The Spook's Nightmare Part 4

'We both look like Mouldheels now!' I joked, looking down at Alice's muddy feet. The Mouldheel witch clan were well-known for their bare feet and ragged clothes.

'Well, Tom, you certainly know how to make a girl feel good about herself,' she said sarcastically. My face dropped, but then she gave me a warm smile and squeezed my hand again.

'Poor Adriana,' she went on after a while. 'Told us how to survive but it ain't done her much good. They'll feed her to the buggane now for sure.'

We waited for about an hour before leaving our hiding place, then headed south-east, towards the hill where the Spook had waited while we went down into Douglas. We just had to hope that he'd still be there.

We hadn't been walking long when we heard dogs barking in the distance. 'Sounds like tracker dogs!' I said.

The animals seemed to be approaching us from the east. Just when we thought we were safe, the pursuit had begun again. If we were caught, we'd no doubt receive a good beating because of what Alice had done before being taken to the buggane. We could expect little mercy.

Once again we began to run, but this time the sounds of pursuit drew steadily closer no matter how quickly we sprinted. At one point I glanced back and saw three men in the distance; however, the dogs were gaining fast.

I had no staff, no weapons to fight off the dogs. In minutes they would catch us and we'd feel their teeth for sure. They might do us a lot of damage before their handlers caught up.

It was then that something cut right through my fear and panic and brought me to a breathless halt. Alice turned to look back at me and stopped too.

'It's all right, Alice!' I said, struggling to get the words out as I fought for breath. You see, I'd recognized the barks at last. 'They're Bill Arkwright's dogs!'

Theirs was a distinctive harsh sound, accompanied by the occasional howl. And I was soon proved right. It was Claw and her pups, Blood and Bone. They bounded towards me, and moments later were in compet.i.tion to lick my face and hands. But who were the three men following them? There should just be one my master ...

I peered at them carefully. One was indeed the Spook, I realized, and he was carrying both our bags and staffs. As they approached, I recognized the second as Captain Baines. He must have found my master and told him about our capture and what we'd faced. But who was the third? He was a young man no older than twenty or so, with fair hair and an open, honest face.

'Well,' said the Spook when they finally reached us, 'you certainly led us a merry dance.'

'We've been chased already,' I told him. 'We thought it was more of the same lot from Greeba Keep ...'

'How did you get away?' asked the captain.

'We were tested in the barrels on Slieau Whallian we wedged ourselves in and managed to survive in one piece. Then Alice pretended to be dead and knocked the guards out with a rock.'

I couldn't tell the Spook that she'd used dark magic to stop her heart and breathing, so I left that bit out. He'd already be angry that she'd come with me after he'd forbidden it.

'They've rolled you already?' the fair-haired man demanded, speaking for the first time. He looked distraught. 'They weren't supposed to do the next batch until late evening!'

'They did it early just before dawn, to stop too many people coming to gawp,' I told him.

'Then what happened to the others? Did they escape too? Was there a girl there called Adriana?' he asked anxiously.

I nodded. 'There were six of us in all. Adriana was alive when she reached the bottom and was taken away with another survivor. Two other women died in the barrels.'

'Then I'm too late to save her,' he groaned. 'Now they'll take her to the buggane at Greeba Keep ...'

'This is young Simon Sulby,' explained the captain. 'He was on his way to try and rescue his lady friend when the dogs sniffed him out and our paths converged, so it seemed wise to proceed in convoy. Sadly, it seems that we're too late.'

'I'll head for the keep!' said the young man, his face twisted with desperation. 'I've got to try and save her-'

'No, that's madness,' said Captain Baines, seizing him by the arm. 'No good setting off alone and half-rigged.'

'Aye, I agree with that,' said the Spook. 'But in the meantime we could all head towards Greeba. That will give us time to collect our thoughts. I'd also like to tell you all I know about bugganes it might just help. And here, lad, you can carry these. I've lugged them around long enough!'

So saying, the Spook handed me both bags and my staff; then, after Alice had put her shoes on, we set off for Greeba Keep.

The most direct way was to follow the narrow track the cart had used. But to avoid b.u.mping into the yeomen, we took a more round-about route. The country was hilly, with mountains in the distance; the wooded valleys reminded me of the County. The journey was pleasant but overshadowed by Simon Sulby's grief; he was near to despair. After all, what hope did he have of rescuing Adriana from those dungeons?

