The Bathory Curse

by Renee Lake

  “Oh no, like what?”

  “Just that she has a witch in her entourage…that she’s become a little absorbed with her personal appearance.”

  “Oh a witch, please…probably just some harmless herb witch with no real magic,” Sabine scoffed, “and she’s 25, about the right age to become vain, but didn’t she just have her first legitimate child? I thought you mentioned it about six months ago.”

  “Yes, another girl…Anna after her mother. I attended the blessing of course. Ruxandra and Mihail were both here to watch Stasi, as well as the new housekeeper.”

  Nea stood up as a maid came to clear up breakfast. Sabine linked an arm through hers as they walked down one of the garden paths toward shade in the deeper woods.

  “How is the new housekeeper working out?” Sabine asked. Since Sabine had five different residences she was barely even on a first name basis with most of her staff and only briefly noticed if one disappeared and was replaced. If Bendis didn’t alert her to the change she probably would just ignore it and keep on moving forward.

  There were, however, rituals to observe when a new staff member arrived, especially if the old one left due to death.

  “She is different…I am not used to having a full time housekeeper here, but since I boarded up my estate near Wallachia and Ruxandra loves being the sole caretaker of the house in Hungary, Bendis thought this arrangement was better.”

  “Ruxandra seems to take good care of the house in Nyirbator and since Elizabeth is now residing at Cachtice Castle in Slovakia, you almost never go there,” Sabine reminded her.

  “Yes. Ruxandra likes to have her space and she keeps an eye out on Klara and Zsofia for me, both girls are married now with families of their own.” Nea sighed, but contentedly, so far neither girl seemed to exhibit signs of the curse.

  “So tell me about the new housekeeper then. I know you Miss Valora.” Sabine was eager of news. The new housekeeper Marina had arrived eight months before when Valora had been sent home to live the rest of her life out among family. Valora had come to Nea when she was thirty-one, she had spent 30 years as her housekeeper and medic. After her 61st birthday Bendis has decided it was enough and declared her debt paid. Valora had been sad and excited to go home.

  “She is very young….” Nea stated.

  “Is she medical like Valora?” Sabine asked.

  “Yes. I told Bendis nothing else would do.” Nea had insisted that she could not function without a healer.

  “How young, remember…”

  “Rule 9; age does not matter. I know, I know.” Nea rolled her eyes, “She is 22 and was an assistant to a physician, what is called a nurse in the future. She doesn’t seem to like it here.”

  “Did Bendis tell you anything else?”

  “No, you know she doesn’t….Valora chose to confide in me, this one doesn’t speak much, I would like to be her friend, but I think in a month or so I will ask Bendis to send her back.”

  “You need to stop caring so much about your staff; they are here to do a job for you, that is all,” Sabine chided.

  “I can’t, Valora was like part of the family, and I’m not like you Sabine.”

  “I know.” Sabine was about to say more when there was a shiver upon her spine. She and Nea turned towards the castle at the same time.

  “Who is summoning us at this time of day?” Nea asked, more curious than worried. The women rushed back into the castle to see Mihail and Bendis in the foyer. Mihail looked a little watered down and spectral, like normal, with the sun this high in the sky and Bendis seemed like she always did, but a version about 30 years older. Nea was glad she wouldn’t age, she was sure it wouldn’t be as timelessly as the Goddess did when she appeared as the crone.

  “Is something wrong?” Nea hurried over, Sabine kneeled down to pet the Goddesses ever present foxes, cooing at them and giving them hidden treats.

  “You pamper them Sabine, they will get fat,” Bendis said, amused.

  “They are immortal; good luck with that” Sabine countered, giving them each one more stroke before standing.

  “I wanted to tell you the latest rumors about father.” Mihail glided over to his mother.

  “All your Strigoi have tried but it is impossible for us to get near either the castle or the Monastery…dark gypsy magic surrounds them, making them almost invisible. Had I not grown up here, I would forget they even existed.” He looked tired and a bit lost. Nea knew he needed to rest.

