Chapter 2
After an hour, the three girls were ready to start their day. Thorn sat at her desk and was cleaning her work area. She glanced out the bus's window. On the sill, there was small wooden bowl filled with ash and small gemstones placed on a pentacle drawn in salt; two burnt-out candles were on both sides of the bowl.
Thorn sighed. She'd conducted the ritual a few days ago. According to one of her books, it was supposed to contact a nature spirit. Thorn grabbed a nearby garbage can and with one swift motion, pushed the entire setup into the trash.
She moved the trash can aside and rested her arms the desk. She sat there for a moment before turning her attention to the stack of books on her desk. She momentarily caught sight of Dreams and Omens and the guitarist shuddered. Don't worry about it anymore Thorn reassured herself as she reached for the top of the pile where a red and black leather-bound book rested. She retrieved her journal and opened to the first blank page. She grabbed a pen and started writing:
'Last night I had a nightmare about Sarah Ravencroft. I couldn't stop her as the spell didn't work and she was dragging me into the book. As terrifying as it was, I won't let this dream bother me. In reality, I beat the Ravencrofts and they are gone forever. There are now more important things to worry about than a few ghosts from the past.'
She paused. Something still didn't feel right. She looked at Dreams and Omens. She recalled some of the teachings from it and jotted down some notes directly beneath the entry she just wrote.
'Am I still afraid of Sarah?'
Thorn tapped her pen on the desk. She glanced at the trash can and crossed the sentence out.
'The ritual failed. Once again, no magic.'
As much as she joked about having magical abilities with her friends and fans, Thorn had never cast another spell or used any magic since that night in Oakhaven. That's not to say she didn't try; the Wiccan spent years researching magic. She performed countless rituals, incantations, prayers and other ceremonies but nothing ever happened. Thorn didn't talk much about these failed attempts and often conducted them alone, ashamed of her inability to utilize her Wiccan heritage.
She closed her journal and moved it aside. Wanting to take her mind off the touchy subject, she decided to work on something she knew she could get results with: her herbal remedies.
She got up from her seat and opened a cabinet above her cot. She started taking inventory of her herbs. Mostly self-taught from reading Wiccan texts, Thorn regularly made herb-based remedies; her signature peppermint-clove tea and vapor was often used by the band to soothe their vocal chords after performances. Thorn glanced over each container filled with dried leaves and other plant material. Aloe vera. Konjac. Barberry. Goldenseal. White Willow. St. John's Wort. Each container passed through her hands as she checked on the contents before returning them to their rightful spots.
"Looks like they're all good," Thorn affirmed herself.
As she finished checking the herbs, Thorn noticed that the tour bus had pulled into a service station.
"Why are we stopping?" Dusk asked as she removed her headphones and climbed out of her cot.
"Damnit!" A male voice shouted from the front of the bus.
"Guess we're about to find out," Thorn said as she closed the herb cabinet.
A set of curtains at the front of the bus parted and in stomped a man dressed in a dark purple jacket, a green shirt, black pants and boots. He brushed his sleek black hair back and adjusted in rose-tinted glasses in an attempt to regain is normally cool and quirky composure, but he clenched his cellphone in his fist; Thorn noticed the words "Call Ended" and a phone number briefly flash before the screen turned black.
"Darlings, I hate to break it to you," Gus Boggs, the manager of The Hex Girls began. "But your show in New York just got cancelled."
"What!? Why on earth would they do that!?" Thorn shouted.
"Well," Gus explained. "Some idiot thought it would be a good idea to rob the venue while dressed as a fire monster. Those famous investigators and their dog managed to catch the guy, but not before he burnt half the place down."
Mystery Inc. saves the day. Thorn smirked at the image of a terrified Shaggy and Scooby inadvertently stopping the crook. It'd been a couple years since she last saw the gang. They were busy as their mystery solving adventures made them tremendously popular and they had pretty much become celebrities. Thorn hoped that they were alright from their latest escapade.
"So what are we supposed to do now?" Luna asked while crossing her arms.
"It'll probably take me a day, but I might be able to get you girls a small gig outside the city," Gus replied already glancing down at his beeping phone.
"Ugh," Dusk groaned, falling into her bed. "This sucks."
Gus sighed. "Until I fix this, we'll book a nearby hotel for the day. Once we're there, you girls can take the day off."
Gus dialed his phone and he went back to the front of the bus.
