Page 9 of Witch's Betrayal
He walked around my counter to wash the cup in the sink and set it on the drying rack.
"Well?" I held my hands out expectantly.
He sighed, keeping his gaze down on the sink. "Not everyone is who they seem, Deja. Be cautious, always. It doesn't always make sense to me either. But it will."
"Great," I muttered, gathering up my coat and purse. "More vague hints without telling me outright. I thought we were past this stuff."
Raum looked up, his eyes apologetic.
"There's a reason very few people can know the future, Deja. It's an immensely heavy burden. Humanity would drive itself to extinction if they could see as far ahead as me." He paused. "The stronger I became with it, the more of a burden it is. Living with it for two thousand years has taught me a few things."
He came around the counter and touched the sides of my face with both of his large hands, threading his fingers through my hair.
"I don't keep things from you to be patronizing or even protective. I know you can handle yourself, little witch." His thumbs stroked the apples of my cheekbones. "The passage of time is so complex, it's not fully linear. History is always repeating itself and yet nothing is ever the same as before. I can barely make sense of it enough myself to describe it to you. Just please trust me when I say you don't want to know everything in my head. You have enough in your own as it is."
"But is it something to do with my mother's death?" I asked. "I can't shake that she's not being honest with me about that."
Raum pressed his lips together in a thin line.
"You will find out the truth, Deja. Trust me that you will. But you are not meant to carry the burden of that knowledge right now. There is more you must discover first. Lucifer made it very clear to me. This is my burden to bear, okay?"
I nodded, giving in to his request. It still frustrated me but logically, I could understand. He didn't just have thousands of years of memories in his head, but what happened before and what was yet to come. If I didn't have magic, I would have gone mad with all the events recorded in my head. If I saw everything he did, I just might.
His playful smirk returned and he dropped a sensual kiss to my lips.
"Have a good lesson tonight, little witch." His hand brushed against my ass as he left the building.
With a sigh, I locked up and headed in the opposite direction toward the train station.
Laurel and John, the Golden Moon Coven's High Priestess and Priest, lived in a large house just outside of San Francisco. It was a spacious, affluent area tucked back into the hills and surrounded by dense trees and land. Perfect for practicing magic outdoors when you wanted a bit of space and privacy.
I rapped my knuckles on the heavy wooden door three times. Laurel answered immediately with a wide smile on her face.
"Hey, great to see you, Deja! Come in, come in."
I followed her inside and noticed her ceremonial black robe with golden moons hanging in front of the fireplace. She wore those while conducting my initiation ceremony, and gifted me a matching one when I officially joined.
"Purifying them with cherry wood smoke," she explained. "That's the burden of being a fire witch, everything's gotta get smokey!"
"Good thing I'm water," her husband John, who sat in an armchair, added with a chuckle. "I've put out a lot of fires throughout our marriage, literally and figuratively."
"Opposites attract, huh?" I said with a smile. My own magic was fueled by the element of earth. I derived my power from the energy of nature. I could heal, destroy, and bend the forces of nature to my will. With my extra somewhat immortal demon abilities, I likely had a lot more abilities that I had yet to discover.
"That's what they say," Laurel said with an affectionate glance at John.
"So are you the one teaching me shadow magic tonight?" I asked her.
"Oh no, dear. Your teacher is waiting outside." She jerked her thumb to the screen door leading to their wooded, private backyard. "Our place just happens to be the central hub for any lessons or unofficial coven meetings."
"Oh okay," I said, slightly taken aback, trying to recall if I had already met all the coven members already or not. "Is it someone that I've met before?"
"I'm not sure, dear. You may have met him at the full moon gathering before your ceremony. I was so busy back then, I can't recall though."
I shrugged and headed toward the sliding door, feeling prepared to introduce myself if need be. The door slid open and I blinked at the darkness of the outside, the chilly air already nipping at my face.
"Nice of you to show up," a raspy voice said as I slid the door closed behind me.
A pair of stormy gray eyes seemed to float in the darkness, followed by a bright but predatory smile.
I gasped when I recognized the face approaching me.
"Seth!" I hissed.
The demon hunter who was supposed to be on the other side of the world.
