"Ain't nothing to worry about, Tom," Alice said, coming into the bedroom behind me. "Agnes has given em a strong potion. Sent all three into a deep sleep so they can regain their strength."Not been able to cure your brother, sad to say," Agnes said, shaking her head. "But he is stronger now, and should be able to walk when he wakes. Can't do nothing about his mind though. It's in a fair old muddle. Doesn't know whether he's coming or going, does poor Jack."He'll be all right, Tom," Alice said, coming across and squeezing my hand in reassurance. "Soon as we get back I'll sift through your mam's trunk. Certain to be something in there to sort him out."Alice meant well, but it still didn't make me feel much better. I began to wonder if my brother would ever make a full recovery.

We went back into the living room, and Agnes boiled us up a fortifying herb drink. It tasted bitter, but she assured me that it would do us good and build up our strength for whatever lay ahead. She told me that my family would wake naturally within the next hour, and they should be strong enough to walk back to Malkin Tower. "Anything new to tell us?" Alice asked, taking a sip of her drink."Family don't tell me much," Agnes said. "They don't bother me, and I don't bother them, but I can see things for myself. There's been a lot of activity these past few days. They're getting ready for Lammas. More Malkins visited yesterday than I've seen in a month o' Sundays. Been Mouldheels here, too -a thing I've never known in my lifetime."Alice suddenly laughed, a slight edge of mockery in her voice. "Bet they didn't all walk by your window, so how come you know all this?"Agnes colored slightly. At first I thought she'd taken offense, but I soon realized that it was embarrassment. "Old woman like me needs some excitement, don't she? No fun in looking out of my window onto fields of bleating sheep and windswept trees. What I do is the next best thing to gossip. Keeps me from being too lonely."

Alice smiled at me and squeezed my arm affectionately. "Likes to use a mirror, Aunt Agnes does, so she can see what's going on in the world. Would you do it for us now, Aunt?" She turned her smile toward the old lady. "Important, it is. We need to see what the Mouldheels are up to. Best of all, we'd like to see Mab Mouldheel. Could you find her for us?"For a moment Agnes didn't reply, but then she gave a little nod and went across to the far corner of the room. There she rummaged around in a cupboard and pulled out a mirror. It wasn't very large, not much more than twelve inches tall by six or so wide, but it was framed in brass and set on a heavy base. She placed the mirror on the table and positioned the candle just to her left. Then she drew up a chair and sat facing the mirror."Close the curtains, Alice!" Agnes commanded, reaching toward the candle.Alice did as she was bid, and the heavy curtains plunged the room into gloom. The moment Agnes's hand closed about the candle, it flared into life.

I trusted Alice's judgment, but I suddenly started to suspect that Agnes was a little more than just a healer. A wise woman didn't use mirrors and candles. The Spook wouldn't have been happy, but then again, Alice often did things he didn't approve of. I just hoped that, like Alice, Agnes always used her powers for good rather than to serve the dark.For a moment there was a silence in which I could hear only the rain pattering hard against the window. Then, as Agnes began to mutter under her breath, Alice and I stood behind her so that we could look over her shoulders into the mirror, which began to cloud almost immediately.Alice's right hand gripped my left. "Good with mirrors, is Agnes," she whispered into my ear. "Even give the Mouldheels a run for their money!"A sequence of images drifted across the mirror: the inside of a cluttered cottage; an old woman sitting hunched in a chair stroking a black cat on her knee; what looked like the altar of a ruined chapel. Then the mirror grew dark and Agnes began to rock from side to side, the words tumbling from her lips faster and faster, the sweat beginning to ooze from her brow. The mirror brightened a little, but now all we could see it was wild racing clouds and then what looked like branches thrashing in the wind.

It seemed odd. How was she doing it? Where was the other mirror? We seemed to be looking upward from the ground. Then two people appeared. They were distorted, and immense. It was like an ant's-eye view, looking up at giants. One figure was barefooted; the other wore a long gown. Even before the image sharpened and I could see their faces, I knew who they were.Mab was talking animatedly to Wurmalde, who was resting her hand on her shoulder. Mab stopped speaking, and they both smiled and nodded. Suddenly the image began to shift. It was as if a dark cloud were moving across from the left of the picture, and I realized that our vantage point had been obscured by the edge of Wurmalde's skirts. Then I glimpsed one of the witch's pointy shoes and, next to it, a bare foot, three-toed with sharp, cruel nails. She was hiding Tibb under her skirts again. The image faded and the mirror grew dark, but we'd seen enough. It looked like the Mouldheels were about to join the other two clans. Agnes blew out the candle and came wearily to her feet. After opening the curtains, she turned and shook her head. "That evil little beastie gives me the shivers," she said. "World would be a better place without it."

"Without Wurmalde, too," Alice said."How did you do that?" I asked Agnes. "I thought there had to be two mirrors."Depends how strong the witch is," replied Alice, answering for her aunt. "Water will do just as well. It can be in a basin, or if it's calm, even a pond will do. Aunt Agnes was really clever and skillful: Wurmalde and Mab were standing on the edge of a big puddle, so she used that."At those words a shiver ran down my spine, and in my mind's eye I saw that dark underground lake again, with the pieces of the wight floating motionless, the surface like glass. And I remembered my sense of unease. "I felt a chill when we passed the underground lake," I said. "As if I was being stared at. Could someone have been using it like a mirror to see us pass by? "Agnes nodded, and her eyes became thoughtful. "That's possible, Tommy. And if that's so, they'll know you've left the safety of the tower and will be lying in wait when you go back."

"So let's go the other way then," I suggested. "The Spook's still inside Malkin Tower, so he could lower the drawbridge for us. We can go straight through the wood toward it. They won't expect that."Could try that," Alice said doubtfully. "But they could be waiting in Crow Wood, too, and we'll have to shout for the Spook to let us in. Still, we might have a better chance there. Specially if we go round the long way and approach from the north."There's another problem though," I said. "The Spook will be busy for hours dealing with the dead down in the dungeons. So he wouldn't hear us. We'll have to wait before we go back. Wait until after dark…" "You're more than welcome to stay here until then," Agnes said. "How would you like some broth to warm your insides? Your family will be hungry when they awake. I'll make some for us all."

As Agnes prepared the food, there was a faint cry from the next room. Little Mary had woken up. Almost immediately I heard Ellie soothing her, so I rapped lightly on the door and went in. Ellie was comforting her child, and Jack sat on the edge of the bed near the door with his head in his hands. He didn't even look up when I came in."Are you feeling better, Ellie?" I asked. "And how's Jack?"Ellie gave me a little smile. "Lots better, thanks, and Jack seems stronger, too. He hasn't spoken yet, but look at him-he's well enough to sit up. That's a big improvement."Jack was still in the same position and hadn't acknowledged me, but I tried to be cheerful because I didn't want to alarm Ellie.