The Spook's Apprentice

Chapter Twelve. The Desperate And The Dizzy

As we came down the hill towards the farm, warm drizzle was drifting into our faces. Somewhere far off a dog barked twice, but below us everything was quiet and still.

It was late afternoon and I knew that my dad and Jack would be out in the fields, which would give me a chance to talk to Mam alone. It was easy for the Spook to tell me to take Alice home with me, but the journey had given me time to think and I didn’t know how Mam would take it. I didn’t feel she’d be happy having someone like Alice in the house, especially when I told her what she’d been up to. And as for Jack, I’d a pretty good idea what his reaction would be. From what Ellie had told me last time about his attitude to my new job, having the niece of a witch in the house was the last thing he’d want.

As we crossed the yard I pointed to the barn. ‘Better shelter under there,’ I said. ‘I’ll go in and explain.’

No sooner had I spoken than the loud cry of a hungry baby came from the direction of the farmhouse. Alice ’s eyes met mine briefly, then she looked down and I remembered the last time we’d been together when a child had cried.

Without a word, Alice turned and walked into the barn, her silence no more than I expected. You’d think that after all that had happened, there’d have been a lot to talk about on the journey, but we’d hardly spoken. I think she’d been upset by the way the Spook had held her by the jaw and smelled her breath. Maybe it had made her think about all the things she’d been up to in the past. Whatever it was, she’d seemed deep in thought and very sad for most of the journey.

I suppose I could have tried harder but I was too tired and weary, so we’d walked in silence until it had grown into a habit. It was a mistake: I should have made the effort to get to know Alice better then – it might have saved me a lot of trouble later.

As I jerked open the back door the crying stopped and I heard another sound, the comforting click of Mam’s rocking chair.

The chair was by the window but the curtains weren’t fully drawn and I could see by her face that she’d been peering through the narrow gap between them. She’d watched us enter the yard, and as I came into the room, she began to rock the chair faster and harder, staring at me all the while without blinking, one half of her face in darkness, the other lit by the large candle that was flickering in its big brass holder in the centre of the table.

‘When you bring a guest with you, it’s good manners to invite her into the house,’ she said, her voice a mixture of annoyance and surprise. ‘I thought I’d taught you better than that.’

‘Mr Gregory told me to bring her here,’ I said. ‘Her name’s Alice but she’s been keeping bad company. He wants you to talk to her but I thought it was best to tell you what’s happened first, just in case you didn’t want to invite her in.’

So I drew up a chair and told Mam exactly what had happened. When I’d finished she let out a long sigh, then a faint smile softened her face.

‘You’ve done well, son,’ she told me. ‘You’re young and new to the job so your mistakes can be forgiven. Go and bring that poor girl in, then leave us alone to talk. You might want to go upstairs and say hello to your new niece. Ellie will certainly be glad to see you.’

So I brought Alice in, left her with my mam and went upstairs.

Ellie was in the biggest bedroom. It used to belong to my mam and dad but they’d let her and Jack have it because there was room for another two beds and a cot, which would come in useful as their family grew.

I knocked lightly on the door, which was half open, but only looked into the room when Ellie called out for me to go in. She was sitting on the edge of the big double bed feeding the baby, its head half-hidden by her pink shawl. As soon as she saw me her mouth widened into a smile that made me feel welcome, but she looked tired and her hair lank and greasy. Although I looked away quickly, Ellie was sharp and I knew she’d seen me staring and read the expression in my eyes, because she quickly smoothed the hair away from her eyes.

‘Oh, I’m sorry, Tom,’ she said. ‘I must look a mess -I’ve been up all night. I’ve just grabbed an hour’s sleep. You’ve got to get it while you can with a very hungry baby like this. She cries a lot, especially at night.’

‘How old is she?’ I asked.

‘She’ll be just six days old tonight. She was born not long after midnight last Saturday.’

That was the night I’d killed Mother Malkin. For a moment the memory of it came rushing back and a shiver ran down my spine.

‘Here, she’s finished feeding now,’ Ellie said with a smile. ‘Would you like to hold her?’

That was the last thing I wanted to do. The baby was so small and delicate that I was scared of squeezing it too hard or dropping it and I didn’t like the way its head was so floppy. It was hard to say no though, because Ellie would have been hurt. As it was, I didn’t have to hold the baby for long because the moment it was in my arms its little face went red and it began to cry.

‘I don’t think it likes me,’ I told Ellie.

‘She’s a she not an it,’ Ellie scolded, making her face all stern and outraged. ‘Don’t worry, it’s not you, Tom,’ she said, her mouth softening into a smile. ‘I think she’s still hungry, that’s all.’

The baby stopped crying the moment Ellie took her back and I didn’t stay long after that. Then, on my way downstairs, I heard a sound from the kitchen I hadn’t expected.

