Chapter 7 [An hour later]
Fresh off of her check up with the priestesses, Kate sat on a wooden stool beside the House of Healing's eastern wall listlessly. Her mind struggled with so many questions. She didn't understand how a woman living in the twenty-first century could have been born to parents in the eighteenth. She failed to grasp how the secular world couldn't hold back the worlds of superstition and magic such as this one.
So many questions….
She sighed deeply. "You wanted these answers. Now you've got them. Just wish I could deal with them. This is so weird!" She ran her hands through her hair in consternation.
"Strange is only a part of the world we have yet to comprehend, dearest Katherine," Ichabod consoled. "Are you all right?"
She practically sprang up off of the stool and up to her full height. Even if she still stood a head—perhaps a head and a half—shorter than him, she didn't feel the least bit intimidated by him. Even with all of her doubts and such, she knew he would be a rock for her mother and her both. "Just dealing with everything, Dad. It is all right that I call you that?"
He smiled warmly. "Of course it is. I am your father. Even as I lament we did not have the time together that a father and daughter should, we can start anew. Your mother and I both labor to do so. I do not have to tell you that you are part of that."
She wiped a few happy tears away from her face and hugged him spontaneously. "I want that too. Maybe I can answer questions for you both?"
"I know your mother would enjoy that. There are so many things I struggle with in this era. Without question, we can help each other. Never doubt that," he agreed readily before kissing the crown of her head. "None of us are alone any longer."
"After all of those bad foster families, you have no idea how good that is to hear," she declared. "Maybe after Mom's been given the clean bill of health, we might do breakfast?"
"That is a most sound idea indeed," he concurred.
"Thank you," she expressed.
He shook off the expression. "Never thank a man for doing his duty, Katherine. Such is our course as family."
"Such as it is indeed." Cybelle concurred. "Forgive me for intruding on your private moment."
"Such is your office, Milady, it seems," he presumed. "Is Katrina all right?"
"Aye. That she is. This is more that you all need to know however. Before we return to the Outer World to deal with our issues there, she wished to share things with you all. Brace yourselves. It may not be easy to hear but it will be necessary. Follow me," the high priestess pointed out.
"Perhaps we might allow Katherine and Katrina precious time? A discussion like this can linger for a time I suggest," he disagreed.
"Under normal circumstances, I'd agree, Captain. However with the Sisterhood still dogging your steps in that world, you all should be prepared. Katrina knows that. So do we, her sisters in the goddess' service. So should you both," Cybelle countered gently.
"If Mom thinks we should hear it, I'm willing. Whatever happened, I know she was imprisoned while trying to protect us, Dad. Come on. Let's hear it as a family?" Kate held her hand out toward him.
Ichabod released a heavy sigh. As much as he hated to concede that fact, he knew they were both right. There were a great many things their actions had helped to create. Facing them alone was pure folly.
As a family however, they had a chance…..
He seized onto the offered hand. "Indeed, Katherine. We shall hear it as a family."
"Then follow me. There's much to hear," Cybelle offered while leading them away from the healing place and back toward her dwelling in the village proper.
There was much remaining to be done…..
[High Priestess' Hut—Ten minutes later]
Katrina meditated listlessly against the straw and daub wall. With the forgetting spell being lifted, her memories unjumbled themselves at a frightening rate. Her head ached despite her sister priestesses' best remedies.
"Have faith, Katrina," Deirdre assured her. "The goddess forgives us all for the past. While you acted against the Sisterhood's designs, you served your family well."
"If only Deborah and the others would be so forgiving. Goddess knows, they were relentless!" Katrina complained.
"Such as our order was with my father and namesake, I fear," Deirdre lamented. She saw her father bow his head. "Sorry, Papa."
"It's okay, Dee Dee. It happened. We're just trying to get through such things," Dave assured his daughter. "You're not alone in this, Katrina."
"I appreciate the sentiments, David. Thank you," Katrina expressed. "Even if your ancestor could not prevent my banishment, the support is welcome."
"It wasn't just that," Angie noted. "Dave, show her your back."
"Your back?" Katrina wondered.
He pulled up the back of his shirt to reveal a litany of red scars criss-crossing underneath. The angry crimson marks almost seemed ready to reopen if he would have strained too hard…
…as if a whip had left its mark with too much alacrity….
Needless to say Katrina stared at the wounds.
"You should have seen what they did to Deirdre. Nine months pregnant and they started on her first." He shuddered while suppressing his alter ego's attempted emergence onto the scene. "She took six stripes from the lash. The Child took the rest for her and our baby. Because of it however, Penelope was stillborn. Deirdre died moments later." He lowered his shirt back down again. "Trust me, Katrina, I understand what you went through. Not saying it's the same thing but I get it. And we're here for you all."
