Speaks the Nightbird

'You're not supposed to be in here,' Matthew said. 'Mr. Green is—'

'The entry was not locked, was it? And as a commander in the army of God, I have a right to visit the battlefield, do I not?' He cast Matthew a bone-freezing stare, and then looked again upon Rachel. 'Witch Howarth?' he said, his voice silken. 'I had a very enlightening dinner with Mr. Bidwell and the magistrate last night.' He felt no need to reveal that he had for the most part invited himself to dinner at the mansion, and had taken his sister and nephew there with him. While he had feasted at the banquet table, his relatives had been seated at the smaller table in the kitchen where Mrs. Nettles ate. 'Mr. Bidwell was a genial host,' Jerusalem went on. 'He entertained me with the particulars of thy offenses.'

Rachel began to wash her arms. 'Thou hast committed murders and vile wickedness,' the preacher hissed. 'So vile it dost take mine breath away.'

Something about Jerusalem's voice made Matthew speak up. 'You should remove yourself from here. You're neither needed nor wanted.'

'Of that I am sure. As I said, clerk, I have no business with thee, but take care lest thy haughty demeanor draw down misery.' Jerusalem dismissed Matthew with a slight lifting of his pointed chin. 'Witch Howarth?' he implored. 'Thy motives intrigue me. Wouldst thou tell me why the Devil hast embraced thee so fondly?'

'You're half crazed,' Rachel said, without looking at him. 'And the other half is a raving lunatic.'

'I shouldn't think thee would fall to the ground and kiss my boots. But at least we have moved beyond the silence of a stone. Let me pose this question, Witch Howarth: dost thou not know the power I possess?'

'Power to do what? Make an ass of yourself!'

'No,' he replied calmly. 'The power to free thee from thy prison.'

'What? And walk me to the stake?'

'The power,' he said, 'to banish Satan from thy soul, and therefore save thee from the stake.'

'You're mistaking your power with that belonging to Magistrate Woodward,' Matthew said.

Jerusalem ignored him. 'I will tell thee a tale,' he offered to Rachel. 'Two years ago, in a new settlement in the Maryland colony, a young widow by the name of Eleanor Peyton found herself in the same predicament as thee. Cast into a cage, she was, on accusation of witchcraft and the murder of her neighbor's wife. The magistrate who heard her case was a right true man of God, and breached no affronts by the Devil. He sentenced Madam Peyton to be hanged by the neck. But on the night before her gallows dance, Madam Peyton confessed her sins and witchcraft to me. She sank to her knees, spoke the Lord's Prayer in a reverent voice, and begged me to oust Satan from her soul. The Evil One caused her breasts to swell and her private parts to water, and these afflictions I attacked by the laying on of hands. Her salvation, though, did not come easily. That night it was a tremendous battle. The both of us struggled mightily, until we were drenched in sweat and gasping for God's air. At last, just before the dawn, she threw her head back and released a scream, and I knew it was the sound of Satan tearing loose from the depths of her innermost being.' He closed his eyes; a slight smile played across his mouth, and Matthew imagined he must be hearing that scream.

When Jerusalem's eyes opened once more, some trick of the candlelight gave them a reddish glint. 'At first light,' he said to Rachel, 'I pronounced Madam Peyton freed of the Devil's claws, and therefore petitioned the magistrate that he should hear her confession before the torches were flamed. I said I would stand as a witness for any woman who embraced Christianity and engulfed it with such passion. The end result was that Madam Peyton was banished from the town, yet she became a crusader for God and travelled with me for some months.' He paused, his head cocked to one side. 'Art thou listening to my tale, Witch Howarth?'

'I think your tale exposes you,' Rachel answered.

'As a man who careth deeply for the right ways of women, yes. Thy breed is so easily led astray, by all manner of evil. And thus thy breed leadeth men astray as well, and woe be to the tribe of Adam.'

