The Spook's Nightmare Part 10

'We'll go and see what the witch has to say,' Stanton said. 'We'll play along with her for a while and wait for an opportunity to present itself.'

Chapter 17.

Together we went through the gates, into the tower and up the steps to the throne room. Lizzie was waiting for us on the throne, looking imperious. There was no sign of Alice or the Spook.

Daniel Stanton gave her a low bow. 'I'm at your service, ma'am,' he told her.

It was exactly the right thing to do; the witch positively glowed. 'What do they call you?' she asked.

'Stanton, ma'am. I was the commander of the Greeba Guard. I served Lord Barrule for almost fifteen years.'

'Well now, Master Stanton, you're my seneschal, although you'll still captain the guard. Get them back to their posts sharpish, and the other servants too especially the cooks. Tomorrow night there's going to be a feast in my honour. Which is the largest room in the keep? How many can it hold?'

'The great hall, ma'am. It's in the building beside the tower. It can hold nearly two hundred.'

'Send out invitations, then,' Lizzie commanded. 'I want that hall filled. No riff-raff, mind. I want landowners there rich, important people. Get me the members of the Ruling Council and the Tynwald as many as possible.'

'I'll go and attend to it right away, ma'am,' Stanton told her.

Lizzie dismissed him. When he'd gone, she stood up and walked down the steps towards me. 'I will rule this island. Do you doubt me, boy?' she asked.

I looked at her warily. 'It all seems to be going to plan,' I agreed.

'Even better than you realize,' Lizzie said with a twist of her lips. 'And don't think that I'm not ready to deal with any tricks. Daniel Stanton has a smooth tongue, but I can see through his flattery. After tomorrow night he'll be too terrified to even contemplate opposing me. And as for you, I'll keep you alive a little longer you might just prove useful. But one wrong step and it's the end of that blood jar then the Fiend can have you. Do I make myself clear?'

I nodded.

'Right then, give me your staff. You won't be needing it any more.'

I tried to resist, but the compulsion was still strong, and I found myself laying it at her feet. I knew she wouldn't want to touch it. Witches hated the feel of rowan wood.

'Now get out of my sight,' she commanded, 'but don't leave the keep unless I tell you, and stay away from the dungeons. Go near your master and it'll be the worse for both of you. You'll sleep in one of the rooms up there,' she said, pointing to the steps, 'where I can keep an eye on you.'

Within an hour the keep was a flurry of activity: the guards were back in position and the cooks were preparing for the feast the following night.

There was nothing for it but to go up the stairs and pick one of the bedrooms; I spent the next few hours in the window seat, watching the bustle below in the courtyard while I tried to take stock of the situation and work out the best course of action. Things looked bleak and I was concerned for my master. And where was Alice? Lizzie hadn't mentioned her absence. Had she been imprisoned in the dungeons too? If so, she'd be beyond the protection of the blood jar.

Things were looking bad. We were like flies trapped in Lizzie's web and I couldn't see how to break free. I just had to wait for an opportunity and, when it came, take it despite the risk.

To my relief, just before dark Alice appeared at the open doorway of my room. She was carrying a plate of cold ham, cheese and biscuits.

'Thought you might like to share some supper with me,' she said, coming towards me.

'Where's the Spook?' I asked.

'He's locked in a dungeon, Tom. Lizzie made me help her carry him down.'

We sat together in the window seat and nibbled at the food. 'Don't eat too much,' Alice said with a smile. 'Leave some room for the queen's banquet tomorrow night!'

'Can Lizzie be serious?' I asked. 'What does she hope to achieve?'

'She's going to release all the prisoners of Greeba Keep and invite them to the feast all except Old Gregory, of course. Don't know what she wants to do that for. What's her game, Tom?'

'Hard to say why she'd release the prisoners, but if she really means to rule this island, I'd guess she'll be out to impress and terrify her guests tomorrow show them that resistance is futile. But we've got someone on our side Daniel Stanton, whom she's just appointed as her seneschal. He'll kill her if he gets half a chance. He served Barrule for years, but now his loyalty is to his next master. The Tynwald will probably appoint somebody next week. But what about Mr Gregory she's not going to feed him to the buggane, is she?'

'Not yet, Tom. Lizzie wants to hurt him badly first. After she's had her fun, then it'll be the buggane's turn.'

