Sapphic Voices Horror
Ghost Writer
Conclusion
by Crow"> and Laesë (L.M. Townsend)
[e-mail unavailable] and QueenLaese1[at]aol.com
Copyright © by Crow"> and Laesë (L.M. Townsend), October 31, 2001
Disclaimers: This Story portrays Women in love, and yes, physically loving each other, (in other words,
“THERE’S SEX HERE!!!!!”) so if you’re squeamish about that sort of thing, you may want to avoid this Story. That's
about it - although it touches on one of the most heinous and violent times in history, the Burning Times when
"witches" were tortured and brutally murdered, all (technically, anyway) in the name of a gentle carpenter
from Nazareth. (Who, from all accounts, would have denounced such behaviour vehemently. I have no quarrel with
him, just those who use the power of his name to cause harm) Still, there are no graphically violent scenes described
in this Story. Oh, yeah - there is wee four-letter word or two in here. <G>
Feedback is welcomed - encouraged, even! Just be nice - in other words, if you hate it, you can tell us, just do
so gently, please. If you love it, please tell us that, too! Comments and suggestions can be made to:
QueenLaese1[at]aol.com
Thank you for reading!
Emmeline Cassidy sighed and sat behind the bar and switched off the computer. She hated deception, but it had been
necessary. Those two would never have left when they did if she hadn’t sent that message to the ghost now taking
refuge in Celine’s apartment. Em had been seeing the ghosts resident in this Tavern all her life, had in fact seen
Sarah following Celine out of the Tavern. She liked the two female ghosts, but that one! The Dark Man, as she had
always thought of him, he was something else. Em suspected Celine was closer than even she knew when she called
him more than a ghost.
She also hadn’t meant to sound so querulous with them, but she was tired. She had been up all night, cleaning up
after the Dark Man’s temper tantrum - seemed he didn’t like that Sarah had escaped the Tavern or something. And
as for canceling the party - well, Em learned a long time ago not to give in to bullies. The only way to deal with
the likes of him was to stand up to them. She wasn’t about to admit that, though - it wouldn’t do to sound like
a stubborn old woman. Em laughed at herself. Better to sound greedy and mercenary? she thought, shaking
her head.
Still, Celine had seemed so sure that there would be trouble of some kind at the party. Maybe she should consider
canceling. No, thought Em. I won’t cancel. Guess I am just a stubborn old woman, after all….
Just then there was a banging on the wall. Em tried to ignore it, but it grew louder and more insistent.
“Aw, give it a rest, will ya?” said Em, irritably rising from her seat. A figure began to slowly materialise in
the corner. “You. What do you want?” The woman pointed at the computer, then at Em. She smiled.
“Yeah - sorry about that,” said Em, grinning. The ghost shook her head and smiled, then nodded. “Glad you approve.
It worked at least. He was coming for them wasn’t he?”
The spirit’s smile faded and she nodded, solemnly. “Why?” asked Em. The spirit merely shook her head. “Who is he,
anyway? Why is he so angry?”
The spirit frowned for a moment, then pointed to the computer monitor. Understanding, Em turned it on. The spirit
smiled and nodded, then made the motion of typing with her hands. Em typed her question.
CAS789: Who is he? Why is he so angry? What does he want with Celine and
Lisa?
He is the Reverend Matthew Bishop.
The answer appeared on the screen. Em felt goosebumps begin to rise along her arms. She was actually communicating
with a ghost! Then she laughed. She was communicating with a woman dead for over 300 years - on the most technologically
advanced PC available in the 21st century! The irony tickled her.
“Okay, okay,” said Em, wiping her eyes. “Sorry about that - I get a little punchy when I’m so tired is all. Reverend
Matthew Bishop, huh? Seems I’ve heard that name somewhere.”
He was the most … effective prosecutor of witches in this town during his time.
“Oh, yes, I remember now,” said Em. “But everyone knows that most if not all of those tried for witchcraft back
then were not really witches. Well, we know that now anyway.”
So did the Reverend, even back then. It was … politically expedient to remove all those who would cross him.
Even me.
“Ah, so that’s why you’re here,” said Em. “This was the old courthouse, wasn’t it?”
And jail, torture chamber …. It was an evil place. Your father did well to make this a place of revelry. It
has almost removed the residue of those evil times.
“All but the cellar,” said Em, quietly. The ghost appeared to shiver, then nodded slowly. “That was where … well,
that was where most of them died, wasn’t it?”
The spirit shook her head then pointed again to the screen.
No, but that was the ‘confessional’ - the place where the Reverend extracted confessions. It was nothing more
than a torture chamber. And he derived such pleasure from causing suffering!
“Regular sadist, huh,” said Em, shaking her head. The ghost looked puzzled. “Sadist - someone who gets off on causing
another person pain? You know, from the Marquis de Sade - never mind - you were before his time. I forgot.”
The ghost nodded her head, understanding.
Sadist seems the correct term by that definition, though. He certainly did seem to … ‘get off’ as you say. Sarah
was his victim more than I ever was, though.
The spirit looked angry and her form became more solid with the strength of her emotion. The room grew colder and
Em shivered.
“What do you mean?” asked the woman. The spirit spoke now.
“Sarah was his daughter. Daily he tormented her. He made her read the charges against me. She dared not disobey,
else both of our punishments would have been … well, worse than what they were. My torture, which she was forced
to watch, was his crowning moment. You see, Sarah and I loved each other,” said the spirit.
“Ah, maybe that’s why he’s after Celine and Lisa,” said Em, nodding. “Homophobia knows no bounds - not even death.”
The spirit shook her head. “No, it’s more than that,” she said. “You see, Celine is my descendant and Lisa is Sarah’s
- the last of our lines. And now, they are together.”
“Which means …?” asked Em.
“That together they have the power to finally defeat him,” said Elizabeth, smiling.
Celine awoke first and smiled. She gazed lovingly over at Lisa. Lisa slept, curled up on her side, her black hair
over her closed eyes. Gently Celine brushed it back and leaned to kiss Lisa’s temple. Lisa stirred, her eyes fluttering
open, then she smiled.
