Renwar Vallée The Battle for the souls of Néarbi Town

Prologue 2 - Sacrifices

As darkness slithered through the air, the dark witches gathered on the northern side of Néarbi Valley, waiting for the time to strike. Some humans stayed indoors, afraid of the evil that the lunar eclipse would bring, while others went with family and friends to the old Sancian Church subdivision, which held several short services per day, seeking safety, gathered indoors, praying the night would pass without incident. While they prayed in silence, a secret meeting was held in a private back room.

“The people are tired of living in constant fear, Father Bishop. The church needs to protect its flock and the people living in the surrounding areas,” implored Brother Enoch, a short bald man with a shorter fuse.

“I know, Brother Enoch. We have sent word to the Sancian priesthood for help. They say they will send someone to investigate our claims before they send assistance,” replied Father Bishop.

“Do they not believe your word, Father Bishop? Do they not hear the cries of our brothers and sisters and of our children crying out for help when these demons come and take them away? Why are they taking so long to purge our lands? Another eclipse is upon us, and we are no closer to defending ourselves from Satan’s spawns,” Brother Enoch continued.

“I understand how you feel. I have also lost family members to these occultists and their constant crave for innocent blood,” Father Bishop said as he tried to calm Brother Enoch, patting him on the back.

“What we need to do is to form our own secret army, trained just for that, to seek and destroy these monsters. We have to strike now before it’s too late and no one is left to protect,” Brother Enoch suggested as he brushed aside Father Bishop’s hand.

“We must not be hasty, Brother. We must give them time to hear the Word of God and change their ways.”

“Are you blind? Have you not seen our people dying? How much longer must we be persecuted, sacrificed before we receive help from God? Do you not see he has abandoned us?” Brother Enoch complained.

“It is we who have abandoned him. We hold church services and only a few come, and those who come, are only looking for food and shelter. No one wants to worship or fast and pray anymore. We only want what we want, and we want it now. How do you think the witches have managed to survive all these years? They must have had help from us humans. Some of our community members want to be rich and be in power. The witches grant them this, but in return, they sell their souls to the devil. The evil that we fight is not just the witches, my brother. It’s ourselves and our greed for power. We need to win the battle against the seven deadly sins—l**t, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride—which mankind is plagued with every day,” Father Bishop pointed out to him.

“I still believe waiting will be our downfall—” Brother Enoch began, but he was interrupted by a piercing scream in the middle of the night.

“What was that?” Brother Enoch asked. Within that instant, a figure stood in the doorway.

“Father Bishop, the witches are back, and this time, they sent seven demons to capture seven children,” Father Venjamin said as he entered.

“What does this mean? Who were the children?” Father Bishop asked.

“I am not sure, Father. I have sent for the parents and guardians of the missing children. They should be here shortly,” Father Venjamin continued. “Brother Enoch, can you give us a minute? I need to have a word in private,” Father Venjamin added.

“Sure. I will wait for the family and direct them to the conference room to await your arrival,” Brother Enoch said as Father Bishop nodded his approval before Brother Enoch closed the door.

“What is it, Father Venjamin?” Father Bishop asked, drinking a glass of water.

“I have received word from the Sancian priesthood.”

“And what is it?”

“Over the years, they have been searching for a way to rid this world of evil once and for all, and so they are working on a secret mission to have this done. However, they are unable to state what they are working on or when it will be ready,” Father Venjamin stated.

“I don’t understand. They said they would send help once they investigated our claims. I am sure they know what is happening,” Father Bishop fumed.

“I was only able to hear that they are under a new leadership and that the Apostles Seven Mighty Men of Christ have been killed by unnatural methods.”

“That is not possible. God would never allow it.”

“I am afraid we are on our own. You are the only one that can lead us now. We can no longer trust the Sancian priesthood. I’m afraid the church has been compromised. We need to find those children. Another thing, before I was rudely escorted from the Sancian priesthood, one of the elder priests had told me about a hidden prophecy. It’s a prophecy about seven stars, seven planets, and the blue moon that comes in alignment. He says we must find this prophecy for it holds the secret to defeating the witches,” Father Venjamin explained.

Knock, knock. “Father Bishop and Father Venjamin, come quickly. There is a mob heading to the witches’ coven to get back the children,” Brother Johnson said as he entered the room.

“Thank you, Brother Johnson. Where is Brother Enoch?”

“I am afraid he and the parents, along with other townsfolk, took up arms and are heading to battle,” Brother Johnson explained.

“This is not right. This is not the way God wants us to handle this. Can you bring the carriage around, Brother Johnson? We must stop them before it’s too late.”

* * *

Knock, knock.

“What was that?” Sáphire asked as she jumped out of bed and rushed downstairs to the door, with little Anna fast on her heels.

“Who is there?” Sáphire asked, looking at Anna as she pulled on her sister’s elbow.

“It’s me, Tommy.”

Sáphire opened the door and saw her friend standing in the doorway with a crooked smile on his face.

“What are you doing indoors? You’re missing all the fun and excitement,” Tommy asked.

