I didn't know what to expect as I walked into the town hall, but it wasn't this. I, like everyone else, had been hearing rumors, but none of us, I didn't think, really believed them.
But as Mayor Ewan said the words, the room fell silent.
"Great evil is brewing here in Kilven, I don't mean to sound melodramatic but I believe this is important," he paused and I looked around at the many familiar faces.
Our town is small and everyone knows each other, I gazed at Mory Gardener, our local nurse, her usually cheerful expression had turned to a frown and as she turned to face me I could see she had turned pale.
Mayor Ewan continued "There has been a suspected use of Witchcraft, devil worshipping." I couldn't help feeling skeptical. Witches. Did they even exist? And devil worshipping in our town, Kilven, Ireland. Most, if not all the villagers go to Church and I couldn't believe anyone would bring harm to their home. But, if this was true they must be stopped, I'd grown up in Kilven and I wasn't about to see it ruined. Our mayor searched through the crowd as if weighing who had been involved in these 'evil' rites.
Finally he spoke "Strange rituals have been reported," his eyes flicked to Sam Lucas, a boy of about thirteen, " for those who are involved, please stop, if you do not, action will be taken." The whole hall waited to see what more would be said, but Mayor Ewan just stared, finally he stepped off his box and walked down the aisle and through the door. The whole town just sat there, some tense others bemused, and I was in between. As I rode home on my horse that night I felt a little frightened, as if a witch or the devil himself would jump out at me, if it's true, I thought, then I'll help to stop the madness.
I woke early that morning and got ready for Church. I stepped out of the house and the morning chill hit me, it was autumn and the leaves where just beginning to fall, the day was so beautiful, that I completely forgot about last night's speech, it didn't suit our village.
Our town's Church is big and classic, with colorful stained glass windows, but as I walked in, it felt a little gloomy, it's so dark. I sat in a pew and looked around, everyone seemed a little restless. There were also a lot more people there than usual. Suddenly last night's event came back to me and I began to feel uneasy. I couldn't help scanning the pews searching for who could be a witch, I ordered myself to stop. Who was I to judge good people from bad? That was God's job. We all stood as the organ began to play and Father Greyan walked in. The ceremony went as it usually did, we all stood, sang and sat at the appropriate times except for a few that were a little slow or confused. At the end Mayor Ewan came to the front and began to speak. "Those of you who are over sixteen, male and wish to help with our current issues, please stay behind. Thank you." We all knew what he meant by current issues, after he spoke, the Church was filled with conversation. I sat there pondering whether to stay or not, if I didn't like what I heard I could always leave.
Pew after pew began to leave and in the end only seven people remained, including myself. Kilven was my home and I tried to help when I could, this was one of those times. I was surprised to see so few people remaining, I thought more would care, I suppose I was wrong, or maybe some didn't think there were witches, maybe most of the men were witches. I shoved that thought out of my mind. How could I accuse my fellow villagers, and are there such thing as male witches? Mayor Ewan came to stand in front of us, at his side was a middle-aged man I didn't recognize. He seemed wealthy.
Mayor Ewan began speaking "Thank you all for staying. As you should have heard, we suspect that some of our fellow villagers are practicing Witchcraft. Witches are the devil's slaves and they perform many evil rites. As most of you are probably wondering, this is Marcus Coaler, an expert Finder." Aware of our confused looks, Marcus stepped in and began talking "I am a witch finder. I watch those suspected of Witchcraft and see if they are guilty or not. If they are, I capture them and bring them to the village's Church to be judge." Lewis Gravite, one of the men who choose to stay behind, raised his hand to speak "Why do these Witches hold such a threat?" Marcus answered, "Firstly they worship the devil who is opposed to our religion, we can't have pagans running loose. Secondly, they have super-natural powers, they can control minds and do much worse." All seven of the men who stayed behind considered this, our families and friends were in danger and only those who were willing to help could save them. Finally Arthur Thom spoke "But, if we are to help, how do we work? Our families will surely starve without our income?" This time Mayor Ewan replied "The possessions and property of those witches who you find are made yours." As we thought this over, I realized that must be why Marcus Coaler was so wealthy, he had probably found many witches. "We do not wish to pressure you, but we need as much help as we can get. Those of you who wish to stay please come to the hall at dawn tomorrow and try to find more help. Time is running low." This was Mayor Ewan speaking, he shot a glance towards Marcus and they left. We sat there thinking. It seemed wrong to accuse people of being witches. But if I didn't help protect my town who would?
