CONTENT WARNING: A bit of bad language, kidnapping, violence, threat.
Things are going to get more violent and dark from here on out, so this is your warning.
Róisín
When Valravn and I arrived, we arrived to the din of yelling and the glow of torches and the blinding glint of torchlight upon their swords. Why are they here now? He's been gone for over two months.
The witchfinders chanted and protested for the whereabouts of Owen Annorin, demanding that he be brought to justice for what he did to Eduardo Volpe and calling him cowardly for hiding in his mansion whilst them, the 'normal' people, died in the streets. No 'normal' person would be doing as they were doing, marching through the streets bringing death to the men and women of Finchwick and beyond.
No - of course they would be doing as they were doing. Of course the working people would. Of course women would. I question why certain people would ever take up the sword the way the witchfinders often did. Whether they were given no choice by circumstance or whether they proudly fought against witches, of course they would. Everyone in this country is as equally capable of cruelty as the other, and the only differences between them are in their justifications.
It is easy to forget in all this conflict that cruelty sometimes looks and feels more like you than you would like to believe.
Valravn demanded that I run to safety - she told me not to go into the mansion in case the witchfinders got in. Her shrill screeches drown out the screaming protesters, and her enormous wings beat hard enough to knock half the enormous crowd to their feet. The thud of her pawpads sends violet ripples through the pondwater. I hid behind the bushes and snuck out away from the lights... only to think they were all distracted.
A sinking stone of pure horror slips from my throat into my stomach when he moves into the light. The man I healed - he was one of them. The man who acted as if he cared for the plight of witches. The man who benefitted from us and slaughtered us in equal measure.
Of course he would.
"Don't utter a word. No-one will hear you through all that noise anyway. One utterance and I'll slit your throat so you never speak again."
The bounciness from his tone of voice is gone. His tone is dreary and empty, devoid of any of his previous feigned compassion.
The surprise alone silences me completely. His pointing a sword at me means nothing, but the way he managed to deceive me the way he did...why does it feel this way every time a man deceives you? I am both always and never surprised in a way that is difficult to explain.
"Owen left months ago. Why are you here now?"
He laughs in his throat. "Come with me, Esther - and don't even think about running off on me."
* * *
With his sword held out towards my back, James walks me through the darkness to where I can only assume is some kind of hideout not terribly far from the mansion. When I realise where this place is, I want to kill him where he stands.
It's Kat and Ellie's old cabin. It was burned down once before, and now once again, it no longer belongs to her. When I enter, James throws me to the floorboards as two other men tie me to a chair in the middle of the room. I don't struggle too much against the ropes; they dig into my skin. I try to focus on my breathing and think of Lunvin. She would not want me to show fear. A wolf does not submit to a sheep. The clouds are thick across the skies tonight...
"This place doesn't belong to you!"
"I don't think the original owner is here to tell us otherwise, is she?"
I can still hear the vague sound of the protesting witchfinders from here.
"Let's start with a proper introduction," he says, in a slimy voice. "What is your name?"
"You know my name!"
He clears his throat. "Let's start over, then. I am not Charles. I am James. I gave you a false name."
For now, I play his game. I don't have much other choice. "Róisín."
"That's much prettier than Esther. Innisgreen, I assume?"
I don't reply to that.
"So why am I on trial when you already know I have magic?"
James cackles in his throat. "Trials? We don't bother with trials anymore. You're here because your powers fascinate me. Would you tell me more about them?"
"Absolutely not."
He grits his teeth, and looks back to his men. As much as I want to ask him about Maddie, there's no real point. I at least know now that, if it was Maddie who attacked him, she had good reason to - she hadn't gone after an innocent person like I'd assumed.
James places a boot on the edge of my chair and places the tip of his blade against my dress. I feel myself shiver, and force myself not to react to him. I refuse to fulfill his sick power fantasies.
"I'll ask again - can you tell me more about your powers?"
If only I had the wolf - I could tear out of these ropes and shred him to pieces. I can't tell him that my magic is reliant on the moon being out. If he sees that I'm of no consistent use, I'll be killed.
