The witch gave a low, cruel laugh. ‘You were a member of the Tynwald. Now you’re just a lost spirit. You serve me and you’ll do my bidding. Return into the mist and await my call!’
The ghost of Patrick Lonan gave a wail of fear and began to fade. The torches flared into life once more, revealing the terrified faces of the guests. Many were on their feet, about to try and leave the hall. The yeomen looked just as scared, in no state to detain any who tried to flee. But Lizzie immediately took control of the situation.
‘Be seated!’ she commanded. ‘All of you. Do it now or join the dead miller!’
Within seconds they had taken their places again. I looked at the table at the back but could see no sign of Adriana. The woman, whom I took to be her mother, was still on her knees, trying to fend off some unseen attacker. Her whole face was twitching, her body starting to convulse. She was muttering gibberish, driven to the edge of insanity by Lizzie’s magic.
I looked at Daniel Stanton. He was just as terror-stricken as the rest of the gathering, clearly in no position to make an attempt on Lizzie’s life.
‘You’ve seen what I can do,’ the witch cried out. ‘Death awaits those who oppose me – along with fear and suffering beyond the grave. I will allow the Tynwald to meet one last time in order to dismiss the Ruling Council and declare me ruler of this island. Get ye gone! All of you! Any who wish to serve me may return to the keep at the same time tomorrow night and I will receive your obeisance then.’
The hall emptied quickly and I saw that Lizzie had a triumphant look on her face. She signalled to two of the guards and pointed to the miller’s wife.
‘Take her home – to die!’ she commanded. ‘Let her be an example of what happens to those who displease me.’
They dragged Adriana’s mother away, still wailing with distress.
‘Out of my sight, you two!’ she said, pointing to me and Alice. ‘Go back to the tower. I want to talk to my seneschal in private.’
I thought briefly about simply following the other guests out of the great hall and over the moat. But then we’d never manage to get back into the keep to rescue the Spook. And anyway, I doubted whether Lizzie would allow it – her power over me was still strong. So I obediently followed Alice across the courtyard to the tower. We went up the stairs and into my room and sat together on the window seat. Outside it was very dark and neither the moon nor the stars were visible; just a few lanterns flickered on the distant boundary wall.
‘That was Adriana’s father that Lizzie killed …’ I murmured.
Alice nodded. ‘And now Adriana will have been taken down to the dungeons to join Old Gregory. Didn’t take Lizzie long to start filling up those cells again, did it? We can’t let her just murder anybody she wants. We’ve got to do something, Tom.’
‘If we attack her, she could strike us stone dead with one of her spells. You saw what she did to the miller. She can force me to do things against my will – even smash the blood jar. In a few days she may be in control of this island and then she’ll think about taking her revenge on the Spook. We’ve got to get him out of that cell before she starts to really hurt him. It’s risky, but the only way out of this keep is through the buggane’s tunnels.’
My words were brave, but inside I shivered at the mere thought of the buggane. To come face to face with the daemon in its own domain would surely mean death.
‘You’re right, Tom, but we’ll have to choose a time when she’s not watching us. Soon as Lizzie finds out we’re gone, she’ll send it after us. Right now she’s busy giving orders to her new seneschal, consolidating her power here. And all the guards are on duty at the moment – they won’t be in the guardroom! Now – right now, is the time to make a move!’ she cried.
Alice was right. We had to strike – and now, when Lizzie would least expect it. If she caught us, she would show no mercy. Trying not to think of the risk of what we were attempting, I led Alice up to the study, where Lord Barrule had studied and practised animism. I opened the door and retrieved both the Spook’s staff and mine. As we turned to go, Alice picked up the shaman’s notebook.
‘What do you want that for, Alice?’ I asked with a frown, eager to get away before Lizzie returned.
‘Who knows what we might learn, Tom? It might come in useful. Besides, if we take it, then Lizzie can’t get her hands on it.’
I nodded – that was true enough. We hurried down through the throne room and descended the steps towards the dungeons. We passed safely through the guardroom and, taking a lantern from a hook, headed along the damp narrow passageway towards the dungeons.
There were a lot of cells but we didn’t need to check each one because the empty ones had their doors open. At last we came to two that were locked. I used my key and opened the first one to find Adriana sitting on the floor in the corner, her head in her hands. When she saw that it was us, she jumped up and rushed over.
‘What happened to my mother?’ she asked, her eyes full of tears.
‘They took her home,’ I said. ‘I’m really sorry, Adriana, about your father—’
‘She killed him then? They dragged me out before I could be sure what had happened.’ She looked at me, her dark eyes sorrowful.
‘Yes, she killed him,’ I admitted, bowing my head. I didn’t tell her about Lizzie summoning his spirit from Limbo; it would only have added to her pain.
‘My mother will find it hard to live without him,’ she said, beginning to sob. ‘Father was always so outspoken.’
‘He was brave,’ I said, ‘but he couldn’t have known what he was up against – how powerful Lizzie really is …’
‘We’re going to try and escape from the keep down the tunnels,’ Alice said, patting Adriana’s shoulder sympathetically. ‘It’ll be dangerous but it’s better than staying here.’
We left her cell, and I inserted my key into the lock of the next one. It was stiff, and for a few moments I struggled to turn the key. Eventually it yielded and I opened the door. Alice held up the lantern and we peered inside.
I saw the earthen wall and the tunnel in it. Then something moved. My heart lurched and I stepped back nervously. At first I thought it was the buggane, but then the Spook shuffled towards us, one hand raised to shield his eyes from the glare of the light. He’d been in the dark for a long time.