Kyle

**//​The 13th Member//** By Mollie Hunter

1. 'A guide to Scottish fiction for young readers aged 1​0-14, Summer 2003.' -- Treasure Island

2. 'A wonderfully atmospheric and spine-chilling tale ​of witches, alchemy and tr​eason set in late 16th century Scotland.' -- Shelf Life

3. 'Brin​g​s the blackest side of mingled treason and witchcraft in sixteenth-century Scotland rivetingly alive.' -- The Times

I chose a picture of a witch riding on a broomstick because witches are the main characters of the novel. Witches can be of any age and are a threat to King James. King James is not at all fond of witches because most of them commit treason. One particular witch and character, named Gilly, is the youngest witch in her coven. She is about nine years old and lives with one of her mother's closest friends. Gilly became a witch unwillingly when her mother died. Gilly's mother was an important witch and wanted her daughter to follow in her footsteps. As a witch, Gilly's role in her coven wasn't that hard, but she was tired and scared of keeping a deadly secret. Gilly wanted out of the coven but did not say it to anybody, for she feared of the consequences.

I picked this picture of a devil because the devil is the main antagonist in my book. The devil is the head of all of the witch covens in a certain area. To achieve a status like the devil, one must learn all about the dark arts and how to posses them. Being a devil in a medieval era is extremely dangerous. One could be burned alive, at the stake if they were caught using or thought to have magical powers. In such a dangerous position, the devil must conceal himself well and never show his or her face to anyone. Only very well trusted witches may know of his or her true identity. In this novel, the devil organizes a huge plot consisting of around forty witches to attempt to murder King James. King James does not respect witches at all. The devil wanted to find a king worthy enough to give the witches what they want, power.

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This YouTube video relates to my book because of the first few lyrics in the song. In the beginning of the novel, Adam is awakened at night to the sound of horse's hooves stomping the ground. Adam is curious to see what the noise is coming from, so he decides to go outside to check. He walked out in front of Master Seton's home to find the devil riding quickly past him. Adam got so scared that he scurried into the bushes and slept there until the next morning. Since that night where he encountered the devil, he hasn't been able to sleep as well at night. Adam has discovered a new fear of the devil and thinks that it may come back at any moment to take him away. He cannot tell anyone about this experience because he will be whipped numerous times if he does.

1. Unexpectedly, Gilly smiled, "No, you are wrong there. I can gentle any creature--I always could. They trust me, I think,and there is something about my touch that quietens them.

This passage is significant to the book because it is when Adam began to figure out that Gilly wasn't normal. Gilly and Adam had been working on the farm when Jardine, one of Master Seton's employees, decided to slap Gilly across the face for not working fast enough. There was already bad blood between Jardine and Adam, but this took Adam's anger to a whole new level. Adam dropped what he was doing and tackled Jardine. Adam threw punch after punch hitting Jardine square in the nose. Jardine retaliated by putting Adam into a choke hold. Master Seton saw that Adam started the fight and sentenced Adam to stay in the shed for the night. That night, Gilly snuck over to the shed and healed Adam's wounds with her magical touch. She discovered this unique power when she was little. She also found out that she could get any creature to relax, just by her touch.

2. "I have not trapped you, and 'tis no witchcraft you see now. I am still Gideon Grahame, the alchemist, as I have always been, and this man here is my twin brother, Richard."​

This passage is important because this is the first part of Gilly, Adam, and Master Grahame's plan to stop the witches plotting to kill King James.​Adam disguised himself to look like one of the members of a coven, Gilly played herself, and Master Grahame was to be the devil. On their way to the gathering of the witches, Master Grahame noticed there was only entrance to the meeting. So all three of them hid along the path to wait for the devil. Finally the devil arrived, and Master Grahame sprang from his hiding place to attack the devil. Gilly and Adam were in shock until the devil pulled out a knife. Then, they all jumped in and tied the devil's arms and legs together. They tore off the devil's mask and Master Grahame recognized that it was his brother right away. The two brothers were identical twins and Master Grahame was ashamed of his brother. His brother had been the one who had plotted to kill King James.

3. "You have not been forced to take part in anything yet," the King told her tartly. "But you will be so forced, mistress, and 'tis not myself who will see to that; for now we have reached the part in the game which comes just before the torture of the rope and is called //Examination of the prisoners for witch-marks//."

This passage is significant because this is the part of the book where King James has sent out his followers to bring back accused witches for questioning. King James has just found two of the five witches that are heads of their covens. The two witches have been heard talking about killing King James. To save her life, Gilly was to identify the witches. The witches denied ever plotting to kill anybody. Their statement was wrong and King James ordered an examination of the witches for any witch-like symbols or marks. King James was successful and saw that both witches had some type of mark on their body. The witches were sent to jail for further questioning. King James now only has to find the other three ringleaders to complete his search for the one who tried to kill him.