Chapter 1
It was a morning like any other.
The first rays of sunlight were already making their way across the land and the cool night air brought everyone awake. A new morning dawned, a morning that would bring meaning to the people in this story.
You must know that at that time, people were very different from us.
It was normal for them to go to the fields early in the morning, work hard there, and then light their way home late in the evening with flickering candlelight. Back then, life was very tough. Most people were poor and one time, when a rainy season destroyed the crop, many had to go to bed with growling stomachs. However, to counteract a real famine, the small village of Gelderland, where our story begins, had something special in mind. There was a sort of storage where all the farmers brought in one-sixth of their harvest. Should a famine come again, the grains would be fairly divided among the villagers.
Gelderland was a prosperous village compared to others and its people were fine. Most of the
houses were built of solid bricks and thatched roofs that were renewed every two years to make sure they were holding the rain out.
Gelderland was a very small, manageable village and apart from the blacksmith, the baker, and the priest, almost every family had their own farm, most of them owning cows, pigs, sheep, and
chickens. Most of the people in the village were farmers who were generally good at feeding and caring for themselves. The few items that they could not produce or grow themselves, they acquired by trade and exchange. For example, knives, swords, kettles, or spoons could be exchanged by the blacksmith for grains and eggs. More fancy things such as fabrics or candles could be purchased from the travelling dealers, who pulled their horse-drawn carriages through Gelderland every few months at irregular intervals and offered their goods.
At most, there were only a few dealers and they seldom came to the town because Gelderland was in the midst of a huge deciduous forest.
The narrow, stony, and winding roads could only be travelled under great hardships. At that time, there were no paved roads as we know them. For longer trips, people used horse-drawn carriages, but even these moved very slowly.
The people of the time called this majestic and far-reaching mixed forest Lutizienwald. Many years ago, the young noble Lutizie is said to have gotten lost in the forest while mushrooming and wandered around for days without any sense of direction, until she was finally rescued by a brave nobleman who she then married. At their wedding, the nobleman gave the forest to his bride as a gift and named it after her. As time passed, this story had been told so many times that everyone in the village believed it.
I already mentioned that there was also a priest in Gelderland. But he was not just another man of the clergy. Pastor Jophius Drahbegg was someone very special and if there was someone who knew everything about everyone in Gelderland, it was him.
Older, but a very good-natured, wisdom-grey haired man with watchful, brown eyes, he was always surrounded by a powerful aura that silenced even the most rebellious crowd. This gift was invaluable in his profession, for when he preached in the church, no one dared to whisper or be inattentive.
Drahbegg was able to captivate audiences of all ages during his sermons.
Every Sunday, he stood in front of the congregation, telling stories and Bible parables. He always used a simple, clear language, because he wanted everyone to understand the Bible.
He spoke of god, the angels, and the devil as lovingly and figuratively as possible. People liked listening to him, so it was not surprising that every mass was usually filled to the last seat. Drahbegg was very respected in Gelderland and was often invited to dinner by various families – which he always accepted gladly.
His full body testified to it. He was a very welcome guest as he enriched every social gathering with his always thoughtful, intelligent, and interesting stories. He had already visited many foreign countries and spoke fluent English, Spanish, and Greek in addition to the church language, Latin. And although none of the villagers even dreamed of leaving Gelderland, they all enjoyed listening to his stories of the vast world.
When our story begins, Drahbegg had been the head of the small community for many decades and not just the spiritual one. People also came to him when they had legal issues and problems because he solved disputes with the utmost kindness and wisdom. Already on his first evening in the village, he had been able to prove this to the impressed villagers.
Everyone in Gelderland knows this story: on the night pastor Jophius came to Gelderland, he had barely gotten out of his coach when he was beset by two completely distraught women. Each had given birth to a child recently. Unfortunately, fate wanted it so that one of the two children died a little later. The problem was that both women claimed that their child was still alive and were now arguing over the new-born.
And since they were both convinced that their baby was still alive, there was no reason for them to give in.
The villagers waited anxiously for the priest's advice. At the time, he was still very young and
inexperienced but what he did was as smart as well-considered. After listening attentively to both women, he brought the baby and took out a large knife. Then Drahbegg spoke to the villagers. He said that it was not up to him to decide who the birth mother was, because only the Lord could do it alone. So he would split the baby in half to give each of the two women part of the baby.
You are as horrified as the villagers were back then. Surely, you will understand quickly what
Drahbegg intended. In the face of his determined words, one of the two women suddenly collapsed sobbing at his feet. In tears, she said that the child should rather be given to the other woman than to die.
Now, there was clarity in this matter: a true mother would rather have her child raised in the arms of another woman, but healthy and sound than to see it die. The villagers were deeply impressed by the behaviour of their priest. However, they did not know that this wise decision had come not from Drahbegg himself, but from the Old Testament and that wise King Solomon had already decided that way in a similar case. The pastor had taken this approach, but he kept that to himself.
Through his wisdom, the young pastor got the respect of the villagers from day one, who have never doubted his decisions since then. Hardly ever.
Except for this one time, a good 13 years before. No one understood his actions at that time and he was even sharply criticized behind his back.
At that time, on a mild autumn night, behind the big wooden cross in the village square, a half-frozen infant wrapped in dirty linen was found.
The perplexed citizens, who became aware of the baby due to the pitiful weeping and whining, called a congregation meeting that same night to decide what was to happen to the child.
Now, you have to know that there was an unwritten law in Gelderland, according to which each
parentless baby had to be abandoned in the forest and thus left to certain death by starvation, thirst, cold, or wild animals.
