| Supernatural Fiction posted March 29, 2015 | Chapters: |
...13 14 -15- 16... 
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The Berwick Witches Series: Book One
A chapter in the book Dark Covenant
Blood Moon/Part 1
by amahra
| Background New Berwick, Illinoise--a mystic place where witches rule under the watchful eyes of the Dominions. |
(Recap from previous chapter)
Sheerfield deputies, who were killed by werewolves, were laid to rest. Sheriff Wayne Tilbert is reluctant to make another move against the wolves without the Shadow Hunters. And Jewel has put pressure on Matthew to kidnap ten year old Russell Sooner, the missing ingredient for the moon cure. Jewel is certain she can save the wolves and restore the child.
Mid-April marked the beginning of Little League in Sheerfield City. The sky was cloudy, and a slight chill permeated the baseball diamond at Merryfield Park. Parents sat in their winter clothing and cheered on the home team of ten to twelve year olds. The crowd’s roar filled the air. Russell Sooner played center for the Sheerfield Cubs; his pals, Mike, played first base, and Todd was its star pitcher.
Most of the crowd were on their feet. Todd leaned forward on the mound, and then did a full wind up for the pitch.
“You can do it, Toddy!” his father yelled.
Todd shot a low pitch that the catcher had to practically scoop out of the dirt.
“Ball one!”
The batter’s relatives yelled encouragements, as the Cub supporters held their breath. Todd nodded to the catcher, and then the wind up and the pitch; the ball barely made the catcher’s glove.
“Struuike!”
“Boooo!” bellowed the guest crowd.
Todd leaned forward. Silence fell over the field. Birds flew quietly over the crowd. Todd stood a few seconds and gave nod of approval to the catcher, and then the wind up and the pitch.
The batter swung. It was a high fly ball to center field. Russell Sooner went back, and back, and back, and then a one hand catch brought the rest of the crowd to its feet. The guest crowd shouted disappointments, as the Cub crowd went wild.
Mr. Sooner jumped so high, he nearly fell off the bleachers. Mrs. Sooner hopped up and down—her blonde ponytail whipping about, and the Cub bench resounding with ultimate glee.
“Two down and one to go, honey,” Mr. Sooner told his wife. "Way to go, Rusty!" he yelled.
The next batter was up. A hush spread over the park—and for good reason. It was the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Cubs led by one run, and an earlier batter was still on base. The first win or loss of the first season game had usually set the tone for the remaining season. Everything was riding on this game. The batter had struck out earlier; so, the pressure was on.
The first two pitches were strikes, followed by name-calling aimed at the umpire by the guest crowd, and then death-like silence. The kid took a deep breath. He drew his bat back and glared at the mound. Todd, looking more seriously than ever before, nodded approval. He leaned forward—the ball in his right hand resting against his knee. Then the wind up, and the 75 MPH ball flashed towards the batter. It was on the outside, but the kid stretched and got a good piece of it on the end of his bat that sent the ball flying high into outfield. The ball flew a little to the right. The right outfielder moved in.
"I got it! I got it!" Russell shouted.
The right outfielder backed off. Russell went back, and back, and back, but the ball soared over his head, over the fence and into the woods. The guest crowd went ballistic as the batters rounded the bases. Russell’s shoulders sagged. He stared at the spectacle of heroes being hoisted and carried off the field. There was a small hole in the fence, and he slipped through it to search for the ball, though he didn’t have to. Perhaps, he just wanted to prolong facing his defeated teammates.
The woods were dark with streaks of light shining through the tops of the tall trees. Russell searched intently. The white of the ball stood out within the shadow of a thick bush. He made his way towards it.
*****
Hours ticked by. The stars were out, and the temperature had dropped significantly.
“Mrs. Sooner, I promise you, we are doing everything we can to find Rusty,” Sheriff Tilbert told a hysterical Mrs. Sooner as her husband held her. “We have every deputy and hundreds of volunteers searching the woods right now.”
“Please. Please find our boy,” Mr. Sooner begged before breaking down and hugging his distraught wife.
“I will,” Wayne said. He turned and walked out of their home.
Wayne had driven a quarter of a mile back to the station, when his phone rang. He clicked speaker. "Hey, Bob. I could use some good news right about now."
"I'll let you be the judge of that. You remember that strange man we encountered that day when we were out looking for the Shadow Hunters?"
"Sure."
"Well, he contacted me. I told him about our werewolf problem, and he said the Shadow Hunters can't help us."
"What! I thought they were supposed to be these bad dudes that went around battling evil."
"He said Hunters only deal with supernatural evil, like vampires, demons, or witches, and that werewolves are not evil. They're just a group of innocent men who were in the wrong place at the wrong time and pissed off the wrong witch."
"Not evil, huh? You mean ripping off the head and limbs from a fifteen year old girl. And doing God knows what with the missing ten year old Sooner boy. Not evil? Is that the not evil he's talking about?"
