Prophesy: The Immortal Witch (18)

Part 17 at: https://www.abctales.com/story/marandina/prophesy-immortal-witch-17

 

Tanya had grown accustomed to cooking in the caravan but still found herself yearning for a house with a large kitchen; one with a substantial island which she could show off to her family and friends. Images of perfect kitchen utensils hanging from perfect kitchen hooks with an open bottle of red wine at the side keeping her company as she cooked a cordon bleu meal for cordon bleu guests took her away from the reality of her tiny galley alternative.

Blinking back to the present, she opened the oven door to check on baking food; escaping heat misting her glasses.

“What time did you say they were coming?” Danielle was eager to hear the findings relating to the curiosity found at the Fort.

“I told them dinner was at seven. They should be here any minute.”

Billy was sitting at the table. He wondered what his mum would have made of all this. She had returned to Birmingham and they were due to catch up on Messenger any day now. Perhaps he should tell her what had been going on since she left. Equally, was there any point in worrying her? She was probably overdue a break from all his nonsense.

On the other hand, his grandmother had been intrigued by his fantastical story but not enough to attend a meeting. She had said to let her know all about it when he got back. Her interest was far from convincing but she did value her own company after all.

A knock at the reinforced-plastic door heralded the arrival of visitors.

“Hello hello. I hope everyone remembers me. I have news, of course.” Nadeem’s face beamed, her entire persona bristling with energy. She was not alone.

“This is Sally Gleeson. She’s been helping me. I know you said on the phone there was no objection to her coming along. I hope that’s still the case?”

Tanya nodded politely then stood to the side ushering in the professor and Vicar Gleeson, loosely wafting an arm in the direction of the living area wordlessly indicating to sit wherever they wanted.

“So glad you could both come…there are a lot of unanswered questions.” Tanya continued stirring sauce heating in a pan.

Despite the overwhelming urge to reveal the translated details from the mysterious tract, it was agreed by all to park the results for now until after they had eaten.

During the introductions and small talk that followed, there was general surprise that a female cleric was a smoker and a university professor a keen gamer (when she wasn’t lecturing or conducting research). The youngsters wanted to know all about the gaming hobby. Did she play online? What games did she play? When did she play? Before the subject could veer onto the topic of social media and the behemoth TikTok, Tanya wrenched the conversation around to the mundanity of school, trawling for generic advice to enhance her daughter’s prospects. 

The culinary collation was a success; roast beef, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and vegetables served with horse-radish sauce.

Having chatted amiably and freely as they ate, the gathering retired to the lounge.

The teenagers unthinkingly scrunched up next to each other on the sofa. Noticing their close proximity they sheepishly left a mutual gap; a subtle demarcation that denoted them as merely friends. Tanya slipped herself in beside Danielle wondering whether she was meant to sit in-between them whilst there was room for the academics on chairs either side of the settee. The bay window behind gave a panoramic view of the estuary.

The weather had closed in as the evening wore on. What was a sunny day had now become dark and overcast. Ominous clouds pregnant with rain looked ready to unleash a precipitous cargo. A brooding sky had timed its threats to coincide with pending revelations below, it seemed.

“So you will all be itching to know what’s contained within these pages.” Nadeem declared.

The source of all the speculation was placed carefully on a coffee table bordered by five pairs of feet, five pairs of eyes following it from bag to glass surface.

Well, let’s not keep you waiting any longer.”

The relaxed atmosphere instantly changed.

Billy felt stiff, his body rapt, his brain telling him to be ready to hear the gospel according to Saints Potter and Gleeson.

“Soooooooo……it appears to be a grimoire as mentioned before. A grimoire is a book of spells used by practitioners of magic.”

Danielle’s mouth involuntarily dropped open, her eyes widening. Although hardly a surprise, confirmation had made everything so much more real now that findings had been validated.

A tension was setting in, replacing the bon homie of the evening so far.

“As well as that, it recites a story about a witch and her origins. The woman featured is called Jezebel. She is banished from her village in the desert, at the time of Jesus.”

The strange tale had only just begun but already the audience was hooked.

“The narrative goes on to outline a complex relationship between the protagonist and a supernatural creature of some kind. A symbiosis that spanned centuries is broken when the creature dies.

After that, the woman leaves the Holy Land by stowing away on a ship. She travels to Sicily then over land to France and, in time, England.

It was in Europe that she took to stealing from churches, monasteries and nunneries wherever she went. Nothing was sacred when it came to the enchantress’s appetite for desecration. She took artefacts, gold, silver, food and had no qualms about her modus operandi. If witchcraft didn’t work then she would resort to murder or maiming those that stood in her way.

During one of her raids, she changes tack and ‘befriends’ a rabbi. Bewitched, he allows her to stay, unaware of her previous crimes. It’s at the Carpentras Synagogue in Provence that Jezebel is taught to read and write but only after the beguiled tutor has worked the existing parchment into a larger codex. The revision incorporates the most noteworthy occurrences of Jezebel’s enduring existence to date along with dark charms learned from whispering spirits in the wilderness. Up until then, she had been reciting spells from memory.

