The Spook's Battle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Spook's Battle

First edition cover
Author	Joseph Delaney
Country	Great Britain
Series	The Wardstone Chronicles of Spook's
Genre	Children's Fiction
Publisher	9 July 2007 The Bodley Head, an imprint of Random House Children's Books
Pages	496
ISBN	0-370-32892-2
OCLC	123113636
Preceded by	The Spook's Secret
Followed by	The Spook's Mistake

The Spook's Battle is the fourth book in The Wardstone Chronicles series. It was written by Joseph Delaney. In America, it was released in March 2008. There, it is called Attack of the Fiend. This story continues the exciting adventures of Tom Ward, a young apprentice to a Spook.

Story Summary

This book follows Tom Ward on a dangerous journey. He must rescue his family and face powerful dark creatures. His mother has left him a special task. Tom also learns more about his own family's secrets.

A Family in Danger

Tom's mother has gone back to her home in Greece. She left three special trunks for Tom at their farmhouse. Only Tom is meant to open them. The Spook sends Tom and Alice to get the trunks. But when they arrive, the farm is a mess. The trunks are gone. Tom's brother Jack, his wife Ellie, and their daughter Mary are also missing. They have been taken to Pendle, a place controlled by witches.

Alice goes ahead to Pendle to find out more. Tom tells his brother James what happened. Then Tom returns to Chipenden. The Spook has a visitor there, Father Stocks. Father Stocks is a priest from Pendle. He warns the Spook that witches are joining forces. They plan to summon the Fiend, who is like the Devil himself.

Witches and Traps

Tom arrives in Pendle. He meets a young blonde girl named Mab. Mab tells Tom that Alice is in trouble. She says Alice is under a binding spell by the Mouldheel witches. Mab leads Tom to a clearing. There, he meets her twin sisters, Beth and Jennet. Tom soon realizes they are all witches. He escapes thanks to a special mark Alice put on his arm. Tom then follows the girls as they run away.

Tom tracks the witches to a small village. He rescues Alice from a cottage. He notices a strange creature watching them. It is a seer named Tibb. Tibb is small, bald, with sharp teeth. Alice tells Tom she is bound to the place. Mab cast a spell using a lock of Alice's hair. To free Alice, Tom must burn that lock of hair. Alice also tells Tom that his family is held in Malkin Tower. This tower is a very strong fortress.

Seeking Help

Tom and Father Stocks go to see Roger Nowell, the local magistrate. They meet his housekeeper, Mistress Wurmalde. Tom recognizes her as a witch. Tom reports the kidnapping of his family. Magistrate Nowell agrees to go to Malkin Tower. He takes Tom, Father Stocks, a constable, and two bailiffs. The witches at the tower refuse to let them in. The magistrate tells Tom and Father Stocks to return to his house. They will be his guests for the night. He plans to get help from the army.

Mistress Wurmalde serves them food. Father Stocks eats it, but Tom refuses. This saves Tom from being drugged. Later that night, Mistress Wurmalde leaves the house. She returns, hiding the seer Tibb under her clothes. Mistress Wurmalde reveals she is an old enemy of Tom's mother. She tells Tom that his brother is suffering. She blames Tom for continuing his mother's fight against the Dark. She promises to free Tom's family. But only if Tom gives her the key to his mother's trunks. He wears the key around his neck. She gives him one day to decide.

A Dangerous Night

Back in his room, Tom hears Father Stocks begging for help. Tom cannot move from his bed. Tibb is drinking Father Stocks' blood. Soon, Tibb comes to Tom's room. He hangs from the ceiling. Tibb tells Tom about his future. He says Tom will be alone. His master will die. A girl will love him, betray him, and die for him. Tibb demands to know what is in the trunks. Tom tells him the trunks hold Tibb's death. They also hold the end of the Pendle witch clans.

In the morning, Father Stocks is very weak. Tom climbs out a window and runs to Downham. But the Spook is gone. Alice tells him that Tom's brother James arrived. James had received Tom's message. He and the Spook left together. Tom and Alice leave a note for the Spook. They then head back to Read Hall to save Father Stocks. On the way, Alice tells Tom about an offer from Mab Mouldheel. Mab will help them free Tom's family through a tunnel. But only if they help her get the trunks.

Betrayal and Escape

When they return to Read Hall, Father Stocks is dead. Mistress Wurmalde killed him. She tells Magistrate Nowell that Tom is the murderer. She says she caught Tom trying to rob the house. Tom is thrown into a cell. Alice manages to escape. Wurmalde visits Tom in his cell. She demands the trunk keys. But Tom refuses. The keys must be given willingly to work.

The constable puts Tom in wooden stocks. He takes Tom to the Tower. The magistrate and his army battalion are there. The army begins to attack the Tower. They fire cannons all day, but the walls do not break. That night, Tom is still in the stocks. He is hungry and thirsty. He tries to run away. But he sees witches, led by Mab Mouldheel. They are surrounding the sleeping soldiers. Tom decides he cannot leave them to die. The soldiers were drugged and will not wake. Tom tells Mab he will give her the trunks. But only if she spares the soldiers' lives. Mab agrees. She takes Tom to meet Alice, who is with her sisters.

Tom promises Mab the keys to all three trunks. This is if she helps him rescue his family. Mab agrees. She takes Tom and Alice through a graveyard. They enter a tunnel that leads into the Tower. Tom and Alice rescue Mab from a wight. A wight is a dead sailor brought back by dark magic. Alice then forces Mab to give her the lock of Alice's hair. Alice burns it, freeing herself from the spell.

