Jenny was already waiting for me at the foot of the stairs. She had her staff in her hand and was ready to fight, having already released the blade at its tip.

“Stay just inside the back door!” I told her. “If anything approaches the house, shout loud enough to awake the dead!”

“I want to go with you!” she insisted, grabbing my arm.

“Do as you’re told!” I snapped, reaching for my staff. “You’d be in danger from the boggart.”

I buckled on the scabbard and sheathed the Starblade before racing across the lawn and into the trees of the western garden. There was some truth in what I’d just told Jenny. The boggart had been instructed not to harm her, but it would now be filled with bloodlust; in the heat of the moment, she could well be at risk. But my main reason for leaving her behind was to keep her at a safe distance from this unknown intruder.

Suddenly I heard other screams. These did not come from the thirsty throat of the boggart; they were cries of agony, probably the dying shrieks of the creature it had attacked. I began to sense the position of the intruder in my mind, though I didn’t really need that gift—the cries drew me to the spot.

All at once there was silence, and I slowed down, approaching more cautiously. In the moonlight, a scene of carnage greeted me, and I turned and retched. I stood there for a moment, taking a few deep breaths and swallowing to bring my stomach under control.

The grass was slick with blood. There was a lot of it—too much, I realized, for just one intruder. Then I saw the first of the heads. It had been impaled on a sapling, and its staring eyes were on a level with my own.

It was a Kobalos mage—there was no doubt about it. I studied the elongated jaw, which hung open, showing sharp teeth. Unlike the mage I’d fought in the tree, the face of this creature was not shaven, and it looked even more bestial. Its long hair was pulled into a single pigtail behind its head.

All at once I heard the lapping of a rasping tongue. Kratch wasn’t about to let any blood go to waste. After a while, the sound stopped and a purring began; moments later, something furry and cold rubbed against my left leg. It was the boggart in its cat form, and immediately it spoke inside my head.

They were tasty but strange, it hissed. It was blood of a flavor I’ve never sampled before. I could grow to like it. I want more.

“How many were there, Kratch?” I demanded.

There were three. Will more come this way?

“They might. They are Kobalos mages, and they are my enemies. Soon I must journey across the sea to learn more about them. While I am away, the Spook called Judd Brinscall will come here to work. Allow him entry to the garden and house, and touch not a hair of his head. Is it agreed?”