The Witch Hunter

by Candace Adams

  “Welcome back, John! Ale? Food?” Harold had spotted me from the bar top where he had been chatting with a few other men. I wasn’t in the mood for idle chatter, so I kept my seat by the fire and my solitude. Matthew and his lies be damned. I waved and smiled to let him know I was in fact starving and he was right over with an ale.

  “Food will be out in a second, Sir. I hope you’re hungry. The wife really outdid herself today!” he scampered away to get my vittles.

  I hadn’t truly made up my mind if I would lie for Matthew and his secretive mistress. Honestly, I didn’t see what was in it for me. The fastest way to get my friend and colleague back would be to get him away from her. So, covering up for her really was not in my interests, but, if I did not repeat the story he had given me, he would send me away. I would be penniless. Matthew had always been the face of our twosome. He spoke to the magistrates of every town we worked in. He signed for the warrants; he spoke in court. No one really knew how invested I was behind the scenes. They only saw him.

  Harold returned with my food a moment later. “Here you are Sir, best lamb in town!” he boasted.

  Sending me away, be damned. “Harold, could you please keep a close eye on my friend and his lady friend? After the strange way we happened upon her, and how Matthew is now acting, I’m really quite afraid that he has been bewitched.”

  “Oh?” Harold asked, pulling a towel from his apron. He always seemed to have a towel nearby. “Are you implying that the lady who has taken up residence on my property is a witch, Sir?” he asked rather loudly. “You certainly didn’t seem too sure of the topic before.”

  “Hush, you old fool. I don’t want Matthew or the woman to hear what I’m telling you,” I glanced around the room. The men who were settled around the tables enjoying themselves had quieted down, and they were now craning towards us to eavesdrop on our tete-a-tete.

  “But how could the Witch Hunter General allow himself to fall prey to evil? He should know better than all of us what to watch for and how to protect himself,” a man behind me rapped his mug on the table in agreement with old Harold.

  I smiled, I had everyone’s attention now. “My friends, anyone can fall victim to a witch. No title or schooling can protect you. If it is a strong witch and she wants you, she will have you. That’s why it is so important to exterminate them before they can sink their tendrils into good, God fearing men like yourselves,” I looked around, meeting each man in the eye.

  “It is the witch that needs to be dealt with, my friends, not the man. Matthew has done a great many good deeds and has sent many of their numbers back to Hell where they belong. He deserves to be saved.”

  Everyone mumbled in agreement.

  “What should we do, Mr. Stearne?” Harold asked. His old shriveled hand paused on the dirty rag and for a moment I imagined his wrinkled skin soaking in that dirty water.

  “You should do nothing,” Harold opened his mouth to argue with me. “Don't worry, friends. I have the situation well in hand. But I promise you all, there will be quite the show coming in the next few days. Quite the show indeed.”

  “Do we need to protect ourselves while she is in our presence?” he asked.

  ““She has all of her powers focused on Matthew. She will not have the strength to attack you too.”

  Harold sighed in relief, “Thank you for taking care of this dreadful situation. You are truly a Godsend. Your food and drink are on the house tonight, Sir.”

  “Thank you, Harold. Could you send Elizabeth over to serve me my ale this evening? I’m in need of something pretty to look at.”

  “Absolutely, Sir.”

  Harold went back to his spot behind the bar and whistled at Elizabeth to get her attention. She was clearing dirty plates on the other side of the room having just returned from upstairs.

  “Come here, girl,” he called to her.

  She set the mess down and headed over. I was just close enough that I could hear their exchange. “Mr. John requests you to serve him this evening.”

  “No, I don’t want to do that,” she protested.

  “I pay your wages and keep you on here, you will do as you are told.”

  She looked at me over her shoulder and I gave a little wave. Her face went white. “Please, sir, I can’t serve him.” She pleaded with him quietly trying to keep their conversation private.

