The Spook's Sacrifice (21 page)

She fell upon the Ordeen, bearing her down
onto the marble floor, and the two locked together
fiercely. As I rose to my feet, my heart lurched in
agony, for Mam's feathers were beginning to singe and
burn, and I heard her cry out to me in an agonized
voice: 'Leave, Tom! Go while you can! I'll hold her
here!'

My instinct was to go to Mam's aid, but I had no
weapons left, and as I watched them tearing each other
apart, blood spraying upwards, feathers crackling and
burning, I realized there was nothing I could do. If I
approached them, I'd be dead in seconds. All that
remained now was to obey Mam. And, although it tore
at my heart, I snatched up my chain and fled that
place. It was the hardest thing I had ever done; the
darkest moment I'd ever faced.

Churning with emotion, I raced up the steps, only
halting to pick up my bag and the lantern. I
thought Mab would follow me but she gave me a nod
of farewell.

'I can't go that way because of the barrier, Tom. I'll get
out the way your mam opened up and see you later.'

I said nothing. I didn't trust my voice. I knew that if
I spoke to her, the pain and tears I was holding inside
would come cascading out.

I quickly descended the spiral staircase and began to
cross the vast dark empty space, hoping I was heading
in the right direction, towards the invisible barrier.

When I finally reached it, I was relieved to see the
shadows of Alice, Arkwright and the Spook beyond it.

I quickly stepped through.

'Oh, Tom!' Alice exclaimed, rushing towards me.
'You've been so long. We couldn't find another way in
so we came back to wait for you. But we've been here
ages. I thought you weren't coming back – that
something terrible had happened to you.'

She halted suddenly and looked into my eyes. 'But
something really bad
has
happened, hasn't it?'

I nodded, but the words stuck in my throat.

'Oh, Tom! You're burned,' she said, lightly touching
my singed hair and a painful burn on my face.

'It's nothing!' I said. 'Nothing at all compared to
what's just happened . . .'

'Come on, lad,' said the Spook, his voice
surprisingly gentle. 'Tell us . . .'

'It's Mam. She's fighting the Ordeen. She says both
of them will die and it'll bring about the destruction of
the Ord. We need to get out just as fast as we can!'

'Is there nothing to be done, Tom? Nothing we can
do to help her?' cried Alice.

I shook my head and felt hot, silent tears begin to
escape from my eyes. 'All we can do now is fulfil her
last wish – that we get ourselves to safety before the
Ord is destroyed. It'll soon start to collapse back
through the portal.'

'If we're still here when it does, we'll be dragged
into the dark!' Arkwright said, shaking his head
grimly.

There was no time to discuss further what had
happened. There was only a frantic flight through the
dark chambers and corridors of the Ord. Down steps
and ramps we ran, descending ever lower towards the
cobbled courtyard.

Soon we were uncomfortably hot but it wasn't just
with the exertion. The air itself was growing warmer,
the walls beginning to radiate heat. The Ord was
preparing to be engulfed once more by the pillar of fire
as it retreated through the portal to its true home. Its
occupants, denied the chance to surge forth and ravage
the world beyond, were sinking back into their
dormant state. At one point the glowing orb of a fire
elemental made a tentative approach but the Spook
jabbed at it with his staff and it just floated away,
fading as it did so.

We'd almost reached the final passage that led to the
inner courtyard. We were close, very close, to escaping
the Ord when it happened. Another glowing orb came
out of the wall behind us. It was large, opaque and
dangerous, and started to drift closer. Two more
emerged so we broke into a run.

I glanced back over my shoulder. They were catching
up with us. And now there were more than three.
Maybe six or seven.

We reached the narrow entrance to the passage. It
was then that Arkwright came to a halt.

'You go on!' he said, readying his staff. 'I'll hold
them off!'

'No! We'll face them together!' cried the Spook.

