Eilise, God, And The Witches [Fake Tattoos #2]

Midnight

February, 1975

Eilise awoke in the night to the smell of cigar smoke. There in the chair by her bed sat the Devil.

"You!" Eilise exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Where is he?"

"Oh," said the Devil with a nonchalant wave around the room. "You know... Here, there, everywhere."

"Why can't I see him?" Eilise asked with demand.

"Because you and I have to talk," said the Devil.

"I have nothing to say to you!"

"Oh, but I have something to say to you," said the Devil. "But it isn't that you're with child. No... You already knew that. No... What I wanted to tell you is that it's a girl. Congratulations... To both of us."

Eilise said nothing. This had been her fear. She had no idea what to do. She'd figured if she was pregnant, God would have said something, but he didn't. She had gone to bed thinking that this was her imagination. After all, she had missed her period before when she hadn't ever had sex. God told her she wasn't pregnant then, why did he stay silent this time?

"The free will thing's a bitch, ain't it," said the Devil taking a puff of his cigar.

"I won't let you have her!"

"It's not your choice though, is it. It's hers."

"We'll see about that," said Eilise.

It was not long before Eilise was downstairs in the kitchen. She had a mug full of herbs and the tea kettle on the stove. He had the lid off the spout to keep it from whistling and waking everyone up. When water was almost boiling, she poured the water in the mug to let the herbs steep.

"You know," said the Devil, "you don't want to do that. You know how it is with your magic. It only makes things worse. It's not a gift, it's a curse."

Eilise held up the mug and breathed in the vapors. It smelled like death. It was death.

"Free will is a bitch, ain't it?" She drank the liquid as fast as she could. When she finished she scraped the herbs from the bottom of the glass and put them in her mouth. She poured herself more hot water and used it to chase the herbs down her throat.

She felt woozy. She was tired. She should be sleeping. Eilise wobbled her way to the couch and passed out.

It seemed as if she was asleep for but a moment when she awoke to a pain inside her. It was so much worse than the pain of William impregnating her. She felt as if it was her that was dying right along with the child.

Despite the pain, she was so overcome with sleep that she could not open her eyes or move her body. She tried to talk, but found she could not. All she could do is let out a deep guttural grunting sound before passing out again.

Eventual she came to enough to open her eyes and when she did, she found her nightgown soaked with blood. With great effort she forced herself off the couch and out the kitchen door.

She stumbled barefooted through the snow towards the Grove. Blood trailed down her legs and through the snow behind her.

When she finally made it to the Deep Grove, she collapsed to her knees inside the snow covered Scared Circle. Tonight, there would be no lighting of urns, no waving of wands. She would knee in the snow, in the dark, in the cold, and she would do penitence.