Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 122946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
“That sounds like most religions,” I admitted, frowning.
“True. I could just be biased against the Puritans because they were the most recent in my memory,” he replied. “Everyone knows of the witch trials. Only we know how the vampires were slain. There was no trail for our kind, just death.”
“Puritans were vampire hunters?” It sounded like a bad teen TV drama.
He nodded. “Mostly in America, though, and they sought Noble bloods not Lesser bloods, seeking to prove the monsters that were hiding amidst them.”
“What? Wouldn’t that be harder?” From what we learned from Taelon, the witches today were attacking Lesser bloods and not Noble bloods.
“Yes, but they believed that if they destroyed the Nobles, there would not be any further creation of Lesser or Noble bloods.”
“How did they do it?” My voice was softer like I was listening to a scary story.
“Blood poisoning. They used the witches they captured, forcing them to create poisons. They drank it, washed their clothes in it, spread it around their lands, which caused the animals to eat it, and so the vampires could not even feed on the deer in the forests around them.”
“I’ve never heard of this. What is the poison? I’m surprised the witches don’t use it now.”
“If they could, they would.” He frowned. “Luckily, magic is not without consequences. Remember when I told you about how the witches stood out during the Black Plague?”
I nodded. “Because they didn’t get sick.”
“Exactly, the poison they created and gave to humans to protect them for us, over time, poisoned and killed the humans. They called it a plague, but it was magic. The last outbreak I remember was called the Spanish flu. It came from a new blood poison witches had created.”
“The Spanish flu? That killed over fifty million people worldwide.” I couldn’t believe it, but it now explained why no one had ever figured out a definitive cause of it.
“I thought it would be greater.” He was unmoved or surprised by this. “You will find many of the great plagues of this world were brought on by poor witchcraft. The Puritans fell ill, did not have the energy to hunt us, blamed the witches even more, and with their deaths, their knowledge of blood poisons faded. Every so often, a new witch creates a new poison, but it causes more damage to the mortals than vampires. Though, we still must be careful as Father says. Do not feed on the sick if you can help it.”
“You know what they say?”
“Who say? The witches?”
Again, I found him cute. “No...It’s a saying followed up by ‘karma is a bitch.’”
“Ah.” He nodded slowly, understanding, or at least pretending to. He looked me over and then shook his head.
“What?”
“This was not a very romantic conversation.” The smile on his lips fell.
“Were you trying to make it one?”
“Yes, very much so.” He chuckled, lifting my chin. “We started talking of roses and riddles, and then you sidetracked me and got us on death, witches, and plagues.”
I smacked his hand and poked his chest. “You were the one that sidetracked us and had us talking about the Devil’s light and whatnot.”
“I do not recall that,” he lied blatantly. “My memory has been horrible as of late.”
“Oh, how convenient your memory loss seems to be.” I glared, but I couldn’t stay mad at him. “I’ll let you off the hook and guide us back into a much more pleasant conversation again.”
“Not romantic?” he pressed.
“I’ll leave that up to you,” I said, trying to think of something light to discuss when I saw the moon hanging over his head. “Do you know that the humans have walked on the moon.”
When his face dropped, and the look of absolute disbelief spread across his cheeks, I laughed in his arms.
“You jest.” His eyes narrowed as if he still didn’t believe me.
“It’s true! His name was Neil Armstrong, and on July 20th, 1969, he was the first human to walk on the moon.”
He shook his head. “If it as you say, this Neil Armstrong is not a human but a witch.”
“How prejudice you are. Don’t forget. I’m still a witch. This is clearly not romantic.” I pouted, and he paused for a second before grinning like mad. “What?”
Wrapping his around me tightly. “Do you think you can take us to the moon then, Ms. Witch?”
He didn’t let me answer before running as fast as he could with me in his arms, and with one push of his left leg, he had us high in the air. The moon so much closer, so much larger, and it reminded me of the vision—no, the memory I had before. So, I knew what to do. I held on tightly, feeling the breeze of the wind and hung there in the sky with him.
“You truly can fly?”
“Yes, no broom needed.” I winked before looking up to the moon. “Is this romantic enough for you?”