The Eternal Ones Read Online Free

said dirty things. Even grown-ups who might have known better looked at her with fear in their eyes.
    At Imogene’s insistence, Haven was forced to spend two afternoons each week in Dr. Tidmore’s office. Her father resisted, but her mother agreed, hoping the new pastor might help them make sense of the things Haven said. Eager to fit into his adopted community, Dr. Tidmore had quickly won the hearts and minds of Snope City. His fiery sermons reminded the town’s old folks of the ones they had heard in their youths, and it was a testament to Tidmore’s popularity that only a few months after his arrival, no one seemed to mind that he was a Yankee.
    Tall and gangly, with a thinning patch of red hair and a face that made up in nose what it lacked in chin, Dr. Tidmore sat at his desk, quietly scribbling notes as Haven talked. Away from the pulpit, he was soft-spoken and kind, and it wasn’t long before he had coaxed Haven into repeating the words that had caused so much trouble.
    When she did, he didn’t seem shocked. Haven had expected the preacher to gasp or grimace or launch into prayer. Instead, he calmly rose from his chair and came around his big oak desk to give Haven’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. And when Haven had dissolved into tears of relief and embarrassment, the squeeze had become a hug.
    “I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time,” Dr. Tidmore had told Haven once her tears had dried. “From what I’ve heard about you, I can tell you’re a very special girl. And special people aren’t always appreciated in small towns like Snope City. But mark my words, Haven. One day you’re going to find a place where you’ll be admired for being different. I know for a fact that you have a great life ahead of you—as long as we can get these visions to stop.”
    “Why do I see these things?” Haven had asked.
    “I don’t know,” Dr. Tidmore admitted. “Your visions aren’t good or wholesome—that much is certain. But we’re not going to let anything like a little fainting stand in the way of your wonderful future. Are we, Haven?”
    “I guess not,” Haven murmured halfheartedly as she stared at the floor.
    “Oh, come now,” the preacher had said, taking her chin and lifting it until her eyes met his. “What’s with all the doom and gloom? I’m here to help you! So what do you say? Can I help you, Haven?”
    “Yes, you can help me,” Haven had told him, feeling more hopeful than she had in ages.
     
    HAVEN’S GRANDMOTHER WASN’T satisfied with Dr. Tidmore’s tender-hearted approach to the problem. It was only a few days later that she delivered her own verdict. Haven was the victim of a demon, she announced to anyone who would listen—and the affliction was a sign. An innocent child should never have drawn such a powerful fiend. The sins of her father were being visited upon her. Imogene instructed the town to pray for Haven. But she warned there would be no salvation until her son-in-law examined his own soul. Ernest Moore, she said, had given Satan access to his own daughter’s heart.
    That’s when Haven began to hear the rumors about Veronica Cabe. The woman was the cashier at her father’s hardware store—a buxom redhead who snuck Haven chocolates whenever her parents weren’t watching. During the hours Haven had spent hanging out in the shop, she’d seen Veronica laugh a little too loudly at her father’s corny jokes. And she’d watched Veronica’s eyes trail Ernest from the paint aisle to the nail bins and back again. Everyone in Snope City could see that Veronica Cabe had a crush on her father.
    “Veronica likes you,” Haven had once teased him as he drove her to school.
    “Oh yeah?” Ernest Moore responded in utter surprise. “What makes you think that?”
    “She looks at you like she wants to eat you.”
    “Does she now?” Haven’s father had said after a hearty laugh. “Well, I’m pretty sure you’re imagining things, Missy. Besides, Veronica’s smarter