"Joseph Delaney - The Spook's Curse" - читать интересную книгу автора (Delaney Joseph)

I looked down at the woman, who was dabbing very gently at the priestтАЩs forehead with a cloth. His
greasy, lank white hair was pulled back from his face and his eyes were rolling feverishly in his head. He
hadnтАЩt known that the woman was going to send to the Spook for help. If he had, he would have
objected so it was a good job that he couldnтАЩt see me now.
 Tears were dripping from the womanтАЩs eyes and sparkling in the candlelight. She was his
housekeeper, not even family and I remember thinking that he must have been really kind to her to make
her get so upset.

тАШThe doctorтАЩll be here soon,тАЩ I said, тАШand heтАЩll give him something for the pain.тАЩ

тАШHeтАЩs had pain all his life,тАЩ she answered. тАШIтАЩve been a big trouble to him too. ItтАЩs made him terrified of
dying. HeтАЩs a sinner and he knows where heтАЩs going.тАЩ

Whatever he was or had done, the old priest didnтАЩt deserve this. Nobody did. He was certainly a
brave man. Either brave or very stupid. When the boggart had got up to its tricks, heтАЩd tried to deal with
it himself by using the priestтАЩs tools: bell, book and candle. But thatтАЩs no way to deal with the dark. In
most cases it wouldnтАЩt have mattered because the boggart would just have ignored the priest and his
exorcism. Eventually it would have moved on and the priest, as often happens, would have taken the
credit.

But this was the most dangerous type of boggart we ever have to deal with. Usually, we call them
тАШcattle-rippersтАЩ because of their main diet, but when the priest had started meddling, he had become the
boggartтАЩs victim. Now it was a full-blown тАШripperтАЩ with a taste for human blood and the priest would be
lucky to escape with his life.

There was a crack in the flagged floor, a zigzag crack that ran from the foot of the altar to about three
paces beyond the priest. At its widest point it was more a chasm and almost half a handтАЩs span wide.
After splitting the floor, the boggart had caught the old priest by his foot and dragged his leg down into
the ground almost as far as his knee. Now, in the darkness below, it was sucking his blood, drawing the
life from him very slowly. It was like a big fat leech, keeping its victim alive as long as possible to extend
its own enjoyment.

Whatever I did, it would be touch and go whether or not the priest survived. In any case, I had to bind
the boggart. Now that it had drunk human blood it would no longer be content with ripping cattle.

тАШSave him if you can,тАЩ the Spook had said, as I prepared to leave. тАШBut whatever else you do, make
sure you deal with that boggart. ThatтАЩs your first duty.тАЩ


I started making my own preparations.

Leaving the riggerтАЩs mate to carry on digging the pit, I went back to the barn with the rigger himself.
He knew what to do: first of all he poured water into the large bucket theyтАЩd brought with them. That
was one advantage of working with people who had experience of the business: they provided the heavy
equipment. This was a strong bucket, made of wood, bound with metal hoops and large enough to deal
with even a twelve-foot pit.

After filling it about half full with water, the rigger began to shake brown powder into it from the large
sack heтАЩd brought in from the cart. He did this a little at a time and then, after each addition, began to stir