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Trial by Fire
must have banked the stove too high. You did warn me not to.
I should have had a modern one installed. Brian frowned. I couldn't care less
about the cottage but all your stuff has gone, Ally.
I can buy a new computer, and the rest doesn't matter.
What about the book you've been writing?
It was Isolde's story, not mine. I would never have published it. She shrugged. I
may never know how it ended and I m not sure I want to. If Isolde dies in a fire& I don't
think I could bear to go through that with her.
No! A shudder ran through Brian. It's a bit too close for comfort& He looked at
her oddly. Would you think me mad, if I said I thought your Isolde had warned me
you were in danger?
What do you mean?
Ally listened as he explained about the phone call.
I think it may well have been her, Ally agreed. She woke you so you could save
my life& but what does she want of me? I have to do something in return, Brian.
What can you do? Brian asked. You know what Paul said when he came to the
hospital.
Ally nodded, thinking back to her brother s visit. Paul had warned her of the dangers
of inviting Isolde back into her head. She recalled his words, his warning to beware
Isolde s hold on her.
If she is a witch& Paul had said. You must be very careful, Ally. I m not sure how
these things work or if they do but she might gain possession of your mind& send you
insane.
Is that it you think I m going mad? Perhaps I started the fire myself!
Don t be foolish, love. I believe you, that s why I am warning you to be careful.
She wasn't a witch! How could you think it? She was a woman who was cruelly
betrayed by everyone who should have cared for her.
Then how has she managed to cross time and space and take possession of us, Ally?
How could she get so far inside our heads if she isn't a witch?
I don't know, Ally admitted. Maybe it isn't Isolde who has been forcing the bridge
across the centuries& it might be someone else. Someone who inhabits this earth
because his conscience will not let him rest.
A restless spirit& Paul's eyes narrowed. Do you think Robin?
She nodded. He might be even more dangerous.
Ally hadn't pressed the argument further then. She'd still felt a little strange, the
shock of coming so close to death was very effective in disorientating one's mind.
Recalling her thoughts to the present, she looked at Brian. I have to try and go
back, she said. I'm not sure how it happened the last time.
Do you remember the day I found you in a daze? Brian asked. You said you
thought you'd been back in time.
I d been running.
You d been running on the ruins of Lynston.
They re under the road?
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Anne Ireland
A part of the abbey that was burned down is certainly still there.
It was evening, Ally said. If I went there again&
Are you strong enough? Brian asked doubtfully. He looked as if he regretted
having spoken. Remember what Paul said, about it being dangerous.
I have to do it she saved my life. If she hadn't woken you&
Yes. He nodded. I'll be there, close by. If you scream or call to me, I'll come.
Ally smiled at him. I shall feel better knowing that but don't interfere. If I m in a
trance, let me come out in my own way. You have to promise me, Brian.
He looked at her in silence for several minutes, then nodded. I won't bring you out
unless you call to me.
****
Ally got out of the car, turned to wave at Brian and then started to run. It was
probably madness to imagine she could simply go back to Isolde's time just by willing it
to be so.
Maybe she wasn't running fast enough? She needed to exhaust her body so that her
mind took over& that was better, she was getting that odd feeling now. She was
panting. She could feel pain in her chest and it was difficult to breathe was she feeling
Isolde's pain? It was all over her, consuming her. She could hardly bear it!
Ally felt a dizziness sweep over her. She was going to faint. She felt so ill. She had
never felt so ill&
The pain in her chest was easing. She wasn't outdoors now, she was inside a
building. A building made of rough-hewn stone. It was a chapel& part of the Abbey of
Lynston. She could see a man kneeling before the altar. He seemed very distressed. She
watched as he made the sign of the cross and then stood up. As he turned towards her,
she knew him. It was Bishop Walden.
All at once, Ally understood what she must do.
You have to help her, she said. You know Isolde is innocent. She is your sister's
child.
Bishop Walden looked startled. His fearful gaze travelled round the chapel and she
knew that he could hear her but not see her.
Where are you? he asked and made the sign of the cross once more. Show
yourself. Are you a demon or an evil spirit?
I am your conscience, Ally said. You will never see me, but I shall haunt you if
you do nothing. You must help her or you will never rest easy even in your grave. You
will linger on this earth, never reaching Paradise.
My conscience, only my conscience, he muttered. I thought I was doing right by
her, but I have brought her to this.
You must help her!
But she has been condemned to burn. No one can save her. The Queen asked for a
pardon but it was not granted.
You must find a way.
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Trial by Fire
Ally felt herself being tugged away from him. The Abbey walls were dissolving and
she was drifting&
Ally! Brian was bending over her as she lay on the roadside. Ally, are you all
right?
She blinked at him and put a hand to her head.
Ouch! I've got an awful headache but yes, I'm all right.
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