Annabel Horton, Lost Witch of Salem

by Vera Jane Cook

  “Call him!” I commanded to Elizabeth and Meredith Mae. “Call on his soul and demand that he hear you. Are we not witches?”

  “What are you saying, Grandmamma?” Meredith Mae asked me.

  “He came to me in a dream. If Ursula can take the body of Jeanne Elemont, my son can take the body of…”

  They looked at me as I glanced over to where Calvin held the pistol on Luther and Gillian.

  I took in a deep breath and began to chant.

  “Omereo, Listern, Oereus. Colistrum, Dominus, Herum, Dominus, Colistrum, Dominus!”

  Meredith Mae fell to her knees and held her hands to the sky. She closed her eyes and swayed under the moon. The children looked on in horror. Calvin began to cry out loud but kept the pistol steady.

  “Omereo, Listern, Oereus. Coistrum, Dominus, Herum, Dominus, Colistrum, Dominus,” I repeated over and over again. I do not know from where the words came. But, if I had to guess, I would say that my despair found the ancient prayer in the deepest recesses of my soul. You may use the ancient words if you wish. If you close your eyes and trust what comes to you, the severing of dimensions will occur. If you have power, you will cross the dead.

  Ursula stood from the carriage and watched. The moon moved behind a cloud and the sky became black. The twins were sobbing loudly now. Calvin continued to sniffle, but he kept the pistol aimed and ready.

  Elizabeth called to Jesus.

  “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.”

  “Omereo, Listern, Oereus, Colistrum, Dominus, Herum, Dominus, Colistrum, Dominus.”

  Suddenly, the cloud that shadowed the moon faded. We heard Luther scream. When I turned toward him, I saw that his body lay flat on the earth and his eyes seemed to stare at nothing, as though he were looking inward.

  “Help me!” he cried out.

  We all stood quickly and went to him. We watched as he went into spasms. I believe we were too shocked to know what to do, so we did not react at all.

  “Do something, you horrid people,” Gillian screamed into the night wind.

  Suddenly, Luther grabbed his heart and his eyes came to life and flickered.

  “Help him!” Gillian wailed.

  “Heart attack!” Luther whispered. “Help me.”

  “Do something!” Gillian called out.

  I watched as the breath was sucked from Luther’s body by the hand of death.

  “It is too late,” I said.

  “You did this. You murdered him.” Gillian ran to me and pounded her fists on my chest. “You scared him to death.”

  “Look!” Meredith Mae ran to Luther’s body and held his head up.

  My son’s face was appearing slowly in Luther’s features as Luther’s soul vacated the flesh and went to Satan’s door. I heard Elizabeth gasp. You might have called this transformation a phantom, a ghost from the shadowy graves of the earth possessing the recently deceased, but I knew immediately that the man appearing in Luther’s dead flesh was my son Matthew, and he had taken the body and blood of Luther Guyon and given life to the still form.

  Finally, after several minutes, my son looked up at me from the ground. Julian’s face was the first he saw.

  “Father,” he said, “Where am I?”

  “Matthew!” Elizabeth cried out.

  He turned. “Good God!” he cried.

  “Matthew, my darling,” Elizabeth ran to him and grabbed his hand.

  “Elizabeth.” He reached up for her lips and began to stroke her hair, but when he noticed the habit she wore, he sat back.

  “Forgive me,” he said. “Forgive me, Sister.”

  “No, Matthew, darling.” She reached out for him once more, but he leaned away from her and looked around him. Then he stood up tall and took in his surroundings.

  “Where am I?” he asked.

  I went to him and took him in my arms. I removed the cross from around my neck, and smiled so broadly as he recognized me.

  “Mother. Oh, my God. Mother.” He stared at me in disbelief.

  He looked to his daughter as she stood there weeping.

  “Papa?” she said and held out her hands.

  “Meredith Mae?” He threw back his head and laughed. He took her in his arms and lifted her up.

  I could see him clearly now in Luther’s form; his dark hair was wet and fell on his brow. Here again was my handsome son, my boy, my Matthew, appearing like a vapory mist behind the startled eyes of Luther Guyon.

