My only hope was to break out of the circle so I attacked, lunging forward, spearing my staff towards the figure directly before me. She fell back and I leaped over her body into an open space. The maenads were still shrieking behind me. I needed to link up with some of the others – Bill Arkwright and the Spook or even the Pendle witches – and fight alongside them.
A shadow loomed up from my right, and before I could spin to defend myself a hand gripped my wrist fiercely and tugged me away into the darkness.
'Just follow me, Tom!' cried a voice I knew so well.
It was Alice!
'Where are we going?' I demanded.
'Ain't time to talk now. Got to get away first . . .'
I followed at her heels. We ran away from the camp, heading roughly east. The sounds of pursuit faded, but when Alice showed no sign of slowing down, I caught her up and grabbed her arm from behind.
'I'm not going any further, Alice.'
She turned to face me, her features in shadow but her eyes glittering in the starlight.
'We've got to go back, Alice. They'll need all the help they can get. We can't just leave like this. We can't abandon them and think only of ourselves.'
'Your mam said that at the first sign of trouble I had to get you away. Especially if the maenads attacked. Get Tom to safety, she said. If anything happens to him, it's all for nothing anyway. Made me promise that, she did.'
'But why would it be all for nothing? I don't understand.'
'Whatever your mam's plan is for defeating the Ordeen, you're an important part of it, Tom. So we've got to keep you safe. We need to keep heading east. We'll be up in the mountains before dawn. They won't find us there.'
Alice sometimes hid things from me but had never told me a direct lie. I knew that she was following Mam's instructions, so reluctantly I continued east. I was still worried about the attack on the camp. There had been so many maenads down there, but I knew the defenders would put up a good fight. There was Mam's warrior guard, but also the witches from Pendle, the Spook and Bill Arkwright – he would certainly do his best to break a few skulls.
'Why didn't you or the Pendle witches sniff out the attack?' I demanded accusingly. 'And surely Mam or Mab would have known what was coming and raised the alarm too. What went wrong, Alice?'
Alice shrugged. 'Don't know the answer to that, Tom.'
I felt uneasy but said nothing more, keeping my worries to myself. Mam had already told me that her foresight was waning. I felt sure that the Fiend was weakening all our powers, making our mission more and more impossible.
'Come on, Tom. Let's move!' Alice cried, an urgency in her voice. 'More than likely they'll still be following . . .'
So we ran on a little further before slowing to a steady jog.
As we reached the foothills, the moon came up above the solid bulk of the dark Pindhos Mountains rising before us. No doubt somewhere ahead there was a route through them, but we weren't back in the County and didn't have either a knowledge of the terrain or a map to refer to. All I knew was that Meteora was somewhere to the east beyond this range. So we climbed as best we could, hoping to find our own way through.
We'd been climbing through a pine wood for about ten minutes – my body was starting to sweat with the exertion – when Alice suddenly came to a halt, her eyes wide. She sniffed the air three times. 'There are maenads following us. Ain't no doubt about it. They must have a tracker.'
'How many, Alice?'
'Three or four. Aren't too far behind either.'
I looked back, but even with the moonlight bathing the slope, I could see nothing of our pursuers through the trees. However, Alice was rarely wrong when it came to sniffing out danger.
'The higher we get, the more chance we've got to hide and throw 'em off our trail,' she said.
So we turned and hurried on. Soon the trees were left behind us and the ground became steeper and more rocky. The next time I looked back I could see four shadowy figures moving swiftly up the trail. They were closing on us fast.
We were following a narrow track between two huge crags rising up on either side when, suddenly, we saw a cave ahead, its dark maw leading downwards. The path led straight into it. There was nowhere else to go.
'We could lose 'em down there in the dark. Hard to track us too,' Alice suggested. Swiftly she sniffed the entrance to the cave. 'Seems safe enough, this one. No danger at all.'
'But what if it's a dead end, Alice? If there's no way through, we'll be trapped down there in the darkness.'
'Ain't got much choice, Tom. We either go in or turn back and face 'em on the path!'
She was right. We had no alternative. I nodded at her, and after using my tinderbox to light the candle I always carried with me, we entered the cave. The descent was gradual at first and the air was much cooler than outside. Every so often we paused for a second but could hear no sounds of pursuit. It wouldn't be long before the maenads came after us though. And what if we reached a dead end? That didn't bear thinking about.
But the path up to the cave entrance was well-worn, suggesting there was a way through. The tunnel sloped downwards more steeply now, each step taking us deeper underground. Suddenly we heard a faint rhythmical tapping within the wall somewhere to our right. Almost immediately there was a reply from the left wall.
