The Eighth Witch (46 page)

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Authors: Maynard Sims

The boys slouched in a loose circle, ready to beat on the smaller stranger but somehow hesitant to make the next move.

‘You’re best to learn some manners,’ Gabriel said quietly.

‘And are you gonna…’ The boy stopped talking as his tongue began to curl up inside his mouth. As if it had a life of its own it curled up, and back on itself until he was choking for breath.

Gabriel turned and stared intently at another boy. The boy tried to look away but he was transfixed by the blue piercing eyes that seemed to pin him like a butterfly on a cork board, Gabriel’s eyes thrusting into his as if they were rays of the sun. A few moments passed while the two were locked in an intent staring contest, and then the boys’ nose started to bleed. He tried to stem the flow with his fingers but they were ineffectual. Soon his shirt front was the color of dead robin breast.

The third boy decided it was a good idea to run. He started to, and he got a few feet away from the others when his legs began to feel as if they were treading in quicksand. He was still pumping his arms, and his chest was heaving as if he was racing fast but his legs were all but going backwards. Then he felt both knees crack and he fell face first in the dust.

The Eighth Witch

 

 

A
Department 18
Novel

 

Maynard Sims

 

 

 

 

Four centuries ago witch hunters killed the seven Yardley sisters. Now Department 18 must battle…the eighth witch!

 

Four hundred years ago six of the seven Yardley sisters—all witches—were systematically hunted down and killed.
 
The seventh lived long enough to give birth to a daughter.
 
Now, centuries later, that daughter has resurfaced in the town of Ravensbridge, more powerful than her mother or aunts ever were.
 
She has honed her powers, can change shape at will, and has only one ambition—to bring her family back from the dead to seek vengeance against the descendants of all who slaughtered them.
 
Ravensbridge once lived in fear of the seven Yardley sisters, but they have yet to experience the terror of…the Eighth Witch.

eBooks are
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

 

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

Cincinnati OH 45249

 

The Eighth Witch

Copyright © 2012 by Maynard Sims

ISBN: 978-1-61921-076-9

Edited by Don D’Auria

Cover by Kanaxa

 

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

 

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: November 2012

www.samhainpublishing.com

Table of Contents

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Seven

Epilogue

About the Author

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