It was laughter, the loud, hearty laughter of two people getting on very well together. The moment I opened the door and walked in, Alice ’s face became very serious, but Mam carried on laughing aloud for a few moments, and even when she stopped, her face was still lit up with a wide smile. They’d been sharing a joke, a very funny joke, but I didn’t like to ask what it was and they didn’t tell me. The look in both their eyes made me feel that it was something private.

My dad once told me that women know things that men don’t. That sometimes they have a certain look in their eyes, but when you see it, you should never ask them what they’re thinking. If you do they might tell you something you don’t want to hear. Well, whatever they’d been laughing at had certainly brought them closer; from that moment on it seemed as if they’d known each other for years. The Spook had been right. If anyone could sort Alice out, it had to be Mam.

I did notice one thing though. Mam gave Alice the room opposite hers and Dad’s. They were the two rooms at the top of the first flight of stairs. Mam had very sharp ears and it meant that if Alice so much as turned over in her sleep, she would hear it.

So for all that laughter, Mam was still watching Alice.

When he came back from the fields, Jack gave me a really dark scowl and muttered to himself. He seemed angry at something. But Dad was pleased to see me, and to my surprise he shook hands with me. He always shook hands when greeting my other brothers who’d left home but this was the first time for me. It made me feel sad and proud at the same time. He was treating me as if I were a man, making my own way in the world.

Jack hadn’t been in the house five minutes when he came looking for me. ‘Outside,’ he said, keeping his voice low so that nobody else could hear. ‘I want to talk to you.’

We walked out into the yard and he led the way round the side of the barn, close to the pigpens, where we couldn’t be seen from the house.

‘Who’s the girl you’ve brought back with you?’

‘Her name’s Alice. It’s just someone who needs help,’ I said. ‘The Spook told me to bring her home so that Mam could talk to her.’

‘What do you mean, she needs help?’

‘She’s been keeping bad company, that’s all.’

‘What sort of bad company?’

I knew he wouldn’t like it but I had no choice. I had to tell him. Otherwise he’d only ask Mam.

‘Her aunt’s a witch, but don’t worry – the Spook’s sorted it all out and we’ll only be staying for a few days.’

Jack exploded. I’d never seen him so angry.

‘Don’t you have the sense you were born with?’ he shouted. ‘Didn’t you think? Didn’t you think about the baby? There’s an innocent child living in this house and you bring home someone from a family like that! It’s beyond belief!’

He raised his fist and I thought he was going to thump me. Instead, he smashed it sideways into the wall of the barn, the sudden thud sending the pigs into a frenzy.

‘Mam thinks it’s all right,’ I protested.

‘Aye, Mam would,’ said Jack, his voice suddenly lower, but still harsh with anger. ‘How could she refuse her favourite son anything? And she’s just too good hearted, as well you know. That’s why you shouldn’t take advantage. Look, it’s me you’ll answer to if anything happens. I don’t like the look of that girl. She looks shifty. I’ll be watching her carefully and if she takes one step out of line, you’ll both be on your way before you can blink. And you’ll earn your keep while you’re here. She can help around the house to make things easier for Mam and you can pull your weight with the farm work.’

Jack turned and started to walk away, but he still had more to say. ‘Being so occupied with more important things,’ he added sarcastically, ‘you might not have noticed how tired Dad looks. He’s finding the job harder and harder.’

‘Of course I’ll help,’ I called after him, ‘and so will Alice.’

At supper, apart from Mam, everyone was really quiet. I suppose it was having a stranger sitting at the table with us. Although Jack’s manners wouldn’t let him complain outright, he scowled at Alice almost as much as he did at me. So it was a good job Mam was cheerful and bright enough to light up the whole table.

Ellie had to leave her supper twice to attend to the baby, which kept crying fit to bring the roof down. The second time she fetched it downstairs.

‘Never known a baby to cry so much,’ said Mam with a smile. ‘At least it’s got strong, healthy lungs.’

Its tiny face was all red and screwed up again. I would never have said it to Ellie, but it wasn’t the best looking of babies. Its face reminded me of an angry little old woman. One moment it was crying fit to burst; then, very suddenly, it became still and quiet. Its eyes were wide open and it was staring towards the centre of the table, where Alice was seated close to the big brass candlestick. At first I didn’t think anything of it. I thought Ellie’s baby was just fascinated by the candle flame. But later Alice helped Mam to clear the table, and each time Alice passed by, the baby followed her with its blue eyes and suddenly, although the kitchen was warm, I shivered.

Later I went up to my old bedroom, and when I sat down in the wicker chair by the window and gazed out, it was as if I’d never left home.

