Free The Spook's Sacrifice by Joseph Delaney

week without a heavy downpour!
But Greece is hot and dry then, and in those
conditions fire elementals can thrive. As I say, they are
very dangerous and sometimes take the form of
glowing orbs, some translucent, others opaque. Take
careful note of what I'm saying because we're certain
to meet them in Greece: they'll come through the
portal with the Ordeen.'
    I dipped my nib into the pot of ink and began to
write as fast as I could. This knowledge was soon
going to be very important.
    'As a general rule, the opaque ones are hotter and
more dangerous,' continued the Spook. 'Indoors, they
often float close to the ceiling but they can also move
very fast and are almost impossible to dodge. Contact
with them can result in severe burns – and often in a
painful death. In more extreme cases such elementals
can reduce their victims to ashes almost instantly.
    'And that's not all, lad. Others, called asteri , are
similar in shape to a starfish, with five fiery radiating
arms. These elementals cling to walls or ceilings and
drop onto the heads of unsuspecting victims. And once
they make contact, you're as good as dead.
    'But it's not all bad news. Fire elementals are
notoriously difficult to defend against, but a metal
alloy blade with the correct percentage of silver can
cause them to implode. A spook's staff is particularly
useful. Failing that, water can seriously weaken a fire
elemental and send it into hibernation until conditions
are drier. Water is a very good refuge when under
attack.'
    The Spook paused to give me time to write everything
up in my notebook. When I'd finished, my
curiosity finally got the better of me. Why had
my master sacrificed his principles to join us on the
journey to Greece? I knew he wouldn't want to talk
about it but I had to ask anyway.
    'Mr Gregory, why did you finally come with us?
What made you change your mind?' I asked.
    He looked at me, his face filled with anger. Then his
expression became sad and resigned. 'Your mam wrote
to me and told me things I'd rather not have heard.
Things I didn't want to believe. After her letter arrived
at Chipenden, I struggled with my conscience for a
long time and almost left it too late.'
    I wanted to know more, but before I could speak
there was a sudden shout from the lookout far above
our heads. We stood up and gazed over the starboard
bow. As we were very near the coast of Greece, I
thought it meant that land had been sighted.
    But I was wrong. The crew began to scurry up the
rigging, unfurling every last inch of available sail. A
large ship had been spotted to the west, sailing out of
the setting sun. It had black sails and was closing on us
rapidly. Fast as the Celeste was, it seemed that this ship
was even swifter. Our crew were agitated and worked
feverishly, but still the vessel drew steadily nearer.
    The captain watched it for a while with his spyglass.
'It's a pirate ship – we've no chance of outrunning it
before dark,' he said, scratching at his side-whiskers.
    'And I don't fancy our chances if it comes to a fight.
    We're heavily outgunned.'
    The pirate ship was bristling with cannon, whereas
we had only four guns, two on each side. No sooner
had he spoken than we heard a gun being fired. A
cannonball hit the water close to our bows, sending up
a big plume of spray. The pirates clearly had the
armaments to sink our ship with ease.
    Bill Arkwright shook his head and smiled grimly.
    'It's not as bad as it seems, Captain. Just don't return
fire. We certainly can't win any fight that involves an
exchange of cannonfire, but it won't come to that. The
last thing they want is to sink us. They'll want this ship
as a prize. No doubt they intend to cut our throats and
throw us to the fishes, but when they board us they'll
get a nasty surprise.'
    He turned to me with a grim smile. 'Go down into
the hold, Master Ward, and let the young ladies down
there know the situation.'
    Wasting no time, I went down to tell the Pendle
witches what was afoot. Grimalkin was