“Hey,” she whispered, pulling Celine down for a kiss. Celine returned the kiss, but just as it began to grow into
something more, they heard the cat yowling in the other room. Both women leaped up, throwing on whatever clothing
was handy and ran to see what it was.
The women could see through Celine’s windows that the sun was beginning to set. The room was dim since no one had
turned on the lamps and they could make out a shadowy outline in one corner of the room.
“Sarah?” said Lisa, starting to approach. The shadowy figure put up both hands to ward the women off. “Sarah, what’s
wrong?”
The ghost pointed in the direction of the kitchen. Lisa walked over to the kitchen entrance and flipped the light
switch. Nothing happened, but she could make out the cat, Galinthias, staring at the small window over the sink.
The window was ajar and a horrible smell filled the room. Galinthias was crouched low, ready to pounce, growling
at the window.
“Hey, Gil, what is it?” said Celine, coming up behind Lisa.
“Shh,” said Lisa. “She sees something.”
Celine frowned and tried the light.
“Doesn’t work,” whispered Lisa.
“No kidding,” muttered Celine. “What is that smell?”
“Don’t look at me,” Lisa joked, trying to break the tension and the fear she was feeling.
“Funny,” said Celine. “It smells like … oh, gods! It smells the cellar at the tavern!”
“Yeah,” said Lisa. “Only ten times stronger. Hey, did we do that window the other night?”
“I … I don’t remember,” said Celine, biting her lip.
“I don’t think we did,” said Lisa, grimly. “Damn! He must have followed us from there today.”
“What are we going to do?” asked Celine, frightened. She moved closer to Lisa. The taller woman wrapped an arm
around her and pulled her closer.
“It’s okay - we have to get him out of here, though,” she said.
Suddenly, the kitchen light came on, but only for a spilt second as the fluorescent bulbs suddenly flashed painfully
bright, then exploded in a shower of tiny glass shards. Galinthias bolted from the room. Lisa pulled Celine closer
still, burying the smaller woman’s face protectively in her chest even as she turned her own face away from the
flying glass.
All the ceramic canisters on the counter top began to shatter, one by one, like dominoes falling, spilling their
contents. The cupboard doors banged open and shut, boxes and cans flying out. Dishes flew, smashing against the
walls. The refrigerator door flew open and the contents flew out, hitting the walls and splattering them in a colourful
display which rivaled a modern art exhibit.
The women heard the sound of glass shattering and a feline howl in the living room.
“Galinthias!” cried Celine, breaking away from Lisa and running over the splinters of glass embedded in the carpet.
Lisa ran after her. Celine found her beloved cat cowering behind the couch and bent to pick her up, just as a heavy
lamp flew over her head, missing her by bare inches.
The computer monitor exploded in bright flash, leaving the smell of electrical ozone heavy in the air. The television
followed, blue flames spitting from where the screen had just been.
“Come on, Celine, we have to get out of here!” Lisa cried, grabbing her and pulling her toward the door.
“Wait!” cried Celine, running for the bedroom. Lisa rolled her eyes. Celine is beautiful, but panic just isn’t
pretty! she thought, following. She stepped into the bedroom and the door slammed shut behind her.
Inside the bedroom, all was peaceful and quiet. Celine sat on the bed, sobbing into Galinthias’s black fur.
“Celine, honey, come on,” said Lisa, gently. “We have to go - come on, Baby - it isn’t safe here.”
“He can’t come in here,” said Celine, looking up at Lisa with tears in her green eyes. “It’s consecrated by the
altar and the magic.”
“No, Love, he can’t get in here but there are about half a dozen small fires out there that can,” said Lisa. “Not
to mention the toxic fumes all those burning electronics are letting off. Come on, Sweetie. Bring Galinthias and
let’s go.”
“What about Sarah?” asked Celine.
Suddenly the computer came on and words appeared on the screen.
GET OUT OF HERE NOW! DO NOT WORRY ABOUT ME - JUST GO!
“See?” said Lisa, pulling Celine to her feet. “Even Sarah says to go. Come on.”
The women paused only to pull on some more substantial clothing and then went to the bedroom door. It was hot to
the touch.
“Damn!” said Lisa. ”We can’t go that way - the fire’s already at the door!”
“The window,” gasped Celine, already feeling the effects of the fumes seeping under the crack of the door.
Lisa opened the window and pushed the screen out. Already the women heard sirens rapidly approaching. She helped
Celine through the opening, then grabbed the quilt from the bed, as well as her cell phone and wallet from the
nightstand. Then she climbed through the window after Celine. She wrapped the quilt around the smaller woman’s
shoulders. Celine still clutched Galinthias. Lisa noticed the creature was more docile than usual. She had half
expected the cat to have already jumped from Celine’s arms - probably leaving long gashes from her claws along
the way - and run off. But no, Galinthias sat quite calmly in Celine’s arms, moving only to rub her face along
Celine’s tear-dampened cheeks, as if to comfort her.
A fireman approached the women.
“Hey,” he said, smiling sympathetically. “What happened here?”
“We don’t know,” said Lisa, walking up to the man. “We just tried to turn on the kitchen light and all hell broke
loose.” Literally, she thought grimly. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but Lisa had no desire to try and explain
that an evil ghost had come in through a hole in their defences and attacked them for reasons they themselves still
did not understand.
“These old buildings,” said the fireman, shaking his head in understanding. “The wiring’s all screwed up most of
the time - probably a short in the system somewhere. Well, we’ll check it out and see that you get a report for
your insurance company. Must be a lot of damage - the neighbours called us and said that there were explosions.”
“Yeah,” said Lisa. “Whole refrigerator blew up.”
The fireman whistled. “Wow - that bad?” he said. Lisa got the impression that he was impressed to the point of
glee. Must be bored just covering calls from people with grease fires on the stove or rescuing cats from trees,
she thought cynically. And speaking of cats, that one is acting very strange …
Celine was somewhere else. She gazed off into the distance, still clutching Galinthias tightly, but the cat did
not fight her grip.
