Read Online Wardstone 7 - The Spook's Nightmare by Joseph Delaney - Free Book Online
Authors: Joseph Delaney
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Adriana from those dungeons?
In the early evening we halted for the night in a small wood overlooked by Greeba Mountain. I made the fire, and Alice went off and caught three rabbits and a large hare. While she cooked them, we gathered around the fire and talked over what had happened in more detail.
‘So a real County witch came ashore,’ said the Spook. ‘One or more?’
Captain Baines shrugged. ‘Who knows? But there were two men dead, and it gave the Ruling Council just the excuse they needed to authorize the testing.’
‘And thumb-bones were taken, you say?’
‘Aye, and both fishermen were dead and drained of blood. Their throats had been cut.’
‘That could suggest two witches,’ said the Spook; ‘a bone witch and a blood witch …’
‘Or it could be Lizzie,’ said Alice, turning the hare on the spit. ‘She uses both blood and bone magic. She had a familiar once too, but it was killed. Maybe she was cut off from Pendle after she escaped from the pit – and headed west towards the coast!’
‘It’s a possibility, girl, I’ll grant you that, so we must be on our guard.’
Soon we were tucking into our supper – I shared the hare with Alice, but Simon stared at his rabbit for a long time before pushing it away.
‘Eat up, Simon. Try a little bit at least. You need to keep your strength,’ advised Captain Baines.
‘No,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘I’ve got to press on towards the keep. Once it’s dark, the buggane will go into the dungeons and Adriana—’
‘Sit yourself down,’ said the Spook. ‘She’s in no danger tonight – and perhaps not for several nights to come either. Trust me, although I’ve never had to deal with one directly, I know as much about bugganes as anybody. No doubt there are still things to be found out, but I know that they concentrate on one victim at a time and usually drain them over several days. How many prisoners have already been taken to the keep?’
‘They’ve been testing for almost a week,’ Simon answered. ‘At least seven or eight have been pulled alive from the barrels. A couple may have died of their injuries though …’
‘Are they all County refugees?’
‘All but Adriana. But for Lord Barrule’s interest in her she’d be safe at home.’
‘Well, that makes my mind up for me,’ said theSpook. ‘We need to help those people. I serve the County and its inhabitants, whether at home or abroad. It’s my duty.’
‘So we’re going to try and rescue them from the dungeons?’ I asked.
‘Maybe we will in time, lad, although at present I can’t see how. No, we’re going to make them safe from the dark in another way. We’re not going to the keep. If the ruined chapel is where the buggane is to be found, that’s where we’re going!’
After supper we sat around the embers of the fire and continued to discuss what we faced. The sun had gone down and the stars were starting to appear overhead. There was no wind and the wood was very quiet. The loudest sound was the panting of the dogs.
‘Just how dangerous is a buggane?’ Captain Baines asked.
‘Well, you might as well all know the worst,’ the Spook replied. ‘And you get your notebook out, lad, and jot down some of what I say. There are a few thingsthat needed adding to my Bestiary so you don’t know it all. This is all part of your training …’
He waited while I got the bottle of ink, pen and notebook out of my bag, then he began.
‘A buggane is a daemon that usually lurks near a ruin,’ the Spook began, ‘but it can roam quite a distance from this central point. They’re immune to salt and iron, which makes them hard to deal with – though they’re vulnerable to a silver-alloy blade. You have to thrust it into the heart of the creature when it’s fully materialized. The good news is that we spooks have such a blade …’
By way of demonstration, he reached across for his staff, and pressed the recessed switch so that the blade emerged with a
In the early evening we halted for the night in a small wood overlooked by Greeba Mountain. I made the fire, and Alice went off and caught three rabbits and a large hare. While she cooked them, we gathered around the fire and talked over what had happened in more detail.
‘So a real County witch came ashore,’ said the Spook. ‘One or more?’
Captain Baines shrugged. ‘Who knows? But there were two men dead, and it gave the Ruling Council just the excuse they needed to authorize the testing.’
‘And thumb-bones were taken, you say?’
‘Aye, and both fishermen were dead and drained of blood. Their throats had been cut.’
‘That could suggest two witches,’ said the Spook; ‘a bone witch and a blood witch …’
‘Or it could be Lizzie,’ said Alice, turning the hare on the spit. ‘She uses both blood and bone magic. She had a familiar once too, but it was killed. Maybe she was cut off from Pendle after she escaped from the pit – and headed west towards the coast!’
‘It’s a possibility, girl, I’ll grant you that, so we must be on our guard.’
Soon we were tucking into our supper – I shared the hare with Alice, but Simon stared at his rabbit for a long time before pushing it away.
‘Eat up, Simon. Try a little bit at least. You need to keep your strength,’ advised Captain Baines.
‘No,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘I’ve got to press on towards the keep. Once it’s dark, the buggane will go into the dungeons and Adriana—’
‘Sit yourself down,’ said the Spook. ‘She’s in no danger tonight – and perhaps not for several nights to come either. Trust me, although I’ve never had to deal with one directly, I know as much about bugganes as anybody. No doubt there are still things to be found out, but I know that they concentrate on one victim at a time and usually drain them over several days. How many prisoners have already been taken to the keep?’
‘They’ve been testing for almost a week,’ Simon answered. ‘At least seven or eight have been pulled alive from the barrels. A couple may have died of their injuries though …’
‘Are they all County refugees?’
‘All but Adriana. But for Lord Barrule’s interest in her she’d be safe at home.’
‘Well, that makes my mind up for me,’ said theSpook. ‘We need to help those people. I serve the County and its inhabitants, whether at home or abroad. It’s my duty.’
‘So we’re going to try and rescue them from the dungeons?’ I asked.
‘Maybe we will in time, lad, although at present I can’t see how. No, we’re going to make them safe from the dark in another way. We’re not going to the keep. If the ruined chapel is where the buggane is to be found, that’s where we’re going!’
After supper we sat around the embers of the fire and continued to discuss what we faced. The sun had gone down and the stars were starting to appear overhead. There was no wind and the wood was very quiet. The loudest sound was the panting of the dogs.
‘Just how dangerous is a buggane?’ Captain Baines asked.
‘Well, you might as well all know the worst,’ the Spook replied. ‘And you get your notebook out, lad, and jot down some of what I say. There are a few thingsthat needed adding to my Bestiary so you don’t know it all. This is all part of your training …’
He waited while I got the bottle of ink, pen and notebook out of my bag, then he began.
‘A buggane is a daemon that usually lurks near a ruin,’ the Spook began, ‘but it can roam quite a distance from this central point. They’re immune to salt and iron, which makes them hard to deal with – though they’re vulnerable to a silver-alloy blade. You have to thrust it into the heart of the creature when it’s fully materialized. The good news is that we spooks have such a blade …’
By way of demonstration, he reached across for his staff, and pressed the recessed switch so that the blade emerged with a
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