Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
It’s nighttime here as well, and a blanket of stars covers the dark sky above me. There’s a fountain in the courtyard in front of the large house, complete with uplighting and perfectly kept flower beds. Lights glow from inside the house, and though it already looks quite large from where I’m standing, I can tell it’s impossibly big by the energy it emits. There’s another building to the right, set back slightly. Lights are on inside that one too, and I can see people moving around inside. Music softly floats from it, and I’m getting the sense that it’s a bar of some sort.
A wide cement sidewalk connects the building to the mansion. Beyond it, I can see the dark shadows of even more buildings. Someone exits the mansion and walks toward the other building. The music gets louder when the door swings open, and I catch a glimpse of people sitting around tables.
It is a bar. With food. And drinks. And people acting like this is totally normal.
“Sorry,” I say when I realize several minutes have passed. “This is just…”
“A lot,” Marie finishes for me.
“Yes.” I look around again. “I had no idea this existed.”
“I know,” she tells me. “And I feel like telling you I’m sorry it took so long for you to finally come home only goes so far.” I turn, realizing I haven’t even looked behind me yet. The two arched trees are still there, but instead of a doorway buzzing with energy, there’s just a regular door between them. I walk around it and find that it looks like a normal door from the other side too.
“Do you want to step out and come back in?” Marie asks. “I know that would make you feel better.”
“No,” I tell her. “I’m okay.”
I rationalize that she probably wouldn’t have offered if it weren’t possible. I shake my head a few times, adjust my purse across my body, and give her a look that says I’m ready to keep going.
“Where would you like to start?” Marie asks.
“I don’t even know,” I reply slowly, looking around as I take everything in. I walked through a portal, and now it’s like I’m standing in Disney’s Port Orleans Square. I don’t understand how portals work. I don’t think I’ll ever understand, and I think it’s one of those situations where the more I try to understand, the more my head will hurt.
But I’m here, and there are giant buildings and a sky above me. There’s even a slight breeze gently rustling the trees that surround the courtyard.
“How about a tour?” Marie asks.
“Yes, please.” I look toward the largest building. “What’s that?”
“That is our main building,” she begins. “It’s where we host our coven gatherings and any sort of formal celebrations. It also houses Crescent Moon Academy.”
“Academy? You mean a magic school? Like Hogwarts?”
She laughs. “I mean, I suppose that’s a fair comparison, though we teach other things as well. Our science program is among the best in the South, if I may say so myself.”
“But you teach magic here?”
“Yes,” she replies simply. “Everyone who attends Crescent Moon Academy is capable of magic. Most of the witches here come from long lines of magic, but we do occasionally see someone where the gift skipped a generation as magical and non-magical families merged. This particular school has been here for nearly two hundred years. I went here, as did my father.”
“This might be a dumb question, but are male witches called wizards or warlocks?”
“Typically, we say warlocks because wizard sounds a little too comedic.” She laughs. “But witch can be used as a broad term for anyone with the gift. Throughout history, however, females have tended to be more blessed with the gift than males.”
“Makes sense.” I shrug.
Marie motions for us to walk, and I fall into step beside her. It’s quiet except for the soft music from the bar and the gentle chorus of crickets coming from the dark, presumably magical forest surrounding this place. Marie opens the large front door, stepping aside so I can walk through first.
The place looks like any grand former plantation home in the South. It has a fancy foyer with a big, expensive chandelier, but the moment I step inside, I can tell there’s something more to the building. It expands far beyond the size it appears from the outside, and I can sense all sorts of magic pulsating from every square inch.
“Straight ahead is our gathering room,” she says as we walk forward. The large double doors are closed, and she quietly cracks one open so I can peer inside. At first glance, it reminds me of a church. There’s an altar at the front, but instead of a cross, there’s a large crescent moon glowing against a floor-to-ceiling window. My mind immediately goes to thinking it’s some sort of projection or hologram, but now that I’m here, I know better.