"At least twenty-five grand down the drain," he mumbled as he put the phone up to his ear and disappeared behind the curtain.
"Ouch," Luna said gritting her teeth.
Luna and Thorn stood in the center of corridor for a few moments before returning to their respective work areas. Thorn sat down and stared out the window as the bus drove down the road. It was only a ten minute drive to the hotel and Thorn started rummaging through her books, still pissed about losing the gig.
"So where the hell are we?" Dusk asked breaking the silence.
Luna pulled out her phone and quickly looked it up."Shardon, Connecticut."
Thorn's eyes widened and she smiled upon hearing the town's name. She quickly went through her pile of books and pulled out a large dark blue one. Dark Secrets of the Forgotten Gods by Alexander Levre.
"Shardon was the home of the famous occultist Alexander Levre," Thorn exclaimed holding the book up to her friends. "After his death, his house and family cemetery became a museum dedicated to the occult."
The black-haired girl paused for a minute, her smile growing larger.
"And it's said to be haunted," Thorn concluded, giving her friends a wink.
"That sounds cool," Dusk said getting out of bed.
"Isn't Levre the guy who claimed a bunch of witches were using magic to take over the world or something?" Luna said from the couch.
"Well, I guess that's one way of looking at it," Thorn said shrugging her shoulders. "But it's possible, after all magic is real."
"You really believe this guy?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow. "We've seen two people with magic and one of them was dead. I sincerely doubt there is a clandestine group of magical people controlling the world."
"I think you mean three people," Dusk interjected, pointing at Thorn.
Thorn blushed. "Well, I only did one spell," she meekly laughed.
"Exactly, one time several years ago," Luna clarified.
Thorn's smile faded and she lowered the book. She's right.
Luna smiled and walked over to Thorn, placing her hand on Thorn's shoulder. "I'm sorry for saying that."
"Don't worry about it, it's all good," Thorn said with a half-smile.
"Hey, there's no reason why we can't check out that museum. After all, we have the day off," Luna replied.
"Ooo! Oooo! Ooo! We have to find a club or bar afterwards," Dusk added jumping up and down in excitement.
"Sure, why not," Thorn laughed.
After checking into the hotel, the girls booked a cab and went to the museum. Stuck between her two friends in the backseat of the cab, Thorn got a poor view of the three-story house as the vehicle drove along the stonewall-lined road.
"This place looks pretty rad," Dusk said looking at the old house.
The cab turned along a bend in the road giving Thorn a better glimpse of the Levre House. It was a dark gray brick structure built in typical mid to late 19th century style. The roof was pitch black which made it stand out against the blue sky, with the only discernible feature being a single gray chimney. There were four windows outlined with gray frames on each floor of the house, with a single rounded window above them. Even in the distance, the windows seemed foggy and distorted, as if to prevent people from looking in or out. Then there was a large gray front door taking up much of the house's exterior. The house itself was enclosed by a gray stonewall and was dotted by several giant oak trees. The trees cast great shadows over the house and kept it in constant darkness.
"It sure looks creepy," Luna noted as the cab pulled up to the entrance to the house.
"Seems appropriate for an occultist," Thorn replied as she undid her seat belt.
"Can't argue with that," Luna replied with a shrug.
The girls exited the cab and headed down a brick walkway toward the entrance. A cool breeze blew across the property, causing Thorn to pull her jacket closer to her body. The girls passed a metal sign saying "Historic Levre House and Museum of Occult Practices" that was posted several feet from the steps leading up to the door. A small sign in one of the windows indicated that the museum was open.
Dusk reached the door first and threw it open. The girls entered the building.
"Welcome to the Levre House and the Museum of Occult Practices!" A male voice exclaimed.
The girls saw a middle-aged man dressed in a white polo shirt and a simple pair of jeans approach them.
"I'm the curator of this museum," the man explained. "Most of the items on display come from Alexander Levre's personal collection. The first floor contains items about various occults, secret societies, spiritualism and other traditional practices from around the world. The second floor contains exhibits about Mr. Levre's personal life. I'll happily answer any questions you have."
"Cool. Thanks for the info," Thorn said nodding to the curator.
The curator went back to the front desk and left the girls on their own. They headed down the hall to some of the exhibits.
"Hey, this stuff is pretty sick," Dusk remarked as she removed a replica sword from an exhibit about the famous Knights Templar.
