Free The Burning Time by J. G. Faherty Page B

until he came to the section he needed. As he read from the text, the words rose from the page, becoming three-dimensional. The stink of sulfur and rotten flesh filled the air, and the black candles he’d placed in each corner of the room flickered as gusts of hot wind appeared from nowhere.
    An image appeared over the desk, wavering and blurred, like the picture on a dying television set. However, it remained clear enough for Christian to make out the sleeping form of John Root. He read the words again, louder, trying to get a clearer look, but the image broke into hundreds of tiny pieces that fell to the floor like ashes from a fire.
    “No matter,” Christian whispered, as the multi-colored sparkles faded away. “Now I know for sure that it’s you.” That was all he needed.
    He walked around the office, extinguishing the candles and turning off all the lights, saving the small desk lamp for last. In the resulting darkness, strange glyphs and symbols became visible on the ceiling, glowing with a faint purple luminescence, the way certain liquids will glow under an ultraviolet light.
    Christian lay on the floor and concentrated on the glyphs.
    “Find her,” he whispered. “Find the one who waits for another. Show her to me.”
    Slowly, moving in fractions of inches at first and then gradually picking up speed, the glyphs shifted position, rotating around an invisible axis until a whirlpool design took shape. Keeping his attention on the swirling design, he repeated his words over and over.
    “Find her. Show her to me. Find her. Show her to me.”
    Something took shape in the center of the ghostly maelstrom. It grew larger, taking on definition. The face of a young woman, her cheeks stained with mascara-polluted tears, her eyes red from crying.
    Her name appeared in Christian’s head.
    April Kohl.
    Perfect.
    “April Kohl, listen to me. It doesn’t have to be this way. You can be rid of this sadness that he’s caused you. You can be happy again. All you have to do...”
    On the other side of town, seventeen-year-old April Kohl sat up in her bed.
    “...is what I tell you. Then I will free you from this pain, and he will love you forever.”
    Love me forever. That was all she’d wanted. That was all she’d asked Jack to do, just love her forever. But he couldn’t even do that.
    “Not then, but if you do as I say, April, he will love you.”
    “Tell me.”
    The voice told her. As she listened, a smile grew on her face. How easy! And then I’ll be happy forever.
    She lay back against her pillows and drifted down into a dreamless sleep. Outside, dogs howled and thunder rumbled, but the sounds no longer seemed threatening.
    They seemed...right.
     
    *   *   *
     
    The smell of fresh-brewed coffee, fried eggs, and bacon greeted John like a long-lost friend as he entered Rosie’s Diner. As much as he hated to admit it, stopping for coffee and a muffin in the morning before heading to Danni’s house had become one of the most enjoyable parts of his day. The people were friendly, the muffins were baked right in the kitchen, the coffee was just the way he liked it—a hint of bitterness and chicory—and for those few minutes while he sat at the counter and ate, he felt almost like he belonged.
    So it was kind of a shock when no one said ”Good morning” as he took a seat at the counter. Anna, the usual waitress, gave him a cold stare. “Can I help you?”
    Word of Showalter’s suspicions must have already made the rounds, he realized. Now half the town will be thinking I’m a child molester, and the other half will think I’m a murderer.
    “I’ll have a black coffee and a blueberry muffin, please.” Anna nodded once, her usual smile hijacked by a tight-lipped frown. Several other people stared at him with similar expressions.
    “Hi, there,” a voice said from behind him.
    He swiveled around on his stool, found himself face to face with a pretty girl of about seventeen.
    “Hello. Can I help you with