“Is she okay?” asked the fireman, gesturing to Celine.
“Yeah, I think she just breathed in too much stuff in there,” said Lisa. “She’ll be fine.”
“Well, we got an ambulance on the way anyway - standard procedure,” said the fireman. “We should check her out,
just in case. Might be in shock.”
“Probably,” said Lisa, sadly. ”She just lost everything she owns.”
“Yeah but at least she managed to save the cat,” said the fireman. “You have no idea how many pets are lost each
year - and how many stupid people we lose running back into a fire to save Fluffy.” He shook his head.
“Galinthias is much more to her than a pet,” said Lisa. She knew the significance of a witch’s familiar and was
extremely grateful that Celine had Galinthias, especially after all this.
“I understand,” said the fireman, nodding, though Lisa doubted that he really did. “Okay, I’m going to go and do
my job - stick around for a bit. We may need to ask a few more questions.” The fireman jogged off, leaving Lisa
and Celine. The other tenants of the apartments were standing around, staring at the women resentfully. Lisa merely
shook her head, ignoring them. She glanced over at Celine who was still staring at nothing, absently stroking Galinthias.
The cat seemed to have fallen asleep in her arms. An ambulance pulled up and two attendants hopped out and questioned
the firemen, then came over to Celine and Lisa.
“Either of you hurt?” asked one of the attendants, a young woman with short blonde hair in a navy blue uniform.
“Nah, not really,” said Lisa, with a shrug. “A little glass flew around, but I think we’re alright.”
“What about her?” asked the male partner, gesturing to Celine. Lisa frowned in concern.
“I don’t know - she may be in shock,” said Lisa.
“We’ll take care of her,” said the woman, gently guiding Celine towards the ambulance. “You want to hold the cat?”
“No,” said Lisa, shaking her head. “Let her have her - I think she needs the contact right now.”
“Okay,” said the woman, again guiding Celine to the ambulance. Lisa flipped open her cell phone, pulling a credit
card from her wallet and began dialing.
Several frustrating calls later, she closed the phone and walked to the ambulance.
“She alright?” asked Lisa, noting with mixed relief and anguish that Celine was crying, quietly. At least she’s
back with us, thought Lisa.
“Yeah, she’ll be fine,” said the blonde EMT, smiling and gently pushing Celine’s golden hair from her face. Lisa
raised an eyebrow at that and quelled the jealousy that threatened to make her deck the woman. She’s only doing
her job … right? thought Lisa. Riiiight …. Okay - get Celine out of here now. Tomorrow will be time enough
to go over everything. Right now, I just need to get her away from here. Someplace safe.
“Can I get her out of here now?” Lisa asked. The EMT looked at her, then grinned, quickly dropping her hand.
“Sorry,” she said, understanding immediately.
“No problem,” said Lisa through only slightly clenched teeth. Then she grinned. “I do that all the time myself.
Can we go?”
The EMT laughed out loud. “Yeah, no problem as far as we’re concerned. She’s fine, just a little lost there for
a moment - perfectly understandable, given the circumstances. Just go and check with the firemen. They may have
more questions for you.”
Lisa nodded and helped Celine from the ambulance. The two women approached the cluster of yellow-slickered firemen.
“Hey, can we go now?” Lisa called to them.
“Just a minute,” said one of them. Lisa saw he wore a badge on his helmet and assumed he was the chief. “That’s
a real mess you got in there. What the hell happened?”
Lisa shrugged. “Like I told the other guy, all we did was try to turn on the kitchen light and all hell broke loose.”
The chief frowned. “It looks like a lot more than that went on in there,” he said.
“Hey, Chief, we found the problem,” said the fireman who had first approached Celine and Lisa. He grinned and nodded
at the women. “Wiring, just like I thought. Chewed - looks like rats have been after all the wires in the place.
The owners are going to have fumigate as well as replace all the wires in the building. Meantime all these folks
will have to find a place to stay. Building won’t be habitable for some time. Tough finding a room right now, though.”
“Tell me about it,” muttered Lisa. “Every place is booked solid.”
“Yeah, this time of year - Halloween is big business around these parts,” said the friendly fireman.
“Well, we have a room,” said Lisa. “We’ll be at the Motel 6 on route 54 if you have anything else.”
“Whoa - way over there?” said the fireman.
“Only thing I could find,” said Lisa, refraining to mention that it was the not only the closest place with a vacancy,
it was also the only place she called that allowed “pets” - and Lisa knew that Celine would not stay where Galinthias
could not stay with her.
“We’ll be in touch,” said the chief.
Lisa guided Celine to her truck and the two drove to the motel. Lisa checked in while Celine waited with Galinthias.
Lisa still marvelled at the cat’s behaviour. The went to the room and Celine sat on the one double bed, finally
putting Galinthias down on the floor. The cat hissed and ran under the bed.
“Now that’s the Galinthias we all know and love,” chuckled Lisa, sitting next to Celine.
“Sarah,” said Celine, softly.
“Honey, Sarah is just fine,” said Lisa, gently stroking Celine’s hair.
“No, I know - she hitched a ride with Galinthias,” said Celine, smiling up at Lisa’s incredulous look.
“So … she’s here with us?” said Lisa. “Right now?”
“Somewhere,” said Celine, looking around at the standard Motel 6 décor.
“Okay,” sighed Lisa. “Why don’t we try to get some sleep?”
“I don’t think I can,” said Celine, biting her lip to keep from crying again. “Oh, Lisa!”
“I know, I know, Honey,” said Lisa, holding her. “But the fireman said it was the wiring - insurance should cover
almost everything.”
“Not … not everything,” sobbed Celine. “Not the pictures …”
Lisa thought sadly of the photo album, lovingly compiled by Celine’s grandmother who had raised her. Celine’s mother
had died giving birth to her and her father, who had owned and run a small grocery store, had been killed a few
years later in a botched robbery attempt, leaving only his mother to raise the little girl. The album had held
the only pictures of her parents. And now it was gone.
