The Five Cursed Witches: Volume 1 - Zoe, the Witch of Innocence

Chapter 36 Believe in witches

Zoe

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I had not expected to react the way I did when I went into the place that had played a major role in the prosecution of my kind. No one close to me or anyone I knew had died in the witch hunts. My grandparents had moved to USA when the hunts had gotten intense in Brittan, but they had settled away from where they happened here and Father had moved around in Asia during that period. But the whole house felt heavy with the hatred and sorrow that it had once held.

While we sat outside, I was still half in that feeling. The oppression that had been and the secrecy that had followed. The history of the magical community was highly interwoven with the human history and the witch hunts had left a deep scar that still affected us.

That wasn't that strange since there were still witches alive that had lived through it and though most that had been killed had been humans, it had brought about anger. Witches that had used to live around humans and that had helped them, when possible, had been forced to move from homes that had been theirs for several hundred years at times. The coven's had all become more important, each creating almost their own city or at least community.

I knew that my grandmother had been helping the poorer people with illnesses. Been a doctor to them. That was the main reason they had left Brittan when the hunts had started. She had known that she was a likely target, that she had fit the profile. So she left instead of risking being forced to watch the humans she had helped turn on her.

But that was far from as bad as I knew that some had had it. Countless of mated pairs had been torn apart, either by fear of being together or by fear that had made them turn on each other. Trust and promises had been broken. Betrayal had been planted and hate had grown. 'Protect your own' had become the motto for witches to live by, and to not waste any energy on the ungrateful. That included both humans and other magical creatures as the power-hungry always existed and some magical beings had taken advantage of the humans' war on witches to rage their own wars.

I wondered how different my life would be if the hunts hadn't happened. Would I still be used as a weapon or would the coven have stopped and asked what I actually wanted?

I was in deep reverie when I heard Felix's voice.

"Zoe. There's something I need to explain."

I looked back at him and wasn't surprised at all. I hadn't given it much thought, but I had also known that he would say something to me. Would explain parts of his father's opinions. So I just waited for him to continue.

"My dad has very strong opinions when it comes to witches," he said. "It's like he actually thinks they are real and that they are evil. It's a very sensitive topic for him. So..."

"You don't want me to show any sympathy or such for the people killed during the witch hunts in front of your father," I finished for him.

"Yeah. Like said, he's weirdly sensitive about it. And I just don't want you to end up saying something that'll piss him off. He can get very intense when he's angry."

"I understand," I said and gave him a weak smile to show that I had truly understood and was fine with it.

"You do?" he said and raised his eyebrows.

"Why so surprised?"

"It's just... I know it's kind of weird to believe witches exist."

For a moment I thought: Why not tell the truth?

For a moment I considered saying a spell to show him who I was.

For a moment I wanted to rip off my glove and put my hand to the grass.

But if I did, he would surely walk away and never look back. I had lied now for too long and coming clean wouldn't be easy. But that was for the future, I told myself. He wasn't ready to hear it. So instead I said:

"Well, his company makes religious stuff. I just figured that he is Christian and it's not unheard of for Christians to believe that type of thing."

I could see how Felix relaxed. The tension in his muscles went away. I had given him the perfect excuse for him to use now and in the future, to explain his father's different opinions. And I guessed it wasn't completely untrue either. Most witch hunters were religious, so it only made sense that Harry Jackson was as well. It was a half-truth, like so many things I had told him.

"Yeah, he is," Felix agreed. "He's not super religious when it comes to traditions, but he firmly believes in witches and that they are unnatural.

"And what about you?" I had asked the question before I could stop myself. "Do you believe in witches and that they are unnatural and evil?"

"I..." He looked away and down, his hands picked up grass from the ground, shredded the blades. "I haven't ever really thought about my own opinion, no one has ever asked. I do believe they exist and that they are bad. But... My dad is pretty militant about it. I don't think I am or ever want to be."

"So," I said and felt heavy and sad, but there was a trace of hope in his words. "If we would be living during the time of the witch hunts, he would actively be trying to find witches but you wouldn't, though if one was found you wouldn't be sorry about their fate?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

That's better than it could be, I thought to myself. At least that meant that he had never actively killed a witch.

It was a small and pathetic comfort, but at that moment even a small comfort was enough for me.

"What about you?" he asked. "Do you believe in witches?"

I bit my lip and thought about what to say. How much to admit.

"Yes," I finally said. "I do believe they exist. But I think in temperament they are just like humans. Some are bad and some are not."