'No sense in us all getting killed,' Arkwright
snapped back stubbornly. 'Get the boy to safety. He's
what matters and you know it!'

For a moment the Spook hesitated.

'Go now while you've still a chance!' Arkwright
insisted. 'I'll follow on just as soon as I can.'

The Spook seized me by the shoulder and pushed
me into the passageway ahead of him. For a moment I
tried to resist but Alice had grabbed my other arm and
was dragging me onwards.

I managed to glance back once. Arkwright was
readying himself with his back to us, his staff held
diagonally in a defensive position. A glowing orb was
surging towards him. He struck at it with his blade,
and that was the last I saw of him.

The Spook, Alice and I crossed the courtyard and
raced down the tunnel to emerge beyond the outer
walls of the Ord. We hastened towards Kalambaka as
fast as we could, hampered by the soft clinging mud
created by the deluge. Soon we found we were not the
only survivors. A group of witches – including
Grimalkin and some members of all three clans,
amongst them Mab and her sisters – was running a
little ahead of us. We caught them up – and even my
master, I suspect, felt a little relieved to see them.

A sudden roar behind us – like the angry cry of a
wounded animal – made us turn and look back. The
dark cloud above the Ord had now re-formed and was
filling with fire. Zigzags of lightning were flickering
down to turn the tips of the twisted towers a glowing
orange.

We felt the heat on our backs increasing at an alarming
rate and realized we had to retreat further – and
quickly. At any moment the fiery artery would connect
the cloud to the ground. How wide would it be? Were
we still too close and about to be engulfed by fire?

At last, exhausted by our flight, we turned to look
back, alerted by the banshee howl of the pillar of fire.
Once again it was throbbing and twisting, the Ord
within it still visible, the tips of the towers now
glowing white-hot. I thought of Mam, still within that
chamber, holding the Ordeen in her grip. As we
watched, the citadel began to disintegrate and the
towers toppled. The Ord was being carried back
towards the dark, but the transition was destroying it.
Within it, the Ordeen would also be defeated and
would never again be able to return to our world. But
Mam would also die in that inferno. My whole being
was racked with sobs at the thought of it.

And then there was Bill Arkwright. Had he held off
our pursuers and managed to get clear in time?

Within moments the fire faded and a great wind
began to blow at our backs; the air was being sucked in
towards the place where the Ord had once stood.
When that eased, a cold drizzle fell. I closed my eyes,
and it was almost like being back in the County. We
waited a long time but there was no sign of Arkwright.
It seemed certain that he was dead.

We walked back towards Kalambaka in silence, and
Meteora beyond it. My face was streaming with both
rain and tears.

We skirted Kalambaka to the west and headed for
Megalou Meteorou, the grandest of the high
monasteries. The Spook thought we should visit the
Father Superior there and tell him what had been
achieved.

I remembered what Mam had said about women not
being welcome in the monasteries, but I said nothing,
and Alice ascended the steps together with the Spook
and me. She'd already used herbs from her leather
pouch to make a soothing ointment, which she'd
smeared onto the burn on my face. She had simply
employed the methods used by many a County healer;
nothing from the dark. It had eased the pain
immediately, but John Gregory had shaken his head in
disapproval. He didn't trust Alice to do anything for
me. I prepared myself for a confrontation. Alice had
played her part in saving the monastery, and if she was
denied entry, then I too would turn back.

But we all entered unchallenged and were escorted
into the presence of the Father Superior. Once more we
entered that spartan cell to find the grey-faced, gaunt
priest at prayer. We waited patiently, and I remembered
my last visit, when Mam had still been alive. At
last he looked up and smiled.

'You are welcome,' he said. 'And I am most
grateful to you, for I assume that you were
victorious – otherwise none of us would still be
alive . . .'

'Mam died to bring about our victory!' I said. I'd
spoken without thinking, and it was as if the words
had been uttered by another. I could hear the hurt and
bitterness in my voice.

