Dottie Graham

Blood Coloured Flames

CHAPTER 1 She smells the smoke first. With autumn setting in and stripping the forest bare, Eda wandered further than usual from home, looking for berries and roots to add to her aunt and uncle’s winter supply. But now her head snaps up, dark hair flying in her face as she catches the scent of something burning. She grips the handle of her basket till her knuckles turn white. She strains her ears but can’t hear anything; her nose has always been strongest, the witch’s blood in her veins helping her to smell further, hear more, every sense heightened.