I whirl and spin, avoiding their sharp poisonous tips, and the hilt of my blade smashes hard into its mouth, making of it a bloody ruin. It reminds me of what I did to the Fiend, and I smile.
Oh, Mr Wolf! What big teeth you had!
I laugh as it shakes its head and the shattered teeth fall from its mouth. Some of them are red with blood, and it is enraged as I spring away; now it is snarling and spinning like a mad dog trying to catch its elusive tail. But it is slow, so very slow, and I am lithe and nimble. We dance together; the dance of death that it promised me.
Oh, Mr Wolf! What big eyes you had!
My words are true because my blades have taken them both, stabbing faster than a blink, straight in under the bone shields. Now the kretch is blind again. This time it will not be given the chance to recover. This time only death awaits it.
I stab and cut as if in a frenzy. But each blow is measured; each slicing of its flesh calculated and precise – until it is weak and the ground is soaked in its blood.
Oh, Mr Wolf! What a big heart you had!
Now I hold the heart of the kretch in my hands. At first it continues to beat, but soon it is still and begins to cool. I cut it into tiny pieces and scatter the bloody fragments on the ground. Finally I dismember the body and scatter it to the wind.
The crows will feast well.
But its thumb-bones I keep. Later they will join the others that I wear around my neck.
My favourite weapon is the long blade: I use it for fighting at close quarters. Think you can beat me? It is already buried in your heart!
THE KRETCH IS dead, and now I keep my promise:
the ones who slew Thorne must all die too.
So I begin the hunt.
I break the back of Lisa Dugdale.
I hang her from an oak by her toes;
I drain her blood;
I take her bones.
I drown Jenny Croston in a deep cold pond.
I hold her head underwater while her limbs thrash;
I drain her blood;
I take her bones.
Maggie Lunt begs like a frightened child.
I kill her quickly; my knife splits her heart;
I drain her blood;
I take her bones.
Finally I catch and slay Bowker, the mage;
I take his bones;
I drain his blood.
Thus Thorne is avenged –
For who is left to say:
‘We took her bones’?
None, because all are dead,
And I took theirs.
I am Grimalkin.
I sense your threat! How strong are you? Are you worth my time? Shall I look for you in my mirror!
I SIT CROSS-LEGGED, sheltering by a hawthorn hedge, and remove the Fiend’s head from the leather sack. I place it on the grass before me.
It is a sorry sight indeed, and I smile. They have not attempted to unpick the stitches from his remaining eye, but the green apple and rose thorns have been plucked from his mouth. The head groans, showing the yellow stumps of teeth.
‘I win again!’ I cry. ‘Despite all that your followers attempted, you are still in my power. The kretch and your servants are dead!’
The Fiend does not reply. Even when I prod the lid of the stitched eye hard with a stick, it does not flicker. The head is cold, still and silent, almost as if the Fiend has deserted it and returned to the dark. But that cannot be because he is trapped within it.
He does not reply because, for now, he is defeated. I have won, his followers are slain, and he cannot bear to confront the victor. I have damaged him badly and I feel deeply satisfied.
I no longer have an apple or thorns at my disposal; instead I use a tangle of nettles and hawthorn twigs, ramming them into the Fiend’s mouth with considerable force. Then, with a smile of triumph, I thrust the head back into the sack.
This stage of our battle against the Fiend’s servants has ended successfully. So now it is vital that Tom Ward travels to Malkin Tower to study what his mother has bequeathed to him. I will offer him all the help he needs so that he can discover the means by which we can finally destroy the Fiend!
But the closer we come to achieving that aim, the greater the danger will become. No doubt soon there will be another threat.
A witch cannot scry her own death but she can do it for another. Recently I have foreseen a new threat to Alice. The mirror went dark so it allows a little hope. But I am deeply concerned. Four of us: Themas Ward, John Gregory, Alice and I are bound together in this enterprise.
I fear that not all of us will survive.
About the Author
Joseph Delaney lives in Lancashire. His home is in the middle of boggart territory and his village has a boggart called the Hall Knocker which was laid to rest under the step of a house near the church.
