idea of the time but knew she must perform the spell before midnight, for this was the time of the Dark Moon and after midnight it’d be tomorrow.
Leveret was near the door and the pegs when suddenly she saw the three youths heading her way, like large henchmen closing in on their victim. Maizie and most of the adults had already left but she tried to move back into the safety of the crowds. She was too late – they surrounded her and her brothers positioned themselves on either side of her, each taking an arm and holding her tightly.
‘Well, well, fancy seeing you here!’ giggled Gefrin, squeezing her upper arm hard.
‘Mind my dress!’ she hissed. ‘Mother made it.’
Sweyn jabbed her sharply in the back.
‘Don’t start getting uppity, Leveret,’ he growled. ‘You know where that leads.’
Jay stood in front of her, towering hugely and sweating profusely. He reeked of cider, as did the others.
‘Look at you all tarted up,’ he sneered. ‘Did I upset you the other night? Tried to do something about it, did you? You’re still an ugly, skinny little bitch and don’t you forget it!’
‘Kestrel doesn’t think so!’ she blurted out, her cheeks burning.
‘Kestrel? Was Kes sniffing around then? What did he say?’
‘None of your business!’ she retorted, wishing fervently that she hadn’t mentioned him at all. She should’ve just kept quiet and let them get the tormenting over and done with.
Jay glared at her in surprise, then punched her in the stomach. It wasn’t a hard punch, nothing like he’d given Magpie, but it made her grunt in pain as the air was forced from her diaphragm.
‘Careful,’ warned Sweyn. ‘No bruises or marks, Jay – we said about this.’
‘Yeah, yeah, I know, but she ain’t talking to me like that. So I’ll try again, Leveret – what did Kestrel say that made you think you’re not the ugly little weasel we all know you to be?’
She hung her head, still gasping for breath from the blow that had winded her and not wanting any more pain tonight.
‘He said I was worth waiting for,’ she said quietly.
‘HE SAID YOU WERE WORTH WAITING FOR!’ crowed Jay at the top of his voice, laughing raucously. ‘And you took that as a compliment, did you? Stupid little bitch! Kestrel pokes anything that moves; of course he’ll get round to you when you’re old enough. That doesn’t mean a thing so don’t flatter yourself! Anyway, if he thought you were that bloody hot he wouldn’t want to wait at all, would he?’
He looked at her and shook his head mockingly.
‘Are we going to take her outside then?’ asked Gefrin. ‘Like we said.’
‘Too many people about,’ said Sweyn. ‘And we’ve better things to do tonight, haven’t we, with all these girls here? Let’s leave it for tonight – Leveret’s still going to be here tomorrow. And the next day and the one after that. We can sort her out any time we want.’
‘Yeah, you two go on and get some more cider in – I’ll be with you in a minute. I’m just going to have a quiet little word with Leveret on my own.’
‘Alright but remember what we said. If there’s any marks to prove her snitching, we’re all in big trouble.’
‘I ain’t going to hurt her, not tonight. Don’t worry – no marks.’
Sweyn and Gefrin ambled off towards the bar and Jay turned to Leveret, who was filled with a plummeting dread. There was something really nasty about Jay. He was worse than her brothers who, all said and done, were just thick bully boys. But Jay was something else – he had an edge of viciousness that she found terrifying and she remembered the warning her brothers had given her earlier in the cottage. He leered down at her and took her hand in his.
‘Come on – outside, girl! I got something special for you.’
He tugged on her resisting arm and led her out into the cold night. It was shockingly quiet after the booming of the relentless music. The stars spangled in the black sky, filling the heavens. Leveret looked up and hoped Mother Heggy was somewhere out there still watching over her welfare. She was terrified of being alone with Jay who didn’t share her brothers’ concern about their mother finding out. Jay wouldn’t care less – his family had been in dispute with Maizie for a long time and she knew there was bad feeling between them stretching back many years.
He pushed her along the side