Chapter 1

Seven years.

Seven years since Eliza Hayes supposedly died in the Outlands.

Now, the last of Providence Creek' s "fallen women" was dead too.

She died crying Eliza' s name.

A chill went through Providence Creek.

Abigail, Reverend Marcus Thorne' s wife, Eliza' s older sister, grew sicker.

A persistent illness, no doctor in the commune could explain it.

The elders whispered.

A curse. Eliza' s curse.

They cornered Marcus.

"You must go to the Outlands," they said.

"Perform the cleansing. Destroy her remains. End her influence."

Marcus felt a stone in his gut, he had loved Eliza once, deeply.

But they said she betrayed him. He believed them.

He had to protect the commune. He had to protect Abigail, his new wife.

The journey to the Outlands was grim.

Marcus led, Abigail beside him, pale and leaning on him.

Eliza' s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, followed, their faces hard.

Wardens, loyal enforcers of Providence Creek' s law, marched with them.

They reached the crude grave, a pile of stones in the desolate land.

Other women lay dead before it, fallen women, as if in prayer.

A small figure stepped out from behind the rocks.

A girl, maybe eight years old, thin but standing straight.

She clutched a small, weathered wooden bluebird.

"My mother' s spirit will find justice," the girl said, her voice clear and steady.

Marcus looked at this wild child, an Outlands child.

He felt nothing but irritation.

"Raze this site," he ordered the Wardens.

Mr. Hayes sneered at the girl. "Like mother, like daughter. A defiant weed."

Mrs. Hayes added, "She should have died with her wretched mother."

Willow, the girl, stood her ground, her eyes burning.

A faint, cold presence flickered around the bluebird. Eliza.

She watched, a silent scream trapped within her.

She couldn't speak, couldn't tell them.

This girl, Willow, was Marcus' s daughter.

Born too soon, after they threw Eliza out, that's why she was small.

Eliza' s spirit ached.