As I walked into the town hall, I could see everyone was just as nervous as I was, I could also see ten people instead of seven. As I sat down Marcus Coaler and Mayor Ewan walked in. "Welcome and thank you for coming." Mayor Ewan said, then Marcus took over "As you are aware we are now the witch finders for this town. So now I would like to tell you the basics. Each of you must watch a villager. Even If that villager is your own family, you may not want to believe it but even your own wife could be a slave of the devil. If you think you have found a witch, show your evidence to Mayor Ewan, Father Greyan and I; we shall make judgement. Meetings will be held every Saturday morning at dawn."
I raised my hand "What happens to those who have been accused?"
"They are burnt at the stake." Mayor Ewan's words hung in the air as we all absorbed this information. If we found witches they would die, we would be like murderers. But witches are evil, so its not even wrong, is it?
"How do we tell who is a witch?" Asked Gary Hillen "They are usually women, they don't attend Church, their homes are often different and they are too. But just use your intuition." Intuition! How could we trust intuition? We were risking peoples lives and they were asking us to guess who we thought worthy of living. But our town was in danger and I needed the money. The money, how could I think that? "Please begin your hunting. Thank you and good luck." We all left the hall and began walking home. "Ciaren!" I turned to see Luke Murphes running towards me. Luke was a good friend of mine. He caught up to me, "So who do you think is a witch?" "I'm not sure." I replied,
"Okay, what do you think about Mory Gardener?" I thought about this, Mory was a little strange, her home was full of unusual objects. Her ceiling was covered with hanging herbs. Her shelves were decorated with bottles and strange ornaments. But she was our nurse, wasn't that normal? Mory was kind, she had nursed my niece back to health when she was sick, for free. How could she be evil? But if she could heal people than did she have supernatural powers? "Ciaren?" said Luke, disturbing my thoughts
"What?"
"I asked you if I should watch her?"
"Oh, well, I'm not sure, she seems so nice."
"Just because she seems nice, doesn't mean she is. Witches have to hide what they are."
"Well, you do what you think, I'd watch her if I were you. Bye."
I walked off after that, I couldn't believe I was accusing these people I had grown up with, but now that was my job.
It was finally Saturday and I still hadn't managed to find anyone who I thought was a witch. I stepped into the town hall and took a seat. Marcus, Mayor Ewan and Father Greyan walked up to the stage. "Congratulations Luke, you have found our first witch, Mory Gardener. After her execution you may collect her property." I looked at Luke, he had a grin on his face. A grin, how could someone be happy about causing the death of another? But I knew this was coming, all the signs were there that Mory was a witch, I just didn't want to believe it.
"All of you must come to Mory's execution, just for the experience." After Father Greyan finished speaking, Marcus Coaler spoke up,
" Most of you have a suspected witch to watch, by now you should," his eyes flicked to me "but for those who don't I have assigned someone for you. Lewis Gravite you are to watch Lee Grate" I searched my mind for her, she was a quiet old women, always wearing black, as if she were mourning, but then again black is the colour of evil. " And Ciaren Merick, you are to watch Martha Sillow." Martha Sillow worked in her husband's bakery shop, I didn't really know her, but she didn't have many friends, she had only moved here last autumn.
After our meeting, I walked over to Martha Sillow's house. I tapped on the door and a little girl of about six opened it. She just stared at me, " Excuse me, is Martha home?" I asked innocently, "Ma!" the little girl screamed running off. Ma? I had no idea that Martha was a mother, would I still accuse her if she were a witch, I would have to, if I didn't, something, I'm sure, would happen to me. A tall women came to the door, "Hello," she thought a moment, "Ciaren, how may I help you?"
