Late 17TH century
United States, British colony
Klaus and Fratello crossed the portal the warlock had created during the night time, when everyone in the castle was sleep. A few moments later, they finally reached their destination: Salem, a city of English settlers known as Puritans because of their religious orientation.
"I like the city, Fratello. I believe we shall make many friends here..."
"Do you mean victims, master?" The creature replied, showing its fierce teeth.
Soon they found a lodge, and they decided to stay there for a few days. They wanted to get more information about the locals. However, Klaus' real interest was to find out who were the people that would be killed for practicing witchcraft. If he discovered who was the wizard among the defendants, he would do the dirty work himself, and then absorb their magical powers, as always.
The subject most talked in the lodge was the witches' trial. A lot of people had been accused because a group of girls was experimenting episodes of seizures and hallucinations.
Noticing the high level of religious fanaticism prevailing in that community, Klaus decided to disguise himself as a reverend in visitation to cities in Massachusetts, including Salem. The dark creature turned invisible to people.
In his bedroom, Klaus passed his hand over his body and then he was dressed like a local. At the same time, a few yards away, a man fully dressed was walking on the street. Out of the blue, he had only a pair of long johns on. His clothes had disappeared completely.
"Dear God! What happened to my clothes? Would it be the work of those hags? I need to find a place to hide myself before people think I did some sort of magic with my clothes. I can't be seen as one of them," said the man that was a legit reverend. He prayed not to be exposed in that humiliating condition.
Meanwhile, at the lodge, Klaus admired his image reflected in the mirror.
"How do I look, Fratello?"
"You look fine. But I prefer the other way," replied the creature with a deep voice.
Klaus ignored his comment. After lunch, he went for a walk in the city. The warlock visited some bars to study the environment and the culture of the local people.
"Discover as many things as possible about the situation that is taking place here. I want to know everything about the ones that are practicing witchcraft."
Fratello then returned to his invisibility, and like a wind blowing, he passed around people. Some of them could feel a chill on their skin. It was the Doppelgänger doing his horrible job. At the same time, his master snooped around to find any piece of information that called his attention. Something big was surely happening there.
"Some children have accused a reverend and other people for influencing them with charms that made them see things, and also get sick. There's no other explanation for their seizures, faints and squirming," said the establishment owner to Klaus, who heard the facts quite enthusiastically.
"Are you sure simple girls are the responsible for that?"
"Absolutely. They are also possessed by entities."
"What an interesting piece of information. Thanks!"
"You're welcome. May I know where you come from, reverend?"
"I am visiting county cities to spread the word to unbelievers. Soon the power of our church will increase, and we'll be able to colonize the entire region, including the Indians' lands."
"You bet. The savages have a pact with the devil. Not a single one of them believe the Puritans' preaching. We need to finish them off and to take their land. Maybe they're the ones casting spells on Salem's women."
"Maybe. Anyway, what this community really needs is to be united to eliminate them from our colonies."
"That's right. It's really nice to meet a wise man like you, reverend. What's your name again?"
"Klaus Rizoni."
After talking to a merchant and other locals, Klaus was fully aware of the situation.
At night, in the lodging room, Klaus and his evil brother had a chat.
"We both have made some interesting discoveries. The fear of witchery that the English have brought with them to the colonies plus their horror of the savages have created a mass hysteria, which is very similar to the one that sends innocent people to the bonfires. On top of that, it seems to me that the magistrates have a special interest in sentencing people even though the accusers are merely children."
"Why don't you kill everyone in this place, master? I can assist you with that in a heartbeat. The village would become a ghost town," said the creature, smiling.
"Hahaha! Don't make me laugh. What a thirst for blood, my friend! I want victims, but only the ones that can bring me power. And there is no magic here. Just some selfish interests, and a possible problem of lack of mental health. However, I'll keep following the track the book has shown me. According to the Colony law, I'm not allowed to inherit the defendants' possessions, nor do I want any piece of land here. I want power, Fratello! Power..."
Disappointed with the local law, the evil warlock decided to take immediate measures that would allow him to leave that place as soon as possible. He would conduct a deeper investigation to detect if there were any wizards or sorcerers around.
Next day, he planted a small potion in the homes of the girls that accused people of witchery. Janda, the hag that had been his prisoner at Absents' Castle for years, had taught him the preparation.
"Just a pinch mixed with rye and the person will have visions, and then tell you everything they know." He recalled with precision the herbs and the other ingredients that Janda used to prepare the potion.
However, the blend was not a poison, but a kind of fungus with which he contaminated the rye bread. The substance caused hallucination with subsequent revelation of the most hidden secrets in someone's mind.
After the creature contaminated the food, it followed the ones accused by the County court, and realized that they were no wizards. Thus, its master would have no magic to absorb. For this reason, Klaus decided that the only option he had left was to do the job that he enjoyed the most: killing for fun. He could not leave Salem without leaving his mark.
Klaus entered the court of law and asked the notary officer if he could talk to the judge. The man answered that the judge usually stayed at his office, but now he was busy at the witches' case hearing.
"The judge will not be able to receive you. You'll have to schedule a meeting, preferably with your lawyer," said the officer.
"I don't have time for chit-chat. Kill him now."
"What do you mean by that, sir? Is this a threat? Who are you talking to? I don't see anyone else in here," said the man when he noticed that Klaus was talking to someone that was not there.
