Page 19 of Witch's Betrayal
"How does someone get to be like him anyway?" I asked. "Was he born with the innate abilities or did he practice shadow work nonstop?"
"A bit of both, I think," she mused. "He comes from a long, ancient line of really powerful shadow workers, but it's still a difficult skill to master." Her ocean-colored eyes glanced to just above my head. "I'm not the best at seeing auras but his looks very similar to yours. I wouldn't be surprised if you two are distantly related." She shrugged. "Or it could be all the demons he's killed. He doesn't talk about himself much and isn't here half the time, so no one really knows."
"What would his, ah, kills have to do with shadow work and his aura?" I asked.
"Well, the darker someone's aura is, the more shadow abilities they innately have." She held up a hand. "Supposedly, anyway. There are always exceptions to the rule. Shadow work is also the primary magic source of demons. Prolonged exposure to demons is said to make your aura darker and darker over time."
"I see." I chewed on her words, trying to get a sense of her opinion one way or the other toward the race of creatures I fell in love with. But I couldn't get a clear read, so decided to ask her straight out. "What are your thoughts on the whole demon thing?"
Her head snapped over to me, surprised. "My thoughts?"
"Yeah, you know." I waved my hand trying to appear casual, although my feelings were anything but. "Are we justified in hunting them? Are they just as bad as Christians have made them out to be?" I forced a sheepish smile. "You have to remember I'm still new to this whole witch thing."
Juno reclined back on her elbows, not saying anything for a moment while my heart pounded like crazy in my chest.
"I guess I've never really thought of them as people," she admitted.
"Really?" I gritted my teeth, struggling to keep my emotions in check.
"Yeah. I mean we learned about them as kids kind of like zombies." She giggled. "They're mindless drones being controlled by Lucifer. Only instead of brains, they're just hell-bent on raping."
My blood ran cold. "Rape?"
She nodded. "They're extremely seductive and don't take no for an answer. They force sex on their victims and often take control of their bodies. Hence the accounts of demonic possessions from Christian sources." She looked over at me with a sad expression. "That's why things are so bad for women in African countries and the Middle East. Ordinary humans think it's because of oppressive religions and politics, which might be true. But a big part of it has to do with demons in power seducing and controlling."
I couldn't look her in the eye, so I studied the blades of grass poking through our picnic blanket.
How could she believe that? None of it was true! Demons were created to exercise freedom of choice based on knowledge, not to control. And through me, witches became a mortal extension of that.
Somehow at some point in time, our narrative got twisted into something so far from the truth. And modern witches were passing down this misinformation like gospel to future generations.
I leaned back on my palms, bewildered at what I just heard. And I realized bringing demons to a more positive light was going to be much harder than I anticipated.
