by Mina Carter
I don’t know how old he was, but he said that he had traveled throughout Europe as well as places that are now Turkey and Syria. He told me many wonderful stories of the places he traveled through. I knew enough from what he said that he must have been a hundred years old, perhaps even older. I could not imagine how a man could live so long. It convinced me that he was truly a magician.
My father had seen me talking to Shandor one day and he was very upset with me. He pulled me away and he warned me once again not to talk with any strangers, especially the Roma. I continued to disobey him. I would still go to see Shandor, who would teach me his magic tricks.
One day I went to my father, he was seated at our little table where he liked to read. I can still see him. His hair was short and starting to turn from black to a little gray. He was always dressed in his black suit coat and white shirt. My father always dressed like he still taught at the university. I wanted to know why I couldn’t see Shandor. After all, he wasn’t part of the underground resistance. My father pulled me close and whispered in my ear. I learned then, that my father was in fact a resistance leader. He knew if the truth was discovered it would be the end for us all. Suddenly, I was full of admiration for my father and from then on, I obeyed him. I stayed away from Shandor and any other strangers.”
Jakub’s lips began to tremble, he rubbed his head. Lexi noticed that Jakub was upset. “Are you okay Jakub?”
“Yes. Yes, I’ll be alright. What I’m about to tell you is my saddest memory. I have to talk about it you see, because it really is the whole reason everything happened to me with the amulet. About a month after my father told me about his work with the Polish Underground we were all sitting together in our little apartment.
It was late in the afternoon when suddenly there was a very loud pounding on our door. It was the SS. They were outside shouting angry demands that we open the door. As you can imagine, we were all terrified. My mother rushed around and tried to hide us, but they kicked the door in and dragged our parents into the alley. My little sisters ran out behind them screaming and begging the soldiers to stop. I tried to pull them away, but they got away from me. The soldiers beat my father, and accused him of collaborating with criminals.
My father did not say a word. One soldier began talking about the differences in killing Jews and Roma. I thought they were only trying to frighten him. Then one of the monsters took out a pistol and shot my father. Just like that. No warning at all. He shot him dead right there in front of us. We all screamed, and then they grabbed my mother and sisters. A hand came out of nowhere behind me. It grabbed my coat and pulled me around a corner and in through a door.”
Lexi and Abraham’s eyes welled up with tears. Lexi wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to console him. “Oh, Jakub! How awful! I am so sorry. Who saved you? Was it Shandor?”
“Yes, it was Shandor. He pulled me away and saved me, but as for the rest of my family...” Jakub became silent for a minute, “I never saw my mother or sisters after that day. When I hear people say they doubt if such things as demons exist, I can say that I know they are walking among us, just like those soldiers.
At first I was in such shock, I couldn’t even cry. Shandor grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me in the eye. He told me to feel the anger inside of me, and to let that anger grow. He told me to feed it with my hatred for those monsters, to taste the bitter desire for revenge. Shandor promised that my hatred would become my power. Of course, I had no idea what he meant at first.
That very night, he showed me what he could do with black magic. I learned that Shandor was indeed the powerful sorcerer I had once imagined. This next thing I am about to tell you—I have not shared with anyone before.”
Jakub looked at Lexi to address her directly. “You can believe, or not believe the story I am about to tell you of Shandor the Magician.” He lifted one crooked index finger and pointed to Lexi and then to Ryan.
“As incredible and as frightening as it may seem, this is something you both will need to know. Take out the amulet and place it here, on the table.” Lexi dipped her hand into her backpack and pulled out the heavy gold disc. With a very cautious hand she carefully placed it onto the table.
“Shandor had used his magic tricks to save his own life before he arrived in Warsaw a year before we met. This happened when the SS were transporting Shandor and his people to Poland from Hungary. Once they stopped at the Polish border the Nazis told them they needed the Roma to dig drainage ditches, in order to prove that they were worthy of labor. Shandor had correctly suspected that the SS didn’t care at all about drainage ditches. He knew the Roma were actually digging their own graves. Shandor came up with an idea to save his family, by using one of his old tricks that he called his resurrection spell.
