Tracy, a huge Ghost Adventures fan finds herself thrown in the thick of it. Both a passionate relationship and a demonic connection nobody could ever have predicted evolve. How will Zak, Tracy and the crew cope with this new and bizarre situation? W...
I sit Zak down on the couch and gather up my notes, all thoughts of lunch forgotten. Sitting n the coffee table facing him I clear my throat.
"So you know a bit about the persecution of so called witches don't you?" I ask him thinking back to the episodes that had touched on the history of witchcraft. He nods.
"I know a little but I'm far from an expert." He confirms.
"Well I've traced back a couple of our ancestral lines to the 1690s when the witch hunts were at their peak and there was religious unrest across Britain. In a tiny village in Devon near the Cornwall boarder our two ancestors not only lived but apparently they knew each other, ummmm, well." I begin to tell the story.
"Huh? What? We're related?!" Zak almost jumps out of his seat.
"What? No! Noooo!" I almost laugh. "They didn't have any children and even if they had we would be so distantly connected it wouldn't have mattered. But no we don't have to worry about that." I rub his knee in reassurance, grinning at the panic that momentarily crossed his face.
Anyway my ancestor, Delphyne, she was a witch, a white witch but they didn't make any distinction back then. She was well known locally as she would provide the villagers with remedies, charms and spells. She was a respected wise woman and entrusted by most. I say most as unfortunately her reputation made her an easy target." I swallowed.
"I can relate." Zak mumbled making my heart twinge knowing that he's had to fight his own battles due to his reputation and success. I give his hand a squeeze.
"Delphyne was harassed and yes hunted by a man, a witch hunter and religious zealot who was corrupt and especially known to be cruel and corrupt. Although no one would willingly give her up to this man there was one villager in particular that provided her with shelter and protection.
"My ancestor?" Zak asked completely enthralled in the tale.
"Your ancestor." I confirmed. "As I suspected he was the local bow maker named Aiden Bagans. He was a religious man, a devout catholic but he still respected the ancient ways of the land. Catholicism was out of favour at this time and he risked his own life in order to protect Delphyne. She in return tried to ward Aiden against the persecution he faced for his own beliefs. From the journal of the witch hunter it can be assumed that their relationship became passionate, though they never married." I could tell Zak was taking it all in and thinking it over.
"I bet they couldn't marry, who would wed a witch and a catholic back then? Or now for that matter?" He considered. I felt a small pang as it occurred to me that was catholic and I was not but I ignore it and continue with the tale.
"Both Aiden and Delphyne escaped with their lives but they did not go unpunished. Aiden was put in the stocks and whipped on more than one occasion. It even went as far as Delphyne being subjected to the ducking stool, which she barely survived. She also had the palms of her hands branded." I say quietly not realising I was subconsciously running my fingers over the healing wound on my own hand.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"This is insane!" Zak exclaims and I nod.
Luckily before the witch hunter could do his worst he was convicted of his own crimes, mostly against women. He was imprisoned but released approximately 8 years later. His trail runs cold from there however, there were rumours that he fled to Holland. The same Holland that was exploring the West Coast of Australia."
"Perth?"Zak asks and I nod.
"There's little more mention of Aiden and Delphyne following the demise of the witch hunter until their deaths in 1732, just a few months apart.They lived a long life for the times. I found going forward through my ancestors the rumour of witchcraft carried on through my family until the early 1800s. Whereas your family's journey to America is well documented." I trail off. "Oh! I nearly forgot the witch hunter's name was Herrod Atley."
"Hatchi." Zak whispers daring to speak the demonic name for the first time since we learned it in Perth.
"That's my guess." I agree. " I have a theory. I don't know if I'm right but its a thought." I ponder out loud, having told the story to Zak the details seem even clearer.
"Go on." He prompts taking my hand back in his.
"Well Hatchi, its got to be like a demonised form of H Atley right? From what I can tell his persecution of Aiden and Delphyne was the beginning of his downfall and he sure sounds the type to hold a grudge."
"Makes sense." Zak agrees.
"Now here's where it might be a stretch, but bare with me. I think one of your attachments is Aiden. I think he found you somehow as his descendent. I think all of this," I spread my arms to indicate us being together, "is fate." I can see that Zak wants to interrupt but I don't let him have the chance. "I think that maybe Delphyne is with me, hell I even went on holiday in the next village over from theirs when I was a kid. It would explain so much. My interest in all of this stuff, my abilities even." I finally admit to myself. "And drawing on the light to fight Hatchi, it must have come from her. It would also explain our strong connection right?" I look up at Zak to search his face to see if he thinks I have lost the plot. Instead I'm taken aback by the anger flashing in his eyes.
Woohoo we finally find out! Witches bitches! Hahaha!
Just a disclaimer Herrod Atley was a real witch hunter and Bagans as a name did apparently originate in Cornwall according to some ancestry sites, other than that all i have written here is fictional so any long lost Atleys or Baganses please don't hunt me down, its just a story! :) *GM*
