29 Chapter 29: One Way or Another (1/2)

SALEM: The road was muddy from the rain. The horse was well rested and we made steady progress. No passerbys. The air was filled with the smells of rain: mud, dead leaves and wet sunshine. The grass glistened, like morning dew.

By the afternoon it was time to think about where stay. I had no place in mind and no place to go. On this particular stretch of road, there were no travel inns. We'd have to camp tonight. But the ground was wet. The only choice was to sleep in the cart.

With a witch.

I glanced behind me.

Elina was unusually quiet. Instead of sitting in the front seat, she had chosen to lie among the corn in the back. She stared at the sky, her silver eyes reflecting the vast blue.

At first I enjoyed the silence. But then it began to bother me. Because Elina would always be saying something. To get under my skin. To bother me.

But she said nothing.

Eventually I broke the silence.

”What are you thinking about?” I asked.

”Hmmm...”

Nothing more. I looked back. Her expression was vague. Her eyes looking at nothing in particular. She didn't seem bored. But something else.

Melancholy. That is what I sensed. Or something along the lines of that. I don't pretend to understand women. Much less witches.

Although Yulia would say that is precisely why I'm not married.

...

Anyways.

I said, ”Are you thinking about what Julia told you? What awaits you in Merkelborough?”

”Hmmm...”

”Or how a witch can love a witch hunter?”

”Hmmm...”

I don't think I can get her to talk. At least not about what Julia told her. The more I asked the worse it would get. Because if I showed interest, then she'd continue to use that information as a bargaining chip. For something that isn't a commodity. Trust.

Let's see if she's willing to talk about something else.

”You said witches need to find a human lover in order to...reproduce.”

”Mh-hmm...”

”Which means every witch has parents.”

”That's right.”

”Are witches raised by a mother?”