"It's healing magic. I get it from the Moon."
He removes his boot from my chair and his sword from my leg.
"In all my years of killing people like you, I've never met anyone who can heal others the way you can. How rare is this ability?"
"Very. Most of us are dead. Hazard a guess as to why."
"Less of the acid tongue, madam, or I'll cut it out."
"You're wasted working for the Annorins." He lets out a deep sigh. "You know how much they charge for surgeries, don't you? What Lydia spent years studying, you can do in seconds. With your power, we wouldn't have to fork out the little money we have on her. I've seen you helping those people outside of the Peteran monastery. I know you've got a lot of empathy in you."
"If you stopped murdering people in the streets, people wouldn't attack you. It's hardly anyone else's fault."
"I know that all you want to do is help people with your magic, and I think that's very noble of you. Most of your ilk do nothing but cause destruction. I know you probably think we're all some kind of special evil, but most people are in this out of necessity. Factories stole their jobs and this is all they have. It's every man for himself, Róisín - you know this."
"I do. That's why we have to get violent with our magic - out of necessity! Because of you!"
He slaps me across the cheek, leaving a painful sting across my face.
"I'm sorry - but that's what happens when you don't listen and keep talking back to me like that, okay? Be polite and I'll return the favour."
Every passing minute feels more and more hopeless. I keep imagnining how I'd prefer to die. Would I prefer to be burned, hung, or drowned?
"Can I ask a question?"
"See? Being polite is easy. Of course."
I take in a deep breath. "You say that you are all in it because of necessity because there's no other work available. Volpe is dead. No-one is paying you anymore."
James raises both eyebrows and nods back at his men, who seem oddly startled.
"My grandfather on my mother's side. He turned his back on his own people to save his own skin. I'm not going to repeat after him. I won't work for you. You can do whatever you like to me. I won't do it."
James throws his sword to the floor like a toddler, and turns to me with a monstrous expression. I don't say any of this without a burning fear rising inside of me, but I can't repeat Brádach's mistake. If I heal the witchfinders to save my own skin, they can and will go after everyone I care about.
"James...Her magic could be useful. At least give her a day to think this through."
I stifle a gasp. The man on the left is the one who speaks. I won't pretend I understand where it is witchfinders seem to draw a line at 'too much', but in this situation, I suppose I have to appreciate it to some extent.
"Give her until tomorrow," he says, with a peculiar sense of urgency. "Give her until tomorrow night to change her mind."
"Fine. One night. One more night! Damn you and your bleeding heart, Jowan! Don't let her out of your sight! And if she screams for help, you know what to do."
James storms out of the cabin, almost slamming the door behind him before realising he ought to not attract attention. Kat's cabin is fairly out-of-the-way. I don't know if anyone will find me here, and I dread to think what will happen when James returns.
The room is silent enough that I can hear the wind outside, and I can once again hear the chanting.
"May I speak?"
The man on the left nods.
"Why did you delay him like that?"
Jowan crosses his arms and his brown eyes glow in the candlelight.
"Your magic is useful. You should think about helping us. No good dying for a cause, especially not at your age. They won't celebrate you; they'll forget you. They'll be glad it was you and not them. You know no-one will remember you in fifty years, don't you? You'll just be yet another gravestone."
"And if you kill me, so will you."
Daniel
"...and if we find him, I swear to the Watcher that I'll chop his bollocks off with my sword and shove them down his throat!"
"Are you finished? Wait- what do you mean your sword? I thought you handed it in to Mother Clementia?"
"Eh. I had a change of heart. A dead witchfinder didn't need it, so I took it. Me without a sword is like you without a fishing rod, if you think about it."
After some discussion, we decided that visiting Mother Clementia is the best course of action. I'd wondered if I was being paranoid, or if I didn't have enough information to be concerned, but I trusted Maddie's judgment. It was better to share concerns of the safety of a girl who turned out to be fine, than it was to assume she was okay and she be in danger.
