Demon Wind by Kay wilde Read Free Book Online Page A

tone of her voice added more.
    "Drink up, it’s a long story," Emma suggested.
    "We have all night," Tyce said, then settled back in his chair. He was a doctor, a man of science, so to speak. He relied on documented facts with substantiated data. As such, he was still in a state of disbelief from everything that had happened in the past few days. If Emma Morrison could help them make sense of it all, no matter how farfetched her story might be, he was prepared to listen with an open mind.
    Emma tipped the iced-tea-colored liquor from the decanter into her own cup. "As near as Robert could pinpoint, it all started back in the early 1800's, with a young woman by the name of Rachel Connor, and her Spanish lover Nicolo. We were never able to discover Nicolo’s last name. Rachel was the only daughter of a local merchant who had arranged a marriage for her with the son of a wealthy ship builder.
    While taking her usual morning walk on the beach, Rachel met Nicolo, an Italian sailor, who, according to the rigid class distinctions of the time, was far beneath her social standing in the community. Soon Rachel and Nicolo were walking together every day and as you might expect, they fell in love. Knowing her father would never stand for their romance, the young lovers took to meeting secretly and as her arranged marriage approached, Nicolo and Rachel began making plans to run away together. When offered the opportunity to make some quick money by helping to crew a ship making a delivery up the coast, Nicolo accepted. The ship was to return within a week. Unfortunately, it returned without Nicolo.
    The captain claimed he had been swept overboard during a freak storm, but Rachel suspected that her father had discovered their relationship and had paid the captain to murder her lover."
    "The night the ship docked, servants spoke of a violent quarrel between father and daughter, after which Rachel ran from the house. Her shawl was found on the beach where Rachel and Nicolo first met. She was never seen again. It’s believed that Rachel loved Nicolo so deeply that she couldn’t bear living without him, nor the thought of being forced to marry the man chosen for her by her father, so she walked into the ocean to join the man she loved."
    Jayden wasn’t aware that she was crying until Tyce put a handkerchief into her hand. "That’s an incredibly sad and tragic story, Emma," she said after she wiped her eyes. "But how does it relate to the Demon Wind legend?"
    file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/custo...-Books/Demon%20Wind%20Kay%20Wilde%20NCP.htm (27 of 32) [8/28/2005 7:16:39 PM]
    "I’m getting to that," Emma told them, then proceeded to pour fresh tea into their cups. "What is commonly called the Demon Wind by the local legend, is in fact, Rachel and Nicolo. The conclusion Robert and I reached was based upon excerpts from diaries, journals, and interviews with couples who claim to have encountered the Demon Wind."
    "And that conclusion was?" Tyce prompted.
    "That where ever Rachel and Nicolo are, they seem to be able to recognize soulmates, and have taken it upon themselves to bring those people together. To give others the happiness that was taken from them.
    After years of research, Robert was unable to find a single incident where the couple brought together by Rachel and Nicolo were not married as a result, nor of a single divorce from the union. In every case, the couple reported only one possession type encounter. It was as if once they brought a couple together, the rest was up to them. I know that I loved my Robert as much the day the Good Lord took him home, as I did the day I married him, more than sixty years ago. We figured compared to all the happy years we had together, sharing that first night we were together with the spirits of Rachel and Nicolo was a small price to pay. And if sharing our bodies that night allowed them to also experience what we felt, I couldn’t be happier."
    Jayden looked at Tyce, who responded with