'What I can't understand is why she's not killed me already or put me in a cell to feed the buggane. Why risk having a spook's apprentice around?'

'Ain't hurt you yet because I begged her not to,' said Alice. 'And she ain't hurt me because she really means what she said about me uniting the Pendle clans one day. She thinks she can win me over to the dark. She can't, but it don't do no harm to let her think I'm moving her way. That's the only reason you're still alive, Tom. I also asked her to let the dogs go or have 'em fed at least. She wouldn't hear of it though. They must be starving by now.'

I nodded sadly. Claw, Blood and Bone had suffered cruelly, but at least, unlike some of the other dogs, they were still alive. I'd have to do something about them and soon.

The following morning I pa.s.sed Stanton on the stairs. He thrust a guest list under my nose. There were a lot of names.

'These are the ones we've sent invitations to all important people, but a lot of them won't come. They see Bony Lizzie as a murderess and a witch and will already be making their own plans to deal with her maybe even raising some sort of military force to move against the keep. Of course, they can't do much until the Parliament meets next week.

'But there are those who have agreed to attend. Why, I don't know,' the commander went on, shaking his head, 'but some especially those who don't get their own way at the Tynwald see her as a route to power. Some are simply coming along to a.s.sess the danger she represents. If the meeting turns against her, I might just use the uproar to kill her there and then. Now, tell me what's the best way to kill a witch, lad?'

'A silver-alloy blade through the heart would be the most effective,' I told him. 'A spook's staff has one, but Lizzie's locked away mine and my master's. Any blade right through the heart might do the trick though at least for a while ...'

I didn't like to tell him that he would have to cut out her heart afterwards otherwise we'd be facing a dead and possibly even more dangerous Bony Lizzie ... But first things first, I thought.

Guests started to arrive at the keep just after sunset. They were greeted at the gate and escorted to the great hall. Mostly they were men, alone or in groups, but there were a few couples too.

The hall was large and spectacular, its high roof supported on heavy wooden beams arranged in a sequence of triangles such as you found in the very largest County churches. Although constructed on a smaller scale, it reminded me of the interior of Priestown Cathedral. On the walls, rich tapestries depicted scenes from the island's history: there were longboats and fierce-looking men with horned helmets; vessels landing on rocky sh.o.r.es; battles, with houses burning and fields strewn with the dead. Dozens of torches lined the walls to show them off.

Gradually the room began to echo with the low buzz of conversation as servants brought in trays of wine and offered a gla.s.s to each guest. The tables were arranged in parallel rows; the head table, where Lizzie would take her place, faced them. To our surprise, Alice and I were seated immediately to the left of the witch's chair, with Daniel Stanton positioned on her right. Yeomen armed with spears stood guard along the wall at the back.

Once all the guests had arrived, another group of yeomen brought in the prisoners and led them to the table right at the back, near the door. I saw that Adriana was amongst them.

Only then did Lizzie enter the room and walk slowly to her place at the head table. The conversation died away as the guests followed her progress. She had clearly raided the wardrobe of Lord Barrule's dead wife; this time she'd helped herself to jewels as well: her fingers were adorned with gold rings, her wrists with gleaming slender bracelets, and set within her hair, which was now clean and l.u.s.trous, was a spectacular diamond tiara.

When she reached her chair, Lizzie halted and swept the room with her eyes. Then she gave a smile, but there was no warmth in it. It was the cruel, gloating smile of someone very confident of her power; the s.a.d.i.s.tic smirk of a bully about to torment her helpless victims.

'Eat your fill!' she commanded. 'We'll dine first and talk later.'

Then, without further ado, waiters scurried into the room with trays of choice cuts of meat. The cooks had worked hard and it truly was a feast fit for a queen. But the guests all ate in silence, merely nibbling at their food, and you could sense the fear and unease that now gripped them. They knew what Lizzie was capable of how she'd slain the powerful Lord Barrule and killed yeomen from a distance. She'd even bested a spook.

At last, when the tables had been cleared and everyone's gla.s.s filled again, Stanton rose to his feet and called out for silence. An expectant hush fell as Bony Lizzie stood and faced her nervous guests.

