by Jo Spurrier
‘Watched? But Gyssha must have had enemies, surely. Couldn’t it just be one of them?’
‘Enemies, yes. Enemies with the power and will to risk drawing her ire? Not so much. Enemies who could look into the future and see that I was about to attack her, see the way it was going to go, then find you and bring you here in time to make a difference? By my reckoning, that letter arrived at your farm the night Gyssha died.’
She kept watching me with a steady gaze, and the shiver that ran over me had nothing to do with the cooling air. I’d worked out the timing of the letter and the fight with Melly days ago, hadn’t I? ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘What does that mean?’
‘Like I said, we’re being watched. Watched by someone or something with far-reaching sight and a very long arm. And let me tell you, kid, that kind of attention is not a good thing.’
The way she spoke, quietly and with a kind of intense precision, made all my nerves prickle. I knotted my fingers together, wondering if the question hovering in my mind was a stupid thing to ask. ‘Do you mean, something more than human?’
She nodded, once.
The idea of being watched and measured by something even more powerful than the huge being that had gazed down on us that morning was not a calming thought. ‘All right. But why would they care? I mean, I know she was awful, but if you’re talking about something big, bigger than us . . .’
‘I just don’t know, Dee. Maybe they saw Gyssha could be a threat to them if she had another lifetime to gain power and hone her skills. I’d believe it. She was always hungry, Gyssha. Always wanted more. With another lifetime there’s no telling how far she’d have gone.’
‘Or maybe they were like you, and decided it was time to put a stop to the harm she was doing. Like putting down a dog that keeps attacking the sheep.’
From the look on her face, she was unconvinced. ‘I don’t know, Dee. Beings like that, I’m not sure they’d even notice.’
I smoothed out my skirts over my knees. ‘Well, either way, it’s done and dusted now.’
‘Mm. I hope that’ll be the end of it. I’m not going to look into it any further — there’s no way of finding out more without getting smacked down for our trouble, and given that I’ve been warned off once already, they won’t be gentle about it. I really hope this was just to see Gyssha dead, and now they’ll turn their attention elsewhere.’
Hopefully. Then again, the job wasn’t finished yet. ‘What about the crystal?’ I nodded towards the black stone lying on the leaf-litter, with the soul of the old witch trapped inside.
She followed my gaze. ‘I’ll see to it. Can’t leave her in there, or some idiot’ll come along in a few hundred years and let her out again. I’ll need a few days to rest up, but I’ll shove her through the veil and make damn sure she stays there. That should be an end to it.’
‘Can I help?’
She shook her head. ‘Not this time. You’re a rank beginner, and I’m not taking any chances. But you know, Dee, there’s a lot of paths open to you now. Don’t feel that you’re bound here, to this one.’
I turned to her with a scowl. ‘What are you saying? You’ve been telling me all day that I ought to be a witch, but now . . .’ My voice began to falter. ‘You don’t want me?’
‘It’s not about what I want,’ Aleida said, tugging on the handkerchief wrapped around her hand. ‘It’s about what’s best for you, kid. Look, I’m not going to be a great teacher. I’m not patient, I’m not gentle and there’s a lot I still have to learn myself. I’ve got a short temper and a mean streak a mile wide. And if you stay and become a Blackbone, every witch worth her salt will know where you came from. It’ll be a long time before that name means anything but terror and despair, and you’ll have to deal with it, too — Gyssha’s pall will hang over you, probably all your life. And that’s before we even get into the matter of my curse, or the fact that I killed my mother in the craft.’ She sighed and shook her head. ‘You’d be better off with another teacher, there’s no two ways about it.’
‘I don’t want any other teacher,’ I said. ‘I want you. Besides, you need me. You’re not capable of looking after yourself, in your state. I’m staying, and that’s all there is to it.’
She drew a breath, opened her mouth — but then sagged back onto the leaves. ‘I really can’t argue with that.’
‘Good.’ I heaved myself up, stretching cautiously. ‘On that note, we ought to get back to the cottage. Can you call the horse?’
‘Yeah, I can manage that much.’
‘And I suppose it’s too late today to head into Lilsfield, isn’t it?’
