Chapter 6
Like all good investigators, next day Lawrence tried to think of how to uncover the coven’s plans. This was very important because three evil witches roaming the countryside at will were three too many. Sensible Mr Davis had said fighting them unarmed and with little knowledge of their powers was very dangerous. That was why he asked Lawrence to tell him before making any moves.
That afternoon Lawrence asked Lucy a few questions out loud. He often did this because it helped him think. Where might the coven hide? What were they doing with all the old metal? This he needed to know before he attempted to stop them. Then there was Brandice May’s grudge she held against him for destroying her home to think about. The evil old crone had a terrible temper, so who knows what nasty surprise she had planned? Lucy listened closely, understanding him perfectly. Unfortunately she couldn’t answer in his language, so was unable to tell her clever ideas.
Later that night, just before nine Lawrence delivered a gift to mum’s friend. On the way back it grew quite dark. When he reached the old deserted churchyard it was still raining. Many red lights flickered round the steeple, seeming to pass through the large iron cross perched on top. Suddenly it vanished with a weird grinding noise. The lights disappeared, leaving only a trickle of water sliding down the slimy gutter. Seconds later tiny patches of rain floated off across the roof.
Lawrence heard witches’ voices whispering which got louder and louder, so instead of investigating he started running. The coven must be getting braver by venturing near the village. That wasn’t a good sign. Perhaps the time left to find their plans out was far shorter than first thought.
By twelve pm the family were in bed asleep. Lawrence and his mum hadn’t realised quite how lucky they were when they chose Lucy as a pet. Lucy was one of those very rare animals - a very special and clever cat who understood far more than most people thought possible. Each night as she watched over Lawrence and his mum, she thought hard how she could repay them for their kindness. It didn’t take her long to form a cunning plan.
That very night Lucy decided since Lawrence was her best friend and had spent so much time and effort rescuing her, this time it was her duty to help him. She knew most kids his age would have given up looking for her long ago. Yes, it was time to turn one of the evil witches’ nasty habits against them by spying on them for a change. Brandice and friends would probably be so involved in their evil scheme they’d never suspect it.
So as soon as Lawrence dropped off to sleep Lucy slipped out the window, crawled along the gutter and jumped into the nearest tree. There she spied on the strange water creatures that had waited in shadows at the bottom of the garden every night that week. Judging by the terrible smell wafting up from there, Lucy knew the black spirits were getting angrier and more impatient all the time. Before long a horseshoe alone wouldn’t be able to stop them. No other animals dared stir where such evil lingered, so at least none would accidentally give away her presence.
Very early in the morning when the moon turned his back Lucy saw them melt away, leaving the forest still black and fearful. Following tiny patches of water giving off a gleaming red haze and foul stenches meant she didn’t have to stay too close. These signs were just one of many cats could see and humans couldn’t.
The coven’s evil servants mustn’t have been clever enough to know they could be followed, because they didn’t make much effort to disguise their tracks. Lucy tracked them all night as they meandered over the countryside causing trouble.
Many pets were worried sick by their unnerving presence. White mice curled up in tight little balls. Parrots twirled round and round, talking gibberish. Enormous guard dogs whimpered and hid in kennels. And at a bleak farmhouse hidden behind a whistling crag, barn owls headed for the highest trees, nervously plunging their heads deep beneath their wings.
Curiously arranged piles of sticks were left at each property. By this time the silent spy knew the sly creatures were checking out addresses, probably for future thefts.
Sometime later when the sky darkened further and the twisting forest path turned to thick black sludge, Lucy found herself far from home. At a small gurgling stream the smelly trail dissolved. Telltale glowing specks of red blinked out one by one, leaving a dark, brooding emptiness.
A bright star flew overhead, highlighting a small waterfall flowing between trees leaning over a rocky cliff. It sounded very peaceful. Right in the middle sat a flat rock peering over the edge warily. Lucy caught a tiny trail of red smoke floating out the top and sneaking away over the trees. Eyes not as young and sharp would have easily missed it. Aha! So that’s where they’d gone.
Lucy took a deep breath and raced through the waterfall. Like most cats she disliked water, so was relieved to find she hardly got wet at all. Luckily her warming fur soon dried her up. Screeching voices drifted down the stone corridor ahead. Lucy cleverly sprang high up into the many small tunnels hidden among the rocks. It was like a rabbit warren up there.
In one damp with slime the stinking red markers continued, so she eagerly followed their trail. After many twists and turns the tunnel ended high above a gigantic cave. Sharp rocks clung to the sides and glowing wet moss lined the floor. From the jagged roof weird coloured water dripped from points as thin as pencils, falling into a shimmering pool far below. Glints of metal flashed up from the bottom, showing red eyes glowing like ruby’s floating about lazily just below the surface.
