Suffer a Witch

by Claudia Hall Christian

“I had no idea,” the elder Argos said. “And I didn’t have any idea what had happened until centuries later, when I read the history of Tribe of Israel.”

  “The bible,” Em said, and the elder Argos nodded.

  “The five books of Moses, the Torah, which became parts of your bible,” the elder Argos said.

  As if on fast-forward, the scenes unfolded before them quickly. The young boy greeted his mother with much love. His mother insisted on holding her young son for at least an hour. Because he knew he was returning to the men tomorrow, young Argos allowed his mother to cuddle and baby him. That night, his father announced to the entire group that his young son had transitioned to manhood.

  The celebration was large. They were not only celebrating not only a boy’s journey into manhood, they were celebrating their next leader. Every household brought out their best food, wine, and beer. They ate, drank, and danced until the moon was high in the sky. Argos’s mother carried him to bed. A tear ran down her face as she kissed his cheek.

  “I am proud of you, my beautiful son,” Argos’s mother said.

  Argos fell asleep in his bed. Argos’s mother went to her own bed, where her infant son lay next to her husband. She picked up her son before realizing that he was dead. Screaming, Argos’s mother tried to wake her husband. Unable to wake him, Argos’s mother shook Argos’s father. He was also dead. Mothers’ screams now echoed throughout the settlement. Argos’s mother ran to where her other children were sleeping. The two younger children had also died in the night. Argos’s mother collapsed at her children’s bedside. Able only to crawl, she forced her body to crawl to Argos. She died at his feet.

  All the while, the young Argos slept.

  The sun was just breaking over the horizon when the child awoke. Getting out of bed, he saw his mother first. A crow was picking at her face, and flies covered her mouth and eyes. Horrified, Argos went from one family member to the next. He ran out into the settlement. House after house, he saw the same sight. Every member of their settlement had died during the night. Scavengers were starting to feast on their bodies. Without an attendant, the fire had gone out. Some large carnivore had carried off the meat prepared the night before.

  Argos was completely alone.

  The scene began to fade for Em and Mary Ayer. They were suddenly standing in the icy night air on the thin shelf outside of the elders’ cave. Em wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm. Mary Ayer moved in close.

  “I stayed at the settlement for a couple of hours,” the elder Argos said. “Maybe a day. The predators terrified me. Whether it was a true memory or something created by the tree, I remembered that my father mentioning another settlement of people like us. I left my home to find them.”

  The elder Argos looked at Em and then at Mary Ayer.

  “I got in a low boat and started up the river,” the elder Argos said. “In my memory, one minute I was stepping into the small skiff, and the next moment I was in the cave on Rousay. I have no memory of how I got here. My grief and guilt knew no bounds. I may have willed myself to this desolate place. But more likely, the world’s currents brought me here.”

  The elder Argos nodded.

  “You ladies are the first people I’d seen since leaving my settlement,” the elder Argos said.

  “And yet you’ve aged since then,” Em said.

  “We do age — you and I,” the elder Argos said. “It just takes a very long time to do it.”

  “What happened?” Mary Ayer asked.

  “I would think it would be evident,” the elder Argos said.

  “I think we want to hear you tell us,” Em said.

  “I took fruit from the Tree of Life,” the elder Argos said. “By taking this fruit, I gave myself immortality and killed everyone I’d ever known. In a breath, they were all dead.”

  “What about Adam?” Mary Ayer asked. “Eve?”

  “Long after my time, I’m afraid,” the elder Argos said.

  “But. . .” Mary Ayer’s mouth fell open with surprise.

  Em scowled to cover her own shock.

  “You’re probably wondering why I shared all of this,” the elder Argos said.

  Unsure how to respond, the women nodded.

  “All of life has a split — light and dark, good and bad, life and death,” the elder Argos said. “By eating the fruit from the Tree of Life, I dismissed the death from my life. I stand on the side of life. So do you, Em, and by extension, you, too, Mary Ayer.”

  Em and Mary Ayer nodded in unison.

  “This split tears a hole in life itself,” the elder Argos said.