“Our parents locked us inside with magic, and we can’t come out,” Sáphire explained.

“Oh, hold on. Let me get Girda. I am sure she can break the spell,” he said, smiling, as he ran to get his older sister in the distance.

Sáphire waited for what seemed like a lifetime before Tommy returned with Girda, his older sister, who was always making mischief in the valley with her other teenage friends.

“Hi, girls,” Girda said as she examined the outside of the house and whistled.

“Your parents really didn’t want you girls leaving this house any time soon. I need you two to hold hands and repeat after me. Sempala dispel, sempala dispel.” As Girda joined hands with Tommy and Sáphire with Anna, they chanted the spell over and over until a light burst out from the house and sent them sprawling to the ground. Brushing off their clothes, Sáphire and Anna tested the doorway by placing their hands through it—nothing happened. They closed their eyes, stepped through the door, and started jumping up and down, shouting “It worked, it worked” when they realized they were no longer indoors.

Tommy grabbed Sáphire by the hand and led them to a clearing in the woods where a bonfire was held and seven posts were erected with children tied up to them, screaming for help. Someone in the center of the ring was holding a seraph blade.

“What are they doing? And isn’t that your uncle in the middle?” whispered Sáphire as they watched the elders draw a circle around the children.

“Yes, it is. They are calling on Lucifer to inhabit Isaac Farfo,” answered Girda.

“Why?” Anna asked, taking her thumb out of her mouth and moving a little closer to her sister.

“They are trying to raise hell on earth, and this will be Lucifer’s headquarters,” Girda replied.

“Are they going to kill all those children?” Tommy asked.

“Yes, Tommy,” Girda replied. “This has been done for generations, but things didn’t work in the past, and Sáphire and Anna’s father had a vision that this time it will, as they only selected those born under a blue moon to be the sacrificed.”

“But they are children, and they just want to go home. Can’t we help them?” Anna implored.

“I’m sorry, Anna, but this is the way for us dark witches. We can’t stop them even if we wanted to. Your father is the clan leader, and he will do anything to ensure his bloodline fulfils the prophecy.”

“But—”

“What are you children doing here? Get back to your homes before I turn you into toads or worse,” said an old elder witch as she wagged her fingers at the Farfo and Hitchcock children with her evil smile.

Running away from the clearing and the old witch, the children stopped a short distance as they heard screams and watched light dancing in the woods from another direction. There was loud wailing and then magical lights of blue, green, and red firing in multiple directions.

“What’s going on, Girda?” Sáphire asked as they picked up speed when they heard voices shouting in the woods behind them.

“I don’t know, but my gut is telling me to run far away,” Girda said, pushing Sáphire, Anna, and Tommy in front of her as she took the rear.

They came to a sudden halt as a figure appeared in front of them. “Who do we have here?” said a tall man with scary features, holding a torch and a sword, while others surrounded the children with knives, pitchforks, sticks, stones, swords, and bows and arrows.

Sáphire and Anna screamed as the men grabbed them and Tommy from behind while they looked at Girda for help.

“Where did you children come from? Are you a part of these dark witches’ coven or are you a part of the light?” he asked, pointing a sword at Girda’s face.

“What does it matter whose children we are? You are no match for the elders, and you will all die here tonight,” Girda spat as she tried to take the sword from the man.

He slapped her with the back of his hand with such force that Girda fell and hit her head on the nearby tree, collapsing to the ground with a thud like a fallen apple.

Sáphire and Anna screamed as they saw Girda fall and tried to get free to run home to safety. Tommy, seeing his sister’s lifeless body on the ground, bit the hand that held him and jumped on the man holding the sword, hitting him repeatedly with a star-shaped diamond stone he carried with him for good luck.

“Get this demon spawn off me, Brother Sian,” the man shouted, trying to flash Tommy off his back, little drops of blood streaming down his face.

“Why don’t you stop spinning, Brother Mack, so I can grab the little boy from your back?” Brother Sian asked.

Finally, he stopped spinning, and Brother Sian grabbed Tommy from his back. Tommy then took the stone and jammed it into Brother Sian’s left eye and bumped into the men holding the girls, causing them to lose balance and fall to the ground. Screaming as they fell, the girls went to grab Tommy, but it was too late, as Brother Mack had pierced Tommy with his sword, causing him to fall on top of his sister.

“What have you done, Brother Mack? These are children. We came for the adults. You are just as evil as them that took our own,” Theresa Nutti rebuked him as she walked through the mob toward the little boy’s fallen body. She knelt beside Tommy and began examining the damage, noting to herself that he would live as she saw no damage to his vital organs.

While the men spoke with Theresa Nutti, the head nurse at Néarbi Valley Hospital, Sáphire and Anna escaped, only glancing back to see the woman holding Tommy in her hand, lifting him from his sister’s body.

“We should have stayed,” Sáphire said fiercely as they hid in the corner of their room, holding each other. “Tommy is dead, Tommy is dead, and it’s my fault,” Sáphire wailed, closing her eyes and reliving the nightmare.

