Timeless Witch

by C. L. Scholey

  Our mating had been powerful, meaningful. It had me wondering if my next four daughters would be conceived in the same fashion. For you see, if I am to survive this night and banish my greatest foe, Randar and I will thereafter carry on to empower the world, gifting them with four more protectors, as is my line’s fate. Randar and I will be able to pick the time of our choosing when our obligation has been fulfilled to the gods. We will exist in harmony forever, roaming the expansive universe.

  “Be still, my darling, all will be well, child,” I croon to her. She settles quickly, for one so small tires easily and it is my dearest hope she will sleep through what is about to transpire, for I need my wits about me.

  I take heed of the warning as I slip further into the nothingness of the eve. The gods have given me a sign. Evil is once again ready to face death with vengeance. It has scoffed on all that should be. I must call upon whatever powers I am able to aid in my quest. As I walk slowly to my destination, I remember old folklore. I remember all reasons mortals have given for the existence of All Hallows’ Eve. The night before All Saints’ Day. The sun god, celebrating with fires. Feasting, and of course who could forget Samhain? The gatherer of souls.

  But I know better. The one rightful God, the sacred protector, the Keeper of Halloween, must have an offering of words to tame the knowledge of what was about to occur. All were welcome to walk the earth on this night without fear of retribution. In any form, good or evil, foolish or wise. But on this night one was not welcome; someone would die. It interfered in the laws of powerful magic. It was not I who chose to befoul this sacred night. It was my nemesis who would hold nothing hallowed.

  But as it stood, I was no less involved. For a moment, I stop. I bow my head. Then woefully raise my eyes to the bright moon, asking for understanding.

  “Neither good nor evil is about this night,

  Neither son of darkness, nor witch of light.

  I beg of thee forgive my trespass,

  I fear ’tis not my first, but my last.

  A wrong must be righted, to aid with time,

  Judge not my daughter, the fault is mine.”

  The powers that be of this night must understand it was not just vengeance I sought. It was not my firstborn’s fault she innocently succumbed to evil darkness. It was not her fault the forest had need of protection because of her untimely demise. This war must take place and not soil the magic. I hope it is appeased. I can do no more.

  My mind set, I begin the incantation that will take me to Randar with the help of the water gods, for they are still the only ones who know where he swims. My wandering has taken me far. I am standing deep within a dark forested area, now unclothed. My adornments lay upon the bank. I am but a humble creature and will face my maker the way I was born if I prove unworthy this night.

  The wind is icy cold, but I hardly notice the discomfort, my thoughts are too focused. I enter a small pond, wading deeper. I feel the waters swirl around me in welcome. I smile as my womb gives a tiny heave, knowing the one I hold dear is now in her element. She tremors with her excitement. It does not take long until I am almost completely immersed in its quiet. I feel the soft mud creep beyond my toes to cover my feet. The water laps ever so gently at my skin in a caress.

  A painted turtle slips under the water. A bullfrog croaks, and then quiets. A fine sheen of mist swirls around the outer edges of my view. It is eerie, but I am unafraid. I cannot feel Alistair; indeed the foul miscreant would be awaiting his chance to ride the tailwind of my magic, at this moment summoning his dark powers. I would be ready, but so too would he.

  A breeze begins to build, tossing my hair about me, building with intensity until the wind whips at me wildly. The water that had once been a sheet of black unmarred glass now suddenly churns and bubbles to life. The ripples grow to waves, forming foaming white caps, crashing around me, as though pounding out my impending aspiration. The foliage that surrounded the small pond fades away into nothingness; it is just me and the water gods. They are listening. I take a deep breath. It is time to play my hand.

  “Together in era, forever as one,

  Take me to thy god’s own son,

  But be aware, two are cloaked,

  A necessary deed, of which I bespoke,

  Separated by wickedness, blacker than pitch,

  Unite Randar with his timeless witch!”

  In so saying, the gods knew this love incantation was a forewarning of possible impending tragedy, as their witch was going into battle this All Hallows’ Eve. I must battle as I have never battled afore. Whatever happened during this war, my beloved Randar would be cloaked, as would our babe. This time Alistair would get neither.

