Soul Splinter (12 page)

Moll’s muscles seized up, clamped by Ashtongue’s curse, and her eyes glazed with fear.

‘Welcome, Darkebite, Master of the Soul Splinter,’ Ashtongue hissed, drawing his body up to full height.

Darkebite took a step closer to Moll and Siddy, jet-black eyes sunken inside the mask. ‘Molly Pecksniff.’

The words were neither a question nor a fact. They were a claim. And the voice that spoke them was unmistakably female.

Moll flinched. The other Shadowmasks had been men and Moll had presumed Darkebite would be no different. But the Shadow Keeper was a
woman
– a woman so riddled with evil it made Moll’s mouth turn dry. And for some reason, this made Darkebite feel even more sinister than before.

Darkebite reached a hand inside her cloak and pulled out a shard of glimmering black ice. Moll’s breath choked inside her. The Soul Splinter. The weapon that had killed her parents and that had to be destroyed to save the old magic. Darkebite’s long, thin fingers clasped it tight and her wings seemed to tremble with anticipation.

Moll tried again to work her way free of the curse, but her limbs were like stone. She thought fast. Back in the forest Alfie had told her that the Shadowmasks could only break the Bone Murmur if they killed the child and the beast at the same time.

Darkebite’s mask tilted to one side. ‘Think I won’t use it on you because your wildcat’s not here?’ Her voice was scratchy, like a bat screech, and behind slits in the mask red lips curled back and two dark eyes gleamed. ‘Now the thresholds are opening the dark magic is growing stronger, and we’re going to destroy your precious Bone Murmur piece by piece.’

Darkebite raised the Soul Splinter high and her wings twitched with pleasure.

Moll thought of Oak and Mooshie – of all her friends back in the cave and in the forest willing her on. She thought of Gryff who could build courage inside her just by being at her side. And she found herself thinking of Alfie, of the horrors they’d faced in the forest and how they’d fought past every single one together. Beside her, Siddy’s eyes were wide, his nails digging hard into the armchair. But Moll could sense his stubborn strength, his refusal to give in.

Darkebite drew closer still, then lowered the Soul Splinter so that it was pointing right at Moll. The girl shut her eyes and let the fear beat louder inside her while Ashtongue, sloping down on to all fours, crawled up and seized Moll by the hair. Siddy threw back his head from side to side, trying to break the curse, but Darkebite brought the Soul Splinter up to Moll’s face.

‘Yes,’ hissed Ashtongue. ‘At last . . .’

Moll pressed her lips together tight; every muscle in her throat clenched. She wouldn’t let them drip the darkness in.

‘Open her mouth, Ashtongue,’ Darkebite crooned. ‘And—’

Her words were cut short by an enormous crash. The front window Moll and Siddy had seen lit up from the track exploded into the room. Shards of glass smashed down on to the floorboards, broken pieces skittering across the wood. And standing among them, panting but alive, was a boy with a jay feather earring and a wildcat.

A
familiar boldness surged inside Moll and her legs grew fierce as she fought her way out of the Shadowmasks’ curse.

‘Gryff!’ she cried, twisting from Ashtongue’s clutch and dragging Siddy behind the armchair. And then in a quieter voice, one less sure of itself, ‘Alfie.’

Gryff rushed towards Moll and as she knelt down he threw himself against her, burying his head in her cardigan. Moll cradled him tight as if a missing part of her had been returned, and as she drew back she noticed the blood on his fur where the glass had nicked him. But there was no time to do anything about it. Alfie tossed aside the branch he’d used to break the window and eyed the Shadowmasks with loathing.

‘It – it’s
him
,’ Ashtongue whispered, recoiling.

Darkebite shifted, quickly tucking the Soul Splinter beneath her cloak.

Moll glanced towards Alfie, her chest full of unlearnt things.

‘You – you came back,’ Siddy said.

Alfie nodded. Then he held up a small, rounded piece of rock for the Shadowmasks to see. Half of it seemed to be made of crystal and it glinted a deep orange under the lamplight. Ashtongue and Darkebite took a step backwards.

‘I found the second amulet,’ Alfie said, glaring at the Shadowmasks. His voice was hard and loud. ‘And it’s filled with a power that can break you both, just like the first amulet destroyed Skull and Hemlock.’