She stared at them for a long time without speaking, pursing her red-painted lips. Suddenly I felt a chill in the air. She was using something from the dark already.

'The old ways won't do any longer!' she cried. 'It's time for change!'

There was real authority in her voice: this was no longer the mud-splattered Lizzie who had taken refuge with us in the buggane's tunnels though she still twisted her mouth and spoke in a heavy Pendle accent.

'You've enemies across the sea to the east. Captured the County, they have, and now they'll be looking this way. They'll want to seize your land and make slaves of you all, there's little doubt about that. This is no time for dithering; no time for empty talk. A parliament ain't needed now. What good is a talking-shop when we need action? Want a strong single voice, you do. Need a different type of rule. It's me you need! I'll be your queen. I'll protect you. Support me and keep your freedom. It's your choice.'

Putting emphasis on the word 'your', she extended her left arm and brought it in a slow arc from left to right, pointing her index finger at her audience. The rings on her fingers and the diamonds in the tiara sparkled. She was indeed acting like a queen now regal, powerful and commanding. She was telling these people that they had but one choice, and that was to obey her.

There was a low grumble of dissent though one or two men smiled and nodded. Did they actually see her as a future leader, one who would drag them along in her wake?

Lizzie ignored the mutters. 'It's a different life for everyone here now. Let the prisoners go, I have. They were Lord Barrule's prisoners, not mine. His time is over, so I've released them and now the cells are empty except for the spook, of course. But others will join him in my dungeons those who oppose me.'

This time the mutters became a rumble, then a roar of disapproval.

'You're either with me or against me!' Lizzie's voice cut through the uproar.

In response, a man rose to his feet; next to him was a very finely dressed woman with silver-grey hair, her gown rivalling that of Lizzie's. An expression of alarm on her face, his wife grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back into his seat. But he shrugged her off and strode forward to stand directly before the high table.

Florid of face and slightly overweight, he looked prosperous and commanding. But here he was dealing with something beyond his experience.

He pointed a finger at Lizzie and opened his mouth twice before any words came out. His hands were shaking and his forehead glistened with sweat. 'You are a stranger to our island,' he told her in a quavering voice, 'an interloper, a refugee and a witch to boot! How dare you stand before us and a.s.sume such a t.i.tle? What right have you to declare yourself our sovereign?'

Lizzie smiled malevolently. 'A ruler needs to be strong, and I'm the strongest here!' she said, arching her back. 'You're challenging my right to rule, old man. For that, your life is forfeit!'

She stamped her foot three times, muttered something under her breath and pointed the index finger of her left hand straight at the man, whose face was already contorted with terror.

His hands went to his throat, and I could see his eyes bulging from their sockets. He made no sound, but blood started to ooze from each nostril and dribble down over his mouth before dripping off his chin. Then he fell forward and collapsed, striking his head hard against the flagged floor. He lay there perfectly still.

Lizzie had killed him stone dead.

Chapter 18.

The grey-haired woman got to her feet and, with a cry of anguish, rushed forward to help her husband. But she never reached his body.

Lizzie made a sign in the air and chanted the words of a spell. The woman fell to her knees, her hands fluttering in front of her face as if warding off something terrifying.

I was aware of another commotion at the back of the room, where the prisoners had been seated. Someone was trying to force her way towards us but was being restrained by the yeomen. It looked like Adriana. What was wrong with her? If she wasn't careful she'd be returned to the cells.

But Lizzie wasn't finished yet. This was a clear demonstration of her power, its aim to cow her audience so that none would ever dare oppose her again. She stamped her foot three times and, in a loud, imperious voice, uttered more words of enchantment in the Old Tongue. I was still learning that language, a relative novice, and they were chanted so quickly that I could neither catch nor understand them. But the consequences were immediate and terrifying.

All the torches in the room flickered and died down, and we were plunged into almost total darkness. Wails of fear went up from the gathering. Then the huge figure of a man began to form in the air above Lizzie. It looked like a trapped spirit summoned from Limbo. At first I thought she had summoned Bill Arkwright again, but as the apparition took shape, I saw that it was the ghost of the man that Lizzie had just killed. Around him swirled the gloomy grey mists of Limbo.

'I'm lost! ' the spirit cried. 'Where am I? What's happened to me?'

