table an.

et it on the window ledge. Next I drew up a chair and.

a
down facing herx

�How are you feeling?� I .

kedx

�All right, Tom. Le.

twa.
, I ain�t too bad .
long .
don�t think about what.
happened.}

�Do you want to talk about it? Would that help or j

make it wo�
e?}

�Whether I want to talk about it or not ain�t the pointw

Tom. You d.
erve to know it all. Then you�ve got to decid.
if you.
till want to be my friend.}
�Whatever you tell me, I�ll.
till be your friend,� I told herx
�We�ve been through too much together to go our.
eparat.
wa.
now. And we need each other to.
urvive. But for yo
I�d be dead now�cut to piec.
by that witch and fed to th.
cro.
.}

�What I did I can�t undo. And I wouldn�t if I couldy

otherw
e I�d have l.
t you forever, and l.
t my own life toox
But I liked it, Tom. That.
the horror. I enjoyed d.
troyin
that witch. Whenever I hurt or killed.
omething from the dar�
before, I felt.
ick afterward, but not th
time. I liked t.
tin
my.
trength agai'
t he�
. I liked winning. I�ve changed. I�.
like Grimalkin now. That.
how.
he fee
. She lov.
a fight!
killed�and I didn�t care!}

�
it beca
e you�ve.
pent.
o long in the dark, do yo
think?�.
I.
.
ked,.
keeping.
my.
voice.
low..
�
.
that.
what.
changed you?}
�M
t be, Tom, and I can�t help it. When I came bac�
from the dark, I didn�t think it w.
real at fi�
t. I thought I w.

till there. That.

why I w.
.
cared and.
hrank away fro.
you. Th.
e who.
erved the Fiend often played tric�
lik.
that on me. Once before, I thought they�d.
ent me back t.
our world. I.
aw you at the edge of a wood. Really thought i
w.
you, too. You.
miled at me and.
queezed my hand. Bu
it w.
j
t a trick. You.
lowly turned into a devil. I watche.
your face warp, and tw
ty hor'
.
tart to.
prout from you�
forehead. And I realized that I hadn�t left the dark at all. So
thought what Pan.
aid w.
j
t another trick and the.
am.
w.
going to happen again. I thought you were j
t a devi
with a human face.}

I nodded. I had thought Alice w.

i'
ane, but what.
h.

aid made perfect.

e'
e. It would be the natural reaction oy

omebody who thought that the world w.

n�t real, that i
w.
an ill
ion created by the dark to torment herx

�But how did you know it w.

me th
time?� I .
kedx
�Even though they tied me to the tree and were about to kil
me, it could.
till have been a trick.}

�When.
I.
w.
.
trapped.
in.
the.
dark,.
the.
devil.
tha
pretended to be you had h
ar.
covered. But here, .

oon .
they ripped your.
leev.
off, I.
aw my brand o'
your arm, Tom. That mark
very.
pecial to me and you�i
couldn�t be faked even by the Fiend hi.
elf!}

The.
ca�
.
he�d left on my arm had never faded. It w.
her.
pecial brand that marked me .
belonging to her an.
no other witchx

I nodded, but then thought of.

omething e
e. �But wha
about the chicken coop, Alice? What about that? Why di.
you do that?}

Alice.
hivered,.
o I leaned forward and put my ar.
around.
her.
houlder..
It.
w.
.
a.
long.
time.
before.
h.
a'
weredx

�I�d only thought to .

cape and w.
heading for th.
wall. But then I.
melled the warm blood pumping throug
their vei'
, and I couldn�t help m.
elf. It w.
a terrible urg.
to drink blood. Being in the dark h.
changed me, Tomx
Ain�t the.
ame, am I? I think I belong to the dark now. Wha
if I can�t cr.
running water anymore? Old Gregory wil
know what I am i'
tantly!}

Th
w.
really worrying. If my m.
ter had firm prooy
that Alice w.
a dark witch, he�d bind her in a pit for the r.
of her life; no matter how good a friend.
he�d proved, h.
would do what he thought w.
h
duty .
a.
pookx

I thought back to the wor.

Mam had once.
poke'
about Alice.

