CONTENT WARNINGS: murder, fire, blood, violence, grief, death, and much talk of it.
James
Within two days, the bounty on my head had become a sizeable one hundred thousand Simoleons... All of this over one measly girl. What made her any more special than every other man or woman who's ever died at the hands of a witchfinder?
I have no doubt my fellow men will happily turn upon me for a sum of money like this. I can't rely on anyone else at this present time - only myself. I can only hope that my altered appearance is enough to fool people for the time being... Even the local papers speak of me and the 'murder of a sixteen-year-old girl.' The people who cheered on the witch-hunts and decried the hunting of young witches confounded me with their bleeding hearts. The only way that we can put an end to the scourge of witchcraft is by eradicating it in its entirety.
Lately, I'd been keeping my eye on a small village not too far from here - a few huts and a barn, and what I could have sworn were the glimmer of spells coming from the shadows there. I decide to make that my next target - out of the way enough that no-one will spot me, and with and luck, none of them will have the kind of magic that Róisín had. There's no-one I can ask for assistance, not whilst this is still fresh in people's minds - but I've spent long enough waiting for the heat to wear off.
If I must do it alone, then I must do it alone.
* * *
"He tried to kill us. Didn't lay a finger on him. A Kryonis spell took him down, then my son Mason recognised him from this poster - that led us to you."
James got too big for his boots and then got frozen solid. It's what he deserves. James finally comes to, glaring in my direction.
"Maddie? What are you doing here? Where am - You! You arranged this, didn't you? You wretched harlot!"
"I suggest you be polite whilst you're here, James, or I'll finish the job this time."
"What is this man wanted for?"
"He killed a sixteen-year-old girl. She healed a near-fatal wound and he responded by burning her at the stake."
"Do you two know who this woman is? She's no less guilty than I am! She's got as much blood on her hands!"
Don't you dare...
I hold my palms out to him. "I don't see any blood on my hands. You've got blood on your hands, though - and on your face..."
"Don't you try to trick your way out of this one, you pest," the red-haired woman says to him. "But why now? Why didn't any of the other witchfinders end up with bounties on their heads? What about all of those other men and women that died to rotten souls like him?"
She had a point. This is the first time to my knowledge that there's ever been such a thing happen. Forget the witch-hunts, this was quite possibly the first proper witchfinder-hunt. I suppose it might be the age of the witch in question; nobody would mourn some wrinkly old crone, would they? Old women are a lost cause to most people. Maybe it was because Róisín was beloved to a number of dangerous and powerful people. Had everyone's favourite billionaire not dropped his Simoleons on the man's head, we may have never found James anyway.
"This young girl...she had a unique power. She was not dangerous or cruel, she was kind and sweet and beloved by many. I understand where you're coming from, but this girl was very special to a lot of people."
"As were many of the other witches that burned at the stake, Maddie," her son says. Do they want their money or not?
"Don't you see? You're falling for her charm, aren't you? Maddie is far from innoc-"
I stomp on him.
"Nobody asked you, did they? Anyway, Miss - This girl, Róisín, she-"
"Róisín?"
The two look horrified, and about to cry. They know her?
"Goodness, this is...this is horrific. I - her mother, Áine, she taught us literacy as well as magic over sixteen years ago. She stayed with us whilst she was pregnant with her daughter. We saw her again some years back at the Peteran monastery. I don't believe I ever met Róisín. Good gracious, Áine must be distraught beyond belief. I'm lucky my Mason is still with me."
So she does know Áine. And if Áine finds out who I truly am, she may kill me without a second thought - and do herself out of an ally to her cause. I almost regret setting this all up, but I have to answer for what I've done the same way James does. Hopefully, I can answer for it in a way that won't cost me my life.
"I too know Áine. Don't worry - as you already know, she's strong. Now, you two are welcome to help me. We need to take James and go and find Áine. His fate is ultimately up to her."
I hadn't considered it before, but I realise the beginning of this revolution may come back to bite all three of us in the backside. After all, we are all complicit in the bloodshed no matter how much we've left our old lives behind. James will no doubt tell Áine who I am - and I cannot lie to her about that. I can feel a chill inside of me just thinking about it, but I must accept whatever comes.
My fate is also ultimately up to her, I suppose.
* * *
Áine
The snowdrift is not helping us with our search in the slightest. Violeta is keeping an eye out from above, but it seems she too has found nothing. Owen is currently with Eli, delivering the terrible news to him in the way only an older brother can.
Daniel has offered to assist me. We've seen a few witchfinders skulking around - whether or not they're after their usual or ready to betray their own for a sizeable sun of Simoleons, Watcher only knows. Daniel seems rather on-edge around me, and I cannot fathom why. Is it because I'm his partner's sister? Daniel is good to Eli; I have no reason to take issue with him.
"I feel like we've covered every corner of the area, Áine. I doubt Violeta has found him or they'd have found us by now. If I'm going to be honest with you, it seems pretty likely that he's skipped town or country at this point-"
"I'm not giving up, Daniel."