  “I thought as much, maybe I should go there myself.”

  “Leave it alone…it is better this way, no good can come from finding out he has turned vampyre…you would only have to destroy him,” Bendis warned.

  “Better to know what’s coming to my door than ignore what lurks,” Nea countered and the Goddess nodded slowly.

  “Why wouldn’t he come to you? You were his wife,” Sabine stated an obvious question.

  “Ashamed I think but it does not matter. He is always one step ahead of us.” Mihail wavered in and out of reality before solidifying more.

  “Mihail go to bed, you are exhausted, and this is important but can wait until later.” Nea told him. He wanted to argue and then bowed and disappeared.

  “Now, have you brought more bad news to my door step?” Nea asked her Goddess, sounding tired.

  “Of course not, I never bring you bad or good news…News is how your perceive it.” Cryptic as always.

  “What bull,” Sabine snorted.

  “Watch your tone Sabine, I am fond of you, but do not take liberties.” The words sounded cross but they could all see the hint of a smile on the old woman’s lips.

  “What can we do for you today Great Goddess Hecate?” Sabine curtseyed.

  “Go mind the child. My business is with Nea this morn.” Bendis chuckled. Sabine dipped in curtsy again and slowly made her way up the stairs towards Stasi’s play room.

  “First off, tell me how some of your other Bathory charges are doing; I am tired of hearing about Elizabeth.”

  “Gryzelda seems to be doing well; she is very interested in science, though her mother is concerned she is starting to be overly enthusiastic. Ever since Christopher died I haven’t had the same access to her as before. Her mother doesn’t like me,” Nea fretted.

  “Might become a problem,” Bendis advised

  “Klara and Zsofia also seem to be coming along nicely. They are 22 and 19, both are engaged and learning all the proper things young ladies should, sewing, music…you know dull things.” Nea laughed, recalling the last time she had seen them, both women had complained that sewing, embroidery and learning to cook were too boring and they wished they could be like Lizzy, who never had to lift a finger.

  “Good, maybe there is some progress after all.” Bendis seemed unhappy with the report.

  “Is there anything else?” Nea wanted to play with her daughter, and she didn’t like the negative tone in the Goddess’s voice.

  “Several years ago I made you a promise my Strega, to take you to see your mother and the other women in your family…Today is that day.”

  “Why today?” Nea was suspicious, it seemed like a boon, to be able to see and touch her mother again, but with the Goddess there was usually a catch.

  “You have lost three Bathory women since becoming a Strega Nea. I feel as if you could use guidance and perhaps if you see what lies in wait for Anastasia you shall work a bit harder and more carefully to break the curse.”

  “Harder and more carefully!” Nea exclaimed, “I have worked tirelessly to break this curse, I have been there for each Bathory female who has had the curse activated. I have tried giving stability, love and kindness to each of them. If there is something more I should be doing, please help me. I am doing all I can and I resent the accusation that I am not.” She was furious and didn’t even pay attention to the fact that she was almost yelling at a Goddess.

  “And what have you done the past eleven years besides dote on the child?” Bendis asked, glaring at her charge.
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  “I have raised a Bathory female in a loving environment, hoping to overpower the blood in her veins. I found good homes and husbands for Klara and Zsofia, I have given counsel to Elizabeth, attended baby blessings and weddings and made sure that none of them felt the lack of a mother in their lives. I have kept an eye on Gryzelda, and I have been a good Aunt and a great Godmother, encouraging religion and education. Again, if there is something I am not doing that I should be, tell me instead of these cryptic, worthless riddles!” Nea spat out, fire in her eyes, furious that after 123 years she would still be treated as a child.

  “The curse is still not broken, I can feel it. You have not succeeded. So we will go.” Bendis tried to calm Nea down, “I am not saying you haven’t done a good job so far, but what you have been doing is not working, at least not entirely.”

  “I know you know more than you are telling me so why don’t you just HELP ME!” Nea demanded.

  “I don’t know what you are referring to.” Bendis raised eyebrows at her Strega.

