A Grave Inheritance (43 page)

Disease. Murder. Madness.
If allowed too far in, these thoughts would drive me to despair. I had to be strong for Nora’s sake, to leave behind the various nightmares that littered Deri’s path—the pox, a mangled body, a man pushed to the edge of his humanity. My head fell forward, and I caught the mantel for support.

Henry’s letter crinkled in my other hand, as though speaking of its own accord.
Forgive me...before you reach the oak grove...mine forever.
His words echoed in my heart.

“Oh, Henry,” I murmured.

I would reach the grove, of that I was certain. But then what? The questions poured into me, and I would have drowned if not for the one truth that gripped my soul—Henry and I were stronger together. And despite his attempt to keep me safe, I would stand beside him when he went amongst the oak trees to kill a devil. Or to be killed.

A tear fell from my cheek to the fire below where it sizzled to nothing on the hot stones. I brushed the remaining wetness away. Then straightening my shoulders, I dropped his letter into the flames. When only ash remained, I turned and walked away. Whether in this world or the next, our forever would begin in Ireland.

* * * * *

About the Author

Kari Edgren did not dream of becoming a writer. Instead, she dreamed of everything else and was often made to stay inside during kindergarten recess to practice her letters. Despite doting parents and a decent school system, Ms. Edgren managed to make it through elementary school having completed only one book cover to cover—
The Boxcar Children
, which she read approximately forty-seven times. Things improved during high school, but not until she read Gabrielle García Márquez’s
One Hundred Years of Solitude
in college, did she truly understand the power of a book.

Ms. Edgren aspires to be a Vulcan, a world-acclaimed opera singer, and two inches taller. She resides in the Pacific Northwest where she spends a great deal of time torturing her husband and children with strange food and random historical facts. Ms. Edgren hasn’t stopped dreaming, but has finally mastered her letters enough to put the stories on paper.

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ISBN-13: 9781426899270

A Grave Inheritance

Copyright © 2014 by Kari Edgren Miller

Edited by Kerri Buckley

All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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