I huddled inside my little cottage deep in the woods, waiting for them to come for me. I was powerless to escape my fate, all because I had failed to heal Mistress Prudence’s son, but there was only so much a simple healer could do when a soul’s time on Earth was done.
We would run, as we always did, and at least this time we had the luxury of forewarning and did not have to bear things we had borne before.
We had found out about the plot by accident. We knew approximately when they would come for me, to put me on trial for witchcraft, to punish me for worshipping Satan.
If I worshipped Satan and he did my bidding, the boy would have lived. Logic, however, had nothing to do with this. Mistress Prudence was angry and she would get her justice. There would be no one to stop this, even if that did mean the rest of the village lost their healer and midwife. In fact, I had caught Mistress Prudence’s boy, and saved her from the death of birthgiving, but that seemed to make no difference.
Then they started thinking about it, about me, about my appearance, about how long I had lived here and served the village.
Why I didn’t age.
“We stayed too long,” my husband said.
I looked down at the giant black Italian mastiff sitting at my feet. “I suppose you want to say ‘I told you so.’”
“I told you so.”
I had time to gather my things and run. But where would we go this time? What would we do when we got there? I did not fear death; I feared the pain of being burned alive. I knew what that felt like; it had happened before. Jesus Christ was said to have endured worse, and His disciples after him, but I was not a deity who could save myself if I chose, not brave, and I did not like pain.
But, I reminded myself as I often had to, I had chosen this life when I chose to stay with my beloved husband.
So we would run. Again.
I gathered provisions for travel through and sojourn in the wilderness. Food, ale, shelter, clothing, and weapons. I packed carefully, as I did not know how long we would be running this time.
In the woods.
In the winter.
We had made a life for us here, and now we had to leave it all behind. Again. My mistake was in getting too comfortable and forgetting that years flew by faster for us and I lost track of time, although my husband did not. He’d wanted to leave fifty years ago.
So they would burn our home down when they found me gone. Would we ever be able to live in peace? Would there ever come a time when people did not fear that which they did not understand? Where we could stay in one place and no one would ever notice—or care—that we did not die?
I prayed snow would not fall.
I finished loading my handcart. Of course I took my books with me, my quills and ink and parchments. They would claim that my ability to read and write was a sign of my service to Satan. Women did not read and write, but I was more learned than any man in the world, save my husband. Women envied me. Men feared me.
It wasn’t me they needed to fear.
I layered my woolen dresses and stockings so that I did not have to waste room to pack them.
Satisfied by what I had chosen to bring, and satisfied that our cottage looked as if I would return any moment, I took out, my husband somewhere nearby, scouting and guarding.
I trudged through the woods until sundown, fearing that every crackle of leaves and twigs would give us away. Even after sundown, we kept going, my husband leading me.
We were going southeast, away from the village, and if previous travels taught me anything, we would be able to make France by spring. We’d been back and forth across Europe, Britain, and Scandinavia for centuries.
After a full day, a full night, and another full day of walking and pulling my cart, my gloves had worn through and I had blisters on my hands and feet. Yet we were far enough away and still deep enough in the woods that we did not hear or encounter anyone else.
“Amala,” Alaric said, “’Tis time for you to rest.”
I looked down at the dog and sighed wearily. “Aye, I know.” My endurance was at an end. We had stayed so long in Scotland that I had lost some of my physical abilities. I should have known better, but each day was an adventure of the mind and I forgot to exercise my body too, doing the least amount of work necessary to keep myself alive and in some comfort.
It was near sundown. I set my cart down, prepared it for my sleep, and made a fire whilst Alaric fetched us supper. Rabbit, as expected. By firelight, I skinned it and roasted it on the spit. He was not able to eat, so whilst I ate, he lay with his head in my lap and attempted to sleep. Once I had eaten my fill and washed it down with a full bladder of ale, I stroked and caressed his thick black fur, scratched his head, and generally wondered what it would be like to die.
I sighed.
“Stop wishing for that which will not happen,” Alaric murmured, rousting himself to all four feet. He shook himself out, then disappeared. I doused the fire and crawled under my tented handcart onto the nest of blankets I made, Alaric patrolling. I could sleep as long as I wanted knowing he would keep me safe.
He was not able to sleep; he had not been cursed with the weaknesses of a mortal dog’s body. He had been cursed to be ever near me, but always away from me, ever hungry, ever tired, but unable to eat or sleep.
It was the Italian witch’s curse upon him for sacking Rome twelve hundred years ago.
I had chosen to stay with him; thus, I was as immortal as he, and as ever separated from him. I had begged the witch on my hands and knees for him to be allowed to think and talk. She had determined that it would be more of a curse for him than a gift, so she had allowed it.
There was no god, no sorcerer, who could undo this curse. There had been no caveat, no loophole, no god who would or could save us.
