Page 22 of Damnation
All eyes swing to him as Ingersoll begins undoing my chains and then Osborne’s.
“And how can you know that for certain?” Parris questions him.
Thomas does not falter, remaining steadfast in his confidence.
“Would we not have seen it already? We know this to be true; witches are the ugliest of lot. The darkness inside them rots them on the outside like a bad apple. Surely, we’d have already seen a witch’s teat if it lay there, no?”
“You heard Corwin, brother, we must be thorough,” Edward Putnam smirks as he comes to me, his repulsive fingers quickly undoing my buttons.
Anger slashes across Thomas’s face as he approaches his brother, shoving him towards Osborne as he takes his place. I can feel the difference in Thomas’s touch. ‘Tis soft, gentle, begging for forgiveness with each brush. No amount of forgiveness can absorb the humiliation that consumes me as the cold air nips at my bare skin.
Several men whistle and clap in celebration as Osborne and I stand bare.
“Spread them!” a man calls out from the back, rewarded with a ruckus of cheers.
Edward smirks as he reaches around Sarah, lifting each breast to show the lot, not before he pinches her nipple hard, even sucking one into his mouth. I cringe at the horrific act as Thomas does the same to me, but with dignity. He quickly and thoroughly lifts my breasts, proving there be no sign of a witch’s teat. They look for anything from a large freckle or mark, even a third nipple. I already know to be true I have none, though.
When Edward bends Sarah over before spreading her bottom, I know what shall come next for me. Thomas looks at me with regret, speaking feather light as he pushes me down.
“Close your eyes, my love. We’re nearly done.”
A tear rolls down my face as I do what he commands, and I do not open my eyes until I feel the familiarity of my clothes being wrapped back around me. Thomas’s nimble fingers quickly button me up, resting a comforting hand upon my lower back before stepping away.
“No teats, as I said.”
“Aye,” Edward agrees. “Though I quite enjoyed that,” he says with a salacious lick of his lips.
More laughter and cheers erupt as Corwin shakes his head like he is in on the fun. I look to see Osborne half dressed before Ingersoll is shackling her once more. Tears are streaming down her face, and despite our past, all I care to do is comfort her in this moment.
“Bring in the girls,” Hathorne says.
A door is opened, and little Betty Parris and Abigail Williams walk into the tavern. They are clinging to one another like they are struck with fear, but I cannot for the life of me fathom why.
“Girls, are these your tormentors?” Parris asks them.
Both of their eyes come to mine, and I see the truth in an instant. Betty looks truly frightened, sharing nervous looks with her cousin. Abigail, though, her fear is a farce. A smile is pulling at the corners of her mouth like she is playing a game.
“Yes!” Abigail screams. “They have pinched us and scratched us. See?” she says, exposing her arms that bear deep red scratches.
I withhold the roll of my eyes at her nonsense; they cannot believe such lies. They can, though. The men are impassioned with anger as they glare at Osborne and myself. I am not the only one outraged by the falsities, though. To my left, I hear near silent murmuring. My eyes move to see Osborne’s mouth moving as she stares at the young girls, especially Abigail. Osborne’s mouth moves faster and faster as that playful smileon Abigail’s face disappears, her mouth shaping an “O” as she screams in pain. Abigail drops to the floor, clutching her belly as she begins to scream.
“What has happened?” the reverend shouts in a panic.
Osborne’s head turns to face Betty before she, too, drops to the floor.
My eyes round with understanding. Sarah Osborne. She harnesses the dark magic. I never knew this. How did I not know?
“She’s a witch,” I say to myself, unaware it slipped from my mouth before Edward speaks.
“What? What did thee say!?”
“Witch! She said witch, I heard her true as day!” Thomas Preston shouts.
William Griggs, the town’s doctor, rushes to the girls, giving them what appears to be a quick examination before looking to us both.
“Witches! They have bewitched the girls for the truth they speak!”
Unrest erupts as bodies begin shoving and pushing into us. Fists are flying and several land upon me. I cry out before I feel a pair of hands tug me to the side. Thomas.
