"Suddenly I remembered what the housekeeper had said to me in the cell at Read Hall. "Wurmalde told me that Nowell would be dead within days and that the whole district would be in their hands."The first might well be true," said the Spook, "but not the second. This land of ours may be at war, but we've a battle or two of our own to fight yet. It's not over by any means-not while I've breath still left in my body. We're probably already too late to save the magistrate, but we can still deal with Wurmalde-whoever she is."She's an old enemy of Mam's, as I told you in my letter," I said. "She's the driving force behind what they're going to attempt at Lammas. She wants to destroy all the good that Mam's fought for. She wants to kill me, prevent me from being a spook, and then plunge the County into darkness. That's why she wanted Mam's trunks. She probably thinks they contain the source of Mam's power. And it's her idea to raise the Fiend. Mab had refused to join with the other clans, but just before the lamias chased her and her clan from the tower, she got angry and said that she was going to join with the Malkins and Deanes, that she was going to help Wurmalde."

The Spook scratched at his beard thoughtfully. "Looks like we've paid a high price for driving them from this tower. Keeping the clans apart is our main objective, so these trunks have cost us dear. It seems to me that Wurmalde is the key to all this. Once we settle with her, there's half a chance the whole scheme will just fall apart. The witch clans have always been at one another's throats. With her gone, it'll be back to normal. It's just three days to Lammas, so we've little time to waste. We need to carry the fight to her. We'll strike where and when she least expects it."Then, win or lose, we'll turn our attention to the witches' sabbath and try to halt the ceremony. James finally convinced the villagers at Downham that the futures of their families depended on them helping us, so they promised to lend a hand. They were feeling brave at the time, fresh from driving out the Deanes, but a few days have passed since then, and reflecting on the danger might have lessened their commitment-though I'm sure some will keep their promise. Well, lad," said the Spook, staring into the embers and rubbing his hands, "where are those baked potatoes? I'm as ravenous as a wolf, so I might as well risk one after all!"The new ones weren't ready yet, but I used a stick to drag one I'd cooked for myself out of the embers.

I picked it up and quickly tossed it toward my master. He caught it deftly, and I tried not to smile too much as he started passing it from hand to hand to stop his fingers from burning.And despite all the bad things that had happened, I could afford to grin. I'd already had more than one piece of good news. Ellie and her child were safe and Jack, if not recovered, seemed to be improving. And perhaps I wouldn't be taken to Caster.But there was something I hadn't told the Spook. Not believing in prophecy, he would only have been annoyed. Mam had said in her letter that the dark made flesh would soon walk the earth. By that she meant the Fiend. Mam had been right before. If she was right this time, then we would fail to break up the Lammas Sabbath, leaving the Devil loosed into the world.It soon grew dark outside, and as we ate, bathed in the light and warmth of the fire, I felt better than I had for days. At least Mam had balanced her dark words with optimism. I couldn't understand how I'd find the strength to stand up to the Devil, but I had to trust in what she believed.After about an hour it was decided that we should get some rest; with everything that had happened and the excitement of seeing James, Alice, and the Spook again, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, so I volunteered to keep watch. In any case, it was better that I was alert in case the two lamias came sniffing around. I was confident that James and I wouldn't be on the menu, but I wasn't so sure about the others. At first I'd intended to tell James that they were his aunts, but the longer I thought about it, the less it seemed like a good idea.

Despite over a year's training to be a spook, I still found it hard to deal with the idea that the two creatures were actually Mam's sisters. It would be much harder for James to cope with. So, on reflection, unless it proved absolutely necessary, I decided to keep it from him.The Spook and Alice were soon fast asleep, but after a while James stood up, put a finger to his lips, and pointed away from the fire toward the far wall, where Mam's trunk was. I followed him over."I can't sleep, Tom," he said. "I just wondered if you'd like to talk?"Of course I would, James. It's really good to see you. I'm just sorry things are this way. I keep thinking it's my fault," I told him. "Being apprenticed to a spook just seems to attract trouble. Ellie and Jack had been worried all along that something like this might happen -"

James shook his head. "There's more to it than that, Tom. A lot more. Mam wanted you to take on that job. She wanted it more than anything else in the world. That's 'what she told me at Dad's funeral. And something else. She pulled me to one side and said that evil was growing in the world and that we'd have to fight it. She asked me, if the time came, to move back to the farm and give my support to Jack and his family. And I agreed."You mean live there?" I asked.James nodded. "Why not? I've no real ties at Ormskirk. There was a girl I grew fond of, but it came to nothing in the end. She married a local farmer last year and I was hurt for some time, but you have to move on. I could give Jack a bit of a hand with the farm when things are busy. I even thought we could build a forge behind the barn."You'd get some work but not enough to live on," I told him. "There are two smiths working from Topley now. Everyone goes to them."Thought I might try brewing some ale on the side as well. That's how Dad's farm got its original name."That was true enough. Once, long before Mam bought it for Dad, it had been called Brewer's Farm and had supplied ale to the local farms and villages. "But you don't know anything about brewing!" I protested."No, but I know good ale when I taste it!"

James countered with a grin. "I could learn, couldn't I? Who knows what can be achieved when you set your mind to it! What is it, Tom? You don't look that happy at the idea of me coming home to live. Is it that?"It's not that, James. It just worries me, that's all. The Pendle witches know where the farm is now. Whatever we do here, it won't be over. It'll never be over. I just don't want to see another brother hurt."Well, it's what Mam wanted, and I'm going to do it. I think the time she spoke of has already come; if there is some sort of enduring threat, then I think I should stand by my brother and his family. Anyways, it might be quite a while before Jack fully regains his strength. It's my duty-that's the way I see it, so my mind's made up."I nodded and smiled. I knew all about duty, and I knew what my brother meant.James pointed down at Mam's trunk. "What have you found in there? Was it worth all the trouble?" he asked."I think so, James. The story of Mam's life is somewhere inside this trunk-but it might take time to work it all out. And there might just be something very powerful; something that we could use to fight the dark. It's got lots of her books in it -some look like diaries; accounts from "when we were children. There's money as well. Would you like to take a look?"

"Oh, yes, please, Tom, I'd really like that," James said eagerly, so I lifted the lid.As he stared at the contents of the trunk with wide eyes, I lifted out one of the bags of money and untied the string before pulling out a handful of guineas."There's a fortune there, Tom!" he gasped. "Has that money been in the house all these years?"Must have been. And those two other bags are full of the same," I replied. "We should split it seven ways-It belongs to all Mam's sons, not just me. Your share could pay for the cost of a forge and keep the wolf from your door until you've gotten established." "That's very generous of you, Tom," James said, looking doubtful and shaking his head, "but if that's what Mam had wanted, she'd have shared it among us herself. No, the fact that it's in the trunk, together with all the other things that'll be useful to you in your trade, means you might need it for something else. Something more important…"I hadn't thought of that. There was a reason for everything Mam did. It needed thinking about some more.James picked up the largest of the leather-bound books, the one that had attracted my eye when I first opened the trunk.