'It is called "dark" because nobody, even those skilled in scrying, can foretell when and how it will be used or the outcome of using it. It cost me much to create: years of stored power that you can now unleash with a few words. So only use it when you need something badly and all else fails. Begin with the words "I wish" and state what you want clearly. Afterwards repeat your wish a second time. Then it will be done.'
I felt uncomfortable even thinking about using such dark power.
Grimalkin turned to go. 'Remember to use the dark wish with great care. Don't waste it. Don't use it lightly.'
With that she pushed her way through the hedge and set off for the nearest campfire without even a backward glance.
I went back towards the farmhouse and found Arkwright chaining up his three dogs in the barn.
'Don't like to do this, Master Ward, but it's for the best. Claw's very territorial. Your farm dogs wouldn't last long if I let her roam free.'
'Have you decided? Are you coming with us to Greece?' I asked.
'That I am. My one worry is leaving the north of the County unattended. No doubt there'll be more than one water witch to deal with on my return, but your mam's talked me round. She's a very persuasive woman. So the County will just have to manage: for now, the really important work lies across the sea.'
'Has Mam said when we'll be leaving?' I asked. It struck me that she wasn't telling me much at all.
'In two days at the most, Master Ward. We'll be travelling to Sunderland Point and sailing from there. And don't worry about your old master, Mr Gregory. He's set in his ways, but sometimes there are other means to achieving the ends we seek. If he doesn't come round, then you can always finish your apprenticeship with me. I'd gladly take you on again.'
I thanked him for his kind offer, but deep down I was still disappointed. Much as I liked Arkwright, he wasn't John Gregory and it hurt to think I wouldn't complete my apprenticeship with him as my master.
I turned towards the farmhouse to see Jack bringing in the cows for milking.
'Who was that?' he asked. 'Another spook by the looks of him.'
'Yes,' I said. 'It was Bill Arkwright from the north of the County. Mam sent for him.'
'Oh,' he said, far from happy. 'Seems I'm the last to know who's visiting my own farm these days.'
Just then, carried on the breeze from the south, I heard a strange keening noise, halfway between singing and chanting. It was the witches, probably carrying out some sort of ritual.
'Mam says those witches are on our side,' Jack went on grimly, with a nod towards the south meadow. 'But what about the other lot from Pendle, the ones who aren't? Won't they visit the farm again when you've gone? When I'm alone here with just James and my family? That's what Ellie fears. She's been under such a lot of strain during the past two years. She's close to breaking point.'
I understood that. Ellie had always been afraid that my becoming a spook's apprentice would put them at risk from the dark. Her fears had proved well -founded, and last year she'd lost her unborn baby while a prisoner of the Malkins. There was nothing I could say to comfort Jack so I kept my mouth shut.
Chapter 6
A DREADFUL PROPHECY
That night at supper it was just me, Mam and James. It seemed that little Mary had an upset stomach so Jack and Ellie had taken her to bed early, but I suspected that my eldest brother wasn't happy with all that was happening at the farm and was staying away.
Mam was cheerful and kept the conversation going, but only James really responded much. Finally he went off to bed, leaving me alone with Mam.
'What's troubling you, son?' she asked.
'I'm confused, Mam.'
'Confused?'
'Aye. Take the witches . . . Do we really need them? They're clearly troubling Jack and Ellie, and without them the Spook would probably have come with us to Greece.'
'Sorry, son, but we do. For one thing they're excellent fighters, particularly Grimalkin, and we're going to need all the forces we can muster in the battle that faces us. The Ord is a terrifying place, and the Pendle witches are just about the only creatures I know who won't be too afraid to enter it. They all have their part to play.'
'What about Grimalkin's presents of the dark wish and the blade? She said you'd agreed to her giving them to me. How can it be right or safe to use anything that comes from the dark? You sent me off to be Mr Gregory's apprentice and now you're making me go against everything he's taught me.'
I saw a sadness in Mam's eyes. 'Only you can decide whether or not to use those two gifts, son. I'm also doing things I'd prefer not to. I'm doing them to win a great victory. You may have to do the same at some point. That's all I can say. Are you wearing the blade?'
'No, Mam, it's in my bag.'
'Then wear it, son. For me. Will you do that?'
'Yes, Mam. If that's what you want, then I must do it.'
Mam took my face in her hands and looked at me intently, willing me to understand the truth of what she was saying. 'If we fail, the County will suffer terribly. Then the rest of the world will follow. The Ordeen will be let loose, with the Fiend's power behind her. We need everything available to us to stop such evil. This is no time to wonder about where such help comes from. We must grab it with both hands for the greater good. I only wish I could persuade your master to see it the same way. No, son, we have to go to Greece and take the Pendle witches with us. We have no choice.'
From that day on I did as Mam asked, wearing the blade under my shirt in a sheath positioned at the nape of my neck. How could I refuse her? But I felt that I was moving into a much darker phase of my life than I had ever experienced as an apprentice to John Gregory.
The following day, a couple of hours before sunset, I headed for the south meadow to keep my promise to Alice.
She was bending over a campfire near the hawthorn hedge that enclosed the field, some distance from the others. It seemed that she was keeping herself to herself, away from the other witches. That made me feel better. I didn't want her under their influence.
The rabbits were on a spit, their juices dribbling into the flames.
'You hungry, Tom?'
'Starving, Alice. They smell delicious!'
We ate the rabbits in silence but exchanged smiles. When we'd finished, I thanked Alice and complimented her on the meal. She didn't say anything for a while and I began to feel more and more awkward. In the past we'd always had plenty to say to each other, but we'd exchanged all our news the day before, and now our conversation seemed to have exhausted itself. There was an uncomfortable distance between us.