The blonde drew the sword from the sheath and pretended to swing at an imaginary enemy, nearly hitting Thorn and Luna in the process.
"Jeeze! Put that away before you chop someone's arm off," Thorn said as she and Luna jumped back.
"Aww, you're no fun…" Dusk sighed, still doing some mock swings.
Unfortunately, the last swing accidentally hit a bust of a Templar leader, causing it to violently rock back and forth. Luna rushed to the bust and caught it before it fell over. Thorn crossed her arms and shook her head while Luna glared at Dusk.
"Let's not touch anything else," Luna said as she got the bust back in place.
"Heehee. Okay, my bad," Dusk giggled as she returned the sword to its proper spot, her face blushing momentarily.
With disaster averted, the girls went on to check out the other exhibits. Thorn recognized many of the groups featured in the museum: There were ragged ceremonial robes and drums from Haitian Vodou; original texts from the Ordo Templi Orientis; a first edition text of the Satanic Bible and The Book of Law; a 13th century dagger used by the Hashshashin's; medieval manuscripts detailing alchemical recipes; texts from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; late 19th century photographs of the Native American Ghost Dance as well as artifacts from various tribes; historical Ouija Boards; various sculptures depicting deities from around the world. One wall was entirely dedicated to the various rites of Freemasonry which included paintings, tracing boards and other items used in different ceremonies.
Thorn decided to check out the deity statues. She recognized the first statue as the goat-headed Baphomet, but she was unfamiliar with the second one. It resembled a large man with a cat head holding a bowl.
"Unknown Cat God. Statue recovered by police from Moonscar Island, Louisiana while investigating the disappearance of several tourists from the island," Thorn read aloud. Moonscar Island. That sounded familiar. She was certain Mystery Incorporated mentioned it after they defeated the witch's ghost. Something about zombies and werecats.
"Hey Thorn, you need to check this out," Dusk said while motioning with her hand for Thorn to join her.
Thorn walked over to Dusk and immediately noticed the exhibit sign: "Wicca." Thorn looked at the various items on display. Her eyes quickly caught sight of an old, leather-bound book opened to a spell.
"No way! That's an actual Wiccan spell book," Thorn gasped, her eyes widening and a child-like smile spreading across her face. Thorn glanced over the yellowed text, which contained several herbal remedies. A label below the book that identified it as belonging to an Elisabeth Hadfield of Massachusetts circa 1657.
"This is amazing," Thorn said still in disbelief.
"I wonder if she knew your ancestors," Dusk pondered as she pointed out the year and area Elisabeth was from.
Could she have? Thorn thought, somewhat caught off guard by Dusk's idea. It wasn't too far-fetched: early Wiccans tended to work together and since her ancestors on her mother's side were active during the same time and place as Elisabeth, it was probable that they met. It was even possible she was involved with sealing away Sarah Ravencroft.
"Maybe," Thorn replied.
Thorn continued to look over the spell book, still in awe over its existence. It was part of Thorn's heritage, her identity. An actual Wiccan. Just like her.
"Huh, I didn't realize there were several different types of Wiccans," Luna stated as she read a sign titled 'Differences between Classical and Revival Wiccans.'
"Oh…well…um of course there are different varieties," Thorn said scratching the back of her neck as she quickly looked over the sign Luna was reading.
Luna chuckled. "So, which one are you?"
"Pffft. That's easy. I'm a….." Thorn paused as she glanced back at the sign for a moment, skimming it over. "A Classical Wiccan."
Luna chuckled some more before returning her attention to sign.
Thorn shrugged off Luna's teasing and pointed at the description of the Classical Wiccan.
"See, the Classical Wiccans were a non-centralized, mixed group of people who believed humans were once one with nature, but have drifted away from it and we need return to nature. To do this, they typically practiced herbal healing, meditation, living off the land and other similar practices. Some even say they practiced nature-based magic," Thorn proudly stated before looking away from the description. She didn't need it anymore. "But the most important thing about being a Wiccan is that we try to help people and see the good in them. We don't kill or cause needless harm."
"I'd say that pretty much sums you up," Dusk added as she rejoined her friends.
Thorn smiled. "Yeah. Well, minus the living off the land part," she joked.
The three girls burst into the laughter.
"Can you imagine Thorn living in a hut in the woods," Dusk laughed.
The girls laughed even louder.