  “I won’t hear another word of this. He is our guest, and you will serve him. Now go. His mug is empty.” He handed her a fresh mug and sent her to me. She refused to make eye contact with me, sat the mug down and turned quickly to rush away.

  I grabbed her by the wrist. She pulled it away as if she had been burned. “Is that how you treat the man who relieved you of your virginity?” I asked so only she could hear.

  “You mean the man who defiled me and hurt me?” she asked.

  I ignored her negativity, “I had hoped you would come back to me again.”

  She inhaled, shocked, “Never. That will never happen again.”

  “Oh, come now. It doesn’t hurt the second time around and I’ll pay you.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “No.”

  I laughed softly at her anger. “How much do you make in an evening serving here? Three silver pieces, maybe four?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “What if I paid you five silver pieces to come to my room tonight?” I said.

  She took a deep breath. Her face was flushed, and her tight fists were planted squarely on her hips, but her mind was turning. Five gold pieces would feed her family for a month. Money like that was hard to come by.

  “I have a job to do, Mr. Stearne. Do you need anything else, or may I go?”

  I guess that was a denial. “My mug is full, and my food is before me. I am content for the moment. But do think about my offer. It is more than generous, I think. Much better than being tried as a witch.”

  She turned and stomped away. I watched as she made her retreat and remembered how sweet her fresh body felt under mine. How tight her sheath was around my cock. I would have her again, whether she was a willing participant or not. The tears just made it that much sweeter.

  I finished my plate of lamb and I fully agreed with Harold. It was the finest lamb I had tasted on this side of England. It reminded me of my childhood, growing up in the small two room cottage with my mother and my two sisters. Father had died some years before and she did her very best to provide for us. I didn’t know it at the time, but my mother had been selling herself to acquire the food she put on the table for us each night.

  I had never pieced together why so many men came round so frequently until one evening I heard her scream, and being the man of the house, I forced her door open and found her on her back with the gentleman of the evening sweating and grunting between her legs.

  Upon noticing me standing by the door watching silently, she had ordered me to go. But the damage had been done. I retreated to the barn, away from my siblings, and for the first time ever, I had touched myself. I pulled that piece of meat from my trousers and ran my hand up and down its length and the pleasure I felt was extraordinary. In my mind, I saw her tits bouncing with his thrusts and I saw his ass flex shoving himself inside her again and again and before I knew what was happening my seed burst forth from my body and covered my fingers. I was astounded. But it opened a floodgate and I wanted more.

  From that day forward, I prowled the city, seducing the young women around my age and a few much older that fancied younger men. I spilled my seed wherever I could and felt nothing for the women I took. It was the most glorious time of my life.

  Until one night it all got tragically upended. I had been frequenting the bed of a woman across town whose husband spent weeks at a time at sea on a merchant vessel. They had no children and the woman believed that she was barren as they had tried for many years in vain to conceive.

  On this particular night, however, that belief was shattered. She had been feeling ill the past few mornin
gs and she realized with a shock that her monthly bleed had not occurred.

  Upon my arrival she sat down and explained to me that I was to be a father and she would be a mother. She suggested we run away and leave her house and unknowing husband behind. But I was appalled.

  I had no feelings for the woman other than the feeling of pleasure I took from filling her holes. I had no intention of settling down and no desire to be saddled with a woman and a child. So, I did the only thing I could do. I stood and took my leave of her.

  The woman had the audacity to tell other women about town that we were expecting, that we were in love, that we planned to marry. I found a lot fewer willing women in my bed after that.

  As she began showing signs of the child growing inside of her, I began to proclaim my innocence of the whole situation. I claimed she had seduced me by ways of the dark arts and stolen my seed against my will. I formally accused her of witchcraft when Matthew Hopkins, then unknown to me, visited our city on a routine round up and I saw my opportunity to rid myself of the problem.