“I know,” said Lisa, soothingly. “Honey I am so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” sighed Celine, subduing the tears which threatened. “And you’re right almost everything can be replaced.
It’s just … things.”
“I know, but they were your things,” said Lisa, still stroking Celine’s hair, calming the other woman. “Things
you’ve worked very hard for. It’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not,” said Celine. “But that’s just the way it is. And speaking of work, I still have to go in tomorrow.
I probably should try and get some sleep, after all.”
“Can’t you take the day off?” asked Lisa. “I mean after all that’s happened tonight, surely your boss will understand
… No, huh?”
Celine rolled her eyes. “No, not if I want the day after off - and I simply can’t go in on Samhain,” she said,
laying back in on the paisley- patterned bedspread. “There’s too much preparation for what we have to do that night.”
“True,” said Lisa. “You get some rest, then. I’ll be right here.”
“You’re not going to sleep?” asked Celine, already drifting off.
“Nah, I’m not tired,” Lisa fibbed. In truth, she had decided to stay awake and keep watch - just in case.
“’Kay,” said Celine as she slowly drifted into nightmares from which Lisa had to wake her several times until dawn.
Celine finally awoke and left for work. Lisa stretched out on the bed and decided to sleep until Celine returned
that afternoon. But Celine arrived back at the room hours before she was due, slamming her briefcase on the standard
issue, bolted-down desk provided with the room.
“Honey what’s wrong?” asked Lisa, squinting at the smaller woman through sleepy eyes.
“I’m fired!” growled Celine plopping down on the bed beside her.
“What! Why?” asked Lisa, now wide awake.
Celine sighed and lowered her face in her hands. “I was called into the boss’s office as soon as I got there. Apparently,
they heard about the fire at the apartment complex. Seems the company owns the building and it’s going to cost
a bundle to get it up to code. Since it was my apartment that ‘started’ the whole mess, they wanted to know what
happened.”
“What did you tell them?” asked Lisa, sitting up to wrap comforting arms around Celine.
“Just what I heard you tell the firemen last night,” said Celine. “We tried to turn on the kitchen light and ‘kablam’
- everything went.”
“I take it they didn’t believe you?” said Lisa.
“Oh, no, it wasn’t that they didn’t believe me,” said Celine. “The apartment was just the excuse for calling me
into the office. It seems there have been rumours about my ‘proclivities’ - and that is simply something the company
cannot tolerate - their reputation is at stake.”
“Your … what?” asked Lisa, quietly.
“You know - my preference for tall, black-haired beauties,” said Celine, smiling slightly. “Of the female persuasion.”
“They can’t fire you for that!” cried Lisa, angrily. “That’s illegal!”
“Actually, Sweetheart, it isn’t,” said Celine, sadly. “Not in this state.”
“Celine,” said Lisa, softly, her warm breath tickling Celine’s ear. “Come back with me.”
“What … what do you mean?” said Celine.
“Come home with me - for good,” said Lisa.
“I don’t know, Lis,” said Celine. “I’d have to find a job and - oh. I have to do that anyway now, don’t I?”
“Yes, you do - and it shouldn’t be at all difficult for you to find something there. Come on Celine - there’s absolutely
nothing holding you here now,” said Lisa.
Celine snuggled closer, feeling the rightness of it, the safe feeling of Lisa’s strong arms wrapped securely around
her and knew there was no place she ever wanted to be but there.
“Yes, okay - but after we do what we have to help Sarah and Elizabeth - and to stop him,” she said, green eyes
narrowing. “It’s personal, now.”
Lisa chuckled and kissed the top of Celine’s head, happier than she had been in a long time.
“You got it,” she said.
Em Cassidy prepared well for the party she had planned the following night. She even hired a professional “fortune-teller”
for the evening. Hard cider would be the seasonal special for the evening, but there would be plenty of other drinks
available - for a price.
Shaking her head, the older woman thought again of Celine’s warning and plea to cancel the party - but hell, she
had already paid the fortune-teller and bought the extra supplies. Maybe I am greedy and mercenary after all,
she thought. Ah, well, ghosts really can’t hurt people, after all.
She looked up to see the first patrons of the evening walking through the door in costume. Raising an eyebrow,
but smiling, she offered “Romeo and Juliet” the first drinks of the evening …
Celine and Lisa drove back to the apartment. Lisa had called the fire department and had learned that the building
was clear for the residents to enter in order to remove what belongings they would need until they could move back
in.
Celine was surprised to see that the bedroom and its contents were untouched by the damage. She and Lisa packed
everything except the furniture in crates and loaded up the truck. They went back to the motel to prepare for the
party at the Tavern later that night. Lisa had tried to rent costumes for them but had found that all the costume
shops were sold out.
“It’s just as well,” said Celine. “I have a feeling … I think I know just what we need for tonight - can we go
to the fabric store?”
“Well, sure, but I don’t think we have to whip up anything from scratch,” said Lisa, doubtfully.
“We don’t need to,” said Celine. “If we get into the crate that holds my clothes, I can make a few alterations
and I think we’ll have just what we need. Trust me?”
“Always,” said Lisa, smiling.”
The Tavern was filling rapidly, leaving Em with little time to pay attention to anything but her patrons and their
demands. So she didn’t noticed when a couple of her more inebriated customers crept away toward the cellar door
- which Em had forgotten to re-lock after taking Celine and Lisa down there two days before …
“Well, what do you think?” asked Celine, twirling to show off her handiwork.
“Nice,” said Lisa, tugging at the tight collar of her own costume. “Did people really wear these things? How could
they stand it?”
She was startled by a low chuckle in the shadowy corner of the room. “Yes, we did,” said Sarah. “You get used to
it - actually, it’s all we ever wore - we didn’t know any different.”
“Sarah,” said Celine, staring at the ghost as she emerged from the dim corner into the full light of the motel
lamp.
“It’s Samhain,” said Sarah, smiling. “I can come fully into your world now, my friends.”
