EVIL
ORIGINS
Family Secrets Book 1
J.D. Simser
J.D. Simser
Windsor, Ontario
Copyright © 2016 by J.D. Simser.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
Find out more about the author and upcoming releases online at www.jdsimser.ca
Contact me at
[email protected] Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Editing by Hellene Meyer & S. Fournier
Evil Origins - Immortal Family Secrets Book 1/ J.D. Simser. -- 1st ed.
ISBN 978-1-988491-00-4
Contents
Preface
Chapter 01 – Renaud
Chapter 02 – Harrow
Chapter 03 – Mike
Chapter 04 – Jenny
Chapter 05 – Renaud
Chapter 06 – Mike
Chapter 07 – Jenny
Chapter 08 – Harrow
Chapter 09 – Renaud
Chapter 10 – Mike
Chapter 11 – Jenny
Chapter 12 – Harrow
Chapter 13 – Renaud
Chapter 14 – Harrow
Chapter 15 – Jenny
Chapter 16 – Mike
Chapter 17 – Renaud
Chapter 18 – Jenny
Chapter 19 – Mike
Chapter 20 – Harrow
Chapter 21 – Renaud
Chapter 22 – Jenny
Chapter 23 – Mike
Chapter 24 – Harrow
Chapter 25 – Renaud
Chapter 26 – Jenny
Chapter 27 – Mike
Chapter 28 – Renaud
Chapter 29 – Harrow
Chapter 30 – Jenny
Chapter 31 – Mike
Chapter 32 – Harrow
Chapter 33 – Renaud
Chapter 34 – Mike
Chapter 35 – Harrow
Chapter 36 – Renaud
Chapter 37 – Mike
Epilogue – Renaud
About the author
Preface
If you ask someone about witch trials, they will most likely think of Salem, Massachusetts. In my family, we think of an event that occurred around the same time 120 miles away in Hartford, Connecticut. It was the autumn of 1692 and like every good story, ours begins with a tragedy. My forefather, Ebenezer Barthélémy, wasn’t a good man and the darkness in his heart would curse our blood line until the end of time. Ebenezer was a minister who dreamed of being a witch hunter. This isn’t Ebenezer’s story though. No, he is just the start of the stain on our family’s soul. A thorn that every family whispers about, yet never truly wants to openly mention. It is because of him that the oldest of every generation present there after that day pays the price for his sins. I was lucky enough to be the second-born. I was born one minute and twenty-three seconds after my brother. One minute and twenty-three seconds made all the difference between knowing when you will die to the exact second and watching helplessly, wishing you could stop it.
Rumor had it that Ebenezer had a mistress named Achsah Basset, and in the summer of 1692 she found herself with child. Puritan New England was not the place to find yourself in such a situation. Achsah’s troubles began that summer, but I don’t think even she was aware of the horror that would befall on her. When she was accused of theft Ebenezer, who was a married man, saw a solution to his problem. He declared that she had “familiarity with the Devil” which, if proved, was a death sentence for the poor, misguided Achsah. After extensive whipping and torture, poor Achsah confessed to a number of things, from sleeping with the devil to consorting with familiars. Ebenezer made sure that the confession stuck and with its merit came a death sentence.
The execution was delayed until after the birth of the child. Ebenezer took his secret to the grave, and he and his wife took the child seemingly out of compassion and raised it as their own. Whether his wife was aware of Ebenezer’s indiscretions or not will never truly be known. What we do know is that when they marched Achsah to the gallows, they asked if she wanted to confess her sins. She responded that she had no sins to confess, but for her accusers she only had these words.
“From this day until the end of time, I curse you. Like you stole my first born so shall I steal yours and every child born thereafter,” and as she dangled there dying before them, a curse was born. That is my family bloodline’s evil origin.