"Yes, hello Martha, I need to ask you some questions." She looked puzzled but stepped aside so I could walk in. I gazed at her home, it was dusty and dimly lit. There was a small table covered with a cloth and it had two statues on it, one of beautiful women and one of a man, he was half beast. Half beast, Satan was depicted as that. Martha must have seen my startled expression, because she stepped in front of my view. "Would you like some tea?" she asked, "Yes, thank you, that would be good." She walked into a small room, and I turned back to the table, there was a stone, feather, candle and a bowl of water spread evenly over the cloth. It's an altar I thought an altar dedicated to Satan. She came back in with two mugs and led me to a lopsided couch.
"Please take a seat" Martha must have seen me eye the couch, because she blushed.
"Those statues are interesting, who are they of?" I waited patiently. She looked uncomfortable, but then answered.
"They were my Ma's she was of the old religion." I couldn't tell if she was lying or not, but if her mother was witch, wouldn't she be one too. I thought of Martha's daughter, maybe if Martha was burnt now she couldn't pass on the knowledge of Witchcraft to her daughter, then not only would I be saving some helpless human who would be Martha's next victim, I was saving her daughter. I tried to believe this, but I couldn't, not really. I suppose it was semi- true but I was going to murder someone's wife, mother, and daughter.
After my interview, I hunted down Marcus Coaler and reluctantly told him about my 'chat' with Martha Sillow. "Hmmm, I'll have to report this to Mayor Ewan and Father Greyan, you've done well Ciaren." Then why do I feel so terrible, I replied silently.
I sat down in a pew near the front. I looked up as Father Greyan walked onto the stage. " Before we begin I have an announcement, this Thursday there will be an execution," at this word everyone became still and looked up. "It will start at sunset." He didn't mention who would be executed, but I already knew, it would be the burning of Mory Gardener and Martha Sillow.
I didn't want to, but I had to. I had to attend the execution. I was surprised to see how many people showed up to watch the death of two women.
I walked to the back of the crowd and stared ahead, in front of me was a stage with two wooden pillars, they were surrounded with straw. To the side sat Marcus Coaler, Mayor Ewan and Father Greyan. Marcus stepped up to the box.
"We are here this evening to bring justice to those who have been wronged, we are here this evening to witness the burning of Martha Sillow and Mory Gardener, who have been trialed as witches." Two men bought the accused to the stage and tied them to the pillars. I looked at Martha and Mory's faces. Both had tear streaks on their faces and both looked innocent. Oil was poured on the straw and two matches were lit.
Father Greyan stood up as the straw was lit and yelled "May God have mercy on you." I stared at the flames, which licked at Mory and Martha; a scream disturbed my thoughts and I looked over to see a girl who looked familiar, it was Martha's daughter, she was being cradled by a man who was crying, Martha's husband. I looked back at the fire to see Mory and Martha coughing, cringing and crying. Suddenly, involuntarily I began to run, once I had run far enough, where it was dark and you couldn't hear, smell or see the flames, I sunk to the ground. My face was damp with tears and I began to sob, how did I get myself into this mess? But once again the thought that I was doing more good than bad came into my head, and I believed it, I believed I was ridding the world of evil.
I looked up to see someone standing over me. She was my age, maybe 19, with thick black hair, it was hard to see but her eyes were a greenish gray, her skin was pale and she was tall and slim, not fragile and nimble, but strong. I didn't recognize her. I put my head on my knees, embarrassed that this stranger had seen me cry. She sat down in front of me.
"Why don't you stop?" she asked.
I looked up, confused "Stop what?" I replied slowly.
"Stop this madness," she looked at me awkwardly, then continued "stop accusing innocent people and then causing their deaths." Another tear streamed down my cheek, I didn't want to think about it but I had caused Martha Sillow's death, I was a murderer, but I had done it for the greater good, anyway I wasn't the one who passed judgment on her. I stayed silent.
"It's obvious you don't enjoy doing it."
Why couldn't she be quiet, this time I replied. " Enjoy doing it? Of course I don't enjoy doing it. Is that why you think I accused Martha, well you're wrong. Those people, if you can call them that, are evil. They worship the devil, they have super natural powers. I accused Martha Sillow of being a witch, because if we don't get rid of them, no one will, they'll just be running loose, casting spells on unsuspected innocents." It sounded so dramatic but it was true.
"And you actually believe that?"
"Yes." I replied softly. I waited for her reply, but didn't get one. We just sat there staring at each other. Finally she spoke. "What's your name?"
