Scarlet Curse (N.M)

Chapter 8

Selene sent Damon a warning glare.

"It's good for me. Jenna?" Andie asked.

"I don't know if tonight works..." Eric said, clearly uncomfortable.

"I'm free," Jenna added.

"It'd be a pleasure." Elijah agreed.

"Great," Damon smirked.

********

Selene, Jenna, and Andie are preparing the table for dinner.

"So what's going on with you and my dad? I feel like there's some tension." Selene raised her eyebrows.

"I don't know. I like him. It's more than like, and I want it to work, but I can't help but feel that he's hiding something from me. And then I've got John whispering things in my ear about him." Selene's smile was wiped off her face.

"Like what?" Andie asked.

"Things I don't want to believe. Things I don't believe, not if they're coming from John's mouth."

"Oh. Well, there you go, then. Trust is the key to any relationship. I mean, I am so grateful that Damon tells me everything."

"Anyways, what about you, Sel, any special man or woman in your life." Jenna wiggled her eyebrows.

The brunette suddenly grew nervous, not expecting the question. "Me... no, no, I'm single." Her mind flashed images of Nik.

*******

Everyone sat around the table for dinner. "I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town." Jenna started.

"Hmm, do tell." He acted all interested.

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years, they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution." Elijah explained.

"Hmm. Because they were witches." Jenna finished.

"Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem." Andie countered.

"Andie's a journalist. Big on facts."

"Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighbouring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire. Could you pass the..." He continued.

"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society." Jenna interfered.

"It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me." John input.

"So why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?" Damon asked.

"You know... a healthy historian's curiosity, of course."

"Of course."

********

The others start to get up. Damon looks at Andie. "The gentlemen should take their drinks in the study."