The Witchhunt

By Lori R. Lopez

A novelette by Lori R. Lopez, THE WITCHHUNT unfolds in several parts, with four casts of characters connected by one . . . and she is not one to be messed with!

Someone should tell that to the construction crew daring to disturb her, threatening her territory. The cop and the property manager showing up to evict her. A pair of detectives sent to investigate deaths on the floor. Those who persecuted her through the ages. Tell them all to leave her alone, or suffer the consequences. But it would be too late. By the end you may wonder who was hunting whom?

The author of LEERY LANE, CORNSTALKER, MONSTROSITIES, and SAMHAIN among other tales, Lori has created a speculative horror story brimming with emotion and flashes of dark humor. The novelette introduces elements of Alternate History and Ancient History, while addressing a number of present-day issues and concerns. THE WITCHHUNT leads to the Past, yet tackles serious and timeless themes that remain eerily relevant.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lori R. Lopez
• Release date: Dec 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463697252

Lori R. Lopez

Lori R. Lopez wears many hats as an Author and Speculative Poet of Horror, Fantasy, Suspense, Humor and more. She illustrates her books and has written songs, while being an Activist for animals and children. Growing up, Lori roamed graveyards and conducted funerals for dead birds, squirrels, insects and spiders. Her offbeat books include The Dark Mister Snark, Leery Lane, An Ill Wind Blows, Darkverse: The Shadow Hours, Odds & Ends, and The Fairy Fly. In 2023 Lori won Third Place in the Long Category for the SFPA Poetry Contest for "Wake Unto Death". Her Poetry Collection Darkverse was nominated for an Elgin Award and a Finalist in the Kindle Book Awards. Her poems "Crop Circles" and "Nocturnal Embers" were nominated for the Rhysling Award in 2020, "Social Graces" and "The Whistle Stop" in 2021, "Biting Sarcasm" in 2022, "The Whippoorwill" and "If Houses Could Talk" in 2023. Poems "The Maw" and "creatures of the macabre" received Editor's Choice Awards among other honors. Stories and verse have appeared in The Sirens Call, The Horror Zine, Space & Time, Spectral Realms, JOURN-E, Weirdbook, Bewildering Stories, Dreams & Nightmares, Impspired, Altered Reality, Aphelion, and anthologies such as California Screamin' (the Foreword Poem), HWA Poetry Showcases II, III, V, VI, and IX, Journals Of Horror, Grey Matter Monsters, Dead Harvest, Fearful Fathoms I, Terror Train I and II, Trickster's Treats #3, Speculations III (Weird Poets Society), and In Darkness We Play. A member of the Horror Writers Association, Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, and Lewis Carroll Society Of North America. Visit the Fairy Fly Entertainment Website Lori shares with her two talented sons, and their YouTube Channel @FairyFly. They have a Folk Band called The Fairyflies.

Book preview

The Witchhunt

by Lori R. Lopez

Fairy Fly Entertainment

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any

media without written permission from the author, except

brief excerpts in critical reviews and articles.

This is a work of fiction. Any and all references to real persons, events, and places are used fictitiously. Other characters, names, places, events and details are fabrications of the author’s imagination; any such resemblance to actual places, events or persons, whether living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2018 by Lori R. Lopez

Artwork by Lori R. Lopez

Cover Design by Fairy Fly Entertainment

Author Photo by Fairy Fly Entertainment

E-Book Edition (EPUB)

Table Of Contents

The Witchhunt

Table Of Contents

The story behind the story

About the author and artist

More works by Lori R. Lopez

This tale begins with a modern setting, on the creepy Ninth Floor of a hotel, where an old woman just wishes to be left in peace. But that isn’t possible. It never is in this world.

A novelette by Lori R. Lopez, The Witchhunt unfolds in several parts, with four casts of characters connected by one . . . and she is not one to be messed with!