  “The demons,” Em said.

  “The demons are the other side of life,” the elder Argos said. “Human beings are children of Adam and Eve. They are both light and dark.”

  “Demon and us,” Em said.

  “Exactly,” the elder Argos said. “This outcome was not seen by me or anyone else for a long, long time. I lived and loved. Over time, I created others like me. We formed a vibrant community. All the while, I had no idea — truly not even an inkling — that our opposite lingered in oblivion. Slowly, over the millennia, the demons found a way into this world. One at a time, they have killed every single one of our kind.”

  “We must fight them with everything we have!” Mary Ayer said with intensity.

  “Yes,” the elder Argos said. “Should you defeat the demons, we shall be restored. Your father. Every single one of our kind will be restored.”

  “You believe it’s possible to defeat the demons?” Em asked.

  “Yes,” the elder Argos said. “Only you can do this.”

  “And what happens to my witches if I defeat the demons?” Em asked.

  The elder Argos shuffled his feet and looked at the ground. He took a breath and looked at Em.

  “You must do this,” the elder Argos said with great intensity. “There is no other recourse.”

  Mary Ayer gasped.

  “I understand,” Em said.

  “But Em, you can’t,” Mary Ayer said. “He’s saying we will die! We will all die!”

  Rather than respond, the elder Argos looked away. Em shifted so that her back was to Mary Ayer.

  “Thank you for showing me,” Em said. She put her hand on his arm. “Thank you for letting me know what this is all about.”

  He gave her a slow nod, and she smiled.

  “Em, you can’t!” Mary Ayer said to Em’s back.

  Em glanced over her shoulder to Mary Ayer. Reading her look, Mary Ayer crossed her arms and fell silent. Em turned back.

  “I wore that sweater for a long, long time,” the elder Argos said with a soft smile. “When Levi Strauss wanted to start his business, I gave him the startup capital. I brought sheep to Orkney.”

  He nodded to Em before shifting to partially face Mary Ayer.

  “Thank you for your kindness,” the elder Argos said. He reached out and stroked Mary Ayer’s cheek. “You saved my life in so many ways.”

  With that, he looked at Em and nodded his good-byes.

  “Good luck,” the elder Argos said. “You must vanquish the demons. Until then, you are the only living of our kind. I look forward to embracing you again.”

  The elder Argos hopped over the six-foot canal and disappeared into the cave. The ground began to shake.

  “Hold on!” Em yelled.

  She reached out for Mary Ayer. They held onto each other while the earth shook. Across the channel, the cave roof began to crumble above the community cave.

  “Get us out of here!” Mary Ayer yelled as a large boulder obscured the community cave’s entrance.

  Em took a breath and willed them to their hotel room. They held onto each other for a moment.

  “What was that?” Mary Ayer asked.

  “The cave is shut to us,” Em said.

  Mary Ayer pushed away from Em.

  “I can’t believe it!” Mary Ayer said. “We need that library! We are completely lost without it. How can we find a way to save us all wit
hout it?"

  Em gave her a grim look.

  “What?” Mary Ayer asked. “You can’t possibly be thinking of destroying the demons.”

  Em gave Mary Ayer a long look.

  “What is it?” Mary Ayer asked. Her voice edged toward panic. “What are you going to do? What are we going to do? This is horrible, just horrible!”

  Mary Ayer grabbed Em’s shoulders and gave her a little shake.

  “What are we going to do?” Mary Ayer said.

  “I promise you this: I will do everything in my power to find a way,” Em said with a nod. “No. I will find a way to save us all.”

  Mary Ayer hugged Em tight.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  “There you are,” Alice Parker said as she came out onto a wide stone balcony off the library in the back of the castle in Scotland.

  Em turned in her seat to watch Alice walk toward her. The balcony was so dark that Alice had to make a light in her hand so that she could see.

  “I’ve been looking for you,” Alice said. “Are you hiding out here in the cold and dark?”

  “I’m sorry,” Em said, turning back toward the ocean. “I wasn’t trying to hide. I’m just. . .”

