Page 49 of A Witch-ish Guide to Protectors and Pendulums

“The woman from my dream. The one who talked to me. That’s her.”

“It couldn’t be her. That’s Lilith.”

“Duh. I get that. And I also know I talked with her.”

Believe me or not, I didn’t care. I had to see what happened next. We moved further down the scroll, but it seemed to be about how hostilities had grown between Lilith and Adam, yet he never made another attempt to hurt the children physically. That didn’t mean he wasn’t a verbally abusive asshole. The pictures showed more than I wanted to see. It physically hurtmeto witness those poor children wounded by someone who should have loved them and protected them.

I opened the next scroll.

“He proved himself too much of a coward to raise a hand to the children again. Rather, he berated and belittled them. Innocent children. This was no haven for them, living with thismonster. Having had enough, I stole away with them, leaving him to wither alone without my magic to keep the bounty of the gardens flowering lushly.

“As the children grow, they flourish. I met another, a man who calls himself Zohor. He is light. He is love. He teaches the children. Gives them guidance. We walk side by side, hand in hand. I consider him my equal as he considers me his. I gift him my love. We create more beautiful children together. I choose this life with Zohor over any time spent in my garden.”

“Wait.” Connor turned to me confused. “I thought Lilith had an affair with Satan.”

“It doesn’t appear so. She sounds happy.”

“This is playing out like a soap opera.”

“My garden is no more,”she wrote.“Adam, he ruined it, blaming it on the poor one who replaced me. He remains bitter and hateful. I have learned he has besmirched my name, telling lies by shifting the blame onto me as well. This poor woman, I know with whom she lives. But I cannot decide if I should help her escape as clearly, she holds none of the power bestowed upon me in the magic garden.”

Connor leaned into me, pressing a kiss to my temple. “What was that for?” I asked.

“I was just thinking it’s no wonder so many human men are dicks if everyone can be linked back to him.”

“Where do supers originate from then?”

“Well, clearly, other people lived close by if she found a new man. Just not in her garden.”

“Oh, it sounds like he lived quite a bit of life in her garden,” I quipped back.

He laughed, kissing me again, this time on my lips.

“Do you think he was given life from the mud the same as Adam and Lilith?” I asked.

“I don’t know. It wasn’t mud from the garden if he was. I mean, aside from being good and kind, he seems completely human.”

It was my turn to laugh, punching him in the shoulder. “I can’t believe you said that.”

“What? You know it’s the truth. Supers are far more accepting than humans.”

Okay, I had to give him that.

We moved on to read more.

“My children have continued to grow strong in heart and strong in magic. But as we remain isolated and my two oldest children have come of age, Zohor agreed to stay behind with the younger ones while the three of us travel to seek out acceptable mates for them.

We have been in the city two nights when we come face to face with a woman, eye blackened. I hug her, this stranger, then press my palm to the injury to remove it. She begins to cry in my arms. As I am holding her, I am met with a voice I never wished to hear again. ‘She belongs to me. Take your hands from her.’

My children move to stand next to me as I turn.

‘She does not belong to you.’

His mouth drops open in shock.

‘Hello, Adam.’

‘Is that the girl?’ he asks. ‘She’ll fetch a good price.’

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