Malice: After Dark

Heart of Thorns by Nicolette Andrews

Heart of Thorns (sample)

Summary: After marrying a man she hardly knows, Catherine arrives at Thornwood Abbey. The gothic-style mansion is shrouded in fog and a sinister past. Not long after arriving, the secrets Catherine has spent a lifetime hiding are brought to light and everything she believes is challenged. One man has the answer to her unasked questions but the cost of knowledge is her heart.

Genre: Paranormal/Historical Fiction

Rating: PG-13

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Heart of Thorns (sample)

I never thought country folk could be so cruel, she thought as she wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders. Her auburn braid swung back and forth as she hurried down the road. The night pressed in around her. It was darker here in the country and too quiet. Each step on the gravel crunched and echoed through the night. The air was thick with moisture. As the darkness grew, she wondered if she should turn around and face the music. She'll be waiting for me in our room with that smug look on her face, knowing I was too afraid to do it.

Something scurried across the road up ahead. She stopped, heart hammering in her chest. Maybe being too afraid is better than dying at the hand of some monster.

"Who's there?" A shiver ran up her spine. Silence answered. I'm letting her get into my head; it's all just village superstition.

In the distance she heard the howl of a dog. Alone in the dark, she imagined a slavering beast on the hunt for blood, instead of the old farm dog it most likely was. Don't be ridiculous. You're letting the night scare you. You're better than this, Evelyn, she chided herself.

She continued on her way, a warm cider at the inn and pub, The Fairy Bride, would take the bite away from her fear. I'll have a drink and sit by the fire and let Miss Brown worry about explaining my absence to Mrs. Morgan. Just the thought of Miss Brown sputtering a flimsy excuse when the housekeeper came around to do her nightly check brought a smile to Evelyn's face. She clutched her shawl close to her chest with one hand and rubbed her arms with the other. There was a definite chill in the air. The mournful howl left an eerie silence in its wake. Footsteps thumped on the gravel behind her. She did not look back but quickened her pace. She could see the distant light of The Fairy Bride just past the grouping of trees at the end of the road. Yellow light spilled from behind opaque diamond-shaped glass. The door swung open, and local patrons tumbled out, the sound of laughter drifting on the air. I am nearly there, she thought. A hand fell hard on her shoulder. She screamed. She swung her hands at her her assailant. He spun her around and grabbed her by both shoulders, forcing her to face him.

"Please let me go. I never did no harm to no one," she sobbed. Her chin wobbled as she shook.

He laughed. A mocking sort of sound that brought her back from her terror quicker than anything else could. She looked up through her tear-clustered lashes into a handsome face.

"Miss Smith, it's a bit late for you to be out and about," he said with a crooked smile that made her heart skip a few beats.

She exhaled with relief. "Mr. Thorn, I thought you were one of those terrible creatures, the one the villagers are always talking about."

He grinned and patted her on the top of her head. It was an oddly familiar gesture that set her heart to pounding for a different reason entirely. She had noticed Mr. Thorn before; how could she not? He was tall with wide shoulders and long wavy hair that bordered on obscene. He was almost pretty with neat angular features and full lips. His hands were large with long tapered fingers. He had almond eyes and olive skin. He was exotic enough that she wondered if he was English at all. She'd heard a story passed around that his mother had been a Spanish dancer who had fallen in love with an Englishman. He had the skin for it, and his hair was a glistening chestnut.