Dangerous Echoes
1 – Prologue
Margaret Heywood-Dunn gripped the arm of her chair in
awed anticipation. Firelight flickered over her thin pale
face – the skin over high cheekbones was drawn tight by
the pull of grey hair which, twisted into a bun at the back,
gave her eyebrows a permanent lift. A younger woman
sat opposite – stiffly upright with eyes tightly closed. As
Margaret fidgeted, with growing impatience, Irma started
to sway gently back and forth. A frown of frustration
creased the girl’s brow and her head tilted as if striving
to hold on to faint, faraway sounds. Margaret had been
warned that the attempt to communicate might fail – there
were no guarantees – she was therefore prepared for
disappointment and sighed heavily. Even so, she waited in
hope.
After a few minutes Irma started to breathe more
deeply; both hands, previously resting lightly on her lap,
began to clench and unclench. The rasping breath grew
louder and low muttering came at the same time from
Irma’s parted lips. In all her seventy years Margaret had
never witnessed such a thing before... She was gripped by
chill fear.
Suddenly the noise stopped and Irma opened her eyes.
She smiled, distantly, but it was enough to restore a
measure of calm to Margaret’s fluttering heart.
Looking towards the door Irma said, “God Bless you.
How lovely to see you. Please say who you are and why
you are here.”
“What is it? Who is here?” Margaret turned in alarm,
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