"I am sorry then," Katrina apologized sheepishly. "I never imagined that any priestess of our allegiance would harm a child even if the mother was guilty."
"Don't worry about it," Angie assured her. "You didn't know. Besides it's best to share with people who understand."
"You've got that right," Kate concurred as she and Ichabod entered the place. "Whatever Mom has to tell us will be okay. We can deal with it."
"I second that motion," Ichabod added as he joined his daughter at his wife's side. "We can hear this and then deal with it as a family."
"You have nothing to fear here, Katrina," Cybelle assured.
Katrina sighed. "Very well." She took a long draught from her herbal tea to calm her nerves. "As you know, I had to put Ichabod under the deep sleep to allow his body to heal and protect him from the Sisterhood's wrath. In addition, the Horseman of Death was imprisoned. After that, I fled first to Europe and then back to America seeking refuge from the Sisterhood's vengeance." She took another calming sip before pressing on. "After giving birth to you and your brother, Katherine, we fled into the wilderness away from Frederic's Manor."
"I have a twin brother?" Kate interjected; her eyes flitting between her parents.
"Aye. Your brother Jeremy," Ichabod explained. "Please allow your mother to continue."
"I will explain more about him at some point, Dearest," Katrina noted warmly. "Despite the spell being lifted, everything still seems so hazy. Some of the memories, I fear, are still out of focus. I just know that I bore you both as best I could to safety. Eventually I had to leave Jeremy at the church door for his own protection." Her eyes watered and burned with shame.
"You did all you could, Katrina, against the merciless pursuit," Ichabod reassured her. "The Dixons were trustworthy allies. You could not have known how Jeremy's gifts would materialize."
"But why separate us, Mom? I don't get it," Kate pressed.
"I needed to make sure you both were as safe as possible. I would've fostered you as well, Katherine. I couldn't give you both up. I just couldn't…" Katrina sobbed.
"I'm glad you didn't. I just remember your panic for some reason," Kate revealed.
"You recollect that correctly. The Sisterhood pursued us at every turn. I might manage to settle somewhere and work a few days before they'd find us again," Katrina concurred sadly.
As she said those words, she remembered…..
[Eagle Plain—October 22, 1782]
Katrina wiped down an oaken table inside of the Liveners Tavern on the settlement's eastern side. She'd endured the early morning's rush getting food and drink to the inn's patrons in due order. Not much longer and I can go back to tending to the rooms. Despite how easy the routine seemed, she remained on guard. She could handle the customers easily enough….
…No she feared bring found once again by her former coven mates once more…..
She glanced across the room toward the west and the door leading to the kitchen area….
…to where her beloved baby daughter snoozed away from prying eyes…
Thank Prudence for allowing me to keep Katherine here while I work! She went back to the table she was cleaning. As with the others, she made sure the benches and eating surface shone brightly in the autumnal afternoon sun. Then she spread the white cloth across the table and placed the candle centerpiece in its middle for the evening meal time. "There! A goodly job if I do not say so myself."
An icy feeling dampened her enthusiasm. She shivered slightly from the chill and ground her teeth. Despite the weather being unseasonably warm for that time of year, such events had peppered the previous few months. And they always occurred just as she was feeling secure.
Katrina focused allowing the Sight to permeate the area, tavern and the walled town itself. Through it, she inspected her neighbors, friends and other denizens of the settlement. She could almost feel their moods, see their concerns and judge their speed. Still their actions didn't concern her on the whole….
…those of the Sisterhood did however….
Despite the fact that she couldn't see them, Katrina felt their mystical vibes…the sign that the group was using a concealment spell….
A heavy set woman in a brown poplin dress and a white heavy cloth apron stuck her head into the room. "Pardon me, Katrina! A woman is here to see you. Slender one that one."
Katrina's eyes went wide. Why did I not feel the woman entering the building? Then the magical residue reached her senses. "Prudence, get Reverend Phelps! That woman wishes me harm. Please!" She hustled across the room and into the kitchen.
Prudence stared at the chambermaid/barmaid. Normally Katrina seemed so quiet yet pleasant. She admired how the latter carried herself with aplomb and professionalism making the guests feel at home. Granted she wished that Katrina would've carried on a conversation about her past instead of seeming so mysterious.
Perhaps this was why….
Prudence returned back toward the desk where Deborah and three other women awaited her. "Terribly sorry, Ladies. Katrina is unavailable. Mayhap you might wish to try back on the morrow?"
