Authors: Scarlet Black
“
Those who
’
d discovered the Devil in Massachusetts
,
the accusers themselves were rewarded
.
“
With Salem growing and families becoming larger, land was needed and what better way to get it than by portraying many land-owning women as witches and buying the land cheap? If it wasn
’
t sold, title to the land would go to the colony. From this point of view, witch-hunting proved to be a very lucrative way to obtain profitable lands. Or even as payback for a grudge. That could never happen today, thank God! Women
,
weak
? Hah
!
”
Gabriel listened intently, enraptured not only by her beauty, but her knowledge of history and her passion for it. That she and virtually everyone else
in these times
found the witch hunts disgraceful was a small comfort to him.
The madness that he
’
d witnessed was finally acknowledged for what it truly was
,
a horrible miscarriage of justice
,
of superstition and hysteria and yes, even greed
.
But still, some of the information broke his heart all over again
. He
was still reeling from the reading of his father
’
s diary.
“
In 1992
, The Danvers Tercentennial Committee finally persuaded the Massachusetts House of Representatives to issue a resolution for all those who
’
d died
;
every last one of them. On October 31st, 2001, Governor Jane Swift signed the resolution and after more than
300
years, all those who were hanged unjustly were proclaimed innocent. I
’
ve always found it a little eerie that the resolution was finalized on
Halloween, of all days
. Talk about irony
.
”
After listening to all she
’
d said, he was interested in
looking at those benches.
“
Lily, do you mind if we look at the benches?
”
“
Of course we
’
ll look at them.
”
She stood up on tippy toes and kissed his cheek.
At the touch of her lips on his cheek, he felt his loins once again come alive.
Did she have any idea of the effect she had on him?
They walked along in respectful silence, among the inscribed stones. Gabriel saw names he knew
here,
women of the village. Good women
.
Still others were names that sounded vaguely familiar, probably others he knew of. Lily had spoken the truth about the nature of small
towns;
one either knew someone or knew of them.
Gabriel stopped dead in his tracks
. His eyes gazed
upon
her
name on one of the benches.
Even though there were many tourists walking the grounds, stopping to look and take pictures of the benches
,
he ceased to notice his surroundings. The endlessly annoying background of cars and planes and all those other distractions he
’
d yet to become accustomed to
fell away
.
“
Gabriel…what
’
s wrong? You look like you
’
ve just seen a ghost
.
”
He
’
d quickly pulled his hand from Lily
’
s and stood stock still, arms hanging limp at his sides, just staring
,
paralyzed as he read the words on that hard stone bench.
“
Abigail Blackstone: Hanged as a witch, July the 19
th
,
1692
.
”
He read the words at the bottom of the bench, an inscription
proclaiming her innocence on
October 31
st
, 2001
.
This time, his reaction wasn
’
t one of fear and anxiety, as it had been at the Salem Witch Museum. Oh no, he was
angry
, in
an absolute rage that his sister had not been allowed to have a life
.
That it was
taken
from her
. A
nd there was no good reason for any of it. None
.
He felt a deep hatred toward not only those who
’
d caused her death, but those who
’
d allowed it. He was the only survivor of an entire family torn apart over
300
years ago. Why should he be allowed to live when they had not?
To think, he held the hand of a girl whose descendants had caused the destruction of his family
.
But, he loved her still. It was not something he could reason away. It was
n
’
t
a conscious choice, it was destiny, he was certain of it.
She
’
d played no part in any of this, but what would he say to her? He
must
tell her the truth about
whom
he was and where he had come from. How complicated it all was
.
Instead of throwing meaningless words at her, he took hold of her arms a little rougher than he had intended and pulled her to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her with a hunger and urgency unlike anything he had ever known.
Even though he
’
d taken her completely by surprise with this kiss, so unlike that first one, she kissed him back, just as urgently.
And
then she remembered they were in an extremely public place.
Reluctantly, she
pulled away from him.
“
Let
’
s go…somewhere where we can have some privacy, okay?
”
Since she
’
d first laid eyes on him, and every time she
’
d seen him thereafter, he took her breath away.
“
Yes, let
’
s go somewhere we can…talk.
There are some things you need to know about me,
”
Gabriel said solemnly.