As I looked northwards, towards Hangman’s Hill, I thought about the way the baby had seemed so interested in Alice. When I remembered what Ellie had said earlier, I shivered again. Her baby had been born after midnight on the night of the full moon. It was too close to be just a coincidence. Mother Malkin would have been swept away by the river about the time that Ellie’s baby had been born. The Spook had warned me that she’d come back. What if she’d come back even earlier than he’d predicted? He expected her to be wick. But what if he was wrong? What if she’d broken free of her bones and her spirit had possessed Ellie’s baby at the very moment of its birth?

I didn’t sleep a wink that night. There was only one person I could talk to about my fears and that was Mam. The difficulty was in getting her alone without drawing attention to the fact that I was doing it. Mam cooked and did other chores that kept her busy most of the day, and usually it would have been no problem to talk to her in the kitchen because I was working close by. Jack had given me the job of repairing the front of the barn and I must have hammered in hundreds of shiny new nails before sunset.

Alice was the difficulty, though: Mam kept her with her all day, really making the girl work hard. You could see the sweat on her brow and the frowns that kept furrowing her forehead, but despite that, Alice never complained even once.

It was only after supper, when they’d finished the clatter of washing and drying the dishes, that I finally got my chance. That morning Dad had gone off to the big spring market in Topley. As well as conducting his business, it gave him a rare chance to meet up with a few of his old friends, so he’d be away for two or three days. Jack was right. He did look tired and it would give him a break from the farm.

Mam had sent Alice off to her room to get some rest, Jack had his feet up in the front room and Ellie was upstairs trying to grab half an hour’s sleep before the baby woke again for feeding. So, wasting no time at all, I started to tell Mam what was worrying me. She’d been rocking in her chair but I’d hardly managed to blurt out my first sentence before the chair came to a halt. She listened carefully as I told her of my fears and reasons to suspect the baby. But her face remained so still and calm that I’d no idea what she was thinking. No sooner had I spat out my last word than she rose to her feet.

‘Wait there,’ she said. ‘We need to sort this out once and for all.’

She left the kitchen and went upstairs. When she came back she was carrying the baby, wrapped in Ellie’s shawl. ‘Bring the candle,’ she said, moving towards the door.

We went out into the yard, Mam walking fast, as if she knew exactly where she was going and what she was going to do. We ended up at the other side of the cattle midden, standing in the mud on the edge of our pond, which was deep enough and large enough to provide water for our cows even through the driest summer months.

‘Keep the candle high so we can see everything,’ Mam said. ‘I want there to be no doubt.’

Then, to my horror, she stretched out her arms and held the baby over the dark, still water. ‘If she floats, the witch is inside her,’ Mam said. ‘If she sinks, she’s innocent. Right, let’s see…’

‘No!’ I shouted, my mouth opening all by itself and the words just tumbling out faster than I could think. ‘Don’t do it, please. It’s Ellie’s baby’

For a moment I thought she was going to let the baby fall anyway, then she smiled and held it close again and kissed it on the forehead very gently. ‘Of course it’s Ellie’s baby, son. Can’t you tell that just by looking at her? Anyway, "swimming" is a test carried out by fools and doesn’t work anyway. Usually they tie the poor woman’s hands to her feet and throw her into deep, still water. But whether she sinks or floats depends on luck and the kind of body she has. It’s nothing to do with witchcraft.’

‘What about the way the baby kept staring at Alice?’ I asked.

Mam smiled and shook her head. ‘A newborn baby’s eyes aren’t able to focus properly,’ she explained. ‘It was probably just the light of the candle that caught her attention. Remember – Alice was sitting close to it. Later, each time Alice passed by, the baby’s eyes would just have been drawn by the change in the light. It’s nothing. Nothing to worry about at all.’

‘But what if Ellie’s baby is possessed anyway?’ I asked. ‘What if there’s something inside her that we can’t see?’

‘Look, son, I’ve delivered both good and evil into this world and I know evil just by looking at it. This is a good child and there’s nothing inside her to worry about. Nothing at all.’

‘Isn’t it strange though, that Ellie’s baby should be born about the same time that Mother Malkin died?’

‘Not really,’ Mam answered. ‘It’s the way of things. Sometimes, when something bad leaves the world, something good enters in its place. I’ve seen it happen before.’

Of course, I realized then that Mam had never even considered dropping the baby and had just been trying to shock some sense into me, but as we walked back across the yard, my knees were still trembling with the thought of it. It was then, as we reached the kitchen door, that I remembered something.

‘Mr Gregory gave me a little book all about possession,’ I said. ‘He told me to read it carefully, but the trouble is, it’s written in Latin and I’ve only had three lessons so far.’

‘It’s not my favourite language,’ Mam said, pausing by the door. ‘I’ll see what I can do but it’ll have to wait until I get back – I’m expecting to be called away tonight. In the meantime, why don’t you ask Alice? She might be able to help.’