  “Fine, then let us go.” Nea gave up, feeling a weight in her chest and a burning in her throat. She had done all she could and obviously it wasn’t good enough. Even a grown woman sometimes needed to just have a good cry.

  Bendis touched her shoulder and Nea felt lurching in her stomach as she was whipped out of her world and through the veils into another. For a moment it felt like there was no air, and then an abundance of air as her mind spent a moment giddy like she had too much ale.

  She heard crying, laughter and whimpers in the ethereal wind swirling around them. As the world came back into focus her stomach came up through her throat, she fell to her knees and retched up breakfast, struggling to regain her balance and breathe properly.

  “Take it easy, my Strega, that kind of travel is not made for a human body, slow deep breaths.” Bendis’ voice came from behind her. When she was done, Nea stood, grateful when the goddess handed her a handkerchief to wipe her mouth.

  “Here, drink.” Bendis held out a hand and a pewter cup appeared in it. Nea grasped the cup and greedily drank, parched and tired. The liquid was cool, sweet, spicy, and like nothing she had ever tasted before, bubbles flowed over her tongue as she swallowed. Finishing she took another breath and steadied herself.

  “What was that?”

  “A drink from the future, helps with nausea.”

  “It was delicious.”

  “You’re welcome. From now on you shall be able to come here as often as you like, do not abuse this gift.” Bendis made the cup and handkerchief disappear. Nea began to look around. There was no sun where they were, just an endless black sky with twinkling lights above them. She knew the lights were not stars; the color was off a little. The ground was black and hard like marble or brick, but the texture was odd. There were white poplar trees scattered around, they seemed sickly, but stretched tall into the darkness. Paths were carved between the trees and occasionally patches of greyish grass grew alongside it with strange ghostly flowers peeking out.

  “Is this Purgatory?”

  “Limbo, yes…The correct name from back when I was young is the Fields of Asphodel. Where souls who are neither good nor evil come to reside and can drink from the River Lethe before being reincarnated or wander for eternity.” Bendis had a fond expression on her face.

  “Why hasn’t my family done that?” Nea asked.

  “They are not allowed; they cannot even get near the river. For them this is more hell than anything else, stuck here forever, the memories of their past life clinging to them. For souls who become stuck here the Gods take pity on them, come.”

  They walked farther in and Nea began to see silhouettes in the distance that looked like the faint outlines of buildings. As they grew closer she realized they were more like large houses. There were over a dozen, some small, reminding her of the tiny inns one stayed in during travel; some were large flashy buildings with bright lights and dozens of windows stretching tall into the sky, weird sounds, music and laughter trickled out of cracked windows and doors. These were so foreign to Nea she didn’t even know what to call them. There was a fenced in area with dozens of tents, oddly shaped and situated carriages that seemed to be lived in. One lot was full of tall sturdy trees that had to be thirty feet or more in the air, among the branches were wooden homes and swaying paths, Nea could barely comprehend how one lived among trees.

  Though it must have been miles to walk it only took a minute or so and Nea realized time, space and distance here was much different. They finally came to stand in front of a building that seemed to be a house, but not like any house she had ever seen. It was at least four stories with a porch that wrapped around connected with columns. It was made of wood and the windows were oddly shaped.

  “It’s a design from the future I find enjoyable. It’s called American Colonial.”

  “America? That uncivilized place they discovered less than 100 years ago? I didn’t think it would ever amount to more than an extension of England.” Nea laughed.

  “It will one day be a huge nation and formidable.” Bendis opened the white gate that surrounded the house and they walked up matching steps. “A warning, inside is kind of disturbing. Your mother and…well one other share the top floor away from the rest…but the others, in death they have done what they could not in life.”

  Nea felt horrible as they approached the house, like bugs were crawling all over her. She shivered, this wasn’t right.

  “What you feel is the warning in place to make sure the other spirits in Limbo do not come here. However there are always those bored, foolish or think they are immune to the violence that lingers inside,” Bendis explained.

  “You give them access to victims?” Nea was horrified.

