Joseph Delaney - The Spook's Mistake

The Spook opened the book and read aloud from it:

'The young were cast into the Blood Pool; older offerings chained in a subterranean chamber until the propitious moment.'

'If that's true, then where will he be? Somewhere underground back up near the lakes?'

'Could be, lad, but I know one way we might find out for sure. That hermit up at Cartmel. If he could dowse for Morwena, then maybe he could find Arkwright for us — if they're saving Bill for the full moon, we have six days to find him. But the approach of the full moon suggests we've less leeway. In any case we have to go north again. It's our duty to sort out that witch before she sorts us.'

'The thing that's puzzling me,' I said, 'is why the Fiend left us. Had he stayed, Morwena would have won. With him there we'd have been helpless. It doesn't make sense.'

'Indeed, lad. What's more, why doesn't the Fiend just appear now, kill you and get it over with? What's stopping him?'

'I don't know,' I replied. 'Maybe he's got more important business to attend to.'

'No doubt he has other things to deal with, but you pose one of the biggest threats to him in the County. No, there's more to it than that. I found out some interesting things while I was looking in your mother's trunks. The reason the Fiend hasn't destroyed you immediately is because he's been "hobbled".'

'What's that?' I asked.

'Well, you should be able to work that out for yourself, lad, coming as you do from a farming family.'

'You hobble a horse. Tie its legs,' I said.

'That you do, lad. You tie them so that it can't stray too far. So a "hobble" is a limitation or impediment. The Fiend's power is circumscribed in a powerful way. If he kills you — if he does it himself — then he'll reign on in our world for a hundred years before he's forced to retreat back to where he came from.'

'I don't understand,' I said. 'If that's true, why doesn't he just come and kill me now? Isn't that what he wants — to rule the world in a new dark age?'

'The problem is, for the Fiend a hundred years isn't that long. Time isn't the same for him and a century might seem hardly more than the blinking of an eye. Oh no, he wants to rule for much longer than that.'

'So am I safe?'

'No — unfortunately it says in your mam's book that if he gets one of his children to kill you, then he can rule on in the world, and that's why he's sent his daughter to do the job.'

'Does he have many children?' Alice asked.

'That I don't rightly know,' he said. 'But if Morwena can't defeat Tom — and let's face it, she's failed twice already — and if the Fiend has no other children to help, then there is a third way he'll try to destroy you. He'll try to convert you to the dark—'

'Never!' I shouted.

'You say that, but already you've used the dark and weakened yourself with those mirrors. If he can win you over to the dark, his dominion will last until the end of the world. So that's the one that really worries me, lad. He's powerful, yes. Really powerful. But also crafty. That's why we can't afford to compromise with the dark in any way.'

'Who created the hobbles?' I asked. 'Who has the strength to limit the Fiend's power in that way? Was it my mam?'

The Spook shrugged. 'I don't know, lad. I found no evidence that it was she who'd done it — but yes, that was my first instinct. Only a mother would put herself at risk like that to protect her child.'

'What do you mean?'

'There are always things that oppose the dark and circumscribe its power. My guess is that whoever managed to do so paid a terrible price. Such things are not achieved without something being given up in exchange. I searched that trunk carefully but could find nothing at all to explain it.'

If it was my mam who had tried to protect me, I suddenly felt worried for her. What price had she paid to help me? Was she suffering in Greece now as a result?

Alice must have sensed my fears and moved closer to me to offer me some comfort. But the Spook had no time for such emotions.

'We've talked and rested enough,' he said. 'It's time for action. We're off to Cartmel now. If the tides are right, we could be safely across the bay before nightfall.'

Within an hour we were on our way. I was really hungry but had to make do with a mouthful of crumbly County cheese to keep my strength up. My master offered some to Alice but she refused.

On the Spook's instructions, I left my bag at the mill, but once again tied my silver chain around my waist under my cloak.

As we left the garden, Claw bounded after us; the Spook looked at her doubtfully.

'Shall I send her back?' I asked.

'No, lad, let her follow,' he said to my surprise. 'I'd rather not have an animal tagging along but she's a hunting dog, well able to follow a trail, and might be useful in helping us find her master.'

So it was that the three of us and Claw set off to try and find Bill Arkwright. The odds against us were great. We had Morwena and the other water witches to contend with, not to mention the power of the Fiend. Hobbled or not, there was no reason why he wouldn't intervene in some way to make it easier for his servants to destroy us.

But my two other worries were my mam and Alice. Had Mam hobbled the Fiend to protect me? And was Alice drifting steadily towards the dark? I knew she meant well and was doing it for the best of reasons, but was she in fact going to make things worse? The Spook had always feared that one day she would return to the dark; if she did so, I didn't want her to drag me with her.

We arrived at Hest Bank to face a wait of several hours before the tide went out. But, in the company of half a dozen travellers, two coaches and the sand guide, we made the crossing of the bay relatively quickly and safely.

After a steady climb we reached the hermit's cave just before dusk. All was silent within. Judd Atkins was sitting cross-legged facing the fire; his eyes were closed and he hardly seemed to be breathing. My master led the way in, almost tiptoeing forward until he was facing the hermit across the flames.

'I'm sorry to bother you, Mr Atkins,' he said politely, 'but I believe you're acquainted with Bill Arkwright and that he visited you recently. Well, I'm John Gregory and he was once an apprentice of mine. Bill's gone missing and I'd like your help in trying to find him. He was taken by a water witch, but even so, it might well be that he's still alive.'

For a moment the hermit neither acknowledged the Spook nor spoke. Was he in a deep sleep or a trance of some kind?

My master pulled a silver coin from his breeches pocket and held it out. 'I'll pay you, of course. Will this suffice?'

The hermit opened his eyes. They were bright and alert and quickly flicked from the Spook to Alice and then me, before returning to gaze steadily at my master. 'Put away your money, John Gregory,' he said. 'I've no need of it. Next time you cross the bay give it to the guide. Tell him it's for the lost. The money goes to help the families of those who've drowned trying to make the crossing.'

'Aye, I'll do that,' said the Spook. 'So you'll help?'

'I'll do my best. At this distance it will be impossible to say whether he's alive or dead, but if there's anything left of him, I'll find it. Have you a map? And something that belongs to the man?'

My master reached into his bag, pulled out a map, unfolded it carefully and spread it on the floor next to the fire. It was much older and more tattered than Bill Arkwright's but covered much the same area.

The hermit caught my eye and smiled. 'Well, Thomas, dead or alive, a man is much easier to find than a witch.'

The Spook reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin gold ring. 'This belonged to Bill's mam,' he said. 'It was her wedding ring and she took it off before she died and left it to Bill with a note telling him how much she loved him. It's one of his most treasured possessions but he only wears it twice a year: on the anniversary of her death and on what would have been her birthday.'