The Crimson Well by Benjamin Hulme-Cross Page B

across the top of the well.
    â€œWhat can we do?” Mary said softly. Edgar shook his head.
    One of the witches stepped towards Mr Blood. She drew a knife across his cheek. Blood ran down his face and dripped into the well.
    The witches stopped chanting. For a moment everything was still. Then the ground began to tremble. The witches howled with joy.

    The standing stones and wooden posts shook. The head of a huge snake rose out of the mouth of the well.
    Its jaws were wide open and as it rose, it swallowed Mr Blood whole.
    Edgar and Mary both cried out in horror. They ran towards the huge snake.

    One of the witches turned and saw them. She laughed. The snake kept rising out of the well. Its body was as thick as the trunk of an old oak tree. Its fangs were like an elephant’s tusks.
    The monster wrapped itself around the outside of the well. The head reared up, high above the standing stones.
    The witches bowed before it.
    Edgar reached the snake before Mary. He was still carrying the stone axe. He swung the axe at the snake’s body.
    The blade cut through scales and drew blood. The snake’s hiss was like the sound of a huge waterfall.

    The snake stared down angrily at Edgar and Mary, huge drops of venom dripping from its yellow fangs. The children trembled as they waited to die.
    The snake froze for a moment, ready to strike, and then it began to sway. It made terrible choking noises. Edgar saw a bulge in the monster’s neck.
    Then the snake’s skin split open and an arm came out of its neck, holding a knife. The snake hissed again and twisted around in pain. The knife cut through more of the snake’s neck and the skin tore as Mr Blood pulled himself out of the snake.

    Mr Blood gasped for air. He threw the bloody knife into the well and the ground began to tremble again. The witches howled.
    The angry snake gave one final hiss and then thrust its head back into the well. The earth shook once more as the monster went back under the ground.
    The witches ran away, and Mr Blood fell to the ground.
    Mary rushed over to him and hugged him. “How... how?” she gasped.
    â€œI knew I had to get some of the snake’s blood into the well,” said Mr Blood, “so I let the witches make me the sacrifice. I kept my knife hidden.”
    The moon came out. Mr Blood, Edgar and Mary were alone in the stone circle once more. Only the dripping blood on the well showed what had happened in that terrible place.

First published 2015 by
    A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
    50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP
    www.bloomsbury.com
    Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
    Copyright © A & C Black 2015
    Text copyright © Benjamin Hulme-Cross 2015
    Illustrations © Nelson Evergreen 2015
    The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
    All rights reserved
    No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers
    A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library
    ISBN: 978-1-4729-0822-3
    ePub: 978-1-4729-0823-0
   
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