It had once been a working mill, and then home to Spook Bill Arkwright. My master had sent me to work with him for a while; he wanted me to learn about water witches and other creatures of the dark that dwelled in that region. But Bill’s main task had been to toughen me up and give me combat training. He had certainly done that. I’d grown to like him, though, and still mourned his passing.

Judd Brinscall, another ex-apprentice of John Gregory, was the Spook in residence now. He had not impressed me on our first encounter: he had been threatened, his family in fear for their lives; under such duress, he’d betrayed my master. But later he had helped us, and my master had forgiven him. I’d not found his actions so easy to forget, but he had been useful since, and besides, he was the only other Spook I knew of nearby, the only one qualified to give me further training, something he’d promised to do.

Looking down at the moat, I turned to Jenny. “This is designed to keep water witches at bay,” I told her.

“If they’re water witches, why are they deterred by water?” Jenny asked, her face creased in puzzlement. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“In common with most types of witches, they don’t like salt,” I explained. “Every few days, Judd tips a few barrels into the moat. That keeps them out.”

“Are there a lot of water witches around here?” Jenny wondered.

“Yes, they’re drawn to the marsh,” I said, pointing toward it. The sun was setting, and a mist was coming in from the distant sea. “It’s an important place for water witches. It’s sacred to them in some way. So despite the presence of a spook and his dogs, they come here from time to time. Then Judd hunts them across the marsh. He covers a big area, ranging north of Morecambe Bay as far as the lakes, right to the northern County border.”

As I waded through the salted moat, I heard dogs barking, which meant that Judd was at home.

As the two animals bounded toward us, I felt Jenny flinch behind me. I didn’t blame her. They were big, fearsome wolfhounds.

They reached me before I came to the door, and I paused to pat them and to be licked in return. I was happy to see them, but sad as well. There were only two of them now, Blood and Bone. Their mother, Claw, had been killed at the Battle of the Wardstone, where my master had also died.

“Come inside!” a voice shouted. “It’s like the middle of winter out here!”

Judd was waiting at the door, and he greeted me warmly. However, I noticed that as we approached, he gave Jenny a strange look.

“This is my apprentice, Jenny,” I told him.

I watched his jaw drop in astonishment. I supposed I would have to get used to this sort of reaction.

Soon we were at his table, tucking into a supper of delicious cod. This close to the sea, there was always plenty of fresh fish available.