Notes
Sorry it took so long to update. But I've been busy and work kept on getting in the way. But, I should be able to upload all 13 chapters before the end of the next two weeks.
And, for those of you who read Spook's Family Nights, I do have an update ready but it's only half-finished. I will try and type up the rest tonight and upload it before tomorrow morning.
"Mab Mouldheel?" Been ages since I last saw her, it had.
Mab nodded. She looked like a ravishing exotic, seductive slave. Where the cloak was left open slightly at the front, I could see that her dress had a v-shaped plunging neckline and was a purple colour, a dark purple corset around her middle. The skirt of the dress was gathered along the bottom and her choice of clothing not only made her look like an exotic slave, but also a gypsy.
"Been seven years, Alice, it has, since I last saw you."
"Don't act so pleased to see me, Mab!" I snapped angrily. "What's your game? What are you doing here?"
"Come with the captain of our plan, ain't I? Said something about collecting the starblade...seeing as you're on your way, I assume you got it off Tom?" she smirked, knowing full well I didn't have it.
I remained silent.
She shook her head.
"Dear, dear, dear. Won't do, that. Don't have the starblade and I just saw Tom go by..."
With that reminder, as if on cue, I could hear struggling. Sounded like a fight was taking place, it did, so, knowing exactly where the sounds were coming from, I left Mab cackling darkly and ran as fast and hard as I could towards the withy trees.
Something was wrong, and I knew what.
When I reached the bell, I was too late. Tom was bound and, next to him, the 'captain of the plan', as Mab had called him, was stood, towering over him, a sword balanced on his palm. Without thinking, I ran over to Tom's side and knelt in front of him, one hand caressing his face and the other on his chest.
"I'm sorry, Tom, this is my fault!" I cried.
"What did you do, Alice?" he asked, his voice gentle with a hint of hurt.
"It...I wasn't going to 'cos I didn't know what they were planning...I was going to tell..."
"Allow me, Miss Alice," the man said.
From out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mab join his side, gazing down at the starblade.
"She came to the bell for you when you were away and I made her a deal: if she got me the starblade by the time of my next visit, I would not harm you. Of course, she failed such a simple task and so, now you have seen us, we simply cannot let you go free and ruin my plans...Oh no, that wouldn't do at all."
I turned my head sharply.
Finally, the man removed the hat from his head. He looked like he was in his forties with silver eyes that looked capable of piercing your soul, thick brown eyebrows, a brown moustache that hooked upwards a little like two bull horns, and a brown goatee. It looked like years on the sea hadn't done him any favours.
Before I knew it, he snapped his long bony fingers and Mab walked behind me, held my wrists behind my back and tore me away from Tom. She threw me down so the side of my face hit the ground.
I coughed, winded. My head felt thick with worry for Tom - so much so that even my thoughts were paralyzed.
Mab crouched low and lifted my chin, forcing me to look at Tom. But I managed to turn back and face her.
"Look how low you've sunk, Mab Mouldheel! Taking orders from someone else? Never thought I'd see that day..."
The man turned to me and Mab forced me to look up at him.
"You ignored my warning, stupid girl. So now I'll not promise you he will live through what I have planned."
The man sheathed the starblade and crouched down, positioning his hook next to Tom's neck.
"No, please, don't do that!" I pleaded.
The sinister man rolled his eyes.
"Fine, I'll not kill him...yet. Mab, you know what to do," the man said darkly.
As Mab bound my wrists, I demanded, "Who do you think you are?"
"I am Captain Crochet, my dear girl," he answered with a sharp grin splitting from ear to ear.
"Why do you even want the starblade?"
Captain Crochet rolled his eyes.
"How many times do I have to tell you, hm? Just by knowing I need the starblade, you know too much."
You also said I didn't need to know who you were, but you ended up telling me your name anyway, I thought.
"All right, you've got me," Tom said, "Just let Alice go. You don't need her anymore."
I shook my head furiously.
"N-no...Tom, no!" I nearly screamed.
Mab slapped me across the face and spat at me.
"Enough, Mab! I'll not let Alice go just so she can get help, Master Ward. Just like I'll not set you free to spoil my plans..."
With that, Captain Crochet moved his hook away from Tom's neck - to my relief - placed his hand on Tom's shoulder and muttered something before he and Tom vanished.
"Tom!" I screamed, tears streaming down my cheeks.
"Honestly..." Mab grumbled, grabbing my hair to force me to look up at her. "It's no use, Alice, Tom's gone. Even if you did escape..." She waved her hands and roots came out of the ground to wrap tightly around my body. "...you don't even know where we're keeping him. In Pendle, yes, but the question is: where!"
With an ugly chuckle, Mab left me sobbing pitifully on the ground as she turned on her heels and disappeared through the trees.
Tried to will the roots loose, I did, but for some reason nothing was working. I had power with nature, not Mab! Where was she getting her power from? Regardless, if she laid so much as a seductive finger on my Tom...
At that thought, panic surged through me and knew I had to break free of these bonds. What if this was the sign - a sign that nightmare I'd had was going to come true?
Then, it came to me: I could contact Jenny by talking in her head. It was a spell called telepathy that required no chant, ingredients or elixirs. You had to be really skilled in magic to use it but where I had natural power, could do it in my sleep, I could.
Closing my eyes as I sat up, I thought about Jenny and the way she thought.
Within seconds, it was like I was her as I could see what she saw. She was awake and staring up at the ceiling so, since it didn't look like she was doing anything, I told her that Tom was in trouble, that we had to work together to save him and I was down by the with trees.
Jenny didn't seem too shocked I was able to contact her through her mind and within minutes, I could see her walking towards me.
I opened my eyes to find she was standing over me.
With her arms crossed, frowning down at me, Jenny asked, "What happened?'
After I explained everything I could, she cut the roots using a dagger I didn't know she had on her and helped me to my feet. We walked back to the house, our silence expressing the worry we both felt for Tom and how desperate the situation was.
We sat in the kitchen and tried to figure out what to do. But we had no idea where to start.
Then, Jenny came up with something that could just work. She recalled Judd Brinscall, who lived in Bill Arkwright's mill at Caster, mentioning something about a 'pirate mage'. So it was settled: we were going to head for Caster after Jenny had got what she needed to ask for Judd Brinscall's help.