This may seem extremely cruel, but when this regime had been introduced generations ago, it was done knowing that it would be hard for the already-poor villagers to feed another mouth, especially if it was not related to them. Before the storage facility was built, most people were happy to be able to take care of themselves and their own family. In the past, crop failures had been recurrent for a variety of reasons and people were often scared about having to starve one day. Thankfully, this had changed with the construction of the stockpile.
It was therefore no longer necessary to act according to the law and to leave the baby found in the forest to die. Out of habit, the villagers wanted to do it anyway. And they would have done it if the pastor had not stood in their way. For the first time ever, the villagers were not agreeing with the pastor's decisions. "We have to leave this child and follow our old traditions!" they thundered determinedly.
"Be sensible, my friends! This law is outdated and unwritten," Drahbegg repeated patiently over and over again. "What has this little creature done to you already? Do you all really want to be guilty of murder? "
In a friendly but determined voice, he tried to convert the villagers but to no avail.
"God wants us to obey his laws! We have to bow to his will, you should be aware of that! After all, you're a man of god, are you not? "
These irreverent words angered Drahbegg. But the villagers did not stop there.
"What kind of a priest are you if you oppose god's laws!"
That was the last straw. He fumed with anger and, despite his otherwise good nature, he raised his voice menacingly.
"Villagers!" He angrily addressed the crowd, which immediately fell silent. "Villagers, listen to me! I do not oppose god's will. Can you say the same with a pure heart and conscience? Give me a good reason why you want to leave this child to die. How could god approve of such an act? Tell me!"
He paused for a moment but since no one answered, he went on more calmly.
"How on earth did you expect god to want the death of this innocent little girl? Why are you clinging to an outdated, unwritten law?"
A murmur went through the gathering and quite a few shamefacedly turned away.
"Ask yourselves, my friends, do you want to be murderers? Because you will undoubtedly be if you do not abandon your plans! Do you not know god's commandments? Did I not teach you? You should not kill! I ask you now, are you all believing Christians if you leave a baby to die? "
He had convinced all the villagers.
They abandoned the plan to leave the little girl in the woods. On that day, the people's reverence for their shepherd grew even more and no one had dared to contradict him ever since.
Drahbegg baptized the little girl Arah, took her in and treated her like his own flesh and blood. She grew up with him in the rectory and enjoyed an impeccable education. The pastor taught her almost everything he knew. She would have been able to become a priest without any problems when she grew up if that had been allowed for women. At least she would not have lacked the necessary knowledge.
Arah was 13 years old now and she knew, of course, that the villagers would have left her to die if the priest had not prevented it. However, she did not blame the people for that. The villagers
strongly followed their old laws and they would possibly act the same even now.
When she woke up that spring morning, she did not know what significant events were taking place and how much her life was about to change. Yawning, Arah pushed the blanket aside and sat down on the edge of the bed.
She had dreamed – as she so often did – but the harder she tried to remember the dream, the faster the pictures faded before her eyes. It was like trying to hold water with her bare hands. It had been a good dream and he seemed strangely familiar.
The heavy curtains had been drawn in front of the windows, so the room was only dimly lit by a few rays of light that stubbornly squeezed through the narrow gap between the curtain and the wall.
Arah yawned, stretched sleepily and rubbed her eyes, then slowly got up, sighed and walked to the window, pulling the heavy fabric aside with a jerk. Immediately, daylight streamed in and she had to squint her eyes tight. After a few minutes she got used to the bright light and blinked.
It was a beautiful day, wonderfully warm and in the meadow, all kinds of flowers showed all their colours. A gentle, spicy breeze blew through the window and ruffled her shoulder-length hair. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the pleasant warmth for a moment. From a distance, she could hear the birds singing their most beautiful songs. Arah loved spring.
Still yawning, she shuffled leisurely to her closet and pulled out an old pair of trousers. A smile crossed her thin lips. It was very unusual for a girl to wear trousers. That was out of the ordinary. Girls had their own specific clothes to wear.
But Arah did not think much of the traditions and unfounded, impractical regulations to which she should have submitted. She had just turned 13 and like all adolescents, she had her own mind. It was not different than today and Arah was no exception. Whatever the others took for granted and never questioned, she did the opposite. That's why she cut off her hair to chin length, to the horror of the villagers, when all the other girls always wore it shoulder-length.
Not a few had complained to Drahbegg about Arah and her unusual appearance. But whatever they told him, his answer was always the same:
"Remember, my friends, we too were once young and old age is stupid when it forgets how youth thinks!"
Of course, the villagers were not satisfied with this answer, but the reputation of the priest made them silent, at least in his presence.
Arah did not care what people thought about her and it took her a lot of willpower to grin a little when she saw the outrage flash in people's eyes. She was different from the others, but maybe only because she did not just take things without first thinking and forming her own opinions about them.
Also, it probably corresponded to her nature. She was a little rebel, sometimes rather boring than submissive and docile.
Over the trousers came an old shirt, which actually belonged to the pastor and therefore almost reached to her knees. A carelessly knotted rope around the waist gave the sack-like garment, much too large, the hint of a silhouette.
As Arah entered the small kitchen in the rectory, Elenor was already busy preparing breakfast. Elenor was a round, cosy old woman with a friendly, good-natured round face crossed by many, deep laughter lines.
