This was exactly where the Romanian dark entities wanted her.
This was a trap.
WE STOOD ASIDE to let the pair in, followed by the dogs, then closed the door as best we could and sat around the largest of the inn’s tables.
The innkeeper kept glancing at Grimalkin, clearly terrified, but he served us a hot breakfast, heaping our plates with ham, eggs and fried bread until we could eat no more.
‘What about the dogs?’ I said to him. ‘They’ve travelled a long way and need feeding too.’
For a moment he hesitated, but then Grimalkin glared at him, opening her mouth to show her sharp pointy teeth. His hands began to tremble and he hurried away, returning with scraps of meat for the dogs.
While we ate, I made the introductions and explained the situation in Todmorden, relating everything that had happened since I left Chipenden with my master and Judd.
When I came to the condition of my master, the words stuck in my throat and I couldn’t go on. Alice reached across the table and put her hand on my arm in sympathy. I felt a surge of warmth for her. Despite our recent differences I had really missed her.
At that point Judd Brinscall interrupted. ‘Please, before Tom goes any further, I have to tell you my part in this. It won’t make for good listening – I’m truly sorry and ashamed of what I did.’
I was relieved – it saved me from having to tell everybody about his betrayal. So, with a tremor in his voice, Judd told his story, making no attempt to justify his actions, other than to explain the threats that had been made against his mother and her kin, and the possession of Cosmina Fresque’s body by the daemon. When he’d finished, he bowed his head and stared down at the table.
Nobody offered him any sympathy. I still found it impossible to forgive him. Grimalkin glared at him with death in her eyes.
But then my conscience forced me to confess my own failings. ‘I’ve nothing to be proud of, either,’ I admitted. ‘At one point I was down in the cellar, trying to find my master. Suddenly I was faced with daemons. It was dark and there were lots of them. I fled in a panic . . . I ran away.’
There was another silence until Alice spoke relieving the tension in the room. Her words were addressed to me. ‘What did you see down in that cellar the second time, Tom? What exactly did the strigoica show you?’
A lump came into my throat, and for a few seconds I was unable to speak. In my mind’s eye I saw her lifting the lid of the box to reveal the horror within.
‘They had my master’s head in a box. By means of dark magic, it still lived. She said they’d fed the rest of his body to a moroi. He talked to me and said he was in terrible pain. He begged me to release him from his torment.’
Judd lifted his head and stared at me, then stood up and gripped me by the shoulders. ‘Where were you when you saw the head?’
‘The Fresque house.’
Judd slapped his hand hard against his head three times and his eyes widened. ‘Now I see!’ he cried. ‘How many times have you been in that house, Tom?’ he demanded.
‘Four . . . no, five times,’ I answered.
‘And am I right in thinking that its appearance changed each time you entered?’
‘Yes – on the last occasion I was there, the door to the cellar was gone. There was just a blank wall.’
‘Listen to me, Tom. Nothing in there ever remains the same for long. Remember what I told you about the houses of strigoii and strigoica? They draw power from a grimoire to maintain their illusions. I don’t want to raise your hopes too much . . . but you know what I’m getting at, don’t you?’
My heart soared, and despite his warning I was filled with new hope. ‘I saw their grimoire. They were using the Doomdryte, one of the most powerful and dangerous of all. So you mean the head in that box might have been an illusion . . . that my master isn’t really dead? Could that really be possible?’
‘As I said, don’t get your hopes too high, but yes, it is a possibility. He could well still be alive. They could be keeping him in one of the pits scattered across the hillside. He’s strong for his age, but he won’t last long if they feed from him frequently. He could be dead already, but I’ll tell you one thing: I know of no Romanian daemon or witch magic that can keep a soul living on in a severed head.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me this before?’ I asked, suddenly angry.
‘I wasn’t thinking straight, Tom. I’m sorry. There were a lot of things whirling around in my mind at the time.’
‘What about the Fiend?’ I nodded towards the leather sack at Grimalkin’s side. ‘We decapitated him but his head still talks.’
‘That’s different, Tom. The power comes from within him – it’s part of his being. To do that to John Gregory would be almost impossible.’
‘Almost?’
‘Who knows what can be achieved when the resources of the dark combine – they must indeed be desperate to restore the Fiend to his former state. But we may hope . . . ’ Judd trailed off, frowning.
I continued my account, shaking my head bitterly at the end. I turned to Grimalkin, who was sitting next to Alice opposite Judd and me. ‘This is exactly what they wanted,’ I told her. ‘For me to lure you here so that they could seize the Fiend’s head. This is the most dangerous place you could possibly be.’
‘We sensed that you were in trouble and were on our way here anyway, so don’t blame yourself,’ she replied. ‘I have been in danger many times since I last saw you, child, but each time I have prevailed – sometimes with the help of others.’ She nodded at Alice. ‘But I agree that the most important thing is that this’ – she tapped the leather sack – ‘should not fall into our enemies’ hands. From what you’ve told me, the Old God, Siscoi, constitutes the greatest threat, so we should not stay in this place longer than necessary.’
‘I can’t leave without trying to save my master,’ I told her, ‘or at least ensuring that he really is dead and at peace. Alice, will you try to find him for me? I wouldn’t ask this of you, but there’s no other way.’
‘Of course I will, Tom,’ she replied. ‘That ain’t no trouble at all. I can do it now . . . ’
Alice closed her eyes, took a deep breath and started to mutter under her breath. Her actions took me completely by surprise. I had expected her to go up onto the hillside with me and sniff out his whereabouts. But here she was, almost casually resorting to some sort of dark magic; such actions seemed almost second nature to her now.