‘Probably. But why d’you want to go there?’
‘To buy a bath. You promised me, remember.’
‘Oh. Yeah. Tomorrow, Dee. Take the horse — but I get to go first. Head of house’s prerogative.’
I’d have to stop in at the Sanford farm, too, I mused. I’d promised Melly she could say ‘I told you so’.
Through the still air of the afternoon, I heard hoof beats coming towards us and spotted the pale shape of the grey trotting through the trees. ‘As long as the water’s still hot, I don’t care. Let’s go home.’
An Excerpt from The Blackbone Witches
READ ON FOR A PREVIEW OF
THE NEXT TALE OF
The
Blackbone
Witches
TO BE RELEASED IN 2019
CHAPTER 1
A man stood in the dappled shade in the middle of the road. He wore a leather hat pulled down low to shade his eyes and a printed kerchief tied around his neck. And he carried a bare sabre in his hand. The blade flashed in a shaft of sunlight gleaming through the trees, shining the light back into my eyes.
I scowled, tightening my hands on the reins. Really? I thought. He’s doing that on purpose. And just how long did he spend traipsing up and down this road to find the perfect spot to pose? He was handsome, I had to admit; but the effect was rather spoiled by the smug expression on his face. I’d also bet any money he’d dressed himself as carefully as a girl going to her first village dance.
Feeling my eyes upon him, his lips parted in a wicked smile. ‘I’d stop right there, miss, if I were you.’
‘If you were me, I doubt you’d do anything of the sort,’ I said. I dropped my hand to my side, reaching for the wand that hung there, hidden in the folds of my skirt. But before I could gather the courage to pull it out, our draught mare, Maggie, tossed her head and threw her weight back into the breeching to stop the heavy wagon. She was a gentle giant, our Maggie. Plenty of beasts would just shoulder a man out of the way, but not her. Then again, she didn’t have enough sense to recognise the sabre in his hand, or what it meant. I didn’t imagine for a moment that he was alone out here.
From the gleam in the man’s eye, he took it as a victory. His smile deepened, crinkling the skin around his eyes, and he took hold of her bridle. I wondered what Maggie would do if I slapped the reins on her rump to drive her onwards. We hadn’t had her long enough to know and, in any case, I couldn’t risk him turning that sabre against her. Instead, I reached behind myself to rap my knuckles against the door at my back, trying to keep the movement subtle.
The bandit didn’t seem to notice. He just rubbed Maggie’s long nose and gave me a sly grin. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘aren’t you a good girl?’
Lord and Lady. ‘Are you talking to me, or the horse?’
‘You tell me,’ he said. ‘Are you a good girl?’
I couldn’t think of any way to answer him that wouldn’t lead to a conversation I did not want to have, so I just scowled as he blatantly looked me over. I knew exactly what he’d make of me. A young woman in worn and mended clothes, brown hair coming loose from its braid, sitting on the footplate of a sturdy travellers’ wagon. I looked every inch a maid-servant, but though I was coarsely dressed, the wagon, Maggie and her harness had clearly cost a pretty penny. I could see why they thought us an appealing target. They had no way of knowing who was behind the door a
t my back.
Still grinning like a fool, he came towards me, sliding his gloved hand along the rein. ‘You should be careful, pretty young thing like you, out here all on your own. There’s all kinds of scoundrels in these woods, you see . . .’
At those words, a dozen men appeared around us, stepping out from behind bushes and rocks, a few even swinging down from the trees.
‘But never fear,’ he went on. ‘I’ll protect you.’
I leaned back and this time thumped my elbow against the door. Come on, Aleida. My mistress was sleeping inside. Not too deeply, I hoped.
The bandit caught the movement with a lift of his chin. ‘Ah,’ he said, sheathing his sword. ‘Or perhaps you aren’t all alone, after all?’ With that, he put one foot to the step-iron and sprang up to sit beside me. With a yelp, I tried to move away, but all I succeeded in doing was trapping my wand under me as he reached across and plucked the reins out of my grip. The other arm snaked behind me, around my waist and pulled me close. Oh, good grief, was he wearing scent? I’d half-expected the stink of someone who went weeks between baths and, honestly, I wasn’t sure if this was any better.
