04 The Spooks Battle by Joseph Delaney

Author:Joseph Delaney
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter XIV

THE WIGHT

IF the guardian of the tunnel was wet and dead, then it was probably a be waterwight and there'

in the tunnel. I'd read about wights in the Spook's bestiary: they were rare in the County but very

dangerous. They were created by witches, who bound the soul of a drowned sailor to his dead

body by dark magic. The body didn't decay. Instead it became bloated and tremendously strong.

They were usually blind, their eyes eaten by fishes, but had acute hearing and could locate a

victim on dry land while still submerged.As I was about to follow Mab, Alice gestured with her

hand, signaling that I should stay back and allow her to go first. I could tell that she was planning

something, but I didn't know what. So I let her go ahead and just hoped she knew what she was

doing.We seemed to be walking for ages, but at last we began to slow before coming to a halt.

"Don't like this," Mab called back. "There's water ahead. Smells bad. Don't look safe at all ..."I

squeezed forward next to Alice so that we could see over Mab's shoulder. I'd expected to see

running water --maybe a stream or underground river that she couldn't cross. Instead the tunnel

widened out to form an oval cave, which contained a small lake. The water almost reached the

sides of the cave, but to the left was a narrow muddy path, sloping down toward the water. It

looked very slippery. The lake worried me. It was murky, the color of mud, and there were

ripples on the surface; something that you'd expect on water agitated by wind. But we were

underground, and the air was still and calm. I also had a feeling that the lake was very deep. Was

something nasty lurking under the surface? I remembered what Mab had sniffed out--"something

wet and dead." Was it a wight, as I suspected?"Ain't got all night, Mab," Alice called out

cheerfully. "Don't like the look of it much myself, so the sooner we're past it the better!"Looking

more than a little nervous, Mab transferred the black candle to her right hand and stepped out

onto the muddy path. She'd only taken a couple of steps when her bare feet began to slide.

She almost lost her balance and had to put out her left hand to steady herself against the wall.

The candle flickered and almost went out."Easy does it, girl!" Alice said, the mockery strong in

her voice. "Ain't a good idea to fall in there. Need a good pair of shoes, you do. Wouldn't like the

feel o' that slimy mud between my toes. Make your feet stink worse than ever!Mab turned back

toward us, and her lip curled in anger once again. She was just about to give Alice a good earful

when something happened that made my heart lurch right up into my mouth.Faster than I could

blink, a big hand, pale, bloated and bloodless, came straight up out of the water and grasped

Mab's right ankle. Immediately she lost her footing and, squealing like a piglet, fell sideways

onto the mud, the lower half of her body splashing down into the water.

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