"You know I'm a witch finder, yet you don't know my name?"
"Rumors travel fast, and you still haven't answered my question."
"Ciaren Merick."
She stood and began to walk off. I got up and yelled out "What's your name?" But she just turned and grinned. I stood there dumbfounded, I then realized it was freezing and began the long walk home, the whole time wondering who she was.
I woke to the sound of knocking and hastily got dressed to answer the door. When I finally did Marcus Coaler was standing in front of me.
"Good morning Ciaren, I assume you know why I'm here."
I thought for a moment, then replied "Hello. No, why are you here?"
He gave me look. "We have business to attend to. It's your right as a witch finder to collect the items you want from the witch's home."
Oh. "Are we going now?" I didn't want any of Martha's items but I knew that Marcus wouldn't take no for an answer. Martha, everything came back to her, I hadn't really thought about her much and now I began feeling guilty again.
"Yes, right now."
I stepped outside and we begun walking to Martha's old house. Marcus knocked on the door four times before Martha's husband, Stuart Sillow, a man in his mid-thirties, answered it. He looked extremely strong, and was intimidating, but he was known as a gentle and kind man. A man who would not marry a witch. He gave us a look and his eyes became clouded with sadness.
"What do you want?" He asked.
"Ciaren being the man who found your wife, has the right to take any items if he wants." Marcus replied matter-of-factly.
Stuart stared at me with open dislike, then looked at Marcus, "Haven't you done enough?"
This time I spoke. "I didn't want to accuse Martha, but she was a witch and it's better safe than sorry. And I don't wish to take anything from you." Marcus shot me a look saying be quiet.
"If you don't want anything, why are you here?"
"Because Ciaren needs to check if he wants anything. Now please step aside." Marcus waited patiently. Finally Stuart let us in. I looked around the house and it was just as I had remembered, but with an air of gloom. My eyes took in the lopsided couch where I had talked to Martha and the strange altar, which had made it obvious what she was. I turned to face a dining table, sitting there were two people. I could see that one of them was Martha's daughter, the other person looked familiar but I couldn't tell who it was, suddenly she turned around to face me and I realized it was the girl who had confronted me last night, when I had run from the execution. She gave me a strange look then turned back to Stuart's daughter. I was wondering why she was there, when Marcus interrupted me.
"Do you wish to take anything?"
I scanned the room, to show I was thinking about it, then replied "No, there's nothing which interests me."
"Well then, I have the right to take something."
I stared at him in disbelief. "But, that's unfai…" Marcus gave me a superior look and then began speaking.
"I wish to take those evil statues." He pointed to the statues of the women and Satan.
"But those were Martha's ma's." Stuart replied.
"And that should change anything, because?" I couldn't believe Marcus was being so cruel, how could he say that? Couldn't he see this family was unhappy enough as it is? Marcus walked up and took the statues.
"Thank you, and good day." Marcus walked out of the house.
"I'm so terribly sor…" Once again I was interrupted.
"Get out of my house, and don't give me excuses so you'll feel better!" I stared at Stuart; he used to be so kind to me. But I would be grieving too, he just needed to calm down, then he'll realize what I did was for the best. I walked over to the door.
"I really am sorry." With that last comment I ran out of the house and caught up with Marcus. The last thing I saw was the look of anger and mixed sorrow scarring Stuart's face.
I woke up reluctantly and got ready for yet another witch finder meeting. On the way to the town hall I caught up with Luke Murphes. "Hi" I greeted him.
"Oh, hi. Congratulations on finding out Martha, who would have thought?"
"Yeah, whatever." Luke was about to say more but at that moment we arrived at the hall and everyone began cheering and clapping for us. I was appalled. Luke was grinning. We both sat in seats at the front.
Mayor Ewan stood and began talking. "Well done Luke Murphes and Ciaren Merick, you have found our first two witches, and evil ones at that." The mayor sat and Marcus stood up and began speaking.