Mam was right about being called away. A cart came for her just after midnight, the horses all in a sweat. It seemed that a farmer’s wife was having a really bad time of it and had already been in labour for more than a day and a night. It was a long way as well, almost twenty miles to the south. That meant that Mam would be away for a couple of days or more.

I didn’t really want to ask Alice to help with the Latin. You see, I knew the Spook would have disapproved. After all, it was a book from his library and he wouldn’t have liked the idea of Alice even touching it. Still, what choice did I have? Since coming home, I’d been thinking about Mother Malkin more and more and I just couldn’t get her out of my mind. It was just an instinct, just a feeling, but I felt that she was somewhere out there in the dark and she was getting nearer with each night that passed.

So the following night, after Jack and Ellie had gone to bed, I tapped softly on Alice ’s bedroom door. It wasn’t something I could ask her during the day because she was always busy, and if Ellie or Jack overheard, they wouldn’t like it. Especially with Jack’s dislike of spook’s business.

I had to rap twice before Alice opened the door. I’d been worried that she might already be in bed asleep, but she still hadn’t undressed and I couldn’t stop my eyes from glancing down at her pointy shoes. On the dressing table there was a candle set close to the mirror. It had just been blown out – it was still smoking.

‘Can I come in?’ I asked, holding my own candle high so that it lit her face from above. ‘There’s something I need to ask you.’

Alice nodded me inside and closed the door.

‘I’ve a book that I need to read, but it’s written in Latin. Mam said you might be able to help.’

‘Where is it?’ Alice asked.

‘In my pocket. It’s only a small book. For anyone who knows Latin, reading it shouldn’t take that long.’

Alice gave a deep, weary sigh. ‘I’m busy enough as it is,’ she complained. ‘What’s it about?’

‘Possession. Mr Gregory thinks Mother Malkin could come back to get me and that she’ll use possession.’

‘Let’s see it then,’ she asked, holding out her hand. I placed my candle next to hers, then reached into my breeches and pulled out the small book. She skimmed through the pages without a word.

‘Can you read it?’ I asked.

‘Don’t see why not. Lizzie taught me and she knows her Latin backwards.’

‘So you’ll help me?’

She didn’t reply. Instead she brought the book very close to her face and sniffed it loudly. ‘You sure this is any good?’ she asked. ‘Written by a priest, this is, and they don’t usually know that much.’

‘Mr Gregory called it the "definitive work",’ I said, ‘which means it’s the best book ever written on the subject.’

She looked up from the book then, and to my surprise her eyes were filled with anger. ‘I know what definitive means,’ she said. ‘Think I’m stupid or something? Studied for years, I have, while you’ve only just started. Lizzie had lots of books but they’re all burned now. All gone up in flames.’

I muttered that I was sorry and she gave me a smile.

‘Trouble is,’ she said, her voice suddenly softening, ‘reading this’ll take time and I’m too tired to start now. Tomorrow your mam’ll still be away and I’ll be as busy as ever. That sister-in-law of yours has promised to help but she’ll mostly be busy with the baby, and the cooking and cleaning will take me most of the day. But if you were to help…’

I didn’t know what to say. I’d be helping Jack so I wouldn’t have much free time. The trouble was, men never did any cooking or cleaning and it wasn’t just that way on our farm. It was the same everywhere in the County. Men worked on the farm, outdoors in all weathers, and when they came in, the women had a hot meal waiting on the table. The only time we ever helped in the kitchen was on Christmas Day, when we did the washing up as a special treat for Mam.

It was as if Alice could read my mind because her smile grew wider. ‘Won’t be too hard, will it?’ she asked. ‘Women feed the chickens and help with the harvest, so why shouldn’t men help in the kitchen? Just help me with the washing up, that’s all. And some of the pans’U need scouring before I start cooking.’

So I agreed to what she wanted. What choice did I have? I only hoped that Jack wouldn’t catch me at it. He’d never understand.

I got up even earlier than usual and managed to scour the pans before Jack came down. Then I took my time over breakfast, eating very slowly, which was unlike me and enough to draw at least one suspicious glance from Jack. After he’d gone off into the fields, I washed the pots as quickly as I could and set to drying them. I might have guessed what would happen because Jack never had much patience.

He came into the yard cursing and swearing and saw me through the window, his face all screwed up in disbelief. Then he spat into the yard and came round and pulled open the kitchen door with a jerk.

‘When you’re ready,’ he said sarcastically, ‘there’s men’s work to be done. And you can start by checking and repairing the pigpens. Snout’s coming tomorrow. There are five to be slaughtered and we don’t want to spend all our time rounding up strays.’

Snout was our nickname for the pig butcher, and Jack was right. Pigs sometimes panicked when Snout got to work and if there was any weakness in the fence then they’d find it for sure.

