Part 15 (1/2)

At first I thought he had spat something out at me, but I soon realized that this was his tongue. It was at least six feet long, thick and purple, and covered with sharp spines, each like a thin hook. It rasped hard against the rock wall to my right, reducing the top layer to pebbles and dust. Had that made contact with my face it would have ripped the flesh from the bone.

I took three rapid steps backwards. The G.o.d's tongue was back in his mouth now and he was snarling. He came towards me, his fingers reaching for my throat, but I swung the blade upwards and made contact with his left shoulder. Once again he cried out in pain.

This time he was hurt. The Destiny Blade had penetrated his protective scales. Black blood was running down his arm and dripping to the ground.

My defences had proved adequate, and I wondered at that. Among Siscoi's powers was his incredible speed, so why did he not use it? It could only mean one thing a he was unable to! To some extent I was still controlling time. Faced with such an adversary, I could not halt it, but I was doing enough to make a fight of it.

I readied my blade. Siscoi attacked again and, instinctively, I lunged forward with the sword. I failed to make contact this time, but I did enough to force him back a couple of steps. Then I was retreating just as fast as I could, dodging that long rasping tongue with its deadly barbs. Suddenly I found myself in a cleft in the rock; escape to either side was now impossible. Siscoi's mouth twisted into a smile and he opened it wide. The tongue lashed out towards me in a purple blur. The G.o.d had me trapped, with no place to go.

Only one option remained: to advance! I evaded the tongue and stepped in close so that I was less than a foot away from him. Then, before he could withdraw the tongue back into his mouth, I brought the sword across in a rapid arc, cutting right through it. It fell to the ground, where it twitched and writhed like a huge snake, while a tide of blood cascaded out of Siscoi's mouth to splatter at his feet. His howl made the ground tremble and the very stones seem to shriek.

Now was the time to finish him. While he was writhing in torment, I swung the sword at his neck again. But just when I thought I had prevailed, it all went wrong. The G.o.d was far from being finished a as I learned to my cost.

His clawed foot arced upwards as if to disembowel me. In avoiding it, I left myself vulnerable to a strike from his left hand, which almost tore my arm from its socket. The pain brought me to my knees. Even worse, the Destiny Blade went spinning out of my grasp.

Siscoi hurled himself at me, still spitting blood. I just had time to draw Bone Cutter and stab at him. I pierced his chest in two places, but he picked me up like a child and carried me towards his open mouth.

His fangs plunged into my neck, but I felt little pain. He began to suck out my blood, and I could feel it throbbing through my veins, the pumping of my heart becoming more and more sluggish.

My situation seemed hopeless but, remembering what Grimalkin had told me, I fought on. I didn't want to die. I wanted to see Alice again, and my family too. The future I had looked forward to a my life as a spook a was being taken away. I struggled to break free, desperately stabbing at the vampire G.o.d; but the dagger seemed to have no effect, and soon I was too weak to hold it. It slipped from my fingers, and I felt my heart thudding ever more slowly. I was sinking towards death.

Then I heard a loud scream. Had I cried out? Or had it issued from Siscoi's throat? Never had I heard a sound that was so full of anguish. It was as if the very earth had screamed out in agony.

Then I was falling into utter darkness.

My last thoughts were of Alice.

My last words, spoken inside my head, were to Mam: I'm sorry, Mam. Sorry for being a disappointment. I did my best. Try not to think too badly of me.

I waited in darkness for what seemed like an eternity. My heart was no longer beating; I was no longer breathing a but I felt no fear. I was at peace, all my cares and struggles left far behind.

Then I heard a sound that I remembered from my childhood: it was the creak of a rocking chair. I saw a glowing figure taking shape out of the darkness.

It was Mam a not the terrible lamia, but the kind, loving mother I remembered. She was sitting in her chair, smiling at me, rocking to and fro as she used to when she was happy and relaxed.

'You are all I ever hoped you would be,' she said. 'Forgive my harsh words earlier. They were necessary at the time. I'm proud of you, son.'

What 'harsh words' did she mean? I felt confused. Where was I? Was I dead?

