Mistress Crowfoot curled her dark blue lip. "I see you have an ungrateful apprentice witch here, Willow," she said acidly.

Jemmy felt a stab of annoyance. "Tira is a great girl," he said coolly, interposing himself between Mistress Crowfoot and his friend so as to stare the tall witch in the eye.

Mistress Crowfoot grabbed his shoulders and glared at him with dark eyes. "Don't meddle in the affairs of witches. I warn you, I am not the sort who is soft on pretty men."

"Babs!" exclaimed Willow.

"Don't grab him like that!" snapped Tira.

Both flaxen haired witches grabbed Mistress Crowfoot by the arms and in response, she jerked her arms away and glared at them.

Willow held up her green hands. "Listen, Babs, I know there have been misunderstandings all round."

Tira glared at Mistress Crowfoot, her green face set into a scowl, and folded her arms. "There's nothing to misunderstand. I saw Mistress Crowfoot talking with the villain Nazek about horrible things."

"Tira… She played a trick on Nazek," said Willow. "That is her sort of thing."

Tira blinked and narrowed her blue eyes at Mistress Crowfoot.

Mistress Crowfoot sniffed. "I've nothing more to say to such an idiot as you."

"Babs! This is not productive," said Willow, her voice quavering.

"Yes, let's hear each other out," said Jemmy.

Mistress Crowfoot turned to him and her greyish lips twitched, almost as if she had been going to give a tight-lipped smile. "I interviewed Nazek and gathered the particulars of where the Circle of Doom will assemble. They intend to conjure the Beast, and they may well succeed. Of course, my apprentice-" here she very deliberately abstained from looking at Tira, "has deserted me. And so for that matter did an imp of mine, but that was not a very big blow. I know you're skulking in the corner at the boy's feet, Gloom. Don't worry. I don't resent you for deserting. You weren't much use."

Jasper was staring up at Mistress Crowfoot wide-eyed. Jemmy could not see Gloom, but no doubt the imp had an invisibility shield of some kind.

Tira was gazing at Mistress Crowfoot, touching a green finger to her chin. "I – I'm sorry I made such a big mistake. Even though you'd done mean things that made me angry, it was still wrong to think you were so wicked."

Mistress Crowfoot just sniffed and would not look at her.

"Try to put it behind us," said Willow, pressing her hands together in a pleading gesture, her brow creased with worry. "What we're going to do is dangerous."

00O00

They would have to set off for Claybury soon. The Circle of Doom would assemble there at the New Moon. There would barely be time to make last minute preparations. Tira had her tome of black magic, and Jemmy already had his armband of sword-mastery. There was just time for him to shave before leaving. He'd been able to get a razor blade at the market place. This was his first opportunity to shave in a considerable while. Tira sat beside him as he lathered his face from a bucket of soap suds in the garden.

"Sorry I don't keep razors," said Willow with a smile as she retrieved her long broomstick from the shed. "Don't need them."

Tira grinned when Jemmy was finished, and wanted to rub her cold cheek against his. "So smooth," she giggled.

"I have a baby face again now," he joked.

Tira giggled again and held his gaze, her blue eyes bright. "I – um… I always thought you were … um … beautiful…"

"Very smooth, Mistress," said Gloom who was nearby.

"You're such a flatterer, Tira," said Jemmy laughing. "So… ready for our dangerous mission. Ready to save the world?"

"Dunno. I'm feeling a bit antsy," said the witch-girl, gazing back at him with her big, blue eyes.

"Preparation and practice will curb your anxiety, then," said Jemmy. "Active body, active mind. That's the code of a warrior."

He demonstrated how he could improvise a practice a sword stroke by chopping a twig, while the witch sat on a bench and watched.

"Can't really practice sword play," said Tira. "I don't use a sword." She held up her tome of black magic. "Willow told me what this book is. It's about demonic conjuring. Um… Only I can use, cos I picked it up in the bonebeast's lair. Weird, how that works. Anyway, I open it and I have to will myself to find what spell I wanna see."

She leafed through the vellum pages. "OK… This looks like a horrid old script where the letters are hieroglyphics of reptiles killing each other. I'd be able to read it by concentrating, cos I have magic in me." She shut the book again. "There's no gateway to the underworld here, so it wouldn't work, and I wouldn't want it to."

"You have different weapons," said Jemmy. "I suppose you just have to keep an active mind."

She smiled at him and rummaged through her satchel. "Witch weapons. Like this one." She retrieved the Pied Piper's pipes.

"You certainly put it to good use that day. It turned out the pipes were mightier than the sword."