"I'm just telling you what he said."
"Great! Son of a ... So, what do we do, just let them run loose until they kill us all?"
"No. Here's the good part."
"Oh, my. There's a good part. Well, that's nice to hear."
"Wayne, Buddy. Chill. Now, this guy claims we can defeat them ourselves. Get this; silver nitrate kills werewolves deader than a doornail."
"Silver Nitrate?"
"Yep."
"How does that work?"
"After I got off the phone with the guy, I found this strange website and did some research of my own. According to this mysterious scientist whose name I can't pronounce, you drill a hole in the bullet head, pour in the silver nitrate and seal it with wax. Once fired, it will hit the target and the wax will melt from the heat and release the fluid."
"Hmm. That sounds simple enough."
"Actually when the bullet explodes inside the body, silver nitrate is injected into the blood stream, damaging vital organs, causing instant incapacitation and a quick agonizing death."
Wayne's face lit up. "Okay, so ... so, where can we get our hands on this stuff?”
"That's the sweet part. They're going to help us the only way they can. They're sending us a whole truck load of everything we'll need, including armor and special weapons."
"Who? Who’s sending it?"
"Wayne, you sound like an owl. The Shadow Hunters, that's who. He said to expect, you ready for this one, the Death Dealer in a couple of weeks."
"Death Dealer?" Wayne chuckled. "He actually said that?"
"I'm just the messenger." Bob snickered.
"Aah, Man. This is too weird. Should we believe this guy? I mean, you think this is a joke?"
"You saw the man, same as I did. He didn't strike me as the court jester."
"Yeah, he did remind me of The Crow."
"So, are we feeling better?" Bob teased.
"Heck yeah! I'll have to try and take this all in, of course. But, hey, Bob. Good job, my man. Keep me posted."
"Definitely."
Wayne clicked off and immediately dialed his acting chief deputy. "Karl, contact every deputy, on duty and off duty; drag them out of bed if you have to—but tell them to meet me at the station. Pronto .... Yes, NOW!"
*****
It had been four days and four nights since Russell Sooner was reported missing. Mr. Sooner sat in the big armchair next to the fire place—his head bowed. He held a glass of scotch in one hand and an empty scotch bottle in the other. Mrs. Sooner, who hadn’t spoken a word in days, stood like a statue by Russell’s bedroom window and stared out into the darkness.
Back at Greyscott Falls, Russell Sooner lay unconscious with a high fever and a nasty bite wound to his neck. The boy had put up quite a fight four days earlier after Matthew had turned human and pretended to rescue him minutes after the wolf allegedly ran off. He had kicked Matthew in the groin and cracked him on the head with a rock when Matthew tried to force the boy to go with him. Since time was of the essence, Matthew eventually put the feisty little tiger in a sleeper hold, and carried him off.
Deep in Norwich Forest, several minutes before the full moon, Jewel stood with the Grimoire opened to the moon cure spell, while Beatrice prepared the sacrificial altar. Further away in a mine shaft, the women double chained all of the males and left, sealing the opening of the mine behind them.
Russell groaned and softly called for his mommy. Under normal circumstances, the child’s plea would have proved heart-wrenching for Jewel, had his life’s blood not been so crucial for the survival of the wolf pack. The wound on his neck had begun to fester. His baseball uniform was replaced with a white ceremonial garment which was drenched with the sweat from his fever. The child shivered and moved his head from side to side. His neck wound pulsated like the beating of a human heart, and pus streamed onto the base of the altar. The smell from the wound choked the air.
"Beatrice, it's time," Jewel commanded. "Prepare the child."
Sheerfield deputies, who were killed by werewolves, were laid to rest. Sheriff Wayne Tilbert is reluctant to make another move against the wolves without the Shadow Hunters. And Jewel has put pressure on Matthew to kidnap ten year old Russell Sooner, the missing ingredient for the moon cure. Jewel is certain she can save the wolves and restore the child.
Mid-April marked the beginning of Little League in Sheerfield City. The sky was cloudy, and a slight chill permeated the baseball diamond at Merryfield Park. Parents sat in their winter clothing and cheered on the home team of ten to twelve year olds. The crowd’s roar filled the air. Russell Sooner played center for the Sheerfield Cubs; his pals, Mike, played first base, and Todd was its star pitcher.
Most of the crowd were on their feet. Todd leaned forward on the mound, and then did a full wind up for the pitch.
“You can do it, Toddy!” his father yelled.
Todd shot a low pitch that the catcher had to practically scoop out of the dirt.
“Ball one!”
The batter’s relatives yelled encouragements, as the Cub supporters held their breath. Todd nodded to the catcher, and then the wind up and the pitch; the ball barely made the catcher’s glove.
“Struuike!”
“Boooo!” bellowed the guest crowd.
