Echoes Through the Mist: A Paranormal Mystery (The Echoes Quartet Book 1) by K. Francis Ryan Read Free Book Online Page B

you leave me,” he said softly.
    “In a way, yes.” He heard a slight catch in her voice and she continued. “It is very hard, but yes. Not to sound melodramatic, but this is where your road begins, Julian. And for you to start, I must leave you. If it comforts you, know that you and I are connected. In that way I will always be with you.”
    “Will I see you again?”
    “Yes.” She said it with sincerity and a surety he found comforting. “Reginald will miss your driving and will insist.” Julian smiled.
    “Julian, there is something you need to know.” Her voice was a whisper. “I can see none of it clearly, which in itself is worrying. There is something amiss here. I cannot explain it more precisely. What I do know with some precision is that you and your teacher desperately need one another. You can imagine that is not the usual case, but there is something different here. I can only say your teacher needs you.”
    They stood awhile together lost in their respective thoughts. Bridget Bragonier drew a breath, let it out slowly and said, “It is time, Julian.” She took his hand in hers and closed her eyes. The current that passed through her burned and affirmed and calmed him.
    “You know,” Julian said with a tightness in his throat. “I don’t believe any of this. I’m just looking for a nice quiet place, someplace where people won’t bother me and I can gather myself.”
    Bridget smiled and shook her head. “Yes, the improbable is always possible if that makes you feel better.”
    Julian picked up his duffle bag and took his first steps. His world had changed, had shifted. He did not look back at his friend, could not look back – at anything ever again.

Chapter Five
     
    He walked for several miles, but the sun and the bite of the sea breeze made the walking easy. At the crest of a high hill, Julian saw a small village in the distance. Heather and laurel grew in abundance along the road leading down to it and the countryside’s countless shades of green were shocking. Each pasture had its own version and vied in unruly competition with its neighbors.
    The rich odor of wet grass, leaves and heavy black soil was oddly comforting. He moved along at a steady pace, hurrying neither his arrival nor his departure.
    He entered the village well before noon. A squat building that looked newly minted rose up on his right flanked by a small pond. The sign above the front door marked it as the police station with the Gaelic words Garda Síochána. A short distance beyond, Julian noticed that the main portion of the town began.
    The central dirt road became broader and was lined with clapboard storefronts. It was a place unencumbered by city planning or urban development specialists. The buildings were of strangely similar construction, but style was another matter altogether.
    A stark white building rose up on Julian's right. No name or number marked the building, but there was no mistaking what it was. A large golden caduceus was painted on the front window. Julian was familiar with the medical symbol, but the intertwined snakes on this one seemed somehow more aggressive than the benign versions he had seen before.
    Across the dusty road and opposite the doctor’s office was O’Gavagan’s Pub. Julian tried the door. Locked. Next to the pub was Flynn’s General Store, also shuttered and locked. On the other side of the street, next to a repair shop, was an institution painted all in black called Mulherin’s Pub. Again, locked.
    Julian noted movement in a shop marked Apothecary next to Flynn’s Store. He opened the door, walked in and the tinkle of a small bell announced his arrival. He heard hushed voices from the back of the store and two women of identical appearance made their way through a curtained doorway behind the counter.
    Both women were dressed in long black skirts and short black jackets, over dazzling white blouses. Each wore her hair in an identical bun arrangement and each had a small