Bewitched

Chapter 17

Instead of being thrown back in the dungeon, I was put in a separate room. There were no windows, no place where light could stream in—what was left of it, anyway.

At least I was alone. Jesse was there with me, holding me. He was talking to me, telling me that it was him who disposed of the nooses, so I would not be hanged.

But what was the point? They would just get more and hang me. He could not keep disposing of them forever.

We must have been in that room for a few hours. I was starting to get weary. I was tired, but I did not want to sleep. I had to think of a way out of this. I did not want to die, even if I did want to be with Jesse.

That was when Jesse spoke up. "Susannah..." he said. I turned my head and looked at him questioningly. "What was Paul talking about before?" he asked softly.

I closed my eyes and leaned back against him again. If Jesse had asked me about what happened with Paul beforehand, I probably would not want to tell him, but now it did not really matter. So I told Jesse everything that happened with Paul and what he showed me.

When I was finished, Jesse was silent. Then all of a sudden he practically shoved me off of him and stood up. He looked down at me with a certain fire in his eyes. Not an angry fire, just a fire. I do not really know. It is hard to explain.

"Querida," he said gently, although it sounded like he was trying really hard not to let whatever he wanted to say out yet. "This...whatever Paul taught you...if you could just remember how to do it, you could get out of here. You could—what was that word? Shift?—yes, you could shift out of here. Shift to a place that you know of and get out of here. You can go to Father Dominic to get some provisions and money, and then you could leave before the sun rises, before they find you missing."

He was right. I knew he was. But it just was not that simple. I tried to shift, but I could not do it. It takes a lot of strength and that I really did not have, especially then.

Jesse saw the look on my face and sighed. He kneeled in front of me and took my hands in his. "Querida," he said again. "If you will not do it for yourself, then please—please—do it for me. I cannot stand by and see you die." His voice cracked on the word 'die'. His eyes were full of such sorrow, and I even saw tears brimming his eyes.

Seeing Jesse in this state was a shock to me. So I nodded. For him. I would try as hard as I could. For him.

Jesse, realizing that I was going to try, smiled and kissed me. "Thank you, querida."

I nodded again and stood up. I tried to remember everything that Paul taught me. Granted, it was not much, but he said he told me everything.

Think of the place you want to shift to. The sound, the smell, the sight, every possible sense you can use. And then you will be there.

So that was what I did. I thought of the sound, smell, and sight of the forest that was near the chapel. The one that Paul and I went to when he kissed me. The one with the beautiful sunset.

But when I opened my eyes again, I was still in that same room.

I tried not to get impatient. So I did it again. And again. And then again.

I opened my eyes for the fourth time and groaned. How hard could this really be?

Jesse saw my frustration and came over to me, putting his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into him. We just stood there for a few moments, then he let go of me and said, "Just try again, querida. Please."

I nodded and tried again. This was for Jesse, I reminded myself. I cannot let him down.

The beautiful sunset that Paul and I saw...the smell of pine trees and orchids...birds chirping in the trees and the water flowing in the creek...the lake water coming up against the rocks...

I opened my eyes for the last time and gasped. I was...I was there. I was really there.

I did it.

And I looked to my side and saw Jesse looking at me with a grin. I was not quite sure how he knew where I was thinking of, but it did not matter to me then. All that mattered was that I was there. I had shifted.

And now I had to get as far away from this village as possible before the sun rose.

Jesse's grin faded. I guess he realized what I had just escaped from, and what I had to do now. He nodded at me, indicating that we should go to Father Dominic. Now if only I could shift again...

I opened my eyes and I was at the back of the chapel. I figured just showing up in the middle of the chapel would not be a very good idea, but at least Jesse could go check to see if there was anyone else in there, or just tell Father Dominic where I was.

I guess Jesse did the latter, because a few moments later, the back door of the chapel opened and Father Dominic came out. He looked around for a moment—it was very dark out by then, so it was quite hard to see—but then his blue eyes fixed on me and I saw him smile.

He rushed over to me and enveloped me in a hug. For as long as I have lived in this village, I cannot remember Father Dominic ever hugging me, so it was quite a shock to me. But I also welcomed it. It showed me how much that man actually cared for me, and how much he did not want me dead.

"Susannah," he whispered to me when he released me from his grasp, "you must get out of here before they find you gone."

I nodded. I knew this, of course. "I know, Father, but I...well, I need some money...I hate to ask, but—"

Father Dominic shushed me. "Of course, child," he said and rushed back inside. Moments later he returned with a fairly small bag—it could fit in the palm of my hand.

"This should last you a couple of weeks, for food and possibly some clothing." I opened the bag up and saw some gold and silver coins. That was all I needed to see.

Father Dominic turned to Jesse, who was still standing next to me, and said, "I trust you will take good care of her, Jesse. She needs you now more than ever."

Jesse nodded. "Of course, Padre. I would never abandon her."

We said our last goodbyes to Father Dominic and headed off. Luck was in our hands that night, as we made our way out of the village and into the next one.

Also, I knew who I could go to for help.

