The Seed || A Madam Spellman Story

The Trial

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 8:32

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The end of the week came around faster than Zelda had anticipated. More covens had come to convert to this new religion than originally expected, and though room in the academy was tight, they managed. Zelda was honored as the first lady of the Church of Lilith which sat comfortably with her. The warmth of her goddess, her friend, always with her, and the courage she gave made Zelda all the more confident to take on the challenges that came with the title.

Now the trial was underway, her coven and those that recently joined, desperate for blood. Prudence the most desperate, sword in hand awaiting Zelda's command to take his head. 

"You know the crimes you're guilty of, Faustus Blackwood. Poisoning and murdering members of the old Church of Night for one. Kidnapping Judas and Leticia effectively putting them in danger with the instability of your mental state. The murder of the former anti-pope, the false accusations against my nephew Ambrose Spellman, the continuous harassment of my family altogether. Pernicious scheming by such a slimy low-life of a man."

"And yet you married me." 

"What good did that do me? Being your marionette for the week. Dancing to the tunes of your music box." She whispered to his face, indignation shown in his eyes, the only moment of clarity that had been perceived in him since they captured him. "You will burn for what you did to me, Lilith will show you no mercy." 

"I don't want her mercy or the mercy of her pet. You reek of her, that damned succubus, her scent is all over you. You crave her like a dog in heat thirsting over water, poisonous as it might be. Using her power she freely gives like the slave she is, fulfilling your twisted fantasies of power you couldn't even begin to comprehend. You can kill me and you'd still be nothing. You can fuck her and still be nothing. Nothing changes, nothing will." 

Anger seethed within her, it took everything to hold back from burning his body down to the marrow for his words. Zelda gripped his face in her hand, nails digging into the skin of his cheeks. 

"Where would you like your head to hang in my office? I'll give you that last choice." 

"Behind your desk, if you will, so I can admire your delicious ass from beyond the grave." Zelda did not stop herself from spitting into his eye, signaling to Prudence that she was more than welcome to rid the world of him. The girl was more than happy to oblige, swinging her sword beside her while she laughed at how her father begged for his life to her. Zelda did not turn around until the noise stopped, a thud of a head and the sound of it rolling towards her after Prudence kicked it her way. 

Cheers erupted around her as Zelda picked up the discarded head, blood spilling down the length of her dress sleeve as she held it above her head. The dizzy spell of victory overtook her, and a peace she hadn't felt in years came back to her again. Though many challenges would come ahead in this war, Blackwood would not be apart of it. Everyone would remember him as a traitor and a murderer. It was about as satisfying as it would get for Zelda. 

"My father is finally dead, praise Lilith," Prudence said behind her, trance-like. Zelda promptly dropped the head and took the girl into her arms as she sobbed. And, Lilith, did she want to cry too, but she would save it for later. She needed to be strong for Prudence and for the coven. 

But the peace didn't last forever. Flames erupted at the far side of the Church near the doors, a woman screamed. Demons, two creatures of the night decked in the regalia of princes. They did not bother to hide their true faces.