BloodWitchInferno Read Free

astonishment. “You Called me.”
    Mira didn’t know what to say.
    “For such a strong blood-witch you know very little about
your craft.”
    “I know plenty!” she lied.
    “The Calling is the ritual of passion. A blood-witch can
call a demon for her pleasure and for conception, and he must obey .”
Karnon stressed the last word.
    “You mean as a sex slave?” The thought of it disgusted her.
Had she forced someone to have sex with her? Not that she could picture anyone
forcing Karnon do to anything.
    “No, well it’s not supposed to be like that. Usually the
blood calls a match, in power and in passion, and it’s enjoyable for both
parties. They are taken by a higher power and lose themselves in the act,” he
said, his voice sultry.
    She looked away, heat stirring inside her.
    “Things have changed though. The Calling has become less
popular since the Great Betrayal,” he said.
    “Great Betrayal?”
    His expression made her wish she hadn’t spoken. She had
already revealed how inexperienced she was. She calculated the distance to the
salt line from the corner of her eye.
    “Why would someone of your strength, who calls a demon, not
know our history?”
    Instead of answering she leapt out of the circle. He roared
and jumped after her only to be slammed back by an invisible wall.
    Chest heaving, she stared at him as he slammed his fists
against air, battering the space between them. Eventually he let his hands drop
to his sides. Once certain he couldn’t reach her, she pulled on the remains of
her clothes.
    “Blood-witch,” he spat.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “But I had to.”
    He growled and paced the salt line.
    “Please, stop,” she said, the comparison of a trapped lion
too vivid.
    He froze. She blinked, surprised. Curious, she said, “Stand
on one foot.”
    He lifted a leg. It was funny, except for the murderous
expression on his face. Not willing to play with him anymore she pulled on her
underwear and finished buttoning up her shirt.
    “Do you have to do everything I tell you?”
    He nodded, glowering, still standing on one foot.
    “You can stand on both feet. Do you have to tell me the
truth too?”
    “Yes.”
    “If you are lying, jump up and down.”
    He did not move.
    “What was the Great Betrayal?”
    “A couple decades ago demons disappeared into your world.
When the elders investigated they discovered the demons had been trapped by a
coven of witches who used them in experiments to increase their power. We call
it the Great Betrayal.” Karnon’s jaw clenched.
    “Why was it a betrayal?”
    “Because demons and witches are brethren.”
    “What happened to the witches?” she asked, her voice barely
above a whisper.
    “Other witches stripped their power and demons banned them
from entry to Hell, thus condemning them to walk the Earth forever.”
    “Do all blood-witches go to Hell?” Mira hoped her
grandmother had gone on to a better place, not a fiery pit of the damned.
    “They pass on to other planes but they go through Hell
first, as do the humans. Hell is a crossroads, not a punishment for the damned.
The Greeks better understood it. Hell, the place, is not what mortals believe
it is and we demons are not devils. We are the guides through the crossroads,
as you blood-witches are guides on this plane.”
    “So there are no evil demons?”
    “There are, just like there are evil humans. Your demon
guide is assigned to you based on your soul’s true nature.”
    “Then there is no Hell?”
    “True hell is being stuck here for the rest of eternity,
without being allowed to pass on to other planes.”
    “How many other planes are there?”
    “That is beyond my knowledge.”
    Mira paused to consider the information. If her mother was
performing a Calling spell when she disappeared how had it happened? Trying to
speak in a neutral tone, she asked, “Does it happen the other way around?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Do demons ever trap witches?”
    Karnon would not meet