Page 46 of Heart of a Witch
His graying-blond hair tousled when he removed his hood. His blue eyes widened, reflecting the light of the oil lamps hanging from beams above as he looked out upon the crowd. His gaze found everyone but no one, addressing each of us without truly stopping to look.
His thin lips stretched into a smile as he clasped his hands together over the altar. The top of my lip twitched, and my nostrils flared. Even his scars seemed softer under the hue of the church. What an ironic mask to wear, one of a priest who loves his people, when hiding below the surface was the face of a true murderer, the one I recalled every night since he’d killed her. Darkness coated his expression, flames from the townspeople’s torches illuminated his scars against that night, and his blue robes were laced with the blood of innocents. That was what I saw when I thought of him. Not this… façade.
“Welcome, cherished ones, to this sermon we have been blessed to deliver on such a beautiful autumn evening.”
Every person, except the three of us and Elijah, leaned forward.
He continued, his lips curling tighter at the corners. “As I look out upon each of your faces, I am reminded of what must be protected. As many of you know, I have been away in another town.” He paused briefly. “Your priests do not keep secrets from you, so I will tell you of our results. We were led by the light of Zerheus to a place plagued with witches. There, a dark club of black magic was found, where, unfortunately, good people like yourselves were found sacrificed.”
Many gasped. I didn’t flinch.
“We were too late to save them.” He looked down, as if lost in grief. I repressed the urge to roll my eyes. “But we saved countless others. We found and executed seventeen witches, sending the demons back to the underworld.”
My stomach sank when they cheered, and some excitedly chattered with each other. Behind the crowd, I spotted a face I swore I recognized, but he was gone before I could blink. I was seeing things. Fantastic.
“It has been several years since we have had so many witches in one place. They are forming their own communities.”
The building silenced.
“They know they are stronger with numbers, and we have seen through these trials that there are more witches out there than we realized. Families of them are in hiding, some even having relations with humans. As we hunters have become more skilled over the years, so have the demons. We must become more diligent in our detection of their witchcraft and dark ways.”
One of the other priests who sat in the front angled his head at Damian.
The hunter caught his eye, and his expression shifted. “However, worry not, for we continue to protect Redforest above all, so before I begin the sermon, I have some celebratory news.” He gestured toward where Elijah sat. “My son will be joining us in training beginning in two weeks. He is committed to the cause and wants to follow the path carved out for him by Zerheus.”
The room erupted in applause. Elijah stood, smiling as he nodded in the direction of those congratulating him.
So he really wasjustlike his father after all. Committed to the cause…murdering people.I couldn’t focus on anything else; he looked so damned pleased with himself that I wanted to run across the church and boil his and his father’s blood, but I knew better.
Damian spoke, and the words passed through my ears, but I couldn’t take in anything he was saying. Hearing them all cheer for my sister’s and the others’ deaths solidified the part of me screaming for vengeance. It was easy being around people, seeing them as good and harmless, like they appeared to be back home, but tonight I was reminded of the way of humans, how easily they had turned on Ember as soon as she was labeled as a witch. All her friends, neighbors, and acquaintances who had known her since she was a baby watched as her heart was pulled from her chest, and they fucking cheered.
Fury lined my gaze, a cloud of red filling it as every rage-fueled memory shot to the surface of my mind. A woman screamed, snapping me out of my trance. She fell to her knees. More screams erupted, and Alex grabbed my hand, pulling me back.
“She’s bleeding.”
My jaw slacked. I pulled my hand from Alex’s, pushing her back, and fought my way toward the dead woman. Her eyes were red, her blood still wet from trickling down her face. Her tongue was swollen, hanging out of her mouth, and one of the priests, whom I quickly realized must have been her husband, touched her arm but recoiled quickly.
“She’s as hot as fire,” he said.
I glanced at Cas, whose wide eyes found me. He tilted his head, gesturing us toward the door. I followed quickly, especially when words of witches and demons surfaced.
Once we were outside in the brisk air, he pulled me to a corner, his voice low. “What in the underworld were you thinking?”
My breath hitched. “I don’t know. I didn’t mean to do it; I was just so angry. I swear, I didn’t even know I could do that. I didn’t even look at her.”
“How else do you explain that? Get your emotions under control.”
My stomach swirled. I still couldn’t process anything when Alex appeared and whispered something to Cas. Before I could say anything else in my defense, I was being pulled toward one of the carriages waiting on the street. The cries from inside the church accompanied us outside. She was dead. I’d killed her, and the worst part was I hadn’t even meant to do it. I’d lost control.
Fifteen
Elijah
“She had a disease,” I explained because I was the only one in the room making sense. “Besides, the doctor said she wasn’t dead after all.”
Father paced in a circle in our living room. A priest, Father Montague, sat in front of the cracking fire, which let out a hiss when he poked the logs with iron. “She may not survive. She’s been taken to the hospital, but—”
“Those houses of death,” my father spat. “She won’t last the night.”
