Page 97 of The Secret of Drulea Cottage
The doctor looked like he wanted to ask more, but he held back and replied, “Then I wish you all the luck in the world. Be careful.”
Briony smiled and—
“Briony, is that him out there?” Dr. Sherwin pointed with a look of alarm. “What’s he holding?”
Briony followed the doctor’s finger and almost wept with relief at the sight of the mad fisherman racing through the street.He has the skin! We’re saved!
“Mr. McLaren, over here!” Briony waved her arms in the air.
Vincent turned toward her voice, and when he saw who it was, he grinned and held up the pelt triumphantly.
Briony stepped out into the rain to meet him, Dr. Sherwin on her heels, but then—
CRACK!
The sound was so loud it was deafening. At the same time, a flash of light flew across Briony’s vision just for an instant before it was gone. And yet, despite its evanescence, there was no way it could have gone unnoticed.
For what it left behind could not be undone.
Briony and Vincent locked eyes—Did he get struck?But then Briony heard the sound of a fall from behind. She spun around and gasped, the truth hitting her as painfully as a real lightning bolt. There, at her feet, lay Dr. Sherwin.
The man was facedown, his clothes scorched in several places as steam rose from his body. Briony knelt and turned him over, praying against all odds that he was somehow all right.
“Dr. Sherwin?Ewan?Wake up!” The man’s eyes were closed as though he was sleeping, but Briony knew better. A red leaf-like pattern had appeared on the doctor’s skin, starting at the right side of his neck and snaking under his clothes until it reemerged at the base of his elbow. The lightning had gone directly through him.
Briony shook Dr. Sherwin’s shoulders as hard as she could, screaming all the while. “Ewan Sherwin, wake up!Yer the town doctor! We need you too much fer you to leave like this!”
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, but she jerked her head toward the intruder with a snarl. Vincent McLaren flinched back, letting his hand drop to his side.
“What?!Why aren’ you helping me wake him? He has to wake up! He has to…” But she looked back down at the immobile form before her, a mere shell of the man she’d grown so fond of in recent weeks. “He can’ be gone…”
Briony dissolved into great, heaving sobs that carried over the booming storm. A flood of rain descended on her head, and the lightning bolts started fading around her. The sky seemed to weep with her as she mourned this loss, one that hurt more deeply than she would have expected. Ewan Sherwin had always been very reserved, and there was much about him he’d never shared with her, but Briony had learned enough to know she would miss him dearly. Others in the village would grieve the death of a great doctor, but she cried for a lost friend.
She remembered what he had just declared inside the church, and at that moment, she made a promise, a promise to Dr. Sherwin and a promise to herself.
No matter what, I will no longer let myself be mistreated. I’m na going to just accept the taunts and judgment in silence anymore. As Dr. Sherwin stood up fer me, now I’m going to stand up fer myself.
Again, Mr. McLaren’s hand found its way to her shoulder, but this time, Briony accepted it gratefully. It helped her recognize that even in the wake of such tragedy, she wasn’t alone.Aye, there are still others who support me and will help me get through this. That is, if I live long enough to do so.
She looked up through her tears at the cause of her heartache, but he was so far up the hill that she could barely see him. A mess of black hair and rage, Niall’s silhouette reminded Briony of the nightmares she’d been plagued with since her mother’s death. All of them had included the ocean, but many had also contained a mysterious shadowy figure that brought about Bethany’s death. Briony had often thought it was just a manifestation of her fears, but the strong similarities between Niall and the nightmare man were unmistakable.
Briony shook her head at her thoughts.This is no nightmare. This is real life, and Niall is na invulnerable. He may na be human, but he has a weakness. One that could save the lives o’ everyone else here.
With a surge of renewed determination, Briony looked to the sealskin still clutched in Mr. McLaren’s fingers. “You got it.”
“Aye, I did. Had to get around those awful foreigners. They wanted to know what I was holding and nearly forced me onto their ship. But then one o’ them got…” He trailed off and looked pointedly at the doctor. “It gave me enough time to run before they’d noticed I’d gone. But I was na fast enough. If I’d just gotten here sooner—”
Briony noticed the sadness in his voice and took the man’s hand from her shoulder before giving it a gentle squeeze. “This is na yer doing.”
Mr. McLaren frowned. “I hope yer na implying ’tis yers!”
Briony said nothing for a long moment and just stared at the still-warm corpse in front of her. “Regardless o’ who’s to blame, one thing is certain:this ends now.”
She focused her energy on the storm above her, calling to it with her mind. Using all her willpower, she pushed the darkness and rain away from her in all directions, creating a small circle of blue sky that extended from the church up to Everton Inn. She tried to push it further, but Niall’s power was too great.This is as far as I can go. Fer now.
Mr. McLaren gazed up in amazement. “What are you doing?”
Briony smiled. “Bringing attention to myself.” She grabbed the sealskin from the fisherman’s hand before he could react and dashed toward the hill. Toward Drulea Cottage, the only home she’d ever known, and toward Niall Moreland, the man who’d told her who she really was.