- § -

Gina was still in the other town, Beverly, with her father. Last I heard from her, her father was slowly recovering and was likely to survive. She, however, had to stay there with him until he made a full recovery. If I could trust anyone, it would be her (besides Jesse, of course).

Jesse advised me to stay hidden, even if I was far away from my own village. "Its better to be safe than sorry," he said gently. But I did not know where Gina was in this town, or even where her father was, so how could I stay hidden? I needed to find them.

With much protesting on my part, Jesse finally relented and let me go talk to someone. However, I had keep my hair down and my cloak tightly around me at all times, lest anyone should see me and recognize me. I was not too afraid of anyone spotting me. No one would find out I was gone until dawn, and I had a good twelve hours' head start.

Jesse and I made our way into the church in Beverly. It was fairly larger than the chapel back in Andover, but not nearly as neat as Father Dominic kept it.

I smiled politely as I made my way down the aisle, Jesse at my side. The priest in the front looked up and saw me. He smiled as I walked toward him and said hello.

"Hello," I said back when I reached him.

"What can I help you with, child?" he asked politely.

"I was actually wondering if you knew where I could find William Augustin," I said. William was Gina's father, and if I could find him, that would mean that I had found Gina, too.

The priest knitted his eyebrows together, as if he was thinking about it. A second later, he snapped his fingers and said, "Is he the man that was brought here for surgery?"

I nodded and said, "Yes."

The priest nodded again and said, "Then yes, I do know where you can find him. He's..." and he proceeded to tell me where I could find Mr. Augustin.

When he was finished I thanked him and Jesse and I walked out together.

Mr. Augustin was in a cottage about a half hour away (walking) from the church. I knocked on the door of the cottage when we arrived. A servant, it looked like, answered the door. But instead of asking for Mr. Augustin, I asked for Gina.

The servant shook her head when I asked for Gina. "I am sorry, madam, but Miss Augustin is not here at the moment. She went to the market with Mr. Meyer."

I asked her how long ago it was that she left and the servant said about twenty minutes ago. "And how far away is this market?" I asked. I knew I was prodding, and the servant would probably become suspicious, but I had to. I needed to find Gina.

"About twenty five minutes, walking." Well that was shorter walking than I had to do when I had to go to the market.

Just as I was about to leave, with a 'thank you' to the servant, I heard a man say, "Who is there, Melinda?"

A second later, Mr. Augustin showed up at the door. He squinted at me, as if he could not really see me at all. Then I realized he could not really see very well close up. However, he seemed to recognize me a moment later, if the, "Suze?" that came out of his mouth was any indication.

I smiled politely. "Hello, Mr. Augustin. I was actually seeing if Gina was here—"

He smiled. "What are you doing here, Susannah? You live in—"

I cut him off. I know it was disrespectful, but I could not let anyone else know that I was not from around here. "I know. I just came to visit Gina. How are you doing, though, Sir? Are you feeling well?"

My attempt to change the subject was obvious to me, but Mr. Augustin did not seem to notice. "I am feeling better, dear. Although it hurts quite a bit to stand. I probably should go lie down."

"Oh! I'm so sorry to be keeping you like this—"

"Nonsense," he said. "Come in. Melinda will make you a cup of tea."

"I really should—"

But I could not finish my sentence. He practically pulled me inside the cottage. If it were anyone else, I probably would be alarmed, but I have known this man since I was a little girl, so I was not really fazed.

He told me to sit down in one of the chairs in the room, while Melinda went to go get me a cup of tea. Jesse walked up behind me and sat down next to me after I sat down. I must have looked a little uneasy, since he took my hand in his and squeezed it affectionately. I gave him a little smile of my own as he smiled encouragingly at me.

A moment later Melinda came back with the tea. She scurried out of the room as soon as I took the cup from her. Mr. Augustin sat down in a large armchair across from where I was sitting and smiled at me.

"So, what is it you're really doing here, Susannah?" he asked. I was about to tell him that I was only here to visit Gina, but he just said, "You were never very good at lying, dear. Just tell me. I can keep a secret."

I debated on telling him the truth, but in the end, I decided not to. I may have known this man since I was young, but if this experience has taught he anything, it is to not trust anyone. I know that sounds a little...negative, but I cannot afford to lose anything else—not that I have anything else to lose.

So I just told him that I had been through quite an ordeal and I needed someone who I could trust. Mr. Augustin either saw that I did not want to talk about it, or was just disinterested, since he did not ask any further questions. He offered to let me stay there as long as I needed and told me he would not tell anyone about me being there. I thanked him more times than I could say.

While waiting for Gina to return, I talked with Mr. Augustin. He asked about my mother and Andy. I told them they were doing all right. I knew it would not be such a good idea to tell him the truth about my mother. I felt bad lying to him, but I had to do it.

It was as he was telling me about his surgery that Gina came back. I was grateful for that, too, since I did not want to hear all the gory details of his surgery.

Gina's hazel eyes widened when she came in through the door and saw me sitting on the chair. There was a young man coming up behind her, most likely this 'Mr. Meyer'.

"Oh my—Suze?"