She had been the maid of the priest since the beginning of time, from back when he saved her life. Because both Elenor and Arah owed him their lives, but I have already told you of the uproar about Elenor's true mother. You remember, she was the baby that two mothers claimed to be their own and the priest put them to the test. Years later, when Elenor heard that the priest was looking for someone to help him around the house, she gladly took over the task. She was also a born housewife and a real cleaning devil. And next to her black, curly, shoulder-length hair, only the horns were missing and she could have smoothly passed as a prince of the underworld. She had, as the saying goes, the soul of a man, but when it came to cleaning, she did not understand fun. Woe, if you got in her way while she was working, then this otherwise good-natured woman could be very annoyingly fast, harsh and biting. Once she put her mind to something, then may god have mercy on the one who tried to dissuade her.
At dawn, she burst into Arah's room and shooed her out of bed in seconds. For hours, the girl would not be able to get into her room without having to listen to a tiresome sermon about how messy she was. Before, Arah used to listen and really think about what Elenor had to say without of course becoming a little tidier.
However, as time went by, Arah just stood through such sermons always with a glassy look and nodded from time to time in agreement without saying a single word.
A few hours later, Elenor would forget everything anyway and all the trouble would be gone. It was, of course, simpler and wiser to completely avoid such situations.
"Good morning," Elenor said in a good-humoured tone, beaming at Arah from her good-natured green eyes as the girl entered the kitchen.
"Morning, Elenor," Arah answered, shuffling slowly to one of the wooden chairs and sitting down.
She had long ago given up trying to help Elenor cook or clean, as experience showed that she was not able to do her any good in these matters anyway.
So she just sat there and watched as Elenor fried eggs, sliced the bread, and poured fresh milk into their drinking vessels. A few minutes later, the pastor came sleepily in the kitchen, sat down with a quiet "Good morning", and Elenor was ready.
While Arah and Drahbegg gratefully began poking at their food, the over-excited Elenor,
gathered together the clothes scattered around the house and began to neatly arrange them in their closets. Arah rubbed her tired eyes.
She had read late into the night and therefore slept far too little. But what could she do? She was reading an exciting book she had found in her foster pastor's library.
Yes, pastor Jophius had his own library, if that's what you would call that small room next to the
kitchen, which was crammed with books from top to bottom. It contained a lot of books in all
languages and sizes.
Arah could also read some Latin, but she preferred books in her mother tongue.
So a few days before, while browsing the shelves, she had found the book that kept her alert almost every night since then. When Arah found it, it had been quite dusty, as if it had not been opened for years, let alone read. However, this was not surprising, as the pastor could not spend much time in his library due to his many obligations. He had probably not discovered this book yet although it was really exciting and Arah could not stop reading. She glued her eyes to the pages of the book, unable to even look away from them. The plot was captivating and enchanting.
In another world where dwarfs, elves, sorcerers, and humans lived, there was a terrible villain who wanted to enslave all people with the help of a magic sword. Of course, the free people did not allow that and tried with all their might to destroy this sword.
Heroes, battles, and big victories – that was exactly Arah's taste. She loved fantasy stories. Magicians especially fascinated her. On the outside, they looked like ordinary people and could not be told apart from them, but they had superhuman powers.
And every time she was reading, she had the feeling that she was immersing herself in another world, a world of magic and it was not always easy for her to return to reality and her real life. She would have much rather lived in the world of her books and even experience a real adventure herself. One should be careful what one wished for...
After breakfast, the priest retired to his study to prepare his sermon for the upcoming Mass. Often, he worked there until late at night.
As Arah did not want to get in Elenor's way while cleaning, she fetched her book and went out into the garden.
The grass was lush green and not a cloud could be seen in the light blue sky. As the sunbeams
warmed her face, she leaned against the old but sturdy birch trunk, which reigned in the middle of the garden, and opened her book.
She had marked the place where she had stopped reading yesterday with an old rag. The wind gently played around her cheeks and with each line, every word, she sank more and more into her story...
A huge battle. The humans fought bravely against the vile creatures that raided their city. However, their numbers were far inferior and they would not be able to defend the walls against the sheer superiority of the enemy for much longer.
The heroes tried to defend the city, but with little success. The droves kept coming and their number was not going down. It seemed hopeless.
Now, even the most dangerous of the black creatures, the mighty evil magicians approached on their flying monstrosities.
At the sight of them alone, cold horror ran down the people's spines. In fear of death, they fled to the fortress while the creatures plunged into the crowd of fugitives and ruthlessly tore the bodies of the soldiers with their sharp claws. There were blood and screams everywhere. They were lost!
Arah gasped in horror, gripping the pages of the book convulsively.
Suddenly, the mightiest of all sorcerers appeared on his white-brown spotted horse. He was the head of the White Magician Order.
Determined, he raised his wand, which glittered and sparkled in the sun. Because of the magician's enormous power, the evil creatures caught fire in the midst of a dive and burst out screaming in pain and rage. In vain, for even the most powerful of black wizards could not stand up to his enormous powers...
"Arah, Arah, ... ARAH!" Elenor's angry voice rudely ripped Arah from her story and she blinked with confusion. Wizard? How, what?
It took her a few moments to remember where she was. Not on the battlefield, but at home in the garden of the vicarage, captivated by the story in her book. When Arah realized that, Elenor had already steered her halfway back into the house, chattering on and on. She stuttered over her words.
"He, he's coming... today... go, wash and put on your best dress. Go... go," she urged her. Arah just stared at the old woman in confusion. What was Elenor talking about? But before she could ask that question aloud, Elenor had already scuttled past her with the duster. Docile, she cleaned herself and even put on the blue lace dress that she otherwise only wore at the pastor's Mass.