Tira burst into shrill laughter, scrunching her eyes and crinkling her shiny green nose.

"Would it have been that funny if I'd cracked the joke, Mistress?" Gloom had turned up again and was now squatting on the bench.

00O00

All too soon it was time to set off on their dangerous mission. Jemmy wasn't especially keen on broomstick flying, but it would be a pleasure travelling with Willow and Tira on Willow's broom. The formidable Mistress Crowfoot had her own.

Jemmy noticed that Mistress Crowfoot now had an imp on her shoulder that looked very similar to Gloom. Gloom was staring at it with his cat like eyes.

"You're too much of a coward to be any use in battle, Gloom," said the imp on Mistress Crowfoot's shoulder. "You're a disgrace to imp-kind."

"I have a different idea of what disgraces an imp, Darkness," said Gloom.

"You never do stop bickering, you two," said Mistress Crowfoot.

Willow was leaving Jasper with her friend the blacksmith. A small crowd of villagers had also come to bid her goodbye.

"Not 'citin' for me to stay behind," grumbled Jasper.

"But it's non-negotiable, love," said Willow firmly.

She hugged the blacksmith goodbye and kissed him on both cheeks.

"Come back to us," said the blacksmith, clasping her green hands. Jemmy noticed the man's eyes were bright.

"I – I will," said Willow.

The rustics all started murmuring and wanted to touch Willow's cloak or hug her.

"Stop messing about acting schmaltzy," snapped Mistress Crowfoot.

"Bumpkins for you," muttered Darkness.

They stared at her in some bemusement. Jemmy noted that Gloom did not dare make any smart retort to his old Mistress.

They soared through the moonlit sky. The hour of the eclipse was fast approaching. On the broom, the cold wind buffeted Jemmy in the face as he clutched Tira tightly, his arms easily encircling her skinny body. He determinedly avoided looking down.

"Isn't this the only way to travel?" called Willow.

Jemmy didn't agree, but no doubt it was a witch thing to prefer broom flying to getting around on foot.

"We're here! Down there!" cried Willow.

Looking down over the bleak moorland, Jemmy saw a circle of standing stones. Within the ring, were a circle of men in blood red armour and in the middle stood the hooded figure of Nazek. Jemmy would know him anywhere. The villain was yelling a stream of esoteric words to the night. Jemmy breathed hard.

"You OK?" asked Tira.

"I bet he's just spoiling for a rumble," said Gloom drily.

It was then that the moonlight failed. Looking up, Jemmy saw a shadow fall across the face of the moon, as a lunar eclipse plunged the world into darkness.

At that moment, deeper shadows arose from the circle beneath them.

"Tenebrae!" said Gloom. "Your blade isn't much use against them, warrior."

Willow gave a cry and pointed with a green finger at the shadows, blasting them with streams of purple light so they dissolved into shreds of darkness.

They landed on the wind-blasted heather. Mistress Crowfoot was dismounting as well.

"We must attack now," said Mistress Crowfoot. "All or nothing."

But then the ground itself shook. Gasps came from the cultists. "The Infernal Beast comes!"

In the centre of the circle, a fissure broke in the ground, and the reek of sulphur filled the air. A pair of horns punctured the tortured Earth, followed by a hideous, reptilian head with yellow eyes that glared like twin septic suns. Two scaly arms of immense strength broke free of the Earth, and the demonic figure emerged, stamping on the ruptured ground with cloven hoofs.

The lunar eclipse passed, and the horror was revealed in its malignant glory.

The Infernal Beast was a monstrosity three times the height of a man. The fiend's torso was humanoid and covered with gleaming bronze scales. Sprouting from the shoulders were a pair of enormous, bat-like wings. The head was that of a dragon, with teeth like knives. Two horns protruded from the skull.

The Infernal Beast let out a roar. Jemmy felt his heart thudding in his breast.

"Oh no!" squeaked Tira.

"Oh no is right," muttered Gloom.

The cultists flung themselves to the ground. All except Nazek, who stood and gestured to the Beast. "Behold, the Infernal Beast. Your Lord and Master."

The Infernal Beast raised its taloned arm high in the air and brought it down in a sweeping arc, striking Nazek down where he stood.

"Arrogant fool," it rumbled.

The cultists whimpered in fear. The Infernal Beast glared down at Jemmy and the witches with blazing eyes. "Bow before me, worms! I have come to lay waste to this dismal world. Now the Infernal Beast claims dominion over the upper realms."

"Never! Taste my blade!" Cried Jemmy, raising Deliverer.

