The Spook's Sacrifice (12 page)

My whole body suddenly jerked but I felt no
pain. I opened my eyes and squinted up into
bright sunlight. It was late morning. I sat up and
looked about me. My staff lay at my side.

Suddenly memory came flooding back. Alice! The
cave!

I sprang to my feet. I was on a mountain path with
steep crags on both sides. Whether or not it was the
same track I'd been following the night before was
impossible to say, but there was no sign of the cleft in
the rock with its lamia cave, nor of the evidence of their
feeding.

'Tom!'

I turned and saw Alice walking along the path
towards me, tears streaming down her face. I'd
thought she was dead, so without thinking I ran
forward and wrapped my arms about her. All my
doubts had disappeared. What did it matter what the
Spook thought? At that moment, after all we'd been
through, I didn't care. Alice returned my embrace, and
for a long time we didn't move, but then she stepped
back and held me at arm's length, her hands resting
lightly on my shoulders.

'Oh, Tom – did last night really happen? It was dark
and the lamia's teeth were tearing at me. I was growing
faint with loss of blood and I thought it was all
over. I was dying. Then, the next moment, the sun was
shining. And there isn't a single mark on my body.
Was it just a nightmare?'

'It did happen,' I told her. 'But you see, Grimalkin
gave me two gifts – a blade and a dark wish. So when
the lamia dragged you into her lair I used the wish to
save you. Then your father appeared.'

So I told her what the Fiend had said – as much as I
could remember; how he'd told me I was to be
sacrificed. But I still didn't tell Alice that Mam was the
original Lamia. I couldn't say it out loud. It hurt too
much.

'He's just playing games with us,' Alice said bitterly.
'Using everything to his advantage as usual. As for
you being a sacrifice – don't even give it a moment's
thought. Your mam has risked everything to protect
you. Even last night she sent you away from danger.
Lying, he is, Tom. Lying as always . . .'

'Maybe. But he wasn't lying last spring when he told
me you were his daughter, was he? And what he said
last night is possible. Even though Mam loves me, she
might well sacrifice me and accept the pain – if it
brought victory. Maybe she's been protecting me so
that she can sacrifice me when she needs to.'

'Your mam wouldn't do that, Tom.'

'Not even if it was the only way to defeat the dark?
Remember, she had me for that reason. She once told
the Spook that I was her "gift to the County". I was
born for a purpose.'

'But she'd ask you first. Just like she asked you to
give her the money from the trunks and come to
Greece with her.'

I paused, remembering Mam's love for her family. 'I
think you're right, Alice. If it's meant to happen, then
she will ask me.'

'And what would your answer be, Tom?'

I didn't reply. I didn't even like to think about it.

'We both know you'd say yes.'

'But it would all be for nothing anyway,' I said
bitterly. 'The Fiend will support the Ordeen with his
own power while he lessens Mam's. He's already
damaged her. Now she can't see into the future any
longer. That's why she needs Mab. Even if the Ordeen
was to be defeated, there's still the Fiend to reckon
with. It all seems so hopeless.'

Without another word, we set off eastwards once
more, following the meandering path through the
mountains. It was a long time before we spoke again.

We finally descended through a pine forest, then
crossed the arid plain towards Meteora. I knew that
the monasteries were built on high rocks, so even if
we'd wandered too far south, we should still be able to
see them from a good distance.

On the second day of our journey we thought we
saw dust rising into the sky on the horizon. It could
have been Mam's party – or maybe it was the maenads
who'd attacked them. So to avoid the risk of capture
we kept our distance.

Then at last, to the north-east, we saw the rocks of
Meteora. The closer we got, the more spectacular they
appeared. Rising from green thickets of trees and
scrub, huge pillars of rock, sculpted by the elements,
towered above us. And perched on their summits were
the famed monasteries. It seemed impossible that such
buildings could have been constructed on those
perilous heights, let alone made secure enough to
withstand the ravages of weather and time.

The small walled town of Kalambaka lay at the foot
of the rocks, bordered to the south by groves of olive
trees. Shielding my eyes against the sun, I searched the
horizon. Mam had feared that we might be too late, but
there was as yet no sign of the Ordeen's citadel.

We skirted the town and made our camp deep
within the thickets below the rocks, hiding away from
any watchers. Only the monks could look down on us
from their strongholds.

The town was lit by lanterns strung on ropes
between the houses; they moved to and fro when the
wind was up. That first night we spent hours watching
them: the stars above slowly wheeling about the sky
from east to west while the lanterns danced below. We
ate well too. Alice caught some rabbits and they
proved to be as succulent as any we'd tasted in the
County.

On the second night, while we were eating, Alice
sniffed danger and stood up quickly, her finger to her
lips. But her warning came too late.

A massive shape came out of the trees into the
clearing where we were eating. I heard a snort and
a metallic sound, and at that moment the crescent
moon appeared from behind a cloud, conjuring up a
gleaming silver apparition before our startled gaze.

It was a horseman dressed in chain-mail, two great
swords attached to his saddle. And what a horse he
rode! This was no heavy lumbering beast such as those
used to draw barges or pull wagons back in the
County; it was a thoroughbred, fine and high-stepping,
with an arched neck and a form built for
speed. Its rider was a warrior from head to toe; he had
an aquiline nose and high cheekbones, long hair and a
full moustache that obscured his mouth.

The rider drew his sword, and for a moment I
thought he intended to attack, but he simply indicated
that we should leave the clearing. We didn't argue; we
simply turned and headed into the trees.