“Oh, it’s not just that,” said Celine, breathless, glancing over to Lisa. “The resemblance - especially in those
clothes …”
Both women were dressed identical to the spirit which stood before them now. Celine had taken two black dresses
which had hung in her closet for ages and with a little alteration had transformed them into Puritan garb.
“I would say the same of you, Celine,” said Sarah, wistfully. “You are the very mirror of my Beth.”
“I guess we should go,” said Lisa, quietly. “Will you be going with us, Sarah?”
“I’ve no choice,” said Sarah, sadly. “It is necessary that I, too, be there for you to be successful. But at least,
perhaps, I will see Beth. I miss her so.”
“I understand,” said Celine. “Shall we?”
“I will meet you there,” said Sarah.
I was startled by the appearance of our great-great -…. Well, however many “greats” it takes to equal over 18
generations! … grand-daughters. They were …us. And yet not. Lisa was stronger than I had ever dared to be, even
inwardly. Celine, though possessing Beth’s fiery spirit, had more inner strength and stamina than Elizabeth - what
this new world had bred into our descendants delighted me. If only we had their courage and strength then, how
different things may have been for Elizabeth and me!
I was proud - a little envious, but mostly proud. The blood of these marvellous women was linked to Elizabeth’s
and mine. But they were also blood-linked to him, my father. I knew that not only did that give them power over
him, but the connection went both ways. At least for Lisa - was his darkness in her? I had seen … something. I,
too carried the taint - I had never defied him. I wrote what I was told in his black book even though I knew it
was wrong. Most of the people in that book were not followers of the Old Religion - certainly none of them worshipped
his ‘devil’.
But a few were worshippers of the Lady. They were ones who never confessed. When my father demanded that they
say they worshipped his devil, they would not - for us, this devil did not exist. I am ashamed. They showed more
courage and strength than I ever had. And worse, far, far worse, they did not reproach me for my role in their
suffering. They simply said nothing to me. That was worse than if they had railed against me, exposing my place
with them in the sacred circles.
Not that it would have mattered. My father knew what I was about - he simply could not afford to have the community
know. I never, ever accused anyone, though. That would have been a line even in my terror of the Reverend I was
not prepared to cross. Strangely, he never asked me to. The Reverend Matthew Bishop was far more interested in
removing political adversaries from his way than in capturing real witches …
I would indeed go to the Tavern, but I would have to again ‘borrow’ the body of Galinthias, Celine’s familiar.
It was fortunate for me she had one, a creature who was accustomed to working with the spirit realm and the inhabitants
therein. She was a willing vehicle, if an apprehensive one. But her feline curiosity won out and she allowed me
entrance.
So, I slipped into the cat and made my way out the window since they had locked the door as they left…
Celine and Lisa walked into the Tavern, greeted by a red and yellow silk-clad Harlequin, who bowed and led them
to an empty table. Em came over to them, dressed as a 17th century tavern maid. She grinned and Lisa wondered how
much of her own hard cider she had already enjoyed.
“Seems I wasn’t the only one with this idea, eh?” said the tavern-keeper.
“Spur of the moment,” said Lisa, wryly, sipping at the complimentary cider. It was good, she had to admit. “We
didn’t have much time for costume shopping since Celine’s apartment was destroyed.”
“What?” said Em, quietly alarmed. She sat at the table with the two other women.
“It was him,” said Celine, quietly.
Lisa described the episode to Em’s growing alarm.
“God, I didn’t think … I never believed that …”
“What? Ghosts can’t harm people, right?” said Lisa, angrily.
“I’m sorry,” said Em. “And I’m so sorry for your loss, Celine.”
Celine smiled brightly at the older woman and clasped her hand.
“No, it’s alright,” she said, looking over to Lisa. “Because of it, something even better has happened.”
“Oh?” said Em, smiling at the two, one eyebrow raised.
“Hey, careful,” growled Lisa, but she was smiling a bit herself. “This isn’t that kind of place, remember?”
“Oh, pooh,” said Em, waving her hand. “I didn’t mean anything by that. It was a bad day. Congratulations, you two.
I am truly happy for you. Both of you.”
“Yeah, well, anyway,” said Lisa, looking around the dimly lit tavern. “Hey - is that door supposed to be open?”
“No!” cried Em, leaping up from the table and hurrying as fast as the crowd would allow to the cellar door. Celine
and Lisa followed. The three women looked down into the inky darkness of the cellar, the odour wafting up to gag
them. Celine staggered back and was caught by Lisa.
“Damn!” said Em. “I must have forgotten to lock it back up that day - I had a lot on my mind, you know.”
“Yeah, I know,” said Lisa. “Do you suppose it blew open in a … a draught or … something?”
A loud moan from the bottom of the stairs answered her.
“Oh, nuts! Someone must have stumbled in the dark and fell - that’s a lawsuit waiting to happen,” grumbled Em.
An unearthly, teeth-setting laugh rose from the darkness, raising goosebumps on all three women’s skin. “Or not.”
Celine looked dazed. She stepped forward toward the steps and Lisa caught her and pulled her back.
“Hey, where are you going?” she asked. Celine shook her head.
“We have to go down there,” said Celine. “If no other reason than that someone may be hurt and we have to help
them.”
“Celine are you crazy?” said Lisa. “You know what’s down there - that’s no human being making those sounds.”
“Lisa, I have to,” said Celine, trying to shake off her lover’s firm grip. She stopped struggling for a moment
and looked pleadingly at Lisa. “You know we have to, don’t you?”
“Yes, but …” said Lisa, frowning, trying to think of an effective stall. “We should wait for Sarah.”
Celine stopped and nodded. “Yes,” she said. “You’re right. We must wait for her - and Elizabeth. They will be here
soon enough.”
Sighing her relief, Lisa led Celine back to their table. It had been claimed by another group, but Lisa simply
looked at them and they quickly scattered, offering hesitant apologies and nervous smiles. Only one of the group
was drunk enough to offer resistance, but Lisa quickly dispatched him, grabbing his hair and pulling him up from
the chair. She tossed him in the direction of his friends and sat down with Celine and Em.