Throughout the day, Arah had no opportunity to get any further information from Elenor, as she obsessively scrubbed the house, cooked, and was completely unresponsive. So she went through the day as well as she could, though restraining her curiosity cost her a lot of effort.
The evening offered her an opportunity to find out what was happening. As the soup bubbled
fragrantly and Elenor slowly began to relax at the sight of the sparkling house, Arah tried again to ask gently: "Elenor... who is actually coming?"
"Well, the exorcist!" She answered irritably and in a tone that implied that she said all that there was to say. But Arah still did not understand. Exorcist? She had never heard that word before.
"Who is that?" She asked confused.
"For heaven's sake!" Elenor was suddenly so upset that she forgot to stir the soup for a moment.
"For heaven's sake, child. I've got so much to do and you're poking me in the stomach... All right, well – but everyone really knows that – an exorcist is a clergyman who travels the country in the name of the church and – "
"And...?", Arah interrupted her.
"My god, child! You probably want to sell me for stupid! He travels the country, staying here and there, trying to track down the demons in weak spirits. He identifies them and then expels them."
The indignation in her voice was still pervaded by something else. Arah felt it very clearly. Was Elenor scared?
"As if that would be necessary in our community..." Elenor added a little more quietly and then she suddenly realized what she had said and shook her hand in horror. As a simple maid, she did not have the right to criticize a representative of the church. This was even a superior of the pastor's!
"He's just passing through...", Elenor mumbled suddenly, as if to calm herself and continued to stir quickly and energetically in the pot.
Arah had so many questions. For example, how the exorcist recognized the devil and ultimately
exorcised it. But Elenor refused to answer even one more thing.
As the heavy carriages thundered closer, Arah was so tense that she felt like a taut bowstring. As the carriages came groaning and squealing on the gravel road in front of the house, Arah was already running to the door. This had to be him. The exorcist!
Drahbegg and Elenor were already standing in the wide open door.
Arah stood on her tiptoes behind them and craned her neck to catch at least a quick look at the
important visitor.
A stern-looking elderly gentleman climbed out from the carriage. His hair was as white as the
pastor's, but it did not stand off the back of his head like the pastor's, but fell over his back in an
elegant braid. He had a white, long beard, severe grey eyes, and bushy eyebrows. His expression was haughty and apathetic, as if it were beneath his dignity to be there.
Arah did not like him from the start.
Wrapped in his elegant black cloak, he waved to his coachman, a small, rat-like man, who hurriedly climbed down from the box.
The exorcist approached the priest and shook his hand.
"Drahbegg, my old friend! How are you? It has been so many years since our last meeting!"
The man's voice sounded dignified, like that of the priest, but had none of the pastor's warmth and goodness.
"Cristophus Hielm! How long has it been?" The pastor smiled gently, but Arah thought she saw a sombre shadow flitting across his face. Or was she just imagining it?
Drahbegg led his guest past Elenor and Arah, who stood behind him, giving Hielm curious glances. But the exorcist was so engaged in the conversation with the priest that he did not seem to notice her.
Arah followed them insecurely in the room and behind her came Hielm's coachman, who was also his servant. Panting, he dragged a large, black suitcase behind him and placed it beside the fireplace in relief. Without his black cloak, he did not seem quite so rat-like, but his long, jet-black hair stuck to his head in strands, his black slitty eyes and protruding yellowish front teeth did resemble a rat.
Elenor hastily served soup and took out a bottle of Drahbegg's best red wine. Then, she sat with Arah and the coachman to eat at the large solid wood table. Hielm ignored her. He and Drahbegg were talking excitedly. It was about seemingly irrelevant, mutual acquaintances and their respective careers in the spiritual world.
After the meal, Elenor cleaned up, the coachman went into the stable, and Arah was already in the door and halfway to her room, when she turned and looked at the dimly lit room. Elenor had lit a fire in the fireplace and the two priests, now alone at the table, seemed almost conspiratorial in the light of the fire.
Arah knew the pastor would send her to her room if he noticed her, but at the moment he was
listening so intently to Hielm's tales that he had not yet seen her. Arah's heart thumped as the
exorcist reported his visits to other villages. She listened with pricked ears.
"... so I tell you, Drahbegg, not to believe!", Hielm raised his voice threatening. "People have become so terribly weak and gullible. They are just too easy to seduce... A strict and consistent leadership is essential. They must understand who they obey!"
Arah saw Drahbegg frown slightly. He took his time with his answer and thoughtfully said, "Yes... but you have to give them their freedom. After all, they are humans and not herds of wild animals."
But Hielm dismissed those words with only a wave of his hand. "Humans, of course, they are
humans, but that's why they need to know their limits, otherwise the world will end up in chaos!" He slammed his hand on the table. "Yes! And also..."
"A-A-ACHOO !!!" Arah had been fighting the sneeze for a few minutes. She did not want to interrupt the two men, but now it was too late.
Hielm stopped abruptly and turned to her with lightning speed. Arah stared into his cold, black eyes and her hackles rose. Hielm studied her haughtily for a moment, then disgustedly wrinkled his nose and hissed, "You ...!" He pointed a finger at her.
"Make yourself useful! Come on, give me some red wine! Come on!"
Arah stared at him.
"Ahm... I'm not -"
The exorcist cut her off sharply. "Well, are you moving today? Do you often listen to what smart
people have to talk about? As if you could even understand us!"
An ugly grin crossed his broad mouth, but his eyes remained sharp and calculating.
Arah stared at him indignantly.
