The Banshee Read Free

clubs. They recovered the body of Shaun, his own knife protruding from his chest just as old Tully said. Blood smeared Isabel’s hands and the evil grin frozen on her face. Deacon O’Connell immediately fell to his knees upon viewing the scene.
    â€œDear God in heaven protect us.”
    The witch was placed within the trench Tully and Shaun had dug out of the cold earth across the river from the Oak tree.

Chapter One
Present Day

    Return
    Watching her reflection in the mirror, Colleen Murphy brought the brush evenly through her shoulder-length chestnut hair and wondered about the night ahead. It was new to her. She had lived in Wexford all her life and had never heard of this secret club her friend Betty had asked her to join. Was it because Colleen’s husband was the police Chief and they thought it would be to their advantage to have his wife as a member? Or was it simply that her friend knew she had been spending time alone and would enjoy an evening out?
    Betty hadn’t told her much about the club, only that people she knew were members and requested she not tell anyone about tonight, especially her husband. She guaranteed Colleen his initiation was near but first she must be brought into the membership.
    Colleen slipped on some jeans and a halter, adjusted the fit, and then walked to the front porch. Guilt enveloped her, an empty sense of underhandedness that oozed from this night’s clandestine activity. She wanted to leave a note for Charles, some kind of indication she was okay, not to worry.
    They never kept secrets from each other, until tonight. Colleen decided not to give away the secret. The challenge of belonging to a secretive organization was exhilarating and after his initiation, whenever that was to be, Charles would understand.
    She was thrilled that the sound of little feet would soon fill the hallways of their home. Another surprise she could tell her husband, her positive self pregnancy test had her bursting at the seams. She was happy. Yet something felt edgy, wrong, like when you leave the house with the awareness that you forgot something…and you had.
    Headlights flashed along the driveway, illuminating the forest and the wall that defined their property. The car belonged to a friend of Betty, introduced to Colleen a few years ago but she had forgotten his name. Perhaps it would come back in conversation tonight. The car stopped by the porch, the door opened and Colleen slid in.

Chapter Two

    An ominous darkness descended on Albany. The departure of the sun brought a thick thunderhead past New York City, over the Palisades and up the Hudson Valley to the outskirts of the capital city.
    Joanne looked briefly at the far away lightning flashes slicing through the black horizon following route 87 right into the heart of the city. She closed the curtain before the rumble of thunder shook the house.
    Inside, she nervously prepared for bed. The room felt strange with an air of expectation, a sensation she had felt before and knew was just the beginning. In the past five years the small house had not felt the same, and thought it would be awhile until it felt right again, if ever.
    Why am I torturing myself?
She wondered at the reason she brought up the subject. She knew why. It was night, it was bedtime, and soon it would happen again.
    After a shower, she brushed her teeth, slipped into her favorite mint green nightshirt, and pulled back the sheets. A thunderous clap of light flashed outside the window, temporarily stuttering the lights. They snapped and crackled, then flickered off, then popped back on as the black cloud formation stalled overhead. It shook the entire house. Joanne slipped under the sheets.
    The comfort of the bed enclosed around her. Her body relaxed, softening tired muscles. Frayed nerves began to desensitize. A skeleton crew took over brain and bodily functions allowing her to drift into a guarded sleep.

Chapter Three

    Mrs. Donnelly sat quietly at the