Lukrasta, true to Nessa's word, was waiting for them just outside the tower with several guards behind him, one being the captain of the guard who was facing the others. Tom and Alice stood frozen in front of the mage, the spook aware of his lustful gaze traversing Alice's figure.
"Well, Tom, after being captive for a few days, you finally look like the spook you should be."
Catching Lukrasta's mockery about him not acting like the spook he'd been trained to be, Tom bit back his retort and Lukrasta then turned to Alice. "You, my dear, you look like a maid who belongs in her master's bed and nowhere else. Nothing like the strong-minded, hard-to-get Alice Deane from Pendle."
Ooh, she just wanted to punch him there and then; she would've done had Lukrasta not had several guards with him, who looked ready for the kill. So, like Tom, Alice kept quiet.
Eyebrow raised, a little disappointed that he'd received no reaction, Lukrasta called for the captain of the guard to face him.
"The carriage readied?"
"Aye, sir, all ready for your trip to Topley, sir."
"Very good…as you were."
The captain of the guard obeyed and turned back to the others again.
Tom's heart missed a beat. How many more of the people he cared about had to suffer?
As if reading his mind, Lukrasta turned back to face him.
"I have business to see to. I've no intentions of wasting my time with your precious, weak family. But you are both coming with me – I won't have you attempting an escape in my absence. You will not speak to me, the guards, nor my client unless spoken to. Above all else, do not think you will be treated as anything more than my captives."
Tom bit his tongue. The mage had no right to speak about his family like that.
When Lukrasta still didn't get the reaction he was expecting, he snapped at two of the guards to restrain Tom and Alice. He then turned away from the pair as the captain of the guard led the way away from the dark tower, away from the grounds altogether and towards a waiting carriage.
The two guards confining the young couple brought up the rear, two marched in front of Lukrasta – behind the captain of the guard – and two behind as they advanced closer and closer to the carriage.

A rather nervous-looking driver with greasy hair sat, barely making eye contact with anyone. The carriage itself was black and driven by two black horses.
The captain of the guard, once they reached the carriage, opened the door. Lukrasta stepped in, the guards harshly rushing Tom and Alice to get in after him. The couple sat next to each other and Lukrasta rolled his eyes at the sight of their hands entwined tightly together.

The guards standing in formation, ready to slaughter absolutely anyone who dared approach the carriage, the driver cracked his whip and the horses began their trot in seconds.
They were off.
Now Lukrasta could think through his plan more carefully. It was highly unlikely Tom and Alice would even try to speak to him. He knew full well that his client, Gerald, had lost his wife and unborn child while she was giving birth. Since then, he'd been looking for a housemaid to warm his bed and complete daily house chores. Lukrasta had seen the farmhouse once before – it was utterly filthy – and so he knew Alice would have her days occupied inside the house, her nights even more so.
Lukrasta had been planning to sell the witch not long after Tom had returned from death itself. After all, the mage didn't just fill his nights with Alice. He had another girl in his bed, in his second home, which was why he'd sometimes be gone for days, even weeks. That other girl was even more of a woman than her sister. Lukrasta would have left Alice to fend for herself sooner, but then it would've been all too easy for her to run back to Tom so they could live their 'happily ever after'.
How distasteful!
The mage knew that Gerald would pay a pretty price for a pretty face such as Alice's and with her gone, Lukrasta could fill his nights with a more womanly, less-defiant and more darkly-ambitious witch.
But those were not his only reasons. He had to prevent this witch getting fertilised by that spook at all costs!
Lukrasta shuddered as the vision of a child born from the union of a spook and a witch came to his mind's eye. The child playing happily, it's parents watching over its childhood in a happy home whilst Lukrasta's powers waned.
The thought was unbearable. He comforted himself with another vision; that of seeing Alice break and yield as her master conquered her body by night and exhausted her emotionally by day. Then the Chipenden Spook named Tom losing all hope at the news his one true love is dead. It would be easy as pie to abolish him then.

Meanwhile, Tom looked out of the window, watching as rolling hills and greenery passed by, the grey morning light turning more and more blue with every minute going by. His eyes narrowed as they started riding through the landscape Tom knew so well.
Topley wasn't far away.
Lukrasta was up to something and Tom knew it; like he also knew he wasn't going to like it. One thing was certain: his main priority was to protect Alice. As thoughts raced through of what the sinister mage had in mind, Tom attempted to formulate an escape plan but didn't confide to Alice because for one, Lukrasta was sitting opposite them and, secondly, every idea that came to mind seemed impossible because he could only guess what Lukrasta was plotting. But Tom was unwilling to give up like that.

It was subtle, but he could feel that Alice was trembling. Tom moved her hand into the both of his in reassurance. He then glanced at Alice who was meeting Lukrasta's gaze. Just by the glare Lukrasta shot at Alice and the look of fear etched on her face, Tom could tell they were somehow communicating internally.
When she paled, he frowned and slipped one hand away from hers so he could tuck her under his arm sharply, breaking the communication between Alice and Lukrasta.
While Alice smiled up at him weakly but gratefully, Lukrasta glowered at Tom as if wishing death would take the boy again. Tom matched the glare with equal ill-wishing until finally, Lukrasta let the act go as the carriage halted abruptly.
Tom found the courage to look out the window again. They'd arrived on the outskirts of Topley.

The mage was first to get out, tugging Alice out roughly by the arm. Anger shot through Tom like a lightning bolt and so he too climbed out.
Once outside, he fought to stay by Alice's side but Lukrasta had clicked his fingers, summoning the captain of the guard to come over and restrain Tom by locking his wrists behind his back. Alice's wrists were suddenly bound in front of her and only just then realised that Lukrasta not only clicked his fingers to signal for the captain of the guard and conjure a rope to bind her wrists, he'd also done so to conjure a long rope from Alice's bonds which he now clenched in his fist.
The captain of the guard barked at the rest of the Kobalos to stay in formation by the carriage.
Leaving the Kobalos standing like statues, Lukrasta, Alice, Tom and the captain of the guard advanced closer to the outskirts.

