Excerpt The slouching students rose straight in their chairs, and their bodies leaned to the front. Professor Burtone cleared his throat and cast a nervous glance that met Sedonas eyes. And then he began. Today we do not sacrifice those who are believed to be witches, but still they are persecuted. He started pacing. Usually people will talk ill of them to their faces, and then after awhile, that person will disappear. Its not that theyre secretly and cunningly killed, or that they commit suicide; its that they go into hiding. They hide from the sneers and the evil nicknamesfrom the inhabitants of Coun-sook. Now, they may not all actually be witches, but I do believe that the woman whom I am going to talk about is. And her name is Mercienna Glenoish. Seven years ago, she was accused of murdering two people in Coun-sook. One whom she slaughtered was a native to this village, and the other was his English wife. At this, Professor Burtone shot Sedona a pitying, Im-talking-about-your-parents look, and the girl wished she could just vanish into thin air as everyone else in the class (excluding Caleb Moodruck) turned to stare at her. Trojans face clearly reminded Sedona of Andrews puppy-like expression: it looked sad and pleading, as though he wanted her not to believe what the professor was saying. For a moment or so, Sedona gazed at him, puzzled, but then Professor Burtone continued. No charges were pressed, and she was not sentenced to be hanged. She would have seen the gallows, but the authorities feared her. From the time that she had shown signs of unfaithfulness to the gods, and especially when she had quit the church altogether, people were mocking her and hating her; and then one day she wasnt seen at all. By this time, she had given birth to a small son who was just two years old, and her husband had previously fled Coun-sook. On occasion, Mercienna would go to the market, for she had to eat to survive, of course. And when she did so, she would wear a heavy black cloak with a hood that pulled up over her head. She still lives in the forest, and she still wears that black cloak. But she is a witch, and all of Coun-sook knows it.
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