When the ditch was completed he noticed the Nazi’s had taken away all of the shovels. They were ordering all of the Roma to start lining up at the edge of the ditch. It was time to act quickly. He took a special powder and mixed it with water. Each of his grown children and their small children took some of the potion, but Shandor did not take it himself. This powder made them completely unconscious and they appeared to be dead. He laid them down and when the Nazis called on him to bring his family, he cried and told them they had all died of sickness in the night. This was a very believable story. In fact, many people did die from various diseases that easily spread in the poor living conditions. He was certain the soldiers would leave the dead family there in order to avoid catching something.
He went with all of the other Roma to the ditch. There was a spot that Shandor had picked when he was digging, and that is right where he returned to. When the people realized they were about to be murdered many screamed and tried to run away. The soldiers started shooting those people first. In the chaos, some of the Roma jumped into the ditch and pretended to be dead. Shandor jumped into the ditch and like a spider crawling into its lair, he crawled into a hole he had secretly dug into the side of the ditch.
The shooting had finished, but Shandor waited until he heard the trucks finally leave. He ran back to his unconscious family. Now, it was time to give them all a different powder to awaken them.”
Everyone had become absorbed by Shandor’s attempt to save his family from the Nazis. “What a great way to save them from the firing squad. Brilliant!” Lexi exclaimed excitedly.
“The plan was brilliant. However, the Nazis had bayonetted both of Shandor’s sons to see if they were indeed dead.”
“Oh God.” Gasped Lexi in horror.
“The rest they left alone, presumed to be dead. Shandor quickly placed small amounts of the powder onto the tongues of the others in order to revive them with the remedy, but the resurrection never came.”
“Shandor was too late.” Ryan said in a mournful tone.
“You are correct. The remedy needed to have been provided much sooner, to prevent the sleeping powder from killing them.”
Abraham shook his head as he imagined how Shandor must have reacted. “He must have been devastated to know that he personally gave them the poison that killed them.”
“Yes, imagine his grief. Imagine his guilt. He cursed himself. He called upon God to bring them back, but to no avail. He said that he fell into insanity, and then it happened. He remembered an old magic spell that he was taught. It was forbidden black magic that conjured the night demon.”
“Night demon?” Asked Lexi.
Jakub dropped his voice to a whisper. “Lilitu. That is who he called upon. She was the one who was banished into the desert in ancient times and ever since, has enslaved people into doing her bidding. She was also the one who was cursed to feast from the souls of children sacrificed in her name. He driven by his insanity. In order to draw Lilitu from the darkness, he took the bodies of the little children and piled them up. Then he took an ancient amulet that he once found on his travels long ago. It had the image of Lilitu on it as well as magical symbols.”
Lexi pointed to the owl woman engraved on the a
mulet. “Is that what this is?”
“Yes. It is the demon and that is the very same amulet Shandor used. He laid it upon the top of the dead children and covered it with a piece of cloth, so it would be hidden. He dipped a willow stick into his sons’ wounds and he drew a bloody star in the earth. He then touched each of the dead children with the bloody stick. Every time he placed a drop of blood on the dead he called upon the demon, Lilitu. He offered their deaths as a sacrifice that had been killed by his own hand. He offered the demon to come and feed from their souls.” Jakub reached out and touched the amulet as if he was trying to feel if there was any type if energy there.
“Jesus Christ!” Lexi shouted in dismay.
“I would have to say that he was quite insane at that point.” Abraham said.
“Indeed, he was quite mad. I think one should never underestimate what a desperate man is capable of.”
“Did the demon come?” Ryan asked skeptically.