I went to sleep and dreamt, as I did every night, of what it would be like to die.
*Bravissimo!*
Consider me intrigued.
Thank you! No elaboration forthcoming, I’m afraid.
Bravo!! I love it, please tell .me there’s more,
There is not. I just dashed this off one day.
There a many questions left un answered, great stuff anyway, thanks Mo,,
Thank you!
These little monologues are basically a question I’m asking myself. What would happen if…?
Excellent work.
Add me to the “more, please” column.
I am a fan of short story form, so I say “just enough”.
Great stuff!
Great job mo!
https://youtu.be/Tn6b3pIjqEw
Wait till guns are called a pandemic ??
Haven’t they been already? Hoplophobia has turned the former gray steel revolver emoji into a squirt gun.
I haven’t been on here in awhile, but I wanted to say this was a great little tale.
I thought she was talking to the dog at first, but wasn’t sure.
I like the story.
I looked down at the giant black Italian mastiff sitting at my feet. “I suppose you want to say ‘I told you so.’”
“I told you so.”
Uh-oh.
Nice.
We’ve had a bullmastiff and an English mastiff. Loved them both but they are not long-lived dogs. Even more so I’ve heard, for the Neapolitans. Now you’ve solved that problem for one.
LOL
In researching for my medieval romance, I wanted my heroine to have had a war dog who protected her on her journeys (“Now let me tell you about my big black bitch from hell”) that had a modern breed descendant. I found the Romans used Italian mastiffs, which we now call Cane Corso. So it had to be a dog the Romans had.
Oh yeah, the Cane Corso is a bit smaller like a bullmastiff while the Neopolitan is almost as heavy as the English mastiff.
Mo, you write? 😉 JK, I don’t remember any of your content published here, but I am fairly new here.
How soon is your hiking piece due? Am probably too busy to help on short notice (ask Evan?), but anyway, see forum by midnight your time.
There’s a small
infestationabundance of writers here.Another recalibration needed.
Yep, I write
And I read! ? (I’ll try to read this during my late lunch if I can get the break room to myself.)
Do you do it the way Heinlein described?
His only commandment that I violate is “You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.” I rewrite constantly because I don’t outline.
Which is funny, because he told Niven and Pournelle to cut a huge chunk off the front of The Mote in God’s Eye. Although I guess that was editorial order. He told them he would give them the cover blurb, “Possibly the best science fiction story ever written” if they made the cut. They made the cut.
Its not Dune, but it is in the competition, so “possibly” is acceptable.
One problem for me is I don’t have an editor, so I am my editor. If I say to cut something, I cut it.
If I didn’t have a meeting with a customer agency to try to convince them to finally do something that should have been done a decade ago, well, I’d probably just sit around and snark some more.
But yeah, there’s a bunch of us who write and even have books for sale.
::clicks on UCS’s screen name:: Well, would you look at that!
https://www.glibertarians.com/2020/03/allow-me-to-introduce-myself-part-1/
This was really fun.
Thanks!
Oh, you missed my demon hunter!
If you go to the archives and click on “contributing writers” (I have nothing in 2017, so don’t bother), then search for my moniker, you’ll find my few contributions.
Then, for 2020, if you click on my moniker at the top there, you’ll find 2020 and 2021 contributions.
That’s a fun story. Thanks for linking it. Love the anachronisms.
I’m building a list of vendors I can subcontract to. I’m going to finish the hiking piece myself.
All of youse need recalibration! Who am I to you people, Homer to Mr. Burns? Two signs of facetiousness in the first graf!
A blind greek poet with a German title of nobility?
How did you get in that circumstance?
I came here for an argument, not noogies.
Oh, never mind.
No you didn’t.
I blummin’ well did!
I don’t believe that.
An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition! Contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of any statement the other person makes!
No it isn’t.
If anyone here were going to continue this subthread in that way, it’d be you.
Be vewwy vewwy quiet. Wew’e hunting witches.
I wouldn’t blame Alaric for the sack of Rome. That’s what Gothic warlords do. It was overdue anyhow. I’d blame the Roman deep-state who had just executed the last competent Roman General because he might pose a political threat.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilicho
Also, as far as I remember, they pretty much opened the gates for him because they had mismanaged the food stocks and he starved them. Central planning FTW!
I was hoping for some softcore romance stuff…then there was the dog, and I so hoping there wasn’t any of that…
Don’t give her ideas.
The narrator gets another dog, acquires some acreage and lets the canines run free?
That sounds more like a who-who-who dunnit mystery.
The Parliment of Owls. No one else would hoot that much.
Ew, no.
There’s a reason I don’t do werewolf or shifter romance.
Same here… “Sack” of Rome?
Fun read, Mo.
Do gas prices just jump 20 cents a gallon everywhere? Wow.
Yep, 2.99 now, inflation? Or something else?
