In the vast majority of cases, her great-grandmother said, witchcraft of the malicious kind does not amount to great harm. Witches may toy with a person, sour a day or two of their life, then move on to other matters. Their magic is often slight. A few witches, the ones born on a propitious day, who descend from a lineage of powerful witches, might attack in more nefarious manners. Yet they are often opportunistic creatures—stealing a hog to get back at a neighbor who slighted them might be the most they would attempt. But a bewitchment, that is a different tale. It is a campaign, a siege.
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