“Why is it your fault, Sáphire? You didn’t kill him. The evil man did,” Anna said, trying to comfort her older sister.

“It’s my fault. If only I was not curious to see the elders’ ritual, Tommy and Girda would have stayed home with us, and they would still be alive.”

“I’m sorry Tommy and Girda died, Sáphire, but it’s not your fault. It’s the humans.”

As Sáphire calmed down and listened to what her sister had said, she thought to herself, It’s not my fault. It’s the humans.

“And one day I will have my revenge on them. They will pay for taking Tommy away from me,” Sáphire spat as she wiped the tears from her eyes and stood. She looked down at her sister and held her hand out to Anna and made a promise that they would always be together, and no harm would come to them. Anna stood as she held Sáphire’s hand and walked over to their bed, curled up beside each other, planning their next move.

Suddenly, the front door opened and slammed shut. Mr. Hitchcock rushed into his den and returned to the stairs, shouting.

“Sáphire and Anna, come down here now!”

Both girls looked at each other and jumped off the bed to rush to their father’s side. “What did you do this time, Sáphire? You are always getting us into trouble,” Anna said, looking at her older sister.

“I didn’t do anything this time,” Sáphire whispered as they approached their father, who had a worried look on his face.

“What is it, Father? Is something wrong?” Anna asked.

“No. I just need to tell you girls a secret you cannot tell anyone. This is very important. Can you both keep a secret?”

Anna and Sáphire turned to look at each other before nodding to their father. With concern in her eyes, Anna asked her father where their mother was.

“That’s what I am going to talk to you about. Now I know you both are brave and strong. Sáphire, you will need to look after your sister,” Mr. Hitchcock started.

“Father, what is going on? Where is Mother?” Sáphire asked as she peered around her father to see if her mother was hiding there.

As he cleared his throat and took a deep breath, he hugged his children and kissed them on the cheek. “Your mother and I will be going away for some time. We will try to return to you as soon as possible,” he said, holding them a little longer.

“Why can’t we come with you?” Sáphire asked as tears streamed down her cheeks, thinking why she was losing everyone she cared about on the same day.

“Yes, Father. Why can’t we come with you?” Anna asked as she looked into her father’s eyes, wishing to see her favourite smile on his face.

Bang, bang, bang.

All three jumped as they heard the sudden noise on their door. “Girls, I need you to hide and do not come out until I say so. Do you remember the secret passage I showed you last week?” Mr. Hitchcock asked, rushing them to the passage.

“The passage you said not to go into,” Anna said as they followed close behind him.

“Yes! I need you to go now, and be very quiet,” Mr. Hitchcock ordered.

“Father, I am scared. Who are those men trying to come inside?” asked Anna.

“Those are very bad men. They are trying to stop our prophecy,” Mr. Hitchcock said, hurrying through his den.

“What prophecy?” Sáphire asked as she almost hit her head on a protruding rock.

“Be careful, Sáphire. Do not touch that. You will fall forever if you touch that lever.” Sáphire made a mental note of where it was should she need it for future use. “Now go down there. I have no time to explain everything now. My little fire, please take your sister and go. There is plenty of food and water. Your mother stocked it last week,” Mr. Hitchcock said.

“But, Father, what prophecy?” Sáphire asked as they walked a little distance in the secret passage.

“Please, Sáphire, go now! You will find everything in the family grimoire book of spells. Look out for Zamora. She will be your guide,” Mr. Hitchcock continued.

As Sáphire and Anna ran farther into the secret passage, they heard the front door kicked in, their father trying to cast a spell; however, the men came and seemed to have overpowered him from the scuffle they heard.

“Where are your children, Mr. Hitchcock? We need them too,” asked Father Venjamin.

“They are not here. They ran away with the others,” Mr. Hitchcock replied.

“You expect us to believe that? Where are your children? They will be damned with you and your wife. You all will be burnt. This is your plight for working with devils and for your crimes against the people of Néarbi Valley,” Father Neil said.

“They are not here!” Mr. Hitchcock shouted.

Feeling very annoyed at Mr. Hitchcock’s stubborn defiance, they had the guards restrain him while they searched the house.

“Search the premises. They must be found and dealt with before they too open a portal for Lucifer to rise,” Father Johnson said as they ransacked the house.

“You will never have our children. They will continue where we left off and Lucifer will rise, and this town will be his domain,” Mr. Hitchcock spat as they continued searching high and low for his children.

“You and your family lineage have tried centuries after centuries, and none of you has ever been successful. What makes you think your children will succeed where others have failed?” Father Neil asked.

Smiling, he said, “You have no idea how special they are. Watch and you will see them rise to the top. They will one day rule this land, and we will be with them.”

“Your children will be orphans, Mr. Hitchcock. Don’t you think it’s better to have them die with you now than leave them to be alone in this world?” Father Venjamin said.

“They will never be alone. We will be with them even in death,” Mr. Hitchcock advised.

“Take him away and torch this place,” Father Johnson commanded as he walked out the door.

* * *