"Yes, both of you are to be congratulated. There is something I would like to show you, to help you track down the witches. This is what helped Ciaren determine if Martha Sillow was a witch." He bought out two statues the ones of the beautiful women and of the beast-man. Marcus continued, "These are the two main deities the witches worship. As you can see the male one is obviously Satan. You will now be assigned houses and you must check for items which contain the image of this man, we have decided to leave out the women for she is fairly common. Some houses will be left off the list." Why would they leave some people off the list, wasn't everyone equal? Obviously not. This town used to be so perfect, I'm not sure it is anymore.
"Would Ciaren please stay behind, the rest of you must go to Mayor Ewan and collect you house list, then you may go." I looked up at the sound of my name to see Marcus talking, why did I have to stay behind?
I stood and walked over to where Marcus was sitting, I pulled a chair in front of him and sat down.
"You know this town well, don't you?" Marcus asked.
"Yes."
"Who was that girl, the one who was your age, in the Sillow's cottage?"
"I'm not sure I've never really seen her before?" I replied hesitantly.
"What do you mean by never really seen her before?"
I thought about my answer, but didn't know what to say. "I bumped into her once." I said lamely, it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth. I wondered if he could tell.
"I don't trust her." I waited for him to continue. So what if he didn't trust her, he didn't have to. Finally he continued. "I want you to investigate her." I stared at him in disbelief; to me she was just an average girl. But then I thought back to Thursday night, about what she'd said. She was very mysterious, didn't want to give out her name, she also protested about burning witches. I didn't know anyone else who did and if people believed that, they kept it to themselves, and how did she know that I was the one who had accused Martha of being a witch? But what harm could come to just investigating her, if she wasn't a witch than she wouldn't be burnt.
Finally I replied, "Fine. I'll do it."
"I know you will." With that Marcus stood and walked off, and I was left with my thoughts.
For the next half an hour I walked around the village trying to find the 'mysterious' girl. Finally I gave up and walked to a small river called Ven, which runs through our town. I sat under my favourite willow tree and closed my eyes. I wasn't sure how long I had been lying there, but when I opened my eyes the unknown girl was sitting in front of me. Again. She saw my startled expression and started laughing. I gave her a wry smile. Then asked, "Who are you?"
She smothered her laugh then said, "You haven't found out yet? Oh, but you're so good at investigating people."
"That doesn't answer my question." I said impatiently.
"Okay, okay. I'm Mia Baracio and I'm from Winshire, which is the next town over."
I thought about this for a moment. "Why are you here?"
"Because Winshire has been taken over by witch hysteria and everyone is running around, pointing fingers and yelling WITCH! Basically, I've had enough of watching innocent people die." I was surprised by how frank she had been. She continued speaking. "But it seems as though I'll have to continue moving on."
I didn't understand what she meant. "Why?"
"Because already there has been two burnings and everyone knows that those ignorant witch finders are prowling around the place, looking for women to pick on. No offence." I was starting to get annoyed; it was obvious she didn't understand.
"No offence, but you're the one who is ignorant. There are people who praise the devil walking around and only God knows what they're doing, they are evil and dangerous and they have to be stopped. For crying out loud they posses super natural powers!"
"If God knows what there doing why doesn't he stop it, I mean he's so powerful? Oh and nothing can be super natural because nothing can go outside nature. Don't you understand, they're using you to get what they want. Power."
I could hear the anger in her voice and I wondered why. Maybe it was because I was annoying her but there seemed to be a greater reason. I thought about what she said and decided she was right about the super natural comment, but was too embarrassed to admit it. Anyway, I still believed they possessed power.
"Are you saying you don't believe in God?" I had to say something back and I needed to investigate her.
Her expression changed to a solemn one.
"I have no reason to." She said this so quietly I could barely hear her. I suddenly felt guilty for yelling at her, though I don't know why.
"Why?" I asked as neutrally as I could.
"Because I don't." I could tell she wouldn't say anything more on the subject so I changed it.
"Where are you staying?"
"Somewhere" I saw the glint of amusement in her eyes as she saw the annoyed expression on my face.
Unexpectantly my frown became a smile.
"How come you were at the Sillow's house?"
Her face turned serious and I felt a jolt of regret. "I went to say sorry about what happened and to see if they needed some help."
"Oh." Once again I felt terribly guilty.
"Why did you let Marcus Coaler take the statues? It was obvious, to me at least, that you thought it was wrong."
"I let him take them because I couldn't do anything about it." I was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Mia.
