Spook's Curse by Joseph Delaney Read Free Book Online

beg God’s forgiveness and, as she dies, her soul will be saved. But thafs just an excuse. The Quisitor lacks the knowledge a spook has and wouldn’t know a real witch if she reached up from her grave and grabbed his ankle! No, he’s just a cruel man who likes to inflict pain. He enjoys his work and he’s grown rich from the money he makes selling the homes and property of those he condemns.
    ‘Aye, and that brings me to the problem for us. You see, the Quisitor counts a spook as a warlock.

    The Church doesn’t like anyone to meddle with the dark, even if they’re fighting it. They think only priests should be allowed to do that. The Quisitor has the power of arrest, with armed churchwardens to do his bidding -but cheer up, lad, because that’s just the bad news.
    The good news is that the Quisitor lives in a big city way to the south, far beyond the boundaries of the County, and rarely comes north. So if we’re spotted and he’s summoned, it would take him more than a week to arrive, even on horseback. Also my arrival here should be a surprise. The last thing anyone will expect is that I’ll be attending the funeral of a brother I haven’t spoken to in forty years.’
    But his words were of little comfort. As we moved off down the hill, I shivered at what he’d said.
    Entering the town seemed full of risks. With his cloak and staff he was unmistakably a spook. I was just about to say as much when he gestured left with his thumb and we walked off the road into a small wood. After about thirty paces or so my master came to a halt.
    ‘Right, lad,’ he said. Take off your cloak and give it to me.’
    I didn’t argue; from the tone of his voice I realized that he meant business, but I did wonder what he was up to. He took off his own cloak with its attached hood and laid his staff on the ground.
    ‘Right,’ he said. ‘Now find me some thin branches and twigs. Nothing too heavy, mind.’
    A few minutes later I’d done as he asked and I watched him place his staff amongst the branches and wrap the whole lot up with our cloaks. Of course, by then I’d already guessed what he was up to. Sticks were poking out of each end of the bundle and it just looked like we’d been out gathering firewood. It was a disguise.
    ‘There are lots of small inns close to the cathedral,’ he said, tossing me a silver coin. ‘It’ll be safer for you if we don’t stay at the same one, because if they came for me, they’d arrest you too. Best if you don’t know where I am either, lad. The Quisitor uses torture. Capture one of us and he’d soon have the other. I’ll set off first. Give me ten minutes, then follow.
    ‘Choose any inn that hasn’t got anything to do with churches in its title, so we don’t end up in the same one by accident. Don’t have any supper either because we’ll be working tomorrow. The funeral’s at nine in the morning but try to be early and sit near the back of the cathedral; if I’m there already, keep your distance.’
    ‘Working’ meant spook’s business and I wondered if we’d be going down into the catacombs to face the Bane. I didn’t like the idea of that one little bit.
    ‘Oh, and one more thing,’ the Spook added as he turned to go. ‘You’ll be looking after my bag, so what should you remember when carrying it in a place like Priestown?’
    ‘To carry it in my right hand,’ I said.
    He nodded in agreement, then lifted the bundle up onto his right shoulder and left me waiting in the wood.
    We were both left-handed, something that priests didn’t approve of. Left-handers were what they called ‘sinister’, those most easily tempted by the Devil or even in league with him.
    I gave him ten minutes or more, just to be sure there was enough distance between us, then, carrying his heavy bag, I set off down the hill, heading for the steeple. Once in the town I started to climb again towards the cathedral, and when I got close, I began my search for an inn.

    There were plenty of