“Hey, want a job?” chuckled Em. “I could use a bouncer.”
“Nah,” said Lisa, grinning. “Takes too much self control to not just slam him into the wall - the one across the
room, that is.”
Em laughed and Celine managed a slight smile. “Well, in the meantime, why not visit the fortune-teller,” said Em,
gesturing to a woman seated in the centre of the Tavern. She didn’t look at all busy, simply sitting, shuffling
some cards repeatedly, then laying some out, frowning and re-gathering them back to shuffle again. Em frowned.
“I am paying her a fortune and no one is …” said the tavern-keeper.
“Maybe no one is in the mood for a fake fortune,” said Lisa, shrugging.
“Oh, she’s not a fake,” said Em. “In fact, she comes highly recommended.”
“Yeah?” said Lisa, her curiosity getting the better of her. She arose and approached the fortune-teller, sitting
across the small table from the woman. “So? Tell my fortune.”
The woman frowned. “Sarah?” she whispered.
Lisa looked into the greenest eyes she had seen since gazing into Celine’s but a few moments ago.
“No,” she said. “I’m Lisa.”
“I’m sorry,” said the woman, shaking her head slightly. She smiled. “Well, what will it be? Love, romance, money
- where do your questions lie?”
“Nah, I know all of that,” said Lisa. “Tell me about my brother.”
“Your … brother?” said the woman, frowning. “That’s impossible. You can’t have a brother.”
Lisa chuckled. “Tell my mother that,” she said, sensing someone behind her. “Hey, Em, I hate to tell you this but
- “ Lisa noticed the startled look in the fortune-teller’s eyes, then turned to see Celine.
“You … you …” said the woman, then she broke into a wide smile. “You two are here. At last.”
Lisa raised an eyebrow. “Elizabeth I presume?” she said, as a shadowy figure stepped out from behind the seated
woman. There stood Elizabeth. She smiled.
“Yes,” she said. “We have much to do this night. Where is Sarah?”
A black cat came running into the tavern, causing squeals as people dodged her determined path to the women standing
by the fortune-teller. As if drawn by the crowd, others began to gather around the bemused woman and ask for their
fortunes as Elizabeth, Celine, and Lisa walked a bit away from her. Celine bent and scooped up her cat.
“Galinthias, what are you doing here?” she scolded. “How did you get here?”
Sarah suddenly stood before them. She smiled as Elizabeth gathered her into a long-awaited embrace. The two spirits
stood there for several moments, gazing into each other’s eyes.
“Alright,” muttered Em. “Break it up. People are staring.”
“Let them,” said Celine, brushing a tear from her eye. “Haven’t they waited long enough?”
“No, she’s right,” said Elizabeth. “We have work to do. Come.”
“To …?” said Sarah, fearfully.
“Yes,” said Elizabeth, firmly.
“Oh, Goddess,” said Celine, turning pale. “We have to go … down there. I think I’m going to throw up.”
“Later,” said Lisa, taking her arm and leading her to the cellar door.
Elizabeth took a candle and lit three others from it, handing one to each of the women and Sarah. “Emmeline, wait
up here. This is not your battle,” she said.
“It’s my place,” said Em, stubbornly lighting her own candle.
“She’s right,” said Celine, a dazed look in her eye. “She’s the owner of this place now. She has to be involved
in the banishing.”
“Yes, but …” said Em.
“Not to fear, old friend,” said Sarah, smiling at her. “If all goes well, Beth and I will not need to be banished
- we will be allowed to move on.”
“Together,” said Celine, smiling.
“Always,” said Elizabeth, smiling at Sarah.
Lisa rolled her eyes.
“Enough mush - can we get on with this, please?” she said, impatiently pushing the cellar door the rest of the
way open. She felt around for the light switch, but found it didn’t work.
“Careful,” whispered Celine. “Remember what happened last time we tried to turn on the lights.”
“Right,” said Lisa, grimly. “Okay, let’s go.”
They proceeded cautiously down the stairs, hesitant to feel their way for the shapes illumined by the dancing candlelight
were ominous.
Celine found herself reaching back with her free hand and grasping Lisa’s hand. The strength of her soul-mate’s
presence gave her courage to keep going. Lisa squeezed her hand gently.
“It’s okay,” said Lisa, noting how the candles’ glow gave Celine a certain ethereal beauty. Like an angel, thought
Lisa, admiringly. She noticed that the spirits, Elizabeth and Sarah were translucent in the candles’ soft glow.
At last they were all at the bottom of the steps. Lisa looked around, setting her candle down on a dusty barstool
which had been relegated to the cellar for the sin of a loose leg. No doubt, it had been Em’s father’s intent to
fix it - “some day”. Celine wondered just how much of this stuff had been put here against that “some day” which
had never come. She also reflected on how many “some days” she had put things off for - grateful that her new life
with Lisa was not one of them.
If we ever get out of here, she thought grimly. I’ll think twice about putting things off, Mother, I
promise I will …
All of a sudden, a foul wind blew through the cellar, blowing out all the candles. Celine felt strong arms wrap
around her waist and relaxed slightly, though she was gagging on the odour of the wind. A maniacal, unearthly laughter
filled her ears and though Celine clapped her hands over them, she could still hear it loudly. She realised that
the sound was in her head and nearly panicked until she heard Em’s voice.
“Cease and desist!”
There was an eerie silence for a moment, then the laughter returned, louder and more derisive.
“You think your puny claim on this building can stop me, you sinful woman?” came a booming voice. The wind returned,
stronger than before and worse-smelling. Em was knocked back, hitting the stone wall hard enough to knock her unconscious.
Suddenly, Sarah and Elizabeth were visible. A glow surrounded the spirits and filled the room.
“No, but I can, Father,” said Sarah, quietly.
