"Your Grandmother was the best village Silvertongue this side of the Woods. She told stories so well it was as if she breathed life into the words. Was it magic? It might well have been. No one could do what she could. No, not even me! And I've been practising all my life. Maybe you'll inherit the gift, little one. She always said it was something born, not made.
No, that doesn't make her a witch! You mustn't believe your Mam. Grandmother's stories might have made you hungry, or frightened, or so happy your face hurt with smiling, but it was all harmless fun! And they're important! Don't you remember? They give you warnings. Teach you lessons. Tell you your future — and give you a chance to change it. The stories aren't real, but the lesson is. That's why she tells them. Better than school, no?
Yes, you still have to go to school, little one. Remember what I said?
What was my favourite story? Would you like me to tell you? I won't be able to tell it as well as she did, mind you. But I'll do my best. Lean forward a bit. I'll plait your hair for bed while I do it. Come now. That's it.
Now. Shall we begin?"
YOU ARE READING
To Kill a Witch (ONC 2024 SHORTLIST)
FantasyStories say that the Witch rained curses down on Devil's Corner, that she made the woods grow strange and wild, made shadows leap and dance and snatch up stray children for supper. In a small town on the edge of a dangerous forest, stories are never...
