A Deal With the Devil

"Whatever it is that you wish that it'll cause us harm for eternity, will come back to you a hundred fold. So, be it!"

A chorus of approvals could be heard loud and clear. The witches all crossed their arms and then opened them wide as if to embrace the congregation.

Three months ago…

It was May 1349 of the year of the Lord.

The caterpillars turned to butterflies, as it was their nature, but this time, they stayed with us.

They were safe while the world outside was burning. The Black Plague had hit England massively.

We were targeted because their ignorance was without limits.

It's been happening since I could remember. Anything off, we were to blame.

Crooked district heads hid their crimes with "the witches did it" paranoia, and the people, as ignorant as the accusers, believed them.

We were doing our 6:30 PM evening service in full attire. When it was time to begin, the crow flew across the atrium, cackling.

We understood the message of his sounds. It was ominous, tragic, dark.

We had painted the cave with a fluorescent salve from the juke tree, and everything was as colorful as we needed.

The smog and smoke from the incense made the scene more particular than usual. The fountain water was alive with magic, and shining sparkles bounced in the air right above it.

There were several animals with us at the conference. Everyone knew their place and behaved accordingly and in utmost silence. The eventual chatter of the ravens broke it sporadically. Even they seemed to know when they were being too loud.

The witches formed the circle like we always did, arms stretched, index fingers touching.

Three previously chosen ones walked to the center to formally light the candle bar and kneeled in three different directions, facing everyone present.

There were a total of 27 of us. Mostly females. We also enjoy the company of 5 condors, 12 Ravens, and 6 crows.

A family of Black Panthers with brand new cubs and, at the opposite end, 2 Bengali tigers with their respective offspring. Someone had constructed the dwellings to simulate the world outside, and they could come and go as they pleased. But almost as if they could sense disease and danger, they opted to stay inside for the most part.

So did we.

Still, we knew it was a matter of time before we had to face our destiny.

Most of the witches were young and without union, although a few were with the company of their chosen partners, wise men.

The cave was enormous, and we didn't even know how long or deep it was. We imagined it must've served as a garrison for Roman soldiers since there were catacombs below that only a few of us had dared to venture into.

If we needed to, we could use them as an escape route. But there was no escape. How silly of a proposition, I thought. There's nowhere to go.

Once they come for us, we have to be ready. Make them realize they need us more than we need them. And there'll be no deals, for we are the ones with the secret, not them.

The plague has decimated hundreds of thousands from every district as far as the map would go.

We were still determining what happened to the land across the channel. We only knew about Brittania.

Europe now seemed like a million km away.

The seance lasted about an hour, with 5 of us volunteering ancient spells.

As we were honoring each other with mutual blessings, the word came from outside.

They were coming tonight.

We immediately knew what to do. We played it and rehearsed several times.

We needed separation between them and us. High and wide.

We lifted the huge veil and stretched it across the cave entrance to provide as much distance as possible. They were barely in, but inside enough to speak their piece and hear our response.

We were all perfectly healthy. That gave us power in their eyes, and they 'knew' we possessed a secret. The one that would command who lived and who'd die. They wanted it. They wanted to live, and if that required the help of witchcraft magic, so be it.

That was the only reason we were still alive, besides The apparent fact that our magic made us immune to the virus that was killing them.

They were a sorry lot. Many of them looked beyond unhealthy. Pale, thin and sickly looking. Some of them could be days away from death.

A heavy wind started to blow, and not long after, the loud cracking of thunder lighting lit up the cave as daylight would.

That feature made them look even worse.

And startled us.

For a moment, I thought we were talking to the dead already.

The one who did most of the talking had lost the arrogance of past word exchanges. He was begging, ready for any commitment, any condition, and allowance. Selfishly, he only asked for help for himself and for the ones who were present with him, no one else.

We left them standing there, cold, wet, and scared little men.

Which they were.

We needed to confer to take maximum advantage of the situation.

We were stunned at the chance of not only surviving their murderous intent, but having them leave us in peace forever.

We knew exactly what spell we needed to invoke to make this happen.

We took our time to go back to the "meeting"."

They were shivering from the freezing wind and rain but their eyes lit up at the sight of us. Hopeful, begging eyes.

Our eldest witch spoke and set our conditions outright. There shall be no if, but, or maybes. This will be definitive and final. This will also be the conclusion of all communication between us. You'll leave us alone and in peace. She then gave them the prepared contract to sign.

Shaking and trembling from head to toe, they wasted no time to finish the transaction with a filthy scribbling that would serve as a signature.

The years that followed were days of heaven. The persecution over, we dedicated our lives to create and cultivate.

A life without fear.

At last.