Issue 19: "Enchanted"

WITCH, n. (1) Any ugly and repulsive old woman, in a wicked league with the devil. (2) A beautiful and attractive young woman, in wickedness a league beyond the devil.” -- Ambrose Bierce


“My mother says I must not pass, Too near that glass; She is afraid that I will see, A little witch that looks like me; With a red mouth to whisper low, The very thing I should not know.” --Sarah Morgan Bryant Piatt

October 31, 1432.

Ireland.


Her name was Leora Dane. She was a witch.

Not a pagan, not a worshiper of nature or of the other old gods that had ruled Europe before the coming of Christianity. But an actual sorceress of darkness. ‘Real’ witches had died at her hand, and she had taken their power. Christians too, had fallen to her blades and spells. Druids, those who watched the stars, and those who believed in nothing at all; she did not care. The faith of her victims did not matter to her; only what power she could gain.

She had lost both parents very young, and been raised by a blind aunt who meant well, but could not truly help little Leora, lost in the shuffle of four of her own children. She had never seen Leora’s little face twist in bitterness and loneliness, resolving to learn all the wrong things for all the wrong reasons.

She had carved a path of darkness starting in her teens, and in her twenties she had reached the height of her power.

Four years previously she had used her own blood and the bodies of several close relatives to summon the dark powers. Dzamor, one of them had been called. Another was known as Neron.

Dzamor, working as Neron’s agent, had promised her unlimited power if only she would sell her soul to the darkness. She was, by that point, hell bound already, of course. But a soul freely given in a dark pact was worth more.

Leora, no fool, had realized what selling her soul would mean. So she had thought to outsmart the dark powers by bartering not only for more power, but immortality.

As is always the way with demons, they had granted her wish....but not in the way she wanted.

But as yet, she did not realize this; she thought they had betrayed her entirely, and left her to die. For she was now tied to a stake, wood piled around her feet.

The witch hunters had known they could not even attempt to approach her when she was using her power. She had carved a path of destruction across Italy, France, England and Ireland. Hundreds had fallen before her. So they came for her the only time she was vulnerable....when she slept.

“I will be back!” she screamed at them. “I will be back and DESTROY YOU ALL!”

“Suffer not a witch to live,” the priest intoned, ignoring her rantings. Several of the men around shifted uncomfortably, some looked away.

“Masters, why have you abandoned me!” she screamed.

She heard no word in answer but felt a dark assurance inside; not that she would not burn....but that somehow that would not be the end...

The flames began as they lit the wood. They billowed up around her, but she felt no pain, only warmth...

To the onlookers it was as though she had called upon her foul magik and turned the fire against them. It burned around her but then turned shades of blue, green and purple, and lashed out.

They screamed, and burned with her.

Leora waited two years until the child, Kate, was old enough to understand, and withstand....then she began to whisper to her.

At first little Kate was terrified; she thought she was going mad. But no priest or midwife could help her. Her agitated mother did what she could to reassure the child. Her father just beat her up more.

Eventually she stopped telling them about the voice of the Enchantress inside her head. Besides, by then she was quite angry with her father and his cruelty. She didn’t have the strength of will to use the power of the Enchantress herself, but she was quite willing to let the Enchantress take over and do the job.

That was the first time Enchantress took over the form of her human host. At first she did so gradually and carefully. Kate was a willing host, for the most part; at least so long as Enchantress didn’t come out for too long, or do too much damage while she was free.

But what frustrated Enchantress (she had stopped thinking of herself as Leora by this point) was Kate’s lack of strength, as she saw it; she offered Kate the power again and again, but the child consistently refused.

As Kate grew, Enchantress stopped trying, and concentrated her efforts on those times when Kate would let her out. These grew less and less as Kate grew older. At times Enchantress was fine with this; it enabled her to rest. Something very comfortable to do, in the strange vistas that were visible when dwelling in another person’s mind. Sometimes you traveled through that person’s thoughts, memories, or imaginations as though they were real; sometimes things were dark aside from the occasional loop of dull color that slipped past up or down. All this was, of course, when you weren’t looking through the other person’s eyes.

But as much as Enchantress enjoyed resting, she was also under mandate from the Dark Powers, and she never forgot it. Whenever she could, she pressured Kate to let her out. As Kate grew old, she began to seek an alternative host, and finally found a young girl named Alryssa....

June sat in the darkness for what might have been half an hour, processing all of this.

Finally, she thought, I still don’t understand why you want to share your power with me. What that accomplishes?

I told you, sweet June. I have been alone. If anyone else had ever accepted my power in the long centuries, things might have been different. But now, you have used my power, tasted the sweet darkness. You have gained what you want....through simple effort of will. Tell me, June, how did that feel?

It made me horribly guilty.

Yes, yes, I know I know, Enchantress sighed, irritated. But that was afterwards. How did it make you feel?

It felt....exhilarating. It was so joyous, to be happy with Mitch...but it’s so wrong.

Oh yes, ‘wrong’. You have lived the good life and done the right thing. But what has that done for you? It has left you bitter, alone, and scared. But by doing the ‘wrong’ thing, one time, you had what you wanted most.

