The Town at the Edge of Nowhere is the prologue of Witches of East End, the first novel in Melissa de la Cruz' Beauchamp Family series.
Summary[]
- The chapter describes the little town of North Hampton, on the edge of Long Island, lost between everywhere and nowhere, like out of time, very difficult for strangers to find unless they're really lucky.
Bill and Maura meet Joanna at night. However, something is not right here...
- One night, a cold and dark winter night, a couple of caretakers from North Hampton were walking down the shore with their dog when they heard an awful noise. Thinking it came from Gardiner Island, the two of them noticed Fair Haven was lit and were surprised since they had no idea the old mansion had been rented or sold out. They were then scared to see the lights faint and someone behind them, pumping out of the mist. But they soon recognized Joanna Beauchamp, an elderly woman in her sixties, intimidating as always... Though, quite not as always. The warm lady had flashed into a cold and frightening harridan. Never afraid of the Beauchamp lady before, now they were, and they quickly ran away after a somehow strange warning : "Best you run along now, both of you, there's nothing to see here." With one last look behind them, Joanna had gone, and Fair Haven was getting ablaze, all the lights turning on one by one.
Characters[]
Note : a character appearing in bold means he appears for the first time in the current novel.
- Bill Thatcher
- Maura Thatcher
- Bran Gardiner (posing as Joanna Beauchamp)
Quotes[]
- Then one night in the early winter, there was a sickening crunch, a terrible noise, as if the world were ripping open; the wind howled and the ocean raged.
- — A sudden change in the atmosphere.
- "Best you run along now, both of you, there's nothing to see here", she said, her voice as cold as the deep waters of the Atlantic.
- — Joanna Beauchamp, or so it seems...
- Across the shore, one by one, more lights were turned on in succession until Fair Haven was ablaze. It shone like a beacon, a signal in the darkness. Bill turned to look back one more time, but Joanna Beauchamp had already disappeared, leaving no sign of footprints in the sand or any indication that she had ever been there.
- — And now the story of the Witches of East End begins...
Notes[]
- The scene takes place right before Bill and Maura Thatcher's assault, which left Bill dead and Maura in a coma.
- If it is Joanna who is said to appear in front of the couple, it is later revealed it was Loki, disguised. This trick of his made Laura think she was attacked by Joanna when she woke up from her coma, and called the police to arrest Joanna.
- Therefore, Bran Gardiner (Loki) is the first main character to appear in the Beauchamp Family series, before any other main characters, despite him being an antagonist.
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