The Spook's Battle by Joseph Delaney Read Free Book Online Page B

out to him just to be sure --"Bareleigh, Roughlee, and Goldshaw Booth." They were the villages that Alice had told me about. Each was home to a witch clan."That's right, Tom, and there, not too far from Goldshaw Booth, on the western edge of Crow Wood, is Malkin Tower. My own name for the area is the Devil's Triangle, because that's where the devil's work is done. Somewhere within that triangle of villages is where we'll find your brother and his family, depending on which clan has taken him --of that I'm sure.""What's Witch Dell?" I asked, pointing to the place just north of Bareleigh, marked with a cross.
     "Witch Dell?" asked the Spook, raising his eyebrows. "That's a new one on me!""Once again, John, it's my own name for a danger spot. Things have changed for the worse since you were last here. That dell has become the refuge of a number of dead witches. Some have escaped from unhallowed graves; others have simply been taken there after death and abandoned by their families. They usually sleep during the daylight hours, burrowed down into the loam beneath the trees, but come out at night to hunt for the warm blood of living creatures. So when the sun goes down, even roosting birds aren't safe in that dell. It's certainly a place to keep well clear of, and the locals do their best. Even so, a few poor souls still go missing each year. Two or three of the witches are very strong and travel miles from the dell each night. Others, fortunately, don't move more than a few paces from their lairs --"
     "How many do you reckon there are?" asked the Spook.Father Stocks frowned. "A dozen at least. But as I said, only two or three have been seen outside the dell.""I should have come back sooner!" said the Spook, shaking his head. "It should never have been allowed to get so bad. I fear I've failed in my duty--""Nonsense. You weren't to know. You're here now, and that's all that matters," Father Stocks replied. "But yes, the situation is desperate --something has to be done before Lammas.""When you came to Chipenden," said the Spook, "I asked you a question, but you never gave me a proper answer. So I'll ask you again. What do you think the covens are going to attempt at Lammas?"Father Stocks pushed back his chair, came slowly to his feet, and sighed. "All right, I'll spit it out!" he said, raising his voice slightly. "What is it that's brought two covens together and might just make a third join them? What could possibly make them put aside their ancient enmity? Most can't stand the sight of one another and have come together only once in the past thirty years --"
     "Aye," said the Spook with a grim smile. "They came together to curse me!""That they did, John, but this time it's because the dark is growing in power, and I suspect that somebody or something is bringing them together. The gathering darkness will give them the opportunity to achieve something very dangerous and difficult. I think they're going to try to raise the Fiend himself!""I'd laugh, Father, if I thought you were joking," the Spook said, shaking his head gravely. "I never taught you to believe in the Devil. Are you speaking with just your priest's hat on?""I wish I were, John. But as a spook and a priest, I believe they're going to attempt just that. Whether they can do it or not, who knows? But two covens believe it, and the third one is being urged to join them in an attempt to try and raise the dark made flesh--the Devil himself. Some witches believe that when this world was first made, the Fiend walked among us. Now they're going to try and bring him back so that a new age of darkness can begin.
     "I'd once talked to the Spook about the Devil. He told me that he'd begun to wonder if, after all, there was something behind all that we faced, something hidden deep within the dark. Something that grew stronger as the dark grew stronger. Well, Father Stocks certainly seemed to believe there was something in it.A silence filled the room, and for a few moments