Once literate, from then on she adds to her own ongoing tale along with further incantations.

It’s also during the Middle Ages that she hears a reading of Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte D’Arthur whilst taking shelter with a French noble at a chateau in the countryside. Drawn by the romanticism of Arthurian myth, Jezebel crosses the Channel and settles in Avalon or Somerset as it is today.

After each cycle of renewal, the witch relocates to a new location where people are unfamiliar with her. However, having survived for millennia, her power becomes so great that her sorcery is eventually able to make people oblivious to the fact that she doesn’t age. This part is recorded with a sense of arrogance and triumphalism.

There is an account from the time of James I of her standing trial at Burnham in 1606 accused of diabolical deeds. I haven’t been able to cross reference events recorded to any other source so I’m not sure how reliable this information is.

Anyway, before a verdict can be reached, the prosecutor is taken ill and dies of a pestilence thought to have been the bubonic plague. In the ensuing chaos, the sorceress is released from gaol.”

Nadeem was conscious of trying not to mix tenses as she recounted events but found herself unable to slow down what was proving to be a gushing version of the text. She paused to gauge reaction before Vicar Gleeson added:

“…And that’s where the story ends back in the seventeenth century. The crux seems to come early on. There’s the mention of a prophesy that grants extra life of a hundred years or so to the person receiving a specific conjuration that must be recited with requisite precision. We get some very dark stuff as a result.”

Both professor and vicar cast a concerned look at their listeners, breathing in gently before Nadeem continued:

“Well…..it appears that to fulfil the prophesy, thirteen souls must be given to a demon of the desert. These….erm…..sacrifices must be children. It doesn’t specify a particular age just that they should be innocent and free from mortal sin.”

A sense of unease rippled through those present. Up until now, the finding of the oddity and the mystique that went with it had fuelled all of their imaginations. Talk of witches, demons, spells and child sacrifices had thrown a very different complexion on things. Billy pondered whether now was a good time to come clean about the island. He threw a sideways glance at Danielle wondering whether she was thinking the same thing.

“What is meant by innocent and free from mortal sin?” There was a very real sense of detachment that came with the query. Tanya couldn’t quite believe she was asking for clarification on something sounding so absurd. She prided herself on how grounded she was and was determined that her daughter would be equally stoic in the right way. All this supposition involving mystical shenanigans appeared to be total mumbo jumbo. However, she also believed in rational thinking. She wouldn’t dismiss any scenarios until she was sure it was the right thing to do.

“Yes…interesting isn’t it? We believe that innocent equates to being a virgin and free from mortal sin means that the child has not committed murder or something that can be considered to be an unlawful killing. Both basic tenets of a rudimentary definition of pure.”

Waiting for clarity to sink in, the professor continued:

“There is a bit of a problem in that some of the later sheaves are water damaged and impossible to decipher. About fifty pages in all. It really is very old.”

At times, Nadeem vaunted herself on remaining professionally detached from the material that she worked with. It was only now that an odd feeling had materialised as she had been summarising her findings. It was rare to encounter a version of the occult like this one.

“How did you say you came by it again?”

Danielle’s conscience had been doing somersaults ever since revealing the discovery to her mother. She had gone along with the deception because she thought it was the right thing to do and the events had been so odd that it was hard to imagine anyone believing them. Now that the dark contents of the manuscript had been uncovered, it felt uncomfortable keeping secrets.

“I think we should tell them, Billy. I don’t want to keep this to myself anymore.” The words came with a rueful demeanour, conflicting emotions of either staying loyal to her new friend or opening up to others about the bizarre happenings on that misty morning. The young man’s head drooped, hair falling like strands of snow-sheened silk. He glared at the floor searching for either inspiration or for a hole to open and swallow him alive. For moments he couldn’t think of anything to say as he wrung his hands channelling nervous energy.

“Well Billy....what are you hiding from us?” Tanya’s face rippled in annoyance. She had trusted the boy so far with the nagging reservation that he was something of an unknown quantity.

“The thing is….if I tell you….you really won’t believe it.”

“Try us.” Danielle’s mum had a look of steely determination. She wanted the unadorned truth and nothing less.

For the following minutes, a precis of the curious affair reflecting on spectral tunnels, island graveyards, ghost wolves and books appearing in derelict buildings kept the group talking including a philosophical debate around the whys and wherefores of the last few days. The consensus was that there was clearly more to this whole shebang than had been initially appreciated following the declaration that the volume had been found. There was much to ponder.

The decision was taken to leave the tome in the professor’s safe keeping for now until next steps could be thought through. A metaphorical can of worms was half-open and the tin lid was hanging off the side.

 

Part 19 at: https://www.abctales.com/story/marandina/prophesy-immortal-witch-19

 

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