“Yes, she did. Shandor sat beneath an oak tree late into the night, until a large horned owl appeared in the branch above him. He knew that Lilitu was known to travel by taking the form of an owl. He said that the owl flew down and transformed into a hideous creature, that looked part woman and part owl. Her eyes were like the deepest, darkest, blood red rubies and her grey, ashen skin was barely covered with feathers. Her feet were the crooked and sharp talons of the owl. He told the demon that he sacrificed his family in exchange for one wish from her. His wish was that she free one of her human servants. A woman he knew had been forced into being her murdering slave.”
Lexi was dumbfounded. “Really? That doesn’t make sense. Why would he be concerned with someone else at a time like that?”
“I asked him that same question Lexi. He never gave me the answer. My guess is it was someone very close to him. Perhaps, someone that would help him in his quest for revenge against the soldiers.”
Abraham offered an answer. “I think we have already determined Shandor had completely lost his mind. Maybe he wanted to switch places with this enslaved person so he could walk the earth eternally and get his revenge that way.”
“Perhaps, but what happened next may surprise you. The demon turned to him and opened her mouth. Her mouth twisted into a gaping cavern filled with sharp pointed teeth that were the color of weathered bones. She hissed at him and spoke in a language he did not know. Shandor was terrified and fell to his knees. She came to him, holding one of her full breasts to his mouth and fed him, not with milk, but a cold and bitter liquid. Shandor told me that if one could taste revenge it would not be sweet as they say, but it would taste bitter, like the milk of the Lilitu.
Jakub’s horrified audience groaned in disgust at the repulsive image.
“He hoped that she had granted his wish with the revolting drink. She went to the children and covered the entire group with her broad owl wings. Suddenly, she stood up and howled a scream that echoed out into the darkness. She looked at Shandor with her evil face and then she flew away.”
Abraham squealed with delight. “Aha! I see what he was doing! Shandor had been planning to trick her into granting him his wish, before she went to the children. He knew once she went to the children, she would be chased away by the amulet that he placed on top of the dead bodies.”
Ryan and Lexi were both puzzled. Ryan asked Abraham, “Why would she be afraid of the amulet?”
“The amulet he had hidden on the bodies was a form of protection against Lilitu. According to legend, she could never attack or even approach anyone that was protected by her own image. She was powerless against it. In ancient times it was quite common for women and children to wear a similar type of amulet thought to ward off the demon, Lilitu.”
He picked up the amulet and pointed to the markings on it. “Look at this image of the demon that is part owl. I see that you are wearing an owl necklace, Lexi. Your necklace will also protect you because it is the likeness of Lilitu.”
“An owl? Why an owl? I guess I would imagine a bat or snake, or something more intimidating or scary,” Lexi asked.
“The name Lilitu is derived from the old Sumerian word Lil, which means owl, it also means spirit. Owls were considered by the Sumerians to be a spiritual creature. As time went on her name changed from Lilitu to Lilith in various cultures.
“So this is actually the demon Lilith?” Lexi asked Abraham.
“Yes, Lilith is simply a cultural adaptation of the ancient Sumerian Lilitu. Remember the Israelites spent centuries living under Babylonian rule. Much of the old folklore and mythology, became absorbed into the Jewish culture. There are references to this demon found in countless ancient texts that have been uncovered.”
Ryan had been listening intently. “So, this all sounds very interesting, but I don’t believe in any of this hocus pocus stuff and I really don’t see how any of this has anything to do with Lexi finding her sister. If you have a point to make here, please make it soon.”
Jakub responded. “Shandor told me this story so I would know about this world of magic and demons, and how his amulet held a great power. The power to conjure and control ancient demons. Believe me when I tell you the amulet is more than some trinket that gives the bearer a sense of protection. The only way to explain it is for me to tell you what we did with that power.”
“Let me guess. Avenging the death of your father?”