Whycome food prices up?
Socialist Efficiency!
OPEC cuts, I heard last month. Haven’t looked into it more recently.
(uh, sorry, trying to answer Yusef pacifically)
Fuel costs drive food costs, truckers you know,
They are up here too, and they will keep going up. But every time this makes my life difficult, I stop and remember that I’d rather suffer through this than endure the horror of someone saying mean things on Twitter.
This is why we need to provide a stronger public transportation system and increase gasoline taxes!
Am I doing this right?
You left out all the reasons why raising gas taxes fights structural racism and white supremacy.
And gerbil worming!
That’s a good start, but you need to mention that this is all Trump’s fault, and it would be much worse if Biden weren’t president. You know, unprovable assertions.
I heard it is due to a shortage of truck drivers.
Weird things happen when you take a sledgehammer to supply chains and pay people not to work.
I’m still amazed and slightly appalled at how long this economy has kept chugging along with its feet cut out from under it. At this point it’s scooting along on bloody, eroded femur heads.
‘Tis but a scratch.
I read somewhere that part of fuel increase is:
– fuel demand dropped during lockdowns
– tanker truck drivers were let go due to reduced demand
– those drivers either found other jobs or make more on unemployment
– the specialized training schools for tanker drivers we shut down and are just starting to reopen now.
Few drivers for the tanker trucks means less supply and higher prices.
I’ve seen gas stations out of gas (and/or diesel) several times recently. Coincidence?
So 2020’s is a rehash of the 70’s?
I missed most of them the first time around, I don’t feel like I missed much.
OPEC and gas lines.
I miss the 70s.
Good thing Biden is bringing them back.
Looking forward to finding out what days I can buy gas, based on the final number of my license plate.
So 2020’s is a rehash of the 70’s?
Except that the supply chain disruptions appear to be widespread, not just in petro.
They are widespread and it’s aggravating as hell.
Great story. Thanks.
Welcome! Glad you liked it.
Do gas prices just jump 20 cents a gallon everywhere? Wow.
Do you want to heal the world, or don’t you?
Starting to wonder how much of the price increases we are seeing across the board is related to inflation rather than shortages.
It must be a sign of the End Times if ZeroHedge is finally right.
Can’t be inflation, why would printing trillions of dollars of fake money have any effect on prices?
They’re real money, they say dollars right on them!
I usually don’t read the daily fiction because they tend to be longer, but I did read this one and I liked it. You have a good style/voice.
When the dog first showed up, I was thinking C&C II had taken a very unexpected turn. This was a neat concept, reminded me a bit of one of my dad’s favorite books. Those immortals could be killed, though.
Command and Conquer 2 was underrated.
Science fiction’s not usually my cuppa, but I do read it sometimes. That book looks intriguing.
No, C&C II isn’t part of this, but I wrote this while I was writing C&C I. However, C&C II is pretty damned bleak. It’s a quest, which I have never written before, and Mouse gets his own romance.
#metoo
Is C&C II before or after this?
Starting to wonder how much of the price increases we are seeing across the board is related to inflation rather than shortages.
Massive infusions of helicopter money? Check.
Widespread supply side disruptions? Check.
Remain cam. THERE IS NO INFLATION.
All of youse need recalibration!
It’s dunce caps, all the way down.
You need a less spiky seat then.
? ??
You all started treating me like Pottersville residents would George Bailey all of a sudden.
Calm down Beavis!
Hey, dontcha know me?
If anyone can find the episode wherein Beavis is mistaken for the suspect 1969 murder, I would be grateful.
damn typeover!
in a
Simple Rhyme?
Gadda da Vida?
dontcha know that I loooove you–
murderer. ’94.
“When asked how a 15-year-old could have committed a crime before he was born, police said, ‘He was just that clever.'” Something like that.
Check the rhime
OK Daria
As of ’95, born in ’80, if I remember now.
series and characters, that is
I enjoyed the story
Thank you!
I also really liked the demon hunter you linked above–I had missed it when it was originally posted.
Papa Cannoli update: everything is trending in the right direction, and he may even get moved from the ICU to a regular floor later today or tomorrow. I wish the hospital was allowing visitors, but I’ll just have to be patient. Thank you all so much for your kind words and prayers last night. You are a wonderful bunch of people.
Hurray!
More prayers heading his way.
This is good news. I hope he continues to get better.
Good to hear. In other medical news, Mrs JI had her neck surgery yesterday and is home today and on the mend. I probably hadn’t mentioned it before because she had announced it pretty much everywhere else over the internet and so I spared all of you.
A speedy recovery to her!
I hope she gets well soon.
Great read, Mo! I really enjoyed it!
Thanks!
Witchcraft! Beastialty! This website should be better than this but I liked it.
Sugarfree blew our family friendly rating all to hell. And by “blew” mean…
Better than this? This is awesome! Where else do you get such a variety of original free content with out ads and a libertarian spin?
