Alice nodded and he fitted the second plug. Once again, Alice couldn’t see and she couldn’t hear. And the Bane wouldn’t know what we were up to or where we were going. Unless it somehow managed to read my mind. I began to feel very uneasy about what I’d done. I knew too much.

‘Now,’ said the Spook, turning towards me. ‘I’ll tell you one thing you won’t like. We have to go back to Priestown. Back to the catacombs.’

Then he turned on his heels and, gripping Alice by her left elbow, walked her back to the horse and cart where the farmer’s lad was still waiting.

‘We need to get to Priestown as fast as this horse can manage,’ said the Spook.

‘Don’t know about that,’ said the lad. “My old dad expects me back before noon. There’s work to be done.’

The Spook held out a silver coin. ‘Here, take this. Get us there before dark and there’ll be another one. I don’t think your dad’ll mind too much. He likes to count his money’

The Spook made Alice lie down at our feet and he covered her with straw again so that she wouldn’t be visible to anybody we passed, and soon we were on our way. At first we skirted Caster but then, instead of moving back towards the fells, we headed for the main road which led directly to Priestown.

Won’t it be dangerous to go back in daylight?’ I asked nervously. The road was very busy and we kept passing other carts and people on foot. ‘What if the Quisitor’s men spot us?’

‘I won’t say it’s not without risk,’ said the Spook. ‘But those who were searching for us are now probably busy bringing the body down the fellside. No doubt they’ll bring him to Priestown for burial but that won’t take place till tomorrow; by then it’ll all be over and we’ll be on our way. Of course, then there’s the storm to think about. People with any sense will be indoors, sheltering from the rain.’

I looked at the sky. To the south, clouds were building but didn’t look that bad to me. When I said as much, the Spook smiled.

‘You’ve still a lot to learn, lad,’ he said. ‘This will be one of the biggest storms you’ve ever seen.’

‘After all that rain I’d have thought we were due a few days of good weather,’ I complained.

‘No doubt we are, lad. But this is far from natural. Unless I’m very much mistaken it’s been called up by the Bane just as it called up the wind to batter my house. It’s another sign of just how powerful it’s become. It’ll wield the storm to show its anger and frustration at not being able to use Alice as it wants. Well, that’s good for us: while it’s concentrating on that, it’s not bothering much about me and you. And It’ll help us to get into the town without problems.’

‘Why do we have to go to the catacombs to kill the Bane?’ I asked, hoping that he’d tell me what I already knew. That way I wouldn’t have to keep up the pretence any longer.

‘It’s in case I fail to destroy it, lad. At least once back there, with the Silver Gate locked, the Bane’ll be trapped again. This time for ever. That’s what the ghost of Naze told me. Then, even if I don’t succeed in destroying it, at least I’ll have returned things to the way they were. And now that’s enough of your questions. I need some peace to prepare myself for what I’m going to do…’

We didn’t speak again until we reached the outskirts of Priestown. By then the sky was as black as pitch, split with great zigzags of lightning as thunderclaps burst almost directly overhead. The rain was coming straight down and soaking into our clothes and I was wet and uncomfortable. I felt sorry for Alice because she was still lying on the floor of the cart, which now held almost an inch of water. It must have been really hard not being able to see or hear and not knowing where she was going or when the journey would end.

My own journey ended a lot sooner than I’d expected. On the outskirts of Priestown, when we came to the last crossroads, the Spook called out to the farmer’s lad to stop the cart.

‘This is where you get out,’ he said, looking at me sternly.

I gazed at him in astonishment. The rain was dripping from the end of his nose and running into his beard but he didn’t blink as he stared at me with a very fierce expression.

‘I want you to go back to Chipenden,’ he said, pointing towards the narrow road that went roughly north-east. ‘Go into the kitchen and tell that boggart of mine that I might not be coming back. Tell him that if that’s the case he’s got to keep the house safe for when you’re ready. Safe and secure until you complete your apprenticeship and are finally fit to take over.

‘That done, go north of Caster and look for Bill Arkwright, the local Spook. He’s a bit of a plodder but he’s honest enough and he’ll train you for the next four years or so. In the end you’ll need to go back to Chipenden and do a lot more studying. You must get your head down in those books to make up for the fact that I’ve not been there to train you!’

‘Why? What’s wrong? Why won’t you be coming back?’ I asked. It was another question to which I already knew the answer.

The Spook shook his head sadly. ‘Because there’s only one certain way to deal with the Bane and it’s probably going to cost me my life. The girl’s too, if I’m not mistaken. It’s hard, lad, but it has to be done. Maybe one day, years from now, you’ll be faced with a task like this yourself. I hope not but it sometimes happens. My own master died doing something similar and now it’s my turn. History can repeat itself, and if it does, we have to be ready to lay down our lives. It’s just something that goes with the job so you’d better get used to it.’

I wondered if the Spook was thinking about the curse. Was he expecting to die because of that? If he died then there’d be no one to protect Alice down there at the mercy of the Bane.

‘But what about Alice?’ I protested. Tou didn’t tell Alice what was going to happen! You tricked her!’

‘It had to be done. The girl’s probably too far gone to be saved anyway. It’s for the best. At least her spirit will be free. It’s better than being bound to that filthy creature.’

‘Please,’ I begged. ‘Let me come with you. Let me help.’

‘The best way you can help is to do what I say!’ the Spook said impatiently, and seizing my arm he pushed me roughly from the cart. I landed awkwardly and fell onto my knees. When I scrambled to my feet, the cart was already moving away and the Spook wasn’t looking back.

Chapter 20

Mam’s Letter I waited until the cart was almost out of sight before I began to follow it, my breath sobbing in my throat. I didn’t know what I was going to do but I couldn’t bear the thought of what lay ahead. The Spook seemed resigned to his death and poor Alice didn’t even know what was going to happen to her.

There shouldn’t have been too much risk of being seen – the rain was teeming straight down and the black clouds above made it almost as dark as midnight. But the Spook’s senses were keen, and if I got too close, he’d know right away. So I ran and walked alternately, keeping my distance but still managing to get a glimpse of the cart from time to time. The streets of Priestown were deserted, and despite the rain, even when the cart was far ahead, I could still hear the distant clip-clop of hooves and the trundling of the cart’s wheels over the cobbles.

Soon the white limestone spire began to loom up above the rooftops, confirming the Spook’s direction and destination. As I’d expected, he was heading for the haunted house with the cellar that led down into the catacombs.

At that moment I felt something very strange. It wasn’t the usual numbing sensation of cold that announced the approach of something from the dark. No, this was more like a sudden tiny splinter of ice right inside my head. I’d never experienced anything like it before but it was all the warning I needed. I guessed what it was and managed to clear my mind just before the Bane spoke.