Jack turned to stamp away and then suddenly cursed loudly. I went to the door to see what was the matter. He’d accidentally stepped on a big fat toad, squashing it to a pulp. It was supposed to be bad luck to kill a frog or a toad and Jack cursed again, frowning so much that his black bushy eyebrows met in the middle. He kicked the dead toad under the drain spout and went off, shaking his head. I couldn’t think what had got into him. Jack never used to be so bad tempered.

I stayed behind and dried up every last pot – as he’d caught me at it, I might as well finish the job. Besides, pigs stank and I wasn’t much looking forward to the job that Jack had given me.

‘Don’t forget the book,’ I reminded Alice as I opened the door to leave, but she just gave me a strange smile.

I didn’t get to speak to Alice alone again until late that night, after Jack and Ellie had gone off to bed. I thought I’d have to visit her room again, but instead she came down into the kitchen carrying the book and sat herself down in Mam’s rocking chair, close to the embers of the fire.

‘Made a good job of those pans, you did. Must be desperate to find out what’s in here,’ Alice said, tapping the spine of the book.

‘If she comes back, I want to be ready. I need to know what I can do. The Spook said she’ll probably be wick. Do you know about that?’

Alice ’s eyes widened and she nodded.

‘So I need to be ready. If there’s anything in that book that can help, I need to know about it.’

‘This priest ain’t like the others,’ Alice said, holding the book out towards me. ‘Mostly knows his stuff, he does. Lizzie would love this more than midnight cakes.’

I pushed the book into my breeches pocket and drew up a stool on the other side of the hearth, facing what was left of the fire. Then I started to question Alice. At first it was really hard work. She didn’t volunteer much, and what I did manage to drag out of her just made me feel a lot worse.

I began with the strange title of the book: The Damned, the Dizzy and the Desperate. What did it mean? Why call the book that?

‘First word is just priest-talk,’ Alice said, turning down the corners of her mouth in disapproval. ‘They just use that word for people who do things differently. For people like your mam, who don’t go to church and say the right prayers. People who aren’t like them. People who are left-handed,’ she said, giving me a knowing smile.

‘Second word’s more useful,’ Alice continued. ‘A body that’s newly possessed has poor balance. It keeps falling over. Takes time, you see, for the possessor that’s moved in to fit itself comfortably into its new body. It’s like trying to wear in a new pair of shoes. Makes it bad tempered too. Someone calm and placid can strike out without warning. So that’s another way you can tell.

‘Then, as for the third word, that’s easy. A witch who once had a healthy human body is desperate to get another one. Then, once she succeeds, she’s desperate to hold onto it. Ain’t going to give it up without a fight. She’ll do anything. Anything at all. That’s why the possessed are so dangerous.’

‘If she came here, who would it be?’ I asked. ‘If she were wick, who would she try to possess? Would it be me? Would she try to hurt me that way?’

‘Would if she could,’ Alice said. ‘Ain’t easy though, what with you being what you are. Like to use me too, but I won’t give her the chance. No, she’ll go for the weakest. The easiest.’

‘Ellie’s baby?’

‘No, that ain’t no use to her. She’d have to wait till it’s all grown up. Mother Malkin never had much patience, and being trapped in that pit at Old Gregory’s would have made her worse. If it’s you she’s coming to hurt, first she’ll get herself a strong healthy body.’

‘Ellie then? She’ll choose Ellie!’

‘Don’t you know anything?’ Alice said, shaking her head in disbelief. ‘Ellie’s strong. She’d be difficult. No, men are much easier. Especially a man whose heart always rules his head. Someone who can fly into a temper without even thinking.’

‘Jack?’

‘It’ll be Jack for sure. Think what it’d be like to have big strong Jack after you. But the book’s right about one thing. A body that’s newly possessed is easier to deal with. Desperate it is but dizzy too.’

I got my notebook out and wrote down anything that seemed important. Alice didn’t talk as fast as the Spook, but after a bit she got into her stride and it wasn’t long before my wrist was aching. When it came to the really important business – how to deal with the possessed – there were lots of reminders that the original soul was still trapped inside the body. So if you hurt the body you hurt that innocent soul as well. So just killing the body to get rid of the possessor was as bad as murder.

In fact that section of the book was disappointing: there didn’t seem to be a lot you could do. Being a priest, the writer thought that an exorcism, using candles and holy water, was the best way to draw out the possessor and release the victim, but he admitted that not all priests could do it and that very few could do it really well. It seemed to me that some of the priests who could do it were probably seventh sons of seventh sons and that was what really mattered.

After all that, Alice said she felt tired and went up to bed. I was feeling sleepy too. I’d forgotten how hard farm work could be and I was aching from head to foot. Once up in my room, I sank gratefully onto my bed, anxious to sleep. But down in the yard the dogs had started to bark.