June sat very still. You admitted you still owe your soul to the dark side and must fight for the dark side when the end time comes. And you know you’ll lose.

Do I? No June, I don’t know that at all. Ever since I first took another life, I’ve never lost. I’ve had bad moments, but I always bounced back. And the one time I might have truly lost....you saved me, doing the ‘right’ thing to save your family. Your ‘goodness’ allowed me to continue my evil. What does that tell you about the nature of the universe, and about which side wins?

Yes, very morally relativistic of you, June sighed. That still doesn’t explain what you want of me.

You did what no mortal did in over five hundred years, June. You shared my power, you used it, and you enjoyed it. Now you know what it’s like....to be me.

June cringed. I don’t want to kill people!

No, but you do want to have what you desire. And you used my power to achieve it, and enjoyed it. Something that no ‘good’ person would do. You’ve tasted that sweet power, June...now tell me truly, are you so horrified that you can swear that you would not use that power again?

June sat very still. She stared into the darkness, and after a long pause, she reluctantly admitted: ....No.

Of course not. You are sensible, you have drive, and you have desire. Despite my hosts, June, I have been alone. You can change that. You can truly join me. Become as I am. Become an immortal spirit of witchcraft as I am. You won’t owe your soul to me or anyone else; you will be a free agent, as I am now. Join me, and you can have anything you want.

June was stunned, and frozen. She couldn’t in all honesty swear she would never use such powers again, if she had the chance. But at the same time she didn’t want to become a monster.....so she made the only objection she thought she could reasonably make at that point: I don’t want to fight for the forces of evil at the end of time, or whatever it is.

Enchantress seemed to nod. Of course you don’t. So it comes down to a simple choice; give up on what you want, hope Mitch doesn’t leave you when your spell over him ends.....and go back to the meek, quiet, frustrating life you used to have. Doing your duty instead of having what you want.

June sat very still.

Don’t fear what you’re feeling June, embrace it! Become one with the darkness. Step outside of history, become one of its movers and shakers. Learn what it is like to truly live. Surrender yourself to the darkness. An eternity of passion.

I don’t know.....let me think about it....it’s not something you decide in a heartbeat.

For a moment Enchantress didn’t answer. She was still very much there, watching and listening, but saying nothing.

A heartbeat, she had said....her heart beat strongly in her chest. She looked down at the shadowy form of Mitch, sleeping beside her. She wanted to keep him, and consequences be damned.

She had been, as Enchantress had more or less said, a ‘good girl’ all her life. And where had it led her? To being a scared, shivering, frightened girl with an ancient ghost inside her, as a member of a supervillain team on a short government leash. The first time she had done something ‘wrong’ she had become happy! Enchantress was right....

But....

I’m scared, she admitted inside. Scared of what I will become. Scared of what will happen to me. Of the consequences.

Enchantress chuckled. Of course you are. And here we come, at last, to the real reason so many “good” people refuse to unleash themselves and find true power. Not because of morality or caring or kindness or “conscience” but because they are afraid they’ll get caught. That is, I concede, a risk one always takes. But I believe it’s more than worth the risk.

And think about it June. Immortality. Living forever, until the end of time. To see all of history unfold until Armageddon itself. Imagine it!

June sat in silence, not answering, terrified yet exhilarated.

Trembling at the fulcrum; that middle point between good and evil.

Sheep and wolves, June. Sheep and wolves. You have lived as a sheep.....do you choose, now, to be a wolf?

June wasn’t sure about being a wolf, but she surely didn’t wish to be a sheep any longer.

Come with me, June, and see the world, and everything you can do with it, and to it... Enchantress invited.

The temptation was there. June sat one moment more in the darkness. Evil was calling her name. Darkness beckoned.

June drew a deep shuddering breath. She was still scared to death. But she was also more tempted than she could resist.

....What do I have to do?

Enchantress laughed. Go down to the basement.

June floated in darkness, dull bands of color occasionally flickering past. Enchantress floated in front of her a short distance away, surrounded by green fire.

“Where are we?”

“In a way, we are in your subconscious,” Enchantress answered. June was mildly surprised that Enchantress was speaking aloud. Presumably it was because they were in the same place. The sorceress went on, “In another way, we are in a magical realm of transformation. This is the last step. The point of no return.”

June nodded and took a deep breath. No going back. “What do I do, then?”

Enchantress spread her arms wide. “Come to me. Embrace me and my power shall be yours, and you shall be as I am. If you want it, take it.”

June hesitated for only a moment.

Then she willed herself forward and embraced Enchantress.

They began to blur together, and June didn’t even think about fighting it. She wasn’t even afraid any more. It felt good, it felt warm, it felt comfortable. She gave in to it, luxuriated in it. The green fire of the Enchantress burned her, filled her, and surrounded them both.

The next day June and Mitch returned to Belle Reve. There was no mission at this point, but several of the team members in the briefing room, lounging around.

Terra raised an eyebrow at the pair as June and Mitch walked in, hand in hand.

“Are you two all right?” asked Vixen.

June smiled. “We’re fine. Everything is all right now.”

Erinyes and Enchantress laughed inside.