  Though my powers would be weakened by the cloaking, it would enable them to be safe. I loathed the idea of giving over my child and lover into another’s care, but I was not so selfish as to sacrifice them for my sake.

  When the water stopped billowing about, I was on a lonely, cool beach. A gentle wind stirred my hair about my back and shoulders, tickling my quivering flesh. The sounds of the evening were amplified, or perhaps it was my heightened awareness that made my hearing so acute. Water lapped at the sand, as it had before on another fateful night, and I stopped the impulse to tremble more violently.

  I believe I could hear the blades of long grass, high on a dune, rustle in anticipation. Perhaps the foliage was conversing quietly on the battle they were about to watch unfold. The moon was high; there were no clouds, offering me ample night vision. A stronger breeze stirred to my left suddenly; the dust swirled and I grimaced with distaste. I could smell the foul serpent before I saw him; his stench preluded him.

  “It ends here,” the loathsome creature spat. He stood arrogant before me, very tall, and broad of shoulder. His regal, handsome face a ruse to the defiled ugliness within. He swaggered closer, as though I were gullible and would fall easily to my demise in light of his great prowess. Stupid, supercilious fool. How I loathed his very being.

  “You are right on that account,” I agreed.

  We circled one another, each sizing up our opponent. I was slight of weight and did not quite reach his chin in height. He too stood nude, as was our way, in case we fell and needed to return home to our gods. His hair, black as fresh pitch, gleamed in the moonlight. His dark, soulless eyes, endless black of an abyss, focused on me. His head cocked to the side and I saw his evil face twist hideously in sudden rage.

  “Murderous, deceptive bitch,” he howled in fury. “Your lover and your brat, where the hell have they gone? Where are they hiding?”

  I laughed, although there was no humor in my tone. I refrained from caressing my empty womb. Though the host remained, it was, for the moment, devoid of life; its existence was undetectable. My shroud was only visible to myself.

  From the corner of my eye I could see Randar, standing thigh deep within the ocean water, in human form; his arms tenderly held our child’s soul. He knew exactly who I was now and what we meant to one another, our eternal love. His face was awash with fear, fear for me; he knew I was battling for my life alone, as I must. He also knew if I were to fail he would be given to another to help raise his child, as he must.

  “It is just you and me, you putrid piece of filth. Only one such as you would attempt to defile the Keeper of Halloween, again. You are completely devoid of morals for the solar ways of life. You will pay for your sins against my family, against my gods.” I could feel my anger rise in outrage, but battled to keep it in check.

  “Your gods mean nothing to me. All Hallows’ Eve is a hoax. Sending the Grim Reaper and his little toad in warning. As if I would heed them or their ridiculous nonsense. I have no fear of them. I fear nothing. I fear no one. Their rules mean nothing to me and my kind. So, by all means,” he added, sneering, “make me pay.”

  With a wave of his powerful arm the sand swirled about him, offering its own cloak for a few brief moments. The wind became fearsome; the sand particles stung my exposed flesh. I battled to breathe while surro
unded with his toxic fumes. I stumbled back for a fleeting moment.

  When the dust settled, he had shape-shifted then into, of course, a hideous snake. I tried not to shudder, but he rose as the largest king cobra, nigh on twelve feet tall. His mouth opened to expose massive, intimidating fangs, dripping in fetid poison.

  It was an awesome sight to behold. He wasted not a moment and pounced with incredible, lightning speed. When he struck downwards toward my head, hoping to decapitate me, I spun quickly and leaped high in the air in a different direction.

  Alistair’s face slammed downward and was buried in the sand with brute force. I then laughed with real merriment as he came out spluttering for breath, shaking his stupid head from side to side. He coughed up a large strand of seaweed.

  “Really, Alistair, your humdrum parlor tricks have become quite boring over the years.”

  “You think so? I have gotten much better.” His eyes glowed fiery red, and centered on me in such a way that I was compelled to return the stare.

