Another chapter for you all, as I was hoping to get one more done before Christmas (Call of Duty and Skyrim will take over my life). As usual, I am obliged to say that I do not own any of the characters, locations or placenames within the Wardstone Chronicles, all properties of the series belong to Joseph Delaney.
As we drew level with my master and Adam, the rain of mid-morning began to creep out of the mist and fleck into our faces. It seemed that whatever my master and Adam were discussing, it was now dealt with and Adam had the opportunity to talk with me Alice and I. I opened my mouth, about to crack some small talk when Adam sidled up with Alice and quickly took her hand in his own, smiling warmly.
"It seems we're yet to be properly acquainted. I'm embarrassed to say I don't know your name" Adam said quickly, and Alice let out a surprised and strange giggle I've never heard her utter before. It sounded as if she was forcing it, though she suddenly seemed thoroughly engrossed in Adam's attention and shyed away from his grinning face, going red.
"It's Alice" she said, biting her lower lip and looking deep into his eyes. Adam kissed her hand, eyes still locked onto Alice's, and quietly replied:
"Adam Leavy... it's a sincere pleasure to meet you, Alice" he said silkily, to an eruption of giggles from Alice, her face reddening all the while. I felt a pang of jealousy but I knew Alice wasn't so easily amused.
"You're such a charmer, Adam!" Alice teased, lightly slapping his left arm, still red in the face and reluctantly pulling her hand away from Adam's grip. He merely smirked and shrugged his shoulders in response, so I forced a snorted laugh to humour him. Alice slyly edged closer to me as we walked, and I felt a tremendous sense of smugness. I was about to scoff to Alice how overly-forthcoming Adam was being, but she jumped suddenly from my side and began animatedly chatting with Adam. I watched them talking for some time, immersed in one another's words without respite, but soon became bored and, rolling my eyes and sighing impatiently, I decided to catch up to my master and blag my way through a conversation.
"Do you have an idea what we may be fighting yet?" I asked tentatively, however my master merely strode onwards shaking his head.
"Lad, this could be one of two things. The good news is, the book you fetched for me - He held out his hand and took the book quickly - can tell us how to deal with both. The bad news is - he shook his head again - both creatures I have in mind are extremely dangerous". I glanced back at Alice and Adam to see them still talking, then turned to my master and feigned interest.
"Mr. Gregory, how long will it take us to reach Pendle from here?" I asked, trying to strike up a conversation. My master showed no sign of hearing my question at all - instead he looked totally immersed in the page he was reading. He was muttering to himself and for the first time since setting off, I actually took a moment for myself to ponder over what we might find at the Leavy household. My previous assumptions of a boggart were being shattered before my eyes, as my master had made it unnervingly clear that something far more dangerous was at hand. I found myself shaking my head and thinking to myself 'only in Pendle...' when Alice and Adam began laughing loudly to interrupt my thoughts. I wasn't jealous like I was earlier, instead I felt glad that they were getting along - after all, it was always a nightmare travelling with Alice and Mab.
Several hours later, my master could go on no further and so he decided to rest for the usual nibble of county cheese and an hour's rest. I laid down to rest against a moss-ridden log, looking up into the darkening sky and breathing steam into the cold air. I was still pondering, without success, any logical causes of the disturbances at the Leavy household, absent-mindedly counting the whispy clouds above me and following them across the sky. It felt surprisingly cool for a November evening, so I took the opportunity to really relax and take in the calm, growing darkness of the night. Little sound could be heard, only Adam talking in hushed voices with my master Alice sat herself down next to me, picking up the hem of her black dress and cushioning herself over my legs.
"Hello Tom. Getting late, isn't it? Has Old Gregory told you what we might find at Adam's house?"
"Yes, it is late. No, Mr Gregory hasn't said yet" I replied, still deep in thought. Alice looked disappointed but she nodded in understanding, picking at a brown leaf on the ground and sighing.
"He needs some light, it's too dark for Old Gregory to read that book... do you think he'd appreciate me offering him this lantern?" Alice said, picking up a rusty, discarded lantern from the floor and holding it aloft.
"Probably not" I said, grinning up at her. She stuck her tongue out and brushed the grime away from the cracked glass of the lantern. I had to admit, even if I was offered the lantern I would probably have rejected it. The metal outer casing that seperated the glass was buckling under the weight of the lid, the glass was intact on only 3 faces of the lantern, dark green moss and grime was smeared upon each face, and muddy leaves fell out of the broken glass face as Alice shook it.
"It's ruined... but reckon it still works, I do" Alice said, inspecting each glass face closely. Then, checking that my master wasn't looking, she brushed her hand over the broken glass and the candle inside flickered into life. I had to stop myself from crying out in disbelief - Alice had used dark magic to ignite the lantern! She pushed a soft finger to my lips, then as I was about to protest she whispered a hushed 'sshhh' and giggled to herself. I only sighed and shook my head, weakly smiling at her child-like mannerisms.
"Got a lantern here, I have. It might help you read that book of yours" Alice said loudly. My master was straining his eyes to read the page he was on, glancing up at Alice with a flicker of annoyance on his face, which turned to momentary relief when she held the lantern up to her face and motioned it towards him.
"Thank you, girl, however I think the lad will be needing it more. Take notes on this page" Mr Gregory said, turning to me and tapping the book. Alice walked over and collected the book from him, then (unable to shrug off her tremendous curiosity) raised the lantern to the page as her eyes narrowed in concentration then alarmingly widened in fear. She tentatively gave the book to me, carefully guiding the lantern over the page until I could properly see the detailed illustration and delicate handwriting below. I realised immediately why the book had alarmed Alice; the creature of the dark my master was referring to on the page was a frightening and bizarre-looking being. About 5 feet high, the creature was thin and had long, hairy arms. Lengthy, clawed hands protruded from its bony wrists and its face was contorted into a twisted grin, revealing jagged teeth sitting comfortably within a poweful jawline. The creatue had two long, thin legs, each disproportionately muscular to the rest of its body and ending in 3-toed feet with pointed claw nails. The thing that struck me most was the eyes, though - they were within thin slits, cold and lifeless eyes that felt like they were boring into my own, mocking me with malice twinkling inside them.
Cheers for reading, feel free to leave a review (it will be much appreciated!)