Witches of the Night

Chapter 14 - The Demonologist

The idea for this investigation came quite unexpectedly. On a Halloween night, my daughter convinced me and her mother of going to an annual event at the Palace of the Dukes, in Guimarães. There, a troupe had transformed the place into a haunted house full of monsters, ghosts, and spooks. It was the end of the show, however, that most captured my attention. It was the staging of an exorcism allegedly ministered to a duchess who lived there.

When I got home, I did some research and found that not only was it based on historical facts, but that it was also rumored that strange events kept occurring in the palace even after the exorcism.

My previous encounters with witches had revealed a clear relationship between them and demons, so I had to investigate this alleged possession in the hope of finally finding the Night Witches.

One weeknight in November, I told my wife I was going to work late and headed to Guimarães and the Palace of the Dukes. Of course, the monument was closed, and there was no one around. I parked and started looking for a way in.

As you would expect, in addition to the guards inside, the place was protected by an alarm system. One of my comrades in Braga's urban exploration group that called himself "the greatest urban explorer," as he liked to visit not only abandoned buildings but also some in use and even inhabited, taught me a few ways to get around alarms. I only hoped that my meager knowledge was enough to do it.

However, I ended up not having to use it. Turning the corner to the back of the palace, hidden by trees and greenery, I found that someone had beaten me to it.

A woman who wasn't more than thirty years old had disabled the alarm and now reached towards a small window almost two meters above the ground. Realizing her difficulty, I approached and said, with a smile:

"Need a hand?"

She looked at me with a mixture of surprise and fear. She was relatively short, just over a meter and a half, and lean. She wore black metal glasses, and her hair was tied in a ponytail.

For a moment, her eyes darted in all directions. Finally, realizing that I wasn't a policeman or a security guard, she decided not to run away and asked:

"Who are you?"

"I should be the one asking that. Who are you? Why are you trying to break into a national monument? Give me a reason why I shouldn't call the police."

"I could give you a reason, but then you wouldn't sleep soundly ever again. There is more here than what a normal person can imagine."

"Like demons?"

She stared at me, surprised. That told me that she knew what I was talking about and that, probably, was there for the same reason as I.

After a few moments, she asked:

"Tell me what you know."

I told her all about the diary, my previous explorations, the Witches of the Night and what took me there.

"One day, I'd like to see this diary " she said when I finished. "I've heard of these creatures that you call Witches of the Night, but I usually focus on demons, and they don't seem to use them as other witches do. From what you say, maybe I should start taking an interest in them too. It's my responsibility."

"Your responsibility? Why?"

"I'm part of an ancient tradition that protects people from demons and their agents. My master and I were responsible for all of northern Portugal." She looked sadly at the ground "But he passed away, and now I'm alone."

"Can't you get help from the Organization?" I asked, for it seemed to me that they had common goals.

"This Organization you speak about only appeared in the last century. Moreover, they are more concerned with hiding the truth than helping people. They have nothing in common with us." After a short pause, she continued "If we are here for the same reason, maybe you could help me. I've opened the window and confirmed that I turned off the alarm. Now I have to start bringing my equipment inside, and I could use a hand."