Round the outside of the cave floor a channel had been cut from the rock. This allowed the strange liquid to swirl round in a big circle and back into the deep pool. The hot, steamy mixture bubbled, showing many more flashes of red forming through the hissing steam. These were water creatures relaxing. There were an awful lot of them.
Streaks of green lightning struck the water. Behind the pool three witches strode through solid rock. Instantly the tiny water creatures sprung to life and stood to attention, which was a very weird sight.
“Enough, foolish imps! It isn’t time,” Brandice stormed, snapping her fingers. A flash fire sped round the water, forcing them against the wall to a piercing wail. Her two ugly friends giggled at her vulgar display of power.
One thing Lucy knew about witches was when they were among their own kind they loved to talk. What they loved even more was to boast of horrible deeds past and plan future ones even more ghastly. This deadly coven was exactly like that, making Lucy’s job very easy. The clever cat sat and listened as they talked of older times centuries ago when evil witches were far more common and feared by all.
Brandice’s friends were named Gretchen Moll and Sally Sourbridge. Gretchen stood tall and thin, boasting a long, pointy nose. Most of her teeth were rotten or missing, so she dripped corrosive saliva everywhere when she spoke. Miss Moll, as she liked to call herself, was an expert in manipulating air into other forms. Creating invisible creatures this way was her speciality.
Drinking far too much witches brew and popping out of trees late at night pretending to be a ghostly screaming skull made her very happy indeed. Long ago one old man had been so terrified he jumped into a steaming pile of manure to escape. The poor fellow had terrible nightmares for months afterwards and never dared go out at night again.
Sally, the short fat witch’s bulging stomach rumbled constantly like a roaring truck. The deep booming echoes whooshed round the cavern, shooting through the tunnels. At one point Lucy feared the roof may collapse as thick dust crumbled all around. Sally could dive deep beneath water for many hours, using life around her to stay alive. She thought it pointless to walk anywhere if she could swim or fly.
In the olden days Sally’s nasty hobby had been stealing peasants’ food. Delicious treats such as honey and sweet mince pies were her firm favourites. This must have been how she got so fat. It didn’t bother her in the slightest that the unfortunate villagers were so poor they could only afford luxuries once a year. Sally loved replacing food with piles of mud or cow dung laced with broken stone, then c
asting spells over them so the food looked exactly the same. Sally proudly boasted she’d never made a meal for centuries, and how easy it was to fool stupid humans.
Brandice May laughed wildly at their cruel tales, coughing up clouds of purple smoke after every sentence. Apparently this was due to an unpleasant habit of eating servants or spells that displeased her. Not only did it give her terrible indigestion, it was also very strange. Brandice’s power lay mainly with the land. After centuries of practice she could create small earthquakes at will.
From the early 17th century Brandice had been High Witch of Somerset for a thousand Sabbaths. This was mainly because her offensive and defensive spells were so powerful. During this time no human and few other witches’ dared oppose her. Small wonder this earned her a particularly bad reputation and a secret moonlight meeting with the Grand Witch of all England, Hazel Brandleborn herself. Rumours of what Brandice had been promised for this achievement were spoke of only in cautious whispers. Older witches respected Brandice for her cunning, younger ones feared her for her temper.
And these were just some of the nicer things these three heartless creatures had done over the centuries. All had created some terrible spells in the past, such as giving innocent folk nasty diseases or making them fall off high buildings. Lucy knew the more evil acts a witch commits the uglier she gets, so wasn’t surprised the coven looked the way they did.
Last Sabbath, under the influence of powerful witches brew, the three took a sacred oath that bound them together for eternity. All were powerful by themselves, but together their magical spells took on interesting new twists. For instance, they could form a mighty whirlwind that crossed land and water in the blink of an eye. They could also jump from the highest mountain and float on the wind high above the clouds. And now even the deepest and most treacherous sea held no fear for them.
Today the coven possessed the power to create grand illusions that very few humans could see through. Powers like these also made the number of items they could carry almost unlimited. Their recent magical bonding also gave them power over three natural elements: Earth, water and air. That night the three proudly named themselves ‘The Rooksbridge Coven’ because of where they were born.
Feeling very happy and excited at their idle chat, the coven eagerly crowded round a large slab of rock that rose from the floor at Brandice’s command. Detailed maps of the district had been etched onto the smooth stone. An eerie green light lit it up from below. From notes on there it became obvious their latest horrible scheme had been planned for a long time.
Lucy crept as close as she possibly could, almost being discovered by an imp. The inquisitive cat needed to learn everything possible, so it was worth taking the risk. The Rooksbridge Coven raised their bony hands high in the smoky air.
“Soon all this will be ours!” Brandice screeched loudly in smelly puffs of purple.
“All will be as it should be!” agreed Gretchen, slavering into the water.
“Humans will worship us once more, or all will suffer!” predicted Sally, rubbing her massive belly.