‘Who’s inside, lass? Your father or your husband? Or your master, perhaps?’
‘None of those,’ I snapped. ‘And if you don’t take your hands off of me right now I swear by all the demons in all the hells you’re going to regret it.’ With my heart beating hard I thumped the door again. This time, there came an answering knock through the wood, and the knot of anxiety under my heart softened a little. My teacher was awake, after all.
The bandit just laughed at my bluster. ‘Oh, don’t be like that, honey-cake. Besides, you’ve got it all wrong. I promise, the only time ladies have cause for regret is when I leave.’
‘I’ll do my best to bear it with fortitude,’ I said. ‘Seriously, though. You should go, now. Before it’s too late.’
The men were closing around us now, and I cast a wary eye over them. A couple of them were just young lads, close to my age. Others were older, but none of them were quite what I’d picture as hard-bitten criminals. They looked just like ordinary folk, with the usual complement of eyes, teeth and noses. Of course, once we drive away from here, they might not be so lucky. Why didn’t I draw my wand when I had the chance? I could feel it half-pinned under my leg, and wondered if I dared try to dig it out. With this lout of a bandit pressed against me, I was terrified he’d take the gesture as something else entirely. Aleida is never going to let me hear the end of this!
‘Now, now, sweet,’ he said. ‘Why would you say something like that, when I’ve been nothing but a gentleman to you? Well, what do we have inside this fine little wagon? Perhaps you and I should take a look.’ He stood swiftly, catching my wrist to yank me to my feet.
That was all I needed to find the smooth wooden handle of my wand. I pulled it free and shoved the point of it towards his face. For a second he recoiled — just a second, and then he realised it wasn’t a knife I’d thrust towards him, but a chunk of crystal hafted to a wooden shaft.
Looking more puzzled than anything else, he tried to snatch it out of my hand, but the moment he touched the stone there came a flash of light and a crack like thunder. The shock of it threw him back against the door, and the air was suddenly full of the smell of burning hair and scorched leather.
Before he could recover — before the men around us could react at all to what had happened — there came a piercing shriek from above.
Something huge and dark speared down through the trees, screeching like a demon. It was an eagle, huge, its wingspan wider than the reach of my arms. It came swooping down towards us, only to flare its wings and bank hard, diving under the wagon’s eaves as it reached out with taloned feet, each as large as my hand.
It slashed at the bandit’s face and the man screamed, flailing at the eagle as it beat about his head with its vast wings. I ducked away from the wildly swinging arms and wings, and then I had a thought. He looked awfully precarious there, balancing on the narrow footboard . . .
Crouching low, my shoulder against the wall of the wagon, I shoved him with all my strength. With a strangled cry of surprise, he toppled from the seat, landing heavily in the road in a puff of dust, blood pouring down his face.
Then, behind me, the door swung open and my mistress loomed out, her black hair tousled and her dark eyes glowering, her wand in her hand. ‘Get the reins,’ she said to me while the eagle flapped over our heads, climbing with laborious beats of its wings, turning its fierce gaze to the man who’d taken hold of Maggie’s head. The rest of the bandits were crowding around us, one of them even climbing up to the footboard where we stood.
Aleida turned to him with murder in her eyes. I left her to it. That scented buffoon had dropped the reins when he hauled me up, and they had fallen onto the shafts, down where they attached to the wagon. With a quick glance at Maggie to make sure she wasn’t thinking of kicking, I slipped down to retrieve them, hearing the crackling roar of a fireball above my head and the shriek of a bandit as Aleida sent it searing his way.
She caught me by the collar to steady me as I scrambled back up. ‘Get her moving! Go!’
Maggie didn’t need to be told twice. I was still gathering up the reins, but it seemed the mare had decided by herself that she’d had quite enough of all this bother. With a nicker of fright, she reared between the shafts and threw herself forward, jerking the wagon into motion with a lurch that set me and Aleida both snatching for a grip to steady ourselves.
It didn’t stop Aleida from throwing another fireball at the men who rushed towards us, waving their arms and shouting as though they could stop Maggie in her tracks.