  Gillian stared at her brother curiously. Calvin had not moved or uttered a sound. Matthew squinted his eyes toward the carriage and stared at the bemused Ursula.

  “Good Lord, is that…?” he began.

  “No, it is not Jeanne. It is Ursula,” I said. “I will explain. She saved Meredith Mae, and we transported her soul into Jeanne Elemont’s body.”

  “What?” he said. “Jeanne’s dead?”

  “Yes. I will tell you everything, but we must leave quickly before we are spotted here.”

  Matthew looked at Calvin and grinned. “And who are you?” he asked.

  Calvin smiled back.

  “Calvin Nathaniel Johnson, sir. You don’t know me?”

  “Should I?”

  Calvin looked in my direction.

  “What’s happened to Mr. Luther?” he asked.

  I told him he had had a transformation and would never be the same.

  Calvin slapped his leg and let out a laugh. “It will only take me a moment to finish filling this hole, Father.”

  “Good. Work quickly, Calvin,” I said.

  “You have taken the form of Luther Guyon. Did you know? Did you murder him purposely to take flesh?” I asked.

  “No. I heard my soul being called, and I followed it. It was like that time I found you in the river, Mother. I discovered myself in this young man’s flesh. He was dying. His heart, I think, but he was young. I am young, aren’t I?”

  “He is around thirty-five. They say he is your son, and he is named Luther Guyon. The girl over there is his twin.”

  My son walked over to where Gillian sat on the ground. She stared at the man she still saw as her brother.

  “Luther?” she whimpered.

  My son studied her features.

  “When were you born?” he asked.

  “Are you insane? You know our birth date.” She turned to me frantically. “What have you done to him?”

  Meredith Mae went to her father and answered him quickly.

  “Their birth date was August 23rd, 1860.”

  Matthew looked back at Elizabeth. “I did not touch her after your death,” he said. “I should never have touched her at all. I only did so because I thought I would never see you again, and she was very persuasive. Forgive me. I was a very foolish man.”

  Elizabeth had tears in her eyes. “I, too, was foolish,” she said. “Jeanne Elemont broke my neck, and I took a child’s body, Elizabeth Sue’s. I did not know what else to do, and the child lay dying in her crib. I should have gone to you and told you, but I could not. I was vain and could not go to you as a baby after I had lost you as an older woman. That, too, was foolish.”

  Matthew looked at her. “I thought I could be happy after I married Jeanne, but my distrust only increased, and I began to suspect she had harmed you for the estate. I might have even gone to the authorities had she not have fed me the poison so soon. I do not know who these children are, but they are not mine. I would not go near her for quite some time, and she did not seem to care.”

  “Thank God,” I uttered.

  “Emie and Philippe? Where are they?” Meredith Mae asked.

  Matthew sighed. “I do not know where I have been. Perhaps death is a place too vast to recall. What chronology is this?”

  “1898,” I told him.

  “I will be curious to see how the world has changed.”

  “Where is Michele?”

  “I do not know, Mother. My last memory of Philippe was righ
t after I learned of Ann Peckham’s death. He and Emie think we are all dead, I am sure of that. There has been no telepathy between us, and I do not know how much chronology has passed where they are. But Philippe always said he had lost only moments when he walked through the chamber and returned.”

  “We must find our family. This form of Julian Rouvrey that I now wear is very powerful, and the magic I hold can reunite us, but I have made a promise that I must fulfill first.”

  “All in due time, Mother,” Matthew said. “First though, I think, you’re right: we must find our family. Meredith Mae, try and communicate to Emie. Perhaps if you go in to a trance you can bring Philippe and Emie to our dimension.”

  “Yes, with you and Elizabeth here, and Grandmamma, we will have the power to reach her. I am sure of it,” Meredith Mae exclaimed.

  “Everything will be fine now, Mother. I promise. Everything will be fine,” my son told me.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  But everything was not fine. We noticed the police carriages outside Luther’s house when we were halfway up the block. I told Calvin to halt the horses and pull off the road.

