'I've come to say goodbye, Jack,' I told him. 'I'll be back to see you in a month or so. James is here to help with the farm so things should be all right.'
'All right?' he asked bitterly. 'How can things ever be all right again?'
'I'm sorry, Jack. I'm upset as well. The difference is that I've had weeks to get used to it. It still hurts but the pain's faded a little. It'll be the same for you too.
Just give it time.'
'Time? There'll never be enough time . . .'
I just hung my head. I couldn't think of anything I could say that would make him feel better.
'Bye, Jack,' I said. 'I'll be back soon, I promise.'
Jack just shook his head, but he hadn't finished speaking yet. As I turned to leave, he let out a great choking sob and then spoke slowly, his voice full of hurt and bitterness.
'Things have never been the same since you started working as a spook's apprentice,' he said. 'And it started to go really wrong the first time you brought that girl, Alice, to the farm. It sickens me to see her here again today. We were happy before. Really happy. You've brought us nothing but misery!'
I went out and closed the door behind me. Jack seemed to be somehow blaming me for everything. It wasn't the first time, but there was nothing worth saying in my defence. Why waste words when he wouldn't listen anyway? Of course, everything had just been part of Mam's scheme from the beginning, but Jack was never going to understand that. I just had to hope that he would eventually see reason. It wasn't going to be easy and it would take a long time.
Ellie gave us some bread and cheese for the road and we took our leave of her and James. She didn't hug me. She seemed a little cold and aloof but she did manage to give Alice a sad smile.
The Spook was waiting with the dogs in the wood on Hangman's Hill. He had cut me a new staff while we were away.
'Here, lad, this'll have to do for now,' he said, holding it out towards me. 'We'll have to wait till we get back to Chipenden to get you one with a silver alloy blade, but at least it's rowan wood and I've sharpened it to a point.' The staff had a good balance to it and I thanked him.
Then we headed north again. After about an hour I left the Spook's side and fell back so that I could talk to Alice.
'Jack seems to blame me for everything,' I told her. 'But I can't deny one thing. The moment I became the Spook's apprentice marked the beginning of the end of my family.'
Alice squeezed my hand. 'Your mam had a plan and she carried it through, Tom. You should be proud of her. Jack will understand in time. Besides, you're still with the Spook, still his apprentice. Soon we'll be back in Chipenden, living in his house, and I'll be copying his books again. It's not a bad life, Tom, and we still got each other. Ain't that true?'
'It is true, Alice,' I said sadly. 'We've still got each other.
Alice squeezed my hand again and we walked on towards Chipenden with lighter hearts.
Once again, I've written most of this from memory, just using my notebook when necessary. We're back at Chipenden and into our old routine. I'm continuing to learn my trade while Alice is busy copying books from the Spook's library. The war is going badly, with enemy soldiers pressing north towards the County, looting and burning everything in their path. It's making the Spook very nervous. He's worried about the safety of his books.
Arkwright's dogs, Claw, Blood and Bone, are being looked after temporarily by a retired shepherd who lives near the Long Ridge. We still need to sort out a permanent home for them but I visit them occasionally and they're really glad to see me.
I keep the blood jar in my pocket, my only defence against a visit from the Fiend. It's a secret I share only with Alice, who needs it as much as I do and never ventures far from my side. If the Spook knew, he'd dash it against a rock and it would be the end of us. But I know there'll be a reckoning one day. On the day that I die, the Fiend will be waiting for me. Waiting to claim my soul. That's the price I paid for the victory at Meteora. I have only one hope and that is to destroy him first. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but Mam had faith in me so I try to believe that it's possible. Somehow I must find a way.
Thomas J. Ward
THE
SPOOK'S
MISTAKE
'The moment of danger is close.
Very soon our enemies will be here.'
As danger increases, the Spook sends his apprentice, Tom, to be trained by another spook whose methods are harsh and tough.
But faced with a powerful water witch, Tom's new master makes a fatal mistake, leaving Tom to face his enemies alone.
Can the Spook get there in time to save Tom?
Together can they beat such terrible dark power?
And will the Spook's own mistakes give final victory to the dark?
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
How to Read Spook's Symbols
Character profiles
Maps
By the Same Author
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Epigraph
CHAPTER 1 THE MAENAD ASSASSIN
CHAPTER 2 THE SPOOK'S BESTIARY
CHAPTER 3 A CHANGELING?
CHAPTER 4 DECISIONS
CHAPTER 5 ALICE DEANE
CHAPTER 6 A DREADFUL PROPHECY
CHAPTER 7 THE JOURNEY BEGINS
CHAPTER 8 THE YOUNG LADIES
CHAPTER 9 WHAT I AM
CHAPTER 10 A DELEGATION OF THIRTEEN
CHAPTER 11 NIGHT ATTACK
CHAPTER 12 LAMIAS
CHAPTER 13 MY BLOOD
CHAPTER 14 PORTENTS
CHAPTER 15 THE APPROACH TO THE ORD
CHAPTER 16 FILL THE CUP!
CHAPTER 17 FIRE ELEMENTALS
CHAPTER 18 A BARGAIN
CHAPTER 19 YOUR FATE
CHAPTER 20 THE TRUTH OF THINGS
CHAPTER 21 A SHARP TOOTH
CHAPTER 22 LAST WORDS
CHAPTER 23 HIS FEARSOME MAJESTY
CHAPTER 24 IT CAN'T BE TRUE
Extract: The SPOOK'S WEBSITE
THE SPOOK'S MISTAKE
The Spook's Sacrifice Page 22
