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

gifts, son. I'm also
doing things I'd prefer not to. I'm doing them to win a
great victory. You may have to do the same at some
point. That's all I can say. Are you wearing the blade?'
    'No, Mam, it's in my bag.'
    'Then wear it, son. For me. Will you do that?'
    'Yes, Mam. If that's what you want, then I must
do it.'
    Mam took my face in her hands and looked at me
intently, willing me to understand the truth of what
she was saying. 'If we fail, the County will suffer
terribly. Then the rest of the world will follow. The
Ordeen will be let loose, with the Fiend's power
behind her. We need everything available to us to stop
such evil. This is no time to wonder about where such
help comes from. We must grab it with both hands for
the greater good. I only wish I could persuade your
master to see it the same way. No, son, we have to go
to Greece and take the Pendle witches with us. We
have no choice.'
    From that day on I did as Mam asked, wearing the blade under
    my shirt in a sheath positioned at the nape of my neck. How could I refuse
    her? But I felt that I was moving into a much darker phase of my life than
    I had ever experienced as an apprentice to John Gregory.
     
    The following day, a couple of hours before sunset, I
headed for the south meadow to keep my promise to
Alice.
    She was bending over a campfire near the hawthorn
hedge that enclosed the field, some distance from the
others. It seemed that she was keeping herself to
herself, away from the other witches. That made me
feel better. I didn't want her under their influence.
    The rabbits were on a spit, their juices dribbling into
the flames.
    'You hungry, Tom?'
    'Starving, Alice. They smell delicious!'
    We ate the rabbits in silence but exchanged smiles.
When we'd finished, I thanked Alice and complimented
her on the meal. She didn't say anything for a
while and I began to feel more and more awkward. In
the past we'd always had plenty to say to each other,
but we'd exchanged all our news the day before, and
now our conversation seemed to have exhausted itself.
There was an uncomfortable distance between us.
    'Cat got your tongue?' Alice asked finally.
    'If so, it's got yours too!' I retorted.
    She smiled at me sadly. 'Things just ain't the same
any more, are they, Tom?'
    I shrugged. What she'd said was perfectly true. How
could they ever be the same again?
    'A lot's happened, Alice. Everything seems to be
changing.'
    'Changing?'
    'My apprenticeship to Mr Gregory is over, Mam's
formed an alliance with some of the Pendle witches,
and you, my best friend in the whole world, turn out
to be the daughter of my enemy.'
    'Don't,' she said. 'Don't say it.'
    'Sorry.'
    'Look, if we go to Greece and win, then it'll all have
been for the best, won't it? I'll have proved to you and
Mr Gregory that I'm nothing like my father. And maybe
when Old Gregory finally realizes that your mam made
the alliance for the good of the County, he'll take you
back on and you can continue your studies.'
    'I suppose so,' I said. 'But I'm uneasy. Uncomfortable.
    There's a lot to take in.'
    'It's been bad for both of us, Tom. But we'll come
through it, won't we? We always have in the past.'
    'Of course we will,' I told her warmly.
    We parted on good terms, but it seemed strange to
be leaving Alice in the field with the witches. It was as
if we belonged to different worlds. I felt like stretching
my legs, so I followed the perimeter of the farm round
to the north. The sun was just sinking below the
horizon, and as I reached the boundary of Hangman's
Hill, I saw three figures waiting in the shadows just
beyond the fence. I recognized them as I got closer. It
was Mab and her sisters, three witches from the
Mouldheel clan.
    Mab was leaning back against a tree staring at me. I
remembered her as quite a pretty girl, but the Mab
who faced me now was positively glowing, with a
dazzling smile, sparkling green eyes and golden
hair.
    Just in time I remembered the two dark magic spells
– glamour and fascination