‘Get out of the way, you fools!’ I yelled, having a horrifying vision of what would happen if they went down under Maggie’s enormous hooves, or the wheels of our heavy wagon. Amidst all the confusion something hit the wood near me with a hefty thunk, but it barely registered with everything else that was going on, with men running towards us or away from Aleida’s fireballs, as well as the eagle circling, searching for a new target.
But there was one man not moving, seeming calm amid the chaos. He had a bow in his hands, sighting at the eagle as he hauled back the string. ‘Aleida!’ I yelled. ‘Bow!’
‘I see it,’ she growled, and stepped towards the edge of the footboard for a clear line to the fellow, raising her wand. The smoke-stained crystal at its tip glowed with a vivid green pinpoint of light, and I felt power flex around us, thickening the air.
The bow in the bandit’s hands squirmed, rippled, and then burst into life. Tiny green buds split the wood, swelling to a leafy profusion, while pale white roots swarmed from the lower length of the bow-stave, questing for the ground. By the time the bandit dropped the thing in surprise, it was barely recognisable as a weapon.
Aleida sat beside me with a thump, gripping the seat with one hand. ‘Give me the reins, Dee. Check behind us.’
Now that the wagon was moving, Maggie was settling into a laboured canter, determined to leave all this vexation behind. A sentiment I definitely shared. I handed the reins over and tried to stand, only to lose my balance as something pulled me back down. There was an arrow jutting from the wagon seat, inches from my leg. It had pierced my skirts and petticoats right through, pinning them to the bench.
I pulled it out, and Aleida snatched it from my hand, her face dark. ‘Are they coming after us?’
This time I managed to stand on the rocking seat, and peered around the edge of the wagon to see just a few of the bandits left milling in the road. The rest had retreated into the trees. ‘No,’ I said, sitting down again. ‘They’ve got the wind up them good and proper.’
She rolled the arrow in her hand, her face like thunder. ‘We should go back.’
‘What?’ I said. ‘No! Why?’
‘They shot at you!’ she said. ‘No one shoots at my apprentice! I’ll turn that little wretch inside out!’
I pressed my lips together, focussing on t
he road and Maggie’s ears, still flat back with annoyance for the whole affair. Convincing her to stop now would be no easy task. ‘Oh, let’s just keep going. I reckon they’ve learned their lesson.’
‘Mm. Maybe.’ She turned to me then, and I wanted to shrink away at the anger in her eyes. ‘Dee,’ she said. ‘Why in the hells didn’t you have your wand out? You should have had it in your hand as soon as you saw him.’
I didn’t ask how she knew. I just looked away, hiding behind the excuse of keeping my eyes on the road. ‘You said we should keep our heads down. Try not to make it obvious that we’re . . . what we are.’
She snorted. ‘For villages, sure. Farms, maybe. But bandits? Screw ’em, who cares what they think? If you’d pulled your wand out, that idiot wouldn’t have dared get close enough to grab you.’
‘For you, maybe,’ I muttered.
‘What was that?’
‘For you,’ I said. ‘Aleida, you look like a witch. I just look like a servant girl.’ I glanced down at my wand, lying beside my thigh, the crystal bound to the shaft with copper wire. I’d made it myself, under her direction, but it didn’t feel real. It felt just like a hunk of rock tied to a wooden handle. Not like Aleida’s wand of smoke-wreathed quartz. You could feel the power in that stone, radiating like heat from a fire.
‘I’ve told you, Dee. It’s not what you look like, it’s how you carry yourself. Next time something like that happens, I want your wand out right away.’
‘Even if I still can’t really use the damn thing?’
‘Especially then. It’s not going to do anything if it’s not in your hand.’
‘But I can’t—’
‘And you never will if you don’t try. He saw you as a harmless little girl because that’s how you were acting. You’re not a servant-girl, you’re a witch. Act like it.’
‘Yes, miss,’ I said, scowling down at my dangling feet. ‘And I’m fine, by the way,’ I added, tartly.
She looked me over with flat, dark eyes. ‘I know. If you weren’t, those fools back there would have seen why I’m called Blackbone.’
