The Spook's Sacrifice Read Free

boggarts, in the second,
witches; now my topic was 'The History of the Dark'.
    'Well, lad, prepare to take notes,' commanded the
Spook, scratching at his beard.
    I opened my notebook, dipped my pen into the
bottle of ink and waited for him to begin the lesson.
I was sitting on the bench in the western garden. It was
a sunny summer's morning and there wasn't a single
cloud in the wide blue sky. Directly in front of us were
the fells, dotted with sheep, while all around we heard
birdsong and the pleasant drowsy hum of insects.
    'As I've already told you, lad, the dark manifests
itself in different ways at different times and different
places,' said the Spook, beginning to pace up and
down in front of the bench. 'But, as we know to our
cost, the most formidable aspect of the dark in the
County and in the wider world beyond is the Fiend.'
    My heart lurched and I had a lump in my throat
as I remembered our last encounter. The Fiend had
revealed a terrible secret to me. He had claimed that
Alice was also his daughter – the Devil's daughter. It
was difficult to imagine, but what if it was true? Alice
was my closest friend and had saved my life on more
than one occasion. If what the Fiend had told me really was true, it would mean that the Spook had been right
to banish her: we could never be together again – the
thought of it was almost impossible to bear.
    'But although the Fiend is our biggest concern,'
continued the Spook, 'there are other denizens of the
dark who, with assistance from witches, mages or
other meddling humans, are also able to pass through
portals into our world. Numbered amongst them are
the Old Gods such as Golgoth, whom you'll remember
we dealt with on Anglezarke Moor.'
    I nodded. That had been a close-run thing and had
nearly cost me my life.
    'We must be grateful that he's sleeping once more,'
said my master, 'but others are very much awake. Take
your mam's homeland, Greece. As I told you yesterday,
a fierce female deity called the Ordeen, who is
worshipped by the maenads, has caused bloodshed
there on a vast scale since time immemorial. No doubt
she's at the heart of all that your mam's trying to
contend with.
    'There's not a lot I know about the Ordeen. But
apparently she arrives with her followers, who kill
everything that moves for miles around. And the
maenads, who are usually scattered across Greece,
gather in large numbers to await her arrival. They're
like vultures ready to feast upon the flesh of the dead
and the dying. For them it's a harvest, a time of plenty,
the reward they receive for their worship of the
Ordeen and her followers. No doubt your mam will
have lots more to tell us – there are blank pages in my
Bestiary that need to be filled.'
    The Spook's Bestiary, one of the biggest and most
interesting books in his library, was full of all manner
of terrible creatures. But there were gaps where
information was scarce and he updated it whenever he
could.
    'I do know, however, that unlike the other Old Gods,
the Ordeen doesn't need human assistance to pass
through a portal into this world. Even the Fiend
needed the help of the Pendle witches. But it seems
that she can pass through her portal at will – and also
return when she pleases.'
    'The "followers" who arrive with her through the
portal – what are they like?' I asked.
    'They are denizens of the dark: daemons and
elementals. The daemons mostly have the appearance
of men or women but possess terrible strength and are
very cruel. In addition there are the vaengir – flying
lamia witches. So many have now joined her that only
a few remain elsewhere – they live alone or in pairs
like your mam's sisters. Imagine what it must be like
when the Ordeen arrives – a host of those creatures
swooping down from the sky to rend and tear the flesh
of their victims! It doesn't bear thinking about, lad!'
    It certainly didn't. Mam's two sisters were flying
lamias. They'd fought on our side during the battle on
Pendle hill, wreaking havoc on the