1. Salem, 1692


    Date: 9/18/2015, Categories: Historical, Author: WritersFriend, Rating: 9, Source: LushStories

    a few hours they saw a cluster of buildings, a small town. “Let’s go around it,” Mary said. “The place we want is farther north.” They skirted the town and soon saw a log house along the shore of the river. “That’s it,” Mary said. They tethered the horses to a hitching post out front, and Mary knocked on the door. An older woman opened it—in her late forties, Edward thought, her hair streaked with gray and age lines creasing her face. When she saw Mary she called out her name and wrapped her in a hug. “Hello, Mother,” Mary said. She turned to Edward to introduce him, and seeing the surprise on his face, said, “Oh, Lena isn’t my real mother. All the girls call her that. Lena, this is Edward. He saved my life.” The woman stepped out of the doorway and hugged Edward, too. “Thank you for that, Edward. I can’t believe how they treated my dear sweet Mary.” Mary got her cat out of the basket, and Edward took their belongings from the saddle bags into the house. There were three girls inside, ranging in age from fifteen or sixteen to mid twenties. Mary knew them all by name and gave each a hug in turn. “You poor dears must be famished,” Lena said. She and the girls sat them at the table and served them soup and hard-crusted bread. After they had eaten, it became obvious to Edward that Mary and the women had a lot of catching up to do. He still felt very tired, and the heat from the fire burning in the hearth wasn’t helping. He drifted off a few times while listening to the ...
    conversation, until Lena said, “Have you heard about Abernathy?” “No,” Mary said. “What about him?” “He’s contracted the pox. His wife and children have moved out and he’s in isolation.” Edward felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “It was me,” he blurted. “I caused it.” Everyone looked at him. “How?” Lena said. “I wished him to die of a disease. I cast a spell upon him.” Lena gave him a motherly look, though the small smirk on his face spoiled it somewhat. “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, Edward. After all, you’re not a wizard, are you?” “No!” He found the girls stares unnerving. “I’m very tired,” he said. “Of course,” Lena said. “I’m a terrible hostess. Let me show you to your room.” Edward followed her. The room was small and the bed narrow. Lena turned down the blanket and said, “I’ll leave you to it.” The room had no door, but it was out of sight of the main area. Out of modesty, Edward considered sleeping in his breeches, but they were dirty from the road. He took them off and crawled under the blanket. He fell into a deep sleep, but every so often the drone of voices from the other room broke through. He heard isolated words that sounded like “virgin,” “cock,” and occasionally a monotonal chant that reminded him of Mary’s song earlier. Sometime during the night he woke with a start. The room was black. In the doorway he thought he could see a silhouette. “Mary?” he said. The figure approached and pulled back his blanket. Suddenly a tongue was swirling in his mouth, a hand ...
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