Chapter 13
Buffy stood at the kitchen sink preparing the salad vegetables for dinner, and scrubbing potatoes watching the children play in the garden, little Izzie wandered in, rubbing her eyes and yawning
“Mommy, I’m sleepy”
Buffy dried her hands and picked her daughter up
“Well how about you have a nap, hmm?” she picked up the soft toy duck Giles had bought, and Spike came into the kitchen with the empty tea mugs
“Is she okay?”
“Tired – I’ll put her down for a nap I think, an hour won’t hurt”
“Here, I’ll take her, Giles and the priest are going to go over the plan for later”
“Here baby, go to daddy” Spike took Izzie and the toy duck and went back into the lounge.
The afternoon was very warm and Buffy opened the backdoor to get some air.
She’d decided on chicken again, it was quick and easy to cook, and every bodies favourite – and they would have mixed salad and jacket potatoes with it, something the children loved.
Billy came into the kitchen
“Mom, I’ve counted 6 birds from my book in the garden, see”
Buffy smiled and squatted down
“Have you – let me look”
“See, a thrush…a blackbird, a yellowhammer – Hepsibar showed me that one
a nuthatch, a pigeon and a magpie!”
Buffy ruffled his hair and kissed his cheek smiling she said,
“You are a clever boy – now do you want some juice?”
“Please – where’s daddy?”
“He’s in the lounge with Izzie, she’s having a nap…………here you go one apple juice to go!”
Buffy handed him a small carton. Billy took the straw attached to the back of the carton and pushed it down the foil covered hole and then went into see his beloved dad.
Buffy put two chickens in the oven, any leftovers would do for soup or sandwiches the next day
Washing her hands at the sink she looked outside and saw an odd sight
Frowning she stood at the back door and watched Hepsibar.
The woman was sitting on the ground, her arms clasped round her knees, rocking back and forth gently – she appeared to be crying.
Buffy went out, closing the door quietly behind her, and walked towards the woman
“Hepsibar…are you alright?” Buffy leaned over her and put her hand on the woman’s back
“………Took her…they took her from me…they took her………took her from me… “
“I’m sorry, who – hold on…there” Buffy sat down beside the old woman
“Who took what from you Hepsibar?”
“THEM. Dressed as dark as night and their hearts were even blacker. They were the evil ones, not me – they were the ones that did the bad, wicked things, not Hepsibar…”
“What did they take from you Hepsibar?” Buffy asked again gently, but she’d got a feeling she already knew the answer, she could feel this woman’s pain.
“Wasn’t Hepsibar that was evil, 14 summers old………they said Hepsibar was wicked for being with child and no husband…forced Hepsibar was, he forced himself on I, Hepsibar could smell drink on him, he was strong and …it hurt…ma said I was a wicked girl and threw me out when my belly got fat – Hepsibar didn’t have the knowings as to what was happening………”
Buffy could feel herself welling up, and she put her arm around the woman
“One night, the pains got so bad………crying and rolling round Hepsibar was – in the cow byre where it was warm in the straw – and then whoosh – I had this thing come out of I………scared… so afraid………stable lad helped I…………”
“But then someone came and took your baby away?” Buffy asked
Hepsibar looked up sadly and nodded once and said,
“Eventually, after two new moons passed…Hepsibar loved the baby girl…then one day – they beat I with sticks and took her………
“Oh god, I’m so sorry!” Buffy teared up and covered her mouth with her hand
“No point in sorry…you weren’t the ones who took her”
Just then the back door opened and Spike called out for Buffy
“Do you want to come inside?” Buffy asked
“No. Hepsibar be going now…things to be doing”
“Well if you’ll be alright”
Buffy stood up and waved to Spike, called out she was coming. Suddenly Hepsibar grabbed Buffy’s hand and said,
“Make the evil go” Buffy understood and she squeezed Hepsibar’s hand
“We will”
Spike walked down the path and Buffy turned to him
“There you are – wondered where you’d got to!”
“Izzie awake now?”
“Yes, Giles has taken them down to the village to get ice-cream while the priest sets things up.
“I saw Hepsibar was - oh, where did she go?”