At dawn we realized that this warrior was a scout,
clearing the way for his followers. A large group of
them – a thousand strong at least – were soon
approaching across the plain. Their armour gleamed in
the sunlight like burnished silver and the dust erupted
behind them like a storm-cloud. They looked
formidable.

They set up camp at the edge of the trees just north
of the town. Who were they? I wondered.

'Do you think they're something to do with the
Ordeen, Alice? Maybe more of her supporters?'

'Not sure, Tom, but your mam never mentioned anything
about enemy warriors such as these, did she?
Only that she was going to hire mercenaries to keep us
safe from the maenads. That could well be them. In
which case they're on our side. Didn't expect so many
though.'

'It would be nice to think it's them, but we can't risk
approaching them.'

So we kept our distance, retreating further into the
trees, wondering who they were – friends or foes. As
we waited, Alice turned to me, reached into the pocket
of her dress and held up a small earthen jar. It was the
blood jar she'd once showed me back in the County.

'I've been thinking about the Fiend a lot recently,'
she said. 'We could make him keep his distance – from
you at least – by using this.'

There were two methods that witches employed to
keep the Fiend at bay. One was to bear him a child.
Grimalkin had done just that, and as a consequence he
was forced to keep away from her. The other was to
use a blood jar. Alice claimed that this one contained a
few drops of blood from the dead water witch,
Morwena, who'd been the Fiend's daughter. If this was
mixed with my blood, and carried by me, it would
mean that he could have no contact with me.

I shook my head firmly. I'd used the dark already –
with the wish – and that was bad enough. Bit by bit it
was happening: the Spook's fears were coming true.
I was being compromised. Then a thought struck me. I
remembered what my master had said months ago
after I told him that Alice might be the Fiend's
daughter. He'd suggested that she couldn't have taken
any of Morwena's blood: she'd probably simply used
her own. The blood from any of the Fiend's offspring
would do.

'It's your blood in that jar, isn't it, Alice?'

For a moment she seemed about to protest; then her
expression changed to one of defiance.

'Yes, Tom, it
is
my blood. You feel better now you
know the truth? Feel good to show me up for a liar?
Well, Morwena's blood or mine, it makes not the
slightest difference. Mix a few drops of your blood
with this, and once the jar's in your possession you
won't have to face anything like that night in the
mountains again, will you?'

I lowered my gaze.

'There's something else too,' she continued. 'We'd
have to stay together for ever then. The blood jar
would protect you – and me too if I stayed close to you.

But if I wandered too far away from it, the Fiend
would be there in a moment to take his revenge
because he'd know what I'd done. It wouldn't bother
me much, Tom, being close to you. In fact I'd quite like
it. And we need to take advantage of anything we can.
Anything just to give us a chance.'

'You mean well, Alice, so I'm not going to quarrel
with you. But nothing's changed. I still feel the same
way – I can't risk using the dark again. And do you
think it would be good to be bound together like that?
I'd always be afraid that something might separate
us. I wouldn't dare let you out of my sight! How could
we live like that?'

I didn't bother to add that we'd probably be
separated as soon as we got back to the County anyway
– if indeed we managed to survive this battle. If I
continued as the Spook's apprentice, there was no way
my master would ever allow Alice to live with us at
Chipenden again.

Alice nodded sadly and pushed the jar back into her
pocket again.

About an hour after dawn Alice suddenly sat up and
pointed at something in the distance. 'Look over there,'
she said, turning to me. 'I think I can see your mam's
wagon!'

Straining my eyes, I searched the far boundary of the
warriors' camp. At last I saw what could have been a
dark wagon.

'Are you sure, Alice?' I asked.

'Difficult to see from here, but I think so,' she replied.

I had been tormenting myself, wondering how I
could possibly rescue Mam from such a host of
captors, but now my fears were suddenly dispelled.
Alice had been right after all. I continued watching,
and after a while a small party left the camp on
foot and went towards the rocks. There was someone
walking at their head. A woman – heavily veiled and
hooded against the sunlight.

'It's your mam, Tom! I'm sure of it!' Alice cried.

Just behind the hooded figure walked a man with a
staff. I could tell by his gait that it was the Spook. There
were others following at a distance. I recognized
Seilenos and two more of the escort that had met us at
Igoumenitsa. If it was indeed Mam, she didn't seem to
be a prisoner at all.

We made our way down through the trees and out
into the open. The veiled figure saw us immediately,
waved, then beckoned us forward. When we got
closer, she pushed her veil aside, turning her back to
the sun. Alice was right. It was Mam.

She smiled – though she seemed a little withdrawn
and formal. There was a wildness about her eyes, and
in the bright sunlight her face seemed even more
youthful than before. The faint laughter lines around
her mouth had disappeared altogether.

'Well done, Alice,' she said. 'You did well to get
yourselves to safety. For a while it went hard with us,
but we fought off the maenads until these warriors
came to our aid. They're mercenaries, bought with
more of the money you returned to me, son. They were
riding west to meet us and arrived just in time to drive
away our enemies. As I said, Tom, the maenads are
numerous and we'll need these men if we are to keep
them at bay and complete our journey.'

'Is everyone all right?' I asked. 'Where's Bill
Arkwright?'

'Aye, lad,' answered the Spook. 'Apart from a few
cuts and minor wounds, everyone's fine. Bill's
discussing tactics with the leader of those mercenaries.
They're working out how best to deploy our forces as
we approach the Ord.'

'Now come with us,' Mam commanded. 'There's no
time to waste. We're going to visit one of the
monasteries. There are things we need to know.'