Prologue
The Pact
1847
Catherin Murphy looked out her dark window, breath rolled out of her mouth in white clouds against the glass. The only noises that broke the silence of the night were the sounds of her own heart beat and soft breathing of her dog, the strange noise that had woken her had faded an hour ago. The strange noise had woken her every night since she could remember; so much so it had become almost comforting. Still the thought of it sent shivers down her spine and the hairs of her arms stand on end. As a girl of only eight years of age being scared of the dark was normal, but Catherine had never been afraid of the dark. She hadn’t even been scared of the forest that sat on the edge of the Murphy property. She couldn’t see the forest from her window; the family barn, which was made of ancient grey wood, blocked it. The family barn itself wasn’t large; in comparison to other barns that Catherin had seen. The Murphy’s house was at least half the size of the barn, with her father’s room on the ground floor along with the kitchen and living area. The attic had been made into a room for her, on one side of the room was her bed and on the other was a wooden bookshelf and a vanity mirror. The vanity mirror was framed in silver with gold flower inlays. It was Catherin’s prized position and the only thing that had belonged to her mother; everything else had been auctioned off for money. Catherin’s father was not very wealthy, the family only just managed to keep their home and barn.
There was a loud noise; it broke the silence like a stone breaking glass. Catherin started; her dog jumped too, leaping back onto the bed. Startled she scrambled back into her bed, what was that! She thought to herself. It had come from the barn, she could tell, just like the strange noise did, but this hadn’t happened before.
Silence.
She stoked her dog’s black fur, “It’s ok Shuck.” She smiled in the darkness. Shuck looked at her with giant brown eyes. Normally her father’s dog was as brave as Catherin.
Carefully she stepped out of bed, walking past the vanity mirror. Catherin looked left and saw a young girl with ruffled brown hair, pale skin with small red cheeks. Her eyes bright blue even in the low light. The girl looked older than eight, Catherin would have said she was pretty except that her face was a mask of fear. Only then did Catherin realise that she was looking into her vanity mirror. It was then that the girls face changed and warped into pure terror as a pale shadow came into the view of the mirror. Catherin turned quickly hands raised in defense, but there was nothing but an open window in front of her. Her shoulders sagged and relief flooded into her bones. Just my imagination, she lied to herself. Catherin didn’t imagine things, even when she dreamed they were only mere distortions of reality.
Walking with purpose she crossed the room and opened the hatch to descend to the lower floor. After walking down the dark wooden stairs she scurried to the backdoor, that led out to the family barn and beyond that the forest.
Sticking to the shadows made by the moon, she looked up at the barn. It seemed so much bigger in the darkness, as though it was made of shadows itself. She shivered, realizing how cold it was.
Something brushed past her leg.
She started for the second time tonight, and her shoulders sagged again. Damn you Shuck! The dog looked up at her with a goofy grin, but Catherin could see the hairs on its back standing on end. A flash of white caught her eye again; it was the same as from the mirror.
She turned around and continued towards the back of the barn, she decided that it would be better if she went through the backdoor, so she didn’t draw attention. Catherin reached the back door, hand reaching out with her right hand.