  I proclaimed to him that I was a good God-fearing man and she had used me for the devils will and now carried my child after stealing my essence. She was immediately arrested. Being a married woman who was claiming to have been impregnated by another man, no one took pity on her, or believed her that I had chosen to lay with her of my own accord. She was found guilty, and I was right in front of the gallows that day when the executioner put that rope around her pretty neck, and I watched her hang until life left her eyes. I was free once again.

  That was when I approached Matthew and swore my services to him for freeing me from the witch. He accepted, and I have been traveling with him ever since.

  And it had all started with my mother, and the glorious meals of lamb and potatoes she would make for us after selling her cunt to the highest bidder. I had her to thank for this life I have now.

  The plate was nothing but bones in front of me and my mug was once again empty. Elizabeth reluctantly returned and cleared the dishes and brought me a fresh ale. I grazed my fingers across hers as she handed me the drink and she shuddered beneath my touch.

  I watched the flames in the hearth licking the large logs and imagined devils dancing in those flames. They danced and writhed and contorted their bodies while destroying the wood they sat upon. That was me. I danced through this life taking anything I desired, but I destroyed all opposition in my path. One had to be willing to destroy to get anywhere in this life.

  I emptied the mug once more. I pulled myself up from the table and the world turned round in my mottled vision. That would be quite enough ale for the night, I thought to myself, and made my way on rubbery legs to the staircase to the rooms above.

  I somehow made it to my allotted space by the grace of God. The door was ajar, and I conjured up as much sobriety as I could to investigate the intrusion. “Hello?” I muttered. My voice sounded hazy in my own mind.

  “It's me, Elizabeth,” the serving girl said from the darkness. “God help me, but I’m here.”

  I stumbled through the doorway and dropped my clothes as I went. The girl was seated upon the bed and had already removed her clothes. So thoughtful, I didn’t believe my drunk fingers could have managed the buttons in this state.

  I stood before her, placed my hand on the back of her long thin neck and pulled her face to me. I kissed her with an enthusiasm I hadn’t felt in a very long time. I explored every inch of her mouth with my tongue. She had begun to sob, but I paid no mind. Her tears painted my cheeks with each of our kisses.

  I dropped to my knees before her. She spread her legs wide and leaned back on her palms. She had extinguished the candlelight before I had entered the room and I could not make out her curves in the low moonlight that entered between the fabric covering the small window.

  “It is a travesty that I cannot feast my eyes on your beautiful form,” I whispered. Leaning forward, I took one of her small nipples into my mouth and the other I twisted between two fingers.

  “Why do you cry if you enjoy it?” I asked her.

  “Because I do not enjoy it. I do not want this, Sir. Your touch feels like acid on my skin and no matter how much I wash when you are done with me, I can’t get you off.”

  “Do you think the rope around your neck would feel better than me touching you?”

  I pressed my naked body between her thighs and my engorged member brushed against her most delicate place. She jumped and I grabbed the back of her ass to prevent her from moving away from me. “Calm yourself, girl,” I said to her.

  I took my hand and I brushed across her opening gently. Up and then down, on the second sweep I inserted a finger and pressed up while I used my thumb to caress her clitoris. “Please just take what you want so I may go,” she said through her tears.

  I sucked the moisture from my fingers, the taste was delicious and sweet.

  “I will take as much time as I see fit on your body.”

  “Why does it have to be me? I’m sure there are plenty of willing women in this town who would throw themselves at you. Why do you have to hurt me so?” She tried to press her thighs closed but I dug my fingers into her delicate skin and forced them further apart.

  I smiled in the dark though she could not see me. “I don’t desire women who would throw themselves at me. I desire to take what I want. I desire tears and pain. You my dear, deliver exactly my kind of pleasure.”

  Elizabeth whimpered.

  I rose up from my perch between her thighs and positioned myself to penetrate. I slid inside of her while she whispered prayers under her breath.