Thinking that something must have alarmed them, I opened the window and looked out towards Hangman’s Hill, taking a deep breath of night air to steady myself and clear my head. Gradually the dogs became quieter and eventually stopped barking altogether.

As I was about to close the window, the moon came out from behind a cloud. Moonlight can show the truth of things – Alice had told me that – just as that big shadow of mine had told Bony Lizzie that there was something different about me. This wasn’t even a full moon, just a waning moon shrinking down to a crescent, but it showed me something new, something that couldn’t be seen without it. By its light, I could see a faint silver trail winding down Hangman’s Hill. It crept under the fence and across the north pasture, then crossed the eastern hay field until it vanished from sight somewhere behind the barn. I thought of Mother Malkin then. I’d seen the silver trail the night I’d knocked her into the river. Now here was another trail that looked just the same and it had found me.

My heart thudding in my chest, I tiptoed downstairs and slipped out through the back door, closing it carefully behind me. The moon had gone behind a cloud, so when I went round to the back of the barn, the silver trail had vanished, but there was still clear evidence that something had moved down the hill towards our farm buildings. The grass was flattened, as if a giant snail had slithered across it.

I waited for the moon to reappear so that I could check the flagged area behind the barn. A few moments later the cloud blew away and I saw something that really scared me. The silver trail gleamed in the moonlight and the direction it had taken was unmistakable. It avoided the pigpen and snaked round the other side of the barn in a wide arc to reach the far edge of the yard. Then it moved towards the house, ending directly under Alice ’s window, where the old wooden hatch covered the steps that led down to the cellar.

A few generations back, the farmer who’d lived here used to brew ale which he’d supplied to the local farms and even a couple of inns. Because of that, the locals called our farm ‘Brewer’s Farm’ although we just called it ‘home’. The steps were there so that barrels could be taken in and out without having to go through the house.

The hatch was still in place covering the steps, a big rusty padlock holding its two halves in position, but there was a narrow gap between them, where the two edges of the wood didn’t quite meet. It was a gap no wider than my thumb, but the silver trail ended exactly there and I knew that whatever had slithered towards this point had somehow slipped through that tiny gap. Mother Malkin was back and she was wick, her body soft and pliable enough to slip through the narrowest of gaps.

She was already in the cellar.

We never used the cellar now but I remembered it well enough. It had a dirt floor and it was mostly full of old barrels. The walls of the house were thick and hollow, which meant that soon she could be anywhere inside the walls, anywhere in the house.

I glanced up and saw the flicker of a candle flame in the window of Alice ’s room. She was still up. I went inside, and moments later I was standing outside her bedroom door. The trick was to tap just loud enough to let Alice know I was there without waking anybody else up. But as I held my knuckles close to the door ready to knock, I heard a sound from inside the room.

I could hear Alice ’s voice. She seemed to be talking to someone.

I didn’t like what I was hearing but I tapped anyway. I waited a moment, but when Alice didn’t come to the door, I put my ear against it. Who could she be talking to in her room? I knew that Ellie and Jack were already in bed, and anyway I could only hear one voice and that was Alice ’s. It seemed different, though. It reminded me of something I’d heard before. When I suddenly remembered what it was, I moved my ear away from the wood as if it had been burned and took a big step away from the door.

Her voice was rising and falling, just like Bony Lizzie’s had when she’d been standing above the pit, holding a small white thumb-bone in each hand.

Almost before I realized what I was doing, I seized the door handle, turned it and opened the door wide.

Alice, her mouth opening and closing, was chanting at the mirror. She was sitting on the edge of a straight-backed chair, staring over the top of a candle flame into the dressing-table mirror. I took a deep breath, then crept nearer so as to get a better look.

Being a County spring and after dark the room had a chill to it, but despite that there were big beads of sweat on Alice ’s brow. Even as I watched, two came together and ran down into her left eye and then beyond it onto her cheek like a tear. She was staring into the mirror, her eyes very wide, but when I called her name she never even blinked.

I moved behind the chair and caught the reflection of the brass candlestick in the mirror, but to my horror the face in the mirror above the flame didn’t belong to Alice.

It was an old face, haggard and lined, with coarse grey and white hair falling like curtains across each gaunt cheek. It was the face of something that had spent a long time in the damp ground.

The eyes moved then, flicking to the left to meet my gaze. They were red points of fire. Although the face cracked into a smile, the eyes were burning with anger and hate.

There was no doubt. It was the face of Mother Malkin.

What was happening? Was Alice already possessed? Or was she somehow using the mirror to talk to Mother Malkin?

Without thinking, I seized the candlestick and swung its heavy base into the mirror, which exploded with a loud crack followed by a glittering, tinkling shower of falling glass. As the mirror shattered, Alice screamed, loud and shrill.