In the early evening we halted for the night in a small wood overlooked by Greeba Mountain. I made the fire, and Alice went off and caught three rabbits and a large hare. While she cooked them, we gathered around the fire and talked over what had happened in more detail.

'So a real County witch came ash.o.r.e,' said the Spook. 'One or more?'

Captain Baines shrugged. 'Who knows? But there were two men dead, and it gave the Ruling Council just the excuse they needed to authorize the testing.'

'And thumb-bones were taken, you say?'

'Aye, and both fishermen were dead and drained of blood. Their throats had been cut.'

'That could suggest two witches,' said the Spook; 'a bone witch and a blood witch ...'

'Or it could be Lizzie,' said Alice, turning the hare on the spit. 'She uses both blood and bone magic. She had a familiar once too, but it was killed. Maybe she was cut off from Pendle after she escaped from the pit and headed west towards the coast!'

'It's a possibility, girl, I'll grant you that, so we must be on our guard.'

Soon we were tucking into our supper I shared the hare with Alice, but Simon stared at his rabbit for a long time before pus.h.i.+ng it away.

'Eat up, Simon. Try a little bit at least. You need to keep your strength,' advised Captain Baines.

'No,' he said, getting to his feet. 'I've got to press on towards the keep. Once it's dark, the buggane will go into the dungeons and Adriana-'

'Sit yourself down,' said the Spook. 'She's in no danger tonight and perhaps not for several nights to come either. Trust me, although I've never had to deal with one directly, I know as much about bugganes as anybody. No doubt there are still things to be found out, but I know that they concentrate on one victim at a time and usually drain them over several days. How many prisoners have already been taken to the keep?'

'They've been testing for almost a week,' Simon answered. 'At least seven or eight have been pulled alive from the barrels. A couple may have died of their injuries though ...'

'Are they all County refugees?'

'All but Adriana. But for Lord Barrule's interest in her she'd be safe at home.'

'Well, that makes my mind up for me,' said the Spook. 'We need to help those people. I serve the County and its inhabitants, whether at home or abroad. It's my duty.'

'So we're going to try and rescue them from the dungeons?' I asked.

'Maybe we will in time, lad, although at present I can't see how. No, we're going to make them safe from the dark in another way. We're not going to the keep. If the ruined chapel is where the buggane is to be found, that's where we're going!'

After supper we sat around the embers of the fire and continued to discuss what we faced. The sun had gone down and the stars were starting to appear overhead. There was no wind and the wood was very quiet. The loudest sound was the panting of the dogs.

'Just how dangerous is a buggane?' Captain Baines asked.

'Well, you might as well all know the worst,' the Spook replied. 'And you get your notebook out, lad, and jot down some of what I say. There are a few things that needed adding to my Bestiary so you don't know it all. This is all part of your training ...'

He waited while I got the bottle of ink, pen and notebook out of my bag, then he began.

Chapter 8.

'Abuggane is a daemon that usually lurks near a ruin,' the Spook began, 'but it can roam quite a distance from this central point. They're immune to salt and iron, which makes them hard to deal with though they're vulnerable to a silver-alloy blade. You have to thrust it into the heart of the creature when it's fully materialized. The good news is that we spooks have such a blade ...'

By way of demonstration, he reached across for his staff, and pressed the recessed switch so that the blade emerged with a click.

'As my apprentice already knows, they usually confine themselves to two shapes a black bull and a huge hairy man.'

'What's the main threat when it's in the form of a bull?' I asked.

'It bellows loudly and the sound draws upon the dark energy at its disposal. It often fills its victims with such dread that they're unable to move. Then it charges, goring and trampling anything in its path.'

The Spook fell silent and seemed deep in thought. After a while I prompted him: 'What about the hairy man? They call it the Cruncher here.'

'That's an apt name for it, lad. The buggane takes on that shape to dig its tunnels. Its sharp claws and teeth can chomp through tree trunks or roots that it finds in its path. I've just been searching my memory for any snippets of information ... That's why the burning of my library is such a tremendous loss. There are things that only exist in my head now, and when I die, they're gone for ever ...'

'Then you need to write 'em down again, Mr Gregory. Soon as possible,' Alice told him.