Todd leaned forward. Silence fell over the field. Birds flew quietly over the crowd. Todd stood a few seconds and gave nod of approval to the catcher, and then the wind up and the pitch.
The batter swung. It was a high fly ball to center field. Russell Sooner went back, and back, and back, and then a one hand catch brought the rest of the crowd to its feet. The guest crowd shouted disappointments, as the Cub crowd went wild.
Mr. Sooner jumped so high, he nearly fell off the bleachers. Mrs. Sooner hopped up and down—her blonde ponytail whipping about, and the Cub bench resounding with ultimate glee.
“Two down and one to go, honey,” Mr. Sooner told his wife. "Way to go, Rusty!" he yelled.
The next batter was up. A hush spread over the park—and for good reason. It was the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Cubs led by one run, and an earlier batter was still on base. The first win or loss of the first season game had usually set the tone for the remaining season. Everything was riding on this game. The batter had struck out earlier; so, the pressure was on.
The first two pitches were strikes, followed by name-calling aimed at the umpire by the guest crowd, and then death-like silence. The kid took a deep breath. He drew his bat back and glared at the mound. Todd, looking more seriously than ever before, nodded approval. He leaned forward—the ball in his right hand resting against his knee. Then the wind up, and the 75 MPH ball flashed towards the batter. It was on the outside, but the kid stretched and got a good piece of it on the end of his bat that sent the ball flying high into outfield. The ball flew a little to the right. The right outfielder moved in.
"I got it! I got it!" Russell shouted.
The right outfielder backed off. Russell went back, and back, and back, but the ball soared over his head, over the fence and into the woods. The guest crowd went ballistic as the batters rounded the bases. Russell’s shoulders sagged. He stared at the spectacle of heroes being hoisted and carried off the field. There was a small hole in the fence, and he slipped through it to search for the ball, though he didn’t have to. Perhaps, he just wanted to prolong facing his defeated teammates.
The woods were dark with streaks of light shining through the tops of the tall trees. Russell searched intently. The white of the ball stood out within the shadow of a thick bush. He made his way towards it.
*****
Hours ticked by. The stars were out, and the temperature had dropped significantly.
“Mrs. Sooner, I promise you, we are doing everything we can to find Rusty,” Sheriff Tilbert told a hysterical Mrs. Sooner as her husband held her. “We have every deputy and hundreds of volunteers searching the woods right now.”
“Please. Please find our boy,” Mr. Sooner begged before breaking down and hugging his distraught wife.
“I will,” Wayne said. He turned and walked out of their home.
Wayne had driven a quarter of a mile back to the station, when his phone rang. He clicked speaker. "Hey, Bob. I could use some good news right about now."
"I'll let you be the judge of that. You remember that strange man we encountered that day when we were out looking for the Shadow Hunters?"
"Sure."
"Well, he contacted me. I told him about our werewolf problem, and he said the Shadow Hunters can't help us."
"What! I thought they were supposed to be these bad dudes that went around battling evil."
"He said Hunters only deal with supernatural evil, like vampires, demons, or witches, and that werewolves are not evil. They're just a group of innocent men who were in the wrong place at the wrong time and pissed off the wrong witch."
"Not evil, huh? You mean ripping off the head and limbs from a fifteen year old girl. And doing God knows what with the missing ten year old Sooner boy. Not evil? Is that the not evil he's talking about?"
"I'm just telling you what he said."
"Great! Son of a ... So, what do we do, just let them run loose until they kill us all?"
"No. Here's the good part."
"Oh, my. There's a good part. Well, that's nice to hear."
"Wayne, Buddy. Chill. Now, this guy claims we can defeat them ourselves. Get this; silver nitrate kills werewolves deader than a doornail."
"Silver Nitrate?"
"Yep."
"How does that work?"
"After I got off the phone with the guy, I found this strange website and did some research of my own. According to this mysterious scientist whose name I can't pronounce, you drill a hole in the bullet head, pour in the silver nitrate and seal it with wax. Once fired, it will hit the target and the wax will melt from the heat and release the fluid."
"Hmm. That sounds simple enough."
"Actually when the bullet explodes inside the body, silver nitrate is injected into the blood stream, damaging vital organs, causing instant incapacitation and a quick agonizing death."
Wayne's face lit up. "Okay, so ... so, where can we get our hands on this stuff?”
"That's the sweet part. They're going to help us the only way they can. They're sending us a whole truck load of everything we'll need, including armor and special weapons."
"Who? Who’s sending it?"
"Wayne, you sound like an owl. The Shadow Hunters, that's who. He said to expect, you ready for this one, the Death Dealer in a couple of weeks."
"Death Dealer?" Wayne chuckled. "He actually said that?"
"I'm just the messenger." Bob snickered.
"Aah, Man. This is too weird. Should we believe this guy? I mean, you think this is a joke?"
