Read Online Angel's Fury by Bryony Pearce - Free Book Online

jumped to my feet. ‘Wait a minute! I don’t want to remember this stuff more clearly. You’re supposed to be finding a way to get rid of my nightmares.’
    The Doctor cocked her head at me. ‘You need to experience these repressed emotions on a conscious level so you can learn to deal with them on every level: waking and sleeping.’
    As if my legs had been cut out from under me I sagged back into the chair.
    The Doctor removed a glossy brochure from her desk drawer and addressed Mum. ‘Look at this and get back to me, Mrs Farrier. We can talk about a financial plan later, if it’s an issue, but if I’m really to help, I need your daughter
here
.’ A manicured nail brushed the front of the leaflet.
    I craned my neck as mum turned the brochure over. It looked like a country house. ‘I-is this is where you wanted to take her thirteen years ago?’
    The tip of a very pink tongue appeared between the Doctor’slips. ‘It’s a facility where I work with a small team on
real
cases of reincarnation. If you decide you want my help, your daughter would have to move in. She would receive the best physiological and psychiatric care, all the techniques we talked about.’ She glanced at me. ‘We also have a pool and tennis court for leisure time.’
    Absently Mum gave her stock answer. ‘Cassie doesn’t like the water.’
    I leaned over her arm for a better view of the brochure. ‘How long would I have to stay?’
    ‘Until we agree you’ve made progress.’ The Doctor shrugged. ‘Normally a few
months
.’
    ‘A few months.’ Mum’s head shot up. ‘What about school?’
    The Doctor shrugged. ‘I can see you have a lot to think about. Don’t hesitate to call the office once you’ve made your decision.’
    Our appointment was over.

P ART T HREE
I NCARCERATION
    ‘Heaven shall remain closed to you . . . Unless the spirits you created in your lust overcome the restrictions of their fleshly bodies you will remain in this prison until the end of the world.’

C HAPTER S EVEN
MOUNT HERMON
    S omething had come loose. It had been rattling in the boot for the last ten miles. Dad twitched every time it knocked into my case but he didn’t stop to fix it.
    ‘It’s raining again,’ Mum murmured.
    It had been a nice day when we’d set off but sporadic showers had begun just beyond Leeds: they changed lumbering lorries into terrifying beasts and painted the world grey.
    Now off the motorway the colours changed and all around us rambling dry-stone walls cut across moors that glowed silver and mauve through the sheets of rain. It almost looked as if we were driving underwater.
    Despite the jolting of the pock-marked roads I held my forehead to the window. I should have been feeling anticipation or excitement, but instead my stomach rolled with a jumble of travel sickness and queasy dread.
    After a while I rubbed the tops of my shoulders and wondered if I could face Mum’s concern if I asked for a Nurofen.
    Dad glanced at Mum. ‘Have you got the map?’ It was the first time he’d spoken since we’d left the motorway.
    Mum unfolded a piece of A4 paper from her handbag and a lump settled in my throat.
    We must be nearly there.
    Mum obviously thought so too, because she turned in her seat. ‘You’ll behave, won’t you?’
    I nodded.
    Dad grunted. ‘Don’t think this is some sort of holiday. You’ll work to get well and when you come home you’ll study. Seeing as you won’t be able to do your exams this year, I expect your grades next year to be massively improved.’
    I thought about the part-time work I’d just given up. ‘I’ll help pay for this. I can get another job.’
    Dad jerked and Mum twisted aginst her seatbelt. ‘You’ll do no such thing.’ Her shoulders dropped. ‘Pumpkin, if you want to get a part-time job when you get home, that’s up to you. We want you to enjoy feeling healthy and happy, and if getting a job is part of it, that’s okay, but the money you earn, you keep. Dad and I are paying