  Shrugging, she turned to Alice and smiled.

  “Please,” Em said. “Why were you looking for me?”

  Alice put her hands on her hips and scowled at Em.

  “Why, Martha Emogene Panon Rich Corey Peres Burroughs. . .” Alice said. She smirked at listing out all of Em’s names.

  “Just ‘Em,’ please.” She waved her hand at all of the names. Alice grinned.

  “Well, whoever you are, you’re depressed!” Alice said.

  “Depressed?” Em asked. She squinted her eyes and thought for a while. “No, pensive — not depressed.”

  “Pensive?” Alice said with a laugh. She moved between Em and the stone half-wall to sit in the chair on Em’s right. “Yes, that’s not depressed at all.”

  Em glanced at Alice and grinned.

  “What are you pensive about, my dear?” Alice asked.

  “Oh, you know,” Em said.

  “Having to choose between your beloved hanging buddies and an entire race of people, most of whom you’ve never met?” Alice asked.

  “Something like that,” Em said.

  “Mary Ayer is confident you’ll pick your people,” Alice said.

  “My people?” Em asked. “Who would that be? The family I’ve spent the last three hundred years with or a family that I’m related to by genetics?”

  “The much superior, almost God-like, and incredibly rare people from Rousay,” Alice said.

  Em looked at Alice.

  “You’re not seriously thinking about it,” Alice said.

  “I’m. . .” Em stopped talking and looked out over the crashing waves. “Watching the surf.”

  “But. . .” Alice said.

  “Every time I’m here in Scotland, I wonder how I could have ever forgotten that I love it so much,” Em said. “It is my very soul.”

  “And not Boston?” Alice said with a smirk to indicate that she was willing to play along with Em.

  “I love Boston,” Em said. “It’s my home. But Scotland. . .”

  Em sighed.

  “I know what you mean,” Alice said. “Were you talking to George?”

  “He calls on Sunday nights,” Em said.

  “How is he?” Alice asked.

  “Cold,” Em said with a laugh. Alice laughed. “He’s going to meet us at home when we get there. I guess there are some big storms coming in.”

  “A little snow has frightened the good Reverend?” Alice asked.

  “I’ll let you tell him that,” Em said.

  Alice laughed. Em smiled. They watched the water for a few minutes before Alice reached across to grab Em’s hand.

  “What are you stuck on, Em?” Alice asked.

  Sighing, Em shook her head.

  “Me, Alice — your daughter, best friend, constant project, much loved Alice,” Alice said. “You’ve always been able to talk to me.”

  “I’m not exactly sure where to start,” Em said.

  “Start where you are,” Alice said. “What’s going on with you? I don’t believe for one minute that you’re going to toss us out because some guy you don’t even know — who killed his entire family, no less — told you to do it.”

  Em raised her eyebrows and nodded.

  “Was it the serpent?” Alice asked. “Or the demons?”

  Em scowled for a moment. Letting her think, Alice held her tongue.

  “It’s me, I think,” Em said. “Both the serpent and the demon told me that I was ‘different.’ I don’t know what that means. The demon said that he was keeping Weni and my father away from me. Why? And Argos was so disappointing.”

  “How so?” Alice asked.

  “Honestly, I don’t think I would have thought about it if I hadn’t met the youngman version of him,” Em said. “But he was. . . primitive. He lacked basic reasoning skills.”

  “Mary Ayer told me he flushed the toilet over and over again,” Alice said. “And not because he thought it was cool.”

  “He couldn’t understand the connection of pushing the button and the flush,” Em said. “She basically had to take the toilet apart, and, even then, he didn’t get it.”

  “Simple cause and effect,” Alice said with a nod. “That’s the cornerstone of morality.”

  “Exactly,” Em said. “And he’s the one who set up the immortals’ society.”

  Shaking her head, Em shrugged. She turned to look at the waves. She was so lost in thought that she was startled when Alice spoke again.

  “You think it’s because he never ate from the other tree?” Alice asked.

  She put her hand on Em’s arm to steady her.

