Witches of the Night

Chapter 13 - The Sea Witches

After all I had discovered during my visit to the Tavern of the Enchanted, I wanted more than ever to find the Witches of the Night. As such, in the very next weekend, I decided to investigate another of the diary entries that seemed to be related to witches.

On that Saturday afternoon, when my wife and daughter went to a bookstore for a book presentation, I drove to Barcelos.

The diary entry spoke of several disappearances next to a village in the outskirts of that city, involving a sea eye on the Neiva River near a rock known as the "Penedo da Moira." Supposedly, on certain nights, women came out of the water and dragged any man they found into the sea eye, never to be seen again. After all I had witnessed, I had no difficulty in believing in moiras, but as they weren't mentioned in any other part of the diary, I assumed that they were witches.

I arrived at the site in the early afternoon. There were several small ponds where people used to swim in the summer; however, being a cold winter day, there was no one around. I searched immediately for the supposed sea eye. I investigated all the rocks in the area, looking for the "Penedo da Moira" that would tell me which one was the right pond. It took me a while, but I finally found a rock on top of which there was a small hole filled with water, the so-called "Moira's Footprint." It was partly within one of the ponds, clearly indicating me that that was the one I was looking for.

Years ago, during a vacation in Greece, I took a diving course to be able to visit some underwater ruins. I had even bought the complete equipment, hoping to use it later to investigate other similar places (which unfortunately never happened). That day, I took it with me and, next to the car, I put it on.

Carefully, I entered the pond, and as soon as the water reached my waist, I dived. The water was clear, so, even in the deeper parts, I could clearly see the bottom. This was made of pebbles and some sand. Unfortunately, after a long search, I found no sign of the sea eye. The pool's bottom seemed well defined. However, a small depression at its deepest point caught my attention. It seemed out of place because there was no clear current that could originate it, and it was almost four meters below the surface, so it was doubtful it could have been created by swimmers.

I approached it. I took aside a few pebbles and waved away the sand. Once it settled, I found one of the strangest things I'd ever seen. Under the depression, there was only darkness, a darkness that not even the light of my diving flashlight could penetrate. It could only be the sea eye.

Slowly, I dipped my hand in that darkness. To my surprise, it disappeared, but I could move it down there. After a few moments, I realized that there was a tunnel there.

Suddenly, I felt the water moving around me, at first slowly, but accelerating rapidly. I realized then that it was a vortex centered on the dark spot I had just discovered. Instinctively, I tried to fight it; however, seeing that it was stronger than me, I just let it take me. After all, I was there to find out what was on the other side.

I confess that it wasn't my smartest decision. Shortly after entering the tunnel, I hit my head and lost consciousness.

When I came to, I was in a dark place, but out of the water. I was hurting all over, and I didn't need to see to know that I had several injuries. Fortunately, nothing seemed to be broken.

I swept the floor with my hands in search of my diving torch, however, when I found it, I discovered that it was completely destroyed. Luckily, my smaller flashlight, that was always with me and that I had put in my shorts' pocket, underneath the wetsuit, still worked.

Once I turned on the light, I confirmed my suspicions. The wetsuit was torn in few places, and I was bleeding from several cuts. Then, I directed the light to the darkness around me. The first thing I found was a small circular pond beside me, certainly the exit of the sea eye. Immediately after, I spotted walls. Made of huge granite blocks, they stood behind and in front of me, until they disappeared into the darkness. They were so high that my small flashlight could not reach the ceiling.