Ammie, Come Home (24 page)
Authors: Barbara Michaels
“I'm freezing,” Bruce said crankily. “And I've already missed one class today. Since I've got to get that damned degree before Sara's mother will let us get marriedâ¦.”
“It's easier than dragons,” Ruth pointed out.
“One thing still bugs me,” Pat remarked, as they started to turn away from the quiet earth, now blanketed by the soft white purity of the snow. “The voice. It must have been Douglass. But it sounded so patheticâ¦.”
“No,” Ruth said. “Haâbeat you to it, Bruce. You know everything, so you must have an idea about this too. You never did think the voice was Douglass, did you?”
“No.” Bruce drew lines in the snow with his toe, and studied them intently.
“Well?”
“It sounds so damnedâ¦sentimental,” Bruce complained.
“What's wrong with being sentimental?” Pat asked.
“Wellâ¦.” Bruce added two more lines, making a rectangle. “He was safe,” he said, addressing the tip of his shoe. “But how could he rest quietly, knowing that she was still lost?”
“Oh,” Ruth said. “I see.”
“He doesn't need to call her anymore.” Bruce's eyes went to the sheaf of delicate purple flowers, sending their sharp perfume through the falling snow. “Because now, finally, Ammie has come home.”
ELIZABETH PETERS
(writing as
BARBARA MICHAELS
) was born and brought up in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. Peters was named Grandmaster at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986, Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar® Awards in 1998, and given The Lifetime Achievement Award at Malice Domestic in 2003. She lives in an historic farmhouse in western Maryland.
Visit
www.AuthorTracker.com
for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.
Praise
for the novels of
Barbara Michaels
the best
“Simply the
best
living writer of ghost stories and thrillers in this century.”
MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY
hooked
“We are not normally disposed to read Gothic novelsâ¦but when Michaels turns her talents to the genre, we admit to being hooked.”
DENVER POST
supernatural
“Michaels has a fine downright way with the supernatural. Good firm style and many picturesque twists.”
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
a master
“A master of the modern Gothic novel.”
LIBRARY JOURNAL
atmosphere
“Michaels has a fine sense of atmosphere and storytelling.”
NEW YORK TIMES
great story
“With Barbara Michaels, you always get a great story.”
OCALA STAR-BANNE
R (FLORIDA)
Other Worlds
The Dancing Floor
Stitches in Time
Houses of Stone
Vanish with the Rose
Into the Darkness
Search the Shadows
Shattered Silk
Smoke and Mirrors
Be Buried in the Rain
The Grey Beginning
Here I Stay
Black Rainbow
Someone in the House
The Wizard's Daughter
The Walker in Shadows
Wait for What Will Come
Wings of the Falcon
Patriot's Dream
The Sea King's Daughter
House of Many Shadows
Witch
Greygallows
The Crying Child
The Dark on the Other Side
Prince of Darkness
Ammie, Come Home
Sons of the Wolf
The Master of Blacktower
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
AMMIE, COME HOME
. Copyright © 1968 by Barbara Michaels. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. 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 HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © APRIL 2005 ISBN: 9780061840951
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
http://www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007