The three witches screamed, and threw orbs of blue light at the Beast, who stumbled, but then gave a hollow, booming laugh. Jemmy started forward, Deliverer held high.

"Jemmy, no!" screamed Tira.

"You're not worth my time, puny mortal," said the Beast. With that, the corpse of Nazek twitched, and lurched to its feet. In the short time he had been dead, Nazek had decomposed beyond all reason. Rotting hands outstretched, he lurched towards Jemmy moaning balefully.

Jemmy dodged the grasping hands, slashing at the revenant with Deliverer.

The witches blasted the Beast again, but the demon spread his wings and came towards them. Gloom and Darkness fluttered around the Beast's horned head, shooting sparks at him.

"Imps. Your stings are like gnats," rumbled the Beast, and he breathed a gout of fire, causing the imps to flutter high out of reach.

"Tira, your tome of conjuration," urged Willow. "It's bound to you. Let it fall open where it will and concentrate, like I said."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Jemmy saw Tira opening the tome she had retrieved from the Bonebeast's lair, staring at the page, her blue eyes wide in her green face. Then she took the Pied Piper's pipes from her satchel and began to play, a weird, discordant melody. From the rent in the earth left by the Beast, a blazing swarm erupted. Rats, blazing red like fire or molten rock. Were they demonic rats. They swarmed all over the Infernal Beast, over his bat-like wings and horned head, making him below. The fiend tried to swipe at the blazing vermin, but more kept coming. He yelled as they bit into his scales of bronze.

Willow and Mistress Crowfoot screamed a string of weird sounding words and blasted the Infernal Beast with streams of dazzling white light, and he bellowed all the louder.

Jemmy dodged Nazek's rotted hands, and beheaded his undead foe with a single stroke and rushed up to the Infernal Beast. The demon was blazing hot and reeked of fire and brimstone. Jemmy struck hard at the Beast's legs with Deliverer and pierced the sinews of his mighty knee. The Beast staggered and fell to the ground with a crash. The plague of Infernal rodents swarmed all over him and the silver witch-fire enveloped him in a glowing aura.

With all the force he could muster, Jemmy drove Deliverer between the scales of the demon's chest. Blue flames raced along the length of the sword and the Infernal Beast began to burn. The demon rats dragged his carcass back into the fissure in the ground. Soon the blazing swarm and the Beast were gone from sight. The ground shook as the rift to the underworld closed.

Tira stopped playing, let out a little gasp. Then her eyes rolled upwards and she swayed on the spot and fainted. Jemmy lay down his sword and went over to his friend, gathering her skinny body up in his arms and cupping her cold green face in his hands.

"Tira?" He felt her forehead. She was cold and clammy as always. He held her tight. "Oh Tira, you're such a heroine. I was truly blessed, that day I met you."

Gloom bounded over to them. "The Mistress has overexerted herself again, but this time it was for the greatest results. Just think of it. Defeating the Infernal Beast!"

Jemmy was aware of Mistress Crowfoot and Darkness somewhere in the distance, chasing off the remaining cultists.

Willow came over to them and her blue eyes widened. She knelt down and checked Tira's pulse. Close to, Jemmy could see that Willow's green face glowed with a sheen of perspiration. Her brows drew together and she bit her lip. Then she put her green hands to the witch-girl's forehead and murmured something unintelligible, her blue eyes rolling. Finally, she turned her face to Jemmy. "The poor lovely has done such a wonderful thing tonight. But she's sadly hurt. This – This kind of energy expenditure is dangerous for us, my dear boys." The witch's voice quivered.

Jemmy felt his insides clench with worry. "There must be something you can do for her! You're a witch as well, aren't you?"

"I did pass a portion of my energy to her," mumbled Willow, her eyes downcast.

"Then pass a portion of mine!"

"Y-You're not a witch, my lovely. It wouldn't be any use."

Jemmy remembered the time he and Tira had spent at the Pilgrim's rest, when she comforted him, and how he had first wished then that he had her as a sister. He leaned close to her green face. "I love you so much, Tira," he whispered fiercely. "I – with all my heart. Please wake up."

Tira's eyelids fluttered and her eyes opened. She gazed blearily up and then focused on Jemmy's face and her green face split in a grin. "You love me?"

"So, so much," he said in a husky voice, feeling himself choke up.

The witch gave a happy squeal and wrapped her skinny arms around him, pressing her cold cheek against his. "Awwww. I love you too. We love each other so, so much."

He hugged her so tight she squeaked, and Willow threw her arms around them both.

"It's moments like this that make saving the world worth it," said Gloom.