When she heard her name whispered, she realized who was holding her captive; her childhood friend, Darren von Visser. “Darren?” she asked, startled and angry when he lowered his hand from her mouth. “You hunt me as well?”

The man stood, pulling Ester up with him and spoke in a hushed tone. “I am here to help you, but you must cease struggling or they will hear you.” When Darren loosened his grip on her arm, she jerked free and retreated away from the young man whom she once thought was her friend.

She had taken only a dozen steps, when she was grabbed from behind and crushed roughly against someone’s chest. As she struggled against the arms which restrained her, Ester’s elbow sank into the spongy flesh of a man’s abdomen that had gone soft from rich eating and little activity. Her captor tightened his hold on Ester, squeezing air from her lungs, before growling in her ear, “You are caught, Ester.” Rubbing his jaw, which had a day’s stubble of rough whiskers, along her neck, the man hissed, “You should have accepted me, when I offered for you. If so, you would not be in this situation now.”

“Jacob von Thorpe, release her,” Darren growled softly, as he inched forward, anger evident in his voice.

“I think not,” Jacob sneered at the other man, then turned toward the sounds of the other pursuers and yelled, “Over here, men! I have caught her.”

The forest around Ester was immediately filled with shouts, as a number of men rushed toward her. When the other men from the hunting party crowded into the small clearing, she looked at the group in disbelief. These were people she had known all of her life, many of whom she had thought of as uncles and even replacement fathers. Fearful of the horrible situation she found herself in, Ester looked from face to face, trying to locate a glimmer of sympathy that she might exploit. When she noticed that the town’s blacksmith would not look her in the eye, she attempted to plead her innocence to him. “Please, Master Smitsen, you know me. I am innocent. You must help me.”

Before the smith could speak, Magistrate van Den stepped forward and said, “Ester Lilith de Hamish, you are accused of witchcraft and heresy. You are to be arrested and imprisoned in the town jail until such time as you shall stand trial for these crimes.” Clearing his throat, he turned to his young assistant who was standing beside him and said, “Take this prisioner to the jail and secure her.”