"Nay. She is here. I know it. Come now! We have come so far!" Deborah refused to hear the innkeeper's denial. Instead she turned to her cloaked companions. "Margaret, Rebecca, search this place!"
"Stay out of there! I'll call…..!" Prudence started before she froze in midsentence. Other than breathing, her body could not move. Even her eyes remained fixed on the spot they'd been at.
"You stay there, Woman," Deborah scoffed while striding into the main area. Finding the other witches rousting through the area, she inquired, "Anything?"
"She was here, Deborah," Rebecca affirmed while picking up the discarded washcloth and slinging it in disgust back on a table to her left.
"She teleported herself and the brat before we could get here, Milady," Margaret added.
"Curse and spat! Hopefully she can not have gotten far! Follow me!" Deborah insisted before she and the others headed out the door.
[Woods—Three miles away]
In the midst of the pristine serenity, Katrina appeared in a poof of smoke. Beside her the slightly worn baby carriage rested on the dirt trail.
Katherine squalled in her arms.
"There now, Katherine. You'll alert them to our presence. Please, my bonny babe, do not cry. Mother is here," Katrina soothed before humming a tune and a sleeping spell to relax her companion. Then she set the baby in her carriage and swaddled her with the blanket. "All snug. We must hurry. Night will be falling soon and we must find shelter. Hopefully on the morrow, we shall reach our friends in Wabash."
She hustled down the trail. Despite her wishes to teleport again, she felt drained for some reason. While not as fast, foot speed would have to do….
[Modern Day]
Katrina trembled as she ended that part of her account. Her stomach wrenched in all directions from the emotions boiling under the memories' surface. She sipped on some tea. "And that is how we nearly escaped the coven. I had to reach Wabash and safety in numbers at least."
"Sounds to me like you did everything you could, Mom. Thank you," Kate expressed while embracing her mother yet again.
"I do agree. Those women were persistent if nothing else," Ichabod added. "Did you reach Wabash?"
"Yeah she did awright…."
The group turned to the corner to find that Dave had changed into his alter ego once more. They could see the open left eye flitting this way and that. Its green iris rested in a sea of yellow. A deep frown cut into his face.
Kate recoiled at the sight. "Mr. Dubois?"
"Na' Big Bro!" the Child snapped albeit more gently than he normally did on those occasions. For once, he showed patience…an uncharacteristic trait for that one indeed. "'Trina got ya there. Don' know if she 'members."
"It's so hazy. I wish I knew more," Katrina noted. "You know more?"
"Course! Ah was there! Ya know that!" the Child insisted. "W' other Big Bro!" While he hated lying about such things, orders were orders after all. "T'is happened….."
And he resumed the tale…..
[Dubois Mercantile—October 22, 1782]
Even as Katrina rushed up the trail toward the village center, Jennifer stood behind the counter placidly. She inspected the half dozen or so customers who milled about the wares therein. She jarred herself back to attention to wave at a passerby who'd come into the mercantile. She also spied two ladies by the bolts of cloth who seemed to be needing help. Where's Penny? She said she'd be right back. She started toward the cloth display.
"I have it, Jenny. Thank you," Dave interceded. He ambled slowly toward the two customers. "Good afternoon, Mistress Collins and Mistress Reynolds, how might I help you?"
Collins, a slender woman with wisps of white weaving through her blonde hair, turned primly toward him. "Good afternoon, Master Dubois." She curled her lip at him. "Where is your daughter? I was hoping to be waited on by her."
"They're both tied up at the moment. Perhaps I can cut you some cloth for your latest project?" he offered professionally. He felt his head going numb at her rude attitude but managed to remain on an even keel.
"I'll come back when they are available. Good day. Do try to keep yourself from pestering us folks," Collins scorned before wheeling about and storming from the mercantile.
The slightly overweight brunette sighed heavily. "Pay her no mind, David. I'd be delighted if you could cut me four yards of the robin's egg blue poplin. How is Angie these days?"
"She is still pursuing her practice. Thank you, Mistress. And your husband?" Dave queried. He picked up on a source of distress coming from the west.
A loud horn sound permeated the air shattering the serene stillness.
"What comes from the gate?" Reynolds worried. "It has not sounded such since the Revolution! I thought the Indians were at peace with us?"
"They are. Can you excuse me for a minute? I must attend to something." He spasmed noticeably. He stalked toward the living quarters in the back. "Jenny, can you attend to Mistress Reynolds' cloth order?"
"Papa, be careful. The horn would not have sounded without due reason," Jennifer advised pointedly.
"I feel…it. Be back." He rushed into the residential section and then reemerged with his bow in hand. His quiver full of shafts rested on his back. The air burned at his psyche. He trembled but pressed ahead. "My apologies, Mistress."
