Sarah of Salem - The Dark Son

There were things I couldn't prove, but I suspected. As a child, Annie loved Coco Pebbles cereal, but her mother rarely would buy it. Somehow, there was always a box in the cupboard. Unless one of her siblings was secretly spoiling her, then Annie was able to materialize her desires.

Levitation, Materialization, Illusions and Mind Control -- the forgotten arts. Sometimes, as she struggled with her spells and telekinesis exercises, I would look in wonder at my little girl, my amazing little girl, who I knew had great things in her. Greater than she knew, and greater than I probably knew, thinking of all the times I'd changed my mind and allowed her to have or do things I would have refused her siblings. Mind Control? I think she could do things without trying and couldn't do things she tried.

But her nephew lorded his talents over her. Talos wasn't the sweet natured kid that my children were and had been. He could be sneaky, sullen, and determined to have his way at any cost. But normally he put on a loving persona that charmed the women in the family.

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Sarah had taken the boys, Talos and Evie, to the park to play. I had the afternoon off and decided that the chance to spend time with Sarah was too good to pass up, so I went along. While the two kids ran around, chasing each other and playing on the swings, slides and monkey bars, I noticed a strange phenomenon. My grandson's face kept turning, almost unbidden it seemed, to the far side of the park.

I recognized that phenomenon. I had seen my wife, and my children exhibit it daily. Only, this time, I wasn't the focus of the gaze.

When I gazed across the park, I saw the reason. Staring at my grandson was his father; Reggie Archer had returned, and seemed to share a rare connection, of the type which my family shared, with my grandson.

When he looked up from Talos, he saw me. He quickly turned and disappeared down the street.

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With the return of Archer, our problems with Talos really began. He began cutting school, missing afternoons or whole days. Sarah put tracer spells on him, but they would be suddenly severed, almost as soon as they alerted my wife to her grandson's truancy. I tried to use electronic means, tracking his phone, but his would simply seem to disappear when I tried to track him.

Little did we know the depths of our problems. It fell onto poor Annie. She had discovered, around the neighborhood, butchered animals, mainly cats but some rats and puppy as well. A sensitive soul, Annie would come to us in tears the first few times. Thereafter, she began to just bury the poor remains, keeping the tragedies to herself.

She seemed pulled to these sites -- no one else ever reported finding any remains; Anastasia would always come across them first. It began weighing on her soul. My happy girl smiled less and less each week.

It was when Annie caught Talos sacrificing a cat to the Horned God that we finally found out the extent of the butchery. She was compelled to push through some bushes in the park and there was her nephew, chanting and holding up the moribund disemboweled body up in an offering to Satan. Annie told us that she had screamed in surprise and terror. Talos had scowled at her interruption, his eyes like glowing red coals, before he dropped the cat and ran further into the woods.

Annie was hysterical, incoherent in her sorrow and fear when she finally made it home. Once we were able to understand her tale, we immediately began searching, with Blaise and Deidre, but failed to find Talos. He wasn't to return home again.

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Sarah suspected that Reggie had Talos; that Archer had been directing his child to perform the forbidden sacrifices, but it was Anastasia who voiced the fear that explained Griselda and Reggie's plan. It was another attempt at power from the Horned God, Annie told us. Griselda had planned on sacrificing the baby that was now our son Evie; Reggie, who may have been her lover, needed a sacrifice for his powers. Griselda wrapped Deidre in a conception spell, anchored by her branded hex mark, to provide the offering Reggie Archer required. When I had inadvertently destroyed Griselda and her coven, Reggie lost his opportunity. Now, somehow, he'd made contact with Talos and more -- he must have taught Talos to perform his animal sacrifices, to introduce his son, Reggie's planned offering to the Horned One.

How Annie knew all that, we don't know. But she did and it had the ring of truth.

Anastasia looked at her mother and me with that solemn stare of divination and pronounced: "He's going to sacrifice Talos to Satan!" Then her face dissolved into terror, and she collapsed.

As I carried my unconscious daughter to her bed, Sarah began organizing the search for Reggie and Talos. She sent my children and her own acolytes to intersections of the lay lines and other points of psychic power, to search for the Satan worshipper. She was sure he wouldn't be alone. Griselda had had more followers than just her Coven. Reggie was likely their new leader, as the one striving for the Horn God's approval.

I helped with the organizing, but when I went back to check on Annie, her bed was empty. My daughter was gone!

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Anastasia walked unseen through the quiet night. Cars passed by, as did neighbors walking their dogs, but none saw the young girl passing by. She was pulled, half conscious, towards the Salem Woods Trail.

