Joseph Delaney - The Spook

The Spook didn’t say anything. He was staring towards the house.

‘Ask my mam what she thinks about Alice,’ I suggested. ‘She seems to get on well with her.’

‘I was going to do that anyway,’ said the Spook. ‘It’s about time we had a little talk. You wait here until we’re finished.’

I watched the Spook cross the yard. Even before he reached it, the kitchen door opened and Mam welcomed him over the threshold.

Later, it was possible to work out some of the things that they’d said to each other, but they talked together for almost half an hour and I never did find out whether ghasts came into the conversation. When the Spook finally came out into the sunshine, Mam stayed in the doorway. He did something unusual then – something I’d never seen him do before. At first I thought he’d just nodded at Mam as he said goodbye, but there was a bit more to it than that. There was a movement of his shoulders too. It was slight but very definite so there was no doubt about it. As he took his leave of Mam, the Spook gave her a little bow.

When he crossed the yard towards me, he seemed to be smiling to himself. ‘I’ll be off on my way back to Chipenden now,’ he said, ‘but I think your mother would like you to stay one more night. Anyway, I’m going to leave it up to you,’ said the Spook. ‘Either bring the girl back and we’ll bind her in the pit, or take her to her aunt in Staumin. The choice is yours. Use your instinct for what’s right. You’ll know what to do.’ Then he was gone, leaving me with my head whirling. I knew what I wanted to do about Alice, but it had to be the right thing.

So I got to eat another of Mam’s suppers.

Dad was back by then, but although Mam was happy to see him, there was something not quite right, a sort of atmosphere like an invisible cloud hanging over the table. So it wasn’t exactly a celebration party and nobody had much to say.

The food was good though, one of Mam’s special hotpots, so I didn’t mind the lack of conversation – I was too busy filling my belly and getting second helpings before Jack could scrape the dish clean.

Jack had his appetite back but he was a bit subdued like everyone else. He’d been through a lot, with a big bump on his forehead to prove it. As for Alice, I hadn’t told her what the Spook had said but I felt she knew anyway. She didn’t speak once during dinner. But the quietest one of all was Ellie. Despite the joy of having her baby back, what she’d seen had upset her badly and I could tell it would take some getting over.

When the others went up to bed, Mam asked me to stay behind. I sat by the fire in the kitchen, just as I had on the night before I went away to begin my apprenticeship. But something in her face told me this conversation was going to be different. Before, she’d been firm with me but hopeful. Confident that things would work out all right. Now she looked sad and uncertain.

‘I’ve been delivering County babies for nearly twenty-five years,’ she said, sitting down in her rocking chair, ‘and I’ve lost a few. Although it’s very sad for the mother and father, it’s just something that happens. It happens with farm animals, Tom. You’ve seen it yourself.’

I nodded. Every year a few lambs were born dead. It was something you expected.

‘This time it was worse,’ Mam said. ‘This time both the mother and the baby died, something that’s never happened to me before. I know the right herbs and how to blend them. I know how to cope with severe bleeding. I know just what to do. And this mother was young and strong. She shouldn’t have died but I couldn’t save her. I did everything I could, but I couldn’t save her. And It’s given me a pain here. A pain in my heart.’

Mam gave a sort of sob and clutched at her chest. For one awful moment I thought she was going to cry, but then she took a deep breath and the strength came back into her face.

‘But sheep die, Mam, and sometimes cows when giving birth,’ I told her. ‘A mother was bound to die eventually. It’s a miracle that you’ve gone so long without it happening before.’

I did my best but it was hard to console her. Mam was taking it very badly. It made her look on the gloomy side of things.

‘It’s getting darker, son,’ she said to me. ‘And it’s coming sooner than I expected. I’d hoped you’d be a grown man first, with years of experience under your belt. So you’re going to have to listen carefully to everything your master says. Every little thing will count. You’re going to have to get yourself ready as quickly as you can and work hard at your Latin lessons.’

She paused then and held out her hand. ‘Let me see the book.’

When I handed it to her she flicked through the pages, pausing every so often to read a few lines. ‘Did it help?’ she asked.

‘Not much,’ I admitted.

‘Your master wrote this himself. Did he tell you that?’

I shook my head. ‘ Alice said it was written by a priest.’

Mam smiled. ‘Your master was a priest once. That’s how he started out. No doubt he’ll tell you about it one day. But don’t ask. Let him tell you in his own good time.’

‘Was that what you and Mr Gregory talked about?’ I asked.

‘That and other things, but mainly about Alice. He asked me what I thought should happen to her. I told him he should leave it to you. So have you made up your mind yet?’

I shrugged. ‘I’m still not sure what to do but Mr Gregory said that I should use my instincts.’

‘That’s good advice, son,’ Mam said.

‘But what do you think, Mam?’ I asked. ‘What did you tell Mr Gregory about Alice? Is Alice a witch? Tell me that at least.’

‘No,’ Mam said slowly, weighing her words carefully. ‘She’s not a witch, but she will be one day. She was born with the heart of a witch and she’s little choice but to follow that path.’

‘Then she should go into the pit at Chipenden,’ I said sadly, hanging my head.

‘Remember your lessons,’ Mam said sternly. ‘Remember what your master taught you. There’s more than one kind of witch.’

‘The "benign",’ I said. ‘You mean Alice might turn out to be a good witch who helps others?’

‘She might. And she might not. Do you know what I really think? You might not want to hear this.’

‘I do,’ I said.

‘ Alice might end up neither good nor bad. She might end up somewhere in between. That would make her very dangerous to know. That girl could be the bane of your life, a blight, a poison on everything you do. Or she might turn out to be the best and strongest friend you’ll ever have. Someone who’ll make all the difference in the world. I just don’t know which way it will go. I can’t see it, no matter how hard I try.’

‘How could you see it anyway, Mam?’ I asked. ‘Mr Gregory said he doesn’t believe in prophecy. He said the future’s not fixed.’

Mam put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a little squeeze of reassurance. ‘There’s some choice open to us all,’ she said. ‘But maybe one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make will be about Alice. Go to bed now, and get a good night’s sleep if you can. Make up your mind tomorrow when the sun’s shining.’

One thing I didn’t ask Mam was how she’d managed to silence the ghasts on Hangman’s Hill. It was my instincts again. I just knew that it was something she wouldn’t want to talk about. In a family, there are some things you don’t ask. You know you’ll be told when it’s the right time.

We left soon after dawn, my heart down in my boots.

Ellie followed me to the gate. I stopped there but waved Alice on and she sauntered up the hill, swinging her hips, without even once glancing back.

‘I need to say something to you, Tom,’ Ellie said. ‘It hurts me to do it but it has to be said.’