We have to find him, no matter what it takes, no matter how far it will take us. I will not give up until the man who killed my daughter is dead by my hand.
An eerie shadow passes by the Moon, and a strange, shrieklike voice calls my name.
Maddie stands towards the front, arms crossed. As I approach the stake, I find myself slowing down. It takes all my mental energy to force myself to keep moving forwards to confront the man in the black coat tied to it. His figure begins to materialise as I move closer.
"Is this true?"
The man looks exactly as Maddie had described him, but different from the painting Violeta created. I doubt Maddie would have been incorrect in her description. Perhaps he tried to disguise himself - and what a poor job he did.
"Answer me!"
The man does not show a sliver of emotion or remorse. His face is specked with blood, as is his coat.
"Yes."
My fists clench. A heat rises in my palms - only this time, I do nothing to quell it. I allow him time to explain himself; I figure a level of closure ought to come before retribution, and my brother's technique comes to mind. Let him think he's won, then destroy him.
"Yes. It was me. When Róisín had healed me from ther wound which would have killed me - you thank your good friend Maddie for that - I realised her abilities would be useful to us. We wouldn't have to keep paying the Annorins' extortionate prices to have our wounds healed. So we staged a false protest outside the Annorin Mansion. When the gryphon attacked us, it of course let Róisín flee- and that's when I grabbed her.
I gave her the choice between life or death, and she chose life. There I was, thinking I'd found the only witch in history capable of keeping peace...until she obliterated both of my colleagues. At that point, she was a danger. Healing magic or not, she had to be dealt with - and so she burned, as many others did - yet for some reason, none of their deaths created such furore as your daughter's."
"Killing me will solve nothing, the same way Volpe's death solved nothing. You can kill as many people as you like, but you can't kill an ideology quite so easily. The more of us you kill, the more you spread the honest truth about your wretched kind and their penchant for violence. You will just keep proving our point over and over until you wipe yourselves out."
He starts chuckling to himself, evolving into deep laughter.
"Strange, isn't it? I bet nobody would have reported a damned thing if the Annorins didn't slap a big old bounty on my head, hm? Would these villagers have cared to bring you to me if it wasn't going to fetch them a tidy sum of money?"
"Of course we would have," Abigail yells. "She and her daughter are dear to us."
"But not quite so dear as one hundred thousand Simoleons, it seems..." His sibilant voice is grating. "Well, let's hope that self-serving invalid keeps to his word, shall we? Which reminds me, my dear - how does it feel to know your daughter's murderer has been more honest with you than your assistant here? I have told you the entire truth, but what about dear Madilyn? What has she told you?"
Maddie's gasp of surprise is audible across the whole forest. She grits her teeth in his direction and eyes him the way a wolf eyes its prey. That reaction...
"I've known James for many years. He's always been skulking around Henford preying upon your people. I only regret that I didn't finish the job, James Tanner. If I had done a better job, then Róisín may still be with-"
"No! This is not your fault, Maddie. This is his fault, and he will pay the same way his victims paid - in a haze of flames."
I have to make peace with the flames if I am to tame them.
It will take hard work and dedication, but I will not let fire take me. I
will not let it do harm to anyone else. I will harness it, and I will
use it against anyone who dares try to do harm to me or any other witch.
The crescendo of his screams fill the air as the flames climb upwards from what is left of the grass beneath him. His entire figure is soon enveloped and obscured by flames.
James was right - what happened to him, it should happen to every witchfinder. From today, no-one will have gotten away with what they've done. Everyone who was murdered by the witchfinders will be avenged by us.
There will be no more mercy for any witchfinder. If they are so intent on branding us as violent, then we shall give them what we want. We shall become what they accuse us of - and then they will see what we are truly capable of - that we no longer care for their accusations. The power is in our hands, figuratively and literally. We will show them true violence - for that is the only way we can truly defeat the witchfinders.
With everyone at my side, they have no chance of stopping us. Witches will no longer be in hiding. They will be fighting alongside me, tooth and claw, fire and ice.
"It will not stop at James," I tell everyone. "No, we must make sure that not a single witchfinder is left in this country. We must get rid of them by any means necessary. If they insist on our terrible violence, then that is what we shall show them."
"The search for James has brought them all out of the woodwork, whether to defend him or to turn on their own," Violeta explains. "They will be everywhere, they will be scattered and distracted. I believe now is the perfect time to begin. You from the land, and myself from the sky. What do you say, Áine? Maddie?"
What James said about Maddie weighs on me somewhat. Her reaction...It seemed as if it was something she did not want him to say. Nevertheless, I should focus on the problem at large first. I nod to Violeta, and for the first time in a long time, I turn into my wolf form and run. The breeze flows through my fur, and once I get used to these four legs, the passing forests are almost a blur.
Exhilaration flows throughout me. I will tear every witchfinder to shreds. I will set them alight. I will cast lightning upon them. I will do whatever it takes - for Róisín. For everyone, magic-folk or not, who has lost their lives to the slaughter.