What could she have just done for this arrogant man to have this opinion? To show him who was intelligent, she had already opened her mouth and half-formed the words, but then she suddenly remembered something and reluctantly bit her lip. This man was the superior of the priest. After all, she did not want the pastor to get in trouble because of her.
Arah gave Drahbegg a stealthy look. He was sitting stonily in his chair and kept his eyes lowered. As if hypnotized, he was silently staring at the polished table top. As long as the exorcist was here, he held the highest rank in the village. There was a clear ranking, especially in the ecclesiastical world.
The priest did not have the power and authority to correct him even if he did not agree with everything he did. Slowly and hesitantly, Arah got up, took the wine jug from the table, and filled the exorcist's drinking vessel.
"You see, Drahbegg, you just have to show the mob who's in charge here! "
Arah stared at him stunned.
"You decide the song she needs to dance to. I would not have a no-good maid in my place!", He
grumbled and ripped the goblet from Arah's quivering hand. As he drank, his cheeks turned redder with each sip. Again and again, he allowed his cup to be refilled. Arah silently did it, but anger was pulsing through her veins. She was not allowed to contradict him.
"Go on... fill...! Go on! "The man had already drunk too much alcohol, but Arah filled the goblet and placed it so hard on the table that the wine sloshed over the hands of the exorcist. Hielm jumped up so fast that the chair fell over.
"YOU!!!" Angrily, he tried to hit Arah, but he was so drunk that he missed her by far.
"I'll show you...! You...! "
Now, the priest also got up. His face was determined and white with anger.
"Arah, my child. Please go to bed. "
"But...!"
"IMMEDIATELY!"
His voice was so determined that she did not dare to contradict him again.
On the way to her room, she cast a last glance over her shoulder. There stood the two clergymen. One as dignified as ever, the other one slightly wavering and robbed of his former dignity. Arah would have liked it best if Hielm left on the spot and would never come back.
But he would not do that. He would stay in this house for the next few weeks.
At that thought, a cold shiver ran down her spine. And later, when she was in bed, she wondered what he did to those from whom he could not drive the devil out. Or if he falsely accused someone?
Chapter 2
"Whoever has heard of deeds of witches or fiends even from a distance, please come to me in the next few days... And whoever among you knows of someone who has a bad reputation, also please come to me as soon as possible! "
The voice of the exorcist thundered, reinforced by its own echo, through the small church. Wildly gesticulating, he stood behind the altar and as he preached, he let his gaze wander menacingly over the terrified people in the church, who listened to his words in silence. From the beginning of Sunday Mass, the minister had talked about heretic witches and their un-Christian behaviour. He had described in gruesome detail how they brutally sacrifice babies to Satan and had brought diseases and plagues over the believing Christians.
He emphasised to the shocked congregation several times that they must always be faithful to god and remain on His path to gain eternal salvation.
He also explained that the devil could take many shapes and forms, such as a demon, sometimes as a dark mythical creature or just in alliance with a witch. But no matter in what form Satan appeared, he always pursued only one goal, namely to confuse the faithful and to dissuade them from the right path!
Hielm's sermon had been going on for more than an hour, but he gave no indication that he was going to end it soon.
His cheeks had turned red with effort and zeal, and drops of sweat glistened on his forehead.
His voice became more agitated, his gestures more precipitous and his wording always richer. But, except for Arah, it did not seem obvious to anyone else...
Stiff and straight, she sat between the spellbound, listening crowd in the back seat, memorizing each of Hielm's words. She was horrified. It all sounded like an invented horror story.
The girl had always thought that there were no witches. But how on earth did Hielm come to seriously warn the village against them? Worse, even to ask them to label each other as such?
If Arah had not known better, she would say that Hielm was only making a bad joke. But he was
definitely the last person she would have believed who had such a sense of humour.
"The forces of Satan are gathering for the final, decisive battle, AGAINST GOD..." Hielm raised his voice menacingly and threw an arm into the air.
Arah felt people twitching around her, nervously slipping about on the benches, giving each other suspicious glances as if they were already secretly wondering who of them had made a pact with the devil. Hielm's words brought a wave of fear and mistrust over the faithful and simple-minded villagers. Even the priest seemed to notice.
He stood pale and frowning with folded arms behind Hielm and his eyes were squinted into narrow slits. Drahbegg also felt the exorcist poisoning the gullible people's thoughts and, according to his expression, he was as horrified as Arah.
"... HIS SON... AND HIS CHURCH!" The exorcist spread his arms and finished his sentence.
He then asked the congregation if they had ever seen anything "out of the ordinary" as he called it. For example, if ever a witch or a sorcerer used curses on a villager and he became sick, then clearly it was the devil meddling.
When Arah let her eyes wander through the bulging church for the ensuing silence, it took her breath away. Almost without exception, the congregation nodded in agreement, deep in thought, men and women alike. Arah wanted to scream.
All this could not be true, what hair-raising nonsense! Do not be so stupid! There are no witches or sorcerers!!! Desperately, she repeated that thought over and over again in the futile hope that people would finally return to their senses.
When Hielm finally finished his sermon and said goodbye to the villagers with a last warning look, the church emptied quickly.
Only Arah remained sitting on the bench. As if spellbound, she stared at the wooden cross on the altar and suddenly Elenor's words came back to her mind: "... he tries to track down the demons in weak spirits."
That was the answer Elenor had given her a few days ago when asked what the job of an exorcist was before she saw Hielm for the first time. She had not thought much of it at the time. At least now she knew how he found the alleged demons. And she would soon learn how he would expel her, although she was not as eager as she was a week ago.