The orange seemed to glitter brighter, but, as Alfie thrust it higher, Moll frowned. Was that
really
the second amulet inside Alfie’s palm? She’d been waiting for this moment – waiting to have her ma back, even if only fleetingly – but something didn’t feel right.

Darkebite slid a look at Ashtongue. ‘They’re both here. The child and the beast. Now the Soul Splinter will be even more powerful; just one step and we can splinter their souls.’ Her wings unfurled and the room seemed to darken.

Ashtongue’s forked tongue slipped between his teeth. ‘But the boy, he could—’

Darkebite raised a hand and Ashtongue’s words were cut short. ‘He could – but
would
he?’ She watched Alfie intently, a column of shadows searching him out.

Gryff leapt on to the back of the armchair, snarling and ripping the fabric with his claws. He swiped his paw at a vase that stood on the table beside it and it crashed to the ground, a sprawl of broken china. Moll and Siddy huddled behind him.

Ashtongue slithered to the floor, creeping towards the fire on all fours. He raised a snakeskin face to Darkebite. ‘It needs to be without the boy.’

Gryff lowered his body into a crouch and Moll could tell that he was getting ready to pounce, to smash the Soul Splinter to pieces.

Darkebite nodded at Ashtongue, then she glanced at Alfie’s amulet. ‘And with more power from the Underworld on our side.’

Alfie lunged towards them, clasping his knife tight, and Gryff leapt into the air. But the Shadowmasks were fading, their bodies breaking apart like grains of sand, and, seconds later, they had vanished from the room completely. Moll stared at the floor; all that was left was a snakeskin recently shed – and the smell of burnt wood lingering in the air.

For a few seconds, no one said anything, then Moll turned to face Alfie, her jaw set hard. ‘You left.’ The hurt and anger beat inside her. ‘You didn’t tell anyone. You just left.’

‘You could’ve told me,’ Siddy said. ‘But you snuck out of the alcove without saying a word.’

Alfie looked at the ground. ‘You don’t understand, Sid. Neither of you do.’

Moll took a step forward. ‘You didn’t give us a chance!’ Her cheeks were hot and red. ‘Then you – you just come back and—’

Siddy stepped in. ‘We’re grateful you helped us against the Shadowmasks, Alfie, we really are – but how do we know you’re not just going to run off again?’

‘I’ll explain, I promise I will,’ Alfie said. ‘But we’ve got to get out of here, back to Little Hollows before the Shadowmasks summon the owls again.’

Moll raised her eyebrows. ‘You’re staying around to help us?’

Alfie nodded. ‘If you’ll have me.’

Moll threw him a defiant look.

‘We’ll have you,’ Siddy said after a pause. ‘So long as you explain things when we’re back in the cove.’

Moll whirled round, seized by the urge to pinch Siddy. ‘How can you let this go so quickly?’ she spat. ‘Alfie left us to face The Crumpled Way when he knew the Shadowmasks were out there!’ She breathed deeply, barely able to rein in her emotions.

‘Because we need to work together, Moll. Remember?’ Siddy glanced at the window. ‘That way we’ll stand a chance of getting back to Little Hollows unharmed.’

Moll kicked the floorboards. Siddy was right, she knew that, but her pride still stormed inside her. She glowered at Alfie. ‘Fine. We’ll discuss it back in Little Hollows, but don’t expect me to be polite or nice to you until then.’ She waited, her mind racing on to other things. ‘Oak – have you seen him? Is he OK?’

Gryff nuzzled against Moll’s legs, but Alfie avoided her eyes. ‘I found Oak, Patch and Gryff on the cliff top when I realised running away wasn’t the answer, and I turned back for the cove. The owls had gone, but they’d cut Oak’s leg pretty badly. I could tell Gryff had wanted to run off and find you, but he wouldn’t leave Oak when he was injured. I helped Oak up on to Raven and led him and Patch back to the cave with Gryff.’

‘And Jinx? Did you find her?’ Siddy asked.

‘When I realised you two weren’t in Little Hollows, I rode Raven hard to Inchgrundle. I heard Jinx whinnying for Moll down by the harbour wall. Gryff and I walked her to the cliff top and watered her, then I tied her up again; we’re going to need her to get back to the cave.’ Alfie glanced from Gryff to Moll. ‘Your wildcat and I got off to a bit of a shaky start – lots of hissing and snarling – but I think, when he realised I just wanted to find you too, he trusted me a little more and we got along OK – so long as I didn’t get too close to him.’