She was born with the heart of a witch, and she�s littlc
choice but to follow that patht

But then Mam had gone on to.

ay that there w.
mor.
than one type of witch: Alice might turn out to be benig'
rather than malevolent. The third p.
ibility w.
that.
h.
would end up.
omewhere between good and evilx

That girl could become the bane of your life, a blightl

a poison on everything you do,.
he had told me. Or shc
mightp
justp
turnp
outp
top
bep
thep
bestp
andp
strongestp
frienh
you�ll ever havet

In my mind there w.
no doubt that the latter w.
truex
But w.
it p.
ible that Alice could become a malevolen
witch and still be my ally? W.
n�t that true of Grimalkin7

But I had one more qu.

tion: �Alice�where did yo
get all that power from?
it beca
e you were in the dar�
for.
o long?}

Alice nodded, but.

he looked doubtful. For a moment
thought.
he w.
trying to hide.
omething,.
but then.
h.

poke.
lowly. �I think I�ve.
brought power.
back from th.
dark�y
he pa
ed and looked at me��but I�ve alwa.
ha.
more power than I�ve.
hown to you, Tom. I w.
warned b.

omeone not to
e it, to bury it deep i'
ide me and try t.
forget it w.
there. Do you know why, Tom?}

I.
hook my headx

�Beca
e.
each.
time.
you.
e.
uch.
dark.
power,.
i
chang.
you. Bit by bit you get cl.
er to the dark, unti
eventually you are part of it. Then you�ve l.
t you�
elf an.
can never get back to what you once were.}

I unde�
tood. Th
w.
why the Spook feared.
o muc
for
both. I remembered.
omething Mam had once.
ai.
to me when I told her how lonely my life .
a.
pook w.
provingx
How can you be lonely? You�ve got yourself, haven�k
you? If you ever lose yourself, then you�ll really be lonelyt

I hadn�t fully unde�

tood her wor.
then, but now I didx
She meant the integrity, the.
park of goodn.
within yo
that.
mak.
.
you.
who.
you.
really.
are..
Once.
that.
w.
extingu
hed, you were l.
t and truly alone, with only th.
dark for companyx
W

ONCE again, I�ve written m.

t of th
from memory, j
ing my notebook when nec.
aryx
Tomorrow we begin our journey back to the Countyx
The fi�
t.
tage
to cr.
Ireland. But many.
trea.
an.
rive�
lie in our path. Will Alice be able to cr.
them? Onl.
time will tellx
The Spook kno.
nothing of th
, and he.
ee.
fitterw
tronger, and more cheerful than at any time during the p.
two yea�
. We.
till have the majority of the money that w.
earned dealing with the jibbe�
in Dublin. My m.
ter.
a.
he
going to
e it to.
tart rebuilding h
ho
e,.
tartin
with the roof, kitchen, and libraryx
.
for Grimalkin,.
o far we have heard nothing mor.
from her. We can only hope that.
he managed to elude o�
lay her pu�
ue�
and that the Fiend.
head
.
till.
afely i'
her p.
.
ionx
In addition to my.
taff and.
ilver chain, I now have .
third weapon�the.
word given to me by Cuchulain, th.
D.
tiny Blade. I will need i
.
harp edg.
to defend m.
ely
agai'
t the denize'
of the dark, who will pu�
ue me i'
revenge for binding the Fiendx
The time
f.
t approaching when I will no longer b.
an apprentice; I will be a.
pook, and I am determined to b.
every bit .
good .
my m.
ter. In addition to that, I am m.
mother.
.
on, with the.
pecial gif
that.
he h.
p.
e.
down to me. The dark may pu�
ue me, but the time wil
come when what my mother foretold will come to p.
. An.
.
Mam and Grimalkin both proph.
ied, I shall become th.
hunter, and they will run from me. My time
coming, an.
that day
not very far awayx
War will have changed the County forever, but there�l
till.
be the dark to fight. I.
j
t hope that my family h.
urvivedx
D.
pite.
all.
that.
.
happened,.
I�m.
till.
the.
Spook.
apprentice, and we�re on our way back to Chipenden. W.
are going home at l.
tx

THOMAS J. WAR^
ARE YOU STRONG ENOUGH TO READ�

� BOOK ONE �
THE LAST APPRENTICE.
REVENGE Of THE WITC

� BOOK TWO �
THE LAST APPRENTICE.
CURSE Of THE BAN.

� BOOK THREE �
THE LAST APPRENTICE.
NIGHT Of THE SOUL STEALEu

� BOOK FOUR �
THE LAST APPRENTICE.
ATTACK Of THE FIEN�

� BOOK FIVE �
THE LAST APPRENTICE.
WRATH Of THE BLOODEY.