G
abriel hesitated as Lily led him up to the door of her home. He was extremely uncomfortable here and did not want to be greeted again by her mother. The woman abhorred him, simply because of his last name. Lily noticed his hesitation and explained that her mother was on a business
trip;
hunting down antiques as it were for her shop and her father was in Boston where, as a defense attorney, he was involved in a lengthy murder trial and would be gone for days. As for Dylan, he was at baseball camp, although, he would have no problem with Gabriel. His sister could do no wrong in his eyes.
She led him by the hand through the preternaturally quiet house and up the stairs to her bedroom. Once inside, he sat stiffly in the chair by her computer. She sat down on the bed, where Magick jumped up onto her lap
, watching
Gabriel
closely
. Sensing no danger from him, the cat curled up in a contented, purring ball.
“
Come, Gabriel, sit with me.
”
Lily patted the spot next to her on the bed.
Gabriel sat next to her, albeit, uncomfortably.
He
’
d
been brought up in a time when it was unacceptable to be alone with a girl in her bedroom. He reminded himself as he looked upon the odd device known as a
“
computer
”
that this was an entirely different time with
very
different rules. He relaxed
when
she
took his hand in hers, caressing his palm with her fingers and then bringing them to her mouth where she planted little kisses on them.
“
Lily, I need to tell you something. Something so unbelievable, I fear you will think me mad after
you hear it
.
”
“
Sshh…not now
.
”
Her voice was soothing and he
saw the hunger of desire in her eyes.
He wanted her, there was no doubt of that, but they were not married. Wasn
’
t that a sin in the eyes of God? Hadn
’
t Lucien already put the mark of sin upon him when he murdered Thomas Snow on his behalf?
Oh, but then she took his face in her hands and kissed him, a soft gentle kiss as he put his hand to the hollow of her throat, where the tiny gold locket rose and fell with each breath she took.
All thoughts of God and Lucien; (neither whose presence he felt) were wiped away as her kiss grew more demanding and hungry, as did his. He buried his hands in her thick locks of hair. Laying down on the satiny softness of the bed, she pulled him down with her.
He no longer felt self-conscious about the burning in his loins
. He
kissed her
sweet lips.
His mouth moved to
her neck, her ears, the very tops of her breasts straining against the tank top she was wearing, he kissed them all with a tender hunger and
as his passion grew,
he knew she felt the same.
He had a fleeting moment of
agonizing
guilt when a vision of that stone bench flashed in his mind
. How awful that
Abigail had only experienced the passion of another, not her own.
Suddenly, he knew,
this was wrong
.
He could not do this, not without her knowing who he was
,
not without warning her of the danger that Lucien could pose to her
.
He pulled away from her by an act of sheer willpower.
“
What…what
’
s wrong Gabriel? Don
’
t you want me as much as I want you?
”
He kissed the top of her head, reveling in the very essence of her unique scent. He loved her so much, was afraid of how much he loved her. Once she knew about him, would she shrink away from him in fear, thinking him mad or perhaps even a danger to her?
“
Lily, we need to talk.
”
“
Mmmm…do we have too? I just want to stay like this, in your arms, forever.
”
“
I have to tell you the truth about me. But before I do, I need you to know that I love you with all my heart and soul. I would rather die than to see you hurt or in danger. I cannot imagine being without you, and yet I must tell you the truth and let you decide for yourself if you want to be with me…
”
Just as Gabriel opened his mouth to speak, the doorbell rang and he jumped up from the bed quickly. The shrill sound of it was yet another annoying sound of this noisy era
.
There was a police car parked in the driveway,
its
lights flashing. The sound of the door knocker resonated throughout the house loudly, as if banged against the door as hard as possible.
“
Shit,
”
Lily said.
“
It
’
s Lilac
’
s dad
.
What the hell is
he
doing here?
”
A feeling of dread began to creep over her as she realized Lilac was supposed to call her and let her know where
she
’
d
gone on her mystery date. She never had.
Lucien!
Gabriel thought.
What in the name of God has he done with that girl?
And another
unwanted
though
t
occurred to him
.
He
was the only stranger in town with a direct connection to Lilac, through Lily
.
Surely, he would be questioned if anything had happened to her
.
He had to get out of here
…
now
.
G
abriel went out the back door just as Chief Thompson stepped through the front door. He walked home in long strides, looking over his shoulder intermittently, and waiting for that police car to round a corner and pull up beside him, just like they did in the movies on the television device.