No one said a word as they continued to walk along the slippery grass. In that time, the mage never acknowledged his captives.
That is, until they came to a grim farmhouse along the outskirts of Topley. A burly man with auburn hair so dark it looked brown and green eyes empty of all emotion looked up from fixing the wooden gate that hung off its hinges, clinging onto a picket fence. The man came forward after putting down his tools and greeted Lukrasta.
Then the man immediately turned his attention to Alice, leering at her over Lukrasta's shoulder. She could feel herself shrinking as she felt more and more uncomfortable, glancing back at Tom. His gentle green eyes were full of love, sympathy and worry. All he wanted to do in that moment was hold her in his arms and make her feel safe.
The man clapped Lukrasta on the back and gestured for all four to follow him inside.

Tom's eyes travelled the room and they narrowed. It was rotten: black mold crept up the bare walls, a few pieces of flagstone were missing from the floor here and there and there was nothing in the fireplace. All there was in that room were some rotten counters, a stone sink and a wooden table at the centre of the room with six stools surrounding it.
He hadn't liked the way Alice was dragged in by the cord and, as he glanced over at her now, her nose wrinkled in disgust at the sight of the place. He also noted terror in her eyes. What on Earth had Lukrasta told her?
As the captain of the guard, Lukrasta and the man took their seats in this derelict-looking place (it looked as though it had been abandoned for months), Tom and Alice hovered over to each other. Well, mostly Tom came to Alice since the cord was still grasped in Lukrasta's hand.
Tom slid his arm around her waist, pulling her close.
"All right, Gerald, let's just get straight to business. How much, Gerald?"
Gerald's eyes went back to Alice, as if sizing up his prey.
"She's a little too much on the skinny side, Lukrasta…Six shillings."
"I have had her myself and believe you me, she's more than six."
"Fine…how about ten?"
"At the very least, twenty."
As the two haggled, Tom grew more and more anxious. His heart raced as it sounded similar to an auction and he realised who they were talking about.
No, not Alice. Lukrasta wasn't selling his Alice, he couldn't!
Tom cleared his throat and gently pulled Alice behind him.
"Stop this now, Lukrasta. You're not selling Alice, I said so!"
Lukrasta turned to face Tom, his eyebrow raised in a bemused look.
"And just who are you to stop me?"
Tom merely glared at him, shielding Alice from view.
"That staff of yours is destroyed, Tom. How can you possibly expect to defend your precious wench when everything you use as a weapon has either been confiscated, or tossed into the flames after being broken into pieces?"
"She isn't a wench, Lukrasta. I'm telling you, she's worth far more than what you're haggling!"
Gerald looked offended whilst Lukrasta clicked his tongue.
"Did your mother ever teach you manners, Tom? I'll ask again: how do you expect to defend her?"
"With my life."
Tom's eyes blazed with defiance as Alice remained behind him. Unfortunately, Lukrasta got to his feet and all he had to do was swipe Tom hard across the cheek. He hit him with such force, Tom was sent sprawling to the side.
As he collected himself together and eventually climbed back to his feet before wiping the blood from his lip with the side of his hand, Lukrasta quickly handed the cord to Gerald.
When Gerald tugged on the rope, grabbing Alice's chin and pressing her against the wall, Tom tried to leap towards them, aiming for Gerald, but the captain of the guard was quick and twisted his wrists behind his back. Tom momentarily squeezed his eyes shut in pain.
They soon opened wide enough when Lukrasta strode towards him and growled in his ear, "Say goodbye to your whore, Tom, it's the last time you'll see her in this world."
Tom struggled, only to have his wrists twisted more so, to avoid them being broken, he was forced to stay still.
"Let me go! I swear, if you hurt her-"
"Swear all you like, it won't make a difference! Don't worry, as soon as you reach Anglezarke, you will have no memory of her. There will be no trace of Alice in memory or present to distract you from your duties…while they last."
Tom froze as he acknowledged and tried to comprehend the true meaning behind Lukrasta's statement.
Gerald chuckled.
"You always were a sucker for a pretty face, Lukrasta, so I've heard. I should enjoy this one."
Lukrasta and Gerald shared a laugh as the couple relentlessly struggled. Tears streamed down Alice's paling cheeks as Gerald pushed the skirt of her pinafore dress up to her waist before forcing his knee between her legs. When he pressed his face against her neck, Alice caught Tom's eyes and gave him a defeated look.
Tom shook his head, tearful green eyes, refusing to lose her again and tried to break free of the Kobalos' hold, despite the crushing impact it had on his wrists.
"Your payment's in the box on the table, Lukrasta," Gerald told him before he sucked on Alice's neck hard, bringing her legs around his waist and carried her towards the bedroom that was the next room.
Likewise, Lukrasta gestured with his head towards the door. The captain of the guard tried pulling Tom out of the house, but he fought and thrashed, calling after Alice.
Lukrasta turned away from the table, rolled his eyes to the ceiling and muttered, "Oh, for fuck sake."
Before Tom knew it, Lukrasta's burly fist came flying towards his head.
Tom suddenly fell limp in the captain of the guard's arms. The captain of the guard lifted the spook up in his arms and carried him out of the house.
Once Lukrasta and lifted the lid and collected his payment, he followed.

Alice's screams that shook the house brought a grim toothy smile to Lukrasta's mouth as he and the captain of the guard carrying Tom strode further away from that place.

Lukrasta was looking forward to when that spook woke up, to find it wasn't just a nightmare…