Someone should tell that to the construction crew daring to disturb her, threatening her territory. The cop and the property manager showing up to evict her. A pair of detectives sent to investigate deaths on the floor. Those who persecuted her through the ages. Tell them all to leave her alone, or suffer the consequences. But it would be too late. By the end you may wonder who was hunting whom?

The author of Leery Lane, Cornstalker, Monstrosities, and Samhain among other tales, Lori has created a speculative horror story brimming with emotion and flashes of dark humor. The novelette introduces elements of Alternate History and Ancient History, while addressing a number of present-day issues and concerns. The Witchhunt leads to the Past, yet tackles serious and timeless themes that remain eerily relevant.

For my brother Wade, in need of some healing magick.

Words are important and powerful, lasting and significant.

They can be used to praise, inspire, enlighten . . . or criticize, punish, bully. It is not the words themselves that harm, but those who intend them to destroy.

We must train ourselves and be resilient so that names will never hurt us.

THE HAG’S PATH led to this corridor from countless strides, innumerable steps fraught by tumult and affliction. The Ninth Story harbored an ominous current. A level of tension like a mordant keening in the ears.

Do not trespass.

They came without malice, yet they were invaders. They were a threat — an augur of peril.

Men in helmets rode a capacious Elevator, armed to the teeth with drills and hammers, screwdrivers and tape-measures, the tools of Carpentry. Their conveyance halted. Doors sprang wide. An opaque hallway stretched.

Where are the lights?

That doesn’t look good.

It’s blacker than a Coal Mine.

Darkness swam, its tentacles exuding.

Just a little shadow. Fuse musta blown. Our work begins. A ramrod of discipline, the burly commander with a sable complexion reassured his troops by example, maintaining a stoic demeanor. He compressed a door, then stabbed a red HOLD button.

It’s the Old Witch. It’s true! I’ve heard about her. La Bruja Vieja. I’m not going out there, protested a mustached grunt with salt-and-pepper hair.

Enrique’s got the willies.

Sanchez needs his diaper changed.

Laughter rang in the tombish car. A crowded Lift jounced. Amiable guffaws converted to gasps. Then acute silence.

Gradually, the self-conscious chatter rekindled.

Wow. Was that seismic?

This building’s ancient. Probably the pipes.

I bet the plumbing’s a nightmare.

Glad we won’t have to deal with it.

Enrique harped, She’s here . . . I’m warning you . . . La Bruja is real. My grandmother’s uncle saw her and . . . his heart quit the next day.

Sounds like an urban legend.

Your grandmother’s uncle? How old is this witch?

Don’t die of fright like he did.

Subdued chuckles.

The head honcho cleared his throat. Everybody stop quarreling like Kindergartners. I guarantee you, no old lady with a broom is any competition for us!

Nervous chortles. Congenial grins.

The boys were a mixed bag of quirks and surprises, but they were family and he knew he could depend on them. Grab the gear — Milo, Enrique, Gino, Mickey, Levi, Abdul, Billy and Kyle. Russ, find a fusebox and replace what fried. Rest of us’ll open the battened units.

I’m telling you guys, it’s the Witch.

One more reference to a witch and you’ll be joining the Unemployment Line. Explain that to your grandkids.

No problem, Jefe. My lips are glued. Enrique mumbled a prayer in Spanish.

That’ll be the day. The crew’s leader planted a boot firmly beyond an uninviting threshold. Whoa. Dizziness prompted him to falter; balance wobbled, as if the floor and rug were a serpent. What should have been smooth, stable, had undulated.

I must be comin’ down with the Flu. A squeamish nip — by icicle fangs — chilled a usually stalwart core. Clamminess beaded his brow, the nape of his neck. What a time to get sick. At least he would check around. Assess what had to be done in each section. Assign the team duties.

Mopping his forehead on a crisp blue paisley bandana, he folded the handkerchief into a shirt pocket. Nuthin to it. Just another site.

Obstinate as a