“Yes. Remember that Shandor told me to use my anger and hatred for power? He knew that I desired to learn about the black magic in order to avenge the death of my father. I also want to avenge the likely deaths of the rest of my family. He started by teaching me skills that could be enhanced when used with magic. I learned how to perform hypnosis. He taught me all sorts of ways to camouflage myself. Most importantly, he taught me how to kill my enemies.
One day, I spotted the very same soldiers that killed my father. I could never forget those faces. Not in a hundred lifetimes. I immediately set out to kill them without any regard for the consequences. Shandor stopped me. He told me how he had finally found a magic spell to use the amulet as a weapon. A powerful weapon that could kill those men as well as many other SS soldiers. He said it would be like hypnotism, but it would be accomplished through black magic.
We captured two German soldiers one night using one of his expertly camouflaged traps. He took out the amulet and held it out in front of him. What I saw next was something so bizarre that I could not immediately comprehend it. He took the amulet and touched the forehead of one of the soldiers. Then he said his incantation. The soldier was suddenly at Shandor’s command. He told his captive soldier to strangle the other soldier to death, which is exactly what the soldier did. Shandor ordered the soldier to walk over to a stone wall and beat his head against it, until he killed himself. He did just that.”
“Unbelievable! It is impossible to use hypnosis to make someone do horrific acts like that.” Ryan was convinced that Jakub was telling them a complete lie. He just couldn’t figure out why.
“It was like hypnosis, Ryan. It was a magic. Sorcery that uses magic from a very dark place. Shandor gave me the amulet to take with me on my mission to kill the soldiers that had shot my father. I didn’t have to wait long to get my revenge. I dressed in the uniform of one of the soldiers we had captured. He was a small man and even though I was young, the uniform was convincing.
I tracked down the soldiers loading children into freight cars that were headed to Auschwitz. I did not hesitate. I walked up to the bigger one and showed him the amulet. I said ‘Look what I have found on one of these Jews!’ He leaned closer to see it and then I took the chance. I pressed it into his forehead and quickly said the words Shandor taught me. He looked dazed and empty. I told him to take his bayonet and to cut the throat of his fellow guard. Then I told him to take his rifle and shoot every SS officer he saw standing on the platform of the train station.
To my surprise he unsheathed his long bayonet, walked up to his partner and with one swift movement, he sliced so forcefully w
ith the bayonet that he nearly decapitated him. Then he took his rifle and started shooting at every Nazi soldier in sight. I had to hide, so I wouldn’t be shot. The other soldiers returned fire, and soon he was riddled with bullets. Several men in SS uniforms laid dead on the train platform.
I left the train and made my way back to find Shandor. I never found him. I don’t know what ever became of Shandor the Magician. Eventually I made my way out of Warsaw, using every trick I learned. I made my way to England and stayed there until after the war.”
“What about your mother or your sisters.” Lexi asked.
“I don’t think I need to tell you. I will just say that they never survived the Nazis. After the war, I joined with the Zionists to fight for the new Israeli state. I used my amulet in many cases in the fight. After that I worked for Mossad. I used the amulet on captured war criminals in order to obtain information about where other fugitives could be found.
I started to notice there were many orphaned children that had survived the German’s death camps, and had been relocated to Israel. Imagine being a young child, and the only memories you have are nightmares. These children received badly needed psychiatric treatments from the best doctors that could be found.
Still, there were some cases that were beyond hope. Those were the ones that had survived unimaginable medical testing and worse. From my work in the Mossad I had gained a reputation as a hypnotist and after a while, people brought those difficult psychiatric cases to me. Hypnosis was their last resort. I would insist that only the child would be present when I treated them, since I did not want anyone to know that I was in fact using magic. I learned how to use the amulet to completely remove the nightmarish memories of those children, and then I replaced their bad memories with good ones that I made up. I gave them happy memories of a loving and caring family.
“So that is why you are called doctor.” Lexi tried to figure out how the amulet came into Kate and Kurt’s possession. “Why did you get rid of the amulet? What did you do with it?”