  “Only those stupid enough to ignore the warnings and the rumors.”

  “Will they know me? Speak to us?” Nea asked, trying to ignore images Bendis has just given her.

  “Not unless you speak first, I advise not drawing attention to yourself.” They opened the door and the first thing Nea noticed was the smell, like concentrated female, food and the underlying scent of sickness and blood, sour with hints of iron. The house was dark inside and furnished nicely, stale air lingered in the room with the occasionally wafts of a fresh breeze from a window somewhere. There was barely any light in the hallway.

  “My mother can’t live like this.” Nea said, her throat clogged with unshed tears.

  “She doesn’t.” Was all Bendis would answer, “Come upstairs.”

  “Wait. What about the children? The babies killed before they could become blights on the family? Those who never reached puberty?” Nea sounded frantic; was she about to see a room full of twisted children?

  “Thankfully the curse spares you if you never reach puberty, they have all gone on to the afterlife, though they cannot reincarnate until the curse is over. I do not want to run the risk of them being born back into the same family, which happens sometimes,” Bendis informed a relieved Nea.

  They walked and passed a door leading to the basement, and a formal dining room where a five course meal seemed to have been laid out and left to rot. Nea became even more horrified the further inside she went. She knew Bendis had wanted her to see this, but the twisted sadness in this house was almost too much.

  The first room Bendis directed her to seemed to be a living room, there was a box in the corner with flashing light and a woman sat on the couch. She was surrounded by boxes, trinkets, clothing, jewels and held a small metal device in her hand she was talking into.

  “Yes and two of the Cordial Glass Apples….Yes and I don’t care if it costs more to ship them first class.” The words didn’t make sense to Nea but she knew the voice, squinting into the darkness she recognized the woman.

  “Anna.” She breathed, “What is she doing?”

  “I had her shown the joys of ordering goods through a futuristic device you won’t see for years.”

  “But how can she get them here?”

&n
bsp; “Magic, of course. None of it exists outside this realm but she thinks she is happy being able to have all the creature comforts she could ever want and more. When she isn’t in here she is in her room drinking herself into a stupor and passing out on whatever man she has hired for the night. There are quite a few to choose from, those in the Tent City are not picky.” Bendis shrugged and they continued on.

  “Can they leave?”

  “Two can, including your mother. The others can’t. I can’t allow them free access to more victims by allowing them to wander. This house sits like a dark beacon, most of the other souls are afraid of it.” Bendis beckoned her on.

  They almost ran into another young woman coming down the hall, Bendis pushed Nea to the wall as they let her pass.

  “Anna, come taste what I made in the kitchen!” The girl called, she was about 20 years old, her eyes wide and frantic.

  “Go away Beth. Every time I let you feed me I wind up sick for days! I am not like your friends, you can’t kill me.” Anna’s voice came from the room, bored.

  “But we’re sisters, we should spend time together,” Beth begged.

  “Why would I want to spend my afterlife letting you poison me? Go kill one of those stupid men who peer through the back windows instead.” Came the uninterested voice again.

  Beth seemed to pout and when she turned back around Nea caught a glimpse of deathly pale skin and smelled old blood as she walked past them again, to a door farther down the hall beyond the stairs.

  There were two last doors on the first floor and Nea could hear what sounded like scratching coming from one of them, she looked at Bendis confused and afraid to see.

  “The library, even dead they all like to have knowledge and now it can cross years.” She waved a hand and the door cracked open. Nea peered in and then took a step back.

  There was a headless woman writing at the desk, furiously scribbling. Her head was on the table and as she spoke the body wrote.

  “Madalina, what is she doing?” Nea whispered, the scratching stalled for a moment and then sped back up as Nea stepped farther away from the door.

  “Writing her manifesto, its good she was killed when she was…her ideas for trying to govern her entire town are disturbing to say the least. Now that she has more knowledge of the world she writes about how she would take over and rule it all, with a majority of it being through deceit and bloodshed.” Bendis led away from the door, towards the staircase.