Page 24 of Skullduggery
The wisp continued chattering to herself. ‘This woman is old and her flesh will be tough, but it will make fine jerky to keep for winter.’ I doubted Miriam would be thrilled at that thought.
‘This younger woman has more meat on her bones. Perhaps I will leave her for last, and we can eat her with the brown-haired man. He looks stringy. But this other man – wow! He will be a delectable feast. Elves are good. Chuchi says their meat has a spicy bite. Yum-yum.’
There was a pause. ‘There are so many of them. Perhaps I can keep one, just for a while. Chuchi won’t mind if I only keep one.’ She hesitated again. ‘Will he?’
I reached an oak tree that was broader and taller than the pine trees and provided more cover. I pressed my spine against it then risked a peek around its trunk. The will-o’-the-wisp’s lair was in a small clearing. Judging from the moisture in the air, the rotting smell and the way the ground was glinting in the soft moonlight, it was some sort of marsh. I couldn’t sprintacross it to perform a surprise rescue – I’d be more likely to take three steps and sink to my knees. From the way Hugo, Becky, Miriam and Slim were standing, that was exactly what had happened to them.
They were shoulder to shoulder in a row, arms hanging loosely by their sides. Becky and Hugo were calf deep in mud; Slim, who was taller, was only submerged to his ankles, but Miriam was encased up to her knees. Their jaws were slack and their eyes were vacant: they looked like zombies.
Slumped on Hugo’s shoulders, neither Otis nor Hester was in any better shape. I couldn’t make out their expressions but there was little doubt that they were in the same condition. I couldn’t see Gladys.
‘Yes. I can keep one. One won’t matter. And Chuchi will want to visit now,’ the will-o’-the-wisp said. ‘Now I have meat to give him, he’ll definitely come. He’ll stay for many days.’ She trilled happily and bustled around, picking up bits of litter that had blown in with the wind.
I watched her flit to and fro. I’d seen photographs of will-o’-the-wisps before, and I had a dim recollection of an old Attenborough documentary that had featured one of them, but it was weird to be this close to one.
She was round and squat like a little beach ball and she was hovering several inches above the ground, with only the tip of what I supposed was her tail trailing in the mud. Will-o’-the-wisps didn’t have legs – they didn’t need them. Although they weren’t birds and they couldn’t fly, they possessed a natural buoyancy that pushed against the effects of gravity. As far as I knew, they never touched the ground, not even when they slept.
This will-o’-the-wisp was glowing a brighter blue than the secretions I’d followed and doing a better job of lighting the dark marsh than the moon. She was pretty, with wide greeneyes that gave her a cartoon-princess air and an upturned nose speckled with what I assumed counted as freckles in wisp physiology.
She turned her back and busied herself with something on the far side of the marsh. My phone, which was on silent in my pocket, vibrated. I slid it out, hoping that Rizwan and Mark had finally found something useful that would help me rescue everyone.
It was a text message. I scanned the contents, carefully shielding the screen so its glow didn’t alert the will-o’-the-wisp.
Her name is Baudi. Proceed with extreme caution. She’s dangerous. The last known report of her is from 2003 when she attacked two lost hikers. They said she almost killed them. This WOTW is one of the nasty ones.
I grimaced; yeah, I’d already worked that last part out. It was interesting that she hadn’t been heard of for more than twenty years. Given the lack of warning signs in the area, I suspected the curse that was bound into the Fonaby Stone kept most people away. Even if some intrepid wanderers reached it, the grim atmosphere would likely make them turn back.
I hastily typed a reply.Another wisp called Chuchi?
Three little dots appeared: either Mark or Rizwan was typing. I waited – and waited. A moment later, the dots vanished. I scowled and checked the phone signal, and my heart sank when I saw it had disappeared. So much for help from the outside.
I tucked away the phone and considered my options. I could wait until daylight or go back to the Jeep and call for help, but there was no guarantee that Baudi would wait before starting dinner. I might not have that much time.
I risked another peek. Her back was still turned as she focused on her task and I squinted to see what was holding herattention. Unfortunately, in my bid to get a better look I shifted my feet. My stomach lurched with nausea strong enough to make me gasp aloud – and I slipped. My heel landed on a twig, snapping it in two.
Baudi swung around then zipped several metres through the air in my direction. Her bright-green eyes narrowed as she scanned the area. Heart pounding, I pressed against the tree trunk and prayed she’d dismiss the noise as nothing more than a badger snuffling nearby.
Long seconds ticked by as I strained my ears for any sign that she was approaching. There was nothing. After a couple of minutes had passed, I started to relax. She wasn’t coming for me; I’d fucked up, but my luck was holding. I exhaled softly.
And that was when there was a rush of air and Baudi’s glowing blue body whisked around the tree to face me. ‘Excellent,’ she said, smacking her lips. ‘Another elf for my cooking pot.’
Chapter
Nine
Isqueaked and ducked, just in time to avoid her hand smacking me in the face, then I skidded around the tree and sprinted around the edge of her marshy lair. But Baudi had the advantage: her feet didn’t sink repeatedly into the thick mud so she could move much faster than me. She also knew the territory like the back of her blue hand.
I barely managed six metres before she was on me again, her hand swiping towards my neck. I managed to pull forward and prevent her fingers wrapping around my throat, but she still caught hold of my jacket collar. I frantically tried to yank free; when that didn’t work, I fumbled for the zip of my coat. It was one of my favourites and I’d miss it, but I’d rather lose it than end up as a will-o’-the-wisp’s dinner.
My fingers were caked in mud and they felt fat and clumsy. When the zip caught halfway down, I knew I wouldn’t be able to shrug it off quickly enough. With one hand snarled in my collar, Baudi used her other hand to spin around my helpless body, then her face loomed towards mine.
I dropped my gaze instantly: one glance into her eyes andI’d end up zombified like the others. This was not good; this was not good at all.
I twisted and wrenched, desperate to get free, but I couldn’t attack her and I didn’t want to hurt her. That didn’t mean I was out of options for defending myself, though. Scenarios tumbled one after another through my head, while Baudi’s cold breath chilled my skin and she half-snarled and half-smiled.
‘It’s so wonderful to have another visitor to my humble home.’ She grabbed my chin and hauled it upwards to force me to meet her eyes.
I jerked my head in the same direction and looked over her shoulder into the shadowy trees on the far side of the clearing. Then I jolted out several bursts of air magic to make the leaves and twigs in several different locations rustle and twist.
