Suddenly the Bane attacked, bounding towards me. I readied my chain and heard Alice scream behind me. Just in time I realized that it had changed its angle of attack. I wasn’t the target! Alice was!

I was stunned. I was the threat to the Bane, not Alice. So why her rather than me?

Instinctively I adjusted my aim. Nine times out of ten I could hit the post in the Spook’s garden but this was different. The Bane was moving fast, already beginning to leap. So I cracked the chain and cast it towards the creature, watching it open like a net and drop in the shape of a spiral. All my practice paid off and it fell over the Bane cleanly and tightened against its body. It rolled over and over, howling, struggling to escape.

In theory it couldn’t get itself free and neither could it vanish or change shape. But I wasn’t taking any chances. I had to pierce its heart quickly. I had to finish it now. So I ran forward, pulled the blade from my belt and prepared to stab downwards into its chest. Its eyes looked up at me as I readied the blade. They were filled with hatred. But there was fear there too: the absolute terror of death; terror of the nothingness it faced, and it spoke inside my head begging frantically for its life.

‘Mercy! Mercy!’ it cried. ‘Nothing for us, there is! Just darkness. Is that what you want, boy? You’ll die too!’

‘No, Tom, no! Don’t do it!’ Alice shouted out behind me, adding her voice to the Bane’s. But I didn’t listen to either of them. No matter what the cost to myself it had to die. It was writhing within the coils of the chain and I stabbed it twice before I found its heart.

The third time I lunged downwards the Bane simply vanished, but I heard a loud scream. Whether it was the Bane, Alice or me who made that sound, I’ll never know. Maybe it was all three of us.

I felt a tremendous blow to my chest, followed by a strange sinking feeling. Everything went very quiet and I felt myself falling into darkness.

The next thing I knew I was standing by a large expanse of water.

Despite its size, it was more like a lake than a sea for although a pleasant breeze was blowing towards the shore, the water remained calm, like a mirror, reflecting the perfect blue of the sky.

Small boats were being launched from a beach of golden sand, and beyond them I could see an island quite close to the shore. It was green with trees and rolling meadows and seemed to me more wonderful than anything I’d ever seen before in my whole life. Amongst the trees on a hilltop was a building like the castle we’d glimpsed from the low fells as we skirted Caster. But instead of being constructed of cold grey stone it shimmered with light as if built from the beams of a rainbow and its rays warmed my forehead like a glorious sun.

I wasn’t breathing but I was calm and happy and I remember thinking that if I was dead then it was nice to be dead and I just had to get to that castle, so I ran towards the nearest of the boats, desperate to get on board. As I drew closer, the people stopped trying to launch the boat and turned their faces towards me. At that moment I knew who they were. They were small, very small, and had dark hair and brown eyes. It was the Little People! The Segantii!

They smiled in welcome, rushed towards me and began to pull me towards the boat. I’d never felt so happy in my life, so welcomed, so wanted, so accepted. All my loneliness was over. But just as I was about to climb aboard, I felt a cold hand grip my left forearm.

When I turned, there was nobody there but the pressure on my arm increased until it began to hurt. I could feel fingernails cutting into my skin. I tried to pull away and get into the boat and the Little People tried to help me but the pressure on my arm was now a burning pain. I cried out and sucked in a huge, painful breath that sobbed in my throat and made my whole body tingle then grow hotter and hotter as if I were burning inside.

I was lying on my back in the dark. It was raining very hard and I could feel the raindrops drumming on my eyelids and forehead and even falling into my mouth, which was wide open. I was too weary to open my eyes but I heard the Spook’s voice from some distance away.

‘Leave him be!’ he said. ‘Give him peace, girl. That’s all we can do for him now!’

I opened my eyes and looked up to see Alice bending over me. Behind her I could see the dark wall of the cathedral. She was gripping my left forearm, her nails very sharp against my skin. She leaned forwards and whispered into my ear.

‘You don’t get away that easily, Tom. You’re back now. Back where you belong!’

I sucked in a deep breath and the Spook came forward, his eyes filled with amazement. As he knelt at my side, Alice stood up and drew back.

‘How do you feel, lad?’ he asked gently, helping me up into a sitting position. ‘I thought you were dead. When I carried you out of the catacombs, I swear there was no breath left in your body!’

‘The Bane?’ I asked. ‘Is it dead?’

‘Aye, it is that, lad. You finished it off and nearly did for yourself in the process. But can you walk? We need to get away from here.’

Beyond the Spook I could see the guard with the empty bottles of wine by his side. He was still in a drunken sleep, but he could wake up at any moment.

With the Spook’s help I managed to get to my feet and the three of us left the cathedral grounds and made our way through the deserted streets.

At first I was weak and shaky, but as we climbed away from the rows of terraced houses and back up into the countryside, I started to feel stronger. After a while I turned and looked back towards Priestown, which was spread out below us. The clouds had lifted and the moon was out. The cathedral spire seemed to be gleaming.

‘It looks better already,’ I said, stopping to take in the view.

The Spook halted beside me and followed the direction of my gaze. ‘Most things look better from a distance,’ he said. ‘And as a matter of fact, so do most people.’

He seemed to be joking so I smiled.

‘Well,’ he sighed, ‘it should be a far better place from now on. But, that said, we won’t be coming back in a hurry.’

After an hour or so on the road we found an old abandoned barn to shelter in. It was draughty but at least it was dry and there was a bit of the yellow cheese to nibble on. Alice dropped off to sleep right away but I sat up a long time thinking about what had happened. The Spook didn’t seem tired either but just sat in silence, hugging his knees. Eventually he spoke.

‘How did you know how to kill the Bane?’ he asked.

‘I watched you,’ I answered. ‘I saw you strike for its heart…’

But suddenly I was overcome with shame at my lie and I hung my head low. ‘No, I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘That’s not true. I sneaked forward when you talked to the ghost of Naze. I heard everything you said.’

‘And so you should be sorry, lad. You took a big risk. If the Bane had managed to read your mind-’

‘I’m really sorry.’

‘And you didn’t tell me you had a silver chain,’ he said.

‘Mam gave it to me,’ I answered.

‘Well, it’s a good job that she did. Anyway, it’s in my bag and safe enough for now. Until you need it again…’ he added ominously.

There was another long silence, as if the Spook were deep in thought.

‘When I carried you up from the catacombs you seemed cold and dead,’ he said at last. ‘I’ve seen death so many times that I know I wasn’t mistaken. Then that girl grabbed your arm and you came back. I don’t know what to make of it.’

‘I was with the Little People,’ I said.

The Spook nodded. ‘Aye,’ he said, ‘they’ll all be at peace now that the Bane’s dead. Naze included. But what about you, lad? What was it like? Were you afraid?’

I shook my head. ‘I was more afraid just after I’d read Mam’s letter,’ I told him. ‘She knew what was going to happen. I felt that I had no choice. That everything was already decided. But if everything’s already decided, then what’s the point of living?’