THE WARDSTONE CHRONICLES
BOOK ONE:
THE SPOOK’S APPRENTICE
BOOK TWO:
THE SPOOK’S CURSE
BOOK THREE:
THE SPOOK’S SECRET
BOOK FOUR:
THE SPOOK’S BATTLE
BOOK FIVE:
THE SPOOK’S MISTAKE
BOOK SIX:
THE SPOOK’S SACRIFICE
BOOK SEVEN:
THE SPOOK’S NIGHTMARE
BOOK EIGHT:
THE SPOOK’S DESTINY
BOOK NINE:
SPOOK’S: I AM GRIMALKIN
ALSO AVAILABLE
THE SPOOK’S STORIES:
WITCHES
THE SPOOK’S BESTIARY
SPOOK’S: I AM GRIMALKIN
AN RHCB DIGITAL EBOOK 978 0 370 33212 3
Published in Great Britain by RHCB Digital,
an imprint of Random House Children’s Books
A Random House Group Company
This ebook edition published 2011
Copyright © Joseph Delaney, 2011
First Published in Great Britain by The Bodley Head, 2011
The right of Joseph Delaney to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
You’ve announced that the Wardstone Chronicles will soon be drawing to a conclusion. Are you sad to be leaving them behind?
Yes, I will be sad when the series comes to an end because it has been so much a part of my life for the last ten years. However, I always look towards the future and it would be great to have a completely different new series (perhaps in another genre, such as science fantasy).
I do find it hard to accept that there will never be another book set in the world of the Wardstone Chronicles because much still remains to be explored.
You first came up with the idea for The Spook’s Apprentice in 1983, although the first book wasn’t written until 2001. Looking back on the series all these years later, how close to your original vision do you think the books are? Are there any ideas you wanted to explore but haven’t had a chance to?
The idea was something I jotted in my notebook on reali
zing that the village where I lived had its own boggart! The story was very vague and I didn’t guess for a moment that the stories would feature witches and the Fiend. I discover my plots rather than carry out detailed planning in advance so the series develops as I write. Who knows what still remains to be explored? I look forward to finding out more myself!
The books are often terrifying to read! Do you ever scare yourself while writing them?
I don’t get scared whilst writing. I think it’s a bit like being the pilot of an aircraft who encounters turbulence but has years of experience and the knowledge of having safely survived it before. The poor passengers, however, may be terrified because they don’t know what might happen next! So my readers are my passengers! I am doing my best to give them an interesting flight!
I Am Grimalkin is the first full-length book in the Wardstone Chronicles to be narrated by someone other than Tom, and he actually hardly appears in the story. What made you want to write a book from Grimalkin’s perspective? Is she a character that particularly appeals to you?
Yes, Grimalkin slowly grew in my imagination and she really does appeal to me – it was interesting to write with a different narrative voice. Grimalkin is dangerous and almost out of control. I have to work hard to stop her killing too many people!
A witch assassin who cuts off her enemies thumbs is a very dark character to narrate a book! Did you find it challenging to make her empathetic to the reader?
Yes it was a challenge. I had to be careful and try to make her more human so that readers would be able to relate to her. I think I faced the same problems as the creator of Superman! How do you create dangerous conflicts when your protagonist is so very powerful indeed? You do something that will make her temporarily more vulnerable and you devise an opponent capable of winning.
Your books are well-researched, with many of the threats Tom faces being based on local legends. Do fans ever expect you to be able to help them deal with the real boggarts or ghosts?
So far no, although some of them tell me interesting stories! I am not thinking of going into business as an exorcist. I just write books!
With the Fiend’s head removed and the threat from the dark rising ever higher, it feels as if the climax of the Wardstone Chronicles is already well underway. Can you give us any hints about what is to come in the last few books of the series?
It is difficult to do this without spoiling the final books for readers of the series. As I said, I still do not know how it will end (although I have ideas about a few plot threads). To a certain degree, a story tells itself and a writer tries to find the best possible road to its conclusion. One part of me would like a totally happy ending but I think there will be at least one death of a major character.
What are your plans after finishing the series? Will we ever see anything else from the world of Spook’s?
I do plan to write another completely different series and some stand-alone books. But there is so much still to explore in the world of the Spook that I cannot imagine never returning to it in some way. I cannot say too much here but many readers know what should happen next and have told me what to do! I think they are right, but we will see …!
Best wishes,
Joseph Delaney
Joseph Delaney, Spook's: I Am Grimalkin
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