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Back The Village Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PROLOGUE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  62. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

On full, dark nights when sleep was a stranger he’d go outside and stare up at the sky, fantasising about going back in time to Ivy Cottage and undoing it all. This time, he would be cast as the hero. The community would adore rather than fear him. But a hero’s journey is quickly forgotten. Nothing stuck steadfast in your mind more than pure, unadulterated fear. Joanne was not to blame, but she shouldered it just the same. And it was the same blame that kept the rest of the villagers in line. Tonight, the presence of Grace’s family was strong. An echo of the past so tangible that you could almost reach out and touch it. Their lavender skin, their open, unseeing eyes. These faces would burn in his memory until the day he died.

He smiled in gratitude as Joanne handed him the mug of hot, steaming tea, her eyes puffy from the tears she’d kept hidden from view. Old wounds were being opened and not everyone would understand. The clock on the wall ticked loudly as it counted the seconds away. He and the rest of his villagers did not live life by default. Each facet of their lifestyle was carefully constructed, guarded and watched. You either became part of that ethos or you got the hell away. People passing through felt the unwelcome chill. Nobody dwelled long in their village. The occupants of Ivy Cottage would either fit in with their ethos or come to regret ever setting eyes on the place. He picked up his gun and squinted through the viewfinder, enjoying the feel of steel in his grip. Either way was good for him.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Ten Years Previously

Grace tiptoed down the hall, holding her breath as she passed her parents’ bedroom. Her footsteps were tentative as she worked her way to the back door. Stepping lightly over the cold wooden floor, she slid through the door to the kitchen, wondering if she would bump into the other creatures occupying their home. Like her, they were nocturnal. The mice that crept, hoovering up the crumbs left behind during the day. The spiders who weaved their webs in the beams overhead. The giant white owl who nestled on a tree branch outside her window. His cries worked their way into her dreams on the rare nights she slept.