Rachel finished washing and pushed the bucket aside. She lifted her gaze to the preacher. 'You seem to know a great deal about evil.'

'I do. Both from without and within.'

'I'm sure you are most interested in the ins and outs, especially concerning my breed.'

'Thy mockery is well aimed, but falls short of the mark,' Jerusalem said. 'In my youth—indeed, for most of my life—I myself walked the dark path. I was a thief and blasphemer, I sought the company of doxies and revelled in the sinful pleasures of fornication and sodomy. Indeed, I ruined the souls of many women even as I revelled in their flesh. Oh yes, Witch Howarth, I do know a great deal about evil.'

'You sound prideful of it, preacher.'

'My attraction to such matters was a thing of birth. I have been told by many doxies—and good widows, too—that my member is the largest they have ever seen. Some admitted it took their breath away.'

'What kind of ministry is this?' Matthew asked, his face flushed by Jerusalem's indecent claims. 'I think you'd better leave, sir!'

'I shall.' Jerusalem kept staring fixedly at Rachel. 'I want thee to know, Witch Howarth, that my gift of persuasion is undiminished. If thou desireth, I may do the same for thee that was done for Madam Peyton. She now lives a virtuous life in Virginia, all the sin having been squeezed from her bosom. Such release may be given to thee, as well, if thou but sayeth the word.'

'And I would be spared from the stake?'

'Without a doubt.'

'After which you would recommend that I be banished from my land and home, and you would offer me a place alongside yourself?'

'Yes.'

'I am not a witch,' Rachel said forcefully. 'I do not follow a dark master now, and I will not follow a dark master in the future. My word to you is: no.'

Jerusalem smiled. The lantern's light glinted off his teeth. 'The magistrate has yet to pass sentence on thee, of course. Perhaps thou hast hopes to sway the man through this boy?' He motioned with a nod toward Matthew. Rachel just glowered at him. 'Well, thou dost have some time to think upon it. I would not linger too long, though, as I expect the timber will be laid for thy fire within a few days. Wouldst be a terrible pity for thee to burn, being so young and so badly in need of a Christian sword.'

He'd no sooner finished his last word when the door opened and Hannibal Green entered carrying a lantern and a steaming bucket full of the biscuit-and-eggs mush that would be their breakfast. Green stopped in his tracks when he saw the preacher. Exodus Jerusalem had made a strong impression on him yesterday afternoon. 'Sir?' he said, rather meekly. 'No visitors are allowed here unless Mr. Bidwell approves it. That's his rule.'

'The Lord God approves it,' Jerusalem said, and offered a warm smile to the giant gaol-keeper. 'But as I do not wish to violate the earthly rules of Mr. Bidwell, I shall immediately withdraw.'

'Thank you, sir.'

On his way out, Jerusalem placed a hand upon Green's shoulder. 'Thou hast done a fine job guarding the witch. A man cannot be too careful in dealing with the likes of her.'

'Yes sir, I know that. And I thank you for the 'preciation.'

'A thankless task, I'm sure. Thou art a good Christian fellow, I can tell.' He started to move on, then paused. 'Oh. I am speaking this night at seven o'clock on the subject of the witch, if thou shouldst care to attend. It shall be the first of a series of sermons. Dost thou know where I am camped? On Industry Street?'

'Yes sir.'

'If thou wouldst serve God, please inform your brother and sister citizens of the time. Also, please let it be known that I live from hand to mouth on the blessings of Christ and what may find its way into my offering basket. Wouldst thou serve God in such a way?'

'Yes sir,' Green said. 'I would. I mean ... I will.'

Jerusalem turned his face toward Rachel once more. 'Time is short for repentance, Witch Howarth. But redemption may still be thine, if thou dost desireth it.' He touched a finger to the brim of his tricorn, and then made his departure.

seventeen

MATTHEW WAS SHOCKED at his first sight of the magistrate, just before two o'clock. Woodward, who