"Well, not exactly," Caspar admitted, "but what else could it mean? The only thing that fits their descriptions is the eldest of the evil races, and that means we're all going to be in a peck of trouble."
"Actually," said Belloc, changing the subject, "what you just said about the demons is only
partly true. The other `evil races', as you call them, were once elves, trolls, dwarves, and other such beings. The evil power in the east corrupted their form. Elves became goblins, dwarves became gnomes, trolls became . . . evil."
"What about men?" asked Mullen.
"There were few men in the early days," Belloc replied. "Some were enslaved. A few became unwitting accomplices of evil. The rest were corrupted as only men can be corrupted; through their own free will. But in doing so, they were no longer men, for in return for their service, they were given much power, and that power changed them."
"Didn't they become wights?" asked Pip.
Belloc nodded as he lit his pipe. "Aye. They became wights."
Lily sat quietly, wide-eyed, listening intently. For the first time she was glad to be within the sanctuary of Belloc's house. Already she was beginning to feel a sense of belonging. Anest's arm felt comfortable and secure around her, and the fire she would normally have fled from the sight of was a cosy, cheerful glow in the stone hearth. Even the smell of the old wizard's pipe had a close, comfortable aspect.