The Spooks battle

"I think Mab's right, Ellie," I said, trying to sound optimistic. "The tower's under attack by soldiers. They were brought in by the local magistrate to rescue you from the Malkins. Mab's idea could just work. All we have to do is be patient."Intermittently, ca

"Mab's right," I said. "Lock the cell from the inside, Alice. That'll keep the element of surprise."Alice hissed through her teeth in a

"In a moment two of em will come back up," Mab whispered. "We need to be ready!"It was then that I heard a female voice in the distance. I couldn't make out the words, but the tone was unmistakable, the cold voice filled with cruelty. My heart sank as someone began to climb toward us, retracing their steps.As they approached the door, close by, in the darkness of the cell, someone sniffed loudly. "Two of them, that's all," said Alice, who had just sniffed out a confirmation of what Mab had predicted.In reply, Mab's voice cut through the darkness. "Two it is," she said, "and one's only a man. I'll soon sort him."Two sets of footsteps drew nearer: the click of pointy shoes and the thud of heavy boots. A key was inserted into the lock, and beyond the bars a woman spoke."Leave the child to me," she said. "She's mine."As the door opened, I lifted my staff, ready to defend Ellie and her family. The man was holding a lantern in his right hand and a dagger in his left -one with a long, cruel blade. At his shoulder stood a witch with a thin, hard mouth and eyes like black buttons stitched unevenly into her forehead.They had no time to register surprise. No time to take a breath.

Before they could react, before I could even take a step forward, Mab and Alice attacked. They pounced like lithe cats, claws outstretched, leaping toward startled birds pecking for worms. But these weren't birds, and they couldn't fly. They retreated and suddenly disappeared off the steps, screaming as they fell. The sound of them hitting the ground below made me shudder.The lantern had fallen in the doorway, and the candle within was still alight. Mab picked it up and held it over the steps, looking down into the stairwell. "Got a bit o' light to see by now," she said. "That should make things easier."When she turned back toward us, she was smiling and her eyes were cruel. "They won't be a bother now. Nothing so good as a dead Malkin," she said with a glance at Alice. "Time to go up the steps."By contrast, I could see that Alice was shaking, and she crossed her arms over her stomach tightly, as if she were about to be sick.From above there came a new sound, grinding and metallic."The soldier boys are inside now," Mab said. "That'll be the sound o' the drawbridge being lowered. Time to go up, Tom-"

"I still say we should go down and follow the Malkins," Alice said firmly."No, Alice. We'll go up. I feel that's the right thing to do," I told her."Why take her side, Tom? Why let her twist you round her little finger?" Alice protested. "Come on, Alice! I'm not taking sides. I'm trusting my instincts like my master always says. Help me, please," I pleaded. "Help me carry Jack up the steps…"For a moment I thought she wasn't going to respond, but then she came back into the cell to help. As she bent to lift Jack, I could see that her hands were shaking."Carry my staff, Ellie," I said, holding it out toward her. "I might need it later."Ellie looked afraid and -was probably in shock, her mind reeling from what had just happened. But, still carrying her child, she accepted my staff, gripping it firmly in her left hand. I heaved Jack up by the shoulders and Alice took his legs. He was a dead weight and it was bad enough having to lift him, never mind carry him up the steps. We struggled along, with Ellie following behind. It was backbreaking work and we had to rest every twenty steps or so. Mab was getting farther and farther ahead, the light from the lantern growing dimmer.

"Mab!" I called up after her. "Slow down. We can't keep up!" She ignored me, not even bothering to look back. I was afraid that she would go up to the floor above, leaving us alone in the dark on those dangerous narrow steps. But my fears proved unfounded. The witches had locked the upper hatch behind them, no doubt hoping to delay their pursuers. Mab was sitting there below it, grim-faced, waiting for Alice to use my key to unlock it. However, she was still first through, and we followed as best we could. Only after we'd pulled Jack up and lowered him carefully to the floor did I have time to look about me.We were in a long room with a low roof; in one corner there were sacks of potatoes piled right up to the ceiling, with a mound of turnips close by. Above another heap, this time of carrots, salted hams hung from the ceiling on great hooks. The room wasn't dark and we no longer needed the lantern. A shaft of daylight lit the far end, where Mab was standing with her back to us. I walked toward her, with Alice at my shoulder.Mab was standing in front of an open door. She was gazing with fascination at something on the floor. Something that had been left behind in this storeroom.There were the three large trunks that the witches had stolen from me. Mab had reached them at last-but she still didn't have the keys.