After a few hours of hard work, we had the place clean and tidy, and by nightfall we'd eaten a good meal and had a welcoming fire blazing in the kitchen.Of course, things would never be back to normal, but we just had to make the best of it. And I wondered if Ellie would be brave enough to live here at the farm again. She might just decide to take her child somewhere safer. After all, the witches knew where my house was; one day they might come here seeking revenge. I knew that a lot would depend on how well Jack recovered. If James did stay and work here, that might bolster Elbe's courage.The Spook dozed in front of the fire while Alice and I went outside and sat on the step, staring up at the stars. For a while we didn't speak. I was the one who broke the silence."It's my birthday today," I told Alice. "I'm fourteen now."Be a man soon then," she said, giving me a mocking smile. "Bit scrawny, though, ain't you? You'll need feeding up a bit before then. Need a bit more inside you than that crumbly old cheese."I smiled back at her, and then I remembered what Tibb had said to me after Father Stocks's blood had dribbled from his mouth onto my shirt.I see a girl, soon to be a woman. The girl who will share your life.She will love you, she will betray you, and finally she will die for you.Did he mean Mab? She'd shocked me by saying she loved me. I'd betrayed her, but she'd also betrayed me, by summoning the Fiend to hunt me down. Or did he mean Alice? If so, that prophecy was terrible. Could it possibly come true? I didn't like to think about it, and it certainly wasn't something to tell Alice, who believed that the future could be foretold. Better to say nothing. It would only make her unhappy.But there was something else that made me feel a little uneasy. At first I was going to let it go, but a question kept buzzing around inside my head until I just had to ask it out loud.

"When I was with Mab and her sisters, something happened that made me think about something you once did. Mab seemed to believe she could own me in some sense -make me belong to her. But when she tried, I felt a pain on my left forearm, in the place where you once jabbed your fingernails into me. You said that you'd put your brand on me. That worries me, Alice. We put brands on cattle and sheep to show ownership. Is that what you've done to me? Have you used dark magic to control me in some way? "Alice didn't speak for quite a while. When she did, it was to ask me a question. "Just before you got the pain, what was Mab doing?"She was kissing me -"What did you let her do that for?" Alice asked sharply."I didn't have much choice," I replied. "My staff rolled out of my hand and I couldn't move."Good job I did put my brand on you, then. Otherwise you'd have been hers completely. Given her the keys without blinking an eye, you would."So she couldn't own me because you already did?" Alice nodded. "Ain't as bad as you make it sound. You should be grateful. What I've done means no witch can ever control you like that. It's my mark, see. My brand. It warns them off. Apart from that, it don't mean much, though. Not if you don't want it to. Don't have to sit next to me. Move if you want. Do you want to go?"I shook my head. "I'm happy sitting here next to you."And I'm happy here sitting next to you. So we're both happy. What can be wrong 'with that?"Nothing. But don't ever tell the Spook, though, or he'll send you away again."We didn't speak for a while, but then Alice reached across and got hold of my hand. Her left hand holding mine. I couldn't believe how nice it was to sit there holding hands with her like that. It was even better than the other time on the way to her aunt's at Staumin.

"What are you using?" I asked. "Fascination or glamour?"Both," she said, giving me a wicked smile. Once more, I've written most of this from memory, just using my notebook when necessary.I'm back in Chipenden with Alice and the Spook, and it's autumn again. The leaves are starting to fall, and the nights are drawing in.At the farm things are going well. Jack's able to talk again, and although he's still not back to what he was, he's improving steadily and expected to make a full recovery. James kept his promise and is living at the farm as well. He's built a forge next to the new barn, and the work is starting to pick up. Not only that-he really does intend to go ahead and start brewing and selling ale, so the farm will live up to its original name once more.I know that Ellie isn't completely happy, though. She's afraid that the witches might pay another visit, but she does feel better now that both Jack and his brother are around.The arrival of the Fiend means that everything's changed and become more dangerous.

Once or twice, when we've talked about it, I think I've seen a flicker of fear on the Spook's face. Things are certainly getting darker.The news from down south isn't good. It seems that the war is going badly and new recruits are needed to replace those who've fallen in battle. A press gang of soldiers is doing the rounds of the County, forcing young lads into the army against their will. The Spook is concerned that it might happen to me. He says that he usually sends each apprentice to work with another spook for six months or so-that way they see a different master at work and gain valuable experience. So, at the first sign of trouble, he's thinking of placing me with Arkwright, who works beyond Caster. He doesn't think the press gang will go that far north.The trouble is, Alice wouldn't be able to go with me. But I'll just have to do as I'm told. He's the Spook and I'm only the apprentice. And everything that he does is for the best.

Thomas J. Ward