of the Barn until they reached a buttress which blocked the view from the door. A lantern hung from a hook to guide anyone using this way as an exit and she could see his face clearly. He was bullet-headed with a massive neck peppered by a nasty rash where the bristles had only been roughly shaved. His face was ugly and pugnacious, his prominent eyes sparking with aggression, and now he shoved her hard into the corner where the buttress met the wall. He leant his hands on either side of her against the stone, trapping her in a human cage of muscle and sinew. His breath washed over her in foul waves as he stared down at her.
‘I got a bone to pick with you!’ he began. ‘It’s your fault they moved that half-witted cousin of mine up to the Hall.’
She said nothing and kept her head down.
‘Now my auntie and the two old ones have no one to do all the heavy work. They expect me to come and chop the wood and get the water every day. AND I’M NOT VERY HAPPY ABOUT THAT!’
She felt his spittle spray her face and involuntarily raised her hand in disgust to wipe it off. He grabbed hold of her wrist and yanked it away.
‘What’s the matter, Leveret? Don’t like me getting too close, eh? Scared of me, are you?’
Still holding her wrist he edged his body forward even closer to hers so they were almost touching and she felt the heat pulsing off him. She was completely trapped by his bulk and increasingly frightened of what was he was going to do to her. He was so huge and she felt very vulnerable indeed. She held her breath, gazing straight ahead at his chest and hoping desperately that someone would come along and find them – although to the casual observer they’d simply look like a couple canoodling in the darkness. She raised terrified eyes to his and he chuckled.
‘Yeah, you should be scared, girl. You’re right to be scared.’
As he glared down at her she saw something different in his eyes and he chuckled again, giving her wrist a cruel twist.
‘But that’ll wait for now. I got a present for you – something you’re going to need in the future. And I got the same present waiting for Magpie when I get the chance to give it him.’
With his free hand he pulled a small package from his pocket and placed it in her hand, closing her reluctant fingers over it.
‘It’s from Old Violet, so next time you’ll be able to do the job properly.’
‘What is it?’ whispered Leveret, looking down at the dirty piece of cloth in her hand. Whatever was wrapped inside was very light indeed.
‘Death Cap – the one you should’ve taken but messed up. Keep it safe, Leveret, because soon you’ll wish you were dead all over again.’
Laughing, he turned and stomped back into the Barn.
The stars blazed down on the girl standing straight-backed in the centre of a circle of salt. The elements were represented on the points around the circumference – a tiny lantern for fire, a stone for earth, a feather for air and a rough clay dish filled with water. The fifth element, the spirit, she’d symbolised with a little wooden hare that Yul had carved for her as a child. At the head of the circle lay a small and very rough altar, simply a large chunk of bark, decorated with mistletoe, holly and ivy as befitted the season. There was also a tiny cake and an egg-cup of elderberry wine. Everything was representational and the gifts showed that she gave back to the goddess what had been freely given to her – the fruits of the earth.
Leveret had whispered the words she’d memorised from her notebook as she’d sprinkled the salt, calling for protection from any spirit or person wishing her harm. Holding Mother Heggy’s athame in both hands, she now stood pointing it to the stars and calling the power of the elements to join her in the circle. She summoned each element in turn, asking that it lend its energy to her for the magic and indicating the symbol she’d used to represent it. The element of spirit, last to be summoned, she called from within, the blade at her chest. Then she invited the spirit of Mother Heggy to join her if she would.
Once the protection was in place and the elements summoned, she began