'Aye, you're right, girl,' the Spook acknowledged. 'Just as soon as I get the chance, I'll do exactly that.' He sighed, then continued staring into s.p.a.ce as he pulled the details from his memory. 'The buggane does its most deadly work in its invisible, spirit form-'

'It's worse than just dying!' Simon interrupted, his voice full of emotion as he thought of the fate that awaited Adriana. 'The buggane sucks the victim's soul right out of its body!'

The Spook shook his head. 'No, that's not so even though it's what most people believe. The soul survives and moves on. What the buggane sucks out is the animus, or life force, which is quite a different thing. It feeds on the energy that gives a body and mind strength; it consumes its vitality so that it dies. It's just that the mind dies first, and that's why the person seems to be just an empty vessel.

'There are mages known as shamans who practise the same sort of magic, which we call animism. A buggane may gain strength from an alliance with a shaman: in return for human sacrifices it will destroy an enemy or share its store of animas with the mage.

'And that's what I fear most that we may not just be dealing with a buggane alone. There may be a dark shaman involved. Let's face it, in supposedly dealing with the dark testing and killing falsely accused witches the dark itself is being used: not only the buggane, but also an abhuman. So tell me, Simon, when did all this start?'

'Well over twenty-five years ago, before I was born, a witch landed on our western sh.o.r.e in company with that abhuman. Turned out it was her son. She was fed to the buggane and he was imprisoned and used to hunt down other witches. Potential witches have always been tested using spiked barrels, but the guilty were formerly burned at the stake. They've always picked on foreigners immigrants who've come ash.o.r.e and tried to make this their home. Adriana is one of the first to be accused from among our own people ...'

At that point Simon's voice failed him and he choked back a sob. The Spook waited patiently for him to regain his composure before questioning him further.

'I know this is hard, Simon, but anything you can tell me will give us a chance of dealing successfully with what we face. You say "they", but who's behind it all? Who's in charge of what goes on?'

'The head of the Ruling Council is Lord Barrule of Greeba Keep, the one who condemned Adriana. It was his decision to let the abhuman live and use him to search for witches. He also said that nothing could be done about the buggane; however, feeding it witches, rather than burning them, would keep it quiet, and our own folk safer.'

'Then he could well be the dark shaman,' said the Spook. 'It couldn't be worse he's a man of power and influence. But if we can destroy the buggane, that'll undermine him. What sort of a man is he?'

'"Cruel" is the word that best sums him up,' Simon replied. 'He's a man who likes to get his own way and he's a big gambler. There are all sorts of tales about gambling parties in the keep. They often bet on fights between dogs. They say Barrule once had a bear s.h.i.+pped in and made it fight a pack of wolves.'

We all fell silent on hearing that. I hate cruelty to animals, and I was thinking of Claw and her pups being in that situation.

'It must be terrible when the buggane approaches in its spirit form,' I said at last.

'In the open, your only hope is to get away from it just as fast as you can,' the Spook told me. 'Trapped close to one, you have no chance at all, lad. It whispers to its victims in a sinister human voice until they see images in their heads pictures of the very worst things they've experienced or done during their lives. The daemon is s.a.d.i.s.tic it loves to inflict pain and it forces them to re-live those events over and over again.

'You hear the whispering right inside your head. Some folks have been driven mad, forcing sharp sticks into their ears to make themselves deaf, but that doesn't help the whispering still goes on. Over the course of a few days the creature sucks out the whole of your life force. It stores the animas of its victims in an underground labyrinth.'

'You mean a labyrinth like the one behind the silver gate under Priestown Cathedral?'

'No, lad, this is very different. The Bane was bound there, and that labyrinth had been dug out by the Little People and lined with cobbles. A buggane digs its own labyrinth, which weaves in and out between the roots of trees. It controls the trees and makes their roots move sometimes with devastating effects for those who are close by. The first time I attempted to deal with the Bane, as a young man, I tied a ball of twine to the silver gate. I unravelled it as I explored the tunnels and followed it back again. But you couldn't do this here: those buggane tunnels s.h.i.+ft and change, sometimes overnight. They can also collapse, suffocating any who venture inside. There's one record of a buggane being slain by a spook far to the south of the County. About three months after the daemon died, its tunnels collapsed, causing subsidence over the whole area.