“Oh you were talking to Hepsibar, were you?”
“Hmm – oh Spike she told me the saddest story – from what I can make out, she was raped when she was 14, and as soon as her mother knew and she began to show, she threw her out, and she had to give birth in a cowshed…poor thing must have been so scared…then somebody came and took the baby off her – she said they beat her with sticks, and that were the evil ones” Buffy’s blood suddenly ran cold and she said,
“Oh gods, Spike, what if – oh gods, I think they sacrificed her baby!” tears trickled down Buffy’s face and Spike pulled her into a hug, and kissed her forehead
“Oh my, that’s so sad…”
“She just said to make the evil go”
“Don’t cry, we will love, we will”
******************
“Do you think I should sit with the children instead of being down stairs?” Buffy asked looking at the two sleeping babes.
“I was thinking perhaps, well, I know I’m human now, but there IS a demon still in me, and perhaps with all that holy water, Bibles and scripture, perhaps I should be the one to stay with them, just in case’’
Buffy nodded and said,
“Okay, that’s fine, it’s just I’d prefer somebody with them, you know”
“Well you go down, tell them I’m staying up here”
Buffy went downstairs to see Giles and Fr. Dominic in the kitchen. When Buffy told them Spike was going to stay with the children, Giles seemed to relax a little, and the three went down into the cellar. Giles lit the candles they had set up down there and in the small cellar, which was to be cleansed.
Fr Dominic lit the thurifer and began to swing the purifying smoke pomander back and forth, with the other hand he sprinkled Holy water and chanted in Latin and he began to walk slowly about. Giles and Buffy stood holding a candle, a Bible and some Holy water. The room seemed to vibrate, and Buffy and Giles went wide-eyed with horror as the upside-down crosses painted on the wall seemed to have blood pouring out of them. The monk came to the altar and stood before it, splashing the Holy water onto the face of the goat-horned devil, he chanting got louder,
“Spiritus, Sanctus, Dominie, Deus………”
Inside her head Buffy could hear a baby crying, screams and the guttural growing of something inhuman and totally evil – she dropped her candle, bible and Holy water, and putting her hands over her ears she slid down the wall, eyes screwed up, crying out ‘NNNOOOOOOOOOOOO’. Giles immediately went to her and put his arm around her.
The monk was chanting louder and louder, splashing the Holy water around, it seemed to hiss where it landed and the crosses that were on the wall seemed to merge with the blood and trickle away before disappearing. An un-natural wind got up and snuffed all the candles, but the monk ignored everything and continued to chant his benediction…
He could barely stand with the force that was blowing, but he shouted to Giles to join in with the Lords Prayer…
“Our Father, who art in heaven………Amen!”
Fr. Dominic thrust a cross at the face of the devil and there seemed to be a blood-curdling scream and suddenly everything was silent, except for the panting of the priest.
Giles helped Buffy to stand, and as soon as she was on her feet she ran upstairs. Giles went to help Fr. Dominic.
Upstairs, Buffy burst into the bedroom, she felt instantly at peace seeing Izzie asleep, Spike was standing and so was Billy – the room seemed suddenly to be filled with great love and peace, she ran to Spike who cuddled her up.
A shimmering light appeared in the corner of the room, and Billy looked at it, he seemed to be concentrating, then he beamed a smile, nodded and said,
“Yes, yes I will, I promise. Yes nana, I will tell them for you…I understand, goodbye”
Buffy and Spike stopped and stared at their son, Buffy saw the shimmering light fizzle upwards and disappear. She said one word,
“M-mom-mommy?”
Billy turned and smiled and said,
“Nana has Tilly and the baby, she’s going to take them to the ‘Light’ where they can be at peace now – their little souls can rest at last. She sends all her love and says she watches over us”
Buffy let out a sob and raised her arm for Billy to come to her and Spike and the three of them stood huddled for a while.
“Knock, knock…sorry to interrupt”
“Giles, come in – something extraordinary just happened!” Spike said, leaving Buffy to settle Billy down to sleep.
“Hope you don’t mind, but I’ve got the kettle on, and I’ve given Fr. Dominic a rather large brandy poor chap needed it after what he’s just been through!”