"You saw the man, same as I did. He didn't strike me as the court jester."
"Yeah, he did remind me of The Crow."
"So, are we feeling better?" Bob teased.
"Heck yeah! I'll have to try and take this all in, of course. But, hey, Bob. Good job, my man. Keep me posted."
"Definitely."
Wayne clicked off and immediately dialed his acting chief deputy. "Karl, contact every deputy, on duty and off duty; drag them out of bed if you have to—but tell them to meet me at the station. Pronto .... Yes, NOW!"
*****
It had been four days and four nights since Russell Sooner was reported missing. Mr. Sooner sat in the big armchair next to the fire place—his head bowed. He held a glass of scotch in one hand and an empty scotch bottle in the other. Mrs. Sooner, who hadn’t spoken a word in days, stood like a statue by Russell’s bedroom window and stared out into the darkness.
Back at Greyscott Falls, Russell Sooner lay unconscious with a high fever and a nasty bite wound to his neck. The boy had put up quite a fight four days earlier after Matthew had turned human and pretended to rescue him minutes after the wolf allegedly ran off. He had kicked Matthew in the groin and cracked him on the head with a rock when Matthew tried to force the boy to go with him. Since time was of the essence, Matthew eventually put the feisty little tiger in a sleeper hold, and carried him off.
Deep in Norwich Forest, several minutes before the full moon, Jewel stood with the Grimoire opened to the moon cure spell, while Beatrice prepared the sacrificial altar. Further away in a mine shaft, the women double chained all of the males and left, sealing the opening of the mine behind them.
Russell groaned and softly called for his mommy. Under normal circumstances, the child’s plea would have proved heart-wrenching for Jewel, had his life’s blood not been so crucial for the survival of the wolf pack. The wound on his neck had begun to fester. His baseball uniform was replaced with a white ceremonial garment which was drenched with the sweat from his fever. The child shivered and moved his head from side to side. His neck wound pulsated like the beating of a human heart, and pus streamed onto the base of the altar. The smell from the wound choked the air.
"Beatrice, it's time," Jewel commanded. "Prepare the child."
 Recognized |
|
New Berwick, Illinois is comprised of four regions: Falcon Haven, Northern and Southern Greyscott Falls, Sheerfield City and Ironforge.
Main Characters
Northern Greyscott Falls:
River Porter....... Main Character
Jewel Porter....... River's wife
Their daughters....Chelsey, Abby, Dria, and Becca
Southern Greyscott Falls:
Dex Porter.........River's brother
Matthew (Matt) Porter... Dex's son
Jan Porter ....Dex's wife and Jewel's cousin/sister-in-law
Raymond Carter.. Dex's neighbor
Debbie Carter... Raymond's mother
Falcon Haven:
Beatrice ....... Jewel's best friend
Kayla Morrison.. Beatrice's niece
Sheerfield City:
Wayne Tilbert....... Sheriff of Sheerfield City
Reece Tilbert....... Wayne's wife/Sheerfield Bank president
Veronica (Ronnie) Tilbert...Wayne daughter/Kayla's BFF
Christopher Tilbert.........Wayne and Reece's son
Christa......................Veronica and Kayla's BFF
Bob Wilson..................Sheerfield City Coroner
Ironforge:
Corina Brewer...............Sorcerer
Hollie Brewer...............Corina's sister/Sorcerer
Gunner Lenox................Sorcerer
Amber Moore.................Sorcerer
Supporting Cast
New Berwick residents
Art Work: Her Eyes by Diane Azdamar at dianae.cgsociety.org
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Main Characters
Northern Greyscott Falls:
River Porter....... Main Character
Jewel Porter....... River's wife
Their daughters....Chelsey, Abby, Dria, and Becca
Southern Greyscott Falls:
Dex Porter.........River's brother
Matthew (Matt) Porter... Dex's son
Jan Porter ....Dex's wife and Jewel's cousin/sister-in-law
Raymond Carter.. Dex's neighbor
Debbie Carter... Raymond's mother
Falcon Haven:
Beatrice ....... Jewel's best friend
Kayla Morrison.. Beatrice's niece
Sheerfield City:
Wayne Tilbert....... Sheriff of Sheerfield City
Reece Tilbert....... Wayne's wife/Sheerfield Bank president
Veronica (Ronnie) Tilbert...Wayne daughter/Kayla's BFF
Christopher Tilbert.........Wayne and Reece's son
Christa......................Veronica and Kayla's BFF
Bob Wilson..................Sheerfield City Coroner
Ironforge:
Corina Brewer...............Sorcerer
Hollie Brewer...............Corina's sister/Sorcerer
Gunner Lenox................Sorcerer
Amber Moore.................Sorcerer
Supporting Cast
New Berwick residents
Art Work: Her Eyes by Diane Azdamar at dianae.cgsociety.org
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