'You're dead and finished with this world for good,' Lizzie snapped. 'What happens to you now depends upon me. I can keep you trapped in that mist for ever or I can let you go free.'

'Go? Go where?' asked the spirit.

'Either to the light or to the dark, whichever your life on this earth has fitted you for. What's your name? What did you do upon this world while you lived and breathed?'

'I'm the chief miller at Peel, a hard-working man. My name is Patrick Lonan and I'm a member of the Tynwald ...'

No wonder Adriana had needed to be restrained by the yeomen. Lizzie had just killed her father.

The witch gave a low, cruel laugh. 'You were a member of the Tynwald. Now you're just a lost spirit. You serve me and you'll do my bidding. Return into the mist and await my call!'

The ghost of Patrick Lonan gave a wail of fear and began to fade. The torches flared into life once more, revealing the terrified faces of the guests. Many were on their feet, about to try and leave the hall. The yeomen looked just as scared, in no state to detain any who tried to flee. But Lizzie immediately took control of the situation.

'Be seated!' she commanded. 'All of you. Do it now or join the dead miller!'

Within seconds they had taken their places again. I looked at the table at the back but could see no sign of Adriana. The woman, whom I took to be her mother, was still on her knees, trying to fend off some unseen attacker. Her whole face was twitching, her body starting to convulse. She was muttering gibberish, driven to the edge of insanity by Lizzie's magic.

I looked at Daniel Stanton. He was just as terror-stricken as the rest of the gathering, clearly in no position to make an attempt on Lizzie's life.

'You've seen what I can do,' the witch cried out. 'Death awaits those who oppose me along with fear and suffering beyond the grave. I will allow the Tynwald to meet one last time in order to dismiss the Ruling Council and declare me ruler of this island. Get ye gone! All of you! Any who wish to serve me may return to the keep at the same time tomorrow night and I will receive your obeisance then.'

The hall emptied quickly and I saw that Lizzie had a triumphant look on her face. She signalled to two of the guards and pointed to the miller's wife.

'Take her home to die!' she commanded. 'Let her be an example of what happens to those who displease me.'

They dragged Adriana's mother away, still wailing with distress.

'Out of my sight, you two!' she said, pointing to me and Alice. 'Go back to the tower. I want to talk to my seneschal in private.'

I thought briefly about simply following the other guests out of the great hall and over the moat. But then we'd never manage to get back into the keep to rescue the Spook. And anyway, I doubted whether Lizzie would allow it her power over me was still strong. So I obediently followed Alice across the courtyard to the tower. We went up the stairs and into my room and sat together on the window seat. Outside it was very dark and neither the moon nor the stars were visible; just a few lanterns flickered on the distant boundary wall.

'That was Adriana's father that Lizzie killed ...' I murmured.

Alice nodded. 'And now Adriana will have been taken down to the dungeons to join Old Gregory. Didn't take Lizzie long to start filling up those cells again, did it? We can't let her just murder anybody she wants. We've got to do something, Tom.'

'If we attack her, she could strike us stone dead with one of her spells. You saw what she did to the miller. She can force me to do things against my will even smash the blood jar. In a few days she may be in control of this island and then she'll think about taking her revenge on the Spook. We've got to get him out of that cell before she starts to really hurt him. It's risky, but the only way out of this keep is through the buggane's tunnels.'

My words were brave, but inside I s.h.i.+vered at the mere thought of the buggane. To come face to face with the daemon in its own domain would surely mean death.

'You're right, Tom, but we'll have to choose a time when she's not watching us. Soon as Lizzie finds out we're gone, she'll send it after us. Right now she's busy giving orders to her new seneschal, consolidating her power here. And all the guards are on duty at the moment they won't be in the guardroom! Now right now, is the time to make a move!' she cried.

Alice was right. We had to strike and now, when Lizzie would least expect it. If she caught us, she would show no mercy. Trying not to think of the risk of what we were attempting, I led Alice up to the study, where Lord Barrule had studied and practised animism. I opened the door and retrieved both the Spook's staff and mine. As we turned to go, Alice picked up the shaman's notebook.

'What do you want that for, Alice?' I asked with a frown, eager to get away before Lizzie returned.

'Who knows what we might learn, Tom? It might come in useful. Besides, if we take it, then Lizzie can't get her hands on it.'