How is this my fault?
Because you are your mother's son, and you have inherited the work that she has done. Both the work and the blame. –Wurmalde forcing Tom to give her the key to the trunks, The Spook's Battle
General[]
Wurmalde is a Greek witch who is an old enemy of Tom's Mam and appears in The Spook's Battle. She first appears as the mistress of the house of Magistrate Nowell, where her identity as a powerful witch remains unknown. She is instrumental in uniting the the three clans in order to release the Fiend into the world.
History[]
Wurmalde hails from Greece. It is unknown if she is a Lamia witch, but she is implied to be immortal and very ancient. When Tom's mam began drifting toward the light, she and Wurmalde became enemies. Wurmalde was the leader of a group that took Tom's mam by surprise and bound her to a cliff with a silver chain, planning to let the sun burn her to death. The plan went awry when Tom's dad, a passing sailor, saved Tom's mam.
At some point, she moved to The County and maneuvered her way into the position of mistress of Magistrate Nowell's house. She used her power to exert a high level of control over the magistrate, who in any case, did not believe in the supernatural. In her position, her identity as a witch remained unknown to the common populace; even Father Stocks, a seventh son of a seventh son who had completed the Spook's training, did not realize she was a witch. In this time, Wurmalde also gathered power amongst the Pendle witch clans.
The Spook's Battle[]
Wurmalde's plans approach fruition as the fourth novel begins. Two of the Pendle witch clans, the Malkins and the Deanes, have agreed to her plan to raise The Fiend. Only the Mouldheels are holding out. The leader of the Mouldheels, Mab Mouldheel, is a powerful scryer of the future and opposed to raising the Fiend. To counter her powers, Wurmalde leads a ritual that gives birth to Tibb, a pig-like kretch (demon spawn) with powerful scrying abilities. Tibb is able to scry Zenobia's trunks and predicts they contain great power. Wurmalde organizes a party that kidnaps Jack and his family and takes the trunks; however, it the trunks can only be opened by Tom Ward.
Tom and Father Stocks arrive at Magistrate Nowell's mansion, hoping to lodge a complaint against the Malkins. Tom senses Wurmalde is a witch, but Father Stocks remains oblivious. Later that night Tibbs attacks Father Stocks, and Wurmalde offers to exchange Tom's family back for opening the trunks. Tom refuses, and correctly predicts the trunks contain her doom. Wurmalde frames him for the murder of Father Stocks.
Tom, Alice, and Mab form an alliance and manage to rescue Jack's family and the trunks. However, Tom betrays Mab by releasing his mother's powerful lamia sisters from within the trunks, and as a result Mab agrees to join Wurmalde's cause. The three covens unite and successfully perform the ritual. They gain the power to compel the Fiend to perform one task over the course of two days. Tibb had predicted that Tom - if he grew to be a man - would pose the greatest threat to the Pendle witch clans yet seen, and so Wurmalde convinces the covens to compel the Fiend to hunt down and kill Tom.
As the Fiend gathers his power, the army led by the Spook attacks the Pendle witch covens. The lamia sisters join the battle, wreaking havoc on the Pendle witches. Wurmalde flees from the Spook and Tom, and manages to avoid the Spook by jumping into her carriage. Her escape is cut short when one of the lamia sisters tears the carriage roof open and drags Wurmalde out. She carries Wurmalde high into the sky and drops her onto Gore rock, killing her for good.
With Wurmalde's death, the Pendle clans' alliance dissolves. Tom is able to escape the Fiend by hiding in his mother's special room, and after the two days are up, the Fiend leaves him be - for the time being. Wurmalde's legacy would be allowing the Fiend to roam free in the world once more.
Personality[]
Wurmalde seems to be one to hold a grudge, and always is determined to achieve her goal no matter the consequences and how dark it is. She also is very reckless and does not think her plans through and how it may cost her afterwards and is not afraid to take away lives to continue her goals.
Lamia or Not?[]
Since Wurmalde comes from Greece many may think that she is a lamia witch. But there is no proof of this. It is never mentioned if she was a lamia or if she had scales on her spine. And remember Mam is the mother of all lamias, and whether or not she made it public to her, lamias seem to live together like the Pendle Witch clans, but then again lamias seem to travel together in feral state than in their domestic form.