Gryff held his head high, twitched his whiskers, then stalked round Moll’s legs.

‘That’s not really the amulet, is it?’ Moll asked, looking at the stone in Alfie’s palm.

‘No, it’s an old charm of Cinderella Bull’s. She trapped a sunbeam inside the rock and told me it would shine in times of danger.’ Alfie shoved it into the pocket of his shorts. ‘Did the trick though.’

But Moll couldn’t help feeling cheated. She’d been so sure that her ma’s soul was waiting for her in Inchgrundle. And now what? They didn’t even have a bone reading to guide them . . .

Siddy was looking at Alfie closely. ‘It was more than that. Those Shadowmasks were
scared
of you – not just the amulet. Something about you made them leave.’

Alfie shifted his weight from one foot to the other. ‘I think I might have an idea why, but I’m not sure . . . Let’s talk back in the cave; we need to get moving in case we run into Grudge and the Dreads with their loot.’

Moll looked Alfie up and down. ‘You’ve got a lot of explaining to do later,’ she muttered. ‘That kind of running-off behaviour could get you expelled from the Tribe.’

Siddy nodded. ‘And it really offended Hermit.’

‘Come on,’ Moll said, sizing up the window now fringed with jagged glass. ‘Urgh. It’s going to be a right pain climbing out of that.’

‘We could always leave through the door,’ Alfie said.

Siddy slapped him on the back. ‘There’s a reason we need you around, Alfie. That kind of clear thinking just doesn’t happen with me and Moll.’

Moll charged out of the house with Gryff. Siddy might be fine with letting Alfie back into the Tribe and joking around with him, but with Moll it was more complicated. There was still a mountain of hurt inside her.

Outside, the rain had stopped and the night was wearing thin. A clear sky stretched above them, dark blue before the sun came up, but full of promise for a bright day ahead. Moll shuddered as she took in the garden now the night had faded. It was a charred mess of dead grass, weeds and withered flowers while further up the road another garden was a burst of shining rhododendron bushes. The Shadowmasks’ magic had been all around them, but they hadn’t even noticed it.

‘We’ll go on up The Crumpled Way,’ Alfie said, ‘then skirt behind the village before heading across the cliffs and back to Little Hollows. Less chance of us being seen that way.’

They found Alfie’s cob, Raven, tethered to the gate, and he whinnied as they approached. Alfie hoisted Moll and Siddy up on to his back, then, undoing the buckle on the leather satchel tucked behind the gate, he passed Moll and Siddy two hunks of bread and a flask of water.

‘You not riding too?’ Siddy asked, his mouth full of bread.

Alfie shook his head. ‘I’ll walk with Gryff; Raven’s got enough on his back with you two.’

The cob’s hooves clopped softly on the track as they made their way down The Crumpled Way. Moll willed herself to stay awake – the Dreads could come back at any moment and who knew where the Shadowmasks were lurking? After a while, Alfie turned Raven left off the track, down a narrow country lane. At the end of it was a gate leading into a field and Alfie unhooked it to lead them through. Cows were grazing on grasses untouched by the Shadowmasks’ magic and, some metres away, a farmer was filling a trough with water.

He glanced up and looked at the children. ‘A couple of gypsies, a cob and a—’ he looked at Gryff, whose eyes were now yellowed slits, and shook his head in disbelief, ‘—
a wildcat
. I’d be picking up speed and heading home if I were you – that village lot don’t look kindly on outsiders.’

After smugglers and Shadowmasks, Moll’s patience was wearing thin. ‘We’re going as fast as we can, but we can’t fit three of us on the cob’s back, can we?’

The farmer nodded at Gryff. ‘With legs like his, he won’t need a ride.’

Moll frowned. ‘Not the wildcat –
him
!’ She pointed to Alfie, then noticed that he’d dropped Raven’s tethering rope and was hastening ahead.

The farmer looked at where Moll was pointing, his eyes scouring the grass, but never fixing on Alfie, then he shook his head again. ‘You gypsies are a strange old bunch. Now hop it off my land or I’ll set the bull on you.’