"I'll admit, I probably wouldn't last long," Thorn added with a smile.
After a couple minutes of joking at Thorn's inability to survive in the wild, the girls returned to checking out the Wiccan exhibit.
"So Revival Wicca was developed by Gerald Gardner in Britain during the 1930s and 40s before being publicly released by him and Doreen Valiente in 1954," Luna read aloud. "After that, several sects broke off from the Gardnerian Wicca, such as the Alexandrian, Blue Star, and Dianic Wiccans. The religion further evolved with the New Age Movement spurring the growth of Solo Practitioners and Eclectics."
"Hmm. Looks like he borrowed the name and restructured some beliefs from the Classical Wiccans," Thorn commented.
"Yeah though he did add a lot," Luna replied still reading the sign. "Such as the Mother Goddess and a Great Horned God, which are the male and female personifications of nature and were worshiped by early humans for thousands of years. He also incorporated ritualistic magic, spellcasting, and witchcraft."
"Casting spells sounds pretty cool," Dusk said.
"Well, I've tried many of these spells before," Thorn noted as she looked through a list of common Revival Wiccan ceremonies and spells. "And nothing ever happened."
"Not surprising," Luna mumbled to herself, barely audible to the other two girls.
Thorn glanced at Luna who had already turned her attention to another exhibit. The black-haired girl was unsure if Luna was insulting the practices themselves or her. Luna is just being her skeptical self, Thorn assured herself, not wanting to picture her friend talking bad about her. Thorn shook her head and pushed out the negative thought. She thinks the rituals don't work and she's right.
Thorn snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed Dusk and Luna walking toward the stairs.
"Let's go see what this Levre guy was all about," Dusk said waving for Thorn to follow them.
Thorn nodded and ran to her friends as they headed up the stairs.
The second floor of the museum was poorly lit and much smaller than the downstairs; there were only a couple rooms filled with items from Alexander Levre's personal life. However, one room stood out among the rest.
"This is some dark stuff," Dusk gasped as the three girls entered the room.
The room was circular with a large window directly across from the entrance being the only source of light. Along the wall were twelve paintings that depicted strange images, some of which were quite abstract. Scattered in the room where several display cases containing ancient manuscripts as well as personal letters and notes written by Alexander Levre himself.
"And I thought this place couldn't get weirder," Dusk said as she looked at several of the paintings before pointing at the largest one.
Thorn and Luna joined the blonde in examining the painting.
In the center of the painting was a crimson and golden orb tailed by an inky blackness descending onto what resembled a sheet of dark glass with shades of orange, blue and purple covered in white dots and spirals. The glass was cracked, seemingly by the orb, and bright orange flames leapt from the cracks. There was a short description beneath the painting.
Turning against the Aether, the Adversary rejected its place in the new cosmos, seeking to return to his eternal state. With five of his brethren, the Adversary led the Dark Ones against the Light, in apocalyptic war across existence. But the Adversary's pride and superiority got to him, causing his Tactician to end the war. Defeated, the Adversary became the Fallen, and was locked away by the Light. From his cell, he watches and waits as mortals claw at his cage, seeking his power. For they shall set him free and he will snuff out the Light.
"So this is the god Levre thinks the evil cult worships," Luna said reading some documents in a nearby case.
"Why would you worship a defeated god?" Thorn asked as she turned to the redhead.
Luna simply shrugged. "Levre doesn't say."
Thorn looked back at the painting. Could there really be a cult trying to rule the world, the Wiccan pondered, both wanting and not wanting to know the answer. Thorn shook her head and hoped that Levre was wrong.
"Hey, you two got to check out how creepy this guy is," Dusk shouted as she moved onto another painting.
Thorn and Luna headed over to her. In the center of the painting was a dark blue-gray humanoid shadow. From the center of the figure, approximately where the hands would be, hundreds of blue-gray lines shot out in every direction; the figure seemed to be pulling on them. Thorn squinted trying to get a better look at the figure, but the painting's style made it hazy, almost out-of-focus, as if the shadow was hiding from sight. Thorn shook her head and blinked several times, her inability to focus and visualize the figure caused her to look away from the painting. She shivered. That's too creepy. She then noticed that there was a summary beneath the painting.