“On earth we will be as Gods!” the coven screamed together. The cavern rumbled, shaking violently as a mighty earthquake rippled far below. Brandice’s evil water servants were tossed everywhere. Many ended up dripping down the walls, leaving strange patterns on the rock. The witches’ just laughed loudly and made sure each member understood their part in the ghastly scheme perfectly. Tonight would be the tenth time they’d discussed it.
Listening carefully Lucy learnt many races round the world believed the living earth still held immense natural power. This force could be used for either good or bad. Since ancient times this part of Southern England had been famous for places rumoured to contain wells of magic, said to tap into the great natural energy of the earth.
If a person followed an ancient road it was said they would often lead to one of those special places. English folk named these invisible guide tracks ley lines, Irish swore they were fairy paths and Chinese people called them dragon lines.
Near smaller wells sometimes all folks experienced was their hair standing on end. Others felt a little confused and dizzy. Certain rare people felt ideas flow through them as their brain became charged with creative energy. Where many magical lines crossed one usually found a concentrated place of energy lay.
These areas were marked by ancient people blessed with magical knowledge by building a group of standing stones on top known as henges. Some were covered by buildings above such as wells, castles, churches or crossroads. The coven’s magical map highlighted a large triangle marked in red. Each point of the triangle represented a major place of power since ancient times. None had been used since then, making them all the more attractive.
So, on the night of midsummer’s eve Gretchen would fly to a magic well atop a man made hill known as a mound or long barrow. Sally would swim to the second lost centuries ago to modern man beneath deep Blagdon Lake, and Brandice May would stay near the waterfall, directing power from another that hovered above the trees. This was rumoured to be the most powerful one in the district. Because it lay both above and below water meant it was an excellent conductor of power. Brandice decided to handle that one herself as it was unstable and moved erratically at different times, especially at night. Some say it was to hide from the curious moon who sought to limit its great power.
When the magical triangle was complete and had been strengthened by the ancient power released from the melted iron, the coven could change the atmosphere of the air at will. Those evil witches planned to change the weather so every day was rainy and miserable. If people wanted to feel warming sunshine they’d have to pay! Now was time for a return to the good old days when witches were feared and people brought them tribute!
Lucy shivered at their words. The coven’s plans were both clever and terrible. She’d never known creatures so wicked. This devious plot would also make them heroes amongst their fellow witches, who’d offer help and power in respect. That wasn’t a pleasant thought.
Lucy sat thinking. Everything slipped into place. These witches already controlled the weather over a small area, probably as practice. That was why the past few weeks had been so wet and gloomy. But this magic couldn’t last for much longer unless their sly plan succeeded.
Lucy learnt the earth’s natural power seeped into many metals that lay deep below the earth. Once this metal had been separated from the ground, it could be used as magical fuel for spells. Luckily not many people knew how to do this. Unfortunately these evil witches’ certainly did.
So, much like the cauldron in Brandice’s cottage, the witches’ combined the energy of magically melted iron to line the bottom of their pool, and the raw power dripping down naturally from above to create the weird water servants.
Just like the strange shadow creatures from Brandice’s cauldron, these new creations were evil spirits the witches had called from other dimensions and captured. They had no choice than to follow the coven’s commands. Lawrence had greatly angered Brandice by destroying her precious home, so she had special plans for him.
Meanwhile, the group busied themselves marking out their new territory, swearing to fiercely protect it. This was all very serious - she had to warn Lawrence straight away!
Lucy scrambled back through the tunnels, not caring as much about making noise. In the clearing she passed a young water creature feeding on warm waste trickling into the stream. It barely noticed the sleek black blur speeding amongst the ferns. An older one did, but left it far too late to track her through the shadowy trees.
Despite her great speed, when Lucy got back home it was 6.30 am and the suns first golden rays crept over the horizon. Yet the atmosphere was still tinged by growing drizzle that swept the sky. Wasting no time Lucy whispered all she’d seen in Lawrence’s ear as he slept. Being such a special cat her words turned to pictures, and the pictures into a flowing story, till Lawrence felt as if he’d experienced it all himself. So when he aw
oke a few minutes later, he jumped out of bed, telling her all about the amazing dream. It had been so realistic he could smell and hear everything! Brandice’s breath really did stink! Lawrence was so excited he didn’t notice his friend’s dirty fur.
Normally Lucy would have listened very politely, but felt very tired after her night’s travel, so just purred sleepily from her basket. One minute later she curled up comfortably and fell fast asleep to the sound of his excited voice.
In her restless dreams Lucy heard Caspar calling her off on a hunt. The proud old man was one of very few cats left in the world as special as her. In brighter days long ago when folk still believed in magic, there’d been more. But as our modern world gradually took over, most left to live on other planets only reachable through the ancient realm of dream.
That was one of many reasons she agreed to marry him in a beautiful ceremony under the magical oak tree. Everything had been planned carefully. All her new friends promised to be there. But all that would have to wait for now. She needed to save every ounce of energy to spoil the coven’s plans for good.