Prologue

Stratford, Connecticut, 1651.

A sea of stern and anxious faces glared back at the helpless maiden, whose bonds fastened her securely to the tall wooden pole that stood in the village square. In the lines of her audience’s expressions could be read both fear and disdain; the girl needed to die in order for them to feel safe again, and salvation could not come too quickly. Scarred with the black smears of burned heathens past, the wood felt cold against her back, merely a thin gown separ...