It was the worst screech you can possibly imagine. It was filled with torment and it reminded me of the noise a pig sometimes makes when it’s slaughtered. But I didn’t feel sorry for Alice, even though now she was crying and pulling at her hair, her eyes wild and filled with terror.

I was aware that the house was quickly filled with other sounds. The first was the cry of Ellie’s baby; the second was a man’s deep voice cursing and swearing; the third was big boots stamping down the stairs.

Jack burst furiously into the room. He took one look at the broken mirror, then stepped towards me and raised his fist. I suppose he must have thought it was all my fault, because Alice was still screaming, I was holding the candlestick, and there were small cuts on my knuckles caused by flying glass.

Just in time, Ellie came into the room. She had her baby cradled in her right arm and it was still crying fit to burst, but with her free hand she got a grip on Jack and pulled at him until he unclenched his fist and lowered his arm.

‘No, Jack,’ she pleaded. ‘What good will that do?’

‘I can’t believe you’ve done that,’ Jack said, glaring at me. ‘Do you know how old that mirror was? What do you think Dad will say now? How will he feel when he sees this?’

No wonder Jack was angry. It had been bad enough waking everybody up, but that dressing table had belonged to Dad’s mam. Now that Dad had given me the tinderbox, it was the last thing he owned that once belonged to his family.

Jack took two steps towards me. The candle hadn’t gone out when I’d broken the mirror but when he shouted again it began to flicker.

‘Why did you do it? What on earth’s got into you?’ he roared.

What could I say? So I just shrugged, then stared down at my boots.

‘What are you doing in this room anyway?’ Jack persisted.

I didn’t answer. Anything I said would only make it worse.

‘Stay in your own room from now on,’ Jack shouted. ‘I’ve a good mind to send the pair of you packing now.’

I glanced towards Alice, who was still sitting on the chair, her head in her hands. She’d stopped crying but her whole body was shaking.

When I looked back, Jack’s anger had given way to alarm. He was staring towards Ellie, who suddenly seemed to stagger. Before he could move, she lost her balance and fell back against the wall. Jack forgot about the mirror for a few moments while he fussed over Ellie.

‘I don’t know what came over me,’ she said, all flustered. ‘I suddenly felt light-headed. Oh! Jack! Jack! I nearly dropped the baby!’

‘You didn’t and it’s safe. Don’t worry yourself. Here let me take her…’

Once he had the baby in his arms, Jack calmed down. ‘For now, just clear this mess up,’ he told me. ‘We’ll talk about it in the morning.’

Ellie walked across to the bed and put her hand on Alice ’s shoulder. ‘ Alice, you come downstairs for a bit while Tom tidies up,’ she said. ‘I’ll make us all a drink.’

Moments later they’d all gone down to the kitchen, leaving me to pick up the pieces of glass. After about ten minutes I went down there myself to get a brush and pan. They were sitting round the kitchen table sipping herb tea, the baby asleep in Ellie’s arms. They weren’t talking and nobody offered me a drink. Nobody even glanced in my direction.

I went back upstairs and cleared the mess up as best I could, then went back to my own room. I sat on the bed and stared through the window, feeling terrified and alone. Was Alice already possessed? After all, it had been Mother Malkin’s face staring back out of the mirror. If she was, then the baby and everyone else was in real danger.

She hadn’t tried to do anything then, but Alice was relatively small compared with Jack, so Mother Malkin would have to be sly. She’d wait for everyone to go to sleep. I’d be the main target. Or maybe the baby. A child’s blood would increase her strength.

Or had I broken the mirror just in time? Had I broken the spell at the very moment when Mother Malkin was about to possess Alice? Another possibility was that Alice had just been talking to the witch, using the mirror. Even so, that was bad enough. It meant I had two enemies to worry about.

I needed to do something. But what? While I sat there, my head whirling, trying to think things through, there was a tap on my bedroom door. I thought it was Alice so I didn’t go. Then a voice called my name softly. It was Ellie, so I opened the door.

‘Can we talk inside?’ she asked. ‘I don’t want to risk waking the baby. I’ve only just got her off to sleep again.’

I nodded, so Ellie came in and carefully closed the door behind her.

‘You all right?’ she asked, looking concerned.

I nodded miserably but couldn’t meet her eyes.

‘Would you like to tell me about it?’ she asked. ‘You’re a sensible lad, Tom, and you must have had a very good reason for what you did. Talking it through might make you feel better.’

How could I tell her the truth? I mean, Ellie had a baby to care for, so how could I tell her that there was a witch somewhere loose in the house with a taste for children’s blood? Then I realized that, for the sake of the baby, I would have to tell her something. She had to know just how bad things were. She had to get away.

‘There is something, Ellie. But I don’t know how to tell you.’

