The Return of the Witch of Endor

"May all healings that have been made for him come out badly… the curses of the earth and of the heavens and of the dead and the living… May they be dispatched against this leader and his sons… May no remedy or dissolving sorceries be received for them…May the evil sorceries be as mountains and high places and clothe with evil sorceries as garments of sores. May evil sorceries be drawn against them, and may they come to rest upon Ahatoi and Abirta, and may they sweep upon them like birds," read the fake witch from the terracotta bowl.

Candlelight danced with the shadows on the abandoned church's cellar walls as the cadenced words reverberated to replete silence from the twelve teens around her. Chamantha spun the bowl as she read the spiral incantation. Her thumb rested on the artful snake looped around the inner edge that consumed its tail. Posing as a witch for Halloween, the actress worked for an entertainment brokerage that guaranteed authentic horror.

She asked, “Do you have any questions?” as she made a mental note to talk with the scriptwriters. This act is not appropriate for teen girls. Some wealthy parents will pay anything to impress their kids and their friends.

"Is it real? Where did the bowl come from?" asked Sara who hosted the teen party, "It looks old."

"Yes. It’s real copy. An ancient stone box was found at the Ein Dor excavation in Northern adorned with Egyptian, Sumerian, and Jewish runes. Inside the box was the magic bowl," she said, "The incantation magically transforms to the language of the one in possession."

"Who did the bowl belong too," asked Dory, Sara's best friend.

"We don't know her name but it is believed to belong to the renowned Witch of Endor mentioned in the Judaic bible in three separate passages."

"Will you tell us her story?" said Dory. All the teens echoed her request but one.

Ally, the sole objector said, "Oh please. Sara, you said we'd be scared to death if we came to your Halloween sleepover. I'm bored. This is kids' stuff. Next, you will be pulling out an Ouija board or something. Geez!"

Realizing her act was slipping and she wanted a big tip from the parents, Chamantha said, "I have a better idea. Why don't we let her tell her own story?"

"What do you mean? How?" said Dory.

"We will use this bowl, her most precious possession, to call her from the dead with an Ink-Pool ritual," Chamantha said and clicked send on the cell phone in her pocket. Get Ready partner. Phase Two.

With white chalk, Chamantha drew a circle around the circumference of the cellar near each girl's feet. She set the Incantation bowl at the center and poured water and oil from separate bottles. A Hebrew bible was placed before it opened to the book of First Samuel, Chapter 28. Pulling a dagger from her belt, she sliced at her hand and closed her fist around the rubberized blade. The teens gasped as blood trickled down her arm and into the bowl.

"Oh great Witch of Endor, I call thee to come forth and show yourself," Chamantha said.

"Oh please, can’t you all see it," said Ally, "The dagger isn't real and I saw her squeeze fake blood from a pouch cupped in her palm. This is all bullshit."

"Doubters beware, for now cometh the Witch of Endor," said Chamantha as she looked for her acting partner to enter from the next room. Where the hell is she? That's her cue, she thought.

"Come forth grand Witch of the Hebrews. Show yourself."

Ally laughed, "This is so fake."

Cold air breezed into the cellar, and the candles flickered then grew brighter. The ground shook, and the oil, water, and fake blood splashed from the bowl onto the floor. Stones, embedded decades ago, oscillated with a rumble, and the bowl overturned and spilled its contents.

The girls screamed in panic, and Ally cried out, "Shit!"

"Stop it, that's enough. We don't want to do this anymore," cried Sara.

"Amber, what the hell is this? Pyrotechnics weren't a part of the gig. Where are you?" screamed Chamantha and stumbled to the floor.

Her phone buzzed with a text, This is too much. I’m out of here. See ya.

A squared stone by the bowl pushed up from the floor, and a black fog pulsed to the low ceiling cloaking the candlelight. Twelve more stones around the circle dislodged, and acrid columns of smoke plumed upward. The girls choked and coughed as the room became overwhelmed by the stench of wet, spent charcoal. Frightened, the girls wanted to run, but their feet were pressed into place by an unseen force.

Thirteen pairs of amber-red eyes pierced the darkness. Distorted faces formed inside the clouds, then shoulders, until thirteen beautiful blue-robed women appeared where once there were none. Their long dark hair radiated a sheen that sparkled like twinkling stars. Gold chains hung from their necks with stone amulets of many shapes, sizes, and colors.

"Who has dared to call the Coven of Endor from our deserved rest?" demanded the newly arrived witch in the center of the circle. She leered down at Chamantha." Is it you, who in fear have soiled yourself? Why are these young women about us crying? Enough of this! Shalom, let there be peace."