  “Elizabeth and I will walk pass the house. We will meet you on Lafayette Street soon after. Go to Meredith Mae’s home at once. Elizabeth and I will walk there from here.”

  Gillian began to scream and Matthew quickly put a hand over her mouth. Elizabeth and I got out of the carriage and watched as Calvin safely turned the horses and rode off. I knew, even before we approached the gate, that the bodies of the children had been discovered on the property, and there would be a warrant out for Luther’s arrest. My son now wore this murderer’s flesh and would surely be arrested on sight. We had to flee this dimension and save Matthew from the gallows once again.

  * * * *

  “Good evening, Father.”

  I smiled at a young policeman and watched as he kept looking behind him, for there was a great commotion and many men in blue suits.

  “Seems to be some excitement here,” I said.

  “Oh yes. There sure is, Father.”

  “Well, what seems to be going on, officer?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Oh, I’m not an officer, Sister.”

  Elizabeth smiled politely and inquired again. I noticed that the young man was embarrassed to tell us the gruesome business that had been discovered.

  “Anyone murdered here?” I asked. “There seems to be so many police on the property.”

  The young man blushed. “Yes, sir. Children, sir.”

  He blushed again. I could see the faint red tinge to his cheeks under the light of the streetlamp.

  “Children?”

  “Yes, Father.”

  “Are we needed?” Elizabeth asked.

  The young policeman shook his head.

  “The perpetrator is at large, Sister. But we’ll get him. Don’t worry. We know who he is.”

  “May I ask how you knew of the murders?” I inquired.

  “Anonymous tip, sir.”

  Of course, I knew the anonymous tip had come from Urbain. It was his only weapon of defense against us now. I was too powerful in Julian’s form to fear him, and with so many other witches against him he had little recourse but to try and destroy, at the very least, my son’s new life.

  “Don’t worry, Father. We’ll find this monster,” the young policeman said and put a hand on my shoulder.

  We bid him a fond good night and walked swiftly back to Lafayette and Carroll.

  * * * *

  I could hear Annascha barking as we breathlessly approached the porch.

  “How did the dog get here?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I do not know, but it will save us a trip back to the church basement,” I told her as I hurried inside.

  They were all in the parlor when we walked through the door.

  “How did the dog get here?” I asked Meredith Mae.

  “There was a priest outside when we arrived. He brought her,” she said as the dog leaped up on me and barked.

  “A priest? What did he look like?”

  “His face was covered by a cloak. I could see nothing, not even his eyes.”

  “She is supposed to lead me to Claudette,” I said.

  “I think she would prefer to be led to the kitchen for some food.” Calvin smiled.

  “You offer food to the dog and not to me?” Gillian suddenly yelled out. “Something criminal is going on at my brother’s house and he sits here like a different man and seems not to care. You people will pay for this. You have altered him somehow.”

  “Take this creature to the kitchen and give her something to eat, Calvin,” I said.

  I heard Ursula snicker.

  “Yes, sir.” Calvin took Gillian by the arm. The pistol was still visible in his hand. Annascha followed behind.

  “What are we to do, Annie?” Elizabeth asked as Matthew sat at her side and looked at her sheepishly. I noticed that he would not take her hand, though I knew he wanted to.

  Meredith Mae sat on a small sofa with Ursula and waited for me to speak. I did not have a definitive plan. The discovery of the bodies on Luther’s property changed everything.

  “There has been an anonymous tip,” I began, and went on to explain that the wretched Luther had used helpless children in his devil worship, and then buried their remains on his property.

  “And the anonymous tip?” my son asked.

  “Urbain,” I said.

  “Did you know of Luther’s activities?” I asked Ursula.

  “Of course not,” she said.

  “The police will come here to ask Luther’s half-sister what she knows of the murders. They will also question his mother,” I said to Ursula. “We do not have much time.”

  “What are we going to do, Mother? Obviously, we must cross a barrier,” my son said.

  “Yes, I know,” I answered.

  “I have always wanted to share Philippe’s time. Perhaps that is where we should go. The twenty-first century; how frightening it sounds, but how exciting,” Matthew said.