Celine and Lisa saw him, then. An imposing man, tall and clothed in black. His eyes were piercing, black, but filled
with an unholy fire and his face was cruel, if handsome. His hair was long and coal-black, hanging well past his
shoulders. His skin was pale as milk. He smiled and Lisa saw the madness in him.
“So,” he said, quietly, but the threat remained in his voice. “Sarah, my Sarah. Have you not learned in all these
centuries that you cannot defeat me? Why, look at you, Girl - you still tremble in my presence. Give it up.”
“No,” said Sarah, defiantly, her dark eyes meeting his for the first time ever. “Father, you are evil and I have
come to stop you - for all time. You will never again cause harm to those I love.”
“‘Love’?” laughed the Reverend. “What do you know of love, Girl? You are damned - the damned know naught of love
- only of sin.”
“Excuse me,” said Celine. “What is this ‘sin’ you keep talking about?”
“Celine!” Lisa hissed, trying and failing to pull Celine back behind her.
The Reverend smiled in delight.
“Why, my Child, sin is anything which is against the laws of God and nature,” he said, almost gently.
“Like, um, the torture of innocent people?” said Celine, her eyes narrowing.
“None of them were innocent!” boomed the Reverend, angrily slamming his fist down on the rickety barstool, smashing
the wood to splinters and sending the candle flying across the room. “And you know it!” He pointed to Sarah.
“You! You wrote the names yourself and the charges.”
“Just because it was written didn’t make it true, Father,” said Sarah, quietly. “I am ashamed of what I did.”
“That is because you are a sinner and damned, just as they all were,” said the Reverend. “That is why you are bound
to this accursed place.”
“No,” said Elizabeth, her eyes flashing. “That is why you were bound to this place. Sarah was never bound here
- she was free to move on whenever she wished. She was waiting for me - only you cursed me to remain. Sarah wouldn’t
leave because I was here so I placed a spell of protection over her as long as she was here - so you could not
harm her.”
“You see?!” cried the Reverend, gleefully. “You were guilty of witchcraft!”
“Yes, I practised the old religion,” said Elizabeth, defiantly. “So did Sarah and so did her mother - your wife!
But never did any of us work to cause harm or worship some creature out of your Book called the ‘devil’.”
“Yesss,” hissed the Reverend. “I knew of their betrayal.”
“Is that why you killed my mother?” said Sarah, angrily.
“Your mother died in childbirth,” said the Reverend, shortly.
“Yes, after you beat her into her birthing pains!” cried Sarah.
Suddenly, Celine was transported back in time. She saw the whole scene before her….
<I>Sarah’s mother was screaming, weeping vehemently.
“Noooo!” she cried as the Reverend landed another blow to her huge belly.
“You will </I>not<I> defy me, Woman!” he said quietly, the very calmness of his voice as he landed
blow after heavy blow upon the woman sending shivers through Celine.
Suddenly, the woman fell, blood trickling from her mouth, her eyes rolling back. Celine saw her spasming as
the birth pains came.
“You monster,” she whispered weakly. “You would call me ‘witch’? Very well, you bastard. Then a ‘witch’s’ curse
I will lay upon you … never will any male child be born of your line and all of your descendants will die in childbirth
… until your line dies out. No male child will be born to your line so that the taint of your evil blood, your
evil name will die out in time.”
The Reverend cursed and took his hat, leaving the house and returning with the physician.
“Reverend,” said the man, quietly. “She’s dead.”
“What about the child?” asked the reverend.
“I don’t know,” said the man, scratching his head.
“Cut it out of her,” said the Reverend, coldly. “I must see if it … If it is a son, it is worth salvaging.”
And so, Sarah was born from her dead mother, cut from her still-warm body. The baby squirmed when the cold air
hit her, then mewed like a weak kitten. The Reverend looked at her in disgust.
“A girl,” he spat. “Never mind - find a wet-nurse in the village. I suppose it’s my Christian duty to try and
keep it alive. At least long enough to baptise - all females are vessels of original sin - I must do whatever is
necessary to quench that sin - keep it alive until I can drive out its demons by the holy water of baptism.”
“Yes, Reverend,” said the physician. He put on his hat and wrapped the infant tenderly in a blanket. “What about
her, Sir?” The man pointed to Sarah’s mother.
“Ah, poor woman,” said the Reverend. “She was quite mad, you know - had a fit. I couldn’t stop her. She just
kept throwing herself to the floor.”
The physician eyed faded bruises - shaped like hand-prints - but said nothing. Instead, he covered her with
a sheet from the bed.
“I’ll send some women over to prepare the body,” he said. “And we’ll start digging the grave - would you like
for me to send for another minister to preside - ?”
“No,” said the Reverend, harshly. “I will conduct the services. But the women to prepare the body and men
to dig the grave - that will be quite welcome. Thank you.”
Then the physician left with little Sarah and Celine saw no more….</I>
“He did - he killed her!” cried Celine.
“Silence!” roared the Reverend, pointing at her.
“Along with over forty other innocent people.”
Lisa looked over to where Emmeline Cassidy lay. The older woman sat up slowly, rubbing her head. She looked at
her hand and saw blood there. A figure stepped out from beside her.
“Mother!” cried Sarah. The woman smiled at her and nodded.
“You!” roared the Reverend again, pointing at the woman.
“Yes, Matthew, it’s me Rachel,” said Sarah’s mother, smiling - but her smile to him was not so nice. “You tortured
to death over forty innocent souls. And the only evil in this village was <I>you</I>. Yes, I
walked the old path - and even after you killed me, I came to my daughter, teaching her the old ways. But I was
not evil - nor were any of those you murdered for your own foul purpose.”
“All were evil - all were sinners!” cried the Reverend fiercely, but the women could see that he was losing momentum
in the face of this powerful adversary.
“No, Matthew, the only sin was yours,” said Rachel. She looked around at the dusty cellar. “Here, in this place,
where you tortured so many is where you yourself will pay for your sins.”
Suddenly, the room was filled with people, all wearing the garb of three hundred years ago.
