CHAPTER 15

The Silver Chain When I went downstairs, Mam was already back. I was anxious to ask how the Spook was and what she’d done for him but I didn’t get the chance. Through the kitchen window I’d spied Jack crossing the yard with Ellie, their baby cradled in her arms.

‘I’ve done what I can for your master, son,’ Mam whispered just before Jack opened the door. We’ll talk after supper.’

For a moment Jack froze in the doorway looking at me, a mixture of expressions flickering across his face. At last he smiled and walked forward to rest his arm across my shoulders.

‘Good to see you, Tom,’ he said.

‘I was just passing on my way back to Chipenden,’ I told him. ‘Thought I’d call in and see how you all were. I’d have visited earlier if I’d known that Dad had been so ill…’

‘He’s on the mend now,’ Jack said. ‘That’s the important thing.’

‘Oh, yes, Tom, he’s much better now,’ Ellie agreed. ‘He’ll be right as rain in a few weeks.’

I could see that the sad expression on Mam’s face said otherwise. The truth of it was that Dad would be lucky to make it till spring. She knew it and so did I.

At supper everybody seemed subdued, even Mam. I couldn’t work out whether it was my being there or Dad’s illness making everyone so quiet, but during the meal Jack could barely more than nod at me, and when he did speak it was to say something sarcastic.

‘You’re looking pale, Tom,’ he said. ‘Must be all that skulking about in the dark. Can’t be good for you.’

‘Don’t be cruel, Jack!’ Ellie scolded. ‘Anyway, what do you think about our Mary? Had her christened last month. Grown up quite a bit since you last saw her, hasn’t she?’

I smiled and nodded. I was astonished to see how much the baby had grown. Instead of being a tiny thing with a red, wrinkled-up face, she was plump and round with sturdy limbs and a watchful, alert expression. She looked ready to leave Ellie’s knee and start crawling round the kitchen floor.

I hadn’t felt very hungry but the moment Mam heaped a large portion of steaming hotpot onto my plate, I tucked in right away.

No sooner had we finished than she smiled at Jack and Ellie. ‘I’ve something to discuss with Tom,’ she said. ‘So why don’t you two go up and get an early night for once? And don’t worry about the washing-up, Ellie. I’ll see to it.’

There was still some hotpot left in the dish and I saw Jack’s eyes flicker towards it then back to Mam. But Ellie stood up and Jack followed slowly. I could see he wasn’t best pleased.

‘I think I’ll just take the dogs and walk the boundary fence first,’ he said. ‘There was a fox about last night.’

As soon as they’d left the room I blurted out the question I’d been dying to ask.

‘How is he, Mam? Is Mr Gregory going to be all right?’

I’ve done what I can for him,’ Mam said. ‘But injuries to the head usually sort themselves out one way or the other. Only time will tell. I think the sooner you get him back to Chipenden the better. He’d be welcome here but I’ve got to respect Jack and Ellie’s wishes.’

I nodded and stared down at the table sadly.

‘Can you manage a second helping, Tom?’ Mam asked.

I didn’t need to be asked twice and Mam smiled as I tucked in. ‘I’ll just go up and see how your dad is,’ she said.

She soon came back downstairs. ‘He’s fine,’ she said. ‘He’s just nodded off to sleep again.’

She sat down opposite and watched me eat, her face serious. ‘The wounds I saw on Alice’s fingers – is that where the Bane took blood from her?’

I nodded.

‘Do you trust her now after all that’s happened?’ she asked suddenly.

I shrugged. ‘I don’t know what to do. She’s crossed to the dark, but without her the Spook and lots of other innocent people would have died.’

Mam sighed. ‘It’s a nasty business and I’m not sure the answer’s clear yet. I wish I could go with you and help you get your master back to Chipenden, because it won’t be an easy journey, but I can’t leave your dad. Without careful nursing he could suffer a relapse and I can’t risk that happening.’

I cleaned my plate with a piece of bread then pushed back my chair.

‘I think I’d better get going, Mam. The longer I’m here, the more danger I’m putting you all in. There’s no way the Quisitor will let us go without a chase. And now the Bane’s free and has fed on Alice’s blood I can’t risk leading him here.’

‘Don’t rush off just yet,’ Mam said. ‘I’ll slice you some ham and bread to eat on the road.’

‘Thanks, Mam.’

She set to work slicing the bread while I watched, wishing I could stay longer. It would be good to be home again, even if only for one night.

‘Tom, in your lessons about witches, did Mr Gregory tell you about those who use familiars?’

I nodded. Different types of witches gained their power in different ways. Some used bone magic, others blood magic; recently he’d told me about a third and even more dangerous type. They used what was called ‘familiar magic’. They gave their blood to some creature – it could be a cat, a toad or even a bat. In return it became their eyes and ears and did their will. Sometimes it grew so powerful that they fell completely under its power and had little or no will of their own.

‘Well, that’s what Alice thinks she’s doing now, Tom – using familiar magic. She’s made a pact with that creature, and is using it to get what she wants. But she’s playing a dangerous game, son. If she’s not careful she’ll end up belonging to it and you’ll never really be able to trust her again. At least, not while the Bane still lives.’

‘Mr Gregory said that it was getting stronger, Mam. That soon it would be able to take on the flesh of its original shape. I saw it down in the catacombs – it had shape-shifted into the Spook and tried to trick me. So it’s obviously been getting stronger down there.’

“That’s true enough but what’s just happened will have set it back a bit. You see, the Bane will have used up a lot of energy in flying free of a place it’s been bound to for so long. So for now it will be confused and lost, probably a spirit again, not strong enough to clothe itself in flesh at all. It probably won’t be able to regain its full strength until the blood pact with Alice is completed.’

‘Can it see through Alice’s eyes?’ I asked.

The thought was terrifying. I was about to go off with Alice through the darkness. I remembered the feel of the Bane’s weight on my head and shoulders, the expectation that I was about to be pressed and that my last moment had come. Maybe it was safer to wait until daylight…

‘No, not yet, son. She gave it her blood and its freedom. In return it will have promised to obey her three times, but each time it’ll want more of her blood. After feeding it again at the Wortham burning, she’ll be weakened and finding it harder and harder to resist. If she feeds it once more, it will be able to see out of her eyes. Finally, on the last feeding, she’ll belong to it and it will have the strength to return to its true form. And there’ll be nothing anyone can do to save Alice then,’ Mam said.

‘So wherever it is it’ll be looking for Alice?’ It will, son, but for a short while, unless she calls it to her, the chances of it finding her will be very slight. Especially when she’s on the move. If she stays in one place for any length of time the Bane will have more chance of finding her. Each night it’ll get a little stronger though, especially if it chances upon some other victim. Any sort of blood would help it, animal or human. Someone alone in the dark would be easy to terrorize. Easy to bend to its will. In a while it’ll find Alice, and after that it’ll always be somewhere near to her except during daylight hours, when it’ll probably stay underground. Creatures of the dark rarely venture abroad when it’s light. But with the Bane on the loose, gaining in strength, everyone in the County should be afraid when night falls.’