Bless Me, Ultima(53)

Narciso’s throat rumbled with laughter. “I do not question your right to charge someone with witchcraft, it is so in custom. But you are fools, fools for drinking the devil’s whiskey!” He pointed at Tenorio. “And fools for following him across the countryside in the middle of the night—”

“You have insulted me, and for that you will pay!” Tenorio shouted and waved his fist. “And now he calls you fools!” He turned to the men. “Enough of this talking. We came to take the witch! Let it be done!”

“¡Sí!” the men nodded in agreement.

“Wait!” Narciso stopped them. “Yes, I called you fools, but not to insult you. Listen my friends, you have already violated this man’s land—you have come and created much bad blood when you could have done this simply. You have the right to charge someone with witchcraft, and to discover the truth of that charge there is a very simple test!” He reached forward and pulled the needles from the man’s lips. “Are these needles holy?” he asked the man.

“Sí,” the man answered, “blessed just last Sunday by the priest.” He wiped the blood on his lip.

“I call you fools because you all know the test for a bruja, and yet you did not think to use it. It is simple. Take the holy needles and pin them to the door. Put them in so they are crossed—and in the name of God!” he roared. “You all know that a witch cannot walk through a door so marked by the sign of Christ!”

“¡Ay sí!” the men exclaimed. It was true.

“It is a true test,” the man called Cruz Sedillo spoke. He took the needles from Narciso. “It is legal in our customs. I have seen it work.”

“But we must all abide by the trial,” Narciso said. He looked at my father. For the first time my father turned and looked at the kitchen door. In the light were the two huddled figures of my mother and Ultima. Then he glanced at Narciso. He placed his faith in his old friend.

“I will abide by the test,” he said simply. I crossed my forehead. I had no doubt that Ultima could walk by the way of the holy cross. Now everyone turned and looked at Tenorio, for it was he who had accused Ultima.

“I will abide,” he muttered. He had no other choice.

“I will place the needles,” Cruz Sedillo said. He walked to the door and stuck the two needles in the form of a cross at the top of the door frame. Then he turned and spoke to the men. “It is true that no person of evil, no bruja, can walk through a door guarded by the sign of the Holy Cross. In my own lifetime I have seen a woman so judged, because her body burned with pain at the sight of the cross. So if Ultima cannot step through the threshold, then our work tonight has just begun. But if she crosses the threshold, then she can never again be accused of witchcraft—we call God as our witness,” he finished and stepped back. All the men made the sign of the cross and murmured a prayer.

We all turned and looked at the door. The fire from the torches was dying, and in fact some of the men had already dropped their smoldering torches to the ground. We could see Ultima plainly as she walked to the door.

“Who is it that accuses me?” she asked from behind the screen door. Her voice was very clear and powerful.

“Tenorio Trementina accuses you of being a witch!” Tenorio answered in a savage, hate-filled voice. He had stepped forward to shout his accusation, and as he did I heard Ultima’s owl shriek in the dark. There was a rustling and whirling of wings above us, and all the men ducked and held their hands up to protect themselves from the attack. But the owl sought only one man, and it found him. It hurled itself on Tenorio, and the sharp talons gouged out one eye from the face of the evil man.

“Aieeeeeeeeeee!” he screamed in pain. “I am blinded! I am blinded!” In the dying light I saw blood spurt from the dark pit and bloody pulp that had once been an eye.

“¡Madre de Dios!” the men cried. They cringed in fear around the screaming, cursing Tenorio. They trembled and looked into the dark sky for the owl, but it was gone.

“¡Mira!” one of them cried. He pointed and they turned to see Ultima. She had walked through the door!

“It is proven!” Narciso cried.

Ultima took a step towards the men and they fell back. They could not understand why the owl had attacked Tenorio; they could not understand the power of Ultima. But she had walked through the door, and so the power of la curandera was good.

“It is proven,” Cruz Sedillo said, “the woman is free of the accusation.” He turned and walked to the hill where they had left their trucks and several of the men hurried after him. Two stayed to help Tenorio.