He who plots from the shadows and pulls the strings from behind the curtain, the Tactician was one of the most cunning beings in the universe. Siding with the Adversary, the Tactician worked cold and meticulously from behind the scenes, gathering information and plotting his victory. But defeat still loomed and the Adversary punished him. The Tactician, becoming the Broken, then ended the war. For his actions, the Broken was forced to roam the world, searching but never finding what was taken from him.
While the summary identified the figure, it only raised more questions.
"I wonder what he's searching for," Thorn thought aloud.
"The war?" Dusk suggested, not really thinking it through.
"That doesn't make sense," Thorn responded shaking her head. "Why would he search for a war?"
Dusk just shrugged.
"Hmm. Doesn't look like anyone else knows either," Luna added after reading some of the manuscripts.
Thorn couldn't help but look up at the painting one last time, the mysterious figure still difficult to see.
The girls checked out the remaining paintings of the Forgotten Gods. They learned the titles of a few more beings: The Logistician and The Devouring General who sided with the Adversary; the Supreme, who led the Light Ones against the Dark Ones, the Jailer who watched over the Fallen's prison and the Second Defender who took the place of a slain god. The other paintings were merely referred as "horror" or "With the Aether;" none of the girls understood what any of the cryptic text and abstract images meant.
They exited the room and headed downstairs. As the girls were about to leave, Thorn noticed a brochure about paranormal investigations of the Levre House. She grabbed one and flipped through it. The museum curator, who was sitting at the desk by the entrance, smiled.
"You girls interested in the ghost hunting?" the curator asked.
Dusk and Luna looked over Thorn's shoulders to read the pamphlet.
"Sounds fun," Dusk said before whispering to Luna and Thorn. "Especially after a few drinks."
Thorn and Luna smirked.
"Yeah, we're interested," Thorn said to the curator.
"Well fortunately for you, there will be an investigation tonight. Searching for the ghost of Alexander Levre himself," the curator replied.
"That's great. How much does it cost?" Thorn asked.
"Well," the curator answered as he grabbed a nearby clipboard with some sheets of paper on it. "It's sixty dollars a person, which includes a ten dollar deposit to reserve your spot."
Luna rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, while Dusk sighed.
"Ugh, I could get wasted for half of that," Dusk complained as she walked toward the door.
"Yeah, we're better off going somewhere else," Luna commented.
Thorn lowered the brochure and sighed. As much as she wanted to join the ghost hunt, she didn't want to upset her friends. She returned the brochure to its spot.
"Thanks, but I think we'll pass," Thorn replied as she started heading out the door.
"Oh, what's the matter? You girls scared of a real ghost? A ghost of a man who is said to have used real magic," the curator taunted.
Thorn stopped right in her tracks. She noticed Luna glaring at her while shaking her head and mouthing the word 'no.' Thorn clenched her hands into a fist and turned to the curator. If I could beat one magical ghost, I sure as hell can deal with whatever tricks this guy has.
"You know what," the black-haired girl said digging into her purse, her gaze never once leaving the curator. "I think we will go on this little ghost hunt."
She whipped out a ten dollar bill and presented it to the curator, who promptly snatched it.
"Excellent," the curator said handing Thorn some paperwork. "Just sign your first and last name here, here and here and you'll be all set."
Thorn signed the sheets with her real name, Sally McKnight, and handed the sheet back to the curator. Luna and Dusk, though disappointed, payed the deposit and signed the sheets with their names, Kimberly Moss and Jane Warren respectively.
"Alright then, the investigation starts at ten pm sharp," the curator said while counting the money.
The girls exited the museum and Luna called another cab to pick them up, as they had several hours before the investigation began.
Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Thank you to those who left a review, favorite or followed the story.
Couple notes:
Alexander Levre is loosely based on Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, and Aleister Crowley, founder of the Thelema. Both individuals' works are in the museum.
While Witch's Ghost is my favorite Scooby movie, one of my biggest criticisms of it was how Wicca was portrayed. Granted the Scooby franchise isn't known for its historical accuracy, but making Wicca into just a "good witch" was just meh. So to reconcile between canon and reality, I created two groups of Wiccans. The Revival Wicca is real life Wicca and while I did water down the belief system for narrative reasons, it's more or less true. Classical Wicca is how Witch's Ghost portrayed them (including them existing in the 1600s and it being more like a culture than a religion). It's possible the writers based this on Gardner's claims that Wicca existed for hundreds (if not thousands) of years as a Witch-Cult.