Spook's Curse by Joseph Delaney

different in his face. He looked thoughtful. And walking right behind him was someone else!
    I came to my feet, ready to run, but the back door was locked and the two men were between me and the other doorway. Then I recognized the stranger and relaxed. It was Brother Peter and he was carrying the Spook’s bag and staff and our cloaks!
    ‘It’s all right, boy,’ Andrew said, walking up and laying his hand on my shoulder in reassurance. Take that anxious look off your face and sit yourself back down. Brother Peter is a friend. Look, he’s brought you John’s things.’
    He smiled and handed me the bag, staff and cloaks. I accepted them with a nod of thanks and put them in the corner before sitting down. Both men pulled chairs out from the table and sat facing me.
    Brother Peter was a man who’d spent most of his life working in the open air and the skin on his head was weathered by the wind and sun to an even shade of brown. He was as tall as Andrew but didn’t stand as upright. His back and shoulders were bent, perhaps with too many years working away at the earth with a trowel or hoe. His nose was his most distinctive feature; it was hooked like a crow’s beak, but his eyes were set wide apart and had a kindly twinkle. My instincts told me that he was a good man.
    ‘Well,’ he said, ‘you were lucky it was me doing the rounds last night and not one of the others or you’d have found yourself back in that cell! As it was, Father Cairns summoned me just after dawn and I’d a few awkward questions to answer. He wasn’t happy and I’m not sure that he’s finished with me yet!’
    ‘I’m sorry,’ I said.
    Brother Peter smiled. ‘Don’t worry, lad. I’m just a gardener with a reputation for being hard of hearing. He won’t bother himself for long about me. Not when the Quisitor’s got so many others ready for burning!’

    ‘Why did you let me escape?’ I asked.
    Brother Peter raised his eyebrows. ‘Not all priests are under the control of the Bane. I know he’s your cousin,’ he said, turning to Andrew, but I don’t trust Father Cairns. I think the Bane may have got to him.’
    ‘I’ve been thinking as much myself,’ said Andrew. ‘John was betrayed and I’m sure the Bane must have been behind it all. It knows John’s a threat to it so it got that weak cousin of ours to get rid of him.’
    ‘Aye, I think you’re right. Did you notice his hand? He says it’s bandaged because he burned himself on a candle, but Father Hendle had an injury in a similar place after the Bane got to him. I think Cairns has given that creature his blood.’
    I must have looked horrified because Brother Peter came over and put an arm around my shoulders.
    ‘Don’t worry, son. There are still some good men left in that cathedral and I may just be a lowly brother but I count myself one of them and do the Lord’s work whenever I can. I’ll do everything in my power to help you and your master. The dark hasn’t won yet! So let’s get down to business. Andrew tells me that you’re brave enough to go down into the catacombs. Is that right?’ he asked, rubbing the end of his nose thoughtfully.
    ‘Somebody has to do it, so I’m willing to try,’ I told him.
    ‘And what if you come face to face with ...’
    He didn’t finish the sentence. It was almost as if he couldn’t bring himself to say ‘the Bane’.
    ‘Has anyone told you what you could be facing? About the shape-shifting, and the mind reading and the...’ He hesitated and looked over his shoulder before whispering, ‘Pressing?’
    ‘Yes, I’ve heard,’ I said, sounding a lot more confident than I felt. ‘But there are things I could do. It doesn’t like silver...’
    I unlocked the Spook’s bag, reached into it and showed them the silver chain. ‘I could bind it with this,’ I said, staring straight into Brother Peter’s eyes and trying not to blink.
    The two men looked at each other and Andrew smiled. ‘Practised a lot, have you?’ he