Hidden in the woods, sheltered by spells, Archer stood surrounded by his robed followers, local and distant witches who longed for a deeper connection to Satan, to whom magic was a tool not for good, but rather one for personal greed and perverted satisfaction. He intoned the required chants, which then were echoed by his disciples. Talos lay on the rock before him, semi-conscious but still terrified.

Talos had felt the connection to the man who claimed to be his real father. He had loved the feeling of strength and power that radiated from the man, so unlike the weaker, but loving, vibes that Blaise, his phony father, exhibited. He'd enjoyed the power that he'd felt when he followed his new father's instructions and had sacrificed the animals in the manner demanded of him. He could feel the Horned God accepting his sacrifices and his body would flush with pleasure and excitement.

But now, when he had been discovered by his aunt and had run to his real father, he had been bound to this rock by spells and chants. He struggled to maintain full consciousness but was failing. However, he was conscious enough to feel fear, seeing the knife in Reggie's hands. Beyond that, he could feel the presence of the Horned One, as he had felt it when sacrificing the cats. Now, the presence didn't infuse him with pleasure; rather, it seemed to be drawing something from him, leaving only fear in its wake.

Reggie spoke with ever increasing fervor, breathing in the growing nearness of his God with each phrase. The time was growing near -- he could hardly wait to plunge the knife into the chest of his child. The power would soon be his. His chant was broken by his laugh of triumph.

The time was now! He raised the knife over his head, intoning the final lines of the sacrificial rite.

"STOP!" The command echoed through the trees. Against his will, Reggie ceased his chant and lowered his arms. Looking up, he saw the young girl appear out of the woods. "STOP!" the girl again commanded.

Reggie scowled in irritation at the interruption, then laughed. This would be another gift to the god, a young virgin, one he knew was an incompetent witch, unable to summon or control her powers.

He laughed again, and swiftly drew his knife lightly across the bare chest of his son, leaving a line of seeping blood to taunt the girl and deny her control. "And what are you going to do, girl? Other than scream at us to stop?" He began mumbling a new chant and the girl gasped as her head felt a crushing weight surround it. As she wavered, Reggie laughed again.

Anastasia felt a stab of fear. Why had she not contacted her mother or brother before she had come here? It hadn't been any conscious thought. She had been compelled to come here and had barely been aware of her own actions. Now she was alone, facing a powerful wizard, with her nephew's life on the line.

Her life, as well, she realized.

She felt the pressure on her mind increase, becoming intolerable. She felt herself weaken and felt impotent against the warlock's magic. She thought of her family, her dad, mother, siblings.

"NO!" she yelled, flinging her arms out. She felt like a dam had burst. She drew on the power her family shared, focusing on Reggie. She suddenly saw him as an imperfection, a pimple on the landscape of magic, which suddenly she could see laid out before her.

And suddenly, like the pimple she imagined, Reggie's head popped. Like a pimple. And the pressure on her head disappeared.

She looked down at the now cowering witches who had followed Archer. The Horned God had retreated -- there was no trace of him left. Talos was sitting up on the rock.

Annie realized she was looking down at the crowd. They were staring wildly at her, floating up above them, and at the ring of dragons that now surrounded the small meadow. She knew that they were an illusion, one she had thrown up by instinct to keep the evil group corralled. She smiled happily. She'd always loved dragons.

Pointing to where Reggie's body lay, she addressed the crowd. "He forgot that I am my father's daughter." She waved her hand, and the corpse dematerialized. Vanished. It amused her when she realized she had done that. She felt her magic; realized what had held her back before; realized she knew how to handle... everything. It was like breathing; it was only hard when you tried to do it. Just let it come naturally.

"And my mother's daughter." Although her mother couldn't materialize or dematerialize matter. "But you won't forget!"

Anatasia raised her arms and the skies darkened. Lightning flashed across the skies, strikes streaking down and hitting houses across the town. The sky roared and boomed.

The illusions of dragons dissipated, and Annie commanded the trembling witches to leave. They fearfully rushed to be away from the power that crackled in the air around them. They would discover that their homes were smoldering ashes from the lightning strikes.

Annie settled on the ground and approached her nephew. Focusing on him, she watched his face twist up in pain. After a moment, Annie relaxed, and Talos gasped as the pain eased.

"Talos," she began. "I love you. Your family loves you. But there is no room in this world for Dark Magic; no room for the Horned God or anyone who worships him. You are an evil witch, but a good person, I think.

"So, I've destroyed the magic in you."

The boy started in panic, but then, surprised, smiled. For the first time in his life, he felt... wonderful. Unlike the pleasure the Horned God's sacrifices have given him, he felt, whole. Wholesome. He felt cleansed of envy, greed, and any desire to hurt or punish anyone or anything. He smiled as his aunt hugged him.

She took the boy home to his parents.