“Follow Claude... that’s what I did.”
Ophelia stepped forward. “We’re hereto help you Lilith. The Professor will know what to do.”
Lilith moaned and bared her teethslightly. “The voice is telling me to pick one of you.” She gazed at Arthur,who was watching her intently. “Can I have him? He’s only a little one.Nobody’s going to miss him.”
At that instant Lilith sprung up outof bed and had hold of Arthur by the throat. Her eyes were rolling and she wasmuttering some weird incantation.
“Get her off me!” shrieked Arthur,waving his arms about frantically.
Lilith opened her mouth to what seemedan impossibly wide angle, revealing a full set of sharp teeth. She was ready totear into his face.
“You,” shouted the Professor to Bill,“get her off!”
Bill grabbed Lilith around the waistand tried as hard as he could to drag her off Arthur. She was very strong andthe two boys had to pull in opposite directions as hard as they could until shereleased her grip. She fell backwards onto Bill and they both tumbled to thefloor.
As he struggled to free himself fromunder Lilith his face turned towards hers and he stared directly into fieryyellow eyes that were burning into him. He felt absolutely terrified, like thehelpless prey of some vicious beast. As he watched, her ears grew long andpointed and her skin turned alabaster with a spider’s web of red veins. Herbreath was so foul he felt sick. She was muttering an incantation in a languagehe’d never heard before.
Something strong and brutal began toinvade his thoughts. It was a desperate, ravenous will baying for hiscompliance. At first he fought against it, but soon found himself powerless toresist the muttered incantation whispered softly, beguilingly... It was in alanguage unlike any he had heard before but for some reason Bill understood itperfectly...
Thy bon and blod shall be mine own.
Thy will shall naught be free.
Thy soul is now a cage'd bird.
Death’s knell shall never know thee.
Hismind was consumed and he longed for those close, eager teeth to penetrate deepinto his flesh...
Lilith was pulled off Bill by a rugbytackle from Arthur and the spell was broken. Bill was shocked and absolutelyterrified but soon found his senses recovered. Arthur shoved Lilith onto thefloor and ran away before she could grab him. The Professor pushed her stickinto Lilith’s chest and tried to pin her to the ground.
“You will sleep!” she said in a dementedvoice, scowling at Lilith. “You will sleep!”
Lilith was hissing, struggling andbaring her teeth, but the Professor kept her pinned down, repeating the words“You will sleep” under her breath. A few moments later, Lilith’s eyes closedand she drifted off into unconsciousness.
“The poor girl,” gasped the Professor,panting for breath and sweating profusely.
“How did you do that?” said Ophelia.
“A Dormientes incantation. It’snot something ordinary humans can do.”
Ophelia’s eyes widened. “You don’t meanto say you’re a-”
“She Arddhu!” said Arthur with a grin.“How cool is that?”
“I know,” said Bill. “I can see thehalo around your head. And the eyes...”
“You can see the Bestia Marcam?But that’s impossible.”
Arthur raised his hands, backing away.“And I suppose you’re going to bite us now? Take the rival Arddhu out of thepicture, leave more blood sacrifice for Og?”
The Professor looked at Arthur with amixture of annoyance and pity. “No you stupid boy! A Dark Pagan can live anormal life, be part of society. The voice can be silenced. She just needs aregular dose of Vita Dantis.”
“Yes, we know all about that stuff,”said Ophelia.
“I would give her some butunfortunately my supply was taken by Lord Percy. There's a place we must go ifwe want to buy more, but it is not... pleasant.”
“What place?”
“In town, not too far over the river.I was planning to go anyway, to replace my own stock. Now you will have to comewith me. And the boys need to come too, to provide protection.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” saidBill.
“I cannot buy for other people. Youmust come and I will introduce you. He has to know he can trust his clients’confidentiality. But after this first time you must go alone. I will havenothing to do with it.”
“But it was you who got us into thismess!” said Ophelia with an incredulous look. “You encouraged me and Lilith andlook what happened.”
The Professor banged her stick in theground and glared at Ophelia. “I told you to get Simon Drew’s cask. You weretold quite clearly!”
Ophelia gazed at Lilith, asleep on thefloor. “But just look at her.”
The Professor paused for a moment,calming herself. “You people are young but you must try to understand. What weintend to do is incredibly illegal. If someone found out I was taking VitaDantis, that I am cursed as a Dark Pagan... I love my job. I don’t want togo to prison... or worse.”
“We understand,” said Bill, who wasn’tentirely sure if he did.
“Lilith’s hunger will grow strongerwhen the sun goes down. I have tried to make her sleep for as long as possiblebut I am afraid the voice of Og will eventually win out. Unless we give her VitaDantis she will wake up with an obsessive will for sacrifices.”
“So we need to go to this placeimmediately.”
“He is only open for business afternightfall. We shall meet tonight at seven o’clock at the Dizzy Duck. Then weshall go. But this place is dangerous so you must stay close to me.”
Nobody said anything.
Bill wondered if his life couldpossibly get any stranger.
ChapterEleven - The Witch’s Hat
Dearest Simon,
What can I say! I love you so much ithurts my insides, scrambles my brain, makes me giddy! When we meet again sayyou love me, say it a thousand times! I look at you and feel gloriouslyhappy... but I am also terrified. What if something bad happens? I meansomething really bad. I feel it will, I know it will. I worry about it all thetime...
– Extract from a letter to ProfessorSimon Drew.
– By Julia Jareth, Student at ConatusCollege, Nov 1961.
Thatevening Professor Jareth led Bill, Arthur and Ophelia out of the Dizzy Duckpub. They crossed the main road and made their way down a narrow side street.
A woman dressed in a black robe-likedress with a large
