The Last Apprentice 3-Book Collection by Joseph Delaney

Author:Joseph Delaney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

CHAPTER XVI

A Pit for Alice

AT last, with the sun once more sinking into the west, the fells were directly ahead. Soon we were climbing up through the trees toward the Spook’s house, taking the path that avoided Chipenden village.

I halted just short of the front gate. The Spook was about twenty paces farther back, staring up at the house as if he were seeing it for the first time.

I turned to face Alice. “You’d better go,” I said.

Alice nodded. There was the Spook’s pet boggart to worry about. It guarded the house and grounds. One step inside the gate and she’d be in great danger.

“Where will you stay?” I asked.

“Don’t you worry about me none. And don’t go thinking I belong to the Bane either. I ain’t stupid. Have to summon him twice more before that happens, don’t I? The weather’s not that cold yet, so I’ll stay close by for a few days. Maybe in what’s left of Lizzie’s house. Then I’ll most likely go east to Pendle. What else can I do?”

Alice still had family in Pendle, but they were witches. Despite what she said, Alice belonged to the dark now. That’s where she’d feel most comfortable.

Without another word she turned and walked away into the gloom. Sadly, I watched her until she’d disappeared from sight, then I turned and opened the gate.

I unlocked the front door, and the Spook followed me inside. I led the way to the kitchen, where a fire was blazing in the grate and the table was set for two. The boggart had been expecting us. It was a light supper, just two bowls of pea soup and thick slices of bread. I was hungry after our long walk, so I tucked in straightaway.

For a while the Spook just sat there staring at his bowl of steaming hot soup, but then he picked up a slice of bread and dunked it in.

“It’s been hard, lad. And it’s good to be home,” he said.

I was so astonished that he was speaking again that I almost fell off my chair.

“Are you feeling better?” I asked. “Aye, lad, better than I did. A good night’s sleep and I’ll be right as rain. Your mam’s a good woman. Nobody in the County knows their potions better.”

“I didn’t think you’d remember anything,” I said. “You seemed distant. Almost like you were sleepwalking.”

“That’s what it was like, lad. I could see and hear everything, but it didn’t seem real. It was just like I was in a nightmare. And I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t seem to find the words. It was only when I was outside, standing there looking up at this house, that I found myself again. Have you still got the key to the Silver Gate?”

Still surprised, I reached into my left breeches pocket and pulled out the key. I held it out to the Spook.

“Caused a lot of trouble, this,” he said, turning it over in his hand. “But you did well, all things considered.”

I smiled, feeling happier than I had in days, but when my master spoke again, his voice was harsh.

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