'What do you mean, Mam?'
'The Ordeen has been visiting Greece for thousands of years; she materializes only on the plain before Meteora, where thousands of monks have their homes. Her visits take place every seven years, and each of these is more devastating than the previous one. The monks use prayers to defend their monasteries, and try to bind the Ordeen within the confines of the plain. But gradually she's grown in power, while their effectiveness has declined. And now that the Fiend is in the world, she can count him as her ally and the dark is much more powerful. Under the direction of the Fiend, more and more flying lamias have joined her: this time, it seems certain the Ordeen will use them to slaughter the unprotected monks in their monasteries high in the rocks. That done, the prayers that have helped to keep her in check will be no more. She'll be able to go forth and devastate other lands.'
'They've been able to contain her just with prayers? Prayers really do work then, Mam?'
'Aye, whoever offers them up, if they are uttered selflessly and with a pure heart, the light is strengthened. So, although in decline because of the dark's growing power, the monks at Meteora are a great force for good. That's why we must strike now before they're overwhelmed. Prayers alone are no longer any match for the Ordeen and Fiend combined.'
'So that is where we'll be travelling to – her citadel near Meteora?'
'Yes – the Ord, her citadel, always materializes through a fiery portal south of Meteora, near a small walled town called Kalambaka. Every seven years – give or take a week. We must stop her this time once and for all. If we fail, next time she'll be so powerful that nowhere will be safe. But it's the County that will be most at risk. I am the Ordeen's old enemy. If I fail to destroy her, then she'll obliterate the County in revenge. The Fiend will tell her that my seven sons – all that I hold dear – are in the County, and she will eradicate it. Her murderous followers will hunt down and kill every living person. That is why we must defeat her at all costs.'
At supper, Mam sat at the head of the table. We tucked into her delicious lamb stew and she seemed happier, less troubled, despite all that we would soon face in Greece. I remember it well because it was the last time all of us – Mam, Jack, James, Ellie, little Mary and I – ever sat around the same table together.
I'd spoken to Ellie and James earlier. My brother had seemed content enough but Ellie was a little reserved, no doubt because of the witches camped out in the south meadow. Now, at supper, I could feel a tension in the air – much of it seeming to radiate from Jack.
Jack said grace before the meal, and we all, except for Mam, answered 'Amen'. She simply waited patiently, staring down at the tablecloth.
'It's lovely to be back with you all,' she said when we'd finished our prayers. 'It's sad that your poor dad can't be with us too, but we should remember the happy times.'
Dad had died during the winter of the first year of my apprenticeship. He'd suffered from congestion of the lungs and even Mam's skills as a healer had been unable to save him. She'd taken it hard.
'I wish that my other sons could have visited too,' Mam continued sadly, 'but they have lives of their own to lead now, with their own problems. They're in our thoughts and I'm sure we're in theirs . . .'
Despite those sad absences, Mam chatted away cheerily, but the tension in the room was growing and I could see that Jack and Ellie were uneasy. At one point, through the open window, we heard what sounded like chanting from the direction of the southern meadow. It was the Pendle witches. Mam ignored them and carried on talking but poor Ellie shuddered and looked close to tears. Jack laid a hand on her shoulder and stood up to close the window.
James tried to lighten the atmosphere by telling me about his plans for the brewery he hoped to start the following year. But it remained a tense, uncomfortable meal. Eventually we got through it and it was time for bed.
It was strange to spend the night in my old room again. I went and sat in the wicker chair and stared out through the window across the farmyard and hayfields, beyond the north pasture towards Hangman's Hill. The moon was bright, lighting everything to silver, and I tried to pretend that I was back in the days before I'd ever become the Spook's apprentice. I brought all my memory and imagination to bear, and for a few moments managed to convince myself that Dad was still alive and Mam had never left for Greece; that she was still helping with the farm chores and working as the local healer and midwife.
But I couldn't block out the truth. What was done was done, and things could never be the same again. I climbed into bed with a strong sense of loss and grief that brought a lump to my throat. It was a long time before I managed to fall asleep.
Bill Arkwright arrived late the next morning. His huge black wolfhound, Claw, bounded across the yard towards me; her half-grown puppies, Blood and Bone, scampered along at her heels.
I patted her while the pups circled us excitedly. Arkwright was carrying his huge staff with its big sharp blade. He walked with a swagger, and his closely-shaven head glowed in the sun. He looked a lot friendlier than the first time I'd met him and his face lit up with a warm smile.
'Well, Master Ward, it's good to see you again,' he said. But something in my expression made his smile fade. 'I can tell from your face that something bad has happened,' he continued, shaking his head. 'Am I right?'
'Yes, Mr Arkwright. My mam's made an alliance with some of the Pendle witches. She's had to because she needs their help to fight the dark in her homeland.
She wants me, you and Mr Gregory to go with her back to Greece to fight the Ordeen. My master was furious when he found out about the alliance and stormed back to Chipenden. He said that if I didn't follow him, I could no longer be his apprentice. I feel torn between them, Mr Arkwright.'
'I'm not surprised, Master Ward. But I can understand Mr Gregory's reaction. What your mam's asking goes against everything he believes in.'
'Well, I've had to choose between what Mam wants and what Mr Gregory wants,' I told Arkwright. 'It wasn't easy but my first loyalty must always be to her.
She gave me life and I was her seventh son. So she has to decide what's best for me.'
'You've had a very difficult choice to make but I think you're right, Master Ward. As for myself, I've a decision to make too, it seems. I'm going to listen to what your mam says with an open mind. I must confess that it's a challenge – it would certainly be exciting to travel to such a faraway land. So, for now, I'll not say yes and I'll not say no. I'll wait to hear more from your mam's own lips. An alliance with servants of the dark, you say? Well, sometimes we have to compromise in order to survive. Neither of us would be here now if it wasn't for the witch assassin, Grimalkin.'