With one hand on the doorknob to leave the church, Arah suddenly froze as she heard voices.
She had not noticed that anyone else had stayed. She had believed that everyone had already left the church and she was the last one.
The voices of the exorcist and of a woman reached her ears. It was the blacksmith's wife, Ingrid Deff, one of the biggest gossip girls Gelderland had to offer.
Curious as to what she had to discuss with Hielm, Arah looked at the pictures of Jesus's ordeal on the wall, seemingly highly interested. Without blinking, she blankly stared at one.
"I saw something..." murmured Mrs Deff. Her voice was tentative and unusually timid.
Arah slightly turned her head to catch a glimpse of the two adults.
Hielm stood at the front of the altar, his back turned to her. Arah could not see what he was doing, for he did not even turn to the woman sitting in the front row, looking up at him.
"Come to me tomorrow, I'll listen to your statement. The Lord will remit your sins as a reward! "
Then he slowly turned to look at her sternly.
"What is your name?"
At that moment, Arah realized that it was better to leave, but her curiosity was stronger and she stood there motionless, against her better knowledge. After all, neither the exorcist nor Mrs Deff had noticed her yet, as she stood somewhat in the shadow under the huge church decoration. Slowly, careful not to make a sound, she turned her head a little further and listened with pricked ears.
Mrs Deff shamefacedly lowered her eyes for a moment and said nothing.
Hielm strode slowly towards the woman and spoke with a completely unusual understanding voice: "What you tell me is safe in my hands. No witch will ever know to whom she owes the just punishment. "
Arah pressed her lips angrily.
Mrs Deff conspiratorially lowered her head and her voice was shaking with suppressed excitement.
"A hail destroyed the whole crop three years ago," she said, "we could only be saved from starvation thanks to the stores." She took a deep breath, then added uncertainly, "That certainly was not right."
Hielm smiled contentedly, exactly what he seemed to expect. He took another step towards her. They were so close now that their faces almost touched each other.
Arah could see the scared look on Mrs Deff's face. After a few embarrassing minutes of silence, she cleared her throat.
"Whoever has the power to do such a thing-" she whispered timidly and Arah turned her head so that she almost craned her neck, "- he also has the power to take vengeance on a faithful Christian." Her voice trembled and died. Hielm raised his hand as if to bless the woman.
"You are now under god's protection, the Lord wants the witches to be destroyed," he said in a calm voice. The woman looked at him with uncertainty for a moment and then said, "I would never dare to contradict you, but," she took a deep breath, "but what if the witch now learns something from her magic?"
Anger rose in Arah. She now understood what Mrs Deff intended – she wanted to point out someone as a witch to Hielm. She could not be serious! You evil woman! Arah thought angrily. It could just not be true, there was no such thing as witches!
She was so angry that she would have liked to have given her a blow to vent her anger, but out of fear of being discovered, she pressed even harder on her already aching lips and clenched her fists tighter.
"A witch is nothing by her magic, everything comes from the devil whom she obeys," said the
clergyman in a stern voice that allowed no contradiction.
Then, for some inexplicable reason, he slowly looked around the empty benches, and even before Arah knew what had happened, Hielm had already discovered her. His eyes narrowed.
Arah's heart skipped several beats. All colour was gone from her face and she stumbled back a step, banging the back of her head against the hard stone wall. Small bright lights flared before her eyes. She suddenly felt awfully sick.
Everything in her head was spinning and she could not think anymore. Her brain was paralyzed.
And on top of the stinging pain in her head came another feeling – fear!
Nobody said a word, not even Mrs Deff. She looked suspiciously from Hielm to Arah and back and was visibly confused. Hielm studied the girl sharply, his expression unfathomable.
For a moment, Arah thought he saw triumph flaring up in his old eyes. But right after that second, she was not so sure anymore.
Arah could not tell how long she had been standing. It seemed like half of an eternity until Hielm suddenly turned his eyes away from her. He turned around and passed Mrs Deff and without looking at her, hissed: "Come to the agreed place tomorrow!"
Then, without turning back or saying another word, he left the church through the exit behind the altar, which the priest usually used.
Mrs Deff looked at the girl suspiciously for a moment and then, suddenly rushing past her and left the church. Behind her, the door slammed shut with a loud, resonant thump.
Stunned and motionless, Arah stood in the now deserted church. It was like awakening from a deep sleep. Gradually, her rigidity subsided. She had an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach.
If this was a book, she would close it and put it back on the shelf.
As if in a trance, she slowly reached out her trembling hand for the doorknob.
Carefully, she ran her other hand over the back of her head and felt a large and painful, pulsating bump. Outside the church, Arah could barely see the exorcist's carriage turn noisily around the street corner and disappear.
The midday sun made the whirling dust glimmer.
Arah frowned. All the pain and terror were forgotten and fear rose in her. She should not have
listened. Hielm had certainly described to Drahbegg the whole incident in the church down to the smallest detail. And the priest was certainly upset now because he did not care about secrecy and eavesdropping. It was the first time in her life that she was afraid to go home. Arah slowed her steps a little more to delay the inevitable a little longer.
At that moment, the big church clock struck 12 and the girl started violently. She was far too late and she did not want to get into trouble because of that. So she started running and a little later she entered the house panting and breathless.
The two clergymen were sitting at the table together with Elenor and Stan, the coachman.
They'd started eating without her, just as Arah had guessed. All, except Hielm, looked up as Arah sat down at the table, but no one said a word. Drahbegg gave her only a quick, reproving look that quickly made it clear to Arah that Hielm had not said anything. Drahbegg was annoyed, but not angry. Relieved, Arah realized that the lump in her throat had disappeared.