Ellie smiled. ‘The beginning would be as a good a place as any…’

‘Something’s followed me back here,’ I said, looking Ellie straight in the eyes. ‘Something evil that wants to hurt me. That’s why I broke the mirror. Alice was talking to it and-’

Ellie’s eyes suddenly flashed with anger. ‘Tell Jack that, and you certainly would feel his fist! You mean you’ve brought something back here, when I’ve got a new baby to care for? How could you? How could you do that?’

‘I didn’t know it was going to happen,’ I protested. ‘I only found out tonight. That’s why I’m telling you now. You need to leave the house and take the baby to safety. Go now, before it’s too late.’

‘What? Right now? In the middle of the night?’

I nodded.

Ellie shook her head firmly. ‘Jack wouldn’t go. He wouldn’t be driven out of his own house in the middle of the night. Not by anything. No, I’ll wait. I’m going to stay here and I’m going to say my prayers. My mother taught me that. She said that if you pray really hard, nothing from the dark can ever harm you. And I really do believe that. Anyway, you could be wrong, Tom,’ she added. ‘You’re young and only just beginning to learn the job, so it may not be quite as bad as you think. And your mam should be back at any time. If not tonight, then certainly tomorrow night. She’ll know what to do. In the meantime, just keep out of that girl’s room. There’s something not right about her.’

As I opened my mouth to speak, intending to have one more go at persuading her to leave, an expression of alarm suddenly came over Ellie’s face and she stumbled and put her hand against the wall to save herself from falling.

‘Look what you’ve done now. I feel faint just thinking about what’s going on here.’

She sat down on my bed and put her head in her hands for a few moments, while I just stared down at her miserably, not knowing what to do or say.

After a few moments she climbed back to her feet again. ‘We need to talk to your mam as soon as she gets back, but don’t forget, stay away from Alice until then. Do you promise?’

I promised, and with a sad smile Ellie went back to her own room.

It was only when she’d gone that it struck me…

Ellie had stumbled for a second time and said she’d felt light-headed. One stumble could be just chance. Just tiredness. But twice! She was dizzy. Ellie was dizzy and that was the first sign of possession!

I began to pace up and down. Surely I was wrong. Not Ellie! It couldn’t be Ellie. Maybe Ellie was just tired. After all, the baby did keep her awake a lot. But Ellie was strong and healthy. She’d been brought up on a farm herself and wasn’t one to let things drag her down. And all that talk about saying prayers. She could have said that so that I wouldn’t suspect her.

But hadn’t Alice told me that Ellie would be difficult to possess? She’d also said that it would probably be Jack, but he hadn’t shown any sign of dizziness. Still, there was no denying that he had become more and more bad tempered and aggressive too! If Ellie hadn’t held him back he’d have thumped my head off my shoulders.

But of course, if Alice were in league with Mother Malkin, everything she said would be intended to put me off the scent. I couldn’t even trust her account of the Spook’s book! She could have told me lies all along! I couldn’t read Latin so there was no way to check what she’d said.

I realized that it could be any one of them. An attack could occur at any moment and I hadn’t any way of knowing who it would come from!

With luck, Mam would be back before dawn. She’d know what to do. But dawn was a long time off so I couldn’t afford to sleep. I’d have to keep watch all night long. If Jack or Ellie were possessed, there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t go into their room, so all I could do was keep an eye on Alice.

I went outside and sat on the stairs between the door to Ellie and Jack’s room and my own. From there I could see Alice ’s door below. If she left her room, at least I’d be able to give a warning.

I decided that if Mam wasn’t back, I’d leave at dawn; apart from her, there was just one more chance of help…

It was a long night, and at first I jumped at the slightest sound – a creak of the stairs or a faint movement of the floorboards in one of the rooms. But gradually I calmed down. It was an old house and these were the noises I was used to – the noises you expected as it slowly settled and cooled down during the night. However, as dawn approached, I started to feel uneasy again.

I began to hear faint scratching noises from inside the walls. It sounded like fingernails clawing at stone and it wasn’t always in the same place. Sometimes it was further up the stairs on the left; sometimes below, close to Alice ’s room. It was so faint that it was hard to tell whether I was imagining it or not. But I began to feel cold, really cold, and that told me that danger was near.

Next the dogs began to bark, and within a few minutes the other animals were going crazy too, the hairy pigs squealing so loud you’d have thought the pig butcher had already arrived. If that wasn’t enough, the row started the baby crying again.

I was so cold now that my whole body was shaking and trembling. I just had to do something.

On the riverbank, facing the witch, my hands had known what to do. This time it was my legs that acted faster than I could think. I stood up and ran. Terrified, my heart hammering, I bounded down the stairs, adding to the noise. I just had to get outside and away from the witch. Nothing else mattered. All my courage had gone.