“How gruesome.” I said with a theatrical horror mixed with American soap acting to my tone. “Actual dead animals. Where did it happen? Your house by the field I mean.”
“Up at Randall's farm; we had to go the long way into the woods that night because the Police had closed off the footpath to the river. It was off limits for days, although once the local copper went off we skipped under the blue tape anyway.”
“What did you see?” I asked trying to look wide eyed and to hang on every word, the Blonde, who I learnt was called Symone, relished the spotlight.
“Nothing much, red on the path where blood had been and half a sheep almost turned inside out.”
“Was it stabbed, like in the movies where witches sacrifice goats?” O.K a long shot I thought, but worth a try as the information was flowing.
“Witches do not sacrifice sheep on a foot path in scrubby woods. They behave far more appropriately and with more respect for nature and with far more pride in their endeavours.” Mary had come back and neither Symone or I had noticed although there were a few not so well hidden smirks on the mouths of the girls which meant some of the others had.
“Butchers rip out the insides of an animal and leave it bleating and screaming in agony into the night. Symone’s Dad had to go out and hit it with the wide end of a shovel to let us all get some sleep that night. Now, please, let’s talk about something more befitting to a friendly night out than these blown up stories the press sensationalised to generate interest in nothing.”
And so my night continued with girl talk, questions about how the hair was done in London, who is sleeping with who - should that be whom? and did I see any celebrities whilst walking down my road – I must admit I may have exaggerated slightly though these conversations and the giggles or gasps of surprise fuelled my alcohol enhanced stories.
Last orders had came and went unnoticed except by the impatient barman who had gained our attention by turning out all the lights and stood holding open the door out into the night.
The girls sprang from their chairs with poise and grace, I dropped everything I should be holding and watched as my mobile phone skitted across the floor. When I managed to find my feet and find my phone the bar was empty save for a barman looking deeply at his wristwatch as if it held the answers to all of life’s secrets. He ushered me out just as fast as he could. It was through willpower alone I ignored the hand pushing my buttocks out the door and I was stood in the quiet night. The only other thing I heard from the pub was long bolts being slid into place after I left.
The moon was bright, and as soon as I was away from the lights outside the public house, the stars shone brightly; I just wished I knew what constellations they all belonged to and I stared up at the stars wishing I could fly up and touch them in their serenity filled inky black world. Mary stepped out of the shadows to my side and scared the living shit out of me. In the artificial light reflected off the pub sign she looked older and much slimmer with deep set shadows and hollow cheeks, it reminded me of the torch trick where you hold a torch under your chin to cast unfamiliar shadows across your face all us girls used in the children’s home to scare one another after lights out.
“Jesus Mary!” I said not so politely, “You scared the ghost out of me.”
This seemed to cause the older woman some amusement and I must admit I was already planning on doing something similar if I got the chance on someone else.
“I did not mean to frighten you, I merely wanted to hold back to see if you had any troubles when you left, you never know if an enthusiastic suitor wanted to try and walk you home. Why don’t you take a few paces in my direction and if there is a boy or two hanging around they will soon lose interest and slope off to their pits.”
She placed her arm through mine and led me through mine and led me through the centre of the village and along a side road and then down a path that soon turned from tarmac to gravel and then into stone strewn mud marked with a thin wooden retaining wall. A couple of the girls were there, each of them holding small armfuls of stuff.
"This isn't where we normally go." said Mary as she led me on between the trees and away from the path. "But with all the recent activity we have had to find somewhere to temporarily for the Akelarre to worship the Mother Goddess and the Universe. But don't worry, we're here."
There was a park bench and a waste bin and a scrappy patch of grass hiding under a generous layer of mud. "It's not perfect, but needs must when the Devil drives." said Mary.
"Is that likely?" I asked lightly but my audience was not impressed.
"We practice the old skills passed down by our sisters who came before us who learned them through blood, sweat and persecution. They suffered to make us stronger and we thank them not make light of their sacrifices." although Mary said this with a bouncing tone and smile I knew I had been chastised. The few girls, I think there were Ana, Donna and Sue, but I may have been wrong, placed candles at the points of a quickly but carefully drawn out star within a circle.
"I have been blessed with the sight of our sisters; they give me the strength to see into other realms and a sense for the power within the land and stars. The girls and I explore the universe and ourselves, forging a stronghold against the rage of the world. I see a spark of power inside you and it is regretful you did not come to me sooner."
The candles were lit with reverence and they gave off light, heat and smoke which in the cool night hung low to the ground. I watched outside the circle as Mary led the girls into an empowering rotation somewhat along the lines of 'Mother Darkside's guide to Witchcraft' which the girls and I tried to recreate at night in the Home. I lazily watched as they went about the motions and my eyes were drawn to the smoke circulating across the ground and swirling along the lines of the circle in the mud. I must be tired because I thought I saw a small figure made entirely of smoke and standing four inches tall but a gust moved the smoke into nothingness. The girls moved around and the passage of air caused the candle flames to bend and the smoke to drift after them. Fingers as thin as hair started to wiggle out of the greying mist of cooling smoke, followed by tiny hands and arms until a head and torso formed behind and drifted against the tide back towards the nearest candle. Other similar figures formed against the other four candles until five complete figures were dancing on the tips of the flickering flames.