Fortunately, in the exorcist's presence, the priest did not ask for a detailed explanation for her late arrival, which he would have otherwise expected. Now she could only hope that Hielm did not suddenly change his mind and still betray everything.
So, as a precautionary measure, she kept glaring at him during the meal, but to her relief, Hielm was silent. She had been pretty sure he was going to tell Drahbegg about what she had done.
But maybe she had been mistaken about the exorcist and he had a human side after all. However, remembering the vile sermon in the morning, she immediately rejected this idea.
Elenor had made her delicious apple strudel and even Hielm seemed to like it, because he helped himself twice. Everyone was deep in thought and silent. Arah had to grin to herself as she caught the glances that Elenor and Stan threw at each other unobtrusively. Obviously, Elenor had not yet noticed Stan's resemblance to a rat. Or maybe she liked rats?
Since the day the exorcist had arrived, about two weeks ago, the two had been getting along better and better... Elenor had already raved to Arah about the coachman, and out of love for her, Arah had not said what she really thought. She could not understand, with the best of intentions, what was so special about Stan.
Everyone wanted to get up after the meal when the exorcist unexpectedly broke the prevailing
silence.
"Drahbegg," he paused for a moment.
Arah looked at him fearfully. Would he still tell everything now? Her heart sank in the few seconds he needed to breathe. She held her breath.
"I will start my investigations now."
Drahbegg gave the exorcist a sullen look, then nodded reluctantly.
Arah stared at them alternately and relief that Hielm had not revealed anything, vanished as
quickly as it had come. What did the exorcist mean by that? Which investigations?
That did not sound good at all. She watched helplessly as the two priests withdrew into Drahbegg's study. In the following days, Arah hardly got to see Hielm, which made her very happy. She did not even see Stan during the day, because he was out of the house doing something for the exorcist and not even Elenor knew what he was told to do.
One day at lunch, Arah noticed in the corner of her eye that Hielm was watching her. But when she wanted to look him straight in the eye, he turned away and did not even look in her direction.
After dinner, he immediately disappeared with Drahbegg in his study, which he did not leave until late into the night. Arah had no idea what he and the pastor did there. She was burningly interested, but she did not dare to ask. The only one she asked was Elenor and of course, she did not know much more than she did.
"The exorcist warned me not to disturb them... He did not tell me what they're doing, "Elenor had answered, annoyed when asked, "... but I guess he'll try to find the devil now... That's why he is here."
"To find the devil, I could have actually come up with that myself," Arah thought, really interested in how he wanted to do that. But she was left with the questions because she did not muster the necessary courage, of course, to actually ask the clergy and listening at the door was out of the question. She did not want to make that mistake again. Instead, she spent the whole days with Elenor. They talked to each other very often. Most of the time, they talked about trivial things like the weather or the latest dress the tailor had designed which they could now admire.
She often accompanied Elenor when she went shopping. Together, they strolled through the streets and ransacked the shops for fresh goods. Elenor was like a good friend to Arah, and basically, she was her only friend. Because Arah had little contact with people her age. The youth in Gelderland had to help all day at their families' farms. They had no time for any other occupations and almost never had any free time. Arah, on the other hand, was fortunate enough to spend all day doing whatever she wanted. She did not even have to help with the housework since Elenor liked to do it by herself. This was another reason why she had learned to read and write, quite the opposite of most people in the village. And since she had first entered the priest's small library, she had spent a lot of time with the books she had found there. She had often imagined herself being part of the books, being a heroine, leading a glorious life, and being admired by everyone.
Late that night in her nightgown, Arah lay back on her soft bed, letting her thoughts run free. She could not fall asleep. In the last weeks since Hielm's arrival, so much had happened that she had to think about it.
Involuntarily, she flinched as someone knocked several times against her door. Squeaking, the door cracked opened and Elenor's face, lit by a small candle in her hand, peeked in.
"Arah? ... Arah? Are you still awake?" She whispered cautiously.
Arah answered by yawning deeply and extensively. Lethargic and listless, she sat up.
"What's up?" Frowning, she watched as Elenor opened the door a little more and slipped inside. And to Arah's big surprise, Stan came in behind her, also holding a candle. Very slowly and carefully, he closed the door behind him. In the dim glow of the two faint flames, their faces looked unusually pale and ghostly. Arah grinned to herself. How the two stood before her, in the faint glow of the candles...
Then, she noticed their serious and worried looks and immediately became serious as well.
She looked questioningly at the two people standing in her room. "What happened, what happened so late? "
Elenor and Stan exchanged nervous looks, making Arah even more impatient.
"What?", she raised her voice impatiently. She demanded an answer.
"Shhhhhhh..." Elenor put her finger on her mouth and hissed a warning.
"Not so loud, child! The exorcist is sleeping next door! We do not want to wake him up." With that, she sat down on the edge of Arah's bed.
Arah snorted. "I do not care."
Stan shook his head vigorously.
"Arah, listen to me!" Elenor grabbed her arm and shook her. Astonished, Arah looked at her friend with wide eyes, she had never seen Elenor so upset. The candle in her hand swayed dangerously and her face was streaming with tears.
"W-what... what... happened, Elenor?" Arah asked confused.
At last, Elenor stopped shaking and lowered her eyes.
"Hielm! He believes that... that you are a witch." Her words shook violently.
Arah heard it and yet she did not understand a word.
Her mind was paralyzed.
"How do you know that?" That was the only thing that occurred to her at that moment.
