Witch Trials
Standard disclaimers apply.
Like I promised, because the last chapter was so short, here's the next chapter posted on the very same day as the last. Oh yeah, I also changed the name of the place from Jump City to June Village coz to me it sounds more right.
Also, I realised I made a slight mistake in the third chapter and I was wondering if anyone could tell me how I can fix it. Don't worry, it won't affect the chapters ahead, it's just a spelling mistake.
Chapter Eleven - Kori
The friends were walking home and talking about the things that they had just witnessed.
"That had to be the vicar in the cloak!" shouted Garfield.
"It didn't sound anything like him," claimed Richard.
"But he did seem very suspicious earlier!" said Victor.
"That doesn't prove anything," said Richard.
"They're right, Richard. That was the vicar," said Raven.
"What makes you say that?" asked Richard.
"I could sense the same aura coming from the figure that I normally sense coming from the vicar." There was a silence when Richard absorbed this new piece of information. He stopped walking, everybody turned around to look at him.
"If that's true than what do you think he's planning?" he asked.
"And who was that person in the shadows?" asked Raven.
"We could go looking for the vicar," suggested Garfield, "if he's planning to do something it's probably gonna be bad. He might be planning to do it now!"
"Yeah but the village is huge. How we ever gonna find him?" asked Victor.
"I could search for him using my powers," suggested Raven. "Somebody get me a map and I'll get the searching crystal from my room."
When they got home, Richard went to his room and searched through his papers and pencils until he found a map of the village. He went down to the basement where he found Raven ready with the crystal. They laid the map down on the table and Raven threaded a silver chain around the hole at the top of the crystal.
She spun the crystal around the map muttering words under her breath. After ten minutes of searching in which Garfield fell asleep, the crystal pulled itself towards the island where witch burning took place. There hadn't been any witches to burn since Kori two months ago.
Raven let the crystal touch the map and point to the cliff at the side of the island. They left the map and the crystal and left to find the vicar. After waking Garfield up of course.
---WT---
The vicar paced the cave thinking. He knew what he had to do but he wasn't sure how. A knife would finish the job off, but how am I to be sure that I get the right results? He thought to himself, maybe I need to try doing something more mystical. But I don't know any spells. He had been pacing since he got inside and he was starting to feel cold. The constant dripping of the walls was disturbing him. Who ever thought of having a seaside hideout?
He had a thought. At one side of the cave was a bookshelf. A rather small bookshelf but it contained every person in the world. He walked over to it and very clearly he spoke, "Find me Kori Anders of the village of June."
The bookshelf glowed yellow and suddenly a book appeared on the table at one side of it. The vicar sat down and opened the book. He flicked through the enormous book until he found the last words written. A sentence was writing itself on the half empty page. He read it from the top of the page.
Kori was sitting on the cold hard ground and waited. She knew that sooner or later something would happen but she was tied too tightly around the chest to the stake to scream or yell for help.
He started reading the newly written sentences.
She got a feeling that someone was watching her but she shrugged it off thinking it was just her imagination. She shivered and wished that her hands were not tied behind her so that she could wrap herself in her arms to retain heat. She closed her eyes and brought her knees closer to her body.
Reading the book gave the vicar an idea. She thought that no one knew she was alive, she was wrong. The vicar knew. He knew all too well. He also knew that he would soon have visitors.
---WT---
Raven, Richard, Garfield and Victor got to the end of the bridge and started making their way on the path. They heard a groan to the side of the path. "Someone's over there," hissed Garfield.
"And not just anyone, it's the vicar!" whispered Raven.
They walked away from the path and found a subconscious vicar lying in the grass. The hem of his cloak was wet and he was mumbling to himself. Only a few of the words he said were understandable, "Witch… mumbling… guilty… more mumbling… no!... too much… yes master."
Victor picked up the vicar by the front of his shirt and slapped him until he stopped mumbling. "Wha-what's going on?" he asked.
"What are you doing here?" asked Richard.
"I- I don't know. Last thing I remember was… the master!" he hissed and looked around to see if some one was there.
"Who is the master?" asked Raven.
"The master… oh the master is a cruel man. He told me I must-… or he will… and then-," the vicar broke down crying.
"He told you to do what?" asked Richard.
"Told me I must… burn more witches or he would… lower my position as Vicar. Told me I must or I'd be poor in two days. I don't want to be poor!" he squealed.
"But… I thought you enjoyed burning witches," stated Garfield.
"I did, but I redeemed my old wicked ways. The last burning I did was all wrong. All of the burnings I ever did were all wrong. There is no such thing as a witch!" he shouted.
"Kori… she's dead. It's all because of you!" shouted Victor.
"I'm sorry for ever burning a single woman."
"Let's go. You can stay here and rot for all I care!" shouted Raven.
"No, let's take him back to his home," said Richard. He winked at his friends, "Where do you live again?" he asked the vicar.
---WT---
Kori sat on the ground, her hands were tied behind her and her chest was tied up so tight that she could scarcely breathe. She had been there for two months and it was a miracle she was still alive. She fainted often from lack of nutrients, all she ate was grass that grew tall around her from the singed ground. She had given up hope long ago. She should never have survived the flame. No other woman ever had. But Kori was not like other woman.
Her stomach rumbled and she leant forward to eat some grass. After ten minutes of a very uncomfortable eating position, her stomach was full. She leant back and let sleep possess her.