"Why do you do what you do?"
"I hate it. But Kilven is my home and I want to save it from evil. I know what Marcus did was wrong, but it was more good than evil."
"Hmm." She replied uneasily.
"Who is your next assignment?" Mia must have seen me hesitate because she gave me a worried look.
"Who is it?" She asked again, but more firmly.
Before I knew what I was saying I replied. "You."
She looked down and I saw a tear fall from her face. She was so young but she seemed to have gone through so much.
"Are you going to accuse me, are you going to murder me, like you did Martha Sillow?" The hate in her voice hurt. I didn't even know her well yet she affected me so strongly.
"Maybe, probably not." I said this because I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but suddenly it felt true.
"Why?"
"I'm not sure."
"Witches, they are just humans with different beliefs. The women statue is of the Goddess; she is anyone they want her to be, even Virgin Mary. The male statue is of the God; he is half beast to show that he is one with nature. The Church took that figure and made it into Satan."
"How do you know all this?"
Mia resitated then answered slowly, "My father helped plan all of this. The executions and all. The Church just wants more followers, more power." I sat there startled. Was it true? I wasn't sure. She continued speaking. "I couldn't believe my father could be so ruthless. They even burnt people who weren't of the old religion. That's why I left, I couldn't stand to be around him or his followers."
"What about your mother?" Mia's eyes went cloudy.
"She was burnt. Trialed as a witch and burnt as one. But she didn't even follow the old religion. She was completely innocent. My father didn't even try to stop it, it was like he himself was possessed by Satan. That's why I don't believe in any God, because if there was one why didn't he save my mother? Why didn't he save all those innocent people who died? Who are dying?"
I sat there convinced. I couldn't believe that I had been a witch finder for more than two weeks and that in one day someone would convince me it's wrong.
I stood up and walked away, tears streaming down my face. I was crying for all of those who had died, all of those who had suffered. Mia caught up and kissed me on the cheek, she then walked off into the darkness. I stood there over whelmed. Witch finders had never seemed right and now I knew why.
I woke up on Thursday morning depressed. Would things ever be okay, would Kilven ever go back to the normal? I didn't know, no one did. I hadn't seen Mia since Saturday and I didn't bother going to Church. What was the point, it was all lies. And I couldn't face the people there. Basically, I had stayed home doing nothing for four days. I got dressed and sat down, hungry. I couldn't afford eating breakfast because I was running low on money. I heard a noise and realized someone was knocking on the door; I couldn't be bothered getting it so I just sat there, waiting for whoever it was to go away. The door creaked open and I heard someone call my name. It was Mia. I got up and walked over to where she was standing.
"I thought you had moved on to the next town." I greeted her.
"Without saying good-bye? Never!" I could tell it was a joke but neither of us laughed.
"Why are you here?"
"There is an execution tonight."
Why was I not surprised? "Who?"
"Kathleen Marker, Leticia Ellis and Daniel Linder." Kathleen was a seamstress and a mother of three. Leticia was just a teenager of about fifteen. But Daniel surprised me he was obviously a man.
"Why Daniel?"
"Because he's wealthy, has a lot of property and has no relatives." Daniel was a successful farmer. If he had no relatives the witch finder who accused him would gain everything he owned.
Mia continued speaking, "I'm going to get them all and take them to a town that is about three days away."
"You can't go it's too dangerous!" She looked at me surprised. I didn't even know I cared about her, but then again I hadn't been doing much thinking.
"I need to, I can't let them die."
"I know. What should I do if they ask about you?"
"Whatever you think is necessary." She gave me a look and left the house. I was so confused, what if she decided she didn't want to come back. I didn't even know why I was having these thoughts. Feeling like doing something I left the house and went for a walk.
I was walking by River Ven when someone called my name. I turned around to see Lewis Gravite.
"Ciaren, I've been looking all over for you."
"What is it?"
"We have a witch finder meeting now, come on." A witch finder meeting? Now was my chance to say I was leaving, but I didn't think that would go down very well. There wasn't much I could do, so I just followed him.
We walked into the town hall and sat at the front. Sitting on the stage was Marcus, Mayor Ewan and a new man. He was strong looking with thick black hair and greenish gray eyes. He looked familiar. Once everyone had arrived, Marcus stepped onto the stage.
