Brother Wulf by Joseph Delaney

Author:Joseph Delaney [Delaney, Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241416501
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2020-04-16T00:00:00+00:00

The Beast with Two Heads

There was no time to waste. Grasping the door handle, I realized, with a sigh of relief, that there was no need to invoke St Quentin, the patron saint of locks: it yielded to my touch.

Then I was inside and running through the dusty, gloomy rooms, heading for the back door. It took me what seemed like an eternity to force it open. It wasn’t locked – just swollen with damp, probably because of the recent heavy rain; there had been no fire in the house for days.

Outside that door there was an area of rough grass with a few trees, and then a slope leading down towards a narrow stream. I ran down and leaped across the stream, then kept running. By now I was out of sight of the monks. Even if Father Ormskirk wasn’t dead – which seemed unlikely – he would surely be badly injured and they’d be preoccupied with helping their master.

But eventually, whatever the situation, they would certainly not be meekly returning to the abbey. Not with Brother Sabden in charge. Despite the danger from the boggart, they’d enter the house, find out I’d tricked them and hunt me down.

I had a head start, and I had to make the most of it.

I continued east towards some hills. At first I made good progress, but soon the steep slopes slowed me down considerably. The time I’d spent in the cell had weakened me. I was weary, and hungry too.

Late in the afternoon I saw that my fears had been realized. The monks were indeed following me. From the summit of a hill I saw a line of dark-clad men following my trail, their weapons glinting in the sun. There was no sign of either the horse or its rider. With a chill of fear, I realized that they must have used the animal to carry the Quisitor’s body back to the abbey.

They would blame me for whatever had happened, and would seek revenge. I stared at the distant figures. The one in front seemed to be taller and thinner than the others. Without doubt it was Brother Sabden.

I turned and ran on as fast as I could.

The sun was just on the horizon when they caught their first glimpse of me. Once again, I was almost at the top of a hill. I heard shouts and saw them pointing at me. They set off again, picking up their pace.

I knew that my only chance was to keep ahead of them until dark. Then, if I still had the strength, I could change direction and perhaps escape them altogether. Once I’d reached the summit, I saw a wood below me. It gave me fresh hope, and I forced my legs to go faster, finally stumbling in among the trees just as my pursuers appeared on the hill behind me.

I kept going. I knew that they’d be able to follow me by the sound of twigs cracking beneath my boots, but I

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