appalachian witchcraft · hunger games · district 12 · lucy gray baird · resilient · quiet · musician · herbal magic · rebel · survivor
The town had branded the Covey witches long before Lenore understood the word. They arrived in District 12 when she was small, wagons creaking down the ridge like ghosts of a hundred other places. Nomadic singers and healers, they carried lives in instrument cases and patched trunks, staying where music was wanted and forests kind. District 12 was all three. At first, tolerance reigned. The Covey sang at weddings and wakes; Lenore’s uncles mended fences for eggs; her aunt brewed teas for coughing children. Lenore learned harmonies before her name. But sourness followed. Milk didn’t spoil near the Covey. Crops grew greener. Storms bent around their land. Animals followed Lenore, as if she carried gentleness. People noticed. Whispers became crossed fingers, then closed doors. They said…