'What's that, Alice?'
'Don't know,' she said, her eyes wide. 'Ain't the maenads. They're back there. Unless there are more of 'em already in the tunnel.'
The tapping became more frantic, building into an insistent beat made by some insane many-armed drummer. The sounds were sometimes above but mostly to the side, as if somebody or something was keeping pace with us, moving along the tunnel. But we could see nothing. Either the things making the sounds were invisible or they were somehow inside the rock. Could they be some sort of elemental? I wondered.
Eventually the tapping noise faded, which made me feel a lot better. Now the tunnel had narrowed and was really steep, the floor uneven and strewn with loose rocks. After a few minutes we emerged into a wider passageway that sloped from left to right. Until now the cave had been dry, but here water cascaded down the far wall and dripped from the roof above, and there were puddles on the ground. We followed the downward slope.
Soon the water underfoot became a shallow fastflowing stream and we followed its course. We pressed on, our mood darkening as our confidence began to ebb away. The depth of the water steadily increased; eventually it came above our knees, the current so strong that I found it difficult to stay upright. By now we could hear the maenads calling to each other behind us, the sounds getting nearer and nearer.
Stumbling along, thigh-deep in water, we reached what at first glance appeared to be a dead end. But the water level didn't seem to be rising any further – if there was no escape route, it would surely have already reached the roof of the cave. Only as we got closer did I notice the extreme turbulence of the water. It crashed against a wall of solid rock before swirling back on itself. It was a large whirlpool.
Somewhere below we could hear a great echoing roar of falling water. It must be dropping through a hole into a cavern somewhere further underground. Then we heard shouts and shrieks of anger from behind us. The maenads were closing on us and we were trapped against the rock face.
Desperately I held the candle aloft and searched the walls that hemmed us in. There was a steep upward slope of scree to our right, a dry area above the water. To my relief I saw that it led up to small tunnel. I pointed towards it, and Alice immediately started to scramble up the loose rocks. I followed at her heels, but our pursuers were very close now. I could hear their feet scrunching up the scree, then pounding along the tunnel behind us.
They'd catch us in moments, I thought. Was it better to turn and face them now? The tunnel was very narrow: only one could confront me at a time. That lessened the odds against us. I decided that it was indeed time to turn and fight.
I handed the candle to Alice. Then, holding my staff bef
ore me at forty-five degrees, I released the blade, remembering all that Arkwright had taught me. Breathe slowly and deeply. Spread your weight evenly. Let the enemy come to you and make the first move. Be ready with the counter strike . . .
The maenads were getting ready to attack, working themselves up into a frenzy, issuing a torrent of words in Greek. I couldn't understand it all, but I got the general meaning. They were telling me what they intended to do to me:
'We'll rip out your heart! Drink your blood! Eat your flesh! Grind your bones!'
The first maenad ran straight at me, brandishing a knife and a murderous wooden spike. Her face was twisted into something beyond anger. She lunged. I stepped back and felled her with a hard blow to the temple. The one behind her moved towards me more cautiously. She had insane eyes but a cunning face and was waiting for me to make the first move. She wielded no weapon; her hands were stretched out in front of her. If she managed to get a grip on me she would immediately start to tear my body to pieces. The others would rush in to help, and that would be the end of me.
She opened her swollen lips to reveal the sharp fangs within, and a nauseating stench wafted over me – far worse than the breath of a witch who used blood or bone magic. The maenads fed on carrion as well as fresh meat and she had strips of putrefying flesh between her teeth.
Suddenly I heard a loud tap somewhere above – nothing to do with the maenads. Almost immediately it was answered by another, much louder and closer. The sounds began to build towards a deafening crescendo. Within seconds it was all around us, a cacophony of rhythmical tapping on the rock. It was getting louder and louder, an insistent, threatening thunder.
The maenad lost patience and ran at me. I used my staff like a spear, jabbing it into her shoulder. She shrieked and staggered back. All at once, perhaps loosened by the thunderous noise, rocks began to fall around us, and there was an ominous rumble overhead.
Something struck me a glancing blow on the head and I fell backwards, half stunned. I struggled up onto my knees and caught a quick glimpse of Alice's terrified face; then the tunnel came down with a grating, grinding, rumbling roar, and everything went black.
I opened my eyes to see Alice bending over me. The candle had burned very low and was now little more than a stub. There was a bitter taste in my mouth. A piece of leaf lay under my tongue – some healing herb from Alice's leather pouch.
'Getting really worried, I was,' she remarked. 'You've been unconscious ages.'