� BOOK SIX �
THE LAST APPRENTICE.
CLASH Of THE DEMONz

� BOOK SEVEN �
THE LAST APPRENTICE.
RISE Of THE HUNTRESz

THE LAST APPRENTICE.

THE SPOOK�S TALE AND OTHER HORRORz
THE LAST APPRENTICE.
A COVEN OF WITCHEz

THE LAST APPRENTICE.

THE SPOOK�S BESTIARs
About the Author and the Illustrato^

JosephW
Delaney.
.
a.
former.
Engl
h.
teacher.
living.
i'
Lanc.
hire, England. H
home
in the middle of boggar
territory,.
and.
h
.
village.
h.
.
a.
boggart.
called.
the.
Hal
Knocker, which w.
laid to r.
t under the.
tep of a ho
.
near the churchx

M.
t of the plac.
in the L.
t Apprentice boo�
ar.
b.
ed on real plac.
in Lanc.
hire, and the i'
piratio'
behind the.
tori.
often com.
from local gh.
t.
tori.
an.
legen.
x
www.l.
tapprentice.co.

PatrickW
Arrasmith.
ill
trat.
.
boo�
,.
magazin.
,.
an.
ne.
pape�
..
H
.
work.
h.
.
appeared.
in.
the Newp
Yor}
Times, Forbes,.
the Villagep
Voice,.
and.
boo�
.
uch.
.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfulsx
H
.
artwork.
.
cratchboard�a.
mall.
blade.
.
ed.
t.

cratch off lin.

of black ink, revealing the white.
urfac.
below. He liv.
in Brooklyn, New Yorkx

www.patrickarr.
mith.co.

V
it www.AuthorTracker.com for excl
ive information o'
your favorite HarperColli'
authorx
Copyrigh[

Th
book
a work of fiction. Referenc.
to real peoplew
even
,.
.
tabl
hmen
,.
organizatio'
,.
or.
local.
.
ar.
intended only to provide a.
e'
e of authenticity, and ar.
ed to advance the fictional narrative. All other characte�
w
and all inciden
and dialogue, are drawn from the author.
imagination and are not to be co'
trued .
realx

THE LAST APPRENTICE: RAGE OF THE FALLEN. Copyright � 2011 b.

J.
eph Delaney. All righ
r.
erved under International an.
Pan-American Copyright Conventio'
. By payment of th.
required fe.
, you have been granted the non-excl
ivew
non-tra'
ferable right to acc.
and read the text of th
e�
book on�
creen. No part of th
text may be reproducedw
tra'
mitted,.
down-loaded,.
decompiled,.
reve�
.
engineered, or.
tored in or introduced into any informatio'
torage and retrieval.
.
tem, in any form or by any mea'
w
whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafte�
invented,.
without.
the.
expr.
.
written.
perm
ion.
oy
HarperColli'
e-boo�
x

Fi�
t publ
hed in 2011 in Great Britain by The Bodle.
Head, an imprint of Random Ho
e Children.
Boo�
w
under the title The Spook�s Destinyt
Fi�
t publ
hed in 2011 in the United Stat.
by Greenwillo.
Boo�
x

Ill
tratio'
copyright � 2011 by Patrick Arr.
mit

Library of Congr.
Cataloging-in-Publication Dat.
Delaney, J.
eph, (date)x
[Spook.
d.
tiny
Rage of the fallen / by J.
eph Delaney; ill
tratio'
b.
Patrick Arr.
mithx
p. cm.�(The l.
t apprentice; [8].
�Greenwillow Boo�
.}
ISBN 978-0-06-202
6-6 (trade bdg..

[1. Apprentic.
�Fiction. 2. Supernatural�Fiction. 3x
Witch.
�Fiction.
I. Arr.
mith, Patrick, ill. II. Titlex

PZ7.D373183Rag 2011 [Fic]�dc22 201003417

FIRST EDITIOr
EPub Edition � MARCH 2011 ISBN: 978-0-06-202
9-
11 12 13 14 .
About the Publishe^

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Table of ContentZ

Chapter
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter Iv
Chapter v
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter I{
Chapter {
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIv
Chapter Xv
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XI{
Chapter X{
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapter XXIv
Chapter XXv
Are You Strong Enough to Readv
About the Author and the Ill
trato�
Copyrigh
About the Publ
he