"David, do be careful. You have the look when…." Reynolds assured him.
A loud crash echoed in from outside.
At that moment, Katrina called, "DAVID, PROTECT ICHABOD'S CHILD!"
He snarled. "Damn it! That's trouble!" He rushed outside to find the coven moving in on an overturned carriage.
From within it, Katherine bawled loud and in fear from the impending threat.
Surrounding her, four cloaked forms moved in on her position.
Despite being reclosed, the energies behind the crystalline barrier crackled throughout the Green area….
…energy that inflicted pain on the merchant as well pushing him toward Tolerance's edge.
"Throw the baby in there too. There's no place for the bastard babe here," Deborah assessed cruelly. She pulled the carriage free from the stairs and pushed it toward the maw.
Katherine screamed again in fright as the cold invisible tentacles latched onto her carriage. The rapid pace sent her small heart beating fiercely. She wanted her mother and now.
"Excuse me? I think not!" He raised his hands and focused on the carriage. "Slight change of plans, Ladies."
Deborah spat on the ground and turned toward the intruder. "Stop! You interfere with the goddess' designs!"
"I do what I must," he countered.
Within the carriage, the mists seized onto Katherine. Her eyes went wide and she wailed louder as she disappeared from the scene.
The carriage however crashed through the portal, collapsing it with the impact.
Dave strung a shaft into his bow and held it in firing position. "His eyes glowed yellow in concert with the emerald scar on his right hand. His head grew increasingly numb with each step. "Identify yourselves! This be private property!"
"We art the Sisterhood of the Radiant Heart! Thou hast interfered w' the goddess' business, Fool!" Deborah motioned the other coven members back. "Ah care na' what your pedigree is!"
"You should, Hag," Dubois growled. "Wha' have you done w' that woman? SPEAKETH NOW!"
"Tell us what thou hast done w' the brat first, Accursed One," another of the coven demanded.
"Ah sent 'er to 'nother place. Ah know na' where but she's safe!" Dubois retorted harshly. "Leave 'fore this gits worse!"
"Aye!" Deborah concurred sarcastically before throwing a mystical burst bowling him over and out of view.
He fell off the staircase and disappeared from view. The dark energies burned his body and spirit. He resisted the temptation to scream as he hit the dirt below. The last dose of pain proved the final straw which broke the camel's proverbial back. His willpower caved under the stress. The familiar crimson sheen dropped over his eyes as the anger triggered his transformation.
"STOOPIDS!" The Child bellowed in rage. His mouth contorted still more if that was possible. He Screamed in challenge before tossing the bow and quiver aside. Then he rose to his feet like an angry phoenix and stalked toward the continuing standoff. He glared at Jennifer. "Git back, Squirt! Ah got 'em!"
"Get thee back inside if thou knows what is good for thee!" Deborah ordered the younger woman.
Seeing the enraged man-child approaching from the other side of the stairs, Jennifer shook her head. "Lady, I'd get lost if I were you." With her enhanced hearing, she could detect the elder Dubois' changed pulse and heart rate signifying that a certain change had indeed taken place.
The Child's open left eye surveyed the situation tersely. His hands glowed with jet black energy. "Now Ah'm pissed! Wha' j'do w' Cranie's wife? WHA' TH' HELL? Ya made Cranie go poof, didn' ya? Washington wanna know where he went! Hell, AH WANNA KNOW!"
"We seek him as well, Demon Child. You did interfere," Deborah retorted sharply.
"Ya keep 'way from 'em or Ah'll teach ya!" he snapped at them.
Deborah beckoned the others back into a spell circle. "We shalt banish thee first, Creature!"
The Child remembered what this formation's purpose was…and the pain it led to. Before the chanting could start, he focused on his adversaries. He recalled the witches in Althanor and how they took his love in addition to scourging him within an inch of his life. "Na' like Dee Dee! NA' 'GAIN!"
Anger surged within his breast.
He motioned with his hands calling forth telekinetic energies.
The coven floated into the air. Invisible vices pinned their arms against their sides and muzzled their mouths.
"Now Ah'm gettin' me some payback!" he snarled. "SING!" He bombarded the coven with dark fire making them squirm and scream against the energy gags. For two minutes he let this act play out. He glared at the villagers, the local sheriff and Brother William who watched the display in horror as the danse macabre continued.
"David, in God's name, stop this!" the minister demanded.
"Ah ain't BIG BRO, Stoopid! They hurt Cranie an' 'is wife! They need ta PAY!" the Dark One bellowed. "All ya do is talk, talk, talk!" He sent another surge of dark energy through the coven eliciting a big spasm from them.