  “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?” Em winced. After a moment, she nodded her head. “I’ve wondered.”

  “But you can think through things,” Alice said. “You understand cause and effect. You and George are the smartest people I’ve ever known.”

  “That’s why it’s confusing,” Em said.

  “What’s ‘confusing’?” Mary Ayer asked as she came out onto the balcony. “Goodness, Em! It’s freezing out here.”

  Em snapped her fingers, and Mary Ayer was wearing one of Em’s knitted sweaters, a hat, and a pair of thick socks. Mary Ayer touched the wool.

  “It’s so soft and warm,” Mary Ayer said.

  “Em’s knitting is the best,” Alice said, touching the sweater she had on.

  “I made a bunch of stuff for this trip,” Em said. “You’re welcome to it.”

  “It looks nice on you, Mary,” Alice said.

  “Thanks,” Mary Ayer said. “Can I keep the socks, too?”

  “Of course,” Em said. “And the hat.”

  Mary Ayer walked to the balcony wall.

  “Now what was confusing?” Mary Ayer asked. A short woman, she easily leaned on the half-wall separating the balcony from the surf. “You can’t seriously be confused as to whether to save us or all of these people you don’t know.”

  Mary Ayer’s voice held her anger and hurt.

  “Em’s trying to figure out what to do!” Alice said.

  “What’s the issue?” Mary Ayer said. “Those people went the way of Homo Erectus and all the other ancestral humans. We are here and now.”

  “I know what you’re saying, Mary,” Em said. “And you’re right. When you look at it that way, the answer is obvious. I wouldn’t bring back a dinosaur. Why would I bring back this community?”

  “Right, why?” Mary Ayer asked.

  “To start, my father happens to be one of them,” Em said.

  “But. . .” Mary Ayer said.

  “Em thinks that Argos didn’t eat from the Tree of Knowledge,” Alice said.

  “Like Adam and Eve did?” Mary Ayer asked. “But. . .”

  “Listen,” Em said with such intensity that Mary Ayer turned to look at her. Alice�
�s hand returned to Em’s arm. “The truth is that I don’t know. Anything, really. And there’s no one for me to ask. Not a living soul.”

  “But I don’t get what you don’t know,” Mary Ayer said. “I mean, I’m really good at finding out things. Really good at it. If I know what you’re missing, then it’s nothing for me to find what you need. So you could just ask me.”

  “What do you know about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or the Tree of Life?” Alice asked.

  “Other than what’s in the original five chapters?” Mary Ayer asked. “I mean, I’ve read them in the Greek.”

  “Other than that,” Em said.

  “Why. . .” Mary Ayer stammered. “Nothing. I mean, almost every culture has a story about a Tree of Life. It is always described the same way — the branches of the tree reach up past the sky while its roots dive deep into the earth. But that’s not really what you mean. Gosh, I don’t even know where I’d start to look for information.”

  “Caves at Mogao?” Alice asked.

  “No, I’ve been there,” Mary Ayer said. “I mean, I’m a witch, right? I’ve been to undiscovered manuscript libraries all over the world, including Egypt and Israel.”

  “Ethiopia,” Em said. “That’s where the Garden of Eden is supposed to have been. We could go there and. . .”

  Em shook her head.

  “What?” Alice asked.

  “Argos said that he didn’t understand what had happened until he read the Talmud,” Mary Ayer said. She nodded. “I’ve read that in every ancient language.”

  She scowled.

  “Sorry, I don’t know,” Mary Ayer said.

  Alice gave her a kind smile. Em raised and dropped her shoulders to indicate that she was in the same place.

  “We weren’t able to interact with anyone when we went back,” Em said.

  “Maybe that’s something Argos did,” Mary Ayer said.

  “I don’t think so,” Em said. “I think that there are some events that simply cannot be changed. Maybe changing them would affect too many things. Maybe they were fated or had to happen. Or maybe. . .”

  “They didn’t happen at all,” Mary Ayer said.

  “Maybe what we saw didn’t happen in real time but rather was a story created around what actually happened,” Em said. “I mean, what do you remember from being five?”