Stacy Kupiec

My arms ached. I'm not sure what I should have imagined when I asked Patrick to train me, but it didn't include how I felt at the end of everyday. The pain of growing muscles as I milked the cow and chopped the wood was tiresome, but no amount of hard work could have prepared me for wielding a sword half as tall as I was and nearly matching my weight. There were days in the beginning where I couldn't lift it off the ground. Patrick's patience never failed, although I did catch him laughing at me a few times as I tripped over my feet trying to learn the steps involved with swordplay.

She's drawn to him, almost as though she's under a spell. Mercy Hammond isn't like the other settlers of Salem Town. While everyone else shuns the newcomers with their bright, devil's clothing, Mercy befriends them. She's determined to discover if the newcomers are Christian.Befriending them not only goes against the townspeople, but also her parents and when she falls in love with the man in the blue tunic, she's forced to choose between a marriage of love and her parents.Her choice leads to consequences she never thought possible. Not even in Salem Town.And amidst the chaos of her struggles, someone cries witch.

"Everything was different now. I was different."Tarren is alive, barely, since he gave his soul to Sara. Now he's left to hang in the prison of the Dream Realm, only moving when he's forced to torture another innocent girl. And Sara has to watch. Even though Sara would rather Tarren have his soul and his power back, she's determined to save the little girl from having to live Sara's childhood. Seeing Tarren in the Dream Realm with his beautiful face and dead eyes only makes it more of a nightmare for both of them.And now that the Council of Souls has been re-formed, Sara's waking life is as much a nightmare as her dreams. As the Council seeks for three other souls to make Sara the Quintessence, Sara must decide just how far she's willing to go to save Tarren. Because there's only one way to take a soul......kill the owner of it.

Sara rarely speaks. Her parents are uncomfortable around her. Notes are the only words she shares with the sister who is nothing like her. Bullied at school, people think she's weak and walked on---a bystander in her own life. And Sara knows they're right.Until the tribal sorcerer from her dreams sends a startling message: "You belong to me."Sara's soul might not belong to this world for long, but she meets Tarren and feels the electricity of a first love. And that makes her life worth fighting for. Her dreams might be real, but allowing herself to remain shy might mean her death.