Chapter Eight
Will SpeakerDaniel pounded on Amelia's door after trying the handle for what was easily the third time. No matter what the hour he had visited before, never had he found the door to be locked. His hands once more became tangled in the wild sprays of herbs growing around the cottage as he desperately foraged for a key, hoping he had somehow overlooked it on his first search. All the time unease gnawed within him. Loose splinters pierced his flesh as he searched the knotted wooden structure for hidden nooks, but to no avail. His heart hammered inside his chest with the desperation of his next knock, and still the summons remained unanswered.
Remembering the time he had spent in this matriarch's company, he tried to lever the window open. Despite there being no manner of bolt
