All Chapters of Shadows In The Fire: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

‘The doctors say its something called early onset dementia, ’Eli said softly. ’He forgets a lot and he doesn’t speak much anymore. Sometimes he cries and sometimes he just bursts into laughter and some days he doesn’t even remember me.’Faye and Deb passed a look between them and then focused their attention on the man sitting in the wheelchair in the garden at the back of the house. He had a newspaper on his lap, but all he did was stare into the distance. It seemed as if he didn’t even blink. Faye could hardly believe this was the same man who had shared so many dinners at their house while she was growing up. He had been so full of life. His dark hair was almost completely grey and the lines on his face made him seem years older than what he was. ‘I’m so sorry, Eli, ’Faye said. ’I had no idea. How long has he been like this? ’ ‘About a year now. Its gotten progressively worse, especially after my mother passed on.’‘Its tragic, ’Deb said. ’Does he remember muc

The English Coast,1794 Mathilda paced anxiously up and down the cold floor. The others were late, and the sleeping herb she had mixed into the soup would soon wear off and Tobias would wake up. He was a light sleeper and since he had forbidden her to leave the house, this was the only way for her to meet the others. Right now he was sleeping soundly, along with Mary and Esther and none of them should know what she was planning. She opened the door. The night was pitch dark and already it was drizzling. She loved the smell of the rain mixed with that of the ocean. It always calmed her senses and brought her closer to nature. She could barely see anything in the dark for a few minutes and then she saw the glow of an advancing lantern. Finally, they were coming. They would have to be quick in getting to the church, the only place they could meet in secret.She closed the door and pulled her cloak tighter around her as the advancing figure reached her, out of breath

‘Where am I? ’Faye asked. At the sound of her voice, candles flared into life and she saw she was in a church, standing at the altar. Not any church, but the one which had burnt down so long ago. She was wearing her wedding dress and when she reached up to touch her hair, it was styled as it was the day she married Nolan, pulled back in a simple, tight bun. ‘This church has seen much through the years.’Faye spun around. The woman who had spoken to her was tall, with beautiful emerald eyes. She came closer to her and Faye wondered why she was not recoiling from this stranger. She felt so familiar, as if she knew her. ‘I am Mathilda, ’she said, reaching up to caress Faye’s cheek. ’You have never seen me as this before.’‘Never. . . . ’Faye replied, ’always you are burnt in my dreams. Why am I seeing you like this now?’ ‘Because your life almost ended, ’Mathilda said. ’If it had, I would be here to meet you for your journey into the next world.’ ‘Almost? ’Faye a

‘What will I remember? ’Faye asked, speaking to the living corpse before her. ’How will it help me protect your daughter?’The corpse of Mathilda fell forward. Her arm had come away and it seemed as if her whole body would soon crumble to pieces as her right leg too, broke free from her body. She was suspended in a grotesque hanging motion, swaying from side to side. ‘You will remember the gift within you, ’she answered, ’the gift to weather the coming storm and the evil it brings. . . . it has already begun. . . . your enemy is in your world, biding its time. ’ ‘Must I fear it? ’Faye asked. ’Is it too powerful for me to stand against? ’ ‘You must respect your foe, and great it is, but you must never fear it, or else all will be lost, ’Mathilda answered. Before Faye could ask her anything more, all that remained of Mathilda, was dust blowing in the wind. …………….‘There was a sense of finality to the dream, ’Faye sa

Days Later...‘Your father was a good man. . . ’ ‘I will always remember his kindness. . . ’ ‘He’s in a better place now. . . ’ Faye watched as Eli greeted all the mourners on their way out, acknowledging all the things they said about his dad, with a gracious nod of his head and a mechanical smile which showed he was just going through the motions. Pastor Evans was dead and they had just come from his funeral, for which all of Kirkwood had turned out, to pay their last respects to a man, who for years had been such a visible and comforting presence in their lives. The last three days had been rough on Eli. The official story was that the pastor had gone to open the window and then had somehow lost his footing and fell out of it, but Faye and Eli both knew better. Somehow, the pastor’s death was directly linked to the spirit which had attached itself to him, for reasons as yet unknown. Mary. . . . the more Faye thought about that name, the more she