  I was captivated by the ability those eyes had to mesmerize me. I could not look away. Too late, I could feel the hypnosis take hold and I shuddered this time with real fear. I was frozen to the spot where I stood. He violated my psyche. I felt defiled and helpless.

  His thoughts searched leisurely through mine, as though his hands were touching, exploring. I was incapable of stopping his predatory invasion as he hunted my vulnerable mind.

  “Ah, my clever little witch, they have been cloaked. I assume they are watching. They will watch you fall again, this time permanently. How delicious. It is no matter I cannot uncloak them. I will watch for her birth. As my blood has mingled with yours it will have mingled with the child’s. I will then bait her with my simpering words of everlasting love, as I did your last naive whelp, and I will destroy her the same way your first-born succumbed.

  “They will find me handsome and charming, irresistible, until I strike. And oh, how viciously I will strike. One by one, your witch daughters will fall beneath me and I will crush them and burn them to ashes.

  “Do you know your poor little child wept for you in her last moments, cried out for her daddy? She begged so prettily for her miserable life. It was such a pleasure to toy with her. It was so vindicating to see her life drain away. I watched her spirit fly into the abyss of nothingness until her soul was no more. It was so beautiful. My gods rewarded me well that day. Not only were my powers enhanced, but I was gifted with the sweetest of new parents, each and every time I was in need of them. Until they were useless to me. Their deaths were so entertaining.”

  I should have been terrified, trapped as I was, unable to move or break his hypnotic spell. But instead I gave thanks to his long-winded boast. My poor sweet baby, my first-born child, my lost little angel. How she must have suffered under his heinous cruelty.

  The mention of my daughter’s untimely demise and the way she died sparked a heated nerve. So much so the tears of my rage blinded me until I could not see. He lost his grasp of my consciousness in those precious seconds, as water filled my eyes, blurring my vision. My grief saved my life.

  I quickly chanted a spell under my breath, to disallow him to once again hypnotize me. It was simple enough, and my action went unbeknownst to him.

  I waited, standing without fear. What will come, will come, but it ends now. It must, either way. My powers were far too extended, weakened; I would not be able to beat this creature if I battled him one on one.

  Alistair was stronger than our last encounter. So too, was I, to even the scales, but there was no way my gods could have known he was gifted with stronger powers for murdering my daughter. They would not have allowed me to do battle with him if they had known.

  I was not a witch that time could afford to lose, at any cost. The viper had hidden his gift well. I, being the last of my mother’s line, was the strongest; if I were to fall, my sisters, as well as my daughters, would perish. What a tremendous blow to the solar gods this would prove to be.

  What on earth was I to do? I needed my dear ones cloaked and I needed my sight. I must face my life or demise with unveiled eyes, I could forfeit neither. I could see my poor Randar was about to expire in his grief. My little witch daughter’s soul cuddled into her father’s embrace, already mourning the loss of a mother she would now have lost twice. All seemed lost.

  I had one chance only. Perhaps my gods had not forsaken me. I called forth the powers that were mine, bestowed upon me as my right of birth.

  I was a timeless witch, as my mother had been, as her mother had been and so on. I had been to our beginning; I had been to our end. And I will tell you, as one end meets the beginning, time never stops, it is a continuous circle of life. Either on this planet, or another, either on this plane of existence, or another, or on this universe, or another. Some form of life is constantly being played out. I would use this knowledge to try and save my life and the lives of my entire family.

  Alistair was a hairsbreadth away. His serpent’s eyes grew hot with his impending triumph.

  “You are mine.”

  Slowly his head descended to finish me off. Leisurely, his forked tongue licked at my face, tasting my tears, as though lapping at the champagne of victory. His loathsome lips pulled into a heinous grin. He hissed a ghastly noise, right before the moment he was to strike.

  “No, Alistair, you are mine,” I answered calmly.

