Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“What is it?” Callie asks.
“The coven,” Kristy answers, voice matching her elevated heart rate. She’s scared. “They’ve called an emergency gathering.”
Callie looks at me, and a bit of fear clouds her own eyes. “If—and I mean a big fat if—I decide to let you take me out on a date, it’s going to have to wait.”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I say.
Callie grabs another piece of food and shakes her head. “There’s no point in arguing with you, is there?”
“I always get what I want.”
“And you want me?” she says in a voice meant to mock my own. It makes me laugh, and Callie just narrows her eyes.
“I do. You’re interesting Callie, and I don’t find interesting people very often. And there’s something else about you,” I start and lock eyes with her again. I don’t need to finish my sentence for her to know what I mean.
She feels it too.
“I…I should go.” She turns away only to face me again. “Do you remember where I live?”
“I was there last night,” I say and raise an eyebrow. “I remember.”
“Meet me back there in like an hour. I’ll decide if I want to go out with you then.”
“Save yourself the trouble and just say yes now.”
She does her best not to smile. Eyes lingering on mine for another few seconds, she lets her lips curve into a half smile. “An hour, and I’ll let you know. I’d say don’t hold your breath, but you don’t breathe.”
I give her a curt nod. “Fine. One hour and then I’ll take you out on a date.”
Chapter
Nine
I close the book and look out at Callie’s backyard. It’s been exactly an hour, but I didn’t expect her to appear at the exact amount of time. She and Kristy left the bookstore together in a rush. I took my time browsing books and then walked through the small downtown area of Thorne Hill just to kill time.
There’s something odd about the main street of the town. It feels like a line of witches were lined up along it, but none were. I’ve only felt something like that once before, and it turned out to be a Ley line[HW12] , buried deep underground. If that’s the case, it makes sense why there are multiple witches living in Thorne Hill.
It’s a cool night tonight, with a soft breeze and few clouds covering the moon and stars. I prefer the quiet of the country to the noise of the city, which is one thing that hasn’t changed even after all these years. In my human years, I lived on a farm in the countryside of what’s now Rome. We were poor, had many hard winters, and watched villagers die from exposure, famine, and illness every year.
I don’t think about my human life often. I won’t let myself. My last days on earth as a human were terrible. After a year fighting in wars, I was captured, taken to Rome as a prisoner, and forced to fight for the emperor’s entertainment.
Setting the book down on the porch railing, I stand from the bench I was sitting on and move down the stairs, needing to change my train of thought. I still remember the putrid smell of piss, shit and festering wounds that surrounded me for days on end, trapped in a tiny cell as I awaited my turn to go out and fight in front of a crowd.
The wind rustles the trees and brings with the scent of blood. Human blood. I race toward the woods and hear Callie’s voice echoing through the dark.
Kristy is on the ground, holding a hand to her head. She’s the one bleeding, and it’s just a scrape. She’ll be okay once she cleans the wound up. But Callie…Callie is under attack. A man, who smells just like the cells I was kept in at the Colosseum, grabs at her, desperately trying to get his hands around her throat. A ball of bright, white magical energy floats in the air above them, illuminating the surrounding area for the witches to see.
Rushing forward, I shove the man off of Callie. He’s human, but he smells dead, meaning he was either brought back with magic or he’s possessed. He falls to the ground, rolling back and hitting a tree. I put myself between him and Callie, waiting for the man to get up and try to attack her again.
I’ll do more than push him away this time. Anger burns inside of me, and I swear right then and there to rip anyone who harms Callie to shreds.
Bits of magic fall from the energy ball, burning my flesh when it makes contact. It hurts, but the wounds heal within seconds.
“I’m okay,” Kristy tells Callie, voice thin “What the hell is that?”
“I…I…I think it’s a man.” Callie comes over by my side. “And he’s possessed.”