Free The Seventh Apprentice by Joseph Delaney Page A

easy, but I force myself to work hard at the practical skills a spook needs, such as digging pits to bind boggarts in, fighting with my staff, and casting the silver chain.
    I was with the Spook when he dealt with a fierce witch north of Ribchester. All I had to do was hold his bag while he bound her with his chain. At first I felt like turning and fleeing, but I banished my fear and stood my ground; my legs didn’t even tremble. My experience with the pig witch near Blackburn has certainly toughened me up.
    I’m definitely improving with the chain, and the Spook says he’s pleased with me.
    You see, I don’t want to come face-to-face with a fierce witch unless I am to able to cast the chain and bind her. I hate witches, and once I’m a spook, they’ll be my priority.
    I’ll be the best spook witch hunter who’s ever lived!
    Will Johnson

E XTRACTS FROM W ILL J OHNSON ’ S N OTEBOOK
    WITCHES
    Circe
    I’ve researched the story of Circe in my master’s library. There seems to be more than one version. My favorite concerns Odysseus, a Greek hero. He must have been a seventh son of a seventh son, because he showed some resistance to her. Using dark magic, Circe turned his men into swine (pigs), but he managed to get them turned back into humans again. Unlike my master, I think the story might be true—though Circe was probably using spells of illusion.
    In addition to the transformation of people into pigs, I think there are some further similarities between Odysseus’s encounter with Circe and mine with the pig witch. First, Circe was supposed to be the daughter of Helios, the sun god. It was really warm near that temple on the hill, and the sun was high in the sky. The marble building was similar to an illustration I found in one of my master’s books—it was supposed to be a Greek temple.
    Mr. Gregory won’t add Circe to his Bestiary, but if I ever write my own book, she’ll definitely be included. In fact, was that pig witch really Circe? I wonder. If so, she had traveled a great distance from Greece to the County. But she didn’t reckon on meeting someone prepared to eat her heart . . . Peter Snout finished her off good and proper!
    Pig Witches
    Pig witches are not really a distinct category of witch. The one I met at Sanderson’s farm was the only one the Spook has ever encountered. He believes that despite her obsession with pigs and resembling one facially, she should be placed in the category of bone witch.
    Pendle Witches
    Pendle Witches live in Pendle, hence their name. But it is important to note that by Pendle, we do not just mean the hill itself. It is a large, lawless district that includes at least three large villages (Roughlee, Bareleigh, and Goldshaw Booth). There are also several clans, the main ones being the Malkins, the Deanes, and the Mouldheels.
    Within each clan, they practice magic in similar ways. Some drink blood; others take the thumb bones of their enemies. These may be categorized as blood witches and bone witches respectively. By such means, they generate and enhance their magical power.
    Lamia Witches
    There are several types of lamia witch. The ones called vaengir can fly, but all types are slow shape-shifters. In what is termed the domestic form, they look like normal human females—except for a line of green and yellow scales that run the length of their spines. You would never guess that a woman was really a lamia witch. Shifted into their feral shape, these witches have long sharp talons and teeth, and are capable of ripping a man to shreds in moments.
    Water Witches
    As their name suggests, they live in or near water. They frequent rivers, lakes, and canals but avoid the sea. In common with most witches, they are afraid of salt, which burns them and takes away their power.
    They are ugly, with big fangs, and immensely strong. In one sense, they have regressed and are no longer fully human. They cannot speak, and understand little of what is said to them. Sometimes they