Preys & Predators IV; Monster and Witches Chapter 16

 16. 

 

Elizabeth took a sip of the tea she was served in her kitchen. She looked across the table at the elderly lady seated there. The lady was flanked by a younger man there. They came to visit the Muriel’s house.

“Wiccan Agathe……. I am honoured to have you here. It has been seven years when I left you.” Elizabeth smiled. “I do hope my cup of tea will suffice for your needs.”

“Yes, seven or was it that long ……. after you spend the one year with me. It took us time to be together, but our love never fades. Your mother denied my existence, but still ended up with a witch for a lover, which is your father.” Wiccan Agathe smiled. “You are a gifted one, Elizabeth Muriel. You possess the power of your great-grandmother in you, and aided by your father’s magic, you are a formidable witch…… a Wiccan in the making. Yet, you…”

“I am not ……. ever ready.” Elizabeth lowered her head.

“No, you are not. Your mother was adamant on you and her sister lead a normal life, but the ……. Our legacy lived on inside. Your aunt was more fixed on her beliefs and paid the price. Sadly, your grandfather died early and denied me to look after you. I did however was nearby but never met you, or your aunt.”

“Mother was insistent that I do not see you.” Elizabeth sighed. “I would have ……”

“The past is over. We are now here and will negate the events to our favour.” Wiccan Agathe moved the subject. “My current needs are few and within now. I am here. My retribution will be …….”

“William?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes, William Katt. He took over my town, but I am back. He saw me at the tavern, but he was unsure. Ten years have passed and even the warlock cannot sense me.” The elderly lady looked at the cup in front of her. “He may not know it, but I can see him. His future is in the tea leaves. He will be dealt with.”

“I …… I am amazed, Wiccan Agathe.” Elizabeth smiled.

“Do not be, Elizabeth. We are …… were to meet, and did.” Wiccan Agathe smiled, revealing her to be toothless. “Again, I will tell you this. You are a gifted one, Elizabeth Muriel. You possess the power of your great-grandmother in you, and aided by your father’s magic, you are a formidable witch…… a Wiccan in the making.”

“Hush there, Wiccan Agathe. Here I am Elizabeth Muriel, Chairman of the Theology Society.” Elizabeth smiled with a gleam in her eyes. “I am no witch or wiccan.”

Elizabeth was facing her grandmother, Agathe Muriel, a Wiccan herself then and once named Mathilde of Eastwick. Her grandmother was exiled to live alone in the woods, and though isolated, she formed her coven of witches, but they were destroyed by the works of man, namely one Constable Brown. He was to indulge himself in the coven’ circle until they were discovered by the Общий and Spielsdorf. The possessed girls; deemed to be the missing girls from the town then, were killed by the two officers. Constable Brown was alive then but later not found. Many did not know then, the coven belonged to one named Mathide of Eastwick, as she called herself then, and she went into seclusion during the search for the creature. (Reference: Chapter 21, Page 57 of P&P Modern Prometheus.)

“As I am now, Wiccan Agathe of Eastwick. William Katt saw me and could not sense my true self. Not yet for now. He is blinded by my spells.” The elderly lady smiled. “After the death of your aunt, he confronted me, but I retreated to avoid a conflict. I was building my strength. I left the town with my new member, Brown, as you may had seen him. He had aged unfortunately, but devoted to my coven.”

The man standing there shrugged in his shoulders. He was last known as Constable Brown and had been missing since the incident in the forest with the girls deemed missing then ten years ago. He was rescued by the elderly lady and made a member of her new coven. In the coven, he held the skills as an Enforcer.

“A decade of exile, and more learning to be what I am today, Elizabeth.” Wiccan Agathe smiled again. “Your grandfather was never to leave me; he was too much in love with me, as your father was to your mother. But deaths forced us to part. I was exiled, and my daughters choose not to be in the coven. I held onto my promise to your grandfather that I would revive the coven, but fate took its own path. Your mother was …… madly in love with a witch. She never practiced witchcraft, but her strength lived inside you.”

“Today, I am back to reclaim my coven and town. William Katt will soon cease to exist.” Wiccan Agathe looked at the man there. “Brown, your role will resume then in place of William Katt, aka Inspector Watson.”