"Welcome everyone, sorry for calling you on such short notice but our guest will only be here for a few days. I am pleased to introduce Gareth Baracio."
Gareth Baracio? Baracio, was Mia's last name was this her father? I hoped not.
"Good day everyone. As you know I am Gareth Baracio, I'm from Winshire, which is close to here. I work for the Church and am an expert witch finder. We have some important matters to discuss." Now it was obvious, this was Mia's father. I had no idea what to do. Gareth continued speaking.
"There are many witches in your town of Kilven, but not enough people are aware of them. This is the case all over Europe, not only in Ireland. We have decided that if we change the quote from the Bible, "Thou shall not suffer a poisoner to live." to "thou shall not suffer a witch to live." Then people will become more aware of this evil." Christianity itself was pure; it was its people, or some of them, that were evil. Change the Bible? How could they even think about it? I raised my hand but didn't ask for permission to speak.
"You can't do that."
"Do what?" Asked Gareth confused.
"You can't change the Bible."
"Ciaren, be quiet." Marcus said warningly.
"No, let him speak. Why can't we change the Bible?"
"Because it's wrong. You burn innocent people and call them witches, because they have different beliefs. You call them evil, when really they pose no threat. And now you want to change the Bible, which is pure, so you can gain more followers? But who of the old religion even reads the Bible? You scare people out of their beliefs so they will follow yours, but will they ever really care or understand it? You've gone too far."
I stopped talking, what was I doing? What would they do to me? I looked around the hall, everyone was surprised and still, all watching me. I glanced up to see Gareth furious. I felt like I had just caused my own death. I stomped out of the hall into the fresh air. I didn't want to run off, I didn't want to seem weak and I was anxious to see what would happen. Nothing did. After a while everyone walked out of the hall, they gave me looks; some of disgust, most of respect. Gareth, Marcus and Mayor Ewan didn't come out. I decided to leave, it was nearly sunset and I wanted to see what would happen at the execution.
I walked to where the last execution had taken place and saw the same set up. I walked to the front and waited for more people to come. Once the crowds started forming, Mayor Ewan, Father Greyan, Marcus Coaler and Gareth Baracio took their places on the stage. I looked around and saw some people looking at me strangely. I caught Arthur Thom's eye and he walked over to me.
"I thought it was strange all these happenings. It was a brave thing for you to say. God bless you."
Had he given up witch finding, I wondered. Father Greyan stood up onto the stage and begun speaking.
"We are here this evening to witness the execution of Kathleen Marker, Leticia Ellis and Daniel Linder, all who have been trialed as witches." We waited for the men to bring the victims to the stage. I could feel my heart beating faster. I wondered if Mia and the rest had managed to escape, I hoped so, I couldn't bare the thought of those innocents dying. Finally three men ran onto the stage, all of whom where panting.
"The witches! They escaped!"
"They what?" Marcus asked.
"They escaped."
"How could that happen, they were locked up securely!"
"Maybe they used their powers!" Someone yelled from the crowd.
"It's not like they have any!" As soon as Marcus yelled this you could see the regret on his face. The crowd suddenly went silent. Marcus, Mayor Ewan, Farther Greyan and Gareth walked off the stage and away from the crowd to discuss what they should do. After a while the crowd began to shrink. I decided to go home.
On Friday a village meeting was being held in the town hall. It had been a while since the last one and it was obvious what this one was about.
I walked in and sat in the middle. As soon as I took my seat I regretted it, I was sitting next to Stuart Sillow and his daughter. But Stuart just turned and gave me a half smile. He must have seen my confusion, because he bent to whisper in my ear, "Mia explained everything." I didn't really expect that, but I always thought they had been good friends. Mayor Ewan walked to the stage and stood on his box.
"As you know, three witches escaped last night. They are now on the loose and only God knows where. We know that one of you is the criminal who freed them. If you confess now you will be spared." I looked around the room to see everyone else do what I was doing, waiting, but I knew that the person who had done this wasn't there, thankfully.