Still smiling, Mam faded back into the darkness. Now another figure was emerging. It was a girl with pointy shoes, her black dress tied at the waist with a piece of string. Alice.

'I've come to say goodbye, Tom. Don't really want to go, but I don't have much choice, do I? Wait for me, Tom, please. Don't give up. Don't ever give up!' she said.

Where was she going? I tried to ask, but she faded away before I could get the words out.

The next thing I knew I was lying in bed. I was breathing again and my heart was beating steadily. The curtains were open, but it was dark outside. I realized that I was back in my room at the tavern in Todmorden. A candle stood on a small table nearby, and by its flickering light I saw someone sitting beside the bed, staring down at me.

It was Grimalkin.

'At last you are back,' she said. 'You've been unconscious for three days and nights. Despite all that Alice did to heal your body, I feared that your mind might be broken beyond repair.'

I struggled up into a sitting position. I was drenched with sweat and I felt weak. But I was alive.

'What happened?' I asked. 'I did my best. I'm sorry, but I wasn't strong enough. Did you manage to finish him off?'

The witch a.s.sa.s.sin shook her head. 'No a he was already dead by the time I climbed down to carry you back to safety.'

'He was taking my blood, but I kept fighting to the end, stabbing him with the dagger. I must have got lucky and pierced his heart.'

'That didn't finish him off,' Grimalkin told me. 'It was your blood.'

I shook my head. 'I don't understand . . . '

'Your blood proved to be a weapon a very special spook's blood; the blood of a seventh son of a seventh son, blended with that of your mother, the first and most powerful of all the lamias. To the vampire G.o.d it was a deadly poison a just as your mother knew it would be. She appeared to Alice soon after Siscoi died and told her as much.'

I suddenly remembered how he'd appeared clothed in Cosmina's skin a he could still possess other creatures briefly. 'He'll be seeking revenge!' I told Grimalkin. 'He'll be back. We're still in danger.'

The witch a.s.sa.s.sin shook her head. 'Siscoi is no longer a threat. You did not merely destroy the host; you slew the vampire G.o.d himself. A terrible scream soared out of the ground up into the heavens. Your mother told Alice that it was the very dark itself, crying out in anguish at the loss of one of the most powerful Old G.o.ds. You have weakened our enemies. The head of the Fiend has fallen silent again and there is no way to get a response out of him a and believe me, I have been anything but gentle.'

It was astonis.h.i.+ng to think that my blood had resulted in the death of Siscoi. Mam would have known about it all along. But a price had been paid. James was probably dead, and the Fiend had ordered his servants to kill my other brothers.

'He'll try again,' I said. 'He said that his servants were more numerous than the stars. He'll never give up!'

'So we must make an end of him!'

I nodded. 'Did you get the Doomdryte?' I asked.

'When I went to burn the Fresque house the library was empty. There were no books. No Doomdryte. But I burned the place anyway.'

'Then our enemies must have it . . . '

'We must a.s.sume so.'

So that was another threat; something to face in the future.

'Where is Alice?' I asked.

'Alice has gone into the dark,' Grimalkin said. 'She has gone in search of the third sacred object.'

It was almost two weeks before I was strong enough to return to Chipenden. During that time Grimalkin cleansed the hillside of the rest of the Romanian ent.i.ties. Those she didn't kill fled from her. She burned their houses too, with the bodies inside. None would return from the dead. But although she searched for the Doomdryte, there was no sign of it.

The County side of Todmorden was also empty, its inhabitants all gone. Somehow I didn't think that they'd be in a hurry to return.

We could have used Benson and his cart again, but I chose to walk, using the journey to re-build my strength, bit by bit. It took me almost three days to get home.

Grimalkin accompanied me, and each night we talked and discussed our plans for the future. It depended on Alice returning from the dark with the third sacred object in her possession. The thought of her there kept me in a permanent state of anxiety. The worst thing was being powerless a I could do nothing to help her.

It was during the first of our talks that the witch a.s.sa.s.sin delivered another shock to me.

'Alice knows that you must sacrifice her, Tom,' she said bluntly.