'A buggane should never be confronted in its tunnel system,' continued the Spook, 'so going underground is the very last thing we should be thinking about! It won't show its face in the daytime, but just venturing near the chapel after dark should be enough to tempt it out into the open. So that's what I intend to do ...'

I slept well that night before being woken a couple of hours before dawn to take my turn on watch. I thought the dogs would be sufficient to keep guard, but the Spook was taking no chances. He said that shamans had a special power over animals and, no matter how well trained they were, could force them to do his bidding.

At last the sun came up through the trees to the east and soon the birds were singing, the wood slowly coming to life around us.

There was no sense of danger at all. It was hard to believe that, just a mile or so to the north, we would enter the domain of the buggane. We had a late breakfast some mushrooms, again supplied by Alice. It was too risky to buy food in a tavern; neither the Spook nor I ate much anyway. We were about to begin a fast, our preparation for facing the dark.

Later, the four of us set off for the chapel. Captain Baines was to stay behind with the dogs.

'Stealth is the key to success here,' my master told him, 'and I don't want those animals anywhere near the ruin in case a shaman is involved. However, I'm reasonably confident that the buggane poses no threat during the hours of daylight. We're just going to observe for now, so that we're better prepared once night falls.'

By the time we arrived, rain clouds were billowing in from the west and the chapel looked forbidding in the grey light. It stood on a hillside, surrounded on three sides by a wood that extended down the slope. All the walls were standing, but there was no roof. The door had been removed from its hinges so we went inside and stared up at the ancient stone walls, which were patterned with moss and lichens.

'Some believe that a buggane haunts a ruined chapel to prevent it being rebuilt,' said the Spook, 'although there's no evidence for that. However, many creatures of the dark shun places where people gather to pray. Some boggarts move the foundations of churches as they're being built they can't bear the sound of prayers. But what concerns me here is the extent of its territory. How far does it roam?'

'There's the keep!' I said to Alice, pointing towards the grey tower just visible above a distant wood. Behind it loomed the forbidding Greeba Mountain.

She stared at it but said nothing.

'That it is,' Simon said mournfully. 'The dungeons where they keep the victims for the buggane are on this side, just to the south of the moat ...'

'If the buggane's territory extends that far in every direction, it's got itself a sizeable domain,' observed the Spook. 'Let's take a walk in that direction so we better know the lie of the land.'

He led the way south from the chapel ruins. We began to descend the hill, going deeper into the woods, the murmur of running water increasing in volume with every step we took. The ground was saturated and our boots made squelching sounds as we walked.

'That should be the Greeba River down there in the valley,' the Spook said, coming to a halt. 'We've gone far enough. This is dangerous terrain not a place we'll risk entering after dark. If the buggane does take a different form, it's likely to be one suited to this boggy environment.'

'Could it take the shape of a worme?' I asked. Wormes were really scary. When I was working with Bill Arkwright, we had to hunt down one that had killed a child. It had dragged the boy from his bed and eaten him. All that was left was a few blood-spattered pieces of nights.h.i.+rt.

'It's possible, lad but let's hope not. Wormes are dangerous creatures sometimes as big as a carthorse. They love marsh and water. This place would suit one all right.' The Spook turned to Simon. 'Their bodies are covered with scales that are very difficult to penetrate with a blade. Moreover, they have powerful jaws and a mouthful of sharp teeth, and when on land they spit a deadly poison that's absorbed through the victim's skin. What results is a very unpleasant death indeed ...'

I remembered the worme we'd finally cornered. It had spat at Bill, but luckily the venom had landed on his boots. I looked down through the trees and thick vegetation. It was so dense I couldn't even see the river. Alice and I looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. This place gave us a bad feeling.

We returned to the copse, where Captain Baines was waiting with the dogs. Soon after dark we prepared to set off back to the chapel. It had been raining heavily, but now the moon flickered fitfully through tattered clouds, driven across the sky by a bl.u.s.tering westerly wind.

'Well, lad, let's get it over with,' said the Spook, handing me his bag.

The captain and Simon Sulby were to remain behind with the dogs. I suppose the Spook expected Alice to do the same because he first looked surprised, then frowned as she started to follow us.

'Stay where you are, girl,' he said. 'This is spook's business.'