Not so with covens. The whole idea with them was to increase the influence and power they wielded in society at large. The focus was on themselves. They put on a good front. The facade presented was that they wanted to be left alone to worship as they saw fit, recognized as another form of innocuous religion. Sebastian knew better. He had been doing his job a long time. That was not the case and anyone who believed it were fools drinking the Kool-Aid. It was a pretense for their evil machinations to continue and flourish on behalf of whatever false god they served. What was more alarming was they had lulled a sleeping society into believing the lie.
Parsons informed him that his team had stopped the ritual and routed the witches. He didn’t think they had broken it up before they accomplished whatever it was they wanted to accomplish. He could only speculate because they had interrupted the coven in the middle of the ritual. It appeared as if they were trying to divine the location of an object. Something of value.
That there was an active coven performing ritual and rites was unsettling. Disquieting. That wasn’t the most disturbing part. When Parsons and his team had gone back to the forest to do a cursory patrol, they had run into something they did not expect. Somehow, the forest was alive, and it wasn’t welcoming any visitors. It had taken them by surprise, but they recovered and defended themselves, fighting their way out and making a narrow escape. They spotted the Baker’s minivan and passed on the pertinent information to Sebastian and his team.
The forest incident was something Parson’s team would need to investigate further. That was their jurisdiction. However, it brought with it the growing suspicion it was a sign of something stirring in the other dimensions. Bad news in the long run.
Of course, there was always an overlap. Most people refused to believe in such things, relegating them to myth and fantasy. It was the only way they could handle the reality. Sebastian understood that. He understood it because he understood human nature, especially in the day and age which he lived.
Humans sought to be at the pinnacle of everything thanks to the burgeoning deification and reliance on science, the supposed great emancipator of man. Ever since The Enlightenment, the idea had invaded the global mind that the only existence, the only being, was the material. The belief in the immaterial, the supernatural, was some sinister method of controlling people or attempt to explain something for which there was no scientific explanation. Yet. Materialism was a philosophy that aligned with mankind's desire for power; human beings were in ultimate control and everything would have an eventual answer through the new god — science.
Sebastian found that outlook ironic because that took faith, a word hardcore science adherents avoided in their sphere of experience or loathed altogether.
The stanza of a poem ran through his head:
Science and technology, the new mythology.
Look deep inside. Empty.
Sebastian knew better. He lived in a world where clashing with the unexplainable was normative. He knew the lie men were telling themselves was just that — a lie. A delusion at best. There was much more going on under the surface of the great blue marble than science could explain. This was where he existed. It was where he thrived. That is what he confronted daily. Self-delusion was always dangerous, and even the most brilliant scientific minds of the day were nothing but infants in the realm of the supernatural. That was on a good day. Sebastian admitted to himself long ago that he was privy to only a small pocket of it and it was enough.
Now, he wondered what the forest manifestation meant. Was it an isolated incident or was it a sign of something else to come? Would it manifest in certain areas, or would it be widespread? So many questions. Even if he had the answers, he wouldn’t be able to do too much about it now. He had to focus on the pressing matter in front of him and his team. The coven.
Parsons informed him that the vehicle that left Meechum’s Forest after their run in with the coven. It had come from Sebastian’s area.
This was falling into his lap.
When Sebastian contacted his informant at the BMV, they confirmed it was registered in Toledo, Ohio. The subsequent conversation with the Bakers was despondent. They had no frame of reference to understand how to process what they had been through. Their worldview — their reality — had been upended.
He leaned forward in his chair, closing his eyes.
There's so much, Lord. I feel so overwhelmed. I ask that we would stay focused on the task at hand and that You would walk before us in whatever we are to face.
A simple prayer packed so much power and brought a profound sense of peace.
The news was a burden. Trying not to carry the weight of it all was often difficult. He needed those moments of solace and separation to present himself and reflect; get his bearings. In the position he occupied, there was no room for guessing. A careless attitude or disposition would end you and everyone you were with. He’d seen it happen too many times. The tragedy of those incidents never left him. Being the witness of the fall of potential was heartbreaking. He determined early in his journey not to plunge into that trap as much as it was in his power to prevent it. Not only that, but he would make sure those on his team wouldn't stumble into that same trap.
Getting right and accurate information helped in locating the vehicle and putting a tracker on it. It had been a few days.