The priest gave me a kind smile. 'If it's of any
comfort to you at all, I can tell you that your mother
was happy to give her life to rid this world of our
enemy. We've talked together many times in the past
year, and she once confided in me that she expected to
die in accomplishing what had to be done. Did she
ever tell you that, Thomas?'

I shook my head. This old priest probably knew
more about Mam than I did, I thought, the feeling of
hurt growing in my chest. Mam knew she was going to
die and hadn't told me until the very last moment!
Then I took a deep breath: I knew there was something
I needed to ask him. Something I desperately needed
to know.

'The Ord was destroyed and carried back towards
the dark. Is that where Mam will be now? Trapped
in the dark?'

It was a long time before the Father Superior replied.
I had a feeling that he was choosing his words carefully.
No doubt the news would be bad, I thought.

'I believe in the infinite mercy of God, Thomas.
Without that, we are all doomed because we are all
flawed, each and every one of us. We will pray for her.
That's all we can do.'

I stifled a sob. I just wanted to be alone with my
sorrow, but I had to listen while the Spook gave the
Father Superior a more detailed account of what had
happened.

After that we walked to the
katholicon
, where once
more I heard the hymns of the monks soar up to fill the
dome. This time the Father Superior told me that they
were praying for Mam and for others who had died in
the citadel. I tried in my heart to believe that it was all
right, that Mam had escaped to the light. But I couldn't
be sure. I thought of the crimes she had committed so
long ago. Would they hinder her now? Make it harder
for her to reach the light? She'd tried so hard to make
restitution, and the thought of her facing an eternity in
the dark was almost unbearable. It wasn't fair. The
world seemed a terrible, cruel place. And very soon I'd
have to face the Fiend again. My hope had been that
Mam might somehow be able to arm me against him.
Now I was alone.

It was the following day before my master and I spoke
together in detail about what had happened. Soon we
were to set off for the coast, but for now we rested, trying
to regain our strength for the long journey ahead.
The Spook led me away from the campfire, no doubt in
order to be out of earshot of Alice, and we sat down on
the ground and talked face to face.

I began by telling the Spook how Mam had changed
back into her feral form before giving her own life to
hold the Ordeen fast. I told him almost everything –
but not, of course, about Mam's real identity, nor about
the pact I'd made with the Fiend to gain the chance of
victory.
That
I could never tell him – it was something
I'd have to deal with myself. The Fiend was to come
for me the next night.

I felt as if I was drifting further and further away
from my master. He had sacrificed some of his
principles to come to Greece and take part in the
struggle against the Ordeen. But my compromise was
greater: I had sacrificed my own soul. Soon it would be
possessed by the Fiend, the dark made flesh, and I
could think of no way to save myself.

When I'd finished my account, the Spook sighed,
then reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled
out two letters. 'One is from your mam to me. The
other is to you, lad. I've read both. Despite my strong
misgivings, they're the reason I changed my mind and
travelled to Greece after all, against all I hold dear.'

He handed them both to me and I began to read my
letter.

Dear Tom,

If you are reading this letter, I will already be dead.
Do not grieve too long. Think of the joyous times we shared together, particularly
when you and your brothers were children and your father was still alive.
Then I was truly happy and as close to being human as I ever could be.

I foresaw my death many years ago. We all have choices
– I could have stepped to one side, but I knew that by sacrificing my
life I could win a great victory for the light. And despite the price paid
in human suffering, the Ordeen will now have been destroyed.

You must take the next step and destroy the Fiend. Failing
that, at least he must be bound. In this task Alice Deane will be your ally.

Whatever the outcome, I will always be proud of you.
You have more than lived up to my expectations.

All my love,

Mam

I folded the letter and pushed it into my pocket. It
was the last thing I would ever receive from Mam; her
last words to me. Next I started to read what she'd
written to my master. The letter that had made him
leave Chipenden and, despite his misgivings, travel
with us to Greece.