It’s not ad free. We shill books and products all the time.
/looks over the morning threads this week.
Some… disagree.
Hush.
Hush.
Don’t know who those kids are.
Hush
Hush.
Hush.
Awful episode. Except for the masturbation joke. Not the worst, because season 2 had some real clunkers, but still bad.
Season 4 struggled mightily.
On the other hand, if I remember correctly, there was no score during the quiet periods either, and it really helps set the mood. So it had some positives. But I generally didnt care for it.
On the gripping hand, I like “Beer Bad”, so what do I know.
Season 4 struggled mightily.
Positive of season 4…they returned to the schtick of season 1 of talking a typical HS problem and making it supernatural, only typical college problem instead. So the first bit of season 4 was kinda okay, they aren’t great episodes, by I liked the attempt.
The problem with season 4 is losing the centralized setting of the library. You would think a location wouldn’t matter, but it does.
I think Season 4 struggled because of the weirdness of shifting setting (as you mentioned, the library was key) as well as the fact that “The Initiative” seemed rather contrived. Like why would the Watchers’ Council not have known anything about it, and the faux military stuff rankled a bit. Like, why would a secret occult spec ops division of the US military be running around with Mini 14s?
I just didn’t think the writing was up to par in the 4th season. Although I did like “Hush” partly because it gave a break from all the Whedonistic dialogue, which is snappy and fresh when you first hear it, but can get a bit old.
I just started reading today’s morning thread and I see db talking about joining a glib Zoom while sober.
I think I’ve been to more glib Zooms sober than drunk.
I survived.
I wonder what else I’m going to see in today’s morning thread?
Don’t do it!
I see no references to a certain NW OH city. How bad can it be?
Sheesh, way to ruin the anxiety I was trying to instill in Mr Ilium.
Mr. Ilium lives in Cleveland. Isn’t that punishment enough?
Hey… what’s so bad about Cleveland? We’re not Detroit (in before someone links the video).
And why would I have anxiety? It’s DEG who’s catching up to the morning threads.
Because I’m distracted.
We’re not Detroit (in before someone links the video).
Dammit.
I wonder what else I’m going to see in today’s morning thread?
l0b0t’s story about his son’s soccer practice brought a smile to my face.
This was really good.
Thanks!
For all you motorcycle Glibs: The brother of one of my friends is selling a 1991 BMW K75, asking $2500. New front and rear shocks and springs, new water pump, includes luggage. What say you?
I sent my cookbook client screenshot samples of what her ebook looks like and she said “I am so happy I found you.”
I am warmed and fuzzied. The day, she is full of them.
Shit. Gilmore’d.
Ima take that as a vote for “at least go look at the bike, db.”
For all you motorcycle Glibs: The brother of one of my friends is selling a 1991 BMW K75, asking $2500. New front and rear shocks and springs, new water pump, includes luggage. What say you?
I have known a couple of people with K-bikes. They liked them.
I always wondered if there was a weird torque response from having the motor laid in there longitudinally.
It’s all about the lasers.
Oh my, Moje!
Semper Fido.
Fun story! I missed the hint about Alaric early on, assuming she was talking to someone that she wasn’t looking at, made it a bit more intriguing.
Woo hoo! I’m 250 points away from 20,000 in my employer’s internal employees-rewarding-each-other system! When I hit 20k, I can cash all the points in for a $200 Virtual Visa debit card!
If I send a big chunk to Glibs, will I get a tote bag and a CD of Ted’S’s Greatest Linked Hits?
Thats the stuff they played outside the church to drive Manuel Noriega insane during our little ‘dust up’ down Panama way.
My only complaint is that it ended. ?
There are none who dare stand up against the woke. None who will speak truth to that power.
https://mobile.twitter.com/AsraNomani/status/1390525303437635585
Well, none save one.
Who is next up?
Great snippet, Mo!
As others said, this could be elaborated upon to make a longer tale or series, but it stands very well on its own as a snapshot of two extraordinary creatures tied together in a (seemingly) endless journey.
Me likey.
Very good short story. Dammed Gypsies and their curses. Italian witch = gypsie according to Time’s Grandmother
Very nice, Mo. Seems like it could easily be the seed of a novel. Lot of possibilities.
Great job Mo.
Late to the party but great stuff, Mojo!
Ooh, nice, maybe she can come back to Scotland some day to get her case reviewed:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/fife/2065156/accused-tortured-strangled-and-burned-top-dundee-based-lawyer-fighting-for-victims-of-scotlands-witch-mania/
Ooh, nice, maybe she can come back to Scotland some day to get her case reviewed:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/fife/2065156/accused-tortured-strangled-and-burned-top-dundee-based-lawyer-fighting-for-victims-of-scotlands-witch-mania/