The Spook's Sacrifice Read Online Free PDF Page B

seems certain the Ordeen will use
them to slaughter the unprotected monks in their
monasteries high in the rocks. That done, the prayers
that have helped to keep her in check will be no more.
She'll be able to go forth and devastate other lands.'
    'They've been able to contain her just with prayers?
Prayers really do work then, Mam?'
    'Aye, whoever offers them up, if they are uttered
selflessly and with a pure heart, the light is
strengthened. So, although in decline because of the
dark's growing power, the monks at Meteora are a
great force for good. That's why we must strike now
before they're overwhelmed. Prayers alone are no
longer any match for the Ordeen and Fiend combined.'
    'So that is where we'll be travelling to – her citadel
near Meteora?'
    'Yes – the Ord, her citadel, always materializes
through a fiery portal south of Meteora, near a small
walled town called Kalambaka. Every seven years –
give or take a week. We must stop her this time once
and for all. If we fail, next time she'll be so powerful
that nowhere will be safe. But it's the County that will
be most at risk. I am the Ordeen's old enemy. If I fail to
destroy her, then she'll obliterate the County in
revenge. The Fiend will tell her that my seven sons – all
that I hold dear – are in the County, and she will
eradicate it. Her murderous followers will hunt down
and kill every living person. That is why we must
defeat her at all costs.'
     
    At supper, Mam sat at the head of the table. We tucked
into her delicious lamb stew and she seemed happier,
less troubled, despite all that we would soon face in
Greece. I remember it well because it was the last time
all of us – Mam, Jack, James, Ellie, little Mary and I –
ever sat around the same table together.
    I'd spoken to Ellie and James earlier. My brother had
seemed content enough but Ellie was a little reserved,
no doubt because of the witches camped out in the
south meadow. Now, at supper, I could feel a tension
in the air – much of it seeming to radiate from Jack.
    Jack said grace before the meal, and we all, except
for Mam, answered 'Amen'. She simply waited
patiently, staring down at the tablecloth.
    'It's lovely to be back with you all,' she said when
we'd finished our prayers. 'It's sad that your poor dad
can't be with us too, but we should remember the
happy times.'
    Dad had died during the winter of the first year of
my apprenticeship. He'd suffered from congestion of
the lungs and even Mam's skills as a healer had been
unable to save him. She'd taken it hard.
    'I wish that my other sons could have visited too,'
Mam continued sadly, 'but they have lives of their own
to lead now, with their own problems. They're in our
thoughts and I'm sure we're in theirs . . .'
    Despite those sad absences, Mam chatted away
cheerily, but the tension in the room was growing and
I could see that Jack and Ellie were uneasy. At one
point, through the open window, we heard what
sounded like chanting from the direction of the
southern meadow. It was the Pendle witches. Mam
ignored them and carried on talking but poor Ellie
shuddered and looked close to tears. Jack laid a hand
on her shoulder and stood up to close the window.
    James tried to lighten the atmosphere by telling me
about his plans for the brewery he hoped to start the
following year. But it remained a tense, uncomfortable
meal. Eventually we got through it and it was time
for bed.
    It was strange to spend the night in my old room
again. I went and sat in the wicker chair and stared out
through the window across the farmyard and hayfields,
beyond the north pasture towards Hangman's
Hill. The moon was bright, lighting everything to
silver, and I tried to pretend that I was back in the days
before I'd ever become the Spook's apprentice. I
brought all my memory and imagination to bear, and
for a few moments managed to convince myself that
Dad was still alive and Mam had never left for Greece;
that she was still helping with the farm chores and
working