‘I killed it!’ she exclaimed triumphantly. ‘Now you have to train me.’
I lifted the head of the bear and pointed at the dagger embedded in its left eye.
‘I killed it,’ I told her. ‘You merely offered it supper. But now we’ll have a supper of our own. This bear has dined on human flesh for quite a while; now we will eat its heart.’
I was as good as my word. While Thorne collected wood, I took what I needed from the bear: its heart and two tender slices from its rump. Soon I had a fire going and was cooking the meat on a spit. Once it was done I cut the heart in two and handed half to the girl.
‘It’s good,’ she said. ‘I’ve never tasted bear meat before.’
‘There are very few bears left, but just in case you ever confront another, there are a couple of things you ought to know. Never stab it in the leg – it only makes it angry. And never get in close. Such an animal must be killed from a distance. They are immensely strong: once a bear has hold of you, you’re as good as dead. They can tear off your limbs or crush your skull with one bite.’
Thorne chewed her meat thoughtfully. ‘I’ll remember that the next time we go bear-hunting,’ she said.
I almost laughed out loud at the presumption of that ‘we’, and I smiled at her. ‘You were afraid, child, and yet you obeyed me and attacked the bear. So, yes, I will begin to train you. I will give you a month to prove yourself.’
I picked up the new blade that Thorne had used to stab the bear. ‘Here,’ I said, handing it to her, ‘this is yours now. You have earned it. This is your first blade.’
Thus I began to train Thorne, but I did so in secret. There were three reasons for that. Firstly, if any of my enemies knew of it, the girl would become a target. By capturing or hurting Thorne they might seek to bring pressure to bear upon me.
Secondly, I was jealous of my reputation and wished to continue to inspire fear for my ruthlessness and independence. It was for this reason that I carved the image of scissors on trees.
Thirdly, the successor to the Malkin witch assassin had traditionally been chosen through combat. I judged it best that after my death the practice should continue once more: witches would then compete with each other for the title; I did not wish it to look as if I was personally selecting my protégée as my successor. If Thorne became the next assassin, she would have to earn the position in the conventional manner. I had no doubt that she would do so.
The month passed quickly and all was to my satisfaction. The girl was courageous, and obedient too – the latter was important. I prefer to work alone, but with a partner I must be in charge and there is no room for wayward behaviour.
I remember the first time Thorne showed her true worth and I realized just how good an assassin she might one day become.
Water witches dwell in the far north of the County. They are no friend to the Pendle covens and they had recently killed a Malkin witch who had been travelling south through their territory. I had been despatched by my clan to kill three of their number in retaliation.
Thorne took no part in the slaying of the water witches. She was there to watch and learn. I killed three, as directed; then, choosing a clearing in the forest, I placed their heads on stakes, carving the sign of my scissors on the surrounding trees. Thus there could be no mistake. It was not just for vengeance; it was a warning.
With hindsight I realize that I should have left immediately afterwards and sped back to Pendle. Instead Thorne and I spent a useful day on the shores of the lake some call Coniston. It was a day of training and I pushed the girl hard. The sun had just gone down behind the trees when we began her knife training. I was trying to teach her to be calm and control her anger. She had the blades; I used my hands.
‘Cut me!’ I shouted, slapping her face and stepping back out of range.
Thorne whirled towards me, wielding two blades, slashing at me, her face full of fury. I stepped inside her guard and slapped her even harder; twice this time, stinging both cheeks and bringing tears to her eyes.
‘Keep calm, girl! It’s only pain!’ I mocked. ‘Think! Concentrate! Cut me!’
She missed again, and I gave her another hard slap. We were close to the water’s edge and by now it was twilight; tendrils of mist snaked towards us over the lake’s surface.
Thorne took a deep breath and I saw her face relax. This time she feinted, and the arc of her first blade came so close that I felt its breath whisper over the skin of my shoulder. I smiled in appreciation and took a rapid step backwards to avoid her next thrust. I was inches from the water’s edge and the lake was deep.
The attack came suddenly, taking us both by surprise. I had my back to the water and Thorne saw the creature first. Her eyes widened in shock, and I turned and glanced over my shoulder, seeing the death that was surging towards me.
The beast had arms and long fingers with sharp talons, but it was more fish than man, with a nightmare face and cold cod eyes, a mouthful of sharp teeth and a long, sinuous, eel-like body with a narrow fin.
I tried to twist away, but it surged up out of the water, riding on its tail, seized me by the shoulder and yanked me backwards. As my head went under the cold water, I realized that I had no blade at my disposal. I had been fighting Thorne unarmed and my leather straps, sheaths and knives were spread out on the grass some distance from the water’s edge.
But I wasn’t finished yet, and with the nails of my left hand I gouged out the creature’s right eye; then I bit through its fingers to the bone. However, it was immensely strong and was dragging me further and further into the murky water. I hadn’t had time to snatch a deep breath and realized that I was now in serious trouble.
But then I saw another shape in the water beside me and felt a knife being pressed into my hand. I used it quickly – to good effect. And I wasn’t alone. Thorne was by my side, and together we cut that creature to pieces.
At dawn we assembled its remaining fragments beside the lake. I had never seen anything quite like it before, but it was without doubt an abhuman. They take many strange forms, and this one had been adapted for an aquatic life. The Fiend sometimes uses such creatures to destroy his enemies. He cannot come near me, so he’d sent one of his children instead.
Without doubt Thorne saved my life that day; it had required great courage to join me in the water like that. As a reward I boiled up the creature’s thumb-bones and gave them to her. They were the first bones that she hung on her necklace.