Unlocking Secrets

They reach the cell where Tom's family is held. Jack's mind seems lost. Ellie says he has been like that since they left the farm. Tom thinks this happened when witches forced Jack to enter the protected room. His mother had said only Tom and Alice should enter that room. Their candle goes out. They cannot find their way back through the tunnels. They decide to go up into the Tower. They hope to escape when the cannons break the walls. Tom and Alice carry Jack.

They hear the drawbridge opening. They go up and find the three trunks in front of it. The Malkin witches fled the Tower when the soldiers broke in. But now the soldiers are leaving. Invaders have arrived from overseas. War is beginning. Mab had seen this coming with her magic. She timed everything so her Mouldheel clan could take the trunks. Mab says her clan will not join others to raise the Fiend. Instead, they will take over the Tower for themselves.

Tom refuses to give Mab the keys. But Mab holds a knife to little Mary's throat. Tom gives in. Mab opens the first trunk. Inside are his mother's wedding dress, vials of liquid, bags of gold, and Greek books. There is also a letter to Tom, in Greek. It says only he can open the other two trunks. This must be done in moonlight. It also says his mother's two sisters sleep inside them. They will protect Tom with their lives. Tom does not tell Mab what is in the other trunks. He agrees to open them that night. But only if Alice and his family are set free. Mab lets them go.

The Fiend's Arrival

That night, the moon shines. Tom opens the two trunks. The moonlight shines on two winged, wild lamia witches inside. They come to life. They sniff and recognize Tom as their family. They chase Mab and her clan from the Tower. Mab had already had masons repair the Tower. Before she leaves, Mab tells Tom she will get revenge. The Mouldheels will now join the other clans. They will bring the Fiend into the world.

Tom now knows his own mother is a lamia witch. He stays inside the Tower. That night, Alice returns with the Spook and Tom's brother James. Alice tells Tom she left Jack with her aunt, Agnes Sowerbutts. Agnes is taking care of him. The Spook and James had been busy. They roused the men of Downham. They helped them chase the Deane clan out of town. The next day, James goes back to Downham. He will gather men to come to the Tower. The Spook stays behind. He releases the troubled spirits of people killed in the Tower. Tom and Alice go to Agnes Sowerbutts' house. They get Jack, Ellie, and Mary. They bring them to the safety of the Tower.

Agnes uses a mirror to spy on Mab. She sees Mab planning with Mistress Wurmalde and Tibb. Jack is physically better. But he is still confused and cannot speak. He, Ellie, and Mary go with Tom and Alice back to the Tower.

Facing the Dark

The next day, Tom and the Spook go to deal with Mistress Wurmalde and Tibb. They find Magistrate Nowell's body. Tibb killed him and drained his strength. But Tibb himself is dying. Wurmalde abandoned him. His life was only meant to last nine weeks. It is ending. He tells Tom that his mother gave up her endless life. She chose to live a normal life with Tom's father. This was to make up for her past mistakes as a lamia. She made Tom her weapon against the Dark. The Spook kills Tibb.

Back at the Tower, Alice used some potions from Tom's mother's trunk. She made a cure for Jack's mind. He is sleeping under its effects. Alice, Tom, and the Spook set out again for Downham.

By night, James leads the village men. They confront the gathered witches. Tom, Alice, and the Spook try to capture the leader, Mistress Wurmalde. They almost fail. But the two lamia witches swoop down. They scatter the witches. One of them kills Wurmalde. Mab gets away. But not before telling Alice that the ritual to raise the Fiend is complete. They are too late.

The Spook tells Tom to go back to his family farm. He must lock himself in his mother's room. No evil can enter there. The Fiend will be under the witches' control for two days. If Tom can survive that long, the Fiend will be free. It will then move on to other mischief.

A New Birthday

On the way home, Mab stops Tom. She tells him she did everything because she loved him. She feels he betrayed her. She also tells him that the Malkins have sent Grimalkin the Witch Assassin after him.

Tom runs for hours. He is almost home when Grimalkin catches him. He pretends to give up. Then he uses his staff to pin her to a tree. As he turns to run, Grimalkin throws a blade at him. Tom, without thinking, slows time. He catches the blade in the air. He then makes it into the house. He reaches the safety of the protected room. He hears the Fiend outside. But it cannot enter the room. Tom falls asleep, exhausted.

When he wakes, the ghost of Father Stocks appears. He tells Tom he is in despair. He cannot find hope. Tom helps the priest remember a good memory. Father Stocks is then able to find peace. Daylight enters the room. Tom knows two days have passed. He can leave the room. It is his fourteenth birthday.

Some weeks later, Tom is back at Chipenden. He is with the Spook and Alice. James has moved back to the family farm. He is with Jack, Ellie, and Mary. He is helping to care for them while Jack recovers. The Fiend is loose in the world. But for now, it is not actively hunting Tom.

Main Characters

• Thomas J. Ward: He is the main character. He is the Spook's apprentice, learning to fight the Dark.
• Alice Deane: She comes from a family of witches. She is Tom's best friend and helps him on his adventures.
• The Spook: He is Tom's master. He is a famous Spook who protects the county from dark creatures.
• Father Stocks: He was once the Spook's apprentice. He is a priest from Pendle.
• Mab Mouldheel: She is a young witch. She seems to care for Tom, but she betrays him by the end of the book.
• Grimalkin: She is a dangerous witch assassin. She is known for her sharp scissors and how she uses them.