Read Online Echoes From the Mist by Blayne Cooper - Free Book Online

spinning. She barely heard the sound of the closing of the door. She clenched her fists in frustration, digging short nails into her palms. "Send me away like a child," she muttered to herself. "Of all the stupid…."
    Ignoring Will’s instructions, she stalked past the stool to the bed and stripped off her sodden, torn skirts, blouse, petticoat, and shoes, letting them fall to the floor. She peered down at her sleeveless shift and gave a passing thought to taking it off as well. It was wet and itched, but, with a small shake of her head, she decided against it. She didn’t know these people. And just because they seemed kind, didn’t mean that they were. Her lips formed a thin line. She’d learned that lesson on her wedding night.
    Her body trembled when the cool air hit the bare skin of her arms and she rubbed her hands up and down them briskly, trying to chase away the goose bumps. "I shouldn’t be in here." Faylinn’s heart felt as though it was trapped in a vise. "I can’t help in here," she anguished. She stood there, listening to the rain, wind, and the constant hum of muffled the voices. The urge to bolt from the room was nearly overwhelming. But she continued to wait. Numb.
    Green eyes flew open and her sagging head snapped up. She was falling asleep standing up. Slightly disoriented, she climbed into bed and snuggled down beneath the thin quilt, sinking deeply into the straw mattress, shivering.
    Faylinn closed her eyes tightly. They still burned from the sting of salty seawater. How we made it here from the island in this weather I’ll never know. She’d had to row the entire way herself.
    Will’s words repeated in her mind. ‘It’s in God’s hands.’ She exhaled raggedly, her entire body aching with a bone-weary exhaustion the likes of which she’d never known. Maybe if I sleep, the time will pass more quickly and everything will be all right. Her heart lurched, and she pulled the musty quilt up to her chin, saying a prayer to the God
    she wasn’t sure existed at all. Not for herself, but for someone she loved.
    Her last thoughts before she drifted into a deep slumber were of Bridget and the amazing happenings of Cobb Island. Had it all happened in the past two days? It seemed like weeks. She drifted back, hazy images running together in her mind….
      
    Banging furiously on the bedroom door. "Judith! Where have they taken Bridget? Where, Judith? Dammit! Open the door! Please!"
    The sound of a bolt being thrown and the door opening slowly. The guilty, frightened eyes of her stepdaughter causing her blood to run cold. "She’s to be executed as a witch."
    Feeling dizzy. Sick. "Wh…What?"
    "You’ve got to hurry. You don’t have much time. She’s at the cliffs on the other side of the island. Run, Faylinn."
    A frantic ride on a high-strung, white stallion, through the pouring rain…Thunder booming and the sky opening up all around her.
    Seeing her. Shock. They’re going to burn you at the stake? A flash of lightning showing marred, bloody flesh and weary blue eyes, one nearly swollen shut. My God, Bridget, what have they done to you?
    Flying into her arms…
    The only kiss that ever mattered.
    Pressing a sharp dagger into her hands. "Please live!"
    A timeless moment. ‘I love you!’ being screamed louder than the rolling thunder, without a single word being spoken.
    The cliff? She can’t… Not for me. Not for anything! Don’t, Bridget. "No, Bridget. Nooo!!"
      
    Faylinn bolted upright and the quilt and rough linens pooled at her waist. Her heart was pounding. "My God." She lifted a shaky hand to her face and willed herself to start breathing normally.
    Once she’d caught her breath, green eyes shifted sideways. The fire was still burning brightly and had managed to knock the chill out of the air. By the looks of the torch on the wall, she couldn’t have been asleep for more than an hour or two.
    Her head was still throbbing but she wasn’t as miserably cold as she’d been earlier. I