  Quickly, I leaped round him as he struck viciously. My arms encircled his slimy body from behind as I climbed on his back. I slipped for a brief moment, and then dug my fingernails into his scales while he shrieked, and only then did I turn, and offering a sly wink to my beloved Randar, I chanted:

  “A timeless witch is in your wake,

  Fly me fast to the route I must take,

  Travel me to times of flight,

  Where beasts of prey wield great height!”

  Granted it wasn’t my best, but I was, after all, a little busy to be bothering with a well thought out rhyme.

  We began spinning, whirling amidst the ages, back, back, farther and farther.

  “Noooo,” howled Alistair. He struggled wildly, but I refused to let him loose. Back we went, back before Alistair’s time, as everyone knows good has been around longer than evil.

  Both of us were suddenly jerked violently to a halt. We tumbled to the ground, he and I. My breath expelled in a loud audible whoosh, as the air was knocked rudely from my lungs. We both jumped to our feet to face one another and his serpent’s head thrashed this way and that, taking in our strange surroundings.

  The hairs on the back of my neck rose. I wondered where we were for a brief moment, until it became clear. I had never once traveled to this time; I had never been needed here. The dense foliage surrounding us was a deep hunter green, quiet, mystical and picturesque. The air was sweet, devoid of any contaminants. Plants were high, long and lush. I had never seen anything so eerily magnificent.

  Alistair and I regarded one another.

  “Where have you taken me, witch?” he hissed.

  I felt a slow smile curve my lips. “Why, Alistair, you are in a place where your kind will be most welcome...for dinner.” I chuckled delightedly.

  A dark shape slowly passed overhead amidst the skies, circling cautiously, gliding easily on a current breeze. I could detect a curious odor. Alistair took a sharp breath as the pterodactyl spotted us and dipped lower for a better look. The wingspan was massive. The guttural sound it emitted sent a cold chill down my spine. I had truly never encountered anything quite so incredibly majestic.

  “Perhaps I will die, but I can feel your powers are depleted. You have but one mere spell left. If you use it on me to summon the bird, you will never get home in time to save the life within you. You are running out of time, witch. How entertainingly ironic. The timeless witch has not much time at all.

  “Even if this beast gets me, how will you wrestle my head and heart from its talons? Your puny little human form hasn’t the strength. I will be reborn a
nd live again to search out your brat as it grows within another, while you remain trapped here. What a delightful thought. While I wait for my rebirth, images of you running from raptors and a tyrannosaurus will entertain me.”

  He was right, damn the cocky bastard. My life may yet be forfeit. I would need to rely on any of my returning powers to keep me alive in this place, or I must seek my demise immediately to find a new host and save my child.

  That could take a bit of time, as no humans had yet to be born in this era. Once a new host was found I would need to wait and rebuild my powers before I could find her. It would be a race between Alistair and me. As he said, he could sense her, too. Damn the evil prick.

  The moon shone higher above me as my thoughts raced. The irony was to die again on All Hallows’ Eve, the day of my birth, the day of my rebirths. I remembered the Grim Reaper and his warning grin. The hideous child, what could it mean?

  I had hoped to appease the Keeper of Halloween with my incantation for forgiveness, to offer contrition. I had hoped to atone for my sin of battle on this most sacred day. My eyes widened with my thought. Had Alistair asked for such forgiveness?

  Alistair moved to strike, while I furiously pondered my dark dilemma. I jumped, but it was too late; his great teeth sank into my thigh and I screamed in agony. I struggled wildly, sobbing in pain, wondering if this was how my child had felt. I beat helplessly at his scaly head.

  I could hear the laughter bubble up from Alistair’s throat as he squeezed tighter, trying to snap my leg in half. The agony was unbearable. I whimpered shamefully, but I knew better than to plead for my life. He was not about to grant me a merciful end.

  On a whirlwind of flurry, the massive pterodactyl struck. I had not needed a spell to summon the beast after all. Our movements, our thrashing must have attracted the predator.

  Alistair made a noise deep within the back of his throat as the beast tried to tear the snake’s body from my flesh. Alistair’s teeth held strong, refusing to set me loose, wanting us to die together.