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Laura laughed and led us into the school. The school was housed in a rambling Victorian building. It seemed to me to be the epitome of an old country primary school: the loose parquet flooring that clicked and squeaked under our paws; the walls lined with fuzzy green noticeboards covered in pupils' work; the high ceilings; and the lingering smell of school dinners.

Laura led us into the staffroom and pulled the first aid kit of its hook on the wall. She deftly removed the T-shirt from around my paw. She sharply drew breath when she saw the depth of the cut across the pad of my paw.

'Can you wiggle your claws?' She asked.

I dutifully wiggled, wincing at the pain.

'Good.' Said Laura, and with that she wiped an anti-septic cloth across the cut.

'Ahh!' I howled.

'Puppy!' Said Harry with a smirk.

I glowered at him and bared my teeth.

'Boys!' Said Laura in her best school teacher's voice. 'What did you do this with?' She asked as she stuck a large plaster over my wound.

'I'm not sure what it is, but it's definitely sharp.' I said.

Harry pulled both pieces of metal out of his pocket. They seemed to me to be much redder than before; redder even than a small amount of blood from my paw could have warranted.

'I think I've seen something like these before.' Said Laura. 'Twice, actually. The first time was a picture in a textbook at Anskar's - ancient history, I think. The second time was about an hour ago. I've been sorting through the village archives that live in the school and found the handle and half a blade of a knife. Look, it's on that desk over there.'

Harry reached over and picked up the knife out of its box. The metal of its blade seemed to be exactly the same as the fragments we had found. Harry placed the knife on the staffroom's table alongside the fragments. As we watched the previously dull knife blade began to take on the same red shine as the fragments. Slowly, almost imperceptibly the redness deepened into a burgundy glow.

The weird light filled the room and chased away the late afternoon sunlight. As the room grew darker, the red light grew stronger and stronger. The lights cast us all in the same bloody aura. I jerked forward and swept the small fragments onto the floor. As soon as the knife and the pieces of metal were apart, the sunlight streamed back into the room. I noticed that Harry was growling softly at the back of his throat and Laura was staring in shock at the knife. Slowly, the tension drained out of the room. I looked at the table and scratched my muzzle. In my sweeping my paw across the table top I had dislodged a small paper label from the knife handle. I picked it up and read the neat copperplate script:

Handle and partial blade of a late Medieval pagan sacrificial knife. Partial inscription which reads (in translation):

Mother Moon accept the...

Found on the Oxfold Estate - 1871.

I looked at the knife blade and saw the inscription:

Mam Lleuad yn derbyn yr

The script looked almost exactly the same as on the fragments Harry and I had found earlier. I was at a loss to understand how something found in 1871 could be in almost the same clean condition as something that we had found only a few hours earlier. I reached down and picked up the fragments with the writing on it. It looked as if the two broken edges would fit together like jigsaw pieces. Almost unconsciously I began to bring the pieces together. Luckily, Harry noticed the red light that was beginning to flood the room again and pounced on me; knocking both parts out of my grip.

'I don't think that's a good idea.' He growled in my ear.

I agreed. Of course, my agreement was made easier by there being the entire weight of an army trained lynx pinning my paws to the table. In the periphery of my vision I saw Laura pick up the knife and return it to its box. Once the knife was safely out of harm's way, Harry released me.

I looked over at Laura, who was visibly shaken.

'That wasn't right.' She said. 'What can we do now? Francis, you're a priest: can you do an exorcism or something?'

Now, as it happened, I had been trained for exorcisms, or deliverance ministry as it was officially called. It wasn't something that I tended to publicise as it led to some very strange conversations indeed. I thought for a moment and then said:

'Well, there are certain prayers we can say.'

'I wouldn't normally ask for anything like this.' Said Laura. I mean, I'm not churchy, but... that was... odd.'

'We'll go over to the church and pick up some things that I use for this and then will come back.' I said. 'Harry, do you mind helping out?'

Harry shook his head, and said:

'I don't mind.'

All three of us walked down the road from the school and over to the church. I lead us around the south side of the building and unlocked the small door into the sacristy. The sacristy with a funny little room. It was lined almost completely with wardrobes, cupboards and drawers. It never seemed to be tidy as it had become the depository of hundreds of years' worth of stuff, great wobbling piles of ecclesial knick-knackery; gifts from generations of faithful parishioners. When I came to the parish, I was told, that there was a desk that was supposed to be my workspace. I had yet to find out exactly where it was hiding.

I bustled around, gathering together the various bits and pieces for the rite. I handed a small brass bucket and a bunch of fragrant dried herbs to Harry. I then pulled out my small stocks of holy oils and a little leather bound prayer book. These I put on the small area of table top that I had managed to keep clear. I walked over to a wardrobe and pulled out my cassock and a spare clerical collar.

'Do you want to borrow a cassock and stole?' I asked Harry.

He nodded and I fished out one of the spare cassocks that apparently belonged to the parish. We vested quickly and I leafed through my prayer book with one paw, whilst rubbing my aching injured paw against the side of my face. We were interrupted by a voice from the doorway.

'There was no one at the vicarage, so I thought I might find you here.' Said Hopes. 'I've got some stuff for Harry in my car.'

'Hi, Charlie.' I said. 'Could I borrow you for an hour or so? I've been asked by Laura to do a house blessing and I could use your help.'

'I suppose so.' Said Hopes. 'Who's Laura?'

With that Laura waved and said:

'Hello!'

This caused Hopes to nearly jump out of his fur.

'Sorry, Laura,' I said, 'I should have said that Charlie is the nerviest creature alive. Charlie, stop jumping and give us a hand with this kit. Laura is the new head teacher at the local school.'