She helped me to my feet. I'd a bad headache and a lump the size of an egg on the crown of my head. But of our attackers there was no sign.
'The maenads are buried under that pile of rubble, Tom, so we're safe for now.'
'Let's hope so, Alice – they're really strong and any who've survived will start to move those rocks to get at us!'
Alice nodded and glanced at the rock fall. 'I wonder what those sounds were . . .'
'I don't like to think about it, but whatever caused them probably brought down the tunnel.'
'Need to find a way out of here quickly, Tom. That candle ain't going to last long.'
That's if there was another way out. If not, it was all over for us. We'd never be able to shift that rock fall. Some of the slabs were too big even for the two of us to lift.
We continued down the tunnel as quickly as we could: the candle was starting to gutter. Soon we'd be in darkness; maybe never see daylight again.
It was then that I realized it wasn't flickering just because it was burning low. There was fresh air blowing towards us. But how big would the gap in the rock be? I wondered. Would we be able to get out? Gradually, as we climbed, the breeze became stronger. My hopes soared. And yes – within moments there was light ahead. There was a way out!
Minutes later, grateful to be free of what might have been our tomb, we emerged onto a high path. The mountainside was lit by the moon, which had become paler with the approach of dawn. I took the candle stub from Alice, blew it out and thrust it into my breeches pocket in case I needed it further. Then, without a word, we continued east along a path that was taking us deeper into the mountains.
We had to press on and find a way through to the plain on the other side. I just hoped that Mam and the others had survived the maenad attack. If they had, they'd continue on towards Meteora and that's where we'd find them.
CHAPTER
12
LAMIAS
Eventually we reached a fork in the path. Both tracks led roughly eastwards towards the plain, but which one should we take?
'Which path, Alice?' I asked.
She sniffed each in turn. 'Ain't much choice,' she said with a frown. 'Neither one's safe. A dangerous place, this.'
'What sort of danger?'
'Lamias. Lots of 'em . . .'
Lamias lurked in mountain passes such as this, preying on travellers. The thought of them made me very nervous indeed – I remembered what Mab said she'd scryed: Alice being killed by a feral lamia on the journey towards the Ord. I was torn between telling her about it and keeping it quiet. But why tell her? I asked myself. She was alert to the danger from lamias anyway, and knowing would only make her more worried.
But I was still fearful that Mab would be proved right.
'Perhaps we should stay here for a while, Alice,' I suggested, looking up at the sky, which was already brightening. 'The sun will be up soon. It can't be much more than half an hour or so before dawn.'
Lamias couldn't stand sunlight – we'd be safe then – but Alice shook her head. 'Reckon they'll have sniffed us out already. They'll know we're here, Tom. Stay in one spot and they'll come at us from all sides – they might arrive before the sun comes up. Best keep moving.'
What she said made sense, so, on impulse, I chose the left-hand path. It rose steeply for a while before descending towards a small valley where sheer cliffs reared up towards the sky on both sides. Even when the sun came up, this area would remain in shadow. As we scrambled down, the pale moon was lost to view and I began to grow nervous. To our right was the dark entrance to a small cave. Then I began to notice the feathers scattered around us.
I'd seen that before back in the County. It was a sign that feral lamia witches were close. When human prey wasn't available, they made do with smaller creatures such as mice and birds, using dark magic to place them in thrall while they ripped them to pieces and drank their blood.
Soon, to our horror, we saw more signs of danger: a second cave, fragments of dead birds – their wings, beaks, heads and legs – littering the blood-stained rocks outside it. But I noticed that the remains were old, not fresh kills.
'We've taken the wrong track, Alice! We need to go back!'
'Either that or move forward a lot faster!' she argued, but it was already too late . . .
We heard a chilling hiss and turned to find something big scuttling along the rocky path behind us. It was a feral lamia. The creature, at least one and a half times the length of my own body, was crouched on four thin limbs with large splayed hands, each elongated finger ending in a sharp, deadly talon. Long greasy hair hung down onto the scaled back and across the face too. What I could see of its features told me that the situation couldn't be worse. This was not the bloated face of a lamia witch that had recently fed, making it sluggish and less aggressive. No, it was gaunt, cadaverous, its heavily lidded eyes wide open and showing a ravenous hunger.
I turned, stepped in front of Alice and raised my staff – lamias didn't like rowan wood. I drove it hard and fast towards its head. There was a dull thud as the end made contact and the creature backed away, hissing angrily.
I followed, jabbing at it again and again. It was then that I heard another angry hiss from behind: I turned to see a second lamia advancing towards Alice. Almost immediately a third scuttled up onto a large boulder to our right.