"This isn't the answer either," Jennifer countered. "Please."
"We shall git rid of 'em. You have done your duty," the sheriff added. "Enough."
The Child curled his lip. He could sense the arrogance and malice within the supposed white witches in his grasp. He still craved vengeance for the crimes of the past. He wanted to exact that pound of flesh for his comrade in arms. Still he wasn't going to deal with the neighbors' whining either. He snapped his fingers letting them drop to the ground. "Now GIT!"
Deborah pulled herself slowly to her feet. Her limbs quivered from the icy cold onslaught. "You…will pay, Demon. You and those you love. You can not shelter Crane's spawn now."
"Na' smart, Sweets!" He grabbed onto her and vanished in a dark flash. Less than a minute later, he'd returned. He glared at the others with a snide grin on his face. "Ya'd better find yer Head Wench. Say hi to the Lichtiebitch fer me." Before any of them could react, he seized the other coven members and vanished with them as well.
"Who was in the basket?" Jennifer wondered as she examined the few remains of the devastated wicker basket.
"What did they do to that woman?" the sheriff queried. "Miss Dubois, hast thou seen those women before?"
"Nay, Sirrah, I have not seen 'em 'fore today. Captain Crane is a friend to this hamlet though," Jennifer declared. "From how the Child was carrying on, I'd say this was tied to him somehow. Someone needs to let General Washington know somehow."
The sheriff nodded. "Your sire can do that, Mistress. He took care of the issue. Ah wish the babe was here."
Jennifer sucked in a deep breath. She knew her stepparents would be concerned about the situation. Still she wondered what would have provoked the standoff like that. What did the Cranes do? Who was this child? Where did Papa send her? She glanced toward the woods. What did the Big Kid do with them?
Somehow she knew the situation wasn't about to resolve itself any time soon. Not soon at all…..
[Rowenshire, MA—future site of old Dubois House]
As was always the case on the haunted land along the Swift River Valley's southeastern lip, an icy overcast hung over the upper ridge. A stiff breeze chilled the farmers and other denizens of the small village. Yellowed grasses and sparse crops struggled in the Spartan conditions.
Into this backdrop, the Child appeared with the stunned Sisterhood members dumping them unceremoniously on the Upper Ridge's dead growth. "Ya'll love it 'ere, Creeps! Work it off!"
A demonic pyre appeared. WHAT IS THIS, TRAITOR?
"Ah ain't traitor, Creep!" the Dark One rebutted. "Got ya some new playmates!" He spat on the ground and before the fire demon could do any more, he disappeared in a dark flash back toward Wabash.
The fiery spirit's eyes focused on the recovering coven. YOU WILL HAVE GREAT USE! GREAT USE INDEED!
[Althanor—Modern Day]
The Child slumped down onto the floor and shook his head. "Left 'em with o'her creeps. Thought that would hold 'em. Shoulda known better!"
Ichabod exchanged anxious looks with his wife and the priestesses. Then he surmised, "And they are angry as you are."
"Ah protected yer girl, Cranie! Don' push me!" the Dark One groused. He stood up slowly. "Need ta' git back an' check fer 'em. Don' be long now!" He disappeared in a dark flash.
"Deborah and the others will want blood for that exile. Even if they escaped shortly thereafter, they will seek revenge," Katrina worried.
"I agree with the angry dude, Mom. They had it coming. Sorry," Kate pointed out.
"Now however, Katherine, they will want blood all the more," Cybelle reminded her and the others. "We should head back to the outer world. I pray that the goddess will help us to work out a peace where all can live in a civilized way." She opened a portal. "That points to the center of Wabash. Step through. The Mills sisters are just arriving there. I suspect our adversaries will not be far behind."
"And we're going there? I really want no part of that!" Kate disagreed.
"We must stay together and have faith, Katherine, if we are to prevail in this matter," Ichabod reminded her. "A united front is necessary."
"I agree," Katrina conceded as she climbed to her feet. She took her husband's hand. "Ready when you are, Ichabod."
"Together as a family. Katherine?" He held his hand out toward their daughter.
"A family then," Kate accepted and squeezed onto the offered hand tightly. She led her parents back into the mists and toward the Outer World.
"Pray that we succeed, Deirdre. I do not wish a skirmish in the outer world," Cybelle noted with a heavy heart.
"Nor do I, Auntie. Maybe they might listen? We can hope." Deirdre stepped through into her aunt's portal as well.
We can hope, Child. We can only hope! With that the high priestesses stepped into the cloying passage and sealed it behind herself.
The answers were revealed. Now the stage would be set it seemed…..