I don't want to worry Eli over this, not when we don't have any outright proof. Róisín's mother and father are in Glimmerbrook, and the people there aren't going to trust nor welcome a complete stranger with no familial ties to their people, nor ties to two ex-witchfinders. Mother Clementia had a close enough tie to Róisín to listen, and was level-headed enough that she wouldn't panic about it.
It makes me sick just thinking about it - that witchfinders would benefit from the one thing they seek to wipe out. The way that Róisín's compassion for the patient convinced her that he was genuine and of no harm to her - then again, even if he was, what choice would she have? Josiah doesn't get to choose who gets treatment and who doesn't. He's a stronger person than me. It's all such a mess. Whether it's Edwin or Róisín or anyone else, no-one their age should be caught up in all this mess.
The doors swing open, and we catch Mother Clementia not delivering a sermon, but practicing with her sword, with no-one else in the room with her. Where are all the regular Peterans?
Clem raises an eyebrow at me in curiosity, and one at Maddie in distrust.
"Don't smile too hard, Mother Clementia. Your lips might fall off."
"Don't mind her, Mother Clementia. We have some concerns about your niece-"
"To put a longer story short, she's just revealed her magic to the nastiest piece of work in Henford - a witchfinder by the name of James Tanner. Forties. Moustache. Blond fellow. Purple jacket. Glasses. Single, to the surprise of nobody. She healed his wounds at the mansion working for Lydia and he pretended he cared for the plight of witches."
Maddie's explanation leaves Mother Clementia giving her the most doubtful look I've seen on any human being.
"And how would you know this?"
"Because I was the one who wounded him that way. I thought I'd left the bastard for dead."
"I thought you gave me your sword?"
"Oh, come on!" she whines. "Look, lady, sorry I'm not your shining star of redemption but I'm trying to warn you that your niece might possibly be in danger. You know - the girl that saved your life? The least you could do is return the favour to some extent."
Mother Clementia's eyes turn to me and she gives me a quick nod.
"I believe Maddie is telling the truth," I tell her. "She has no reason to side with the witchfinders at this point. And if someone is so bad that even Maddie thinks they're dangerous, then that's cause for concern. We figured we'd come to you first, since her parents are in Glimmerbrook."
"Her father is here in Finchwick. He lives with me, but believe me when I say he's in no mood to discuss anything like this, not in his current state. That's why I'm here and not there. Her grandfather isn't any better in that regard. Trust me - make sure they hear nothing of this just yet."
Eli didn't speak often of Róisín's magic, but he did mention it giving her terrible outbursts on full moon days. I remember that Reynold had helped Eli manage and validate his own emotions, probably due to his own issues with intense feelings. If her father reacts to this news in an irrational or angry way, it could cause far too many problems. Not only that, but now we also have to try and see if we can find any useful information before the wolves start prowling tonight...They scare the life out of me with their huge claws and piercing eyes.
"I can't leave the monastery unattended," she says. "The Jacobans have been finding any excuse to try and come for this place, and I can't endanger the witch refugees like that nor the regular Peterans. I'll fight off as many of them as I have to, but I can't leave them for dead. If you genuinely believe she is in danger, I will try and spread the word about this witchfinder. My numbers dwindle lately, but the Peteran regulars will be here soon enough and they'll help me spread the word.
I ask that you please keep an eye out for her. The last time I saw her was a few days to a week ago, when she visited my home."
Maddie tries to relax herself before she speaks to Mother Clementia.
"Don't worry, Clemen - I mean - Mother. Mother Clementine."
"Clementia-"
"We'll keep an eye out for the girl and for James. If I see the girl I'll let you know. If I see James, I'll use his entrails as Winterfest decorations."
* * *
Maddie gives an awkward look to the Jacoban cathedral as she walks past it.
"...And once I'm done hanging them up in the drawing room, I'm going to use his skin as a rug and his bones for...Hmm, what should I use his bones for? I suppose they would make a fun decoration for the garden and-"
"Sweet Watcher's arsehole! Is that a gryphon?!"
