Prison of Hope Read Free Page B

between me and something so evil that I was certain I couldn’t have beaten it. She’d stopped me from getting hurt more than I’d already been, possibly saving my life in the process. Considering the attention he’d get from both Tommy and me, I almost pitied th e first boy she’d bring home. Almost.
    Kasey sat opposite me, and I noticed that one of the parents farther down the carriage was giving me an evil glare. She’d been doing it on and off since I’d arrived at the train station, although I had no idea what I’d actually done to earn her wrath.
    “Her name is Mara Range,” said a young woman sitting on the opposite side of the aisle to Tommy, Kasey, and me. She had dark hair that was almost black, tied back in a ponytail. She wore a simple light-blue T-shirt, the same color as her eyes, with a picture of Led Zeppelin on the front. It hugged her figure, showing off both her athletic body and the tattoo that stopped just above the crease of her elbow. I couldn’t make out what it was, but the reds and purples certainly made it appear colorful.
    “Sorry—I saw you glance over at her. I’m Emily Rowe,” she said quickly and shook my hand and then Kasey’s and Tommy’s. “I’m one of the lucky people chosen to help with the rabble. No offense.” She aimed her last words at Kasey.
    “None taken,” Kasey said. “Your nails are awesome.”
    Emily wiggled her fingers, and indeed the little skull and crossbones on each nail must have taken some time and effort to achieve.
    I had slightly more important things to consider, though. “And why does this Mara woman suddenly have an issue with me?” I asked.
    “She’s a witch,” Emily said. “A lot of the coven members are on this trip. Unfortunately, because most of the higher ranked members stayed home. Mara is in charge of the coven.”
    I sighed. “Great. Nice to know there’s going to be a frosty reception for the next few days.”
    “Why?” Kasey asked. “I don’t understand what you’ve done. You’ve never even met these people.”
    “A lot of witches don’t like sorcerers,” I said.
    “Why?”
    I opened my mouth to explain and then stopped, I wasn’t really sure how much to tell her. On the other hand, if I avoided the question, she’d never stop asking. “What do you know about witches?”
    “They can use magic, but don’t have an innate talent for it,” she said as if she were reading from a book.
    “Something like that, yes,” I said. “Basically, witches are, for all intents and purposes, human. They could easily live a normal human life with no magic at all. But a long time ago, some humans were taught how to use runes to access magic. Unfortunately, where I have the innate ability to use it from birth, they have to make themselves access it. And whenever witches use magic, instead of extending their life, it actually takes time away from it. The more powerful the magic, the more life is taken.”
    “So they can’t extend it at all?” Kasey asked, slightly shocked.
    “There is very dark blood magic that allows witches to extend their life by hurting and killing people. Some witches aligned themselves with certain powerful people in Avalon who convinced them that sorcerers were keeping the magic from them. That was a few thousand years ago, and over time witches have maintained a very bad view of sorcerers. They think we’re trying to keep them down and not allow them to reach their potential—that we show off just to rub their noses in it.”
    “They’re jealous?”
    I nodded. “That’s the sum of it. After such a long time of being told it, many witches believe the lie.”
    “And what do sorcerers think of witches?” Kasey asked.
    “We don’t,” I said with a shrug. “They’re not powerful enough to concern us for the most part, and those that are will kill themselves well before they become noticed by Avalon. Occasionally , one of them does some dark stuff—killing a sorcerer for blood was an old trick