crow’s head slowly changes into a human one. And I’ve seen that face before. It’s the witch that Bill Arkwright killed. But why should the Morrigan take on the dead witch’s face?’
‘Maybe she wants vengeance for what you and Bill Arkwright did,’ suggested Alice. ‘Using her dead servant’s face is a way of warning you what’s going to happen. Don’t like to say this, Tom, but it could be more than just an ordinary nightmare.’
I nodded. Scary as it was, that seemed likely. It could be a direct warning from the Morrigan, one of the most vengeful and bloodthirsty of the Old Gods.
My sense of foreboding was growing. Not only did we face the approaching goat-mage rituals, but now the threat from the Morrigan seemed imminent too. It was a relief to know that Grimalkin would soon be joining us – though that would bring another challenge: the attempt to bind the Fiend. We might soon have three powerful entities from the dark to contend with all at once.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the blood jar, holding it up to the light and examining it carefully. Was the crack a little bigger? It certainly seemed to be. I handed it to Alice.
‘Is the damage worse?’ I asked her nervously.
Alice studied the jar for a long time, turning it over and over in her hands. Then she handed it back to me. ‘The crack could be lengthening a bit,’ she admitted, ‘but it’s not leaking any more blood. Don’t worry, Tom. When Grimalkin arrives, we can bind the Fiend and we won’t need that jar any more.’
We walked slowly back to the house, the dogs following at our heels. By now clouds had blown in from the west to obscure the sun. It looked like the period of good settled weather was over. I could smell rain.
WHEN WE RETURNED to Farrell Shey’s house, the Spook was pacing back and forth outside the gate. He had a worried look on his face.
‘Where have you been?’ he demanded. ‘I expected you back an hour ago. Weren’t you warned not to go too far from the house? I thought something had happened to you.’
‘But we haven’t been very far away,’ I protested. ‘We’ve just been talking, that’s all. Alice has made contact with Grimalkin. She is on her way here at last. It could take her a while, but she’s coming. So that’s good news, isn’t it?’
Of course, I didn’t tell the Spook everything. He’d find it hard enough to work with the witch assassin without knowing the details of what she’d done to the enemy commander.
‘Aye, lad, it certainly is.’ He looked a little more cheerful now. ‘But while you’ve been away, things have been decided. As a matter of fact, they were being decided at the breakfast table, but you seemed to have other matters on your mind. In a couple of years you’ll have finished your training and you’ll be a spook yourself. It’s time to think and behave like a spook. You should have been concentrating, not away with the fairies.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I said, hanging my head. I could tell he was disappointed in me. ‘So what’s happening then?’
‘Up until now the landowners have attacked the mages just before the goat ritual,’ my master explained; ‘usually as they left the fort and travelled to Killorglin. But this time it will be different. Farrell Shey thinks it’ll be about a week before most of the mages travel to the town, but they always send a few men on in advance to secure their accommodation and build the tower for the platform they use in the ritual. He’s going to hide some of his men in Killorglin to take the advance party by surprise, and we’re going with them. You see, we need to try and capture one of the goat mages and question him. It might be possible to learn some of the secrets of the ceremony – maybe even how to halt or counter it.
‘Of course, the hard part will be reaching Killorglin without the mages’ spies warning them of our presence. So Shey’s summoning scores of armed men. They’ll spend the day
‘Maybe she wants vengeance for what you and Bill Arkwright did,’ suggested Alice. ‘Using her dead servant’s face is a way of warning you what’s going to happen. Don’t like to say this, Tom, but it could be more than just an ordinary nightmare.’
I nodded. Scary as it was, that seemed likely. It could be a direct warning from the Morrigan, one of the most vengeful and bloodthirsty of the Old Gods.
My sense of foreboding was growing. Not only did we face the approaching goat-mage rituals, but now the threat from the Morrigan seemed imminent too. It was a relief to know that Grimalkin would soon be joining us – though that would bring another challenge: the attempt to bind the Fiend. We might soon have three powerful entities from the dark to contend with all at once.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the blood jar, holding it up to the light and examining it carefully. Was the crack a little bigger? It certainly seemed to be. I handed it to Alice.
‘Is the damage worse?’ I asked her nervously.
Alice studied the jar for a long time, turning it over and over in her hands. Then she handed it back to me. ‘The crack could be lengthening a bit,’ she admitted, ‘but it’s not leaking any more blood. Don’t worry, Tom. When Grimalkin arrives, we can bind the Fiend and we won’t need that jar any more.’
We walked slowly back to the house, the dogs following at our heels. By now clouds had blown in from the west to obscure the sun. It looked like the period of good settled weather was over. I could smell rain.
WHEN WE RETURNED to Farrell Shey’s house, the Spook was pacing back and forth outside the gate. He had a worried look on his face.
‘Where have you been?’ he demanded. ‘I expected you back an hour ago. Weren’t you warned not to go too far from the house? I thought something had happened to you.’
‘But we haven’t been very far away,’ I protested. ‘We’ve just been talking, that’s all. Alice has made contact with Grimalkin. She is on her way here at last. It could take her a while, but she’s coming. So that’s good news, isn’t it?’
Of course, I didn’t tell the Spook everything. He’d find it hard enough to work with the witch assassin without knowing the details of what she’d done to the enemy commander.
‘Aye, lad, it certainly is.’ He looked a little more cheerful now. ‘But while you’ve been away, things have been decided. As a matter of fact, they were being decided at the breakfast table, but you seemed to have other matters on your mind. In a couple of years you’ll have finished your training and you’ll be a spook yourself. It’s time to think and behave like a spook. You should have been concentrating, not away with the fairies.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I said, hanging my head. I could tell he was disappointed in me. ‘So what’s happening then?’
‘Up until now the landowners have attacked the mages just before the goat ritual,’ my master explained; ‘usually as they left the fort and travelled to Killorglin. But this time it will be different. Farrell Shey thinks it’ll be about a week before most of the mages travel to the town, but they always send a few men on in advance to secure their accommodation and build the tower for the platform they use in the ritual. He’s going to hide some of his men in Killorglin to take the advance party by surprise, and we’re going with them. You see, we need to try and capture one of the goat mages and question him. It might be possible to learn some of the secrets of the ceremony – maybe even how to halt or counter it.
‘Of course, the hard part will be reaching Killorglin without the mages’ spies warning them of our presence. So Shey’s summoning scores of armed men. They’ll spend the day
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