The girls sang without words but the music pleased the small smoke figures and they danced around the candles staying near the heat of the flame; arms raised out to each of the girls and to Mary and feet pranced along as if inviting them in the dance.
I stood open mouthed at what I saw, amazed by the talents of this small group, what did Mary call it? And Akelarre?
"It's O.K, it takes time to fully accept there are other things in this world than that which is mentioned to the masses through the male controlled media. A witch is a woman of power and insight and she can learn her craft from her sisters all around, those that went before and those that are yet to come: More so from Mother to Daughter across the centuries. This is until it was stamped on hard by the fearful and unfeeling men who build great scars across the land but create nothing." informed Mary with passion in the words.
"Did you learn from your Mother?" I asked not really knowing how to respond to Mary's last statement with my head as it is stuffed with alcohol and tiredness.
"Mothers and Daughter may share the craft but sometimes they do not share the ideals." she replied but I was trying to decide whether this was a yes or no Mary continued. "some are stuck with a closed mind and unable to see the greater good the craft can bring to Sisters everywhere. You have a well inside you ready to gush forth with latent power. I can teach you much about yourself and your place in this world and the universe and I wonder how much your mother knew, did she ever talk about it?"
"My mother is not here." I answered holding back the sadness of the time I did not have with her.
"That is a great loss for all of us, power wells deep within those wh
o inherit it. " she seemed to think for a moment. "you have had a sample of what She, the Universe can do; Do you now want a real demonstration of what girl power can achieve? Are you brave enough to step foot into the universe and see 'She' through whom all power flows? I guarantee you will want to be part of my Akelarre, be one of my girls."
She threw a powder onto the candles and the flames grew in intensity greedily engulfing the offered gift. The smoke dancers grew larger, they did not move but they walked towards the edge of the circle and grew with every footstep as if they were a very long way away and coming closer. The smoke turned from wispy grey to more substantial mineral blue. The dancers, now waist height seemed to beckon me towards them. and I did so. Out of the smoke more figures formed, outlines of people and animals skipping and playing and appearing gleeful in their activities. I reached out towards them and they danced merrily laughing as their ethereal bodies broke and drifted around my fingers before merging back to continue their journey into the ether.
From around the clearing the girls were moving with the smoke dancers all around them and I danced too. The sprites dancing without a care caused my fears and anxieties to fall from me as if they were a heavy constricting over coat that confined my movements which now had been removed. I felt light and free.
The smoke dancers turned and waltzed through my head, I saw their dreams and their playfulness. They took me by the hand and I danced with them there in the woods, through the trees, up into the clouds and out into the night and above it all, looking down onto the world that they were giving me as a play thing; they would lead me to anywhere I wished for and give me my heart's desire. I was free to dance with them forever.
A siren wail screamed in the still of the night, birds took to the air and animals small and not so small seemed as startled as I, shortly after a resplendent blue flickering light shone through strobing the uppermost branches in a bright aura and giving the impression of hundreds of fingers reaching aloft from the dark pits below.
"Oh crud Mary; " called one of the girls I thought could be Ana, "not again. You know my Dad's a local fireman and he'll kill me if he catches me out doing this again! You know he won't let me out of the house if he thinks I've started a fire."
"Do not fret child." replied Mary.
"But he'll kill me Mary. You know what he's like, he'll kill me!" she wailed and then ran off into the forest in the opposite direction to where the strobing lights were getting stronger.
Other female voices lifted from under the robes calling,
"I don't want the police to find us."
"My brother was talking to his mates saying they think we all dance in the nuddy and they want to come up and look."
"I want to be a teacher, I can't get a criminal record for arson."
The girls fled into the relative safety of the night; Mary and I were the only ones left and she hastily tried collecting the candles. The sirens had stopped but the lights continued which signalled whatever the emergency service that turned up they were now parked and proceeding on foot.
"Tomorrow night child. We meet again tomorrow and I need you there." Mary called in a sing song voice. "You have seen such a small amount of what we can do, let me teach you more. Safe journey" then she disappeared though the tree line and into the night. The blue lights and the direction of the nearest road was behind me as I hurried to the side hoping to come across the path in an attempt be anywhere else.
Sometime between today, tomorrow and yesterday.
The stars were ever present above me, always appearing to be the exact distance away and never moving; but I guess at the unimaginable distance they were away, the few metres I walked was as small to them as motes of dust are to me, smaller.
I regretted not bringing a shawl or something to wrap around my exposed shoulders so I hugged my arms across my chest to conserve body heat. The moon was so bright I could easily navigate the country road away from the village square, which was fortuitous because in my slightly inebriated state I could not fully remember which way to go. A cool gust brought me to a halt before I redoubled my efforts to get home.
