Page 79 of Tricky Magic
“In Hel? What Gods?” she asked.
“All of them.” Even though Ros wanted to teach her about them, he didn’t have the time and wasn’t ready to visit that part of his life.
“I was never taught about Gods,” Ellea said.
“But I’ve heard you curse them and Hel.” Ros stared at her curiously. “How haven’t you heard about them?”
“Well, not specifically, and I think I picked that up from my nana,” she said thoughtfully. “I guess I never thought about it. My history tutor only taught as far back as the Elimination period.”
Devon groaned at her statement. “That is so ridiculous.”
She looked at him with her brows bunched. “It’s true.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you were lying. I mean, well...” He growled. “Witches are so stuck in their own stupid, tiny circles. Not you, Ellea, those who raised us.”
Ellea’s brows raised at his comment. Ros knew where he was coming from, and he knew Devon’s story well. As soon as he’d turned eighteen and was moments away from being forced into an early engagement, he’d left his family. He’d traveled for the past ten years, learning all he could; Ros was proud of the young witch, and he knew Sam felt the same way.
“What were you taught about wolven?” Sam asked Ellea.
She thought for a moment. “They’re beasts who run around the forest and howl at the moon,” she said quietly.
Sam laughed and Devon groaned. Ros saw the worried look on Ellea’s face.
“What else were you taught?” Ros asked, trying to keep the conversation moving.
“Training with my uncle, basic remedies, potions, herbs, stars, and anatomy.” She thought for another moment. “Oh, and seer stuff, of course.”
“But never about your trickster magic?” Devon asked.
Ellea shook her head sadly. “Only to keep it under control. The small stuff and the illusions were always natural and came from…earlier times.”
“But your father, he must have taught you something,” Devon continued.
Ellea’s breath shuddered, and she cleared her throat. “What he and my mother did…I wouldn’t call that teaching. He left when I was young.”
Ros cut in, not liking where this was going. “What about other supernaturals?”
“Same as the wolven; they are what they are and that’s it,” she said.
“But they aren’t that,” Sam cut in. “Supernaturals are no longer what they were; they just exist and they’re ignorant to their past. Where do you think we all came from?”
“We’re just here.” Ellea looked stressed. Ros was feeling it too. How could she be so powerful and know so little?
“And what of Hel?” Devon asked. “What do you know about that?”
“Nothing,” she groaned. “Well, that’s where the bad people go.”
Ros laughed a little. “That’s where all people go.”
Ellea sat up in her chair. “What?”
Devon and Sam settled in their chairs, ready for Ros to take over. He clenched his teeth, finding the right words. He hated talking about this part of his life.
“The short part of the long history of Hel—”
“You mean your homeland,” Sam interrupted, and Ros rolled his eyes.
“Yes, I’m a demon, we all know,” Ros growled. He noticed Ellea’s little smirk. Clearing his throat, he continued, “Anyway, everyone goes to Hel. Well, most of Hel. One part is where the Gods dwell; it’s where they’ve been since before I was born. Other parts are for the mortals and supernaturals. The worst people go to a different part.”