"Stan has - he has...", Elenor's voice trembled and died.
Stan, who had sat silently beside Elenor the whole time, now wrapped his arm around her and
finished her sentence.
"I helped my Lord with his tests. When he tested you, well, maybe he made a mistake, too..." Stan's voice was calm and scratchy, rough.
Arah was sure she did not care about the tone Stan used. She was worried only about Elenor.
"What tests are you talking about?" Arah asked curiously.
That was probably not exactly the reaction she should have had after receiving such a message.
Anyway, that was not what Elenor had expected. Angrily, she shook her head and raised her voice.
"GOD DAMN IT, ARAH! THIS IS DIFFERENT!", Elenor almost shouted now.
"Shhhhh..." This time it was Stan who hissed in warning.
Elenor burst into tears, put her hands around Arah's shoulders and sobbed helplessly.
Arah looked at Stan for help and struggled to give her voice a calm and optimistic tone.
"You know I'm not a witch, and Drahbegg knows it too, so... Hielm must be wrong." But Stan cut Arah off sharply.
"Do you not understand?" He hissed. "It does not matter if he's wrong or not, no one, not even your pastor, can dissuade him from his decisions. If he wants to kill you, he will!"
Kill? Arah turned pale. Suddenly, she was sick. Absently, she patted Elenor, who was still sobbing.
"Kill? But I thought he just dispels the demons...?! " Arah did not understand anything anymore.
"No!" Stan said firmly, "that varies from case to case. But if he wants to kill someone, he does it too! I'm sorry... he thinks it's almost impossible for him to heal you... He'll burn you at the stake!" His voice was now full of compassion and the words hit her like a slap in the face.
Burn? Arah could not understand any of this. She had always thought that there were no witches and now ... What was she supposed to do now? But shortly afterwards Elenor answered her unspoken question.
"You have to flee!", she said shakily, and to Arah's great relief she finally released her shoulders, "this is your only chance to survive!"
Arah looked from Elenor to Stan and back again. This had to be a bad joke. Any moment, they would both start laughing. The minutes passed and nobody laughed! Arah realised that this was no joke, as well as the fact that Hielm had asked the villagers in his sermon to label each other as witches. There was no sense in persuading herself to wake up from a nightmare at any moment because that was the reality!
The looks Stan and Elenor gave the girl were full of compassion. But Arah did not want to be pitied. Determined, she jumped up.
"Fine...", she said in a matter-of-fact tone, hurried to her closet and opened the door, "... nice," she said and pulled out a pair of trousers, "... then I'll just disappear."
She wanted nothing more than someone to stop her from doing so, it all had to be a joke.
Elenor stood in silence, put the candle in the holder on the oak table in front of the window, pulled Arah's old leather backpack from a shelf and stepped around her. Silently, she rummaged through Arah's clothes, repeatedly pulling out a piece of clothing and packing it in the backpack. Arah stared at her. Had Elenor not realised that she was not serious?
How could she really ask her to run away?
"I know...," Elenor said sadly, "... it's not easy. But all you have to do is hide until Hielm leaves. Stan said you can come back in four months at the latest." A tear rolled down her rosy cheeks. Arah knew that Elenor always had her best interests in mind. She trusted her and if Elenor said it was really necessary, it must have been so.
"I'll do it!" She tried to give her voice an indifferent tone, which she managed only partially.
"It's only four months... They will pass in no time. Do not worry... I can do it! "
Elenor sobbed loudly. But then she nodded silently.
Stan, who had sat silently on the edge of Arah's bed watching them, stood up. He made his way
through Arah's room and stopped close behind them. He was still holding the candle in one hand and he had a large cloth bundle in the other, that Arah only noticed now. Curious, she watched as Elenor took the bundle from Stan and untied it.
The girl's eyes widened. Apples, pears, bread, ham, cheese, and even a bottle of milk. Elenor looked at everything, nodded in approval, then tied the bundle back together and stuffed everything into the now bulging backpack that she closed with difficulty.
"Your food would have to last you for a few days," Elenor said seriously, "you need to get through the Lutizienwald to Fluhstadt as fast as possible. You can spend the next few months there. Here!"
She handed out a small, bulging bag to Arah, "that's all my savings. Handle it carefully! It should be enough!" Reluctantly, Arah peered into the bag. It was full of gold and silver coins.
"But...", said Arah. She could not accept Elenor's money. Shaking her head, Elenor grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her again.
"YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THIS NOW!", her voice was shaking. "Do you not understand it, child? He wants to kill you!" She was truly upset. Stan laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. A little more softly, she continued. "I do not want anything to happen to you! Do you think I like to just send you away like this? But that's your only chance!" She swallowed hard.
"In a few months, you will come back and everything will be the same as before."
Arah doubted it, but she thought it would be easier to endure all this if she tried to be confident.
"Drahbegg ...", she muttered sadly, "what about Drahbegg, does he know anything about it?"
"Well...", Stan said calmly, "my master has not told him anything about the test result yet. But as I said, your pastor cannot do anything against him..." He broke off with a sigh.
Sullenly, Arah lowered her head. She would have loved to be able to say goodbye to Drahbegg after all he had done for her.
Elenor went to the window and opened it. It opened with a squeak and a lukewarm, spicy spring breeze blew in.
"Good... Arah, it's time," Elenor murmured dejectedly but resolutely, "go north until you get to
Fluhstadt... and... just take good care of yourself!"
Tears rolled down her cheeks once more, but she wiped them vigorously with the backs of her hands.
"Farewell!"