  Her nails bit into my skin and I knew I would be a bloody mess tomorrow. I took her hips in my hands and slammed my cock into her in quick, hard, rapid succession. I didn’t mean to spill my seed inside her, but the sensation of her flesh wrapped around me, and the burning in my skin where she tore my flesh, I couldn’t begin to pull away.

  I fell against her on the bed, moving onto my side.

  She put her hand upon my chest and started to push herself up. “Can I go now? You can give me the coins tomorrow.”

  “I will expect you here in my bed tomorrow evening, Elizabeth. While I am in this city, you will service me, or I will destroy everything you love.”

  She didn’t say anything at first but then spoke very quietly, “You have already destroyed me, what more do you want?”

  “My coin purse is in my trousers, take what I offered you, but from now on, you will simply obey, or everyone will know you for a witch.”

  She rushed from the room, slamming the door hard behind her. She didn’t take the time to collect the silver pieces and I would not offer them again. My generosity only extended so far.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Taryn

  I awoke naked beside Matthew as I had the previous morning. He still insisted on wearing his undergarments to bed and much to my dismay I had yet to see him fully naked. He once again lavished attention on my body for hours before we finally got to sleep but would not allow me to give him anything in return.

  Today, I awoke before him. I heard John’s voice in the hall singing a vulgar tune about a whore and a sailor.

  I shook Matthew a bit until his eyes blinked open. “Wake up sleepy head. John is already in the hall.”

  He yawned, “It gets harder and harder to get out of this bed each day that passes.” He said while kissing me good morning.

  He stood and began dressing as I poured myself some wine from the jug left over from our dinner. “What are you doing today?” I asked him, taking a sip. The wine was dry, but sweet, with a hint of cherries. It was far better than anything I had tasted back home. It seems the art of wine making had evolved to a point that it just wasn’t very good anymore. In my own time, I had never tasted a wine that I actually enjoyed. But this one was delicious.

  He finished clipping his heavy cloak around his shoulders and picked his hat up off the desk. “Today we start interrogations. We need to start getting
confessions so we can take them to trial,” he said.

  “Do you think they are really guilty?” I asked.

  He turned to me with his hand on the door handle. “I have seen true evil in this world, Taryn. I know you think the trials are unjust and unfounded, but I have seen people accused of witchcraft do things that no normal human could do. I have seen old women have the strength of ten men. I’ve seen them utter a curse and have the person they cursed fall dead the next day. I know some are probably innocent, but it is my job to bring the guilty to God. And that is what I do.”

  “Will you promise me to try very hard not to condemn the innocent?” I asked him.

  He came to me and kissed me on the lips. “I will try my hardest to only punish guilty souls.”

  I smiled at him. “I think I will ask Elizabeth if she has time to show me around today. I’m dying to sightsee. I’ve been stuck in this room since I got here. Is that ok with you?”

  “Absolutely. Just be careful who you speak to and what you say. I spoke to John about saying you’re a friend of the family staying with me for now. I don’t know if he had the opportunity to spread that around yet,” he told me.

  I nodded, “Ok. I’ll be careful.”

  He took his coin purse from his belt and stacked coins upon the desk. “Here, get rid of those trousers and get yourself a pretty new dress to your liking. If you’re going to be venturing out, you need to fit in. Wear the dress I brought up when you leave this room. I know you don’t like it, but people will notice you less in it. Elizabeth can help you get everything you need, and I will pay her for her time as well so she can take the day to spend with you.”

  “Thank you, Matthew. That is very considerate of you.”

  “Enjoy your day love,” he closed the door behind him. I heard him greet Elizabeth in the hall. She must be making her rounds checking the rooms. A moment later there was a quiet knock on the door.

  “Come in,” I called.

  Elizabeth’s pretty face peeked around the door she had just opened. “Good morning, Taryn. Are you ready for some breakfast?” The dark circles that had been present under her eyes the day before had taken on a deeper shade of purple. The color stood out starkly against her pale cheeks.