Sometimes, I see shadows and I hear calls and screeches - but I've never seen it clearly. It's massive!
"I bet we could feed the whole of Henford off of that thing. I wonder what gryphon chicken would taste like-"
It calls out in our direction, and Maddie freezes.
"That's enough heroism for one day. I'm going home-"
"Don't you dare. Come on. Let's just be calm and relaxed and non-threatening."
Maddie and I gently walk forwards, keeping ourselves firm yet calm, as to not alert the gryphon -
It charges at us, screaming and rearing up on its back paws. It's practically the height of our house! It spreads its wings wide, and its claws are as big as my hands!
There's a burning sensation in my mind all of a sudden, and a loud, low woman's voice.
What are you doing here?!
"Dan! Can you hear that too?"
"Loud and clear..."
"Listen, lady...Lady? Maybe? We're not here to do anything bad. We're here because Dan is concerned for the welfare of someone who works here. Maybe don't eat us? Please? Why don't you eat that rabbit over there?"
"Go on, griffy-griffy! Go and eat that tasty little bunny! Go on!"
The gryphon charges forward a little and spreads her wings.
Do I look like a common spaniel to you? Don't talk to me like I'm some witless mutt. I'm smarter than the two of you put together.
Her voice gives me a blinding headache. I try to steady my breathing so she doesn't mistake my panicking for aggression.
"Look, Miss - Róisín knows me because I'm her uncle's partner. If you need to verify anything, Josiah is my brother. Call him out."
There's a pause as she looks away from me and towards the door, and after a few minutes, Josiah appears. He looks exhausted and dishevelled. He calls my name in excitement and runs up to me to hug me.
"Brother, I miss you so much. I never thought I'd say it. I miss you and Father so, so much. All of this, it's...it's exhausting beyond words. Valravn, please don't hurt him."
'Valravn' sits and watches, giving me evil eyes.
What do you want with Róisín? She's not here.
"She's not here? What do you mean she's not here?!"
A mob of protesters were outside here last night, wanting to know my master Owen's whereabouts. They had weapons and torches. I had to fend them off. Róisín was flying with me at the time, so I told her to run - she wouldn't have been safe in the mansion with them around. She has not yet returned, and I am worried to leave this place in case the protesters return. There isn't much daylight left. I left for a few hours the day prior and something terrible happened- I cannot take the same risk.
"The children were terrified and so were the patients. Lydia is tending to some of the witchfinders that got injured that night."
"I found out through her aunt that she isn't staying with her father."
"Josiah, the issue is that one of the men she treated was a witchfinder who lied about Maddie attacking him for no reason. A witchfinder knows she has rare healing magic and she hasn't returned here or to her father's house."
Josiah doesn't say anything for a moment, and just looks back to Valravn. He's probably had to save the lives of plenty of witchfinders.
"I wish I knew more, Dan, but I don't. Lydia and I are both incredibly busy. All I know is that Lydia never should have caved into desperation the way she did, but of course, I can't say that to her. The last place to try would probably be Glimmerbrook. She could have gone back there."
* * *
"I'm not going to Glimmerbrook, Maddie. I don't have enough connection to anyone there for them to trust me, and people have even less of a reason to trust you there."
"Someone here must know something. Isn't there a witchfinder-killing vampiress around here somewhere? She's probably out most nights. We could find her and ask her. I think the only option we currently have is spreading the word and asking around."
I'm praying that I'm wrong about all this, but everything is currently adding up a little too well in the worst way. She isn't with her father, or at the mansion, or with Mother Clementia. If she were with Eli, I know he would have come to me panicking about it.
We walk past Katlego's cabin, once again empty. I feel terribly for her, having to flee twice. I saw the rumours in the newspaper about a man claiming that her magic convinced him to take his own life. It seems absurd and impossible to do that even with magic, but those against the witches will believe anything.
I wonder what happened with her. Wherever she is, I just hope she is safe. I hope that people are doing for her what she does for everyone else.