“As for you, my granddaughter. No witchcraft but pure vengeance. William’s death will not be forgotten. The creature will be found and made to pay for it.” The elderly lady looked at Elizabeth. “Mary Annabelle Frankenstain will be returned to you …...”

“Yes, she is a Frankenstein.” Elizabeth cut in.

“The father will suffer the same fate as William. It was agreed eight years ago.”

“Please do.” Elizabeth smiled. She was unsure why she wedded Victor soon after the death of William. She loved William, and in her, she felt the need to hold his child, the Frankenstein’s child. It was all done, but she was not ready then to bring up the child. Wiccan Agathe found her and told her the journey was to divert back to the town. She was to reunite with her father to gain his trust and protection; “Child, I need more time to build my new coven. Go back and stay there. I will see you on the tenth anniversary of the creature. There we will avenge William, destroy William Katt, and restore your life.”

“What about Victor?” Elizabeth had asked. “He is ……”

“He will be dead ……. In memory, or in his soul as he may hold one, he will be in grievance when he loses his creation. He does not love you. He loves his creation. He is ……. mad.” Wiccan Agathe looked at the lady.

“Wiccan Agathe, the demon in my …….” Elizabeth asked of Beezer in the basement.

“Have your fun there. You need to lash out your pain. I may suggest you evict the guest. Seven years is a long time, and there may be others.”

“Punishing him gives me relief,” Elizabeth said.

“It may ease your …… pain but there are others to look for. I will be seeing you soon.” Wiccan Agathe left the house. The grandmother took to the chaise made available for her ride. She turned to look at the house and sighed. She followed her granddaughter to the city and saw the pain in her despite her smiles. She knew Elizabeth was in pain, and soon after, with the pregnancy, she was prevalent with moods.

Elizabeth was hiding her inherent pain, an ailment of moods and morbid thoughts. Her grandfather was one with it; he became a recluse and soon took his life. It had nothing to do with their witchcraft, but it was a family ailment, and Agathe took the pain onto herself. Her granddaughter was having same morbid thoughts, and the only way for her was to guard rail her. There was no cure there.

“Agathe,” Then her Wiccan rank was yet to be adopted. “Your granddaughter has mental disorders. She tends to take pleasure with pain inflicted onto others. We could treat her here.”

The asylum told her upon diagnostics. She knew what that means. The treatments were harsh; mix of nascent reforms like "moral treatment" (kindness, work, routine) and often brutal physical methods in overcrowded asylums, including restraints (straitjackets, chains), hydrotherapy (ice baths), electroshock, and cage confinement.

“No” Wiccan Agathe declined. “She is not a zoo animal.”

It was the year she reunited with Elizabeth and took care of her for over a year, free from her replacement lover, and the child she did not need then. It gave them trust and love, but more was needed. Agathe found the demon, Beezer that was banished, and enslaved it to Elizabeth, to contain her moods. She needed an outlet, and the mortal imprisoned there at the basement was one of her outlets.

“Wiccan Agathe, may I speak?” The one named Brown then disrupted the other’s thoughts.

“Only if you want to.” Wiccan Agathe nodded. “If you want to remove the Inspector, it will not be now. We will bide our time. The Warlock is strong, and you are not his match. Stay with me, and all will be done.” Agathe looked at the town that was once hers. “For now, Brown. Find the creature. It will be our tool to handle the matter.”

“I will look for it in the woods.” Brown the Enforcer nodded.

“No. Stay with the mansion. It will return there. Its master is back.” Wiccan Agathe said. “No creature or child will ignore their family.”

In town, Inspector Watson was displeased to have guests whose minds he could not read or whose presence he could not sense. He paced the street and watched the chaise return with the elderly lady. He took his approach towards them and crossed the street. It was his instinct that saved his life.

The brougham with the horse bolted on the street, and barely missed the Inspector who had jumped to the side to avoid it. It was the first time in many years that he had such a mishap.

“Inspector, are you okay?” The Inspector was held up onto his feet by the bystanders. The former nodded and looked at the brougham had rounded the corner and the horse was freed of its reins.

The inspector brushed off the dirt from his pants and looked back at the tavern. The elderly lady was gone.