CONTENTS

Title Page

About Grimalkin

About the Author

Copyright

Introduction

Grimalkin's Tale

Extract Title Page

I Am Grimalkin Extract

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Grimalkin carves the symbol of her scissors on trees to mark her territory or warn others aways …

The current assassin of the Malkin clan is Grimalkin. Very fast and strong, this assassin has a code of honour and never resorts to trickery. She prefers her opponent to be a challenge. Although honourable, Grimalkin also has a dark side and is reputed to use torture. All fear the snip-snip of her terrible scissors.

She uses these to shear the flesh and bone of her enemies … Grimalkin’s favourite killing tool is the long blade, and she is a skilled blacksmith who forges her own weapons.

Taken from John Gregory’s notebook,
The Spook’s Bestiary
Grimalkin made her first Wardstone Chronicles appearance in The Spook’s Battle when she was sent by the Pendle witches to kill Thomas Ward.
Since then she has featured in her own short story (in the anthology The Spook’s Stories: Witches) where we learned about her background and extreme hatred for her sworn enemy – the Fiend.
Now this deadly witch assassin has formed an alliance with Tom, the Spook and Alice. The narrative follows straight on from the end of The Spook’s Destiny. What Grimalkin carries must be kept out of the clutches of their enemies at all costs …

About the Author

Joseph Delaney lives in Lancashire. His home is in the middle of boggart territory and his village has a boggart called the Hall Knocker which was laid to rest under the step of a house near the church.

THE SPOOK’S STORIES: WITCHES
AN RHCB DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 407 05063 8
Published in Great Britain by RHCB Digital,
an imprint of Random House Children’s Books
A Random House Group Company
This ebook edition published 2011
Copyright © Joseph Delaney, 2011
Illustrations copyright © Joseph Delaney, 2011
First published in Great Britain
Red Fox 9781862309876 2011
The right of Joseph Delaney to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
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Grimalkin’s Tale is taken from The Spook's Stories: Witches, and is available exclusively as a limited-edition ebook. You don't have to know the Spook's books to enjoy it – it’s a haunting stand-alone story, and a perfect introduction to the world of The Wardstone Chronicles. For all the existing fans of the series out there, this is a must-have.

This story will chill your blood and frighten you to your very bones.

Just remember not to read after dark…

GRIMALKIN’S
TALE

MY NAME IS Grimalkin and I fear nobody. But my enemies fear me. With my scissors I snip the flesh of the dead; the clan enemies that I have slain in combat. I cut out their thumb-bones, which I wear around my neck as a warning to others. What else can I do? Without ruthlessness and savagery I would not survive even a week of the life I lead. I am the witch assassin of the Malkin clan.

Are you my enemy? Are you strong? Do you possess speed and agility? Have you had the training of a warrior? It matters nought to me. Run now! Run fast into the forest! I’ll give you a few moments’ start. An hour if you wish. Because no matter how hard you run, you’ll never be fast enough, and before long I’ll catch and kill you. I am a hunter and also a blacksmith skilled in the art of forging weapons. I could craft one especially for you; the steel that would surely take your life.

All the prey I hunt I will slay. If it is clothed in flesh, I will cut it. If it breathes, I will stop its breath. And your magic daunts me not, because I have magic of my own. And boggarts, ghosts and ghasts are no greater threat to me than they are to a spook. For I have looked into the darkness – into the greatest darkness of all – and I am no longer afraid.

My greatest enemy is the Fiend – the dark made flesh. Even as a child I disliked him; saw the way he controlled my clan; watched the way its coven fawned over him. That growing revulsion was something instinctive in me; a natural-born hatred. I knew that unless I did something, he would become a blight upon my life, a dark shadow over everything that I did.

But there is one way in which a witch can ensure that he keeps his distance. A method that is very extreme but ensures that she is free of his fearsome power. She has to be close to him just once and bear his child. After he has inspected his offspring, he may not approach her again. Not unless she wishes it.