Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Luna brought her a pen and paper and she carefully copied down what she saw on her forehead and then handed it to her Aunt.
“Hmm…” Aunt Luna frowned. “I would have no idea in the world what this said if I hadn’t had a dose of Translation Bacteria. But luckily, I have—Bruin made sure I got some so we could travel to other planets together. But even with the bacteria, this is tough. I think it’s some form of Ancient Assyrian but I could be wrong…”
“Maybe I wrote it backwards because I was looking in the mirror?” Hanna suggested.
“Ah—of course. Let me just hold it up to the viewer…”
Aunt Luna did this as she spoke, but what she saw must have been bad, because her lovely face grew grave.
“What? What is it? Did he put some kind of spell on me?” Hanna demanded.
Luna shook her head.
“Worse, I’m afraid. It’s a kind of curse—a lust curse, I believe,” she said frowning. “It reads—‘she who is under this brand shall be insatiable.’”
“What?” Hanna demanded. “You’re kidding!”
“I wish I was.” Her aunt looked at her sympathetically. “Oh, Hanna—I’ve been worried something bad was going to happen. The cards have been foretelling trouble for you for ages.”
“What? But then why didn’t you warn me?” Hanna demanded.
“Because, my dear…” Luna patted her cheek. “The cards always foretell trouble for you. And they always have. Your Gift is too extreme for you to live a normal life, I’m afraid.”
“I won’t live any life at all if this…this demon thing gets me!” Hanna put a hand to her throat. “He said that the next time he came to me I would beg him to…to take me.” She shivered with disgust. “You don’t think…is this lust curse he put on me really going to work?”
“I don’t know.” Her aunt looked at her carefully. “Are you feeling extra, er, amorous right now?”
“I don’t think so,” Hanna said, frowning. “But I’ve been so upset from the minute I woke up. Is there any way to remove it?”
“My dear, I can’t even see it,” Aunt Luna reminded her. “But I’ll look in my Wiccan books and see if I can find any kind of spell or ritual that will remove ill-intended magic. Of course, most of those spells are meant to remove magic cast by another human—not a demonic being.”
“I’m so afraid he’s going to get me, Aunt Luna.” Hanna clutched her aunt’s hand. “What if he comes for me tonight?”
“I don’t see how he can—we’re above the Earthly realm here,” her aunt said calmly. “I’m sorry he marked you, Hanna, but I think that coming up here to the Mother Ship was the best thing you could possibly have done. You should be removed from his influence here which means you’re safe.” She squeezed Hanna’s hand for emphasis.
“Do…do you really think so?” Hanna asked hopefully.
“I really do.” Her aunt gave her a hug. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve longed for you to come up here where I can keep an eye on you! I wish your sister would come too, but I know she has her own life. And now, at least, she’s mated to a Kindred, so I know she has a protector who will always shield her from harm.”
“But what about my life down on Earth?” Hanna asked. “Am I just supposed to abandon it?”
“My dear…I don’t want to be rude or belittle you in any way but what life?” Aunt Luna said gently. “I know you once hoped to teach at a university, but you haven’t been able to finish your degree and now all you seem to do is go from job to job, each one worse than the last.”
Hanna wanted to protest, but she knew her aunt was right. She thought of the miserable waitressing gig at Denny’s with her horrible manager and the rude customers and awful hours. Maybe Aunt Luna was right—maybe she did belong aboard the Kindred Mother Ship.
“I really think you’re going to like it here,” Aunt Luna told her. “There are very few shades and spirits here—most of the Kindred go immediately to the afterlife to be with their Goddess as soon as they die. And those that do remain are peaceful and content. So there will hopefully be far fewer distractions here—you might even be able to resume your studies.”
“I guess so…” Hanna still had a few doubts. “But…won’t it be weird, me being the only single woman on board? I mean, aren’t all the other Earth women up here mated to Kindred warriors?”
“That’s true, they are,” Aunt Luna admitted. “But you never can tell…you might meet a Kindred warrior of your own.” She winked at Hanna knowingly and put an arm around her shoulders to give her a little squeeze.
“Maybe,” Hanna said doubtfully. “But I can’t help thinking they’ll all just think I’m crazy—the way human men do.”