*************
The morning after the incident, Buffy saw Billy waving from his bedroom window.
“Who are you waving at, Hepsibar?” Buffy looked out of the window but saw nobody.
“Yes, she’s just waved to me – she looks happy now, and younger – she just came to say goodbye”
“Oh – where is she going?”
Billy shrugged, but added,
“She said you did it, got rid of the evil, and like her baby, she can be at peace now………she just told me, in my head, like Tilly used to…she’s happy too, playing in the light now…she just wanted somebody to know her story, that she didn’t just get lost in a ditch, she was taken and sacrificed by evil people, she did it the only way she knew how, that was to haunt us”
Buffy gave a little shiver and smoothed the hair off her son’s face. Cuddling him up she planted a kiss in his unruly curls
“You don’t have to worry anymore baby”
“Oh, I’m not, I know they are happy and at peace now………can I go out in the garden after breakfast, and see what birds I can see in my book?”
“Sure you can honey – I’ll probably be out there with you – it’ll be chaos indoors, the furniture comes here out of storage today!”
“Oh great, my own bed! – Can I have my space-rocket cover on?”
“I should think so!”
******************
One week later
“There – what do you think?” Buffy stood back and admired her handiwork
“It’s beautiful babe!” Spike put his arm around his wife and they looked at the little ‘shrine’ she’d set up.
Buffy insisted that the cellar floor be covered, and they painted the walls pure white. On a small table she left a Bible, a candle, some Holy water, and small cross, along with the pictures of ‘Tilly’ that Billy had drawn, and Buffy had written, ‘God Bless Tilly, Hepsibar and her baby girl’ on a piece of paper. And then they’d locked the place up tight.
****************
Giles had found out via some newspaper archives that a young girl from neighbouring Middle Netherbourne had gone missing, her name had been Matilda Field, when no body turned up it had been presumed that she’d fallen into one of the bogs or ditches on the marshy farm lands that surrounded all of Netherbourne back then, this had been back in the early 1920’s.
“There had been rumours about a devil worshipping cult, it had started with chickens and small animal going missing for sacrifices, and then they’d got bolder and snatched the baby and then this Tilly, thinking that nobody would miss her – or her disappearance could be easily be explained away.
I think the local vicar tried to speak out, but he was found dead – nasty head wound, it was put down to a fall, the last thing they wanted was a police investigation, so I suppose the devil cult got scared after that, but all the villagers were tight-lipped, didn’t want to get involved, scared for their own, so no further investigations were ever made – and we are talking about rural policing in the 1920’s, not Scotland Yard nowadays.”
Buffy nodded and asked,
“Did you find anything out about Hepsibar?”
“Sadly not, she’d have been just a lowly peasant girl, a bit ‘slow’ as they used to say – those sorts of girls had babies all the time, and they died for one reason or another…malnutrition, sickness through bad living conditions – it wouldn’t have been documented – doubtful the baby would have even been registered, that cost money, and it’s almost a 100% certainty that Hepsibar couldn’t read or write……… nobody would have been bothered about her baby dying – or would believe her story of been beaten and her baby taken from her it’s a shame I know – but we know from what Billy said…”
“Yes, I know…they are at peace now, that’s something I suppose. It’s a shame is all – Billy said he saw her the morning after the exorcising, she waved to him – we haven’t seen her since – or the cat”
“And how is Spike?”
“Typing away ten to the dozen, he’s nearly got the first and second drafts of his book done – the publishers want it by next week”
“Well, I better be off – I’ve rather neglected my job of late – oh, and another missive from young Xander, I think he’s I love! - And an email from Willow”
“Yes, I got a letter from Xander, I’m so happy for him, and I’ve heard from Willow too! – Marie-Claire huh? She sounds very…” Buffy smiled
“Chic and French?” Giles offered with a grin
“Yeah – bye then Giles, and thanks, I’ll ring you in the week – come on kids, say goodbye to your uncle Giles – Spike, Giles is going now…!”
The End
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Tissue Warning! Sad, but a happy outcome - you'll have to read it to see what i mean