1835 Texas Territory
The year before Texas became a state, a year before the battle of the Alamo, a man named Thomas Acheson received a land grant from the Mexican government. It wasn’t the standard 4000 acres, but it was a very important grant. This particular piece of land had a problem; it had a main ley line running through it, and a convergence, and under that, an abyss.
The land sat on top of a hole full of demons that had figured out how to leave through the convergence and wreak havoc on the surrounding countryside.
Thomas Acheson was the best choice as a steward of the land, but really, he was the only choice, because this piece of land needed a different type of caretaker. Not only did they need to be a rancher with an eye towards taking care of the land, but they also needed to be a witch. And not just any kind of witch, but a fire witch. They needed to be able to close the door to the abyss and keep it closed, and demons being what they are, it needed to be someone they respected, even if it was only a little bit. And they did, but they hadn’t always.
In the beginning, it was a struggle.
When the Mexican official and the local priest first approached Thomas, they were very apprehensive. First, because the priest was certain the man was a ‘bruja masculina’, and second, and more importantly, both men were afraid he wouldn’t accept the grant because of its conditions.
Padre’ Juan and Senior Martinez rode with Thomas out to the tract of land in silence. Even if he hadn’t been a witch, the Scotsman was very imposing in both stature and demeanor.
They rode past the corner post that marked Five Oaks Ranch. It had been granted to the Camerons in the 1770s, before anyone knew about the demon problem. Thomas could feel a tingle from the boundary wards and smiled to himself, thinking, ‘Och, gray witches. Good neighbors.’
The three men continued across the rolling hills that were dotted with oak and cedar, elm and cottonwood. The native grass was lush, and Thomas knew it would be good for cattle and horses.
When they finally rode down the short bluff into the dry creek bed, he could feel the evil intentions emanating from a small hole about a foot from the base of the cliff.
None of the horses could be persuaded to ride any nearer than the creek bank, so the witch and the priest dismounted and walked across the dry sand. Father Juan held back as Thomas walked up to the fist-sized hole and knelt down, placing both hands flat on the earth.
He closed his eyes and let his senses run down his hands, into the soil where he felt the convergence of ley lines. Only one was straight, running northwest by southeast, all the way around the world. The rest were loops and concentric rings forming a doorway of sorts, right above an abyss full of demons.
The creatures jeered and cursed at him as they felt his presence and Thomas withdrew with a warning, ‘Stay where you are, or suffer the consequences.’ One of the demons laughed and turned itself into mist, swirling through the passage the convergence made, following the narrow hole in the ground.
Thomas had sat back on his heels and waited, knowing at least one of the foolish beings would follow and become the example.
He held up his left hand and called a flame on his index finger, then took a deep breath and waited. As the mist began to emerge the priest began to mutter a prayer and the magistrate crossed himself. The horses shifted, pulling on the reins the magistrate held tightly clenched in his fist.
Thomas let the demon mist get a foot of itself out of the hole, then blew across the flame, sending a torrent of fire at the forming creature.
There was a shrill squeal and a pop, and ash fell to the sand. None followed.
The witch stood up and wiped the sand from his hands, then turned to the two men with him saying, “I’ll need an iron rod that’s at least two inches in diameter and several feet long to plug the hole.”
“If we get that, and give you the land, will you contain the evil?” the magistrate asked.
“Aye. Me and mine will become the wardens of your underground prison.”

And so, the hole was plugged, and ruins were carved into the creek bank and Thomas’ wife, Iona Campbell, recorded all that they had done, and what would have to be done in the future, to contain the creatures, in the family grimoire.
It was a new book, given to her by her granny when she and Thomas married. The two were very careful to maintain the ruins and record any changes in the family book, making sure their children and grandchildren knew the dangers associated with having a ley line, and a convergence, and an abyss, under their property.
And for several generations, all the family knew and understood. Then war came, again and again and life changed, slowly at first, then a little faster and the history of the ranch, and the gifting of the land grant written in the book, were relegated to myth, and largely ignored.
Until it was almost too late…
‘Demons delight in discord, especially among family members, and even more so when they can cause it.’
From the Grimoire of Iona Campbell Acheson, the ‘Family Book.’