Mayor Ewan began speaking again, "We know who committed the crime." I looked up worried, did they know it was Mia, what would they do? Would Gareth let them kill his daughter as they did his wife? "Ciaren Merick, please stand." I stood. Me, what about me? Oh. It all came crashing down, they thought I had freed the 'witches'. "Ciaren Merick you have been judged and accused of freeing harmful witches and of being one yourself. Your execution will take place tomorrow at sunset." My execution? Oh no. I was going to die. I looked around the room, everyone was staring at me. The strange thing was no one looked at me in disgust except, Marcus Coaler, Father Greyan, Mayor Ewan and Gareth Baracio. Two men came and took hold of me, one whispered in my ear, "I'm sorry" the other gave me a smile. I wondered what was going on. They led me out the door and I heard a faint noise, was it clapping? I was pushed into our village's only cell, and the two men stayed to guard.
"Sorry, 'bout tonight." One guard said.
"Yeah, we can't just let you go, then we'd be accused of witchcraft, whatever that is." The other agreed.
I was confused. Why weren't they afraid of me? I sunk to the ground, wondering, what would happen to me. I would miss Kilven so much. I would miss the villagers, and the memories, of when I had a family, of when witchcraft was just a fairy tale. I would miss Mia. I didn't know how I felt about her, all I knew was that I liked her a lot, maybe even loved her. Like most things these days, I didn't understand.
I woke up confused, then I remembered last night's events, and my execution. On the floor in front of me was some food, it looked like porridge gone wrong, I decided to leave it, I wanted my memory of food to be good. A guard walked over and told me I had a visitor, I was wondering who it was, when Mia walked in.
"I'm so sorry!" She cried.
"It's okay. I got myself into this mess, and at least I'll be remembered when I die." My joke turned out to be very unfunny.
"You'd be remembered any way."
"There's nothing you can do, and you should leave, your father's here."
"I know there's nothing I can do, that's what's wrong." I saw a tear run down her cheek and felt extremely sad. She continued, "My father doesn't even know what I look like, it's been so long since he saw me."
"Did you get the others away safely?" I whispered.
"Yes, I wished you had come, then you wouldn't be here."
"But someone else would be, someone more innocent than I."
The guard walked and told us we had a few minutes.
"I'm going to miss you so much."
"I'll miss you too."
She bent over a kissed me, then she walked out of the cell, her head bent and her cheeks streaked with tears. I felt guilty for making her upset, then I felt guilty for murdering Martha Sillow and I realized I deserved what was going to happen to me.
I woke up to see my cell being opened.
"It's time to go," said the guard, he actually meant it's time to die.
We walked out of the cell and continued walking until we came to the stage. It seemed as though the whole town had shown up. Very comforting, they all had showed up to see me die. I searched the crowd and found Mia, she managed to give me a watery smile. I was tied to the wooden pillar and I suddenly felt scared, I was about to die, I was about to die. I looked over to see Mayor Ewan, Marcus Coaler, Father Greyan and Gareth Baracio looking at me, victory in their eyes. I may be dying now, but there was a chance I was going to heaven, they were definitely going to hell. I smiled at my meanness and decided they deserved it. I looked out into the crowd and saw someone throw something, I heard a yelp and looked over to see that Father Greyan had been hit in the head by an apple. Something else flew through the air and hit Gareth, it was a tomato. Suddenly, pieces of fruits and vegetables started flying through the air. Someone grabbed my arm and cut the rope tying me to the pillar, I turned to see Mia, she grinned at me and I felt relieved.
"Come on, we have to get Marcus and his followers." We ran over to where they were, a couple of people had tied their limbs together, Mia, I and two others grabbed a person each and dragged them to the cell where we locked them up so securely, not even a real witch could escape.
We walked back to the stage where the village was cheering.
"How did you do it?" I asked Mia after everyone had gone home.
"Well, the whole town was appalled by what had been happening, it seemed as though word had got around of your 'chat' with my father. It was you who saved us."
"It was you who saved me."
We arrived at my door; Mia bent over and kissed me on the cheek. "I love you." she whispered
"I love you too." I replied, and once again Mia walked off into the darkness.
I stumbled into my bed and lay down exhausted.
I didn't know what to expect of tomorrow, I don't think anyone did. But I, like everyone else, knew that tomorrow would be better than yesterday and that life would be back to normal, whatever that is.