“Abigail Gideon,” said Sarah as one woman stepped forward. “You tried to make her confess to hexing your pulpit
- because <I>you</I> lost your sermon notes for that Sabbath Meeting and couldn’t remember what you
were speaking about. It wouldn’t do for the Reverend to look so foolish, now would it? So you used a hot poker
until she screamed her confession. Then you hanged her in the village common.”
Sarah recited the names of each of the souls who had suffered at the Reverend’s hands and the women saw that she
held a black book from which she read, scratching away upon the pages with a quill. She looked up at the Reverend.
“Now, Father, the truth will be read - and recorded, as I should have done then.”
Celine, Lisa and Em listened to the litany of the Reverend’s victims and his crimes against them, horrified at
his cruel tortures.
Then Sarah closed the book and Elizabeth leaned over to Lisa and whispered, “Get Celine and Em out of here - and
clear the building.”
“What about you?” asked Lisa.
“Don’t worry about us,” said Elizabeth, keeping one eye on Sarah. “Just get everyone out - please, Lisa! There’s
not much time left!”
Lisa gently but firmly took Celine and Em by the arms and led them swiftly up the stairs. She turned back once
and saw the people slowly advancing on the Reverend, he himself cowering back in fear.
Swiftly, the women closed the door of the cellar just as howls of terror and pain began to sound from the now dark
cellar.
“Alright, Everybody - the party’s over!” cried Em.
“Awww, come on!” cried one of the patrons. Lisa stepped up to him, grabbing him by the throat and escorting him
none too gently through the door, noticing that the sky was turning pre-dawn grey. She turned to the other patrons.
“Who’s next?” she said, grinning. “Come on - it’s way past two am - Em’s gonna have trouble with the liquor board
if you all just don’t get out - you want to see this place closed down?”
The patrons stopped grumbling, most apologising and thanking Em as they passed her on the way out.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “We’ll do it again next year.”
“Hey, I think my buddies are still in the bathroom,” said one young man. “They been gone a couple of hours …”
“Okay - we’ll just let them sleep it off in there then,” said Lisa, escorting the young man none too gently by
the collar out of the door. She looked at Em and shook her head. Em nodded slightly, catching Lisa’s thought. Those
young men would probably not be seen again.
Finally the Tavern was clear of patrons, all of them getting into the vans Em had hired to ensure that none of
tonight’s guests would drive drunk. The fortune-teller gathered her things and left after them.
“I gotta charge ya extra on account of I went over time, Emmy,” she said, then smiled. “Ahhh - forget it - I haven’t
had so much fun in ages - consider it a Halloween gift.”
“Thanks, Barb,” said Em, smiling.
The Tavern was empty. It had taken all of ten minutes, but to the women caught in the urgency of the situation,
it felt like hours. Em looked around, suddenly struck by a sharp sadness she couldn’t quite define.
“Come on,” said Lisa quietly, leading the other two woman out to the empty parking lot. The sky was turning lighter,
the grey tinged with pink. It was going to be a beautiful sunny day, Celine thought, cradling Galinthias in her
arms.
Suddenly there was an loud BANG! The women looked back and saw the Tavern in flames.
“Oh, no!” cried Em, starting to run back. Lisa and Celine grabbed her and held her back. Em shook her head. “Thanks.
Don’t quite know what I thought I was going to do about it.”
“No problem,” said Celine, smiling sympathetically. “I know how you feel.”
“Oh, yeah,” said Em, again shaking her head. “You know, I had a feeling … ah, never mind. I’m going home. You two
need a lift?”
“Just like that?” asked Lisa, one eyebrow raised. “Don’t you think you should wait for the fire department?”
“Nah. I just can’t watch it … you know,” said Em, sadly.
“I do know,” said Celine. She hugged Em and the older woman left.
“Come on,” said Lisa as the sound of sirens appeared.
“But … don’t you think someone should be here when the fire department arrives?” asked Celine as Lisa led her to
her truck.
“Maybe, but not us,” said Lisa, opening the door. “They’ll remember us - and I really don’t want to deal with all
that. Come on, Baby, get in.”
Celine turned and watched as the old wooden building collapsed into the hole that had been the cellar. Lisa raised
an eyebrow. Then understanding dawned.
“Come on,” she said gently, helping Celine into the truck. “We’ll watch from over there.” She pointed to a hill
where a huge old oak tree stood.
Lisa drove over to the hill and parked. Celine got out and Lisa pulled an old blanket from the back of the truck,
spreading it under the tree. She and Celine sat, arms around each other, watching the firemen swarming over the
already smouldering remains of the tavern. Celine lay her head on Lisa’s shoulder.
“Do you think they’re …” she asked softly.
“I don’t know Love,” said Lisa, kissing the top of Celine’s fair head.
“I hope wherever they are, that they’re together and happy,” said Celine wistfully.
“Count on it.” The two women looked up and gasped, then smiled as Sarah and Elizabeth materialised. “We wanted
to thank you - both of you.”
“Yes,” said Sarah, smiling happily. “If not for you, we would still be trapped.”
“What about …?” asked Celine.
“He has gone to the place he prepared for himself,” said Elizabeth.
“I hate the thought that his blood is in me,” said Lisa, frowning.
“It isn’t,” said Sarah. “Mother told me - the Reverend was not my father after all.”
“Then who…?” asked Lisa.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Sarah, smiling. “You know, if not for you two, I may never have found the courage to
confront him. You showed me I could be strong, that I could do what was right. By finally telling the truth, I
have set myself free. Here - take this and guard it. It is the true record of the Witch Trials here.”
She handed Celine the black book.
“I will keep it safe,” said Celine, gravely.
“We’ll do one better - we’ll publish it,” said Lisa. “That way, the truth will be known.”
“Then we are truly free,” said Sarah, happily.
“So, it’s over?” asked Celine, hopefully.
“No,” said Elizabeth, smiling happily. “It’s only the beginning.”
The spirits embraced, gazing lovingly at one another, then leaning in to each other, their lips met. The kiss broke
and they smiled at their descendants and walked off towards the rising sun, hand in hand until they disappeared.
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