"I won't talk to a dead man. Kill him now!" The outsider seemed to be talking to someone by his side.
Suddenly, the man felt a shadow surrounding him. It had a strange scent of incense. Something was caressing his chin as if choosing the best spot to attack. Fratello was spotting the carotid artery by feeling its fast beats of fear.
The notary tried to call the guards, but he was completely voiceless. He was muted by fear. With one precise slash, his flesh was cut surgically. He was completely beheaded. The monster materialized in front of its master, holding the victim's head with its right hand.
"You don't miss a chance to impress me. There was no need to behead the guy."
The creature threw its head into a wastebasket near the table.
Then, to clean up the traces of murder, Klaus cast a spell that removed the blood splattered all over the place. The notary officer's remains were turned into dust, and then blown away by a breeze.
"Now take his place, Fratello."
The wizard conjured some magical words that gave the Doppelgänger the power to shift himself into human and animal forms. It was all Fratello needed to have his power increased, and, most importantly, to fulfill his desire to be like his master.
Even though he obeyed Klaus's orders, deep down he wanted to be like the warlock. He envied his master, and that was very apparent by the way the creature looked at him. Somehow, Fratello felt attached to his master, when all he wanted was freedom. But how could he get it? The desire to be a human had rooted deeply in his soul, and even though he could not quite understand the reason, he surrendered to that feeling.
Klaus went for a drink at the tavern on the same street. He waited for the hearing to end. Fratello warned him when the magistrate was back to his office.
"You cannot enter here without being introduced, sir. Please leave or I will call the guards."
"I need to settle an urgent matter with the judge."
"'Your Excellency' is the proper treatment, sir. You must pay me respect for the position I hold."
The warlock smiled at the magistrate's words.
"Actually, your soul must go to hell. I am the devil and I'm here to take you."
"How insolent you are, sir! It's utterly blasphemous... Notary officer! Come here. Now!" The unprecedented situation made the judge even more nervous. "Guards!"
"Yes, Your Excellency," said John Taylor, the notary, who had just entered the office.
The guards hurried in and stood by the door, waiting for the magistrate's orders.
"Arrest this man now. He is to be hanged. I'm dispatching the immediate order of execution. Shackle him up."
"I am entitled to a fair trial," Klaus with sarcasm in his voice. He looked at everyone around.
"No more discussion." Then the judge ordered the guards. "Take him away now. I don't want to see that damned face again."
The warlock looked at the beast that had shifted into the notary officer's shape. Fratello understood the message. He loosened his claws, and they stretched through the flesh of his thin fingers. Judge Frank Wiltser could not believe his eyes. With a double blow of both hands, the former notary officer slashed the guards' jugulars. The two men fell on the floor lifeless, their blood gushing over the wooden floor.
"W-what are you? A demon?" The judge asked with a stutter in his voice as he saw the form of John Taylor showing his sharp teeth.
Suddenly, the window slammed abruptly. A wind blew over Judge Frank's hair, blowing away his wig. The man's body lifted from the ground while his executioner raised his hand to play with the victim's obese body.
Klaus made the man's body levitate for a time. Then, the evil warlock shifted his own form to look like the magistrate. He became his identical twin. Increasingly terrified, the old man almost had a heart attack when Fratello morphed back to his real appearance.
"My God! What are you?"
"I've come to judge and condemn you. I already have your verdict: guilty!"
"For what?"
"For confronting me."
Klaus drew a blade hidden under his sleeve and pierced it right into the judge's heart with his right hand, while he used his left arm to pull the victim towards him in order to make the blade penetrated deeper. Right there, the magistrate's last case finally ended, but this time he was the defendant.
"Well done, Fratello! I am very pleased with your work."
"You always get the best part. I wanted to finish him off myself," said the horrendous creature with a dark voice.
"You'll have many chances to fulfill your desires."
After turning the dead bodies into dust and creating a wind that blew them away, the warlock started to judge the witchcraft cases as if he were the real magistrate.
By using the power of corruption, he sent children to jail, and selected among the accused women those that he considered the most attractive. He made them sleep with him in exchange for their freedom which never came, since Klaus condemned them all to the gallows.
Fratello watched him getting all the beautiful women. He wanted them too. He believed that he could morph into a man's body and then seduce them to sleep with him. Klaus also sentenced some men. After some time, he was satisfied, even though he didn't drain anybody's energy.
More than two dozen innocent people died due to religious fanaticism, prejudice, and Klaus' inner evilness. The dark warlock condemned poor souls whose only crime had been to cross paths with him. Who knows if they were in fact fated to die like that? Anyway, the reality was that Klaus would not miss the opportunity to leave his mark on those people's lives.
"Our mission here is accomplished, Fratello. We should go home now," he decided after he had ruined dozens of lives.
Some were tortured by having piles of stones placed over their lying body, asphyxiating them until they confessed or died. Klaus had learned that torture technique with European inquisitors. He had always been a fast learner. As a magistrate, he had in his hands the great power of judging people and condemning them to death.
"Was I part of the prophecy described in the book? Is the manuscript somehow able to induce those who read its lines to kill? Would that be the reason for its title The Book of the Dead?" He thought to himself.
Klaus decided that he would read the entire book. The whole situation that had happened in Salem was driven by the information the book had provided him, after all. Now he was more than curious to know everything about it.
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Lee #ThePhantomMan 1 by #ChaieneSantos