"Shalom, let there be peace," said the thirteen in unison, clapping their hands, and the smoke dissipated. A sweet scent of jasmine filled the room, and the crying ceased.

"It's Halloween and we were just trying to have fun ma'am," whimpered Sara, "We didn't mean to disturb anyone. We just wanted to know the whole story from your time on Earth three thousand years ago. Chamantha read your incantation from your magic bowl."

"Witch? That's the name given by Samuel and his like who drove us from the land," the woman said and reached down and lifted the overturned bowl, "Ahhh, my bowl with the spell I inked by my own hand the day our Coven was slaughtered in the name of their law."

Lifting her palm, she raised Chamantha to her feet.

"My name is Astra and I am the High Priestess of the Coven of Endor. We brought the curses on the king who left us to die when we fulfilled his request for the necromancy of Samuel. We were lovers and healers, not assassins, but his evil deeds turned us into warriors.”

She paused.

“We fed Saul the fatted calf set aside to sacrifice to our Mother. We comforted him in his distressed mind, and what did he do? Before the Battle of Gilboa against the Philistines and his death, he sent his assassins to kill us all to cover his disobedience to his own God. Our Coven has been evermore united as one in the heavens. Through the ages, we have been called forth to destroy those who are demented by egos, like the king, that distress our Mother. Corrections have been made throughout world history and we have played our part. Evil men have one thing in common, ego. They covet power that slaughters innocent ones and damage the Mother. Sister Witches, recall the names."

A short witch stepped forward, "I cursed Hannibal with a fever with a cut from a spellbound sword and he met his demise."

"Alexander the Great wept in my arms for his great sins. My typhoid spell did its work," said the next witch.”

"Julius Caesar was my charge and by my incantation of senatorial chaos condemned him to his fate," said the one beside her.

"Vlad Tepes, the Impalers' demise brought joy to our Coven and the entire Spirit world," said the next.

"I cursed Napoleon twice," said another, "he was tough."

"Santa Anna ran, then hobbled on his one leg, but he could not hide from our curse," said the next.

"Custer was my joy to curse after we were called by our eternal sisters of the Lakota Sioux," said the tallest of the witches. "They discovered us when the white missionary brought them bibles."

"Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler were our targets, it's difficult to curse madmen," said the next witch.

"Yes, it took two of us to take them out," said the woman beside her, "They had the blackest hearts I have ever seen."

The names of Stalin and Pol Pot were called, and Astra held her hand up to speak,

"Eleven times we have been brought forth through Necromantic rituals to set the world straight. We are a coven of thirteen so there are two that remain as our task. This is no accident. Who are they? We have been called here for a purpose."

Ally said, "Miss Astra, I don't know why you are here. I thought this was all a joke. But, please could you let us go? We are all really scared and I’ve got to pee."

"You called us and to you we are bound until our mission is complete. Witches of Endor take possession of your couriers," Astra said and clapped her hands.

The thirteen witches double clapped their hands in unison, transformed into white columns of smoke, and streamed into the chests of Chamantha and the twelve teens."

Astra lifted the bowel above her head and said, "Sisters and Witches of Endor, in the beginning it was Saul the lost king, now I command you to seek, find, and curse into oblivion any egomaniac who betrays the Mother of us all. Go forth!"

***

Two days later.

Sara, from the back seat of a Mercedes, gauged her parent's mood and asked them,

"Mom and Dad, I know we are under a new pandemic warning that seems to target men, but could we go to Washington D.C. on vacation this year? I really want to check out the Capital. Ally's parents are taking her to Florida and Dory's going to Moscow." Two miles away, Chamantha boarded a flight to Beijing.

The Mother Goddess had spoken, and Sara knew her target. Holding the Incantation bowl in her lap and with Astra's guidance, she practiced the incantation in a low whisper,

"May all healings that have been made for him come out badly…

Astra smiled from within and Sara from without as the incantation inked in the English faded and transformed back to Hebrew, her native tongue.

Astra meditated to herself, This is our twelfth calling and purge by the Mother Goddess. One more and we will rest in peace. Who will be our thirteenth? Who will call us? Who will be damned?

She closed her eyes within her young courier and by the power of the Mother Goddess envisioned the faces of readers on computers, tablets, and phones reciting her incantation. Startled, her eyes opened in shock at the sheer size of the audience.

"What strange magic is this? No one can unread what's been incanted. The thirteenth may be the end of the world and it cometh soon," she whispered to Sara.

*** ***

Authors Note: You were warned.