  I wished I could accommodate him but knew in my heart that I could not.

  * * * *

  The very next morning the daily papers were filled with headlines about the murders. We read the articles aloud to each other until we had devoured them all. The anonymous tip was mentioned briefly. The reporter said a letter had arrived by courier revealing the whereabouts of the bodies and naming Luther Guyon as the killer. Gillian denied the charges against her brother to all of us and accused Calvin.

  I immediately sent the transformed Ursula to the bank. Of course, everyone believed she was the actual Jeanne Elemont, and she continued to play her part well. I accompanied her to ensure that everything was done exactly as I requested. I insisted that she transfer her cash and sign over her bonds to Eugenie Anderson. I had her pay off the mortgage the bank was holding on our house and transfer the deed to a fictitious Annabel Horton. Calvin Nathaniel Johnson and his family would live in the house as servants to ensure they would not be harmed. I had her set aside an adequate trust that would enable Calvin to live independently for the rest of his life without anyone’s knowledge of his wealth.

  Matthew wrote a suicide note and confession and signed it in Luther Guyon’s hand. It was mailed to the police chief post haste. His suicide note made the afternoon edition the following day, and the police went on a manhunt to recover Luther’s body, which fortunately would never be found.

  I bid Calvin a fond farewell, and he thanked me for the home I had given him.

  “Take care of it, Calvin, for I do not know when I shall ever see it again.”

  He embraced me with all his might and promised to destroy the cathedral and the gazebo, immediately following the close of the investigation.

  “And please paint the house white again, will you?” I smiled.

  “I love you, Father,” he whispered. “I have seen firsthand. You’re a messenger of the Lord.”

  “Perhaps,” I said. “Perhaps.”


  * * * *

  That evening, Annascha was quite agitated and began to run in circles all over the house. We decided to tie Gillian to a chair in the upstairs bedroom and gag her mouth with a rag to prevent her screams. We began our trance downstairs in the parlor. We lay on the floor with the dog very near us. Matthew was to my immediate right and held my hand as we listened to the steady breath of the white shepherd. To Matthew’s right, I could hear Elizabeth saying the Lord’s Prayer. On my left lay Meredith Mae. I could feel the strength of her hand in mine. Ursula held her other hand and prayed in her native French. I had drawn a circle around us for protection.

  I did not lead the prayers, but only listened to the dog’s steady breathing and trusted Julian’s words, that somehow she would guide me to Claudette Moreau. I thought of Philippe and Emie and my beloved husband, but I had made a promise to Julian and knew that he was calling upon me now to honor it.

  * * * *

  Hours passed. The moon crossed the room and faded, and the sun burst in the sky in a pattern of fire. No one spoke, nor slept. Our prayers never ceased.

  Perhaps a day passed, perhaps two. I cannot say.

  Quite gradually, Loudon appeared before me, a village covered in stone, unmercifully loud and yet, mysteriously lovely. Bells clamored in song as I stood. I called out. No one answered. I clasped the rusted cross to my breast only to see that the rust was gone and the gold shone. I called out again.

  “Matthew?”

  There was nothing.

  “Elizabeth?”

  Silence.

  “I cannot fight the devil alone! Meredith Mae!”

  But alas, no one but the pretty white shepherd heard.

  PART IV

  LOUDON

  Chapter Fifty

  God, how I would come to hate Loudon, the majesty of its stone walls, the twists and turns of its endless spiraling roads; every inch of it would disgust me, the smell from its hibiscus, the faraway call of its surrounding hills. Not even the magic of its purple and yellow meadows could seduce me. Madmen roamed the streets and followed me through the village, calling upon my prayers and begging for my mercy. They pulled upon my robe and fought to kiss my feet. The bells were everywhere, loud and overbearing, so much so that the city’s sky held not one bird’s wing. The madmen rocked their heads to the sound and screamed like gulls at sea against the barren sky, while merchants smiled into my eyes and children fought playfully, children covered from head to foot in the dirt kicked up from the well-traveled roads of Loudon.