Hopes reappeared in the doorway pulling on his ear and wearing a contrite expression. I handed a purple stole to him and then herded everyone out of the sacristy.

Our little procession made its way back over to the school. Once inside I made everything ready for the rite. Laura filled the little bucket with tap water and handed it to me. I placed the bucket on the staffroom table with the pieces of metal and the knife in front of me.

Together me, Harry and Charlie extended our paws over the water and said the words of the blessing. Harry picked up the bucket of holy water and Charlie dipped the bunch of herbs into it. I held the prayer book in one paw and extended the other ahead of me and began the rite:

'In the name of God, all-powerful and all loving, hear us we beseech thee.

'Hear us, good Lord, thou who hast washed us in the waters of baptism. Bless, guard and preserve this place and all who work herein.'

Charlie began to sprinkle the holy water around the room and on the knife. The light reddened again and a deep rumbling noise seemed to come from everywhere at once. I raised my voice over the rumbling:

'Hear us, good Lord; that we may be strengthened; that those who have fallen may be raised up; and that, finally, we may beat down the evil one under us.

'We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.' I shouted over the noise.

It seemed as if the whole room was shaking. To my right I could see Charlie still stolidly sprinkling holy water into the room. Harry was standing with his legs braced, shouting the responses to the prayers. The rumbling increased and the same rotting smell as I had experienced earlier permeated the room. I could see Charlie's shoulders heaving as he fought against the stench. I raised my paw and screamed the final blessing over the cacophony.

As suddenly as it had started, the noise stopped. The light returned to normal and the air cleared. I dropped my paw and leant heavily on a chair. I panted for breath, looked down and noticed that blood was seeping out from under the sticking plaster on my paw. Mechanically, I took a tissue out of a box that had fallen on the floor and wiped the worst of the blood out of my fur.

I sat heavily in the chair I had been leaning on. Charlie was slumped against the wall, still clutching the bunch of herbs, holy water dripping down his paw and arm. Harry was standing stock still, his nostrils flared and his eyes flicking from side to side. I turned my head and saw Laura, her ears twitching nervously. She was braced against the door frame. I caught her eye and smiled.

'What the hell was that?' She gasped.

I cocked my head on one side as I thought.

'I have absolutely no idea.' I said. 'I've never come across anything like that before. I've never even read about this.'

'Could it have something to do with those bits of metal? Look,' Said Laura pointing, 'They certainly look less red than before.'

I looked at the fragments and the knife, they did indeed appear to be less ruddy than beforehand.

'Perhaps, they've definitely changed. I'll have to do some proper research, though. My dad knew more about the more esoteric aspects of a priest's work.'

I stood up slowly and walked over to Charlie. I knelt down next to him stop he looked slowly round to me, his eyes slightly unfocused.

'Muh?' Was all he managed to say.

I patted him on the shoulder. I could see that he was, albeit slowly, coming to his senses. Harry was still standing and staring blankly at nothing. Slowly, inch by inch, I edged into his line of vision. I held up my paw and waved it cautiously.

'Harry?' I said. 'Are you all right?'

Ponderously, he batted my paw aside.

'Bog off, Nerd.' He said. 'That was intense. A great start to a break in the country!'

He smiled thinly and ran a paw over the top of his head. Behind me, Charlie had managed to stand up. He dumped the bunch of herbs he was still holding into the bucket of holy water. We all stood quietly for a moment. I leant down and picked up the pieces of knife. I dropped them almost immediately, not due to any other-worldly strangeness, but because a mobile phone started to ring. Laura held up a paw apologetically and dug her phone out of her pocket. She glanced at the screen.

'It's Mike.' She said as she answered. 'Hi, love... Sorry, I got caught at work, I'll be home in ten minutes... You met Francis?... Yeah, weird, I know... Right, see you soon. Bye.'

Laura looked up.

'Sorry about that.' She said. 'Mike is cooking for us tonight. I've got to get home to supervise him, otherwise there will be chaos in the kitchen!'

Unceremoniously she herded us out of the school. There was a ringing metallic sound as the big gates let into the school's wall clanged shut. We said goodbye to Laura and slowly made our way down the street. As we rounded the corner by the church, I stopped and began to pat my pockets.

'What are you doing?' Asked Harry.

'I didn't pick up those bits of knife. I promised Laura that I'd look into what happened at the school.'

Charlie smiled and drew an item wrapped in tissue paper out of a pocket.

'I'm not as jumpy as you think, Francis!' He said. 'I picked them up off the floor when you were having a panic attack about a mobile phone!'

I could see Charlie's whiskers twitching as he suppressed a laugh. Harry wasn't so restrained; he was leaning on a garden wall bellowing with laughter. I watched as tears of mirth ran down the fur of his face leaving little damp tracks behind. I sank my face into my paws and whimpered.

Harry wiped his eyes and stopped laughing long enough to say:

'Nerd, I'm never going to let you live that down.'

I glared at him and turned to Charlie.

'Thanks,' I said, 'I'm glad you were on the ball. You've saved me from looking a total idiot.'

Harry snorted.

'No, Nerd, there's _no_chance of you looking like a total idiot.' He tapped Charlie on the shoulder, who flinched.

'Charlie,' Continued Harry, 'Remember when he got himself locked in the chapel at seminary?'

'Didn't Father Lutra have to call the Fire Brigade to let him out?'

I groaned. By now we had reached the vicarage. We walked down the path while Charlie rummaged in the boot of his car. I unlocked the front door and heard muffled scraping and cursing as Charlie dragged a suitcase up the gravel path. As Charlie reached the door, Harry took the case from him and hefted it easily with one paw. The little hare shot a look at him, but I could see that there was no malice in it. After all, they had been friends for longer than I had known them.