The uneven path running along the side of the road disappeared at the junction and I was left to walk the track on the road; now are you supposed to walk with traffic or against it on country roads? Luckily it was late and no traffic could be seen or heard. I swore as a pothole caused me to wobble on my feet and then let loose a torrent of curses learned from a dark book of magic as I tumbled into a second hole and the heel from my shoe snapped clean off. I hoped some of the curses flew to either the shoe makers or the council road crews.
The natural canopy covered the lane and what light the bright moon gave out was reduced to nought but puddles shining on lakes of inky darkness. Trees of silver frame reflected everything they could to help guide my way but in this state appeared to be stood in rows like a cage holding me in. I walked closer to the trees, focusing on the light they gave and using them to steer me straight while I kept the black straight in front. I kept going like this as my path waived confusingly with the hope of seeing the gate house on my right just around the next corner keeping me going. There were a lot of next corners so I needed a lot of hope.
The trees thinned and this I was sure was the junction for the lane that led to my accommodation, I stepped faster into the lines of moonlight that flowed down like mist off a waterfall. A tree, thick and gnarled stood squarely to my front, at first I was confused because I did not remember a tree in the road and then I could see more as my eyes adjusted. A regeneration zone, I think I dredged up this term from a lazy doze in a geography class a decade ago, in a very well established forest. A spin gave my hope of getting home soon a real knock; trees, darkness, and a sense I had taken a seriously wrong turn all pilled up dashing what hope I had left with a sinking feeling like dropped keys in the ocean of life. Turning around I really wanted to use the line of trees to guide me back out but they weren't there, not in the line I remembered from seconds ago. Worse still each one had lost all their illumination.
Plan B. Phone from bag, 20% charge left and.......yes, a signal with 4G.
'Where am I?' I typed into a mapping app. It quickly displayed a large arrow appeared in the middle of the screen which raised to show a satellite image of a forest. Well done modern technology, glad you're here to help, I'd have never worked that out on my own. I swiped my fingers open across the screen and the image zoomed out, nearest village was......Wykeham, and a river created a line stretching from left to right. I had no idea where North was so left and right will have to do for reference. Scrolling the screen along the blue line gave a familiar square house down a very long lane with a gate house and, to my surprise a very large managed estate where the river ran into a pond before disappearing back into the uniformed pattern of trees. Of a road, there was no sign, this being a satellite picture the road ran under the heavy foliage cover. I couldn't even make out where the road started or any junctions. I typed into the search bar a request for a route finder and was rewarded with a loud beep, 5% battery power left. That had dropped to 3% by the time the screen loaded, a burning sensation rose in my throat and I could feel a physical sickness engulfing me.
"Quick!" I exclaimed shaking my phone to get the little goblins that live inside to hurry up.
The goblins retaliated by retracting internet reception and the screen went grey.
'The page you requested could not be displayed. Please check your connection and try again.' it told me solemnly.
I scared three rabbits and a badger with the noise I projected into the dark woods. The phone was viciously shaken to within an inch of its life just in case there really were goblins inside laughing at me.
*
The river was easy to find. I used all my training as an investigator to track down the signs and clues of which way the river was by looking for animal tracks heading to and from the water and where more verdant plants were at their thickest - that and I stumbled down a shallow bank and put my le
g up to my knee into it. The mud was thick and if I had been wearing shoes I would have lost it; so that was lucky wasn't it.
"Great." I said allowed. "Stuck in the woods and soaking wet and as muddy as a child planting vegetables with their Dad." at least it’s good for the skin. "Grrrrrrr."
"Grrrrr." came a reply. At first I didn't realise in my frustration. I didn't know what I had said out loud and what I was muttering in my head.
"Oww. nnnnnnn grrrr." I vocalised.
This time I did hear the reply; it was a low moan somewhere in mid distance.
"Hello." I called, relieved there was someone local out who could assist in my temporary navigation dis-arrangements. "Can you help me? I seem to be a little lost here."
Shit I thought. What if it’s Jed out there or one of his gang up to misadventures, would I be safe with them? Shititity shit shit.
Remember the training, I thought. I'm in a strange location with person or persons unknown. I have no assistance or anyway of getting any. So what would Xanthic do now? Probably go striding in full of confidence and either talk his way out of trouble or swing a punch; that or make a new friend - which happens frequently, after a well aimed swing all parties end up sharing a round in the local.
I opted to walk forward to find out who was there. Stay safe, words I have just decided to live my life by but they always seemed to be just out of reach - the Health and Safety department would have palpitations if they ever found out about my duties. The noise was coming from along the bank so I followed around the river in that general direction. I skirted a large expanse of mud and walked into a hawthorn bush; the long woody whips caught me and painful needles raked at my exposed flesh, my light dress offered no protection as it was dragged or tore to the whim of the needles.
Diary Of An Occult Resolution Assistant Page 10
