Chapter 21

The conduct of the relatives, and what followed.

When my uncle’s will was opened, we were very surprised that we didn’t find the money and other such things that we had expected, at least based on the fortunes we assumed he had possessed. The gathered family muttered and whispered, suspicion aroused. I stopped spending time with his widow, unless I was required to speak with her. Not that didn’t want to see her, and of course I wasn’t motivated by my uncle’s wealth, I had made such an effort to see it more widely distributed among the relatives. They protested his will. 

The Justice of the Peace acted as a negotiator, asking the various parties to explain their claims to him, in hopes of finding some arrangement that suited the entire family, and bring them together more happily. Of course his entreaties had no effect, they went on with their attack. As for myself, my recent loss had so affected my health that I was barely recognizable. I needed rest, The family’s protests, and the desire to keep things sensible rather than scandalous, led to them being offered a sum of money which they refused, and the affair was brought to the court. The trial continued to make my life unbearable, and provided a channel that the magicians and sorcerers could use against me. Even some 550 miles away, they could direct their devilish attacks against me. I could not avoid them, though I’d hoped the distance would weaken my power.  The sufferings I would endure told me this was not the case. 

I told some interested people about my persecutions. They seemed sympathetic, and suggested that I consult the famous occult scientist,  Adelio. Moreau. I resolved to go to his house, and he invited me to an audience the next day. In his office, I told him the cause of my worries, the reasons for my persecutions, and the events that might have provoked them. He took interest, which was encouraging, and asked me several urgent questions. I described how my troubles began, some of the techniques of my enemies, and my surprise that they could reach me so many miles from my home. This, he said, was nothing extraordinary. His knowledge of physics, his various diabolical experiences, had gained him some entry into this society, and he had been initiated into his mystery. 

This society had a network that extended its power over the globe of the earth, and as a part of that network and its power, he could save me from my persecutors. But to achieve that, I would have to submit to his power. 

Now, to escape from my tormented state, I would have made all kinds of sacrifices, but everything in my experience had kept me away from what he demanded of me. I belonged to god, and I would have to suffer these torments, rather than give up His divine grace. My past, in fact religion itself, forbade me from accepting his offer. 

My obstinance, he said, would be my undoing. My enemies would pursue me to the ends of the earth. 

This response affected me on a deep level. I paid him for the two consultations that I thought would bring me some relief, but as I left, I knew that I had, unfortunately, made another life-long enemy. And he quickly joined forces my foes in Avignon, soon introducing himself into my apartments morning and night in his invisible form, exercising his vengeance and adding to my cruel torments.